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

"Are you kidding me?" Xie Chuxue leaned back strategically, her tone rather strange, it was hard to tell whether she was surprised or expected.

Xue Yu pointed to himself, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Junior Uncle, do you think I would joke with you?"

No normal person would dare to joke with Xie Chuxue. No one wants to experience being trained by Xie Chuxue; he tortures not only the body but also the mind.

Mu Chongxi hesitated for a few seconds, then said, "That's right."

"We're not joking," he shouted cheerfully. "So stop with the conspiracy theories and just let us go."

"..."

Holy crap.

A teenager who reached the level of a deity?

Others subconsciously ignored her actual age when she joined the sect and unconsciously grouped her with the other disciples, since they were all grown up in the major sect and there was no difference between them.

But in reality, Ye Qiao only started practicing Qi cultivation before she left the Yueqing Sect.

Duan Yu raised an eyebrow, then slammed his hand down, forcing Mu Chongxi's head down: "I'm asking you, what were you all doing in the Demon Realm?"

"When did Xiao Qiao break through to the next level? Hmm?"

Why didn't they receive any information at all?

"Didn't we say before? We're in the Demon Realm, and a war is about to break out then." Mu Chongxi: "Don't pressure me, Elder."

"If Xiao Qiao succeeds, wouldn't we all be lifted up like chickens and dogs?" Xie Chuxue said optimistically.

Mingxuan raised his hand, "Why is Junior Sister's tribulation lasting eight days?"

The tribulation should have passed long ago, right? The longest tribulation is seven days, but now it's the eighth day and there's no sign of it diminishing. That's very strange.

"Xiao Qiao is a quasi-Nascent Soul cultivator. I remember that the tribulation for a quasi-Nascent Soul cultivator is a bit longer." Xie Chuxue didn't quite remember what she encountered when she reached the Nascent Soul stage. It had been a long time since she reached the Nascent Soul stage. "Elder Zhao? You know what happened, right?"

Their sect's all-powerful elder is none other than Elder Zhao.

Elder Zhao nodded. "Do you know about trials?"

Xie Chuxue stammered for a while before honestly saying, "I forgot."

"The standard for judging whether you are qualified as a Nascent Soul cultivator is a trial that every quasi-Nascent Soul cultivator undergoes." Elder Zhao glared at them several times, but then, understanding that they had reached Nascent Soul status hundreds of years ago, he mercifully explained, "Xiao Qiao is probably undergoing a trial."

After he said that, Qin Fanfan and the others had a slight impression.

These were conversations that only those at the Nascent Soul stage or above could participate in, and Mu Chongxi and the others couldn't understand them at all.

Elder Zhao glanced at the bewildered group of four, and considering that these disciples had all broken through to the Nascent Soul stage around the same time, he cleared his throat and said calmly, "You can ask me any questions you have."

Mingxuan spoke first: "What is a trial? What if it fails?"

"Failure only reduces you to the Nascent Soul stage," Elder Zhao replied.

If I fail this time, I'll just have to wait until the next Nascent Soul stage, which might be several years later. Breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage is not an easy feat.

They undoubtedly wanted Ye Qiao to break through to the Nascent Soul stage more than anyone else.

Many cultivators in the cultivation world were somewhat dissatisfied with Changming Sect surpassing Wenjian Sect to become the number one sect in the cultivation world, after all, Changming Sect had not produced a capable fighter in nearly a hundred years.

Their four different professions are so well-balanced, yet none of them stand out in any particular way.

Ultimately, it's because there are too few sword cultivators.

The Azure Water Sect doesn't compete or fight, and the Moon Clear Sect, a talisman-based sect, doesn't need too many sword cultivators. Only the Sword Inquiry Sect can shoulder the main responsibility.

Compared to the Sword Inquiry Sect, the Everlasting Bright Sect has far too few sword cultivators.

After all the calculations, there are only three people in the new leadership: Ye Qiao, Zhou Xingyun, and Mu Chongxi. However, all three of them are only at the Nascent Soul stage and cannot handle the responsibilities.

"I thought Zhou Xingyun could hold his own a little longer," Qin Fanfan said quietly, glancing at her eldest disciple. "But it turns out that Ye Qiao was the fastest in our sect this time."

"With Zhou Xingyun's personality, let's just forget about it."

They can't expect Zhou Xingyun to awaken his powers just because Ye Qiao is capable of standing up. The Sword Inquiry Sect has Ye Qinghan, and their sect also has Ye Qiao. Simply put, it comes down to which sect's direct disciple will break through to the Nascent Soul stage first.

Ye Qiao's ability to break through to the next realm before Ye Qinghan means that Changming Sect has firmly secured its position as number one.

Then who would dare question whether their number one ranking was problematic?

"I really look forward to seeing the expressions on the faces of the Sword Inquiry Sect when they find out." Xie Chuxue sighed meaningfully. Ye Qiao had broken through to the next realm before them; their expressions must be quite interesting.

They are not a loving family. The competition between sects will not be weakened by a few collaborations. On the contrary, it is intensifying under the current popular support. Now, Changming Sect urgently needs someone to prove that the sect is not weak.

There's nothing we can do but wait now.

He squinted, unaware of what kind of trial Ye Qiao was about to face.

……

When Meng Liu was pulled up by Ye Qiao and sat on the bird's back, he was numb.

It would be quite a novel experience to be one day dragged onto the back of a phoenix and galloped away by people from the righteous path.

This wasn't the first time Ye Qiao had been tossed about under the thunderbolts. She was the type who got more excited the more people were around. Ignoring Meng Liu's desperate cries, she directly directed the KFC to fall.

She could defeat four Nascent Soul cultivators under the lightning tribulation, but others couldn't.

In mid-air, dark clouds gathered, and the five tribulations of the Nascent Soul stage plunged the entire Demon Realm into darkness.

Ye Qiao's defensive talismans were of all kinds. No matter how powerful the blade was, it was useless against the talismans.

After his initial shock subsided, Meng Liu calmed down and said, "Your talismans are quite advanced." It didn't seem like something an average talisman cultivator could achieve.

Ye Qiao held out her hand: "It was given to me by my martial uncle."

He glanced at the number of talismans and said, "Your uncle must be worried that you'll get beaten to death if you go out."

Xie Chuxue might actually think that way.

She found it strange at the time, wondering why they would stuff so many defensive talismans into her for no reason.

"Get out of the way!" someone with sharp eyes shouted.

The lightning struck, leaving the land scorched black.

"...The fifth Nascent Soul Tribulation?" someone asked with slight surprise.

This looks like a gathering of heroes from afar, but up close it looks like a meeting of deities.

When did it become so easy to find people at the Nascent Soul stage?

Although there are indeed far more Nascent Soul cultivators than cultivators among the demon race, it is impossible for five Nascent Soul cultivators to appear in just one day.

Meng Liu was forced to join Ye Qiao in their evil deeds. Suddenly, lightning struck the two of them, and at that moment, KFC rushed into the crowd below.

The lightning tribulation swooped down like a dragon, and his face turned pale as he cursed and gripped the Jinghong Sword tightly. With a loud bang, a large crater instantly appeared where he was, followed by another lightning bolt that leveled him to the ground.

When the lightning tribulation touched the tip of the Jinghong Sword, it all pierced through it. Meng Liu was surprised to find that a lightning-elemental spirit sword could have such an effect. His pale face eased a little. "Then, if you use this sword to easily pass your tribulation during the Nascent Soul stage?"

Ye Qiao: "It's useless for me to hold it; it will cut people down along with their swords."

The two chatted casually for a bit, while the beast, as if leaving sparks and lightning in its wake, struck everything in its path.

Everywhere he went, the demonic cultivators wore expressions of terror.

The scene of a group of people pushing and shoving each other as they frantically fled in all directions is a world-famous painting.

"Is that a big bird in the sky?" Some people retreated in fear and ran out like madmen.

"Then why is it electrified?"

"Run! Run!"

The demon, being dragged away by his companion, turned around impatiently: "Why are you running? Are you one of those useless cultivators? All you know how to do is run away when trouble comes your way."

He swallowed hard and said in a low voice, "Ye Qiao is here."

—This really is a ghost story.

"Damn it, why didn't you say so earlier? What are you standing there for? Run!"

……

"The entire location of the center point is in disarray," a high-ranking member of the demon race muttered under his breath. "It seems a cultivator has been spotted. And a cultivator nearing the Nascent Soul stage at that."

No wonder he dared to cause trouble in the Demon Realm; he's actually at the Nascent Soul stage.

"She's just a Nascent Soul cultivator. We have so many of us, what do you say if we all join forces to attack her?"

The demon clan's high-ranking member paused slightly, his expression strange: "Then you are truly a brilliant strategist."

To attack Ye Qiao, you need to strike when the lightning tribulation pauses. Her lightning tribulation will affect people nearby, and even if she doesn't get close, the aftershocks can send people flying if they are even slightly close.

With so many defensive talismans on her body, it would be incredibly difficult for her to attack Ye Qiao in a short time.

No one knows when or when the lightning tribulation will strike.

And the most important problem is that we can't catch up. Unless someone at the Nascent Soul stage or above intervenes, the speed of a single phoenix is ​​already a major headache.

"Should we go report to the Demon Lord?"

The higher-ups frowned. "Just wait and see. If you can't even handle this little thing, do you want to die?" In the Demon Clan, those who are worthless are quickly eliminated.

"We just need to wait for the tribulation to end."

He gritted his teeth.

It's only three days, isn't it?

They can wait.

On the third day, with no sign of stopping, the higher-ups calmly said, "Seven days, at most seven days. Wait a few more days, and we will definitely catch her."

They were determined to keep watch nearby and deal with Ye Qiao as soon as she came out.

Soon, the eighth day passed. The smiles of the demons, who had been so confident of victory, froze. Looking at the relentless descending lightning tribulation, their expressions were all the same—utter bewilderment.

"Brother, should we wait?"

He slapped him across the face: "Wait my ass, run!"

If the eight days haven't ended, then it certainly won't disappear in a short time, and the tribulation of lightning seems to be showing signs of expanding.

……

Meng Liu lay on top of KFC, his face deathly pale. "No, brother. When will your tribulation end?"

"I'm not sure." Ye Qiao felt that this time might be different from the past.

It's the eighth day.

"How long are we going to stay?"

"Wait two more days?" she guessed uncertainly.

On the eighth day, the thunderclouds showed no sign of dissipating; instead, they piled up deeper and deeper. When Meng Liu, a demon, saw the thunderclouds of this magnitude, his scalp tingled with fear.

The two looked at each other in silence for a long time.

After a long pause, he said dryly, "Could it be that this is the special feature of the Heavenly Spiritual Root?"

Ye Qiao shook her head, equally surprised: "No, it used to take the same amount of time as a normal lightning tribulation."

The tribulation lightning lasted intermittently for seven days, completely exposing their location. Anyone who wanted to hunt them down could easily find them by following the lightning.

"Then you should stay," Meng Liu said. "You can stay in the Demon Clan; the four Nascent Soul stage tribulations there can conceal your cultivation level."

"Anyway, we demons have a lot of Nascent Soul cultivators. There are already four Nascent Soul cultivators undergoing tribulation, so having one more near-Nascent Soul cultivator like you isn't too conspicuous."

"After all, there are very few Nascent Soul cultivators in the cultivation world." Meng Liu unconsciously tightened his grip on the Jinghong Sword. "They are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. I didn't expect that among so many of your disciples, you would be the first."

He was also somewhat surprised that it wasn't Ye Qinghan; in the past, it was always the other party who reached a certain level first.

"Is there something shameful about becoming a Nascent Soul cultivator?" They actually had to hide it.

Meng Liu shook his head: "Being too conspicuous is never a good thing. It's normal for our demon race to have Nascent Soul cultivators. After all, the demon race can only bluff people in terms of cultivation level. In the past hundred years, the cultivation world has never had a Quasi-Nascent Soul cultivator."

"Your generation of direct disciples is probably the most promising to break through within a century. Your speed is truly astounding."

Meng Liu narrowed his eyes. "The only Nascent Soul cultivator in nearly a century. If you were to leave the Demon Realm, you would be surrounded by a group of powerful figures from aristocratic families within half a cup of tea's time, who would interrogate you about how you broke through to this realm."

Meng Liu tentatively suggested, "Perhaps you could frame Ye Qinghan?"

It's not that they specifically targeted Ye Qinghan. Among the younger generation, Ye Qinghan is the only one who is close to the Nascent Soul stage. Who else but Ye Qinghan would be the scapegoat?

It would be more believable to pin it on him.

Ye Qiao's condition was such that she couldn't withstand being hunted down by a few more righteous people.

Meng Liu admired Ye Qiao; how could a normal person offend both the righteous and the evil at once?

Ye Qiao's rare sense of conscience led her to refuse.

She didn't know when the tribulation would end; she had to wait until it was over before leaving, as going back abruptly would attract too much attention.

"I was even on a wanted list." She nodded her chin. "I don't know who put it there. Apparently, it's been around for a long time, and everyone in the Five Sects has one."

Perhaps it was orchestrated by some unknown powerful families on the righteous path.

Some, unable to bear the dominance of the Eight Great Families and Five Great Sects, will choose to target their direct descendants, as returning to the righteous path is not safe either.

Neither the demon race nor the outside world is a good choice. Returning under the tribulation of lightning as the first Nascent Soul cultivator would inevitably lead to interrogation, and some righteous sects might even kill him for it.

The righteous path still has their bounty posters up, and there are quite a few powerful families hiding in the shadows with ill intentions.

"I can go back. But the tribulation must end first." If she were to go back rashly, making such a commotion, she would definitely be interrogated and interrogated. Rather than going back and having to deal with the attitudes of the eight great families, she thought it was better to undergo the tribulation in the Demon Realm. She could just sidle with whoever she didn't like.

Ye Qiao stretched out her hand, and the lightning strike landed on it again in the next second. She remained unfazed; the past seven days had left her completely numb from all the lightning strikes. "Where do we go next?" she asked.

There's no going back; we can only wait for the tribulation to end. Given the overwhelming force of the tribulation, it's unlikely to last any longer.

"Let's throw the demons into chaos first." Meng Liu felt the situation was already quite chaotic, so perhaps it could be made even more chaotic: "I know where some of the demons' bases are hiding valuable things."

Ye Qiao: "Let's go, let's go."

The two people and the bird practically turned the entire demon realm upside down. Meng Liu was responsible for providing the location and directing KFC to fly in which direction.

"We can blow up their treasure vault too."

"Take some things and leave before you blow it up," she said.

Meng Liu gestured that it was okay.

After finding the location of the treasure vault, Meng Liu hesitated whether to try to cleave it open with his sword, but Ye Qiao beat him to it, striking him with several incomprehensible demonic marks. With a light click, the marks fell, easily opening the treasure vault.

Meng Liu hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What's with that practiced ease in your movements?"

Ye Qiao replied vaguely, "I came here once before, but I didn't take much. I didn't expect they hadn't changed the opening seal yet."

Meng Liu: "..." He always had the illusion that Ye Qiao's entry into the Demon Clan was like coming home.

Next, he and Ye Qiao, like two melon thieves, stuffed the items into their clothes and sneakily ran away.

*

The scene of five Nascent Soul cultivators undergoing tribulations shrouded the entire Demon Realm in darkness. The aura of the Nascent Soul cultivators was easily identifiable, oppressive and suffocating. It was rare for a Nascent Soul cultivator to break through to the next realm, and even rarer to have five Nascent Soul cultivators.

"What's wrong with the Demon Clan these past few days? How dare they break through to the Nascent Soul stage? Aren't they afraid of being struck down by the Heavenly Dao?"

Some disciples couldn't help but wonder, "Could it be that I've misunderstood them? Are they actually not afraid of the lightning tribulation?"

"It's not surprising that the Demon Race has Nascent Soul cultivators." One of the elders stepped forward, his voice carrying a barely perceptible chill, "But quasi-Nascent Soul cultivators are indeed strange."

For the elders, those Nascent Soul cultivators, whose cultivation levels were so weak, were simply not worth their attention.

But the Quasi-Transformation God is different.

That was a genuine Nascent Soul stage cultivator; how could a mere demon possibly have a quasi-Nascent Soul stage cultivator?

They wished for the other's defeat. Ye Qinghan was the type to become famous overnight after reaching the Golden Core stage, and after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, he was even more outstanding.

The elders' expressions turned grim when an unknown person unexpectedly broke through their barrier first.

Whether they were cultivators or demons, none of them wanted anyone to get ahead of Ye Qinghan.

If they are demons, then the claim that the righteous path is number one is no match for demons is an absolute humiliation.

"To be precise, that was indeed a quasi-Nascent Soul stage. It wasn't the kind of cultivation level that was achieved by relying on rare and precious treasures."

"But even for a quasi-god-level cultivator, success is still uncertain."

If this kind of Nascent Soul tribulation hasn't ended by the eighth day, then it's similar to the judgment during the Nascent Soul stage.

Whether it will pass is hard to say.

……

The lightning tribulation continued for several days without any sign of abating. Ye Qiao was already annoyed and told Meng Liu to stay away from her. She casually swung her Jinghong Sword upwards, the tip of which struck the lightning tribulation. The tribulation was quickly absorbed. Unable to resist, she slashed at the lightning tribulation halfway through its path, the sword arcing sharply. "What exactly does this lightning tribulation mean?"

Meng Liu: "You still dare to fight against lightning tribulation?"

Ye Qiao was truly a rare oddball he had never seen before. He used the spirit sword as a hidden weapon, tossing it back and forth for fun. Now, he was even more outrageous, grabbing a long sword and pointing it directly at the thundercloud.

Why doesn't Heaven strike you down?

The lightning tribulation, cleaved in two by the Jinghong Sword, twisted and pierced into her body. Now, she was completely numb from the electric shocks. The lightning tribulation had never lasted so long before, a full eight days, which gave her a bad feeling.

After the eighth day ended, just when Ye Qiao thought the tribulation would last for nine days, she felt a wave of dizziness. Meng Liu's voice gradually disappeared, and soon Ye Qiao knew nothing more. Her mind went blank as she opened her eyes to find only darkness.

She lay on the ground, looking up at the sky, subconsciously shielding her eyes, until Ye Qiao's eyes gradually adjusted to the light.

Several figures, whose faces were not clearly visible, stood silently in front of her. Ye Qiao could hear their conversation.

"I heard that the one who came to be tried this time is from the Changming Sect."

"Changming Sect?"

"Ahhh, the first Nascent Soul cultivator in nearly a century is from the Changming Sect? I thought it was the Wenjian Sect."

"The Changming Sect hasn't gone bankrupt yet? That's unbelievable."

"What path does the visitor follow? The path of inquiry?"

"This one is a bit special; the one that came was from the Path of All Living Beings."

They had encountered the Path of Forgetfulness, the Path of Ruthlessness, the Path of Passion, the Path of Inquiry into One's Heart, and even the Path of Slaughter.

This is the first time the common people have done this.

The previously chattering figures fell silent for a few seconds. "The Path of the Common People, why did you bring in a savior?"

Of all the paths, only the Path of the Living Beings is jokingly referred to as the savior. Every Path of the Living Beings is born for the Great Dao. In several great battles, it was the cultivators of the Path of the Living Beings throughout the ages who selflessly sacrificed themselves for their righteous path.

Those were the cultivators who were most in accord with the Dao of Heaven in thousands of years.

Ye Qiao listened to their conversation in silence. She tried to open the mustard seed bag, but it was completely sealed. This strange scene reminded her of the trial Elder Zhao had mentioned after the Nascent Soul stage. These people were there to judge her. Whether she could pass this trial depended entirely on them.

She didn't dare to speak or ask any questions while the big shots were talking; she remained as quiet as a chicken listening to their discussion.

One of the judges said in a strange tone, "That's truly rare; he's the only one to reach the Nascent Soul stage in nearly a hundred years."

"Aren't you curious about how the Path of the Common People can break this deadlock?"

Whether someone is qualified or not, whether they are eligible to reach the level of a deity, depends entirely on the judgment.

If she cannot pass the trial, the tribulation lightning will continue. She will only break through to the next realm once she passes the trial.

Ye Qiao's tribulation lasted eight days because she did not participate in the trial; only by completing the trial could she successfully reach the Nascent Soul stage.

"Come on, guess what trial this Cang Sheng Dao has drawn."

Ye Qiao didn't have a chance to speak at all. She was forced to grab a piece of paper and then spread her hand out.

Soon, she was plunged into a dreamlike state, where unfamiliar scenes flashed by like a fleeting glimpse, and the place she stepped on seemed to be both in the human world and an endless hell.

Severed limbs and remains, the majestic celestial palace reduced to a slaughterhouse, and the girl's mournful cries all appeared before her eyes. Ye Qiao was distracted and thought for a moment, could this be her trial for the Nascent Soul stage?

As the scene kept repeating itself before her eyes, even someone as composed as Ye Qiao couldn't bear to see such a horrific massacre every time. She instinctively reached for her sword, but realizing that her storage pouch was locked, she swiftly shattered the scene before her with a punch.

Just as the illusion before her eyes shattered and a bright light burst forth, Ye Qiao's body had barely sensed the outside world when she was suddenly pushed from behind.

She stumbled, and heard someone say beside her, "Run!"

Ye Qiao instinctively ran away. What kind of joke was it to not run away and just wait to die?

Let's see how fast she runs.

The judges who happened to witness this scene were speechless. They fell silent one after another; they really did run away without hesitation.