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

Mingxuan reasonably believed that his fear of ghosts was not without reason. Who could stand his senior brother standing by the window all day without saying a word, watching him with a kind of affection?

After hearing his heartbreaking story, Ye Qiao stroked her chin and commented again, "Senior Brother's love is quite heavy."

That's for sure, isn't it?

Mingxuan was practically going crazy during those days.

Every night, his senior brother would check on him to see if he was sleeping well. Just recalling it made Mingxuan feel utterly hopeless. He leaned back and smiled, "That's why I say that senior brother sometimes really is like a female ghost."

His steps were so light that they barely made a sound when he landed. Not only him, but even Ye Qiao could hardly sense them, which showed how light his steps were and how steady his breathing was.

"There's no other way. The Zhou family mainly focuses on assassination techniques. You can't expect them to walk like normal people and make obvious noises," Xue Yu explained slowly to his fellow disciples who were unfamiliar with the backgrounds of the cultivation world's aristocratic families. "They became famous for this kind of swordsmanship."

"The righteous path often disdains methods like sneak attacks and assassinations, considering them beneath them. Otherwise, even though they are both sword-wielding families, the Zhou family wouldn't be constantly suppressed by the Ye family."

The senior brother's void realm is easy to understand.

It's practically an essential area for both home and travel, and even for murder!

Mingxuan and the others reluctantly accepted this explanation. He glanced at Ye Qiao and asked, "How did your trip upstairs go?"

Ye Qiao tossed the recording stone upwards. "I didn't see anything wrong with it from up there."

The image is shown on the photo-taking stone. Looking down from above, there is a brown mountain that appears normal at first glance.

After the photo-recording stone finished playing and shattered, Yue Qing'an unconsciously bit her nail. "The shape of this mountain looks kind of familiar."

Unfortunately, the memory stone only existed for a short time, and no matter how thick-skinned Yue Qing'an was, he would never let Ye Qiao climb up to take another look.

"I'll draw it for you," Ye Qiao said, thinking that Yue Qing'an might actually have seen this giant mountain. After all, the disciples of Penglai Island were well-traveled and knowledgeable.

She sketched the scene she had just seen on a piece of paper, and the outline of the sketch was exactly the same as what she had just seen.

Yue Qing'an lowered his eyes, staring intently at the outline above. He had to admit Ye Qiao's technique was quite good. After a moment's hesitation, he looked at Xue Yu, seemingly seeking his opinion, "Don't you think this mountain looks a bit like a living thing?"

The lines drawn by Ye Qiao, at first glance, are just a bit deformed, but upon closer inspection, they look more like a strangely shaped big fish.

Seeing that no one else spoke, Yue Qing'an pointed to two places on the map that looked like holes, "Look, there are eyes too."

"It does look somewhat like one, but we can't be sure if it's a living creature, can we?" Otherwise, it would be too creepy; they've been roaming around in the forbidden area for years.

"I remember a poem, 'May you grow wings and transform into a Northern Sea Fish.'" Yue Qing'an murmured softly, marveling, "If it's alive, its size and shape can only be that of the legendary Northern Sea Fish."

As expected of a major sect, they even possess the legendary creature, the Mingyu.

"Fish?" Mu Chongxi blinked. "Whose fish is this big?"

When they looked up, it really looked more like a huge mountain than a living creature. If it were a giant fish, they wouldn't have noticed it if it hadn't moved.

Good heavens, so that enormous thing inside their forbidden area wasn't a mountain, but a hibernating sea fish.

"It might not necessarily be some kind of sea fish; it's just that the mountain's shape is a bit strange."

Xue Yu pointed ahead, "Then tell me, why would our ancestor have bothered moving a mountain into the forbidden area?" The place where our ancestor ascended to immortality was originally a beautiful place with clear waters and lush mountains. It's strange enough that a mountain was inexplicably blocking the entrance to the depths of the forbidden area.

"Then you tell me..." Mingxuan swallowed hard, "Could the sound of flowing water I just heard have been made by it?"

After these words were spoken, the room fell silent for a moment. They realized that it wasn't entirely impossible.

"Wow, that's amazing, the sea bream."

"Hey, don't be scared. I heard that some people used to meditate under flowing water, which is said to train concentration. If it's a fish, it might not be water, but its saliva."

This is very interesting.

The constant scouring by the water allows for more focused cultivation; this place must have been visited by generations of direct disciples. Yet, no one said it wasn't a mountain, but a giant fish.

"Why is it so big?" Mu Chongxi clicked his tongue in amazement.

Yue Qing'an calmly replied, "The Ming fish is also known as Kun, so it is naturally very large."

"Actually, there's another poem about the Ming fish," Ye Qiao suddenly said slowly.

"What?" Yue Qing'an raised an eyebrow. Sword cultivators generally don't like reading, so she knows other poems?

"In the Northern Sea there is a fish named Kun." Ye Qiao found a suitable spot to squat down, muttering to herself, "Kun is so big that it can't be stewed in one pot. We need two barbecue grills. One for the secret recipe, and one for the spicy one." As she spoke, she also felt hungry, but unfortunately, she only had steamed buns with her.

The demons following in the shadows couldn't help but swallow hard.

"But unlike demonic beasts, the Mingyu is a legendary creature, something we've never even heard of. If it awakens, we won't even have a way to deal with it." Unlike them, Chu Ling wasn't so carefree as to chat and laugh in the forbidden area. Her expression turned slightly serious. "Should we go further in?"

If this thing really targets them, its enormous size means that even a slight movement could be fatal.

Ye Qiao looked at the mountain in front of her and said, "I don't think it has any ill intentions towards us for the time being."

These guys have been clubbing in forbidden areas for years. If this Mingyu had any ill intentions towards them, they would have been dead countless times over.

"However, it's hard to say whether it will have any ill intentions towards us after taking the artifact." If the other party is the guardian spirit of the forbidden artifact, and they unfortunately manage to take it, then the entire forbidden area will be thrown into chaos.

"That makes sense." Xue Yu nodded. "We'll grab it and run, but we need to keep our distance."

Chu Ling followed them inside with a heavy heart. Stepping onto the hard, monster-like body, she touched her arms and felt a chill on her back. Seeing the five of them standing as steady as Mount Tai, she raised her eyebrows and asked, "Aren't you afraid?" Were they certain that the Nether Fish wouldn't harm them?

"No, the main thing is that we've encountered far more bizarre things than that."

It's just a sea bream. Compared to their daily trials, it's not that incredible.

Just as Ye Qiao said, after stepping on it, the monster that resembled a Mingyu did not seem to attack them. Fearing unforeseen circumstances, they quickened their pace and left the area as quickly as possible. What followed were various previously unheard-of restrictions.

Even with two talisman cultivators present, it's impossible to completely avoid touching it.

With all seven of them working together and each using their unique skills, they were able to manage.

Until Xue Yu stepped on a barrier, four objects resembling cannon turrets suddenly rose up around him. Yue Qing'an, who was closest to them, widened his eyes, "What is this...?"

He stared into the gun barrel's eye, and the next second a blinding beam of light shot out and struck his abdomen. Yue Qing'an was thrown backward by inertia, and before he could struggle, the light formed a net that contracted and wrapped him up like a cocoon, suspending him in mid-air.

Yue Qing'an was a complete failure in physical combat; he didn't even have a chance to fight back after being hit.

Xue Yu, who was closest, tried to save him, but he couldn't keep up with the speed at all. After Yue Qing'an was captured, four cannons that appeared out of nowhere attacked them like madmen.

Seeing this, Ye Qiao quickly retreated, taking Chu Ling away from the attack range. When hit by the stream of light, it would form a contracting net that would suspend people in mid-air.

The group was having some trouble dodging; the thing was moving too fast.

Be careful.

"If you get hit, you'll be thrown into the air."

"And..." Yue Qing'an, who was suspended in mid-air, sniffed the air and called out a reminder, "The scent of wood bell flowers in the air has a numbing effect on the body, so you'd better hurry up."

Penglai is abundant in spiritual plants, and he is quite knowledgeable about them.

Yue Qing'an wasn't in a hurry. Someone would eventually come to rescue him. He was kneeling in the net, with an excellent view of the sky above, allowing him to easily survey the entire situation.

As a cultivator who preferred to consult the oracle from behind the scenes, he greatly enjoyed this feeling of having a comprehensive view of the situation.

"Eight o'clock, to the right and behind, get out of the way quickly." Yue Qing'an casually reminded him, and seeing Ming Xuan being a beat too slow and being hit by the streak of light, he sighed, "You're really weak."

Mingxuan was pulled to the ground by the recoil. Just as he was about to be grabbed, the defensive talisman in his arms shattered. The boy looked up, his fingertips flicked open a folding fan, and incantations gathered on the fan surface. With a swift and powerful flick of his wrist, he blasted away the stream of light behind him. He smiled insincerely, "Do you know, Yue Qing'an? If you were in our competition, you would definitely be the first one to be eliminated."

Yue Qing'an is really shameless. He was clearly the first to die, but he turned into the Commander of the Dead, pointing and gesturing at everyone from above.

"Really?" Yue Qing'an's voice was flat, with a slightly insincere smile. "Then I'm pretty strong."

After all, those who are targeted are not ordinary people.

Mingxuan gave a fake smile: "Wrong. It has nothing to do with strength. Generally, when we don't have a target, we usually take down the most despicable one first."

During their match, the first person targeted was Ye Qiao, whose hatred level was the highest.

Therefore, as the saying goes, one should not be too arrogant.

The two of them exchanged barbs, each speaking with a sharp edge.

Forced to kneel on one knee, Ye Qiao ducked and dodged with her sword. She blocked the attacks twice, but found that while the cannons were firing at them, they were also firmly pinning them down in place. If they moved even slightly, they would be surrounded and attacked by all four cannons at once, making it impossible for them to move.

She thought for a moment, then said, "Who will go stand behind the gun emplacement and block the cannon muzzle?"

The turret behind is the only place that won't be attacked. When running there, four people need to block the caliber at the same time. This tests not only teamwork, but also that when they arrive together, none of them can be touched by the Streamer.

It requires not only speed, but also agility.

Mu Chongxi said, "Then let's have the eldest senior brother, the junior sister, and the third senior brother. The four of us will do."

Although Xue Yu was useless in physical combat, he was still more agile than Ming Xuan. As a pill cultivator, he couldn't fight, but he was good at dodging.

Under the gentle breeze, all beings are equal, and all five passed the speed test.

Mingxuan, who was removed from the team, was happy to be free and continued to passionately banter with Yue Qingan.

Xue Yu sighed, "Alright."

They tried all sorts of strange poses, and after a few tests, they found that crawling was the fastest way to avoid being hit by the streaks of light.

It moved rapidly across the ground, like a strange creature.

Zhou Xingyun sighed, buried his face in his arms, and then, watching the three people moving like caterpillars, he followed them with a sense of hopelessness.

Holding their breath and following behind, the two Nascent Soul stage demons also felt a bit indescribable. To be honest, seeing these disciples in such a ghastly state, they were genuinely a little frightened.

They all mutated after going down into the forbidden area.

Do they have absolutely no burden of being direct disciples?

"..."

Mu Chongxi was the first to jump up and stand behind the raised turret. Seeing the incoming streak of light, he used Chaoxi as a shield and hurriedly asked, "What do we do? What do we do?"

Zhou Xingyun, Ming Xuan, and Ye Qiao arrived at the other three locations one after another.

"Block the cannon muzzle, you idiot!" Chu Ling jumped up and down in a panic. "Just use spirit stones to block it!"

Penglai is truly wealthy and powerful; they start by throwing away spirit stones as bait.

Ye Qiao took a steamed bun from her mustard seed bag and stuffed it in. Since the Flowing Light was a magical attack, the steamed bun could also temporarily cut off the medium.

"Alright." Mu Chongxi hurriedly picked out a low-grade spirit stone and used it to firmly block the cannon muzzle. "Let's go!"

He didn't forget to slash his sword across Yue Qing'an, who was hanging there, and then everyone pushed and shoved their way out of the scene.

"Holy crap, holy crap, run!"

This restriction isn't dangerous, but it's disgusting. What if all seven of them are captured? Who will rescue them? The demons who sneaked in behind them? Or should they ask the elders for help? That would be too embarrassing.

They were running too fast. The demons following behind exchanged a glance and said, "Catch up quickly."

A group of people were chasing each other, making the forbidden area very lively.

As they moved deeper inside, Chu Ling felt somewhat uncomfortable due to the oppressive spiritual energy. She exhaled, her breathing becoming labored. Seeing this, Xue Yu handed her a Spirit Transformation Pill, explaining, "This is where our ancestor ascended to heaven. The deeper you go, the stronger the spiritual energy becomes."

Penglai Island is considered a uniquely blessed area, and they don't really care about the so-called spiritual energy of the major sects. However, Chu Ling didn't expect that the spiritual energy inside the forbidden area was so dense that it was suffocating.

"The spiritual energy in the forbidden area is even denser than that on the main peak. Ignoring the potential dangers lurking inside, cultivating in the forbidden area is a good choice."

However, normal people probably wouldn't go to forbidden areas to cultivate.

The seven of them charged straight ahead, one after the other. At a corner, they found themselves at a dead end. Xue Yu frowned. "The road ahead is blocked."

Yue Qing'an tried touching the area around the stone wall. The wall in front of him was smooth, without any grooves. "It doesn't seem to have any mechanisms."

"This is easy." Ye Qiao formed a hand seal, and a spell seal kept turning in her palm. She looked at the dead end in front of her and was eager to try: "I can blow this wall down."

All non-combatants should retreat.

While Ye Qiao's curse seal might not be world-destroying, it was more than capable of blasting open a path through the forbidden area. The golden curse seal condensed in his hand, and with a backhand strike, he slammed it down on the wall without causing any damage.

Chu Ling, who had covered her ears in advance, was slightly taken aback.

what's going on?

"It seems there's a formation that isolates spiritual energy." Mingxuan bent down and tapped the ground. "Right under our feet."

In other words, the curse seal is ineffective.

The road is blocked.

Are you suggesting they dig a path out of the ground with shovels?

"It's alright, it's alright." Mu Chongxi said optimistically, "I can just kick this place open."

There's a saying that goes, "If there are no roads in the world, they can create them."

Mu Chongxi acted immediately. After a few seconds of preparation, he took a running start and kicked down hard, the force of which dented the wall through the rubble.

Behind the wall are probably the magical artifacts of the Changming Sect.

To avoid dangerous emergencies like being killed by opening the door, Ye Qiao held the secret book in her hand, hoping that her tentacles could reach out and control the magical artifact before it could retaliate.

With several loud bangs, Mu Chongxi kicked away all the flying stones blocking the exit, and with his fierce and powerful actions, a path was finally cleared from the blocked interior.

Ye Qiaomei raised an eyebrow slightly, calmly grasping the hidden book, "The magical artifact is inside."

The magical artifacts of the Changming Sect are easy to find, and they are not as dangerous as the Dark Book. The restrictions are set up as if it were child's play. Why does she have the feeling that the founder is impatient to get rid of that magical artifact?

"Coming, coming!" Mingxuan exclaimed excitedly. "I'll go open the door."

His eyes began to light up. Let them see just how awe-inspiring the magical artifacts of the Changming Sect are!