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

Before they could react, they were pushed inside. Some of their trusted disciples had to stay behind, to protect a group of unsuspecting ordinary people. If they all left, the Demon Lord might unleash a massacre to force them back.

Ye Qiao didn't say anything when she was pushed into the formation. Her thoughts were also a bit chaotic. The formation teleportation took time and could appear anywhere. She just hoped that her junior uncle would arrive quickly.

She does have a way, at least.

But she was crazy, taking a group of girls around and having fun, and Ye Qiao wasn't mentally prepared for it.

The teleportation array was incredibly fast; looking up, not a single ray of light could be seen in the sky. The Demon Lord was likely about to descend. Once he arrived, they would most likely be unable to escape. After all, the teleportation array was only a small-scale teleportation system, far less powerful than the teleportation array Xie Chuxue had used to send someone to the Demon Realm back then.

"What do we do now?" Miao Miao hesitated for a moment, "Should we go and meet up with Su Zhuo and the others?"

Duan Hengdao: "Feed...you guys."

"I'm a guy. So why was I left behind?" Duan Hengdao bristled, looking rather out of place among the group of junior female students.

"Who told your sect to only have one junior brother like you?" The Chengfeng Sect is truly pitiful, lacking even a single female disciple. In the end, they chose to send this junior brother away.

"I feel like we can't escape this." Zhu You sighed. "If your junior uncle is coming, it will take at least two days."

Ye Qiao did not refute.

"Judging from this situation, we'll all be brought back sooner or later." This feeling of being manipulated is too unpleasant.

Si Miaoyan pondered for a moment, then said, "Let's go find Su Zhuo and the others."

The disciples outside the palace could not be contacted at the moment, which must have meant they had encountered evil cultivators to some extent. The others had no objections, so they all rushed out of the palace.

Since there's no escaping it, there's no need to make a futile struggle.

Seeing this, Ye Qiao pulled Zhu You away from the group quietly. Zhu You didn't understand her meaning at first, her eyes showing some confusion, but Ye Qiao pulled her along, her tone becoming lighthearted, "Want to have a thrilling adventure?"

Ye Qiao's sudden outburst of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) left Zhu You stunned. "Where to?" How else could she possibly provoke him?

Seeing Ye Qiao's confident demeanor, Zhu You couldn't help but ask, "Um, do you have something in mind?"

Ye Qiao: "Thoughts? None."

She tossed the flying sword into the air, stepped onto it, and asked, "Want to come?"

Zhu You: "Wait a minute!"

"People will see it." Using a sword is too conspicuous.

Ye Qiao didn't care. She was already flying around on a phoenix, so why would she worry about being seen while flying on a sword? She had already broken the rules, so what difference did it make if she did it once or twice more?

Encouraged by her gaze, Zhu You hesitated for a moment, then drew the Luoshui Sword, stepped onto it, and the two of them soared through the air one after the other. Zhu You asked, "Where are we going? Are we running away?"

If we're trying to escape, we're going in the wrong direction.

Ye Qiao glanced at their approximate location in mid-air, pondered for a moment, and said, "Then let's go to the evil cultivators' headquarters."

Zhu You replied quickly, "But there aren't many people left in their main camp. We've basically wiped them out, so they're no longer a threat."

Ye Qiao didn't care whether there were people in the evil cultivators' stronghold. She just wanted to complete the rituals that the evil cultivators hadn't finished. Speaking of which, the evil god should thank her. Without her, it would never have been able to get out.

Because of their speed, the flowing light emitted by the Flying Immortal Sword and the Luo River was particularly eye-catching in the darkness of the night.

The little girl below exclaimed in amazement when she saw the two people standing one after the other in mid-air:

"Mother, look! The swordsman!"

"What nonsense are you spouting, you little brat!"

Then the little girl was held down and beaten.

……

Watching their junior brothers and sisters leave, the remaining cultivators and disciples began to discuss countermeasures.

"Following Ye Qiao's strategy, upon seeing the Demon Lord, we will surrender first."

Xue Yu rejected the suggestion: "He would never believe our nonsense."

Moreover, if the Demon Lord were to come in person, it would surely mean he hated them to the core. But what Song Hansheng couldn't understand was, at worst, the Demon Lord could go after the Five Sects, why bother with these few of their direct disciples?

What good would killing them do for the demons?

The demon race shouldn't be so arrogant as to directly wage war against the five sects.

The direct disciples include not only the disciples of the Five Sects, but also the direct and collateral branches of the Eight Great Families. The Demon Clan does not currently have the confidence to wage war against the righteous cultivators.

Ultimately, the demon race takes a crooked path, breaking through realms very quickly, resulting in Golden Core cultivators being as common as dogs.

However, those at the Nascent Soul stage are few and far between, and the glory of the Demon Realm is entirely supported by the Demon Lord and that group of old fogies in the Demon Realm.

"He definitely won't believe our nonsense," Mu Chongxi said, resting her chin on her hand. "If Ye Qiao were here, he might believe it."

Ye Qiao is quite good at sophistry; she can be a jerk to others, but she can't brainwash them at all.

"Surrender?" Song Hansheng sneered and began to pour cold water on the idea. "Instead of wasting time on this, you should contact the Eight Great Families and prepare your burial plots in advance."

Mu Chongxi: "Don't demoralize our own people like this, Song Hansheng."

He counted on his fingers, "Look, we have talisman cultivators, sword cultivators, alchemy cultivators, and weapon cultivators, it's perfect."

"Wait a minute," Song Hansheng corrected, "Who said we're on your side?"

He was such a spoilsport, so the other disciples decided to ignore Song Hansheng.

Zhou Xiu paused, hesitating to speak, "My grandma... oh no, Ye Qiao is gone?"

"Mm." Mingxuan didn't even look up. "Junior Sister has been sent away, but I think she should have a way." Ye Qiao was quite calm, which inexplicably calmed everyone down as well.

They now have a strange confidence in Ye Qiao.

Zhou Xiu's lips twitched. Thinking of how she had provoked the evil god to relentlessly pursue her, jumping around like a madwoman, she sincerely said, "Being her fellow disciple must be incredibly exciting every day, right?"

His knowledge of Ye Qiao, his personal disciple, was limited to what others had told him. It was said that Ye Qiao had a lot of shady dealings. He had come to the mortal realm prepared himself for it not to be fun, as many of his personal disciples had perished there.

They may not be the exception.

Zhou Xiu was mentally prepared, but seeing his trusted disciples all so calm, he couldn't help but ask, "Hey. Aren't you all scared?"

"I'm scared." Mingxuan glanced at him. "But don't be afraid yet, because that Demon Lord probably isn't coming for you."

"If anyone's going to die, it'll be us first."

Zhou Xiu was speechless.

That's true. Even his own disciple isn't in a hurry, so there's no point in him being anxious.

"What's going on outside the palace?" Mingxuan, who had been sitting cross-legged and doing nothing, noticed the commotion outside. He used his divine sense to investigate and found that a group of people with no cultivation were carrying out a massacre in the street.

The calm was broken; he raised an eyebrow. "Just as I expected..."

"They are demons."

The demons, who had been hiding in the corner and refusing to show themselves, finally made a move.

The evil cultivators have been mostly dealt with by the cultivators, so the hidden demons have naturally begun to emerge unscrupulously. They won't kill people themselves, lest the Heavenly Dao notice and send down a tribulation of lightning. So they learn from the evil cultivators and find a few high-ranking people in the mortal world to make a deal with them.

A group of mortals killing each other is something that demonic cultivators would enjoy, but it's not a good sight for cultivators.

Mingxuan frowned and patted Xue Yu, "Go and scout out what's going on outside the palace." He seemed to sense the presence of Si Miaoyan and the others.

With his late-stage Golden Core cultivation and expansive spiritual sense, Xue Yu quickly concluded, "After Si Miaoyan and the others ran out, they went outside to rescue people."

"Let's stay and guard the palace."

Liu Yun sat back down, looking down and drawing circles on her face. "Too kind-hearted."

"Even if they manage to escape, if it really is the Demon Lord descending, they won't be able to get out unless they encounter one of the Five Sect Elders, right?"

The point isn't to let them escape, but to get Ye Qiao out.

"If even Ye Qiao can't do anything," Mingxuan clapped his hands, "let's just lie down and wait to die."

Zhou Xingyun welcomed the suggestion, saying, "You can find a nice tree and smash your head against it to die."

Mingxuan: "..."

"Just kidding. We still have to save ourselves." If we fall into the hands of the demons, the best outcome is imprisonment, and the worst outcome is becoming a demon and dying.

Who's going to become a demon?

A group of cultivators stood ready, while the talisman cultivators reinforced the array within the palace. As for the others, it didn't matter; such an array couldn't withstand someone of the Demon Lord's level.

Hahahahahaha.

As several disciples rummaged through their storage bags, busy searching for usable magic tools and treasures, they heard the bursts of laughter. Ye Qinghan paused, remembering how the demonic cultivators used to laugh like that when they first entered the Demon Realm.

"Is it some tradition of their demon race?" Ye Qinghan asked indifferently.

Mingxuan stroked his chin. "Maybe it's because I've been in the Demon Realm for too long; I need to laugh like a freak every now and then?"

The group remained silent, listening to the arrogant laughter, speechless.

"What else did Ye Qiao say?"

"Kneel down the moment you see the Demon Lord, and say nothing else."

Chu Xingzhi: "Ha, who wants to kneel before him?"

They still had some backbone. Xue Yu silently watched the demons. He could feel the bloody aura of slaughter, but only at this moment did they clearly feel what absolute crushing power meant. They couldn't muster any will to resist, and they couldn't mobilize even a bit of spiritual energy.

"...Demons."

"Is it the Demon Lord?" The cultivator behind him asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Xue Yu gave a soft "hmm".

If someone's strength reaches a certain level, they simply can't remember what the other person looks like. Even if they clearly see the face, they can't remember it. Some people with cultivation levels below Foundation Establishment knelt down with a thud, unable to withstand the pressure before they could even release it.

Chu Xingzhi: "I will not kneel."

Mingxuan knelt down swiftly, and seeing that he was still stubbornly sticking his neck out, he clicked his tongue.

Seeing Ye Qinghan's unyielding demeanor, Zhou Xingyun smirked, kicked him, and successfully made him kneel down.

"?" Hmm.

Are they all this decisive?

Zhou Xiu was stunned. He realized that these personal disciples were a little different from what he had imagined.

To be precise, it belongs to the Changming sect. It's quite different from the other four sects.

Whose personal disciple would kneel so decisively? Where is their backbone?

Seeing a group of his disciples kneel down on their own initiative, the Demon Lord was very satisfied with this scene. Before coming here, he was considering that if these disciples were all ignorant of their own mortality, he would not mind killing a few to teach these righteous little sheep a lesson.

A group of disciples knelt neatly at the front, the feeling of being offered their necks for slaughter was not pleasant, but the demons remained silent, seemingly not intending to do anything, just watching them tremble with fear.

Mu Chongxi: "He seems to really enjoy watching us obediently wait to die."

Xue Yu: "A common problem among those in power." They are high and mighty and enjoy manipulating all those with lower cultivation levels than themselves, watching them humbly struggle for survival.

Mingxuan said sincerely, "Then please ask him to discriminate against us for as long as possible."

They didn't want to confront the Demon Lord head-on. Although the Demon Lord was also restricted, he was still not someone they could defeat.

"Or should we fight him?" Mu Chongxi touched the sword at his waist, feeling somewhat unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere.

Having overheard the whispers of his trusted followers, the Demon Lord casually lowered his oppressive aura. Everyone's expressions subtly changed, seemingly pleased with their reaction. He finally spoke slowly, "Where is Ye Qiao?"

The first sentence changed everyone's expression.

Ye Qiao, Ye Qiao, it's Ye Qiao again! Chu Xingzhi couldn't help but think, how much people hate her!

Seeing that the Demon Lord was about to exert his pressure again, Ming Xuan frowned, stretched out his hand, and the talisman flew between his fingertips. It was a technique he had learned from the Heavenly Blessing. It firmly protected all the scattered cultivators within the circle at once, and he could clearly feel the pressure lessen.

Mingxuan cautiously looked up, and seeing that the Demon Lord didn't seem to care about his little actions, he breathed a slight sigh of relief before slowly replying, "Junior Sister isn't here."

The Demon Lord stared at him darkly, remaining silent. His true intention was to target Ye Qiao.

Did they really let her get away?

The Demon Lord was after Ye Qiao. Since Yun Que of the Yueqing Sect was willing to surrender to the Demon Clan and offer her a position, he naturally wouldn't let go of the opportunity to recruit people for the Demon Clan.

"Ye Qiao of Changming Sect, with a Heavenly Spiritual Root, it would be even better if we could get her to join us." She was really looking forward to seeing the suffering of those people after Ye Qiao, a righteous disciple, fell into demonic possession.

"If Ye Qiao isn't an option, Mu Chongxi would be fine too." For some reason, Yun Que never mentioned Ye Qinghan.

Upon hearing that Ye Qiao was not here, the Demon Lord was not in a hurry. After all, she was still in the mortal realm, and it was only a matter of time before he caught her.

Several of his close associates, who were bound, knelt obediently on the ground.

Faced with absolute power suppression, there's probably nothing he can do except kneel properly. Seeing that Ye Qinghan was still trying to stand up and confront the Demon Lord head-on, Song Hansheng quickly pressed him to the ground and made him kneel down with him.

What a joke.

Do they think they can provoke someone of the Demon Lord's level?

A group of disciples held Ye Qinghan down tightly, trying to calm him down. This strange commotion drew a peculiar glance from the Demon Lord.

Have all the direct disciples in the cultivation world grown up to be like this?

"Since Ye Qiao is not here, then there's Mu Chongxi and Ye Qinghan." The Demon Lord's expression was quite cold, revealing a hint of disdain.

If these two individuals, born with innate sword talent, are not allowed to develop, they will undoubtedly become terrifying sword geniuses in the future.

Killing them would be too wasteful; it would be more interesting to force them into becoming demons.

Upon hearing his plan, the Demon Lord casually waved his hand, and the two floated in mid-air, seemingly intending to use brute force to pull them over. The members of the Changming Sect subconsciously grabbed Mu Chongxi.

Seeing that his disciples seemed ready to make a move, the Demon Lord smiled.

next second.

Blood splattered on their clothes, and the atmosphere suddenly became deathly silent.

Everyone hung their heads stiffly like statues, their eyes darting around fearfully, their gazes fixed on the monk lying on the ground.

To kill the chicken as a warning to the monkey.

It goes without saying who is being threatened.

"If you don't let go now, you'll be the ones dying in the next second."

Mu Chongxi did not struggle and was brought before him. The Demon Lord seemed too lazy to even look at them. "Take him away."

His goal was never these two protégés.

The dead cultivator was right in front of them, and the stench of blood filled their nostrils, making Zhou Xingyun feel nauseous for a moment. Looking at his junior brother being taken away, he raised his head expressionlessly, his hand already on Duan Chen.

Before he could act, the formation shifted, a golden light flashed by, and a familiar voice drifted over:

"If you want to take away our sect's disciples, shouldn't you at least ask for the opinion of our Changming Sect?"