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

The second secret realm is the Ancient Battlefield.

This battle was far more hostile than the last. Sandstorms raged, and when I opened my eyes, there were corpses everywhere, along with some abandoned broken copper and wrecked swords, like an ancient battlefield. Every broken weapon was imbued with the aura of death.

Each disciple of the five sects received a map of the secret realm, which marked the areas where monsters frequently appeared. Perhaps considering Ye Qiao's excessive antics, the elders, after discussion, explicitly prohibited the use of external tools in the second round.

"Targeting them? Those people from the Sword Inquiry Sect are truly shameless." Upon hearing this news, Mu Chongxi was the first to react angrily.

The organizers were the elders from the Sword Inquiry Sect.

Ye Qiao shrugged, offering no objection.

She didn't expect to cause trouble every time she tried to seize bamboo shoots. If she did, she would probably be ganged up on by fans of other sects as soon as she left the secret realm.

The elders in the first round were just curious and enjoyed the spectacle, so they didn't stop it. But if things continue like this, the balance of the competition will be broken.

Moreover, the ancient battlefield is much more dangerous than the last one. As Xue Yu watched his disciples enter the secret realm one by one, he interjected, "You and Mingxuan had better separate."

Both of them are talisman cultivators, so each of them can take on a senior brother, which will greatly increase their survival rate in the secret realm.

If the two happen to be together, the effect is far less than if they are separated.

After they finished speaking, the group entered the secret realm one after another. The familiar dizzying sensation made their heads spin. After Ye Qiao saw the surroundings clearly, her head drooped.

She called out, "Ah, Second Senior Brother."

"It's you."

Mingxuan and Ye Qiao exchanged glances. "What bad luck."

The fact that the two talisman cultivators were together suggests that the other senior brothers had been reassigned to other positions.

"It's all Xue Yu's fault for jinxing us." Mingxuan pouted; they really did bump into each other.

Elder Zhao was also a little confused: "Why is that girl Ye Qiao still complaining about Ming Xuan?"

Wouldn't it be better to have a talisman cultivator as a companion?

Qin Fanfan corrected him: "I think they both look down on each other."

The disdain was palpable.

Elder Zhao nodded, "Ye Qiao has always been quite lucky. She wasn't alone in the last secret realm, and she landed with Ming Xuan in this one."

Putting everything else aside, being with Fu Xiu at least guarantees my safety.

Qin Fanfan clearly thought so too.

……

Inside the secret realm, Ye Qiao sat on the ground for a while to recover. Ming Xuan opened the jade slip and looked at the rankings. "So far, the Sword Inquiry Sect has hunted down two demonic beasts."

"They're pretty fast."

They had just entered when the Sword Inquiry Sect had already found the demonic beast.

The two siblings roused themselves and chose to head south. The climate of the ancient battlefield was somewhat dry, and there were several obvious cracks in the ground, as well as signs of fighting.

"There are monsters ahead."

Ming Xuan said, "Judging by appearance, it's in the late stage of Foundation Establishment."

Ye Qiao was only in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, but it wasn't a big problem. With Ming Xuan assisting her from behind, she drew her sword nimbly. Even though she was mentally prepared, she still frowned when she saw the creature in front of her.

"Man-eating spider."

Eight hairy legs, eyes gleaming with a cruel red light, as if they would pounce on them and devour them at any moment.

Ye Qiao dodged the spider's legs by sidestepping, and at the same time jumped away to close the distance. She flipped her wrist and stabbed at the spider's eye. Although her cultivation level was far inferior, she failed on the first attempt, but it gave Ming Xuan a good opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

Two talismans were placed on the left and right sides of the spider respectively. The talismans took effect in an instant. Ye Qiao seized the moment when the spider seemed to be in a daze, and quickly poured sword energy into the longsword, stabbing it hard into the spider's abdomen.

With their tacit cooperation, the jade slip of Changming Sect successfully went from zero to one.

"Oh." Mingxuan smiled mischievously when he saw the '1': "Senior Brother might be going crazy."

He definitely needs to reach a hundred.

If no one breaks the record, it's fine, but once someone does, Zhou Xingyun will immediately grab his sword and start counting the number of monsters.

"We've only just entered and we've already encountered a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator," Ye Qiao remarked, recalling the level of the monsters they'd encountered earlier. "The difficulty is much higher than the last one."

They won't encounter monsters right from the start.

Mingxuan: "After all, this is an ancient battlefield, and the remaining monsters are all quite powerful. This is only the beginning."

The two continued to follow the map. The road was calm for a moment, but whether they were lucky or unlucky, they bumped into two disciples of the Chengfeng Sect.

Ye Qiao only recognized one of them, Duan Hengdao.

She wasn't very familiar with the other close associate.

Mingxuan glanced at him and said, "That's another weapon cultivator from Chengfeng Sect, named Shen Ziwei."

Although the two weapon cultivators were not to be feared, they were still Golden Core cultivators, and Mingxuan felt that the situation was not good for them.

Clearly, the group from Chengfeng Sect also became secretly on guard, and they all reached for their mustard seed bags, ready to take out their magical artifacts and fight them.

War is about to break out.

Upon hearing this name, Ye Qiao, who had been holding back for a long time, couldn't help but laugh.

"Shen Ziwei!" She grinned and waved to the two people opposite her. "I am Ye Yuhe from Daming Lake."

Audience members outside the venue: "???"

"What's going on?"

"Can't you be serious?"

"Who the hell is Ye Yuhe?! Let's fight!"

In the secret realm, wouldn't disciples who meet on a narrow path fight each other?

Ye Qiao's witty remark strangely eased the tense atmosphere.

Shen Ziwei was also taken aback by her enthusiastic manner, and Duan Hengdao couldn't help but turn to his second senior brother: "You know Ye Qiao?"

Shen Ziwei shook her head.

Does anyone know her?!

Who is Ye Yuhe anyway?

Ye Qiao chuckled to herself for a while, and seeing the stalemate, she took the initiative to raise her hand and break the deadlock: "Don't rush."

"How about we discuss a collaboration?"

As she spoke, Ye Qiao took a step closer to them.

Duan Hengdao couldn't help but take a step back in fear: "Don't come any closer. If you come any closer, I'll have my second senior brother beat you up!"

What was the outcome of the last collaboration with Ye Qiao? The two of them ended up sitting in the elimination rounds hand in hand.

Duan Hengdao had also carefully reviewed the recap of the previous secret realm. After reading it, his only thought was that he was still too naive.

Isn't the Grand Tournament supposed to be about hunting monsters? Why are they involving conspiracies and tricks?

He scoffed at Ye Qiao's talk of cooperation, saying, "I don't believe you for a second."

"We've all finally gathered together, let's not always be fighting and killing each other." Ye Qiao smiled slightly: "We can join forces and take down the Yueqing Sect first."

Seeing that the two weapon cultivators from Chengfeng Sect remained unmoved, Ye Qiao tried to appeal to their emotions: "Senior Brother Duan, have you forgotten the days when the three of us depended on each other for survival in your wombs?"

Duan Hengdao was speechless, choked with emotion: "..."

Can't you speak properly? We clearly fell into the belly of a monster, don't act like we have some shady relationship.

Ye Qiao clapped her hands and continued, "In the ancient battlefield, those cunning talisman cultivators are the most annoying. The Yueqing Sect has a full four talisman cultivators. If we don't join forces, then this first place will definitely be the Yueqing Sect's. Are you sure you want to just watch the first place be snatched away?"

Cheng Fengzong dreamed of winning first place, and as expected, he hesitated for a moment after hearing Ye Qiao's words.

But after thinking it over, Duan Hengdao remained extremely wary: "Why should we trust you?"

Ye Qiao noticed that these people were looking at her as if she were some kind of dangerous element. She spread her hands and said, "We're just one talisman cultivator. We don't pose much of a threat to your number one position, do we?"

"In that case, wouldn't it be better to join forces and deal with the formidable enemy, the Moon Cleansing Sect, first?"

This is the truth. Changming Sect is the most harmless sect besides Biyue Sect. Although they managed to get away with one match in the last round, the danger level will rise sharply in the second round. Mingxuan, a talisman cultivator, will not pose much of a threat.

Of course, there is cooperation in the secret realm. As for whether the other party is willing, it depends on whether the offer you make can entice them. Ye Qiao's words clearly persuaded the two from Chengfeng Sect.

"Well, it's a pleasure to work together?" Duan Hengdao hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Ye Qiao: "It's a pleasure working with you."

Now that the cooperation has been agreed upon, the next step is to discuss countermeasures.

She picked up the map in her hand and spread it out for the two men from Chengfeng Sect to see.

"These are all monster lairs. If the Yueqing Sect wants to take first place, they will definitely have to go to these places."

"And if we move fast enough, we can ambush them before they even arrive."

Ye Qiao pointed to the intersection on the map, "This is the only way for all the disciples. The Yueqing Sect is familiar with formations, so they will definitely be the first to arrive."

"We can wait for them here in advance."

Listening to her endless chatter, Duan Hengdao's lips twitched: "..." You're still the most cunning one.

"That Ye Qiao!" The elder of the Yueqing Sect, standing outside the arena, could no longer contain himself. Listening to the plans of the two groups, he slammed his fist on the table and stood up in anger. "Instead of focusing on the competition, he's always thinking about these underhanded tricks!!"

Utterly shameless!

It's no wonder he reacted so strongly; this tactic had never been used before.

Who among us is a good person who personally instigates these kinds of schemes and plots every day?!

"I think it's pretty good." Duan Yu almost fell to the ground laughing when he heard Ye Qiao's plan. He said insincerely, "Those brats are used to being proud geniuses. If they go out to train and encounter some cunning evil cultivators, they won't be able to handle them at all."

He said righteously, "Isn't this a good thing? Let Ye Qiao train their vigilance."

Moreover, what does "crooked methods" even mean? This is clearly a clever strategy!

……

Next, Ye Qiao unleashed another barrage of attacks, attempting to teach the two weapon cultivators how to set up ambush traps.

"etc--"

"We are legitimate weapon cultivators, not those scheming old men who set traps all day long." Duan Hengdao really couldn't hold back anymore.

Does she know what weapon crafting is? It's weapon crafting, forging magical artifacts, and adding incantations.

Throughout the cultivation world for thousands of years, what respectable weapon cultivator would bother to devise traps and ambush others?!

"But you can also be cunning old foxes." Ye Qiao couldn't help but sigh when she saw how rigid he was.

So it's no wonder that Chengfeng Sect is no good.

She began to brainwash him relentlessly, making a few traps a piece of cake for him.

Duan Hengdao still hesitated: "I think..."

"For first place." She said solemnly.

Duan Hengdao shamefully wavered, but finally nodded: "Okay."

The compromise was made too quickly.

"Where's the rope you used to tie me up?" Ye Qiao gestured for him to take it out. "We can use it to tie people up later."

Bringing up the old story again, Duan Hengdao's lips twitched, and he took out the Immortal-Binding Rope. "This rope is similar to the Demon-Binding Rope I gave you before. As long as there is a living person, it will automatically bind them."

Ye Qiao's smile grew even warmer: "That's great!"

Isn't this a great thing? One of the essentials for setting traps.

The two groups temporarily began to cooperate, with Ye Qiao providing them with ideas and the two weapon cultivators setting traps and hidden weapons.

For a moment, the atmosphere reached an unprecedented level of harmony.

The audience members pointed and whispered about it.

"This Ye Qiao, she used to work in a pyramid scheme, right?"

"Hilarious. First, take down Yue Qingzong; his thinking is pretty clear."

"Aaaaah, Duan Hengdao, you've fucking fallen! What kind of good person would follow Ye Qiao and do this kind of thing?!"

They would never have imagined that this person was a genuine artifact cultivator and the future hope of the Chengfeng Sect.

They were actually persuaded by Ye Qiao, that black sheep, to set a trap.

……

The Yueqing Sect team had a very smooth run. They were familiar with the Five Elements Formation and avoided the dangerous formations in advance. They were like fish in water in the secret realm, advancing triumphantly all the way and leaving the Wenjian Sect far behind in the rankings.

If nothing unexpected happens, they will continue to progress smoothly until the end of the secret realm.

As Song Hansheng led his junior brother to the left, they fell into a pit.

Most importantly, there was a net hidden in the pit. Song Hansheng reacted quickly and escaped with a talisman a second before being bound by the net.

Go to the right.

He fell into the pit again.

Another net fell straight down, and Song Hansheng quickly used an array to escape from it.

This time, Song Hansheng finally learned his lesson and deftly picked up a stone and threw it over to test the way.

After confirming there were no large pits, he breathed a sigh of relief and led his junior brother forward.

As a result, Song Hansheng had just stepped onto the ground.

The binding rope hidden under the tree branch suddenly tightened, binding their feet tightly. In an instant, the two of them were hoisted up the tree headfirst.

Song Hansheng was stunned for a moment. In his oxygen-deprived state, he finally realized that something was wrong.

"Yo."

Ye Qiao's cheerful yet irritating voice rang out from behind.

She bent down, looked at the two people hanging together, and couldn't help but laugh: "Both of you are hanging?"

The tone was like a leader visiting the countryside to comfort the people, and when Ye Qiao said it, it sounded incredibly smug.

Song Hansheng's pupils dilated in shock. Seeing the two Chengfeng Sect disciples behind her, he nearly coughed up blood: "It's you again!!"

He finally understood where the huge net that had fallen from the sky came from!

It's no wonder he didn't realize it was a trap sooner.

In the past, the disciples were all group members; who would be thinking about ambushing or sneaking around in a secret realm?

Duan Hengdao lowered his head, not daring to look at Song Hansheng's incredulous gaze.

To know,

He used to be a respectable person.

Until he met Ye Qiao.