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

Damn you, Ye Qiao!

……

Ye Qiao had no idea how devastated Zhou Xiu and the others were; she was busy dealing with that group of evil cultivators.

If the evil god successfully descends, they can escape if they can't defeat him. Even if he is an evil being, he won't indiscriminately slaughter ordinary people, otherwise the human world would have been destroyed long ago. In critical moments, it's better to eliminate these evil cultivators first so they can finish their work and return to their sect.

The methods of the Unseen Lord were far more ruthless than theirs. Any evil cultivator who tried to approach was snapped in the neck by the sword spirit without expression. The way of stopping killing with killing was truly brutal.

"Has your sword spirit gone mad?" Mu Chongxi easily dodged the attack, then stabbed the evil cultivator through the heart with a backhand, leaning against Ye Qiao and casually remarking.

Ye Qiao changed the shape of the "Unseen Lord" in her hand without turning her head. "No. He wasn't this impetuous before."

Since arriving in the human world, it has become even more ferocious.

I don't know what happened.

Ye Qiao found it increasingly strange. After chatting with Mu Chongxi for only a few words, she rushed over angrily when Jun didn't appear, "Qiaoqiao, when are we leaving here?"

Mu Chongxi looked at his blood-stained face and expressionless expression, and clicked her tongue, "Duo Sun, are you crazy?"

Unexpectedly, Jun wasn't angry. He wrinkled his nose and said, "I smell a disgusting person."

This caused him a lot of annoyance. He had been irritable ever since he came to the human world. Now that Ye Qiao had released him, he was able to release his suppressed emotions through this chaotic battle.

What a disgusting guy?

Ye Qiao paused slightly in her hand seal gesture. "Who?"

If Jun hasn't met anyone else besides her, then there's only one possibility, she murmured softly, "Your former sword master?"

Bujianjun puffed out his cheeks: "Maybe. His smell is disgusting, it makes me uncomfortable as soon as I get close. Let's get out of here quickly." As he spoke, he coldly snapped the neck of another evil cultivator, and the stench of blood grew stronger.

"The taste is disgusting?"

Could it be that—

"Your former sword master, never takes a bath?"

"I can't see you: ..."

He tilted his head slightly, as if he had never thought about the problem from this angle before.

"Maybe," said Bujianjun. "His smell is awful."

While listening to the two chatting and wielding his sword, Mu Chongxi still felt that things were very strange.

How could the former sword master, who was never seen before, appear in the mortal realm?

The sword spirit actually said the former sword master's taste was disgusting. Sword spirits are neither purely good nor purely evil, and rarely would they define a cultivator in such a way. The thought of not seeing the former sword master… for some reason, gave Mu Chongxi a very ominous feeling.

"May I ask, who was your former sword master?"

Bujianjun tilted his head. "I don't know. I forgot his name a long time ago." He didn't take human form when he was with the former sword master, but that didn't stop Bujianjun from disliking him.

The more she listened, the worse it seemed. Looking at the evil cultivators rushing towards her, Ye Qiao activated her Qingfeng Technique and unleashed four Qingfeng Techniques in succession, clearing a space.

"Just tell me, is he a good person or not?"

Without hesitation, Jun replied, "No. He's a demon."

Ye Qiao felt a chill run down her spine for a moment. She finally realized what she had overlooked: the demon race.

There are not only evil cultivators in the human world, but also demons. However, so far, it seems that demons have never appeared. Mu Chongxi also turned his head sharply, "Demons?"

He swallowed hard and continued, "Is your former sword master nearby?"

Jun shook his head, "He hasn't arrived yet, but I can smell him."

That's why he was somewhat irritated from the start. He had severed ties with the former sword master for at least a hundred years, and while he wasn't sure if it was the same person, the scent was undoubtedly that of a demon. It was the aura of a demon, and it smelled extremely foul.

A group of trusted disciples acted extremely quickly, and nearly two-thirds of them were wiped out.

With two-thirds of them eliminated and only a little progress left to complete the task, there was still no sign of the evil god descending. Song Hansheng pursed his lips, sensing something was wrong. He turned to ask, "Where are Su Zhuo and the others? Why aren't they coming to join us?"

The area outside the palace should be relatively safe. There are far fewer evil cultivators hiding inside the palace. The disciples are divided into two groups: one group intercepts evil cultivators trying to escape outside and wipes out their main camp, while the rest confront the evil cultivators face-to-face inside the palace.

Song Hansheng also tried to establish contact with Su Zhuo, but the jade slip remained unresponsive.

Why can't I get in touch with them?

Ye Qiao stood on the head of a heretical cultivator, next to Zhu You, her fingers tightly gripping several talismans. She said, "There are demons hiding in the shadows watching us."

If my intuition is correct, then demons must be lurking in the shadows.

"The demons are here too? Have you pinpointed their location?" Zhu You had been wondering before that there were not only evil cultivators in the mortal realm, but also demonic cultivators.

Why aren't the demonic cultivators here?

The evil cultivators are doing this to bring down their evil gods. There's no reason why the demons wouldn't get involved, since the entire demon realm aims to conquer the cultivation world and unify the three realms.

Although they have maintained this goal for thousands of years without making any progress, the existence of the demons is like a troublemaker, they are everywhere.

It makes no sense that so many cultivators, who had been wandering around the mortal realm for two months, would suddenly settle down.

If they don't cause trouble, can they still be considered demons?

Xue Yu felt that something was missing from the beginning. "Were they lurking in the shadows, waiting for us to wear each other down so they could stalk the mantis and stalk the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?"

"A group of demonic cultivators probably don't have the guts to play the mantis stalking the cicada with us, unless they have some confidence or strength."

However, the strongest demons were two Nascent Soul stage cultivators, who were later captured.

Above the Nascent Soul stage, the next level up is elders or other old-timers.

Realizing something was wrong, Ye Qiao immediately sent out a distress signal, and the others quickly followed suit, sending out distress messages as well.

"Don't think about leaving so much." Mingxuan stepped on someone. "Anyway, thinking about it is pointless. By the time you figure it out, the grass on our graves will be three meters high."

Xue Yu: "..."

Also.

all will be good.

The Five Sects did encounter some trouble, but only the Moon Purity Sect was truly affected. The Sword Inquiry Sect was also somewhat implicated, but fortunately, the problem wasn't serious. Originally, they were preparing to speed up the investigation, but Yun Que was imprisoned.

To their utter surprise, someone pulled a second trick on them, imitating Ye Qiao by attempting a prison break.

The ones who broke into the prison were none other than the demons, but the Moon Clean Sect was famous for its array formations, so it wasn't easy to break through. They didn't pay much attention until what happened next shocked all the sect elders.

The young demon lord led a large group of demon cultivators to cause trouble at the foot of the Five Sects Mountain. All of their personal disciples had been sent down, so they could only send their inner disciples to help. They finally managed to control the situation, but then the Moon Cleansing Sect was raided.

The other party was familiar with all kinds of formations and talismans of the Yueqing Sect, and easily avoided all possible formations. His strength was probably at the Nascent Soul stage. In the cultivation world, only the sect leaders of the five major sects had such strength. Yun Que didn't know how he got in touch with the other party. No wonder he was so fearless.

Qin Fanfan was so angry she laughed.

Indeed, even after leaving, he didn't forget to give back to the sect.

Among them, Yueqing Sect suffered the most, as their formation was thoroughly understood by their direct disciples. They rushed to provide support, but fortunately, the demons were not capable of slaughtering an entire sect. Even so, they were thrown into great chaos.

The Five Sects are currently too busy to care for the children in the human world.

"As the saying goes, 'Don't let the good stuff go to outsiders.' Look, Yun Que has returned to bring blessings to the Yueqing Sect." Xie Chuxue stood on the stool with glee, almost tipping it over in her excitement.

Yueqing Sect must be furious. Their personally raised disciple has turned on them and even become possessed by a demon.

Qin Fanfan could see his gloating. He actually thought Xie Chuxue was quite strange. Before Ye Qiao came, he was always elusive.

He shook his head. "Let's go, let's go help."

Even if you don't like the Moon Purity Sect, the Five Sects can't do without it.

Xie Chuxue stood up, and the jade slip at his waist suddenly glowed with a white light and became slightly warm. He picked it up and said, "It's a distress call." After confirming that these kids weren't joking, Xie Chuxue frowned and said, "I'll go."

Xie Chuxue's strength has always been unpredictable. According to outside speculation, he is no less powerful than the sect leader, so sending him is the most suitable option at present.

The five sects are indispensable. The Moon Purity Sect holds a very high position. Although they rank third year every year, no one among the five sects has surpassed their formation. Now that it has been broken, a group of elders are busy with their own affairs and naturally have no time to take care of their disciples who are still in the mortal world.

Moreover, they believed that the human world was a safe place.

Unexpectedly, it seems that something went wrong in the human world as well.

……

"You're insane, Song Hansheng! You splattered blood on my clothes!" Chu Xingzhi was furious. He turned around and delivered a precise roundhouse kick to Song Hansheng's waist.

Song Hansheng sneered, "Trash from the Sword Inquiry Sect."

As soon as he finished speaking, two talismans flew out at the same time, brushing past him. The evil cultivator who was trying to launch a sneak attack was blown to pieces by the flashing golden talisman.

Song Hansheng snorted coldly.

He had been ambushed by Ye Qiao in the secret realm for so long that he had long since become experienced in such ambushes.

How could these people possibly succeed?

Ye Qiao, standing to the side, was frantically trying to pray with her head down, but the evil god was exceptionally stubborn and refused to come out no matter what.

She almost let out a cold laugh.

The evil god might not appear for two reasons: first, it might not want to appear; second, the blood sacrificed might not be enough to trigger the restraints. After all, it must respond to her prayers, and if it doesn't, then the only possibility is that the sacrifice progress bar isn't full.

"Was your former sword master the Demon Lord?" Ye Qiao asked in her mind without looking up, as she tried repeatedly.

Jun paused, then said, "I don't know."

Ye Qiao: "...Was he wearing black clothes?" Based on her experience of infiltrating the Demon Realm back then, the uniforms should all be black.

I did not see you nod.

Then Ye Qiao was pretty much right about it.

The Path of Slaughter—in the cultivation world, who is the good person who has mastered the Path of Slaughter? Who else but the Demon Lord? Jun wrinkled his nose. "He's almost here. The smell is awful."

Ye Qiao quickened her pace. After receiving no response on her third attempt, she calmed down.

Then there is only one possibility: it was the demon race that instigated these evil cultivators to act. The Demon Lord wanted to descend to the mortal realm, and for him, the biggest obstacles were the higher-ups in the cultivation world and the evil gods. If he controlled those evil cultivators and killed them through his personal disciples, the evil gods would naturally not descend.

Once the Demon Lord has fully descended, who will be able to resist him?

Upon hearing Ye Qiao's speculation, Zhu You said, "I sent a plea for help to the elders." There was only one doubt: what if they were just overthinking things?

"Can't we just run?" Duan Hengdao looked at the sky, which was dark and gloomy, almost shrouding the last remaining moonlight in the night. He felt a little uneasy, looked away, and offered the safest suggestion.

A demon lord of that caliber would only cause a massacre in the mortal realm; Heaven would not allow it. So… let it be a temporary descent.

If they can't get in touch with Su Zhuo no matter what, there's only one possibility: they must also be held up.

"Of course we can run!" Mingxuan shifted his feet, blocking the evil cultivator's attack, and shoved the explosive talisman into the cultivator's mouth. "But if we run, who will care about those mortals and other cultivators?"

The only way to escape now is to abandon those cultivators and ordinary people and leave.

Even if they run away, no one will blame them. The question is, can they live with their conscience?

Song Hansheng: "I'm going to run."

Ye Qiao: "Count me in."

The two reached a tacit understanding and couldn't help but give each other a high five.

After the high-five, they each shook their hands dismissively.

"...Hey, hey, hey!" Xue Yu pulled them both back. "You two don't need to be in sync right now."

"Just kidding." Ye Qiao shrugged. Her senior brothers were all there; where could she run off to?

Song Hansheng immediately activated the teleportation array. This was set up in advance as preparation for his escape. He had just activated it when all connections were forcibly severed the next second.

He suddenly remembered something, took out a few earth-遁符 (earth-遁符 is a type of talisman used for escaping into the ground), stuck them on Ye Qiao's body, and tested them.

As expected, there was no response.

"Those with higher cultivation levels forcibly severed the formation. We can't get out, at least not from this area."

The problem is, what if the Demon Lord really did descend in person to capture them...?

The group of close associates looked at each other in bewilderment.

What merit or ability do they possess?

Duan Hengdao scratched his head, rummaged through his storage bag, and finally found a magical artifact that could temporarily block the isolation formed by the suppression of cultivation. "It's very expensive," he reiterated.

"Here you go." Mu Chongxi snatched it away without any manners. "Get Ye Qiao and the others out of here first."

"Ha." Chu Xingzhi: "On what grounds?"

"And Zhu You. What's the rush?" Mu Chongxi was speechless. "What I mean is, let's send Junior Sister and the others out first."

"Junior Uncle will come to save us."

"Junior Uncle...tsk. Is he reliable?"

Zhou Xingyun thought of Xie Chuxue's unreliable image, "Junior Uncle is better than Master."

However, the position of sect leader is not based on strength, but on reliability. If the sect really falls into Xie Chuxue's hands, it will probably collapse in less than a year.

Miaomiao shrank back. "Can't we go together?"

There's no point in keeping Dan Xiu here, Song Hansheng glared at her without any politeness, "Come along? You'll activate the teleportation array?"

That's fierce.

"Surrender if you can, but it would be best to pledge your loyalty first and join the demon race's camp." Ye Qiao looked at their righteous disciples, each with a somewhat indifferent expression, and muttered a few words, "Never mind, never mind."

These are all fools who would rather die than submit.

Let her stay and drag it out.

Survival is the most important thing. If nothing unexpected happens, the Demon Lord will probably hate cultivators to the bone.

Ye Qiao's eyes flickered slightly. Thinking of the evil god who refused to come out, and then of the demons who were secretly plotting, she sneered twice, "I think I have a way to stall for time."

That demon lord had better pray she doesn't succeed.

"We also have things to protect ourselves, so don't worry." Duan Hengdao could only comfort her. After all, they were all geniuses from various sects, and their resources were more than enough, so they weren't completely powerless.

"Anyway, you're different from us." He muttered, looking down.

Ye Qiao is different from them.

So if a choice had to be made, the person who would be sent away could only be her.

Ye Qiao was slightly taken aback. A gentle sword wind pushed the person away. It was Zhou Xingyun who made the move. He sent the group of girls into the formation without giving anyone a chance to refuse. Song Hansheng quickly activated the formation, his tone slightly complicated, "Have a safe journey."