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

"How many reckless cultivators participated this time?"

The Demon Lord on the main seat appeared relaxed, his face largely obscured by a black hood. His crimson eyes occasionally swept over his subordinates below, creating a sinister and oppressive atmosphere throughout the hall.

The Right Protector whispered, "Penglai... the Dragon Clan, and dozens of sects large and small in the cultivation world have all sent cultivators."

"Have any other reclusive monks joined in?"

"Yes. It is said that the Five Sects are the leaders, and they have gathered many cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage."

The Demon Lord smiled with interest. "Keep an eye on the Dragon Clan's Crown Prince." He was their bargaining chip to threaten the Dragon Clan.

"The young prince is in our hands. Let those fools in the dragon clan think it through before choosing sides."

As for Penglai, it's just a bunch of fortune tellers, nothing to fear.

Moreover, since Penglai only sent two personal disciples, it means they have no intention of getting involved.

Several sect leaders watching from a distance whispered among themselves, "Those charlatans from Penglai were quite farsighted. If Penglai had sent a few more in this situation, Penglai would have been the next immortal sect to be massacred."

Apart from the sect leader of the Wenjian Sect, the other four sect leaders and their elders did not participate in the fight. The sect leader of the Wenjian Sect fought the Demon Emperor alone, while the remaining sect leaders gathered together to confront the Demon Lord.

After several rounds of probing, the Demon Lord showed no intention of getting entangled with them.

This made a group of sect leaders suspect that the other party was stalling for time in order to make some other move.

Not long ago, when the sect leaders heard the Holy Maiden report that Ye Qiao had been imprisoned in the Eight-Sided Mirror, everyone had different thoughts.

With that kid's cheeky and clever nature, it can't be, right?

Although spiritual artifacts are troublesome, Chengfeng Sect is not to be trifled with. Even if they are truly difficult to deal with, three days is enough time for the elders of Chengfeng Sect to come up with a solution to open the spiritual artifact.

Moreover, Ye Qiao's Nascent Soul stage was no ordinary Nascent Soul stage. Even if the Holy Maiden was strong, she would only be able to return empty-handed. Even the Demon Lord did not have any expectations for this operation, but it actually succeeded.

They exchanged glances.

—Really?

—The saintess's tone of voice didn't seem fake.

—That's bad.

Thinking to myself, "Oh no," I realized that as elders, no one expected them to do anything.

There are indeed powerful cultivators in the cultivation world who are more advanced than those little devils, but once they reach the Nascent Soul stage, they are all old fogies who rarely appear in the world. They never learn to unite unless it affects them personally.

Upon hearing this, Qin Fanfan was strangely relieved. Locking Ye Qiao up was at least safe. It was indeed a good thing to avoid getting involved in such a deadly battle.

Therefore, his reaction was the most indifferent. He even glared at Xie Chuxue twice and asked another question he was concerned about: "Why didn't you hide that dragon in advance?" If the little prince had been settled in advance, so many things wouldn't have happened later.

"Is it my fault again?" Xie Chuxue felt more wronged than Dou E: "It was inevitable that the stupid dragon was captured. Since the demons were prepared, it's normal for a few traitors to infiltrate. After we left, no matter what tricks they used, it would be easy for them to capture that silly dragon without anyone noticing."

After all, even if a dragon cub in the Nascent Soul stage fights back, it can only struggle for a few more seconds.

With only a few elders and peak masters remaining in the sect, it was impossible for them to keep an eye on the young prince's movements at all times. It would be extremely easy for them to capture a dragon.

Xie Chuxue had anticipated this situation and had left several marks on the young prince beforehand to ensure his location and safety.

No matter how many things there are, he is powerless to help.

Also.

Xie Chuxue raised an eyebrow, sensing that the Demon Lord seemed to be speaking to him directly, and it seemed... the other party was quite wary of him?

……

Before setting off, Ye Qiao skillfully drew a rough outline of the demons' route. "Following this route will allow us to avoid most of the demons. They have specific patrol and shift change times. Of course, to prevent us from infiltrating again, their patrol times may have already changed. You can disregard these times; you can observe them more closely."

"Why are you so familiar with this godforsaken place called the Demon Realm?" Chu Ling scratched her head, finding her increasingly suspicious. Could she have actually worked for some kind of cult for a while?

Ye Qiao sensed something was off. "No. I once went into the Demon Clan's inner prison." She even served as a saintess for a few days, but she felt that telling Chu Ling might frighten her, so she decided against it.

Chu Ling admired, "As expected of the number one cultivator, even getting imprisoned faster than the average person."

"What's so great about that? We've all basically been to prison." Mu Chongxi curled his lip. This is probably what they call the "prison-trained type" and "pure prison style".

Chu Ling: "..."

So what kind of cult are you five sects?

"You should pay more attention to the movements of the demon race on this trip. I always feel that the demon race's presence is not as strong as that of the demon clan in this operation." Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case, since the demon race is an exceptionally ferocious race.

Chu Ling despised the existence of demonic beasts even more than the demons. She had no reason and wished she could tear any cultivator who blocked her way to pieces. When she was young, in a village at the foot of Penglai Mountain, she watched helplessly as a demonic beast tore apart the villagers who were powerless to fight back.

"I think..." Chu Ling said, "You should be extra careful of those demonic beasts."

Ye Qiao smiled and asked, "Was this a warning you deduced?"

Chu Lingning nodded: "I'm not sure, but changes in the world are always foreshadowed, so it's best to be careful."

"Then let's divide the work first."

"Sword cultivators who excel at direct combat will be responsible for killing, talisman cultivators will be responsible for providing cover, and as for sneak attacks..." Mingxuan raised his voice slightly, "Then let our senior brother handle the sneak attacks. He is good at striking without anyone noticing, and his domain is an essential tool for both home and travel, and for killing."

"Okay." Zhou Xingyun had no objections.

Chu Xingzhi gasped, heartbroken by Zhou Xingyun's submissive attitude: "Are you just going to let them arrange things for you? You'll lose your status and dignity in the family if you do that, Zhou Xingyun."

If you compare a sect to a family, the people at the bottom of the social hierarchy have a very miserable life.

As Zhou Xingyun glanced at him with indifferent eyes, Chu Xingzhi said smugly, "Like me, I am deeply loved by my junior sisters and brothers."

"Puxin man, oh Puxin man..." Ye Qiao slowly rocked the stool she was sitting on, and before the other party could get angry, she added with a smile, "Don't misunderstand, what I mean is, you are the most trusted man in the world."

Chu Xingzhi smiled with satisfaction.

That's right, he is Pu Xinnan.

……

After the group separated, Ye Qiao swallowed the Transformation Pill and found that it worked well. At least it was enough to fool people for the time being, but it would be exposed in a real fight.

She probably knew where the young prince was being held. That prison was quite interesting; those imprisoned there were mostly important figures, such as the highly regarded young master, Meng Liu.

The young prince's status is no lower than Meng Liu's, and he is still useful to the demons, so he can only have been imprisoned in the dungeon.

Ye Qiao's plan this time was to infiltrate the dungeon. She remembered the location of the dungeon very clearly, but that place basically held extremely important hostages, so it would be very difficult to sneak in.

Relying on her absolute stealth abilities, she stole a demon's clothes, covered her face, and quietly prepared to go find the demon's saintess.

Having boarded her pirate ship, it was impossible for Ye Qiao to use her only once. The Holy Maiden should have realized this long ago. When Ye Qiao came to her door, she almost couldn't control her instinctive reaction and attacked, "When did you stand behind me?"

Like a ghost.

Fortunately, the Holy Maiden felt guilty for deceiving the Demon Lord and had already cleared out the people around her; otherwise, the commotion between the two would have easily been noticed as something was amiss.

Ye Qiao: "Not long ago."

"...How did you find this place?" she gritted her teeth. Since Ye Qiao, as a cultivator, dared to infiltrate the demon race, she certainly wouldn't talk to demon cultivators. The place where the Holy Maiden lived was a secret, known only to the core demon race. How did she find it?

I won't tell you.

Ye Qiao was asking Mu Li, whom he knew very well, and the Holy Maiden's residence hadn't changed in thousands of years. Finding her would be effortless.

The saintess's voice was weak. "So why did you come to my door?" She had barely escaped death by following Ye Qiao's story, but the demons' punishments were always ruthless, depleting nearly half of her demonic energy. She should have been recuperating in her palace, but instead, this nemesis came to her door.

"Help me get into the dungeon," Ye Qiao demanded matter-of-factly. "I can't get in."

"What's my reason for taking you to the dungeon?" The saintess looked at her coldly. "I can't take someone to the dungeon for no reason. If you cause trouble, the Demon Lord will suspect me."

It's easy to guess why she ended up in the dungeon.

The dungeon held countless important hostages, and most importantly, the dragon was also imprisoned there.

"reason?"

"How are the male concubines?"

"..."

Ye Qiao: "Why are you looking at me like I'm a pervert? I'm serious." She gathered her long hair together. "What's wrong with taking my male concubine into the dungeon to broaden his horizons?"

It's a pity she didn't bring her senior brother; otherwise, they would have been forced to become her male concubines. But since she doesn't have a senior brother to use, she can still do it herself.

"No need," the saintess said weakly. "Go and disguise yourself as a maid. I'll take you inside."

She was eager to escape, hoping to take Ye Qiao in to stir up trouble so she could successfully fake her death. Although this would greatly increase her suspicion, given the Demon Lord's arrogance, he probably wouldn't associate it with betrayal.

Now all she wants is to get away from this demonic realm and from Ye Qiao, this devil.

With the saintess leading the way, Ye Qiao changed into a maid's clothes and followed behind her. As they got closer to the dungeon, Xiao Qi's figure gradually appeared. She quietly raised her head, sniffed, and told Ye Qiao, "There's resentment."

"Many people died in the dungeon."

Moreover, most of them were cultivators.

Ye Qiao patted his head, "I'll make sure you're full in a bit."

Unable to eat people, they can only fill their stomachs with ghostly energy and resentment. Xiaoxi's special domain can pause for up to three seconds, which is very abnormal, but it also requires a large amount of ghostly energy.

As she passed by, demons came one after another to greet her, but the demon saintess was aloof and noble, walking with a swagger and not even glancing at them.

The demons on duty were a little surprised by the saintess's sudden visit, but they didn't dare to ask any questions and bowed to let her in.

There were dozens of restrictions outside the dungeon; stepping on even one could have serious consequences. Ye Qiao followed the steps the saintess had taken, avoiding the restrictions, and looked at the many imprisoned cultivators in the middle of the path, some on the verge of death. "Are there so many people imprisoned here?"

It was like entering purgatory, with countless bloody scenes flashing before my eyes.

"Yes." The saintess didn't even glance at the prison gate by the roadside. "What? You want to save them? The savior of the cultivation world?" Her tone was tinged with sarcasm.

In times when ordinary people struggle to survive, there is a genuine desire for someone to rescue them from their predicament.

Unfortunately, in her memory, Ye Qiao was a heartless brat who liked to exploit people.

Ye Qiao didn't reply, and followed the Holy Maiden all the way to the inside of the dungeon, where the environment was noticeably better than outside.

"Didn't you come here to rescue that young prince?"

Neither of them fell silent. All the demonic cultivators in the dungeon had left, and Ye Qiao searched around with her divine sense but couldn't find any trace of them. The two of them started chatting as if no one else was around.

Upon hearing the conversation between the two, the group of cultivators showed little reaction, appearing rather lifeless and showing no intention of asking for their help.

Even though they knew Ye Qiao was there to rescue people, they didn't expect anyone else to come and rescue them.

"Let's go, Ye Qiao." The Holy Maiden turned her head, revealing her beautiful face. Her expression was indifferent. "If you don't want to alarm the Demon Clan elders and the Right Protector in this situation, then just ignore them."

The number of cultivators in the dungeon is too large, so a group of cultivators escaping would easily attract unnecessary attention.

"..."

Ye Qiao?

The mere mention of her name caused many of the lifeless cultivators to glance at her.

"That Ye Qiao from the Changming Sect?"

"Is it Ye Qiao?"

There were also slight gasps of surprise.

What kind of massive idol fan meeting is this?

"You were arrested too?"

But soon, the man noticed her clothes. "Are you here to rescue that stupid dragon? Then you'd better hurry, someone will come in to check on the situation every now and then."

Entering the Demon Realm is a very dangerous thing, especially for a disciple, it's a matter of life and death.

"Yes, yes, we're fine here. At most, we'll lose our freedom. We'll be safe until the fighting on both sides stops. You should run."

Those spared were mostly young children and women, who were imprisoned as hostages and were either wealthy or of high social standing.

"..."

"That's right, that's right," a girl said. "My father is the sect leader, they wouldn't dare kill me."

There are other sects below the Five Sects, but they are far less famous than the Five Sects. Their sect leader has a daughter? Does that mean that cultivators in the cultivation world are destined to be lonely and widowed?

The dungeon was filled with a group of second-generation immortals.

The saintess couldn't help but urge, "Aren't you leaving, Ye Qiao or not?"

"Didn't you want to save that prince?"

What are you dawdling about?

Ye Qiao murmured to herself, "Little Prince, it's okay if I'm not here anymore. You must be happy."

She needs to get these hostages out first.

Then the saintess saw her turn and draw her sword. The snow-white sword light made the woman subconsciously take two steps back. Ye Qiao beckoned her over, "Weren't you going to use this opportunity to fake your death? Come on."

"When the other demonic cultivators charge in, how about you put on a show and get killed by my three sword strikes? That'll be a pretty respectable way to die."

After all, the saintess was already injured, so Ye Qiao felt that it was reasonable for her to finish her off with three swords.

The saintess's lips twitched; she hadn't expected her to actually soften.

They actually decided to save those good-for-nothings.

But she didn't care. The sooner Ye Qiao made her move, the better for her. That way, she could reduce suspicion after faking her death. The Holy Maiden raised an eyebrow: "Come on."

Ye Qiao counted the number of sword strikes, and after three moves, he knocked her to the ground. The saintess coughed up blood, closed her eyes, and collapsed, unable to get up.

"..."

Only a group of shrimp soldiers and crab generals who rushed in after hearing the commotion were left behind, and they began to panic.

"What?" He hadn't even beaten the Holy Maiden.

"Go and call someone."

"Quickly spread the word that Ye Qiao is in the dungeon!! She killed the Holy Maiden."

After the group of demonic cultivators who had managed to escape reported the news, the Right Protector sneered: "Go to hell, Ye Qiao is locked up, and you still dare to report false information."

He slapped him hard across the face, sending his subordinate spinning like a top.

"Ye Qiao, Ye Qiao, that Ye Qiao is your father, how could she have the ability to sneak in?"

He rewarded several of his subordinates with stern lectures, which finally made them behave, and none of them dared to mention Ye Qiao.

The Right Protector left feeling refreshed and in good spirits.

He had to deal with the disciples of the five sects.

……

How many steps would it take to take down all the demonic cultivators guarding the dungeon? Ye Qiao showed them with her strength that no skills or domains were needed; a sword was all that was required.

Frost fell into her palm, a sword's cold light stretched for miles, dozens of attacks turned into powder and dissipated in the air, the demonic cultivator roared and pounced, seemingly wanting to kill her with sheer numbers.

Ye Qiao didn't even bother to look. Her Nascent Soul stage cultivation level was enough to suppress a demonic cultivator in the nascent soul stage without any resistance. The cultivators imprisoned in the cell couldn't even see how her sword fell. With the sound of the corpse falling to the ground, Qingfeng Jue didn't even spill a drop of blood.

"Why do you still like to challenge me so much?"

The endless number of players in the battle is incredibly annoying.

One man and one sword.

The demonic cultivators who rushed in were like lambs to the slaughter, unable to tell whose territory this was for a moment. The Right Protector was also late in arriving, causing the group of demonic cultivators who valued their lives to scatter in panic.

Ye Qiao stopped dawdling, nocked the Moon Arrow, and the dozen or so restrictions in front of him vanished. He used the Moon Arrow to clear a path for them in advance, then drew his bow and aimed at the chains on the dungeon.

The chains were also bound by restrictions, and with a few whistling sounds of arrows piercing the air, they all fell.

Ye Qiao quickly pointed out a path, "Go find Ye Qinghan and the others. The location of those disciples is on the outskirts of the Demon Realm; someone will meet you there."

"Th-thank you..." There were voices of thanks, and also the sound of crying.

But most of them clung to her side and wouldn't leave, leaving Ye Qiao completely dumbfounded.

"Ye Qiao! Ye Qiao!" The sect leader's daughter, who had spoken to her earlier, grabbed her and asked, "Are you and Ye Qinghan on good terms?"

Ye Qiao: "Is it not bad?" She thought the other person didn't trust her.

After all, some sword cultivators trusted the upright Ye Qinghan more than themselves, so she immediately said, "We are the kind of people who can trust each other, so don't worry, I'm not a bad person."

"Yay!!" the girl exclaimed excitedly.

"As expected, Futaba is the best."

Ye Qiao: "???"

"Langlang, do you know what?" The other person grabbed her hand excitedly, speaking rapidly, "Everyone doubted that your relationship with Ye Qinghan was real, believing that you two only had grudges and no feelings for each other. After hearing that, I couldn't sleep at night, and today, I'm going to shout it out: Shuangye is real!!"