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

Anyway, as long as they're not embarrassed, it's others who are embarrassed.

It's just that I went to the wrong place.

So what?

The cultivators in the audience were stunned: "Those few idiots who went astray, are they from the Changming Sect?"

"Hilarious! Is this year's Changming Sect really that interesting?"

In their general impression, Changming Sect is the least prominent of the five sects, and they rarely talk about it even when chatting.

They guarantee that this dramatic scene will likely never be more memorable for the next thousand years.

Xue Yu had never experienced such an embarrassing scene before. He lowered his head, not daring to face the strange looks from the other cultivators.

In contrast, Ye Qiao seemed exceptionally fearless. She casually patted her clothes, waved to the onlookers, and smiled, looking like a leader on a rural inspection tour.

"..."

"Let's be frank, I like people with serious illnesses."

"Me too. Just look at her getting up from the ground and waving at us as if nothing happened. She's obviously shameless. Isn't that exactly the kind of talent the Changming Sect needs?"

Those around him nodded in agreement.

Ultimately, they felt that among the five sects, Changming Sect was too obedient. While the other sects could fight each other for resources, they would leave a share for those who didn't get any.

She's definitely a naive and innocent girl.

"I heard that their junior sister this year is only a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a mid-grade spiritual root."

"Huh?" Someone paused for a moment, "Are they crazy from losing?"

Whether Changming Sect has lost its mind or has other plans, it undoubtedly means that Changming Sect is destined to be last place this year.

Knowing this doesn't stop the fact that all the direct descendants of their clan are good-looking.

The five members' bright red sect robes stood out brilliantly, with gold trim outlining auspicious clouds, making them more eye-catching than the plain-colored sect robes of the other sects.

Especially under Ye Qiao's leadership, the other three, who initially felt uncomfortable and even somewhat socially awkward, gradually began to walk with an air of nonchalance.

Chu Xingzhi was about to make a sarcastic remark as they passed by, but Ye Qiao didn't even glance at him and just walked past.

His lips curled into a cold smile. He turned his head and saw Mingxuan about to say something again, but Mingxuan walked past without even glancing at him.

Chu Xingzhi's smile completely vanished: "..."

Ahhh, once we enter the secret realm, he'll definitely teach those people from the Changming Sect a lesson!

"Ye Qiao!!" Duan Hengdao, sitting on the Chengfeng Sect's side, grinned at her, waved, and greeted her quietly.

Hearing the noise, Ye Qiao turned her head to look.

Then I got censored.

The golden royal robes almost blinded her when she saw them.

In an instant, Ye Qiao found the fiery red clan robes she was wearing more appealing.

"Behave yourself." The senior brother slapped Duan Hengdao on the head hard. He couldn't understand how his junior brother had become so familiar with the Changming Sect members after going out to train. He was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, which was arguably the most inconspicuous existence in the entire competition.

Unfortunately, her own junior brother's enthusiastic manner resembled that of a sycophant.

Duan Hengdao covered his head and muttered three words in frustration: "You don't understand." You don't understand Ye Qiao at all.

As the Void Realm opened, they entered it amidst the tense and excited gazes of all the cultivators.

The first major competition has officially begun—

Everyone's location was randomly assigned. Ye Qiao was lucky enough to avoid being alone; she landed at the same spot as Xue Yu.

The first thing they felt upon entering was the cold. Since it was nighttime in the secret realm, Xue Yu immediately used his divine sense to check the surroundings. After confirming that there was no danger, the two decided to sit down.

She had a fluffy little chick on her head, her finger pointing at a gun, her chin resting on her hand, looking thoughtful.

The terrain inside the secret realm was extremely complex, and a slight misstep could lead to some danger. Therefore, to prevent any accidents, the two decided that it would be better to stay where they were for the time being.

Duan Yu frowned as he watched the group being divided into teams.

"Ye Qiao is with Xue Yu, and that girl is only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. No matter how you look at it, there's no way she can protect Xue Yu."

Mingxuan and the others landed in different locations. Qin Fanfan wasn't too worried about the other three, as they were all Golden Core cultivators and had the ability to protect themselves in the secret realm.

But Xue Yu is only a pill cultivator; if he encounters a sword cultivator, he'll be eliminated.

Strictly speaking, alchemy practitioners are even weaker and less able to take care of themselves than talisman practitioners. They can only provide pills to their teammates, and they are completely useless when it comes to fighting.

Xue Yu was clearly aware of this as well. He surveyed his surroundings and said softly, "Let's find our senior brother and the others as soon as possible."

There are many more monsters at night, but with Xue Yu releasing his divine sense, there's no need for Ye Qiao to worry about them. Because of the cold weather, Ye Qiao simply rolled up a KFC chicken ball to use as a hand warmer.

Ignoring the other party's angry shouts, Ye Qiao used the bamboo shoots as sticks, poking at the bushes, and leisurely walked ahead to clear the way.

Each person carries a recording stone to share the situation inside the secret realm with the outside world. In a sense, it's like a live broadcast; once you miss it, it's gone.

Therefore, during the competition, almost the entire cultivation world watched the recordings projected by the recording stone, afraid of missing any exciting moments.

After observing the situation at the Sword Inquiry Sect, some cultivators whispered among themselves:

"Is Chu Xingzhi going to settle scores with the Changming Sect?"

The two families had a long-standing feud, and no fighting was allowed before the competition began. But once it started, it was time to settle scores and grievances.

"It seems so. The Changming Sect only has Xue Yu and a Foundation Establishment junior sister. Are they going to be eliminated on the very first day?"

"What a pity." But it was also expected.

In every competition, Changming Sect is always the first to be eliminated. Chu Xingzhi is not weak, at the early stage of Golden Core, and the sword in his hand is a spiritual weapon ranked in the top twenty. Only Mu Chongxi and Zhou Xingyun of Changming Sect can suppress him.

Unfortunately, at this crucial moment, the group was separated.

Ye Qiao was participating in the competition for the first time and was still only vaguely familiar with the rules. Xue Yu kindly explained to her, "The main thing is to hunt down monsters, and the group that kills the most monsters wins."

"Your identity token represents you personally. If it is accidentally crushed, you will be eliminated. The jade slip in your hand records the ranking of each individual in the sect."

Xue Yu took out a jade slip and showed her the rankings, indicating, "The first place is now Ye Qinghan."

"The second place goes to Qin Huai of Chengfeng Sect."

"The third place is Song Hansheng."

These people are indeed fast; they started moving as soon as they entered the secret realm.

"I see." Ye Qiao drew out her words slightly, indicating that she understood.

In fact, compared to other sects who quickly got into the competition as soon as they entered the secret realm, the Changming Sect's duo was clearly out of sorts.

Ye Qiao tossed her identity token into her storage bag. "Anyway, there are still five days left, so let them hunt for now."

Xue Yu rarely agreed so readily: "Then let's just stay here for now."

Hearing the conversation between these two unambitious disciples, Elder Zhao sighed and rubbed his forehead.

Xue Yu used to be a very upright and decent kid.

The spectators whispered among themselves, "I couldn't help but laugh. The Sword Inquiry Sect was all about sword fights and life-or-death battles. How come the Changming Sect is like two old men taking a stroll?"

"While this description is a bit far-fetched, it's quite accurate."

Isn't that right?

Ye Qiao and Xue Yu were both incredibly nonchalant, acting as if they were on vacation, without the slightest bit of urgency.

Xue Yu really didn't plan to bring back any rankings, so he wasn't in a hurry at all.

As for Ye Qiao, she knew what was going to happen next. The original story mentioned the Grand Competition, in which the male and female protagonists both stole the show and became famous throughout the world.

In the novel, Xue Yu was the first to be eliminated during the competition.

Therefore, someone will definitely come after them, since alchemists are the easiest to target in the secret realm, bar none.

She had to find a way to help her third senior brother survive until the end of the secret realm.

"Third Senior Brother," Ye Qiao pondered for a while, then asked, "If a Golden Core stage sword cultivator came to fight you, what are your chances of not being eliminated?"

Xue Yu lowered his eyes for a few seconds, then finally spread his hands: "I'm just a weak and helpless alchemist. Expecting an alchemist to fight is like expecting a sow to fly."

It's not hard to understand the junior sister's concerns. In the past, the first to be eliminated in the competition were all alchemists. After all, they had no ability to protect themselves, and once they were found, they would only be eliminated.

Ye Qiao pondered for a moment, then suddenly clapped his hands: "By the way, Third Senior Brother, do you have a pill furnace?"

Xue Yu nodded: "Yes."

The Xue family is a family of alchemists, and as a direct descendant, he uses alchemy furnaces that are at least of the highest grade. He has at least five different kinds of alchemy furnaces in his storage bag.

Ye Qiao had only asked casually, but to her surprise, there really was one, and she immediately became interested: "Can I touch it?"

Xue Yu readily agreed and took one out of his mustard seed bag to show her.

It was the size of a palm, but he channeled his spiritual energy and it quickly grew larger. The crimson pill was engraved with intricate patterns, and it looked very expensive.

Ye Qiao immediately reached out and touched it, then moved her lips and muttered in an eager tone, "Wow... this thing must be very heavy."

Xue Yu: "Huh?" He didn't follow Ye Qiao's leap of thought and subconsciously answered, "Yes, it's quite heavy."

This alchemy furnace is so big that it must weigh at least 100 pounds if it weren't shrunk.

"Really?" Ye Qiao's eyes lit up. "Can I give it a try?"

Try it?

He was even more confused: "Try what?"

"It's nothing." Ye Qiao met Xue Yu's puzzled gaze, smiled slightly, and said, "Just wait and follow my instructions in a moment, Senior Brother Xue."

In the past, when going down into secret realms, Xue Yu always took on the role of commander because several of his senior and junior brothers from the Changming Sect were unreliable. Over time, he got used to it.

Ye Qiao suddenly said to follow her instructions. Xue Yu remembered his previous encounter in the secret realm. After a moment of hesitation, he actually agreed as if possessed.

……

On the other side, Chu Xingzhi casually blasted a demonic beast and turned to his junior sister, saying, "Let's find the alchemists of Changming Sect and Biyue Sect first."

"First, crush Xue Yu and Ming Xuan's identity tokens. Then those few people from Changming Sect won't be able to cause any trouble."

The talisman cultivator and alchemist were essentially a mage and a healer, respectively. With both of them eliminated, what use are the three sword cultivators left?

Zhu You nodded. "And there's Ye Qiao too."

How dare someone who has only just established their foundation come to the Grand Competition? Zhu You couldn't understand it. This kind of person must either have gotten in through connections or be the trump card of the Changming Sect. Either way, it strengthened her resolve to eliminate him.

Chu Xingzhi nodded casually: "Leave it to me." He didn't take a Foundation Establishment cultivator seriously.

The location of the secret realm is fixed, and the total area is only so big. He quickly found the two people who were wandering around by himself on his sword.

The scene of being mocked and ignored by several people was still vivid in Chu Xingzhi's mind. He did not hold back and his sword strike was a killing move.

Xue Yu noticed him approaching and took two steps back with his junior sister to dodge the sword.

Dust billowed from the ground, and the chilling sword energy left deep cracks. Chu Xingzhi revealed a cold smile, "Zhou Xingyun and Mu Chongxi aren't here, are they?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Ye Qiao showed no sense of crisis whatsoever, even mocking, "If they were here, would you be smug here?"

Chu Xingzhi, unusually calm, narrowed his eyes and said, "You're about to be the first to be eliminated, and you're still being so sharp-tongued."

The first one to be eliminated always gets ridiculed, after all, the secret realm has only been open for a short time. He sneered, knowing that Ye Qiao would be difficult to catch if she could fly on a sword.

Moreover, even if someone at the Foundation Establishment stage is eliminated, it's not of much use. Therefore, his target from the beginning was Xue Yu.

Chu Xingzhi, his hands imbued with spiritual power, moved swiftly toward Xue Yu with unstoppable momentum.

The next second, Xue Yu dodged his attack by stepping on the wind, and turned his head to try to dodge again, only to find that Chu Xingzhi's foot had already kicked him in the stomach.

Although both were at the Golden Core stage, a sword cultivator could use countless attack methods. Xue Yu quickly retreated, but he couldn't escape the relentless pursuit.

Suddenly, Ye Qiao's voice rang out from behind: "Third Senior Brother, where's your alchemy furnace?"

Elixir, alchemy furnace?

Xue Yu was stunned for a moment.

Just as Chu Xingzhi was about to approach with a smug smile, Ye Qiao suddenly shouted, "Smash him!!"

Xue Yu was still somewhat flustered when he saw Chu Xingzhi rushing towards him. Hearing Ye Qiao's words, he was stunned for a moment. Out of self-preservation, he instinctively enlarged the cauldron in his hand, and then without hesitation, he picked up the cauldron and smashed it on Chu Xingzhi's head.

No one expected that a pill refiner would suddenly make a move.

With a loud thud, Chu Xingzhi's head began to buzz instantly.

Both were at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, and Xue Yu's unexpected attack knocked him to the ground.

Chu Xingzhi collapsed to the ground instantly, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his eyes glazed over as he began to question the meaning of life.

—Damn it, weren't all alchemists supposed to be weak and helpless?!