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

Ye Qiao is only at the Nascent Soul stage, while Ye Qinghan, who is just one step away from the Divine Transformation stage, is much more sought after. Who would be willing to wait for someone to slowly grow up when they can recruit a ready-made genius?

Xie Chuxue shook the beads in her hand and narrowed her eyes. "But Xiao Qiao should be thinking of a solution too."

It's a battle between a cheater and a talent-driven individual; these two disciples surnamed Ye are truly exceptional.

……

Ye Qinghan, the heartthrob sought after by numerous powerful families, was currently being cared for privately by an elder.

They were just asking about when he would break through. Ye Qinghan had originally planned to go into seclusion to avoid those crazy cultivators, but the sect leader directly dragged him out. "You need to find a suitable opportunity to reach the Nascent Soul stage. Staying in seclusion is useless. You have to comprehend the sword technique yourself."

"On the day you received your inheritance, whose inheritance did Ye Qiao receive?"

Her reaction speed was several steps faster than everyone else's, which made the sect leader suspect that Ye Qiao might have obtained a legacy related to precognition.

Ye Qinghan recalled the scene of being tricked by that old man that day, her smile slightly flattening. "An old senior. He can see the opponent's next move and technique." This kind of thing really tests one's brain and reaction speed.

It's easy to use, but most people can't master it.

He muttered something under his breath, his expression hardening. "Qinghan. It's actually not a bad thing for you that Ye Qiao and the others aren't here."

As expected, Ye Qinghan was being watched by a group of cultivators from the outside world for no reason. However, there were benefits to it as well. At least many cultivators came to him because of his reputation, which helped Wenjian Sect recruit a lot of experts and disciples.

Ye Qinghan nodded with a straight face. "I understand."

After he watched the elder leave, as soon as he sat down, his fellow disciples surrounded him, chattering excitedly.

"How does it feel to be fought over by eight powerful families, Senior Brother?" Zhu You asked jokingly as he sat down.

Everyone was vaguely excited. Xia Qing raised her chin and curled her lips into a smile. "You didn't see the envious and jealous expressions on the faces of the other sects. Especially Qin Huai."

Qin Huai has wanted to be number one for a long time, but with Ye Qinghan holding him back, even if Zhou Xingyun is not the best, he can still fight to a draw with the senior brother.

And even without Zhou Xingyun, there's still Ye Qiao.

Qin Huai had always secretly wanted to defeat Ye Qinghan and surpass the Wenjian Sect, but it seemed that this was still a long way off.

Moreover, the Changming Sect has vanished without a trace in the past few months, and no one knows where they've all gone. Therefore, the Wenjian Sect is the only hope for the cultivation world.

……

After Ye Qiao and Xiao Ai finished their brief exchange, Ye Qiao turned to Meng Liu to inquire about the situation of Bu Jie and see if he knew anything about it.

"This stick..." She started to say, but met Meng Liu's disapproving gaze, and silently changed her words, brandishing the slender, staff-like sword in her hand, "Do you know how to use the various forms of 'Unseen Ruler'?"

Seeing that Ye Qiao showed no signs of being possessed, Meng Liu gradually relaxed. "I'll use a little."

He had never seen Ye Qiao wield a sword and couldn't understand how this person had managed to make the Demon Lord's sword recognize him as its master. He crossed his hands and explained in a low voice, "Of course, the sword would be most effective when it's in the Demon Lord's hands."

"No matter what, we're not demon lords, so it's inappropriate to use us."

Excluding those who are truly gifted, if a spirit sword is not suitable for them, its effects cannot be fully realized.

Only a Demon Lord could unleash its full potential? Ye Qiao thought of the First Demon Lord hidden within her divine consciousness, and immediately shut down her own divine consciousness, sealing off Mu Li's ability to perceive the outside world. "I understand."

The first person to ascend to immortality in the cultivation world was not a cultivator but a demon lord, so his abilities are beyond doubt.

But can the Demon Lord be a good thing? He can't do anything to Ye Qiao right now, and Ye Qiao can't destroy him either. He still needs to go back to the sect and ask his master how to deal with this extra remnant soul. For now, she plans to make the most of it.

"Why don't you give me the spirit sword later?" Meng Liu still wanted to touch Bujianjun, so he said, "I'll teach you how to use it."

Ye Qiao stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded: "Okay."

She really didn't know how to use it, but since Meng Liu did, she could have him demonstrate it.

We still need to hurry.

Remembering that Mu Li had mentioned the Half-Immortal Flower, her eyes flickered slightly. "Do you have a flower here that can rapidly increase cultivation level?"

Meng Liu wasn't surprised that she knew about it. Generally, most Nascent Soul stage demonic cultivators could come into contact with this kind of spiritual flower. "Yes, many demonic cultivators who can't break through go there to quickly improve their realm. Are you going too?" Ye Qiao did need to improve her cultivation. Her early Nascent Soul stage cultivation was not enough in the demon race no matter what.

"Let's go," Ye Qiao asked. "There should be a lot of demons gathered then, right?"

"That's for sure." Meng Liu flicked his fingertip, his tone slightly sarcastic and disdainful. "That wretched flower grows on a tree, about fifty feet tall, and blooms once a month, with only two flowers. Every time it blooms, it's a battle."

Most of the powerful demons would go there to pick the flowers; it was simply a pipe dream for ordinary demon cultivators to get them. But what if they got lucky? Everyone harbored this subtle hope, which led to an exceptionally large number of people gathering there.

"I thought about running away at this time," Meng Liu sat up straight, "but they'll find some Nascent Soul stage cultivators to guard me."

The Nascent Soul stage cultivators are busy breaking through to the next level, and since Nascent Soul stage experts aren't usually idle, they naturally find a Nascent Soul stage cultivator to keep an eye on this young master who's been running amok all day.

Ye Qiao asked again, seemingly casually, "Are there any Nascent Soul Peak cultivators watching over you?"

"Yes, there are." He repeated, "Of course there will be. There will definitely be two or three Nascent Soul Peak cultivators by then."

He also noticed that Ye Qiao seemed to pay special attention to cultivators at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, and even seemed to have little interest in those at the Divine Transformation stage. Why was that?

Ye Qiao deftly twirled the "Never See You" in her hand, "Then you'll be in charge of attracting the attention of the Nascent Soul Peak Demon Clan, and I'll go pick the flowers."

"You can really help me escape?" At first, he thought the other party was just saying it casually, but Ye Qiao didn't seem to be joking. His eyes darkened slightly. "Let me ask you a question. What's your plan?"

There should at least be a foolproof plan. These are demons, after all; escaping isn't something that can be done just by talking about it.

Ye Qiao patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, my plan is for you to fight those cultivators at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. It would be best if you could loosen their cultivation level. If you can't, I still have the Half-Immortal Flower to use." She could also stuff it into the mouths of those demonic cultivators when the time was right.

"I have no other plan. This is the whole plan. You are only responsible for holding back the Nascent Soul Peak cultivators. I only want the Nascent Soul Peak demons. This is not difficult for you. Besides, you are not in this position for nothing. You should have subordinates who can help you."

"If it succeeds, of course everyone will be happy. Even if it fails, you have a backup plan, right?" She looked at this young master with great interest. Meng Liu would not put all his eggs in one basket, and Ye Qiao was also just trying her luck.

Their collaboration was a complete mess from start to finish, with absolutely no trust between them.

Meng Liu glanced at her a few times and smiled, "Then it's been a pleasant collaboration?"

"It's a pleasure working with you."

Next came preparations for their escape. Meng Liu waved the jade slip and asked, "I'm going to contact my subordinates later. Do you have any help? If so, call them over for assistance. If not, it's best not to act rashly and to come with me."

Ye Qiao's two little girls are quite strong, and there's also Bujianjun; he has no reason to refuse.

Meng Liu has subordinates, and their strength is not too bad; they are all at the Nascent Soul stage. With his subordinates, the success rate might be higher.

He used the jade slip to summon his subordinates to help him, and Ye Qiao followed behind him, ready to go and check on Meng Liu's subordinates.

The demons all wore black, inexplicably dressed in black all day long, making the white clothing stand out. Ye Qiao, who was originally with Meng Liu, glanced at the conspicuous white and almost lost her composure.

She gestured to Zhou Xingyun with her eyes: What brings you here?

Zhou Xingyun and she exchanged a glance, with Zhou Xingyun coldly stepping on the demon beneath his feet.

Ye Qiao glanced at her senior brother's posture as he kicked one person over with each kick, and her expression became increasingly uncontrollable.

What's going on?

Seeing the coldness in Meng Liu's eyes, Ye Qiao had a bad feeling. She asked in a low voice, "Who are those people in black?"

Meng Liu looked at him strangely, his fingers clenching the sword hanging at his waist. "My subordinates."

Ye Qiao: "..."

He realized something too, turned to look at Ye Qiao, and noticed her changing expression. "Who's that in the white dress?"

Meng Liu pointed at the young man who had trampled over one of his subordinates, his tone becoming increasingly strange, "You should know him, right?"

You should know that Ye Qiao, who had been completely unmoved before, changed her expression after seeing that person.

Ye Qiao said, "My senior brother."

Meng Liu: "..." That's great.

These two groups of people bumped into each other.

The key point is that her senior brother is like a domineering evil cultist, stepping on one person while holding a sword in his hand, with a cold expression, looking particularly unapproachable.

Ye Qiao wasn't unaware of Meng Liu's chilling aura that seemed to pierce through her. Reacting swiftly, she grabbed Zhou Xingyun and brought him before Meng Liu, quickly introducing him: "My fellow disciple, late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator."

Meng Liu pointed to his miserable subordinates scattered on the ground, "Is he really only at the late Nascent Soul stage?"

Does a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator have the strength to take down more than a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators by himself?

Zhou Xingyun: "Sorry, I didn't expect them to be so weak."

Meng Liu: "..."

This person is polite, but not often. At least, demonic cultivators never apologize, especially the powerful ones.

Suddenly faced with such a polite person, the coldness in his eyes lessened somewhat. "It's alright."

"We welcome capable people." Meng Liu is flexible and adaptable. Since it is a cooperative relationship, he naturally hopes that the other party is as strong as possible. Moreover, this person in white is said to be in the late stage of Nascent Soul, but he is probably more than that. He can defeat so many Nascent Soul cultivators by himself. He is a demonic cultivator who can fight beyond his level.

Ye Qiao, this senior brother, was quite unexpected to him. In the Demon Clan, the level of cultivation was generally much weaker than one's own. Being able to fight someone of a higher level? That was something that only happened in dreams.

"Are you from a small sect?" he asked casually, as if asking a few questions.

Ye Qiao: "It's alright, it's alright. Only five."

Five...

That is indeed a small sect.

He tentatively asked, "How many people have the strength of your senior brother?"

Ye Qiao did the math, "There's only one person with the strength of my senior brother." There's only one Ye Qinghan among the five sects.

"One?" He sounded somewhat disappointed, but forced a smile and looked at Zhou Xingyun. "Shall we go inside and talk?"

Zhou Xingyun was a beat slow to react to the scene before him and nodded, before Ye Qiao pulled him inside.

She didn't expect Zhou Xingyun to come. So where did the Fire Spirit Root trio go?

"Where are the other senior brothers?" Ye Qiao tentatively transmitted her voice. Her spiritual sense was higher than that of the young master, so she could sense if he wanted to spy on her.

Zhou Xingyun: "They are observing."

Ye Qiao: "Observe what?"

"Observe how much trouble you've caused. If you can't handle them, go and call your master for help."

Ye Qiao: "Thank you all."

But she really didn't cause any trouble this time.

The two exchanged words telepathically, and in Meng Liu's eyes, it seemed that the relationship between these two senior and junior disciples was not very good, as he did not see them speak at all.

"Who is that person?" Zhou Xingyun looked at the young master with some curiosity. A peak Nascent Soul cultivator was not uncommon in the Demon Clan, but he said that the dozen or so weaklings were his subordinates, so his status should not be low.

Ye Qiao: "Young Master of the Demon Clan."

Zhou Xingyun said calmly, "They really changed them quickly." It hasn't been long since the previous young master passed away.

Ye Qiao nodded in deep agreement. Who could argue with that? The position of young master in the Demon Clan might be a disposable commodity.

"Tell them to stop observing and come out." Ye Qiao put her hands behind her head and reiterated, "I really didn't cause any trouble this time."

Mingxuan and the others had already sneaked to the Demon Lord's residence before Zhou Xingyun arrived. Zhou Xingyun was there to attract attention. Originally, the four of them had found their way here under the guidance of Chaoxi Sword. After discovering that Ye Qiao was in the young master's residence, all sorts of conspiracy theories ran through their minds.

The expected scenario was that she would be imprisoned or detained by the young master of the demon clan. It wouldn't be that she would be killed, as Ye Qiao was not at the point of being powerless to fight back. The fact that the demon realm was so quiet meant that nothing had happened.

Zhou Xingyun fell silent when he thought of his three junior brothers who had already hidden in the young master's palace.

Meng Liu walked absentmindedly, glancing at the two senior and junior siblings. He didn't notice anything amiss when he led his subordinates into the palace, but soon, his peak Nascent Soul stage divine sense made him scan the area above his head.

Just now, there was a brief fluctuation in the aura.

Meng Liu's expression darkened, and he struck the roof beam without warning.

The three people hiding above immediately flipped over and jumped down from the roof beam.

"Don't hit them, don't hit them, they're on our side." Ye Qiao and Zhou Xingyun quickly grabbed the three men from the front and back, pulling them backward.

Neither of them expected that these three people had hidden on someone's roof beam. Their thieving entrance only reinforced Meng Liu's already bad impression of them.

"One of our own?" Meng Liu cautiously withdrew his hand, leaned to the side, and looked at the five people with a distrustful gaze.

He narrowed his eyes. "I remember there are also five direct disciples in the cultivation world."

"Maybe you're mistaken," Mu Zhongxi blurted out.

He waved his hand, "I never said you had any relationship with them."

Meng Liu had never dealt with the disciples before. The previous young master had died at the hands of his disciples. These five people, squatting on top, looking furtive and secretly observing, didn't seem like cultivators at all. He had a feeling that these five people were cultivators. Putting aside everything else, the innocent and foolish appearance of these righteous disciples was too obvious.

Thinking of the three of them squatting on the roof beam, Meng Liu remained silent for a long time before staring at them. "What were you planning to do just now?"

Stealing?

The seemingly most reliable young man's gaze wandered for a moment before Zhou Xingyun snapped out of his daze and told him, "We call this 'gentlemen on the roof.'"

Meng Liu: "..."

The young master choked slightly. Who told you that this word was used like that?

The demon palace was magnificent and resplendent, with floors paved with spirit stones. Upon entering, one could immediately feel the rich spiritual energy. Demons cultivate by converting spiritual energy into demonic energy, and spirit stones and spiritual energy are interchangeable. Seeing this level of luxury, the group whispered among themselves, "Changming Sect really is a lousy place."

"If Elder Duan hears this, he'll kick you away."

"Don't they feel any remorse for tricking us into joining their sect?"

Mingxuan: "That's true."

He joined the sect voluntarily, but no one told him that Changming Sect was the poorest when he joined. He thought that since they were all five sects, they just taught different things and there wouldn't be much difference. Yueqing Sect had too many talisman cultivators, plus Song Hansheng and a few others whom he disliked, so he chose Changming Sect.

After all, even though Changming Sect is ranked last, it still has Xie Chuxue in its ranks!

"At that time, I comforted myself by saying that although Changming Sect was poor, it had Junior Uncle." He then suppressed the urge to betray the sect.

Ye Qiao took a breath; so Ming Xuan had joined the sect for Xie Chuxue's sake.

Mingxuan: "The atmosphere in Changming Sect is quite good. They have a powerful talisman cultivator, which makes them much better than the other four."

Ye Qiao nodded. That's true. Changming Sect is a pretty versatile sect.

Mu Chongxi was originally living a happy life as a little prince in the mortal realm, but he was tricked into going there by Xie Chuxue halfway through.

"And you?"

Xue Yu's ears turned red, and after stammering for a moment, he calmly said, "There are too many girls in the Biyue Sect. But the Changming Sect has Elder Zhao."

Elder Zhao is exceptionally knowledgeable about elixirs, and he often serves as their instructor. However, he also has some knowledge in other areas. Apart from the bottom-ranked students, the Changming Sect has quite a few talented individuals.

Ye Qiao: "You're all so high and mighty, so great."

They were all after the elder master of Changming Sect; compared to him, she really lacked ambition.

"What about the eldest brother?"

"The eldest disciple did it voluntarily. He really liked the laid-back atmosphere of the Changming Sect, as well as those useless sect rules."

Everyone who goes to Changming Sect has something in mind, but Ye Qiao is only there for the food.

The five people were huddled together, whispering about something. Meng Liu walked in with a cold expression, intending to test their strength. But as soon as he found a seat, he turned around and found that they had finally stopped talking.

Perhaps realizing that complaining wouldn't solve the problem of Changming Sect's poverty, Mu Chongxi decided to take matters into his own hands. The boy picked up a few spirit stones from the floor and put them all into his mustard seed bag. Once he moved all the spirit stones piled up here into Changming Sect, they would have money.

Ye Qiao lowered her head, finding her senior brother's actions too embarrassing, and casually stomped on him.

Mu Chongxi immediately sprang into action, ready to challenge her.

Ugh! Meng Liu is going crazy! Who are these people?!