Following the subtle threat from Xu Feng of destroying the herb, the guards could only stand in their position, unwilling to provoke him further from committing the act.
The herbs were precious, and the culprit was in front of them, which meant that sooner or later, he would be apprehended.
However, if their actions caused the culprit to destroy the herbs altogether, then the losses would be tremendous.
Therefore, they were stuck in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat, with Xu Feng leading the situation completely from start to finish.
'Hah, what a bunch of idiots indeed. If this was an upgraded version of the game, then this bluff of mine would be useless.' Xu Feng sneered inwardly.
It was no exaggeration to say the guards weren't humanlike and were just a bunch of robots at the moment.
After all, the Sunfire Lotus herb in his hand currently had attributes such as increasing fire resistance to a player.
So what was his mere Sacred Fire going to do to the herb?
Even if it did come into contact, the Sunfire Lotus would still be glistening with zero damages.
'As if I would risk burning my wealth,' Xu Feng exclaimed inwardly.
He was meticulous in everything and was long ready for the situation to change drastically. Despite not wanting the situation to come to this, there was no regret in his actions.
No pain, no gain.
That was a common phrase, but one that stood true no matter the situation.
"My hands are trembling with those spears pointing at me. Please, I'm very cowardly." Xu Feng continued his act and proceeded to tease the guards further by making the Sacred Fire closer to the herb.
His realistic actions prompted the guards to retreat a few steps, clearly afraid of him actually destroying the herbs.
'Look at these guards. Do they think I will destroy my own wealth?' There was simply no chance of him ruining the herbs when he had spent so much effort into ransacking them.
Once the guards retreated close to the entrance, Xu Feng distanced the Sacred Fire from the herb and sighed in relief, continuing with his act.
"Go outside and let me cool down for a second. I can't even escape from here, so there's no harm in it, right?" He then shouted, albeit in a somewhat panicked tone.
His statement was quite logical and there was indeed no other escape path other than the entrance door, which they were tightly guarding.
Therefore, the guards nodded but gave a final warning, "We'll only give you a few minutes to think of your actions. If you really destroy the herbs, then you'll never see the daylight in your lifetime again."
Xu Feng nodded his head in understanding, but silently, he was urging them to exit the garden. 'Just leave already. By the time you all stood outside, I'll be gone by then. I want to see how you'll threaten me afterward.'
Sometime later, the guards left the garden and actually closed the door. In their mind, Xu Feng was like a trapped rabbit, with no escape paths. Thus, they didn't mind closing the door.
Luckily for Xu Feng and unfortunately for the guards, if they had known Xu Feng was going to be kicked out very soon, then they would have risked it all to detain him on the spot.
With the door closed, Xu Feng finally breathed out a sigh of relief as he glanced at the time remaining.
One minute…
Although one minute seemed like a short time, to Xu Feng's current situation, it was rather long.
"How did these guards realize my lie so quickly? The location from the Miracle Herb Garden to the Baptismal Altar is quite far. Just how did that guard manage to travel so fast?" He knitted his brows, seemingly unable to comprehend this unusual variable.
Even if the guard did suspect him and wanted to verify the information as soon as possible, it should have still taken the guard at least 15 minutes to arrive there.
That time interval was the estimation that he had done to rob the herbs and be kicked out.
However, the estimation was completely wrong, causing him to confront the guards and resort to deception to stall for time.
Patiently waiting for the time to countdown, Xu Feng relaxed his muscles when the number hit 0.
"Finally, goodbye guards, and thanks for your lovely herbs contribution." Xu Feng laughed heartily as he eagerly waited to be kicked out of the Holy Sanctuary.
Alas, his laughter came to an abrupt halt when he saw a system message pop up.
System: Due to Adventurer Lin Feng's misconduct in the Holy Sanctuary and his misdeeds of ransacking the Miracle Herb Garden, punishment would be imposed upon him.
"W-What???!"
Xu Feng's mouth was wide open when he read the system message. It never occurred to him that the system of the Divine World would be personally imposing a punishment upon him.
This kind of process went against all logic and information he learned from his past.
Never once had there been an incident of a system personally imposing a punishment on a player unless they were caught and detained by fellow NPCs.
While in the midst of confusion, the system continued to send out a few messages.
System: Given that the arrival of Adventurer Lin Feng here in the Holy Sanctuary was because he wanted to gain some experience and had obtained approval from the system. Therefore, Adventurer Lin Feng falls under the administration and jurisdiction of the system.
"So I was under surveillance by the system due to this loophole," he facepalmed, clearly not expecting this kind of plot twist.
"Then what punishment would I face? Am I going to have my herbs confiscated or the baptism revoked?" Xu Feng asked in concern.
Alas, there was no longer any response from the system as he was directly removed from the Holy Sanctuary.
His vision blurred completely and there was a sensation and feeling of him being tossed around like a rag doll, causing him to feel nauseous.
"Is this part of the punishment?" He screeched, covering his mouth.