“Is that so?”
Chen Xiaoyan opened the world channel and read through the messages. Sure enough, it was those players who had just been wiped out by Shen Qingqing stirring up trouble again.
Soaking in the Sect Spring, they were in a frenzy of impotent rage.
“Let them shout all they want, it won’t do any good.”
Buggy glanced at the world channel as well, sneering, “A bunch of keyboard warriors. They only dare to type behind a screen. If they have guts, let them say it in front of Deputy Sect Leader Sister.”
“Players resisting NPCs? Ha,” Mu Qingxue chuckled at their foolishness.
So stupid—no wonder they didn’t have the brains to mess with NPCs.
“Xiaoyan, what do you mean by world channel? And keyboard warriors?”
Shen Qingqing expressed her confusion.
At the same time, a flicker of unease crept in.
Because she always felt like she and Chen Xiaoyan weren’t from the same world.
“Senior Sister Shen, the world channel is our unique communication method. As for keyboard warriors, well, you can think of them as cowards who only dare to talk behind others’ backs.”
“Unique communication method?”
Shen Qingqing frowned, still not quite getting it.
She did understand what keyboard warriors were, though.
A hint of disappointment appeared on her face.
Sigh, disciples like this can still get past the Sect’s threshold?
The Xianyun Alliance really is going downhill.
Regarding the world channel, Chen Xiaoyan didn’t explain further.
Even if she did, Shen Qingqing as an NPC wouldn’t understand.
So she changed the subject and smiled, “Senior Sister Shen, shall we try the dungeon? If we delay any longer, some people might start complaining.”
Shen Qingqing glanced at Chen Xiaoyan’s teammates.
Though a bit displeased in her eyes, she didn’t show it.
“All right, let’s go.”
Mu Qingxue and the others kept wondering what that look from Shen Qingqing meant.
Did it mean she had complaints against us?
That’s unfair, boss.
“Stop daydreaming, everyone. Come inside the barrier, get ready to start.”
The group entered the barrier, and as Chen Xiaoyan clicked to challenge the dungeon, they were instantly teleported inside.
Only Shen Qingqing was left standing alone outside.
“Hm?”
Shen Qingqing paused a moment before recalling Chen Xiaoyan’s reminder. She broke a corner of the barrier and stepped into the dungeon.
However, her dungeon wasn’t the same as Chen Xiaoyan and the others’.
Shen Qingqing walked for a long time, reaching the deepest part of the abyss without seeing a single monster or demon.
She was neither surprised nor shocked.
Because when sealing the teleport point, all nearby monsters had been cleared out by the elders, leaving none behind.
“Who exactly are these new disciples?”
All the past incidents, plus today’s strange scene, forced Shen Qingqing to suspect these suddenly appearing disciples.
Possessing great divine powers to teleport, acting oddly, fearless personality, and using unheard-of terms.
All of it clashed with the nature of the Xianyun world.
“Xiaoyan, who exactly are you people?” Shen Qingqing muttered, staring into the distance.
Are they outsiders from other realms?
Or some demon tribe’s plot?
“You’re so nosy.”
Before Shen Qingqing could ponder further, a restless yet ethereal voice—no, it should be called divine sound—rang in her mind.
“Who?”
“Ding ding ding.”
An eerie bell sound suddenly echoed from the void.
Shen Qingqing’s eyes instantly went blank, and she collapsed to the ground.
The next moment, gray mist above the canyon swirled like rivers flowing into the sea, condensing into a gigantic eye.
“Honestly, stop giving me trouble every day.”
The tone of the giant eye carried the helplessness of an elder dealing with a mischievous child.
Then the gray mist dispersed, and the giant eye vanished as well.
Only a sigh lingered in the canyon.
“Time is running out.”
***
In the Abyss Canyon Dungeon.
The ten of them looked at each other awkwardly.
It seemed the NPC hadn’t followed them in.
“Xiaoyan, do you think NPCs just can’t enter player dungeons?”
“Right, if NPCs could enter dungeons, that’d be ridiculous.”
“Why not? I think traditional games sometimes had NPCs in dungeons.”
“Are you stupid? That’s just part of the plot. Do you even understand what plot means?”
Buggy, Hongchen, and Xianyun were deep in debate.
Chen Xiaoyan quietly thought to herself on the side.
Maybe Buggy was right—NPCs really can’t enter dungeons.
If that’s the case, it’s such a pity.
She had been hoping to cling to Shen Qingqing’s long, fair legs, but now it seemed hopeless.
“All right, I’ll go check. You all wait here and see if Senior Sister Shen comes in later. After I come back, I’ll notify you, and then you can exit the dungeon.”
“Okay.”
“Received, Captain.”
Chen Xiaoyan nodded and immediately clicked to exit the dungeon.
She needed to see whether Shen Qingqing was outside or had already entered.
The teleport circle flashed, and Chen Xiaoyan was transported out, quickly scanning the surroundings.
To her great disappointment, Shen Qingqing was not there.
Only one possibility remained—she had already entered the dungeon.
No choice, Chen Xiaoyan had to have her teammates exit the dungeon first.
Without Shen Qingqing’s help, dealing with the demon Hua would depend solely on the purifying formation on the flower wreath.
“Xiaoyan, has the Deputy Sect Leader Sister left?”
Buggy stretched her long neck, looking around like a giraffe as soon as she came out.
“Hm?” Chen Xiaoyan perked up at those words.
Could it be that Shen Qingqing left after seeing us suddenly disappear?
Though unlikely, there was still a chance, right?
“Not sure. I didn’t see her when I came out. Let’s wait another half hour before deciding. What do you all think?”
Chen Xiaoyan looked to Mu Qingxue and Liu Yue.
“Sounds good.”
No one objected.
Half an hour was nothing; it would pass quickly.
The whole team sat together.
Outside the dungeon, more and more players gathered, leaving no spacious place for them to rest.
Buggy sat behind Chen Xiaoyan, leaning against her back, gazing at the azure sky.
She sighed, “The sky in this game is really blue.”
Chen Xiaoyan didn’t answer.
Her attention kept drifting back to the world channel.
Seeing the escalating mess there, she felt an increasing heaviness in her chest—uncomfortable and suffocating.
It was strange.
The previous 100,000-player uproar was far worse than this.
Back then, she only felt a little annoyed, never this bad.
So why now?
These people exaggerate, distort facts, and slander Shen Qingqing.
As her disciple, can she just stand by and do nothing?
Even if players resisting NPCs ends up being a futile effort, that’s no excuse to watch from the sidelines.
Besides, did anyone treat Chen Xiaoyan badly?
That question silenced her and made her a little ashamed.
Chen Xiaoyan admitted to herself: why care whether Shen Qingqing is an NPC?
As long as she treats me well, that’s enough.
I, Chen Xiaoyan, may not be a good person, but I’m not ungrateful.
“Xiaoyan, why aren’t you saying anything?”
Buggy flipped over, lying on her back, wrapping her arms around Chen Xiaoyan’s neck, asking.
“Stare~”
Two beams of intense killing intent shot right at her.
Buggy felt like there was an iceberg on her back, the cold piercing to the bone, suffocating her.
But so what?
Being close to Xiaoyan in front of them made her feel extremely accomplished.
While they could only bite their fingers on the sidelines, glaring enviously.
Just thinking about it made Buggy feel inexplicably satisfied.
However, at that moment, the barrier suddenly shifted as if a stone had dropped into the water, sending ripples outward.
Shen Qingqing stepped out, looking conflicted.
What was she just now?