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

Xie Chuxue and the others were being watched by people all the time while they were in the sect. It makes sense, though. If an elder who stays in the sect all year round suddenly leaves the sect, it must be something unusual. Therefore, if they leave rashly, they are likely to alert the enemy.

But it was common for these disciples to go to various places to gain experience, so no one would suspect anything because of it.

Ye Qiao: "Wow, that's brilliant, Junior Uncle. Where should I go to find Yun Que and the person behind her?"

Please don't hit Xie Chuxue again. Although he seems like an idiot, he's still an idiot with a brain.

"I don't need you," Xie Chuxue chuckled. "Do you think the disciples of Penglai are just for show?"

Ye Qiao paused noticeably, and her voice was no longer as assertive as before; it sounded slightly weak: "But Junior Uncle, I just beat him up."

Although they only met once, she could tell that the other party was extremely aloof. Given Yue Qing'an's personality, how could he possibly help them find Yun Que's whereabouts?

"You're right," Xie Chuxue said softly. "I was careless."

They considered everything, but overlooked Ye Qiao's personality.

Ye Qiao muttered to herself, "I'll have a good talk with him then." More concerned than that, however, was another question: "Is the person behind Yun Que easy to deal with?"

"Don't worry, don't worry." Xie Chuxue's voice was calm, and she chuckled twice: "Even the Demon Lord, who failed to ascend, managed to survive within your consciousness, let alone a cultivator."

He guessed, "The person behind this can't be too powerful."

Ye Qiao also had a premonition that the other party might not be difficult to deal with. What made her uneasy was Yue Qing'an's words. According to him, was someone from the Five Sects destined to sacrifice themselves for this?

She pursed her lips slightly. "How is Ye Qinghan doing?"

Xie Chuxue said softly, "He's alright, but I don't know clearly what happened to him in the secret realm. After coming out, he doesn't seem to have any signs of breaking through."

Five days later, Ye Qinghan emerged, but there was no sign of him breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, which made Xie Chuxue somewhat anxious.

One Nascent Soul cultivator like Ye Qiao from the five sects is far too few. A few more Nascent Soul cultivators would be needed to deter those reckless demons.

Ye Qiao scratched her hair. "Then let's wait for us to go back first."

……

Changming Sect was negotiating, trying to see if they could borrow the two personal disciples, but Penglai gave an ambiguous reply, only saying, "Ask Yue Qing'an his own opinion."

When asked by the elders whether he wanted to help, Yue Qing'an responded with silence.

Chu Ling shrugged helplessly and tried to persuade him to take it easy: "It's just that we're not as skilled as others. Besides, we're not known for our physical skills anyway, so it's normal to get beaten up." If he really took it to heart, that would be ungentlemanly.

"She's not only skilled in physical combat, but she also knows a huge variety of sword techniques." Chu Ling had observed her ability to handle three opponents with ease.

But clearly, the senior brother had never witnessed Ye Qiao's abilities and didn't know that she had held back when she hit him.

"Don't you think they're utterly shameless?" He gave a faint smile. "They beat me up and now they want to ask Penglai for help? Changming Sect is really something."

"I think Ye Qiao probably didn't expect the Five Sects would need our help later, so she acted impulsively." Chu Ling gently touched her chin with her finger, pondering. "Speaking of which, why did you all start arguing?"

Yue Qing'an hesitated for a moment, but still answered his junior sister's question: "She is on the same path as me."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Chu Ling was slightly surprised, then drew out her words: "I've never met anyone on the same path as you before."

Logically, shouldn't the two of them feel like they'd known each other forever?

"That's what I thought too. It's not easy to find someone who shares the same path as me, and just recently, I deduced some things about the future and revealed them to Ye Qiao."

"Then I advised her not to interfere, since these kinds of things can be resolved by sacrificing a few people. What's wrong with exchanging a minority for the majority? She then punched me!"

He repeated angrily several times, "The Changming Sect. They really are a bunch of philanthropists."

Chu Ling gently tapped the table: "Among those who sacrificed their lives, were there any she knew?"

"Maybe?" He wasn't sure either, only remembering that he had used the I Ching divination method at the time, but since it didn't concern him, he hadn't paid much attention.

Chu Ling glanced at him silently for a moment: "So you're basically telling her, 'Your family only lost a few people. Why not use them to exchange for peace in the cultivation world?' If it were me, I'd beat you up too."

"Many cultivators consider their sect as their home."

It has to be said that her senior brother has perhaps been living in seclusion for too long, and has even lost the most basic emotional intelligence.

Yue Qing'an knew that his words at the time were somewhat inappropriate, so he replied softly, "I'll think about the cooperation."

He didn't outright refuse, and Chu Ling breathed a slight sigh of relief, secretly smiling. "You still softened, didn't you? You're fellow cultivators; it's rare to encounter a cultivator who shares your path. Don't you want to observe her and see if there's anything special about her?"

"You're right, then I really look forward to it..." He pursed his lips, his tone gentle, "Her path."

*

Yue Qing'an said he would consider it, but in reality he had already agreed. Just as his junior sister said, he was still very tolerant of those who shared the same path. Although he was annoyed by Ye Qiao's actions, he still wanted to go on a trip to Penglai with them. No one would not yearn for the outside world.

Yue Qing'an had been stuck at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage for a long time, and perhaps the elders wanted to go with the flow and help him find an opportunity to break through to the Divine Transformation stage.

The next morning, Yue Qing'an was awakened by various explosions in the oven.

He looked at the alchemists, who were in pairs. The ground was charred black from the explosion of the alchemy furnaces. The only one whose furnace hadn't exploded was Si Miaoyan from the Biyue Sect.

Chu Lingqing couldn't help but exclaim, "She's really amazing!"

"That's the chief disciple of the Azure Water Sect," he said calmly. "His strength is beyond doubt."

"Unlike that sword cultivator named Ye Qiao..." Yue Qing'an sneered slightly, launching a series of punches right from the start!

Yue Qing'an couldn't help but wonder if her current fame in the cultivation world was solely due to beating up those who spoke ill of her.

"Actually, sword cultivators are very powerful." Chu Ling racked her brains for a long time.

"Besides, you two are on the same path," Chu Ling said. "Aren't you looking forward to seeing the sword intent of the Path of the Common People?"

Oh.

"I'd rather admire Ye Qinghan's sword intent than see her."

"..." It's all over.

The two had a permanent feud.

The alchemists were busy refining pills, and for several days in a row, there were all sorts of explosions in Penglai.

The lowest level of cultivation among these direct disciples is the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, while a single pill made from spiritual plants collected from Penglai can easily raise one's cultivation level.

Miao Miao's cultivation level is the lowest; she's only at the initial stage. If she can successfully refine it, she can easily break through to the next level.

With the added benefit of elixirs, one could even easily break through two realms.

The sword cultivators who went to find the spiritual plants suffered greatly. When they returned, some were so poisoned that their bodies changed color, while others started spitting out colorful bubbles.

Ye Qiao didn't participate in the alchemy; she was preparing various antidotes for them. This tested a pill cultivator's speed and reaction ability; if she was even slightly slow, the other party might be done for.

She multitasks effortlessly, shuttling between the two alchemy furnaces.

One of the more fun aspects of this job is that you get to witness biodiversity.

For several days in a row, as the cultivation levels of several of his direct disciples loosened, news of breakthroughs began to emerge one after another. Chu Ling was even starting to consider having them refine one for him.

Without a second thought, Si Miaoyan declined, saying, "I think your cultivation levels might need to be further stabilized."

These people, having traveled all over the country, have more stable cultivation levels than ordinary cultivators, and they can break through with the help of pills without any side effects, but this is not necessarily the case for others.

Chu Ling thought it made sense and could only leave disappointed.

Why is Ye Qiao making no move?

Everyone else had reached a new level of enlightenment, and she seemed out of place.

Chu Ling wasn't sure either. "It seems she didn't take that pill?"

As the two were whispering, Ye Qiao saw Yue Qing'an. This time, she had learned her lesson and smiled, "Let's make up. Could you help us move Yun Que's location today?"

Yue Qing'an: "..."

"Let go." His lips were stiff.

She didn't care about his stiff tone, "Deduce the location of Yun Que of the Yueqing Sect."

Yue Qing'an still harbored some resentment towards Ye Qiao; it was the first time he'd ever been beaten up in his life. He kept his distance from her without showing any emotion, saying, "I know."

He knew who Yun Que was—a traitor to one of the Five Sects—but…

"After you find her, are you going to kill her?" Yue Qing'an caught up with her, maintaining a meter's distance to avoid being attacked by a sudden punch. "I advise you not to do that."

Why?

"Because she has a very good destiny. Killing her might incur the wrath of Heaven."

Ye Qiao didn't seem to care much: "It's alright, she has to die."

In fact, Xie Chuxue had said the same thing. But as long as the luck emanating from Yun Que continues to weaken, who says we can't kill her? Xie Chuxue has imprisoned Yun Que for so long, and now her luck should be almost gone. Ye Qiao wants to take this opportunity to get rid of Yun Que to avoid any unforeseen complications.

"Could it be that you hate her?" Yue Qing'an rarely showed such a surprised expression. He thought that Ye Qiao's personality should be quite carefree.

"No, not really." She touched her chin. "I don't actually hate her." The word "hate" was too heavy, so it really wasn't a word to use.

After three years of entanglement, and for more than half of that time she had no contact with Yun Que, all the grudges and resentments had long since dissipated.

Even if we meet, we can look at each other as if we were strangers.

The problem is—

Yunque is truly an unpredictable variable.

Seeing this, Yue Qing'an said no more. He stated in advance, "I will only provide you with the seats; we will not participate in anything else."

Having lived in seclusion in Penglai for so many years, it is impossible for them to easily break their principles and interfere.

"OK."

……