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

"Huh?" Lu Xiaoming was taken aback.

No, are all the methods of your Changming Sect so unpredictable?

To lead people to cause trouble for their own sect?

Are you sick?

However, none of the three seemed to be joking. He fidgeted with his fingers, looking slightly conflicted, and said softly, "It will take our family about three days to arrive in your territory. Are you going to wait, or do you want to cause trouble for your sect now?"

"Forget it. Don't let them come. We're not waiting."

Mu Chongxi was very curious about which elder was responsible. Xie Chuxue told them to investigate the situation and not rush into the sect to avoid being captured. So it didn't matter whether they brought anyone with them or not. They just stayed outside and looked around.

"We'll just take a look, we won't go in."

……

The Changming Sect has undergone earth-shattering changes in the past half month. If we were to name the sect with the most significant changes among the five sects, it would undoubtedly be the Changming Sect. One wave after another has arisen. With the sect leader absent, the token should have been handed over to Elder Zhao. He is senior enough and his cultivation level is at the Refining Void Realm, far higher than the other elders, making him a truly deserving candidate for acting sect leader.

The issue is……

Before leaving, he slipped the token to Ye Qiao.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. Ye Qiao is one of the legitimate heirs of the Changming Sect, so entrusting her with the task is perfectly reasonable.

Since the token was given to her, Changming Sect should have been leaderless. However, not long after Ye Qiao left, the sect had only four elders. The usually reclusive Seventh Elder suddenly held a golden token and announced that he was the new sect leader of Changming Sect.

Elder Zhao was stunned; what he held in his hand was the Sect Master's Token.

What the hell is that Ye Qiao holding?

"You gave the token to the Seventh Elder?" Steward Yu nearly strangled him. "Then what did you give Ye Qiao?"

"Fake?"

"No, what did Xiao Qiao do to offend you?" Manager Yu exclaimed in anguish. "Our Xiao Qiao is such an optimistic and cheerful little girl, and you actually tried to fool her with a fake token?! Are you even human?"

Elder Zhao was nearly drowned in Yu's spittle. He was unusually confused and repeatedly denied it, "Impossible, absolutely impossible. I gave her the sect leader's token. There's no way I could be wrong about that."

"Are you sure the token you gave her is genuine?"

"..."

He was genuinely a little unsure.

Elder Zhao was also caught off guard by this turn of events. He comforted himself, thinking that if the Seventh Elder was willing to take the position, then so be it. The matter of the Sect Master's Token still needed to be investigated. Besides, he knew that since the Seventh Elder dared to step forward, the token in his hand must be genuine.

In just half a month, his first order after becoming the sect leader was somewhat puzzling: he wanted to let Buddhist monks enter the sect.

Buddhism is also a major religion. Although it is not a mainstream sect in the cultivation world, its number of disciples is certainly greater than, if not greater than, the currently manpower-starved Changming Sect. Allowing Buddhist cultivators to join the sect is tantamount to putting the situation of the Changming Sect under the control of Buddhist disciples.

—Are you serious?

This was the thought of countless peak masters and elders.

Later, the Seventh Elder demonstrated through his actions that he was serious. The Buddhist cultivators immediately placed the two disciples from Penglai Island under house arrest, forbidding them from leaving. They then targeted both inner and outer disciples, causing widespread resentment throughout the Changming Sect.

As the youngest elder in the sect, the Seventh Elder did not have much of a presence. There were more than a dozen peak masters and elders in the Changming Sect, and they didn't really have much of an impression of this elder.

None of the disciples dared to utter a sound. Holding the sect leader's token, they were the acting sect leader until the sect leader appeared.

Having just been invaded by the demons, the sect was still recovering from the previous invasion. Beset by enemies, a mysterious elder with no real presence suddenly rose to power, opened the sect gates, and allowed a group of Buddhist cultivators to enter. This naturally caused considerable discontent within the sect.

Unfortunately, their dissatisfaction was useless. The sect leader's token was in the hands of the seventh elder. With the token in hand, none of the elders dared to have any objections.

During the elders' collective meeting, this was the first time that the peak masters and elders truly observed the Seventh Elder, who didn't have much of a presence.

With a slender face and dressed in dark gray robes, he exuded an air of otherworldly elegance. A smile graced his face as he toasted and discussed matters with elders from both Buddhism and Taoism.

"Mu Chan should have captured Ye Qiao while he's in the secret realm."

"Yes, they're definitely doomed."

"Respectfully, Seventh Elder."

"Respectfully, Elder Qi."

"Ha ha ha ha."

They exchanged a glance, smiled knowingly, and the atmosphere became warm and harmonious.

The elders of Changming Sect below looked so grim they seemed ready to flip the table at any moment. Elder Zhao dismissed the other elders, made a small hand seal, and sent a message to Xue Yu, essentially telling them not to enter the sect for the time being.

Xue Yu naturally understood Elder Zhao's meaning, but that didn't stop them from wanting to go and see.

Anyway, I'm just idling around.

Since they weren't needed for the Demon Clan's affairs for the time being, the three of them decided to return to their sect to check on the situation. Mu Chongxi's statement to Lu Xiaoming about causing trouble for their own sect was not a joke at all.

To be precise, they didn't need to cause trouble for the Changming Sect themselves; the disciples of the Changming Sect had already come looking for trouble for them first.

The three of them were discovered before they even entered the sect.

The red clothes were too conspicuous, and they said they would only take a few glances and leave. However, from the outside, it was impossible to tell what was going on. Given the situation inside and outside the Changming Sect, and the fact that it was unknown to the outside world, they would have to go inside the sect to find out what had happened.

The three of them had only recently joined the sect.

The leading inner disciple spotted them. He held a Xuan sword and smiled apologetically at them, "I'm sorry, senior brothers."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless mysterious swords were aimed at them. As long as the leading disciple gave the order, they would be pierced through the heart by ten thousand swords.

In an instant, Mingxuan clenched the talisman between his fingertips, Mu Chongxi drew his sword immediately afterward, and Xue Yu also tightened his domain.

The sword gleamed with a cold light. The disciple, looking extremely ashamed, gestured for them to enter, and said softly, "I'm sorry, senior brothers. I was just following orders."

"Our Changming Sect Master invites you. We hope the three of you will not force us."

Inner disciples have no say at all, or rather, not to mention inner disciples, even personal disciples have little say.

Xue Yu narrowed his eyes: "Which sect leader?"

"Seventh Elder," he whispered to Xue Yu, "you must not get into a conflict with him."

Xue Yu nodded. "Thank you for informing me."

They could leave if they wanted to. The problem was that Xue Yu was genuinely curious about who this Seventh Elder was and what his purpose was. How could he so easily control the situation in the Changming Sect? What gave him the right?

"Isn't the Sect Master's Token with Ye Qiao?" Mu Chongxi couldn't help but grumble. "What's going on here?"

How come the sect leader has become some kind of messed-up Seventh Elder?

"It's not clear yet," Mingxuan said, "but Ye Qiao did show me the sect leader's token."

"Is what she has in her hands necessarily real?"

Mingxuan remained silent.

The situation within the Changming Sect is constantly changing, and he dares not be certain that what Ye Qiao has is the Sect Master's Token.

In fact, they had no way of distinguishing between the real and the fake. After all, they had never been sect leaders, so how could they know which was real and which was fake?

The three of them followed the familiar path, walking step by step towards the main peak. As they ascended the long jade steps, their hearts sank deeper and deeper. Throughout the entire Changming Sect, they saw almost no other inner or outer disciples. Apart from the inner disciple who had pointed a sword at them earlier, who was an acquaintance, the entire main peak was filled with Buddhist disciples.

This means that the Seventh Elder had an extremely close relationship with Buddhism and Taoism.

Xue Yu lowered his gaze slightly. When he finally arrived at the main peak and looked up at the majestic immortal palace, a doubt arose in his heart the moment he met the Seventh Elder's face.

There was absolutely nothing to remember about this elder. They had no recollection of him whatsoever. The problem was that there were only seven elders in the Changming Sect, so it was impossible for them to have no impression of him at all. The only explanation was that he lived a secluded life.

However, although he did not have a photographic memory like Ye Qiao, he remembered six of the seven elders of Changming Sect, but he had no memory of the elder in front of him.

Xue Yu's unabashedly glaring gaze caused the Seventh Elder's lips to curl into a sneer. "Kneel down!"

Mingxuan, ever flexible, knelt down and pulled his two stunned junior brothers down. Mu Chongxi stumbled, kneeling and muttering indignantly, "Why should I kneel before him?"

Mingxuan: "His cultivation level is extremely high."

When he shouted "Kneel down!", it carried a faint lingering power. Mingxuan's breath hitched for a few seconds. He whispered to the two of them, "His cultivation level is definitely higher than all the elders present."

"Really?" Mu Chongxi was skeptical. Why was he so skeptical?

Taller than all the elders present? If I remember correctly, Elder Zhao is at the Refinement stage, right? Taller than Elder Zhao? At the Integration stage?

Why would a powerful cultivator at the Integration Stage diligently hide for so many years in a sect that has consistently ranked near the bottom? What's their motive?

A cultivator at the Integration Realm could become the sect leader of one of the Five Great Sects, yet he's stuck being an insignificant elder in a sect that consistently ranks near the bottom. Even Goujian's perseverance in enduring hardship couldn't compare to his.

What kind of perseverance does it take to remain silent and do nothing within the sect for so many years?

Mingxuan: "I'm just guessing, I'm not sure yet. But you should know that Junior Uncle said the Sect Master's Token doesn't immediately choose the person holding it; it also chooses the one with the highest cultivation level."

"What if—I mean, what if—the Sect Master's Decree had chosen the Seventh Elder from the very beginning?"

Qin Fanfan trusted Elder Zhao, who was very senior, almost from the same era as the former sect leader. Elder Zhao had reached the Refinement of Void realm, while the other elders were only at the Nascent Soul stage. He gave the token to Elder Zhao, assuming that the sect leader's token would be chosen by Elder Zhao.

After all, there's no one in the entire sect who's at the highest level of the Void Refinement stage, right?

But, just in case.

What if someone is hiding in the Tibetan border region?

When Ye Qiao was in the Nascent Soul stage, she concealed her aura, and no one noticed that she had reached the Nascent Soul stage so early.

"How come our sect is hiding everyone, human or dog?" Mu Chongxi was utterly astonished. To think that there was a Nascent Soul cultivator hidden in his own home was incredibly shocking.

Moreover, such an ordinary elder?

Why is he able to reach the Fusion Stage?

"Mingxuan. Xue Yu, Mu Chongxi."

"The three of you have just returned from outside. Take them to your respective courtyards. No one is allowed to leave the mountain without permission." The Seventh Elder lowered his head, his gaze unwavering, looking at the three with a smug smile. After surveying the room, he asked, "Does anyone else have any objections?"

The other disciples didn't dare to utter a sound. The disciples had no say, and even the elders who did have a say weren't qualified to speak.

Qin Fanfan was usually very approachable, which made them completely unaware of what the position of sect leader meant.

With the power of life and death at their disposal, a single word from them could determine their future fate, and no one would dare to offend the Seventh Elder at this critical juncture.

No one uttered a sound.

"No, you just gave in like that?" Mu Chongxi asked in disbelief. Not only did they have to kneel as soon as they entered the sect, but they were also put in solitary confinement. The boy couldn't help but mutter, "He's such a pathetic sect leader, I might as well be the one to do it."

"You have a big problem with me? Mu Chongxi?" He looked at Mu Chongxi with a smile, and the pressure of the Integration Stage suddenly hit his knee.

Before his oppressive aura could reach her, Mu Chongxi nimbly slid to her knees.

Kneel, who can kneel before him? His family lives in the imperial palace, and all sorts of people kneel before him every day. Mu Chongxi is already very skilled at this routine.

As long as he kneels quickly enough, no amount of coercion or forced kneeling will humiliate him.

Mu Chongxi: "I wouldn't dare."

His attempt to intimidate Mu Chongxi failed, so he slowly turned to stare at him, his smile concealing a dagger, his eyes curving as if coated with poison: "Then tell me, besides me, who is suitable to be the sect leader of Changming Sect?"

"..."

This is a rather fatal problem.

No matter who you criticize, you're bound to face criticism.

Mu Chongxi was merely a personal disciple, and the elders and sect leader had previously been willing to pamper him, so naturally, he had someone to back him up no matter what he did. But this Seventh Elder was deliberately making things difficult for him. If he answered incorrectly, it would be hard to get out of trouble.

Elder Zhao hadn't expected this brat to be so reckless. Hadn't he grasped the situation? From the moment the Seventh Elder was determined to collude with Buddhism and Taoism, even a direct disciple of the Changming Sect had little prestige.

If he answered even the slightest question incorrectly, confinement and punishment would be inevitable.

Mu Chongxi regretted his words; he should have known better than to be so sarcastic. He nervously clenched his fists. Everyone was staring at him. The young man's heart pounded like a drum, and his lips pursed slightly. Suddenly, an idea struck him. Remembering the things he had said on the forum that had gotten him flamed for his nonsense, he raised his eyes and spoke loudly, "You just said that besides yourself, who else is suitable to be the sect leader?"

"Yes." The Seventh Elder's gaze deepened. "What are you thinking?"

Mu Chongxi said in a foolish tone, "I choose Ye Qiao. She is the one everyone wants."

Mingxuan coughed and stood properly below. "Yes, I also choose Ye Qiao. She is the one everyone wants."

Don't ask, the answer is Ye Qiao, the one everyone hopes for.

Since Ye Qiao isn't here anyway, why not let them choose?

They've both stated their positions, leaving only Xue Yu who hasn't yet expressed his opinion.

"What do you think, Xue Yu?" The Seventh Elder's smile faded slightly, and he narrowed his eyes dangerously, hoping that this only disciple with a reasonably sound mind would know better.

The boy knelt upright, his voice clear and bright, and smiled slightly, "Me too."