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

Seeing them avoid her like the plague, Ye Qiao found these people utterly incomprehensible.

But it doesn't matter, she's too lazy to argue with them.

Chu Xingzhi and his group barely had to lift a finger. Two wide-range sword techniques swept the surrounding area clean. In the time it took for the Ye family elders to be stunned, a group of Nascent Soul stage demons were instantly annihilated by the domain.

They exchanged a meaningful glance.

This field is truly a wonderful thing.

Ye Qiao clapped her hands, and the pale green aura dissipated in her palm. "Now, let's talk about what's next."

Want to chat?

Their expressions were slightly strange.

Ye Qiao has a really good mental fortitude; he can calmly negotiate with them amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood.

The Jinghong Sword landed lightly beside her, and together with the other three sword spirits, it glanced at the other three sword spirits without making a sound. Jun, however, turned his back to her.

Fei Xianjian ignored her, and Han Shuang, the dazed little loli, didn't react much either.

Seeing these four different types of sword spirits, several daring sword cultivators tried to touch them, but they were disappointed. The sword spirits were just phantoms, and no one except the sword master could touch them.

The four spirit swords were astonishing, and they even took human form.

The Ye family has a long history of sword cultivation, and they have always admired sword cultivators, especially those with exceptional talent. Now, faced with a junior like Ye Qiao wanting to have a chat, they couldn't bring themselves to say anything awkward.

"Ye Qiao." An elder of the Ye family trembled slightly, his voice suddenly turning serious, "You really used this domain to kill Yun Que?"

Logically speaking, it would be easy for a Nascent Soul cultivator to kill a Golden Core cultivator. Perhaps the other party was too strange, and his ability to escape death time and time again made the sight of Yun Que's death seem inexplicably unreal.

"Even a demon emperor with a divided spirit cannot escape, let alone a Golden Core cultivator." Ye Qinghan answered this point with certainty.

Even with the ability to escape death, unless Heaven itself intervenes, there's no way she could survive under such absolute suppression.

"They just took care of her like that." Someone asked worriedly, "...Won't the demons retaliate?"

"That's hard to say," Ye Qiao analyzed logically. "But in this operation, it's clear that the demons pushed her out to die. If she were really worth the demons taking revenge on us, then the Right Protector wouldn't have taken her things and abandoned her to run away."

It is clear that Yun Que was not as important to the demons as they thought.

She didn't have much of an emotional reaction to Yun Que's death. The Yueqing Sect members might be a little dazed when they heard the news, after all, they had spent several years together.

"Did you really like her before?" Mu Chongxi couldn't help but gossip about the love life of this righteous genius. Back then, he and Ye Qiao were both dumbfounded and shocked that he had gone blind at such a young age.

Before seeing Ye Qinghan and Yun Que together, Mu Chongxi held Ye Qinghan in high esteem. With the same talent, Ye Qinghan became famous at a young age, which made it hard for a group of young boys not to admire her.

Ye Qinghan was so tormented by the people of Changming Sect that he had lost all temper. In the past, he would have already slashed them with his sword. At this moment, he sighed helplessly and said indifferently, "I don't know."

Before love can even blossom, betrayal is the first thing experienced.

Moreover, he mainly cultivates the Path of Ruthlessness, and he has to choose between the Path and her.

Ye Qinghan simply said, "She wasn't like this before. When I first met her, she was being chased for some reason, and she bumped into me that day. I helped her out."

That was the first time he had met a girl with that kind of personality.

Soft yet upright.

He became unusually talkative, and even in front of so many members of the Ye family, he could talk about his first encounter with Yun Que without changing his expression.

A group of straight-laced male sword cultivators collectively started looking at their phones like elderly people on the subway: "..."

Forgive them for not understanding romance.

The Ye family head felt a pang of stomachache listening to this. He waved his hand to interrupt Ye Qinghan's long-winded explanation, "Qinghan, are you sure she wasn't being chased for stealing something?"

Zhu You also said calmly, "Or perhaps, you stole someone else's opportunity?"

Their perspective was rather unusual, something Ye Qinghan hadn't considered, and he fell silent.

"Ye Qinghan." Ye Qiao tugged at him, and when he looked over, she pointed at Si Miaoyan and the others: "If you really want to find a Daoist partner, the alchemists in the Biyue Sect are actually quite good."

Those alchemists aren't good at fighting, but as rare talents in the cultivation world, they won't refuse to be used wherever possible. Ye Qiao thinks that the Azure Water Sect is the most conscientious of the five sects.

Chu Xingzhi scratched his head. "I think Senior Brother just can't understand why she turned out this way."

Chu Xingzhi's first impression of Yun Que was actually quite good.

"It's jealousy, isn't it?" Si Miaoyan understood Yun Que's mindset. In a large sect like this, where the weak are eliminated, everyone would feel jealous to some extent. When one's talent is inferior, facing the master's disappointed eyes and the senior brother's indifferent attitude, the environment is indeed somewhat oppressive.

Over time, one's mindset becomes distorted.

Si Miaoyan's answer was accepted by most people.

Ultimately, they didn't feel any regret. When they mentioned each other, they were only puzzled and confused. After a few words, they changed the subject.

"Elder Ye," Zhu You waved her hand, "what are your plans next?"

The demons have invaded our doorstep! With their sect leader away and no one to rely on, they instinctively wanted to hear the opinions of the elders of these powerful families.

The head of the Ye family gave a wry smile: "For now, lead some of the younger direct descendants to evacuate."

"The final strategy is simply the same as your sect's decision." Meeting their slightly disappointed gazes, he said with a hint of helplessness, "Besides that, there's nothing else we can do."

"Does your family, as a prominent clan, have no other skilled individuals, either inside or outside the clan?"

The head of the Ye family shook his head.

He pondered for a moment and replied, "My grandfather and the others might have a way, but they are in seclusion. They won't come out easily unless it concerns the survival of the Ye family."

Those are all powerful beings several hundred years old. Rare and precious treasures are of little use to them. Those seniors are all trying their best to advance their cultivation levels and overcome tribulations; how could they possibly emerge from seclusion so easily?

Mu Chongxi stammered, "Can't you get the other seven aristocratic families to join forces against the demons? There are those who draw talismans and refine weapons, those who wield swords, and those who cultivate alchemy. They can't possibly be outmatched by those illiterate demons, can they?"

Elder Ye raised his eyes and chuckled lightly, "We naturally understand the principle. But it's not as easy as you make it sound."

The discord among the eight major families has been a fine tradition that has continued for hundreds of years.

Moreover, resources are limited, and the eight families are competing with each other. Unless a major disaster is imminent, the possibility of them joining forces is extremely low.

"The Ye family has been attacked. Are they so sure the demons won't attack them? Not a single aristocratic family has come to their aid yet. They might be the next ones to suffer a great calamity," Mu Chongxi muttered.

Their sect has always been one where everyone prospers or suffers together.

"They're not stupid." The Ye family head couldn't help but roll his eyes at his childish words, and chuckled. "Why is the Demon Clan targeting the Ye family instead of attacking other sects? Why are they targeting the Ye family instead of the other eight aristocratic families? It's easy to guess. Their target is Ye Qinghan. Once they figure out what the Demon Clan's purpose is, they won't need to take any action."

Those old fogies are all hoping to have one less competitor.

Ye Qiao's gaze gradually began to wander and she drifted into a daze. After activating her domain, she felt utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally, and sat down on the ground as if her body had been hollowed out.

Zhou Xingyun poked a tiny ahoge (cowlick) on Ye Qiao's head with his finger, and then, seeing that no one was paying attention, he quickly slapped the ahoge down to try and smooth it out.

Mu Chongxi spotted it and took the opportunity to grab a piece of his own.

Ye Qiao felt something on her head. Looking up, she saw Mu Chongxi's outstretched hand. Without hesitation, she kicked it away. "Are you going to slap my head again?"

How awful! They're treating her like a dog, aren't they?

Mu Chongxi, who had just stepped back, shouted, "That wasn't me!!"

The culprit, Zhou Xingyun, calmly withdrew from the scene.

The three of them started arguing, and Yue Qing'an saw it all clearly. It was Zhou Xingyun who had taken the picture of Ye Qiao. Goodness, this guy has quite a twisted sense of humor.

He glanced at them for a few seconds before looking away. Taking the opportunity, Yue Qing'an began to lecture his junior sister, pointing to the group of disciples from the five major sects: "See that? Little Ling, these disciples are cooperating very well. We should learn from the tacit understanding between the major sects."

Chu Ling blinked, and upon hearing her senior brother's lecture, she nodded in agreement. "Ye Qinghan and Ye Qiao are indeed quite good. I haven't seen the others fight much." Seeing how exaggerated her senior brother's words were, she shrugged. "Now it seems their relationship isn't as bad as it appeared on the island."

It's hard to tell whether their relationship is good or bad.

……

The scene at the Ye family residence was a complete mess. A group of Ye family guards were cleaning up the battlefield. Ye Qiao's domain was cleaned up quite well, which greatly reduced the burden on the guards responsible for cleaning. The group was led to the inner hall of the Ye family residence to discuss what to do next.

They first analyzed the problem from Yun Que's memories: why was Ye Qinghan able to see Ye Qiao in Yun Que's memories?

When did Yun Que first notice Ye Qiao?

Ye Qiao was also pondering the incongruity of this situation. Before Yun Que's spiritual root was damaged, she was a genuinely promising talent, which is why Yun Hen took her from the mortal realm and personally accepted her as his disciple.

Even if a genius with a top-grade spiritual root is damaged, he would probably look down on a disciple with a mid-grade spiritual root.

The original owner's spiritual root was always mistakenly thought to be of medium grade, so what was Yun Que thinking? Why would she accept a medium grade spiritual root so readily?

Xie Chuxue said that there might be someone behind her giving advice.

Ye Qiao couldn't help but tap the table with her fingertip. She suspected that the other person was not only giving Yun Que advice, but also probably knew the script.

Moreover, the other person had a more complete script than she did.

That person knew the original owner's true talent.

Ye Qiao considered herself to have a very good memory; even if she skimmed through the book, she could still remember the plot perfectly.

The book never mentions the original owner's Heavenly Grade Spiritual Root, but the people behind Yun Que know this plot point that wasn't even written in the book, otherwise they wouldn't have deliberately dug up the original owner's spiritual root.

"That's troublesome." Ye Qiao couldn't help but sigh, leaning on the table, and started fiddling with the little doll.

"Apart from the Azure Water Sect, the elders of the other four sects are all suspects. We can only investigate them one by one."

The group searched Yun Que's mustard seed bag thoroughly but found no useful clues.

The little puppet in Ye Qiao's hand attracted a lot of attention.

Si Miaoyan stared intently at the exquisite doll. "What do you say...?"

"Could it be related to the Chengfeng Sect?"

After the Right Protector returned, he probably went to inform others, and now they don't have much time left. Si Miaoyan just wants to find that person who's pretending to be a ghost as soon as possible.

Liu Yun still felt their conjecture was too hasty: "Perhaps Yun Que has some other source of information. Suspecting the elder is going too far."

"That relic must have been obtained by her through deception from some Buddhist disciple, right? How can you doubt a Buddhist disciple?"

"Haha. Excuse me for interrupting everyone." Chu Xingzhi chuckled twice, then suddenly said, "If you're guessing like this, and if it really is related to the inner sect elders, then the ones who should be worried now are the inner and outer sect disciples."

"Our elders have ordered the weaker members to leave, and now a group of strong inner and outer disciples are left to guard the sect."

For safety reasons, those who were not strong enough were taken away by the elders for refuge.

Wouldn't those inner and outer disciples who were left behind be in danger?

"..."

Makes sense.

"You guys..." Zhou Xingyun, who had been relegated to the background, suddenly tilted his head, leaned close behind them, and said in a low voice, "Has no one suspected Junior Uncle?"

Junior Uncle knows more than Ye Qiao does.

Ye Qiao at most knew the script in advance, but she couldn't possibly understand the inside story from just one novel. Xie Chuxue, on the other hand, had actually experienced it countless times. If he wanted to make a move first, they would all die a horrible death.

Of course, no one doubted their senior brother, whose words were so shocking that they gave everyone a fright.

Ye Qiao shuddered and turned around: "Don't tell ghost stories, Senior Brother."

If this really is Junior Uncle, then it's a ghost story, really.

Zhou Xingyun's dark eyes, coupled with his light and airy tone, were strangely unsettling, causing them all to shudder involuntarily.

"Oh." He returned to normal in a second, clearly having been deliberately teasing his junior brothers and sisters.

Yue Qing'an felt that it was difficult to explain in a few words.

This chief looks very serious, but he actually has a rather wicked sense of humor.

Indeed, appearances can be deceiving.

After silently criticizing Zhou Xingyun, Yue Qing'an cleared her throat and spoke.

"Why don't you contact the others first? Then return to your respective sects and resolve the turmoil within them. If I'm not mistaken, your five sects are extremely reliant on their sect leaders. Now that the sect leaders are absent, there's a high probability that chaos will ensue both inside and outside your sects."

"The demons are very good at inciting people. Without the sect leader present, the elders who remain have no deterrent effect on the disciples of both the inner and outer sects."

"Think about it." Yue Qing'an's lips curled up. "A group of elders took away the weaker ones and had the disciples evacuate in advance. All of you are missing. In the eyes of those inner disciples, you've just packed up and run away. You've enjoyed so many resources on a daily basis, but you run away at a critical moment. They are easily incited. Once the sect falls into chaos, the elders' verbal and physical pressure will be completely ineffective."

"At this point, it wouldn't be difficult for the demons to take advantage of the situation and defeat them."

For a sect, only its direct disciples are the true pillars of stability.

"So now—" he rambled on, "your sect needs you more than anywhere else."