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

The Qing Emperor has had a really bad year these past two years.

First, Yun Que ran away for no reason. If they hadn't been so unethical as to take the Bright Moon Arrow first, Yun Que might have robbed the Moon Cleansing Sect's most treasured possession from within.

"The elders should have thought of the same things we have." Xue Yu shook his head. "Let's not worry about these things for now. Let the Yueqing Sect deal with its internal problems themselves. Get some sleep; we have to go down the mountain tomorrow."

That's true, but Ye Qiao's eyes were wide open, and she wasn't sleepy at all.

The next day, her frizzy hair was still sticking up. Ye Qiao waved her hand and greeted everyone without changing her expression. They gathered at the back mountain early in the morning.

Elder Zhao was the happiest one.

They seemed eager to celebrate wildly after they left.

Duan Yu commented on Ye Qiao's new hairstyle, "It's amazing."

Before they left, Xie Chuxue gave them no fewer than several hundred talismans. Ye Qiao asked in surprise, "Junior Uncle, did you draw these?"

Damn. They've almost forgotten that their sect has a talisman cultivator.

To be honest, Xie Chuxue had never given me any talismans during our previous training, let alone during the competition; that would be a foul.

Xie Chuxue gave a vague answer: "This time is different."

She did her own reading comprehension exercise: "Is this one more dangerous than the previous ones?"

Xie Chuxue smiled and shook her head: "I didn't say that. You can interpret it as some of my junior uncle's good intentions."

Mingxuan also brought many talismans. He hadn't been beaten for nothing when he went home. After hearing what he was going to do, the Ming family head prepared a lot of talismans as a precaution.

Looking at these carefree disciples, Duan Yu solemnly instructed them, "This is your first time leaving the cultivator's territory. To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, remember to stay in touch along the way."

Ye Qiao nodded haphazardly, her attention completely drawn to the talismans Xie Chuxue had given her. The talismans inside were deep gold in color, all of them top-grade, and a quick glance revealed that there seemed to be a few heaven-grade ones mixed in as well.

That's generous.

After carefully putting away the talisman Xie Chuxue gave her, Ye Qiao was to take a flying boat to a place in the South China Sea. Along the way, she kept glancing outside, asking, "How long will it take to get to the South China Sea?"

A guard beside the Dragon Prince replied, "Half a month. We'll arrive in half an hour."

Ye Qiao continued, "Did you also come by flying boat?"

"Yes."

Upon hearing this timeframe, Ye Qiao unconsciously sat up straight and exchanged glances with her senior brothers.

However, as far as they knew, the celebration banquet began only a few days after the battle with the demon race, and the arrival of the young prince was only ten days later. Clearly, they had known the news before the battle even started and had come ahead of time.

Xue Yu calmly took a sip of water and said, "Let's have a meeting."

Ao Li looked at them strangely, thinking that the disciples of this sect were indeed all abnormal. After nodding slightly, the five of them decisively found a corner, set up a soundproof array, and began to discuss in hushed tones.

"I had a feeling that the Dragon Clan had ulterior motives." Mingxuan was extremely excited. "Otherwise, why would they get involved with cultivators for no reason?"

"And it's the Crown Prince himself who's coming," Mu Chongxi muttered. "In the Dragon Clan, this status would only be more noble, right? To condescend to choose a suitable disciple to go to the South Sea? It just doesn't make sense."

Ye Qiao exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, Fourth Senior Brother, your intelligence has finally kicked in!"

Mu Chongxi exploded: "I'm not that stupid Chu Xingzhi, how could I not see something so obvious?!"

"Whatever they want to do," Zhou Xingyun said, "Once we enter the South China Sea, we must first protect ourselves."

No wonder Xie Chuxue gave them the talismans in advance.

"What exactly are you doing?" The young prince puffed out his cheeks, coldly scrutinizing the five of them. "You've been chatting there for ages."

The five people paused simultaneously.

Facing the young prince's questioning gaze, Ye Qiao stood up without changing her expression, smoothed her newly styled, frizzy hair, and seemed to be enjoying it. Without saying a word, she stepped off the flying boat, choosing to play dumb.

"..." The young prince was stunned.

Are you really that satisfied with her sea urchin-shaped hairstyle?

The flying boat stopped near the South China Sea. With the water-repelling pearl hanging around his neck, he jumped down and followed the little prince. There was a special passage. The three fire spirit roots huddled together, trembling, and refused to go into the water. In the end, Zhou Xingyun kicked them all down.

"ruthless."

Mingxuan faced death without fear and plunged into the sea. Thanks to the water-repelling pearl, he felt no discomfort in the water, at most just a little cold. But he quickly adapted to the water temperature. Ye Qiao's frizzy hair also became smooth after entering the water, and she finally didn't have to wear that frizzy hair anymore.

Led by Ao Li, he removed a peculiarly shaped scale while making incomprehensible hand gestures.

Soon, the powerful suction of the seabed dragged people in, and as the world spun around, everything went black.