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

In the fifth round, Changming Sect can finally let loose. They don't need to compete for this ranking. Moreover, in terms of strength, Changming Sect is no less than other sects. If they can be recruited, then Wenjian Sect will definitely be the first in the fifth round.

"She can get first place in three games. If she comes to our side in the next game, first place will be ours."

Chu Xingzhi moved his lips, but found himself unable to refute her. After a moment's thought, he reluctantly said, "Then I'll talk to her about it later."

Zhu You said seriously, "Wrong."

"It's not about talking, it's about winning her over."

Chu Xingzhi pouted unconvinced and said, "I know."

Moreover, given Ye Qiao's personality, he felt that winning her over was highly unlikely.

*

Xue Yu spent the whole night cramming on the secret realm, so much so that he was listless after boarding the flying boat.

Xue Yu didn't know why they were all so sleepy. Helplessly, he gently poked the sleeping Ye Qiao and said, "Since the next round has nothing to do with us, why don't we go to the outer perimeter of the secret realm for training?"

Training is training no matter where you are. There are many opportunities in the secret realm. They don't need to worry about rankings, so they can try to find an opportunity for Ye Qiao to break through.

"What's inside?" Ye Qiao yawned, still sleepy.

"A Nascent Soul stage demonic beast?" Xue Yu pondered for a few seconds. "There shouldn't be any others. I haven't heard of any secret treasures appearing in the Ghostly Realm recently."

Nascent Soul stage demonic beasts are difficult to deal with. You can try to capture a few Golden Core stage ones. Actual combat is the best way to improve your cultivation. Ye Qiao just lacks practical combat experience.

Zhou Xingyun and Mu Chongxi have been taking turns training her these past few days. After half a month, Ye Qiao's progress is clearly visible. She even sought help from Ming Xuan, asking him how she broke through to the Golden Core stage.

Mingxuan pondered for a long time, then asked, "Do you have some obsession?"

Ye Qiao was taken aback. "No...right?"

Mingxuan: "Coincidentally, I don't have one either." A breakthrough is both a matter of cultivation and a matter of state of mind. Ye Qinghan was able to easily break through to the Nascent Soul stage, which shows that he is truly devoted to the Dao.

In his eyes, the Great Dao is the truth, but Mingxuan doesn't care much about it. He doesn't even know why he cultivates the Dao.

Father's expectations? Family's hopes? Or perhaps, to live up to the sect's expectations?

Under such extreme pressure, he couldn't grasp the feeling of the Golden Core stage at all, and didn't even know what the purpose of cultivation was.

Mingxuan: "Later I figured it out." To be precise, he had a complete awakening after Ye Qiao came. I can go to your family's expectations.

He was fed up with the constant mockery.

My fellow disciples insulted and cursed me, and I responded with a song.

No one can control him.

After Mingxuan finished speaking, he said, "If you really can't find your own path, just let nature take its course."

Ye Qiao lowered her eyes, seemingly lost in thought. Her own path?

What is her path?

"What path do you think I belong to?" Ye Qiao blinked and asked.

"Ye Qinghan belongs to the Path of Ruthlessness, while I should belong to the Path of Freedom." Ming Xuan leaned closer to her, his peach blossom eyes blinking in return. "You should also belong to the Path of Freedom?"

He felt that Ye Qiao was even more carefree than himself, so she must also be a carefree person, right?

Ye Qiao gave an ambiguous answer, "That's possible."

She didn't know either.

"What path does the eldest brother cultivate?"

Zhou Xingyun pursed his lips: "Supreme detachment from emotions."

"Oh." She thought it was the Heartless Path, thank goodness.

"What about the third senior brother?" Ye Qiao asked, though she couldn't remember if the original novel had mentioned this. When she read novels, she only paid attention to the main characters and only vaguely remembered the supporting characters.

Mingxuan answered for the other party: "Xue Yu is a man of deep affection."

Ye Qiao: "666." She wondered where her third senior brother's warm and gentle aura came from; it turned out he was a member of the Amorous Path.

What about yourself?

Ye Qiao couldn't help but fall into deep thought. To break through the Golden Core, she needed to understand her own Dao, but she didn't even know what she wanted to achieve by cultivating the Dao.

Ye Qiao initially just wanted to find a sect to live in, but she was forced into the competition because she felt a sense of responsibility for her position.

"You need to calm down and find your own path, otherwise you'll be stuck at a certain level for a long time."

Foundation Establishment and Golden Core are a watershed moment. Once you cross it, everything changes. If you can't cross it and are impatient, your spiritual energy will run wild and you'll easily go into qi deviation. Back then, Mingxuan's state of mind was frequently affected by this.

Mu Chongxi rested his chin on his hand and nodded, "No rush. Ye Qinghan and the others were also stuck for a long time when they broke through to the Golden Core stage."

"The fastest among the five sects to break through to the Golden Core stage is probably that junior sister from the Yueqing Sect." Mingxuan clicked his tongue twice. He was curious. Yun Que broke through without any heavenly lightning or any warning. What was the Dao in her heart?

The five of them practically kept babbling all the way to the secret realm. Qin Fanfan listened to their endless chatter until her head started to ache.

"Your junior sister has just broken through, and if I'm not mistaken, Xiao Qiao should also be a member of the Free and Unfettered Path."

"In this situation, it's best to just let things take their course, like Mingxuan did."

As the group arrived, someone outside the venue threw a large handful of flower petals into the air. The pink petals drifted down and fell one by one onto people's heads.

"Changming Sect!!"

"We, Ye Qiao, row our boats without oars; our lives depend entirely on the waves!"

"My precious Mingxuan and Xue Yu~"

"Mu Chongxi, Mommy loves you~"

"Zhou Xingyun, can I have a kiss?"

So enthusiastic.

The enthusiasm was unprecedented, especially for Ye Qiao. She was buried in flowers as soon as she came out, with colorful petals being thrown at her head. Ye Qiao couldn't help but sneeze, and managed to wave and say, "Hi."

"Ahhh! Langlang, aren't the flower petals we scattered for you pretty?"

Ye Qiao: "..."

The man continued, "In future individual competitions, we'll shower you with flowers every time you step onto the stage, how about that?"

Ye Qiao calmly patted the petals off her clothes.

Fine.

That's great. She can already imagine that during the individual competition, the moment she steps onto the stage, before her opponents even speak, the flowers will already be blooming. She'll have her own special effects; the impact will be phenomenal.

The Changming Sect group made such a commotion upon their arrival that even the other sect members, who were seated, stood up to take a look. Once everyone was seated, before the secret realm opened, Ye Qinghan cleared his throat and said calmly, "Ye Qiao. Shall we chat?"

"Ye Qiao." Song Hansheng tapped the table with his fingertip, urging, "Shall we talk?"

"Ye Qiao," Miao Miao waved back at her, "Will you cooperate with us?"

She fought a brilliant comeback back then, so much so that she still can't forget Ye Qiao.

Qin Huai raised his chin, gesturing for Duan Hengdao to step forward and talk to her. He wasn't familiar with Ye Qiao, but Duan Hengdao seemed to have had some connection with her before.

Duan Hengdao had repeatedly warned Qin Huai to be careful of Ye Qiao, but he didn't take it seriously. Now it's his turn to suffer the consequences.

We still need our junior brother to bribe Ye Qiao.

This was truly a famous scene from the Four-Party Talks.

Ming Xuan casually teased, "Four of your trusted disciples have been flirting with you and extending invitations. Have you decided who to choose?"

Ye Qiao: "I haven't decided yet." She actually made a choice.

"The Moon Purification Sect is definitely out of the question." The girl pondered for a moment and said, "Those who lose me will lose me forever."

After thinking for a while, she suggested, "Hey, why don't you guys discuss and offer a price? I'll go with whoever offers the highest price?"

"..."

One of the close associates couldn't help but mutter curses under his breath, "Shameless!"

They even went so far as to raise the price on the spot.

Si Miaoyan tentatively said, "If you cooperate with us, we have elixirs."

Danxiu is rich.

Song Hansheng said, "We have money too."

Duan Hengdao: "We have those too!! We even have magical artifacts. Haven't you never had any other magical artifacts? I'll give them to you."

Ye Qiao was the most miserable disciple he had ever seen. The spirit bow was picked up from the Biyue Sect, the staff was taken from the belly of a demon beast, and the rope was given to him by him.

Ye Qinghan paused for a moment; they had no money.

"Wait! Let's not talk about cooperation yet." Xue Yu interrupted them. "Let's discuss this a bit first, you guys don't have to rush."

Xue Yu lowered his voice slightly, "This time when we enter the secret realm, we won't go with them. We'll meet up with them first after we enter, and then look for opportunities."

There's no need to get involved in the fifth match. Changming Sect can completely stay out of it. Helping Ye Qiao break through is the most important thing right now.

Mingxuan nodded in agreement, "The Ghostly Realm offers many opportunities."

Seeing this, the disciples calmed down. They knew that the Changming Sect would try to win them over if possible, and they were exceptionally united. If they recruited one, the others would definitely follow. The disciples, each with their own ulterior motives, exchanged glances and prepared to snatch the person away once inside.

-

When the secret realm opened, it was nighttime upon entering. The dark and windy night was perfect for doing bad things. Ye Qiao slightly opened her eyes, her gaze somewhat unfocused. She stared blankly for a while, listening to the quiet sounds around her, and almost thought she was alone again.

In Mythic+ dungeons, no one can guarantee they won't be the lucky lone survivor.

She got up from the ground, clapped her hands, and noticed Mu Chongxi lying dead on the ground. "Fourth Senior Brother."

It was a rare opportunity to run into Mu Chongxi.

So, who is the lucky one who is left out?

Ye Qiao sighed, "Get up. What are you doing?" She came in a little late, being the last one in line, so she didn't know what Mu Chongxi had gone through alone.

The boy lay on the ground with his head down, forced to wear a mask of pain. He blinked and said, "You've come."

The two sword cultivators were both quite happy to meet.

Regardless of whether Mingxuan and Xueyu live or die, let them fight their own battles in the fifth round.

Ye Qiao's arrival seemed to rouse Mu Chongxi. He went from lying down to crawling, tapping the ground. "Before you came, I wandered around here by myself for ages, always ending up back where I started."

Mu Chongxi has a bad memory. After trying to leave a few times, he completely gave up. Can't he just stay here?

Upon hearing this, Ye Qiao reached out and pulled Mu Chongxi up. The two walked forward together. The trees were layered upon each other, and it was nighttime, so the atmosphere was strangely eerie. She had a good memory and had made a point of remembering the characteristics of the roadside, which turned out to be the same as what Mu Chongxi had said.

No matter which way I go, it seems like I always end up back at the starting point.

"We can't get out." Ye Qiao took out the map in her hand. "I remember my third senior brother said before that this secret realm can move."

"It can't possibly move with us, can it?"

"The secret realm isn't alive. How could this be?" Mu Chongxi retorted, finding it rather strange that they were going around in circles and couldn't get out.

Ye Qiao pondered for a moment, "The direction we're heading is definitely correct."

After going back and forth several times, she memorized the general route, but each time she would repeat the same scene and circle back again. Perhaps the problem wasn't with them.

Ye Qiao speculated, "It might be an illusion. Similar to a dream world that can trap people within a certain area."

This had never happened before when entering the secret realm. Xue Yu was right; this secret realm was indeed stranger than the previous ones.

Mu Chongxi nodded blankly, "That makes sense."

"Since it's just a smokescreen," she patted Mu Chongxi, paused, and said sincerely, "Why don't you rush out and try?"

"Close your eyes and crash into it. I believe in you, you can do it."

Mu Chongxi: "If I get hit and killed, will you collect my body?"

Ye Qiao gave an OK sign: "I'll have Mingxuan buy you the best burial plot."

……Fine.

With a skeptical attitude, Mu Chongxi actually went to try it. He had the Vajra Talisman given to him by Ye Qiao, so he wouldn't be killed by crashing into it. The young man used the breeze to rush towards the tree blocking his way, and in the last second before his figure disappeared.

The scene before my eyes vanished in an instant.

"Ye Qiao is out!" Mu Chongxi's voice was clear and bright.

Seeing that he hadn't been hit, Ye Qiao followed closely behind and stepped out of the illusion. The first thing the two did after they came out was to open the jade slip.

As expected, the upward trend remained unchanged, indicating that others have experienced the same situation to varying degrees.

Like being lost in a maze, this secret realm is indeed strange.

Xue Yu and Ming Xuan were trapped in one place. It took them a long time to realize that this was an illusion. When they saw the jade slip, they looked at each other in unison and said, "The Yueqing Sect is so powerful."

"In the past, the Sword Inquiry Sect should have been number one," Mingxuan also said.

Although they disliked the sword cultivators of the Sword Inquiry Sect, their strength was undeniable.

All other sects remained unchanged, except for the Yueqing Sect, whose numbers were increasing rapidly in a small amount.

"Perhaps we were just lucky." Xue Yu lowered his head and composed himself. "I just don't know if anyone else has encountered the same situation as us."

……

"Did you know about this secret realm beforehand?" Song Hansheng asked.

Yun Que smiled sweetly: "Yes. So everyone just follow me this time. I've been to this secret realm before." To be more precise, she broke through to the Golden Core stage here.

The Ghostly Realm appears frequently, and Yun Que had been there by chance before. In other words, no one knows this realm better than her, and she also has other trump cards.

Looking at the girl's confident and resolute demeanor, Song Hansheng nodded calmly, "Follow her." He had done some preliminary research, but since he had never been here in person, following Yun Que was indeed the best choice at this time.

"Senior Brother," Yun Que blinked, "Do you believe that this time, first place will definitely be ours?"

Song Hansheng didn't know where her confidence came from, but confidence was a good thing. For example, Ye Qiao's confidence was unmatched. He nodded perfunctorily and glanced at the jade slip in between glances.

As expected, their ranking remained firmly in first place.

This is the first time such a situation has occurred.

He glanced at Yun Que again and said calmly, "I underestimated you."

It turns out it was useful after all.

*

Don't rush, don't rush, just follow the outline, and Yunque will be taken offline!