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

After that person finished asking the question, the rest of the people all looked at her with those silent eyes.

Ye Qiao also fell silent for a moment. "Good question. Where is the Demon Emperor?"

It's definitely gone.

Could she possibly pull out the Demon Emperor's inner core, feign surprise, and tell them, "I've turned the Demon Emperor into his inner core! Do you want to see it?"

If we actually did that, it would probably be no different from a ghost story.

She hesitated, wondering whether to give her inner core to KFC. An inner core belonging to someone at the Tribulation Transcending stage—if exposed, it would cause a bloodbath. Ye Qiao pondered for a moment before cautiously replying, "I don't know. When we arrived, all the demonic beasts had already dispersed. Perhaps something unexpected happened?"

Her excuse was so flimsy that Xie Chuxue didn't know how to salvage the situation.

He flicked away the whimpering Minsheng Pen beside him, cleared his throat slightly, and smiled, "Perhaps some expert will lend a hand, right? It's not like our cultivation world is without experts."

Ye Qiao felt that his reason was even less sincere than hers.

Sure enough, the other people were looking at the two of them with completely strange expressions.

Okay, okay, you guys keep pretending.

"Didn't you say you were going to find the Demon Emperor?" they asked again, seemingly casually.

You can't tell how old these people are just by looking at their faces, but they could all easily be her grandfathers. Ye Qiao continued to answer honestly, "Later I realized I couldn't beat them, so I left."

"If you didn't deal with the Demon King, why did these demonic beasts suddenly scatter halfway through?"

The massive horde of demonic beasts suddenly retreated, leading them to initially suspect a conspiracy. They all tensed up, their divine senses constantly focused on observing their surroundings. However, even as Ye Qiao arrived late, they did not see a single demonic beast return.

This is not right.

Without the Demon Emperor's order, how could the demon beasts dare to retreat?

Ye Qiao was even more confused, her expression blank. "Their retreat doesn't necessarily mean it has anything to do with the Demon Emperor, does it?"

"..." Xie Chuxue felt that her acting skills had indeed improved a lot compared to before.

"Is that so?" They glanced at her again with a meaningful look. Seeing that the atmosphere was tense, a senior female colleague quickly changed the subject, her tone cautious, "Whatever the reason, now that the monster tide has receded, let's leave here first."

Even the seniors who were curious about what she had gone through did not press her further. After all, they could not force Ye Qiao to admit it even if she refused. As a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, not to mention how low the probability of success was, even if she could succeed, wouldn't she have to pay some price?

But the little rascal was perfectly fine, jumping around like nothing had happened.

It doesn't seem like there was any major battle.

If Ye Qiao could hear what they were thinking, she could give them a peaceful close-up on the spot. She had given all her blood to that insatiable, deadbeat An Shu, and her steps were unsteady after leaving the domain.

The amount of blood loss was comparable to a complete blood transfusion, and even a top-grade blood-restoring pill was almost insufficient to replenish it.

The irreversible damage to her domain left her completely dejected.

While the others didn't notice, Xie Chuxue, who had spent a lot of time with Ye Qiao, sensed something strange. This brat had never known the meaning of humility. If she had really done something, it would be one thing if she didn't take credit, but it was quite wrong for her to keep hiding it.

Xie Chuxue thought for a moment, and the only thing he could think of was the Demon Emperor's inner core. If the inner core of a Tribulation Transcending stage cultivator fell into the hands of a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, and this got out, she would become the target of everyone's ire.

Ye Qiao was already conspicuous enough.

The best course of action for her is to conceal the fact that she defeated the demon king and still possesses his inner core.

"Let's go, let's go to the border between the demon realm and the city." Xie Chuxue clapped her hands. "Mingxuan and the others should be there too, let's go find them and meet up."

His intention in concealing the truth was clear: he didn't want the monks to pry any further.

The question of what happened to the Demon Emperor and why the demon race suddenly dispersed was simply ignored.

Even those powerful figures who were itching to know more and suspected that Ye Qiao was hiding something could only keep quiet for Xie Chuxue's sake.

Some cultivators didn't recognize Qin Fanfan, but they were familiar with Xie Chuxue. Like these disciples, Xie Chuxue was a prodigy who rose to fame at a young age and had a rather eccentric temperament. In contrast, the disciple named Ye Qiao was surprisingly polite.

Damn, it's true that quality is all about comparison.

The group rushed towards the center of the demon realm. Ye Qiao was temporarily confined in the battered and ravaged domain, while she, like the others, chose to fly on her sword.

Along the way, she had a strange feeling that the monsters on the road were intentionally or unintentionally avoiding them.

avoid?

It is true that demonic beasts will avoid cultivators stronger than themselves when they sense danger, but none of them released any killing intent or pressure, so why would they avoid them for no reason?

Ye Qiao stared at a bird or beast she encountered along the way. When the beast met her gaze, it seemed to freeze halfway down and plummeted straight down.

She could actually see that look of utter disbelief in the eyes of a bird.

One or two would be one thing, but no bird or monster that passed by dared to look at her twice, as if they would be torn to pieces if Ye Qiao looked at them. Not only did the monsters that noticed her not attack her from the shadows, but they even left afterimages.

That's so weird.

The demonic beast, which could ambush and tear a cultivator apart at any moment, suddenly changed its tune. Ye Qiao's lips twitched, and she muttered to herself, "I shouldn't be that scary, right?"

Most monsters have little intelligence; they only have the most instinctive reactions.

These days, instinctive reactions seem a bit exaggerated.

"Xiao Qiao, during your entanglement with the Demon Emperor, did you come into contact with his aura?" Xie Chuxue suddenly asked.

"No, right?" She only kicked the Demon Emperor once, sending him flying into the very center of the domain.

Ye Qiao subconsciously touched the mustard seed bag and turned the demon emperor's inner core twice. The temperature was still extremely hot, and the heavy aura of tribulation was completely blocked by the mustard seed bag.

Judging from the reactions of those powerful figures, none of them realized that they had a Tribulation Transcending Stage inner core in their hands.

However, the fact that cultivators cannot sense the existence of the Demon Emperor's inner core does not mean that demon beasts cannot sense the aura of their leader's inner core.

For a race like the demon race, where hierarchy is ingrained in their DNA, obedience to the highest level is their instinct. Even some powerful demon kings dare not easily disobey. When the demon emperor was killed, his inner core fell into her hands.

If what Junior Uncle said is true.

These monsters probably think of themselves as devils right now.

They were afraid of both the Demon Emperor and her, after all, she was a ruthless person who could kill their Demon Emperor, so it would be strange if they weren't afraid.

As Ye Qiao flew on her sword, she looked at the demons whose surroundings were so dark that it seemed as if no light could penetrate. She twirled the inner core in her mustard seed bag again, then firmly grasped the Demon Emperor's inner core, and suddenly had a different plan.

"Junior Martial Aunt, Seniors." Her voice brightened as she swiftly appeared before them on her spirit sword, facing them directly. "Want to play a thrilling adventure game with me?"

Xie Chuxue: "???"

Seniors: "..." Is he having a fit of chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)?

"What do you want to play?" Xie Chuxue still indulged this mischievous child quite a bit, and asked gently.

Ye Qiao looked at the dark, oppressive sky. "Could we go talk to the demon race?"

The other powerful beings looked at her calmly upon hearing this, "We probably don't have the confidence to negotiate with the demon race, do we?" The demon emperor of the demon race is only one, but there are countless powerful demons of this race whose lifespan is often hundreds of years.

There is also struggle among the demon race. All the great demons are eyeing the position of the Demon Emperor, wanting to take his place.

They couldn't disobey the Demon Emperor's orders, but they could still slack off. Sometimes they could even annoy the Demon Emperor. In the Demon Emperor's eyes, those great demons were all a bunch of useless trash.

"Besides, negotiations always involve bargaining chips." Negotiating with the demon race? What about the bargaining chips?

Ye Qiao reached out her hand, and after their eyes instantly locked onto hers, she feigned a flick of her wrist at the demon emperor's inner core in her palm before clenching it tightly. This was something she had prepared for KFC; it wasn't bad to be able to use it sometimes. "Is this enough?"