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

"..."

Xue Yu's sincere question made it difficult for her to answer. After all, she had only made a few insignificant wishes, so who could she blame for her poor mental fortitude in that illusion?

Ye Qiao raised her hand to shield her eyes, staring at the illusion that had vanished. She clicked her tongue twice, then casually looked away. "What are you all doing here?"

The Moon Cleansing Sect and the Sword Inquiry Sect are both guarding this place.

Chu Xingzhi: "I'll wait for you."

"My junior sister asked me to win you over." He gripped the sword at his waist, his voice calm. "Cooperate with our Sword Inquiry Sect. Then, our two sects can combine our swords and dominate the secret realm together."

Ye Qiao: "Eh."

Dominate the secret realm?

Seeing that Ye Qiao was actually thinking about it, Song Hansheng narrowed his eyes and said without hesitation, "Those poor sword cultivators have no money. Since you're not participating in the fifth round anyway, come with us. We have money."

indeed.

Judging from Song Hansheng's family background and sect, he is indeed quite wealthy.

"No, no, no. We're not cooperating today." Ye Qiao pointed to his light blue sect robe and smiled slightly: "Money isn't enough. Your Yueqing Sect has a different price."

Song Hansheng looked at her coldly, "So how much do you want before you're willing to cooperate with us?" Actually, they didn't need to cooperate with Ye Qiao; with Yun Que around, their ranking was secure.

The problem is that Ye Qiao might be a variable.

The fact that she had turned the tables on him in just two days left a deep impression on him, which made Song Hansheng hesitant to let her go to other sects.

"Don't worry. Our Changming Sect will not cooperate with anyone this time." Xue Yu's voice was calm as he said, "We don't plan to get involved in the fifth round, so it's best if you compete fairly."

Hearing him say that, Song Hansheng frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed.

That's okay too.

Since the Moon Purity Sect can't win them over, and other sects shouldn't even think about it either, and the Changming Sect isn't involved in the fifth round, then it'll be a fair competition.

Besides them, everyone else was curious about what was going on with that illusion.

"Why did it crack? What did you do to it?"

Ye Qiao found this secret realm quite interesting. She pondered for a moment, "That thing is quite interesting. It can transform into seventy-two forms, you know? The more you think about something, the more it will manifest for you. So I started to keep changing my obsessions to make it manifest, as well as other sect sword techniques."

This shows that the illusion is also diligent, and it works hard every day to make sure it has enough to eat.

Su Zhuo pursed his lips. "So, you disappeared for so long just to torment the illusion?"

Su Zhuo couldn't help but feel doubtful.

Wasn't she trapped by her inner demons?

In that illusion where reality and illusion intertwined, Su Zhuo saw Ye Qiao from back then. Although his second senior sister was dull-witted, she took good care of him and would never be like this now, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Ye Qiao was not trapped by inner demons and malice, which means that she truly had no attachment to the Yueqing Sect.

There wasn't even a basic sense of disgust.

Ye Qiao: "Otherwise what?"

Seeing Su Zhuo asking such a question as if he had lost his mind, Song Hansheng frowned, kicked the out-of-focus Su Zhuo awake, and said, "Let's go. Go find Yun Que." For some reason, Ye Qiao had already come out, but Yun Que still hadn't.

*

"What did you see in your illusion?"

Ultimately, the others came out quickly, so the focus of the questioning was on Ye Qiao's illusion.

Entering the illusionary realm is a way to test one's Dao heart.

"I saw myself," Ye Qiao said, touching her chin. "And light."

"In the illusion, you see yourself." Xue Yu, who was knowledgeable, pursed his lips. "Do you remember what you said in the illusion? Perhaps every seductive trick of itss was a worry that had been in your heart."

"I remember." Ye Qiao nodded, she vaguely understood something.

Only in the illusion can one see their true self.

Although that illusion was a bit silly, it was correct in one way: what it saw in its memory was indeed its real self, and what it worried and feared in its heart.

When Ye Qiao heard the words, "In the end, you can't even save yourself," she suddenly realized this.

Her own path may not be a path of carefree wandering.

"I think I know what my path is now."

"Let's talk when we get back." Xue Yu said softly. There were too many people watching outside. It was a good thing to figure out his own Dao heart as soon as possible. The worst thing was not being able to figure it out and getting stuck in the Foundation Establishment stage for many years. Ming Xuan was like that back then.

With the individual competition just around the corner, the sooner the better.

"Can it break through to the Golden Core stage?" Zhou Xingyun asked calmly.

Ye Qiao assessed her current situation: "I could force a breakthrough, but it's unnecessary in the secret realm."

indeed.

The secret realm is only closed for five days. If she stays for three days and three nights like Ye Qinghan, what will happen to the disciples of the other competitions inside the secret realm?

Moreover, forcing a breakthrough would destabilize the foundation, so there's no need for that.

The illusion shattered, and Xue Yu escaped. With nothing blocking his way in the inner area, he checked the time. "Let's find some spiritual plants first; we'll need them for the alchemy competition."

Some spiritual plants have special growing environments and can only be found in secret realms.

Ye Qiao was the one who needed the most training among them, so she led the way. The girl carried the bamboo shoots in her hand and walked forward casually. Whether it was bad luck or coincidence, she encountered a monster after only a few steps.

It's normal to encounter monsters in secret realms.

What's abnormal is...

"That's a Nascent Soul stage cultivator," Zhou Xingyun said calmly, pursing his lips.

The fifth hunt against Nascent Soul stage demonic beasts was of little use to them; it was not only a waste of time but also carried the risk of being killed in return.

The oppressive aura of the Nascent Soul stage demon beast was extremely suffocating. Fortunately, there was only one, which, although troublesome, meant that they were not entirely powerless to fight back.

Ye Qiao faced the demonic beast head-on, activating the Qingfeng Technique. The third move was the most powerful, making it a good choice to kill the demonic beast. The demonic beast was clumsy, and the two sword cultivators were forced to let out a series of intimidating roars when attacked from both sides.

The mental attack felt like being pricked by needles in the mind's sea of ​​consciousness.

The moment it roared, Ye Qiao's sword technique, which she had tried several times to master, followed immediately. The burst of sword energy interrupted the beast's growl, saving everyone's ears.

"The third move?" Mu Chongxi slightly tilted his wrist, and with a swift movement, his sword struck the monster's leg. "When did you learn that?"

Ye Qiao: "Just now."

She wasn't very skilled either, and it took her several attempts to succeed once. This newly learned sword technique requires repeated practice to be effective.

Mu Chongxi chuckled softly, "We agreed that whoever learned it first would be a dog, and you actually learned it secretly?"

Ye Qiao pressed down on the bamboo shoot in her hand, trying the Clear Wind Technique again, without turning her head: "It's very simple, I'll teach you little by little when we return to the sect."

This move is really useful, especially for single-target attacks. She used the "Stepping on the Wind" technique to create distance, and several talismans flew around, providing cover. While attacking, Mingxuan couldn't help but say, "Isn't it true that whoever learns this first is the dog?"

"It's okay," Mu Chongxi said indifferently. "We're all dogs."

The two cheeky sword cultivators surprisingly reached a consensus this time.

Defeating the demonic beast took a lot of time, and Ye Qiao frowned. The spiritual energy in her dantian was almost completely depleted. She had a solid foundation and broke through two realms before entering the secret realm. As her spiritual root grew, her absorption speed became faster and faster.

However, breaking through in the secret realm is not a good choice.

Ye Qiao could only suppress the restlessness in her dantian and control the urge to form a core. She walked towards the inner perimeter with Xue Yu, and along the way, she took a few Qingxin Pills.

"Press it down." Ye Qiao covered her warm lower abdomen and honestly said, "It's a little hot."

Xue Yu seemed to understand something, "Don't suppress your cultivation level and ruin yourself. Really."

Ye Qiao: "It's alright." I just broke through two realms not long ago, and it would be easy for my foundation to be unstable if I broke through to the Golden Core realm again.

Her current spiritual root strength allows her to break through, but Ye Qiao is reluctant to do so.

There are many spiritual plants still alive in the inner area. They were too busy with the competition to dig them up before, but now, under Xue Yu's leadership, they all went down to the ground and began to diligently dig up herbs.

Without a shovel, Mu Chongxi simply picked up a rock, slowly squatted down, and started digging. When he looked up, he found that his senior brother was faster than all of them.

He dug right into the ground every time, and almost completely wiped out the surrounding spiritual plants.

"What are you using? You're digging so fast." Mu Chongxi asked curiously.

"sword."

Seeing Zhou Xingyun digging in the dirt with his natal sword, his eyelids twitched. "After your sword takes human form, will it really not attack you?"

They were chatting casually, but Ye Qiao was somewhat out of sorts because of the burning heat in her dantian. Her gaze wandered aimlessly, and suddenly, the girl's eyes narrowed slightly. She pointed to the ground beneath her feet and pondered, "Wait a minute."

"Do you think the ground is moving?"

After a pause, Ye Qiao changed her words: "Or is it changing?" Ye Qiao's memory was excellent; she could notice even the smallest details.

Reminded by her, Xue Yu paused for a few seconds, looking at the spiritual plant in his hand, and belatedly realized, "It seems that the spiritual plant was moved a little. I thought I remembered it wrong." Not everyone has Ye Qiao's photographic memory.

Therefore, when they feel something is wrong, their first reaction is to think it's their own problem.

But if Ye Qiao has said that, then the position must have changed.

Xue Yu put away the spiritual plant. "I've only heard other cultivators say that this Ghostly Secret Realm is very strange."

"This secret realm might be alive." Ye Qiao breathed a sigh of relief. "If an illusion can perform seventy-two transformations for me, then I don't think the secret realm is any less powerful."

It was after seeing that illusion that she thought of the possibility that the secret realm might be conscious.

After storing the spiritual plants in their mustard seed bags, the group planned to leave the inner perimeter first, as it was more dangerous. Now that Ye Qiao had reached the edge of the Golden Core stage, there was no need to continue going in.

Seemingly sensing that the five wanted to leave, the road surface subtly changed again as they returned the way they came.

The moment a shadow drifted overhead, Mingxuan swiftly erected defensive talismans. Three Vajra talismans shattered in succession, barely managing to slow the crushing impact caused by the sudden stomp of the demon beast.

Then the monster roared, and a powerful gust of air blew over, carrying with it the stench of its breath.

"Depend on."

Mingxuan's expression changed.

Zhou Xingyun narrowed his eyes: "Another Nascent Soul stage cultivator."

Upon hearing this, Xue Yu's lips twitched: "Did you seal the bamboo shoot with a curse?"

How come there are suddenly so many multi-stage infant-level demon beasts?

Ye Qiao: "It's done." She had Duan Hengdao do it a long time ago.

Since the problem isn't about snatching bamboo shoots, it's probably the secret realm itself. One bamboo shoot is one thing; we can just assume they were unlucky.

The fact that Ye Qiao was able to attract a Nascent Soul cultivator by taking an egg shows that monsters of this level are intelligent and would not provoke conflict with their disciples without reason.

But now, just as they were about to leave the inner perimeter, another Nascent Soul stage demon beast rushed towards them. What else could it be but a target?

"The secret realm might be targeting us," Ye Qiao sneered. What, did she break the law or something by going to the next secret realm?

"What is it doing to us?" Mingxuan couldn't understand. They hadn't done anything since entering the secret realm, while the other four sects were fighting fiercely, and the commotion could be heard from a great distance.

That's a good question.

Ye Qiao: "I'd like to know too."

Qin Fanfan frowned, listened to their deductions, and said in a deep voice, "Is the secret realm alive?"

"This is a ghostly realm, which often opens and appears on its own for no apparent reason. I've heard before that it has its own consciousness." Seeing the Changming Sect's concern, the Wenjian Sect elder stroked his stubble-covered chin. "But these kinds of realms usually don't interfere with cultivators."

"That's strange. In all the times it's been opened before, there's never been a case of it being deliberately targeted at anyone."

Since a secret realm possesses its own consciousness, it is a spiritual entity born from heaven and earth, and it will not interfere with these matters, unless…

The elders exchanged glances, and simultaneously realized something.

Could it be the will of Heaven?

Why would Heaven target the Changming Sect for no reason?

-

Ye Qiao couldn't handle the Nascent Soul stage demon beast alone, but she had a lot of things in her mustard seed bag. While dodging, she observed its weaknesses and dodged several attacks in a row. Dust flew up from the ground, and the demon beast raised its hooves high and chased after her. Ye Qiao pressed down with her sword, blocking the attack, and at the same time, the third move of the Clear Wind Technique exploded instantly.

Mu Chongxi was about to grab his sword and go to help when Zhou Xingyun stopped him, saying, "Let her do it herself."

It's Ye Qiao who needs to break through and undergo training now, not them. The others can only provide cover from the sidelines and lend a hand when it matters most. Killing demonic beasts should mainly be left to Ye Qiao.

Ye Qiao not only faced the pressure of a Nascent Soul stage demon beast, but also had to be careful about her speed, otherwise she would be torn in two.

After a brief struggle between the two, she continued to swallow pills. Having tested the beast several times, she finally found its weakness. The moment the beast disappeared, Ye Qiao, prepared in advance, spun around and slammed the bamboo shoot in her hand into the belly of the beast that was trying to launch a sneak attack.

At the same time, the binding talisman ignited, taking effect a second before the beast went berserk, causing the beast's jaws to snap as it opened its mouth to bite.

Ye Qiao accepted the sword move from the Sword Inquiry Sect with a blank expression, and the fierce sword light slashed heavily towards the demon beast's dantian.

The moment it crashed to the ground, Ye Qiao twirled the sword in her hand, calmly pulled out the inner core, let out a heavy sigh of relief, and collapsed to the ground, looking like a flatbread with a hint of utter despair.

The spiritual energy in the secret realm was abundant. After the dantian was emptied, the spiritual root began to automatically absorb the surrounding spiritual energy.

It would be a pipe dream for her to deal with a Nascent Soul stage demon beast on her own, but she had several senior brothers in the late Golden Core stage to assist her.

The process was a bit troublesome, but the ending was quite pleasing.

"Are you alright?" Mingxuan felt sorry for her.

A Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator kills a Nascent Soul stage demon beast.

Ye Qiao replied absentmindedly, "It's alright."

"Is this secret realm targeting me?" she asked.

Xue Yu nodded heavily.

"If it keeps pushing me," Ye Qiao thought, feeling her dantian throbbing, her mood worsening, "I'll force a breakthrough and blow up this broken secret realm."

*

Has everyone started school yet? Ahhh, don't go! Waaaaah!