I saved the entire sect by playing idly by letting things fall apart.

Does Yun Que's backbone deserve the beating he suffered?

Just now, that demonic cultivator was hitting him hard, and Chu Xingzhi didn't say a word at the crucial moment. As a result, he endured the beating, but he couldn't withstand the traitor Yun Que.

Cherishing women is something other cultivators consider, but a sword cultivator's wife is a sword, so he doesn't care about such things. He kicked without holding back, and Yun Que screamed in pain. Her face turned pale from the pain in her abdomen, and the hatred that had not yet faded was still there.

"Chu Xingzhi," Ye Qinghan said, "it's not your turn to make a move yet."

Even if Yun Que's actions were immoral, the elders and sect leaders would take him back and deal with him. His actions, if seen by outsiders, would inevitably cause discussion.

Chu Xingzhi's expression softened. Of course he knew that while the competition was important, beating up disciples from other sects in private was a matter of character. But he was still furious. "She was the one who provoked me."

They kept saying her spiritual root was damaged, as if her weakness justified her actions.

As a direct descendant, she was in a position of responsibility and bore heavy burdens. Ye Qiao was someone who knew when to step up and when to back down, and she never let anyone down in crucial moments.

"Song Hansheng," Chu Xingzhi said, "She's been mentally challenged for so many years, it must have been tough taking care of her, right?"

Song Hansheng... Song Hansheng didn't want to speak.

Yun Que mistakenly thought Ye Qinghan was helping her. She bit her lip and gave him a grateful smile.

Ye Qinghan looked down at her, pursed his lips, and showed no change in expression. "Go and apologize to her yourself when we get out."

Yun Que's smile froze on her face.

Why?

Isn't Senior Brother Ye always the one who protects her?

Yun Que didn't understand. She had only explained the whereabouts of a few other disciples, so why had she angered everyone?

If Ye Qiao were present, she would probably immediately understand where the problem lay. Ye Qinghan was the foremost righteous person and particularly admired those who were upright and kind.

He had looked down on Ye Qiao's cunning back then, and now that Yun Que has turned around and betrayed her teammate, Ye Qinghan probably has no feelings for Yun Que anymore.

In the original story, Ye Qiao didn't get involved; Yun Que only needed to show her kindness, beauty, and uniqueness throughout the entire story.

She doesn't even need to do anything; a group of her trusted followers will fall for her on their own.

Now, even Su Zhuo and Zhai Chen, who usually liked to protect her, fell silent, leaving her alone in an awkward and embarrassing situation.

*

Ye Qiao and Shen Ziwei split up. Ye Qiao was in charge of setting up the formation, while Shen Ziwei was in charge of activating it. Ye Qiao would hold back one of the Nascent Soul cultivators while Shen Ziwei and Duan Hengdao went to rescue the person.

"What are you carrying in your arms?" He pointed to what Ye Qiao was holding, then hesitated.

Ye Qiao: "Egg."

She packed the egg in a box and attached a talisman to seal its aura. "Take this safe. If you're being chased, hold onto this and protect it tightly. If there's danger, tear off the talisman and pretend to reach into the box. If they keep chasing you, throw the box away. Understand?" Demons love collecting things, and Ye Qiao, having previously stayed in the demon realm, knew this all too well.

Shen Ziwei was already numb. He nodded with difficulty, "I understand."

"After you've rescued them, remember to have them run away separately, and try to stall until the elders send people into the secret realm."

After giving her instructions, Ye Qiao gave Shen Ziwei the last concealment talisman and immediately set up an array by forming hand seals with her fingertips.

The slight fluctuations in spiritual energy nearby quickly attracted the attention of the two demons.

Ye Qiao sensed an unfamiliar presence approaching. She quickened her pace while observing her surroundings, trying to stall until she could set up the formation.

The headache from excessive mental exhaustion kept stimulating Ye Qiao's nerves. One of the Vajra Talismans in her arms broke, and two Nascent Soul stage pressures pressed down on her in an instant, almost making Ye Qiao kneel on the ground.

She swallowed the taste of blood. After so long, she still hated the feeling of being forced to kneel with her cultivation suppressed.

Yunhen could easily force her to kneel with a single, light wave of pressure, and now he's forcing her to kneel again.

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator?" The two who arrived almost thought they were hallucinating.

I thought he was at least at the Golden Core stage, but I didn't expect him to be at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Ye Qiao gradually slowed down the speed at which she was setting up the formation, concealing her hand gestures to try and buy time with words. So, Ye Qiao chose to introduce herself.

"My name is Ye Qiao."

These two demons might not be interested in her cultivation level, but Ye Qiao guessed that some demons might be interested in what she had done before.

As expected, the girl in black tilted her head and smiled coldly, "Ye Qiao?"

"Oh." Her tone was somber. "So you're Ye Qiao, the one who impersonated me?"

Ye Qiao: "...day."

We've met the real deal.

"That's my love for you." The moment Ye Qiao completed the formation, she subtly took half a step back, leading the person to the center of the formation, and smiled slightly: "Holy Maiden, can you feel my fervent love for you?"

"You're asking for death." Enraged, the girl clenched her fists. Ye Qiao, unable to move under the suppression of the Nascent Soul stage, punched down at her head. Shen Ziwei, who was hiding in the shadows, seized the opportunity and pounced to activate the formation.

In an instant, chains formed and the domain unfolded simultaneously. Under the double attack, the demon saintess had no time to dodge and was dragged inside.

In the pitch-black realm.

"No wonder I couldn't find you; it turns out there was such an opportunity." She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. "But, in the face of absolute suppression of cultivation, playing tricks is useless."

He flashed behind Ye Qiao, and with a surge of demonic energy in his palm, he slammed his fist down on Ye Qiao's abdomen. A burst of flame forced her back half a step, and her palm burned with pain. Her eyes turned cold.

"Phoenix".

"Hey, hey, hey. Getting impatient, getting impatient." Ye Qiao dodged away, her tone dripping with sarcasm: "Is my love not passionate enough?"

Xiaoqi is the true master of this domain. No matter how powerful she is at the Nascent Soul stage, Ye Qiao won't confront her directly, and the other party can forget about doing anything to her here.

-

The situation outside was just as intense. Seeing his companion being pulled inside, the young demon's disdainful smile faded slightly as he stared intently at Shen Ziwei. "You dare to come back?" he thought, and bent down to pursue her, his two blades aimed deadly strikes.

Shen Ziwei ran for his life. Just as a knife was about to fall on his head, his heart pounded wildly, and he trembled with tension. Remembering Ye Qiao's instructions, he reached into the box and tore off the talisman. Another life-saving artifact shattered. Shen Ziwei's throat went dry, and he was terrified.

No more.

If the ritual implement is broken again, it will be gone forever.

Shen Ziwei gritted her teeth and awkwardly tossed the box over. The boy reached out and caught it, narrowing his eyes. An identity token? Or some kind of treasure?

Otherwise, why would this close disciple, facing imminent death, instinctively reach into the box?

He picked up the box and instinctively put it into his storage bag. Demons love to collect good things, regardless of whether they know how to use them or not; they just take them.

After the boy finished doing all that, he picked up his knife and was about to continue attacking Shen Ziwei when several demonic beast auras appeared nearby. In the blink of an eye, three demonic beasts charged straight at him.

The way it looked was exactly like it had stewed its second uncle.

The demon boy was stunned for a few seconds. He couldn't dodge and was smashed into by a monster. His bones were almost broken. He lay on the ground in a sorry state, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

What the hell?

Shen Ziwei: "...Ha."

"Which sect's general is so powerful? Holy crap, he lured away two Nascent Soul cultivators right away?"

"Watching the game for the first time? That's my Ye Langlang."

The other party couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, this guy single-handedly stirred up the hatred level of the entire secret realm!"

The monsters whose eggs had been stolen were furious. They raised their hooves and stomped down hard. The demon boy could only fight back with his sword. He mistakenly thought it was a powerful monster of this level that he had provoked in the secret realm, and did not consider the box at all.

One Nascent Soul cultivator was held back by Ye Qiao, and another was entangled by three powerful Nascent Soul cultivators. This provided Duan Hengdao and Shen Ziwei, who were sneaking around in the shadows, with a great opportunity to rescue them.

Duan Hengdao emerged silently, took out an electric drill, and diligently began drilling into the barrier, creating a small crack.

It can't be breached from the inside, but it's still very vulnerable from the outside.

The moment the spiritual energy flowed, all the disciples who had given up struggling opened their eyes at the same time.

The scene outside was in complete chaos. The large demon beast had restrained the demon cultivator, and the other demon saintess was nowhere to be found.

Even his close associates were stunned.

What kind of development?

What kind of development is this?

"...Duan Hengdao? Shen Ziwei?" Qin Huai's feelings were complicated. He didn't expect that the two of them would turn back to save people. He also didn't expect that his usually naive and innocent junior brother would have such abilities.

Qin Huai looked at his two junior brothers and said, "I underestimated you."

They were able to hold off two Nascent Soul cultivators while rescuing them.

Duan Hengdao couldn't understand what his senior brother was saying, so he quickly said, "Run! Split up and run!"

"Those few demonic beasts won't last long."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the other party caught up.

Xue Yu, quick as a flash, pulled Mu Chongxi aside and, mimicking the method Ye Qiao had used, picked up a pebble and tossed it at incredible speed.

The demon was stunned for a moment, thinking it was a magical artifact, and subconsciously turned his head to dodge. Immediately, the others followed suit, picking up stones and throwing them. When he realized they were just pebbles, he laughed in anger.

This year's generation truly lives up to its reputation; each one is more sarcastic than the last.

"At crucial moments, it's Ye Qiao's clever ideas that really matter, ahhh!" Chu Xingzhi began his desperate escape, "I'll never call her a slut again."

The demons tore off all the mustard seed bags, and they probably lost them too. They had very few things they could use, so they followed Ye Qiao's example and used stones to smash things, which actually bought some time for the disciples who had separated and escaped.

Mu Chongxi ran off without looking back, saying, "You don't understand. Changming Sect may not be the same as it used to be, but you, Ye Qiao, will always be you, Ye Qiao."

It's a pity Ye Qiao isn't here.

"Then she just deserted at the last minute," Su Zhuo sneered.

Zhou Xingyun said indifferently, "Mind your own business in the affairs of our Changming Sect."

"Can't I even say someone has no conscience?"

Zhai Chen followed up, "What's the point of you all protecting her like this?"

He genuinely felt that Ye Qiao was heartless. Back then, she left the Yueqing Sect without a second thought, showing no regard for her master's nurturing grace. Later, during the competition, she repeatedly trampled on the Yueqing Sect's reputation.

I thought she still had some feelings for the Changming Sect, but Duan Hengdao and Shen Ziwei, both weapon cultivators, were able to come back to save people, while Ye Qiao was nowhere to be found.

Mingxuan was incredulous. "Our junior sister is going to stay and die with you? Then let's all stay alive! Let's commit suicide together!"

……

On the other side, Ye Qiao was engaged in a war of attrition with the Demon Saintess. After enough time had passed, her domain could no longer hold, and the two of them were released at the same time. She dodged the opponent's attack in advance, and the next second, the surrounding blue vines grew wildly and surrounded her.

Ye Qiao's ankles were bound. Just as KFC was about to breathe fire to help her, the girl raised her hand and used her demonic energy to forcefully suppress it. The little red phoenix struggled to get up, but ultimately failed.

The Phoenix Clan dares not offend it easily, but suppressing it is not a problem.

Ye Qiao was about to throw out a handful of fire-controlling talismans when someone was faster than her.

Two talismans fluttered and shot out from not far away, igniting bright flames that completely enveloped the vines, instantly burning them to ashes.

Ye Qiao was stunned for a moment, then exchanged a brief glance with Song Hansheng, who was not far away. Seeing that they had been rescued, she felt a little relieved and quickly said, "Thanks."

Song Hansheng shook his head, finally understanding why there was only one Nascent Soul cultivator and the other Demon Saintess was nowhere to be found.

From the very beginning, he dominated this battle and rescued so many of his close disciples; he was no ordinary Duan Hengdao.

It was Ye Qiao.

Song Hansheng took a deep breath, feeling numb: "It's you again."

*

Happy New Year! I'm visiting relatives tomorrow. Ugh, I've been so busy with the holiday these past few days, please bear with me, thank you!