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

"It's alright." Perhaps finding Mingxuan's words too harsh, Xue Yu kicked him away and analyzed, "Since you were able to hold out in his domain for so long, it's clear that the brat's attack power isn't very strong."

Ye Qiao nodded. If her attack power were strong, she would have been dead long ago. How could she have had the chance to run away while trying to fool people?

"So, the person who raised the ghost child was the one who actually did it." Mingxuan tilted his head casually, making a reasonable guess: "When you were pulled in, it was that ghost baby who came to you on its own initiative; its mother was unaware of it."

Otherwise, Ye Qiao wouldn't have been able to escape so easily.

Mu Chongxi didn't quite understand. "Why did he come to you? Where is the maternal aura emanating from you, Junior Sister?" He hadn't seen that quality in Ye Qiao at all.

Based on the information Ye Qiao has gathered over the past few days, she can draw a conclusion: "He just randomly picks a female cultivator and tries to find her to be his mother; he generally ignores men."

Those who were pulled into this field had never experienced such a bizarre situation before.

Especially when it's clear that the child has a problem, a normal person's first reaction would be to run away or stab him.

The consequence of angering this ghost infant was that none of those pulled into the domain came out alive.

As the sole survivor, Ye Qiao felt no honor whatsoever, and even felt a little uneasy.

"I've discovered Ye Qiao, you're truly amazing." Mu Chongxi gave her a thumbs up, full of admiration: "It's one thing to roam around in the secret realm, but to come here and take on a mission and still manage to offend that ghost infant to death."

Sometimes, it takes a unique skill for someone like Ye Qiao to get into trouble and still come back alive and kicking.

Zhou Xingyun said calmly, "Based on the clues we have so far, the other party is a female cultivator, whose cultivation level is estimated to be at the Nascent Soul stage, or even higher."

There were no more clues.

"I have some news for you." Ye Qiao gestured for them to look over, "I have a bounty on my head, and those people are in the Song family's territory."

"And barring any unforeseen circumstances, something might happen tonight."

The person who loves her the most isn't necessarily her family; more likely, it's her enemy.

The five of them were still in the same courtyard, and they could easily find out their exact location by asking anyone in the mansion.

My suggestion is to run them separately.

After all, there are quite a lot of people, and their cultivation levels are all at the Golden Core stage, so you can imagine how high the bounty is.

Mingxuan looked around the courtyard and stroked his chin: "Before we leave, let's give them a gift."

The two disciples exchanged a glance and simultaneously formed hand seals with their fingertips. The complex array overlapped, and their hand gestures were so fast that the three outsiders were somewhat dazzled. The moment the array was formed, a dark golden light flashed and disappeared into the shadows.

Seeing the curiosity of the other senior brothers, Ye Qiao explained, "It's an explosive formation that randomly blasts people away, but it specifically targets those who are destined to be blown up."

I just don't know who this destined person will be.

"Let's go."

It would be too conspicuous for five people to gather together. It would be safer to pair up in pairs. Ye Qiao and Ming Xuan, Mu Chongxi and Xue Yu, each of the two sword cultivators would bring one of them.

Zhou Xingyun, the strongest among them, was once again left alone.

Ye Qiao deeply felt that the lives of masters were as lonely as snow. If she weren't so weak, she would also like to experience that feeling.

"Anything you want to say?" Xue Yu: "If there's nothing to say, let's all go our separate ways and run for our lives."

Zhou Xingyun looked at Ming Xuan: "You..."

He paused, then swallowed it again.

Zhou Xingyun didn't have any suggestions, but if he had to, he sincerely felt that it was best not to team up with Ye Qiao.

Being with her doesn't necessarily mean you're the safest.

But it's definitely the most exciting.

Unfortunately, Mingxuan was still unaware of his senior brother's hesitant intentions.

Half an hour after they separated, Ye Qiao and Ming Xuan's locations were found by the cultivators.

Ye Qiao remained calm, and seeing so many people surrounding them, the two quickly exchanged a glance.

It's like a gentle breeze that makes you want to slip away.

"She's fast, don't let her get away."

"And Mingxuan, if we can catch them both, we should catch them both."

They had been staking out the Song family for several days, and had even looked at the memorial stone of the competition more than ten times. Naturally, they knew what Ye Qiao was best at.

At the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, the cultivation technique focuses on speed, making them very difficult to deal with and requiring a lot of unconventional maneuvers.

But this isn't a secret realm, a place where she can let loose and have fun.

Six Golden Core cultivators surrounded them, making the scene even more exciting than during the Grand Competition. Moreover, all six of them were sword cultivators.

It's over.

"This is going to be a disaster, Ye Qiao." Ming Xuan turned his head and threw out a few talismans. "Remember to buy me the best grave when I die, thank you. My dad's rich."

Ye Qiao: "Then the simplest grave next to you is definitely mine."

As they spoke, the two of them flicked their fingertips with talismans, which kept hitting the cultivators and making them a little irritable. Ye Qiao raised her hand, took out the cultivation version of the gun, and shot out a few talismans.

She was quite confident in this cultivation-themed gun; if Qin Huai could hit it, then this group of rogue cultivators would be even more likely to succeed.

A handful of talismans were shot out; if they hit, they could buy some time.

"Let's stall for a while longer." Ye Qiao observed the sky and said, "I have a way to avoid these people."

What else can Mingxuan do?

He could only trust Ye Qiao.

Six people fighting two not only depleted a lot of their spiritual energy, but also failed to capture either of them.

The independent cultivators also realized the difference between the direct disciples and ordinary cultivators; indeed, none of them were easy to deal with.

The moment Ye Qiao's arm went numb after colliding with one of their swords, another sword aura followed closely behind. The six of them then surrounded the two of them, and Ming Xuan broke out in a cold sweat.

This is a complete disaster.

But upon catching a glimpse of Ye Qiao, he noticed the girl remained completely calm, clutching the KFC in her arms. A sudden smile played on her lips as she asked, "Xiao Qi, did you miss your mother?"

Everyone paused slightly.

Mingxuan's pupils dilated in shock: "What nonsense are you spouting?"

It's about time.

"Didn't you understand?" Ye Qiao's defensive magic weapon shattered, and she dodged the opponent's sword light, replying, "You called me son."

She deliberately delayed until late at night, when the yin energy was at its strongest. The timing of her domain's activation was regular, and the ghost infant was definitely in the Song family mansion. If Ye Qiao called him at this time, he would definitely hear her.

At this point, we have no choice but to take a gamble.

Let's see how much hatred that ghost baby has for her.

After Ye Qiao finished speaking, several rogue cultivators couldn't help but sneer: "Your son? That ghost infant?"

"Who do you think you are? His own mother?"

Since they were able to infiltrate the Song family, it was enough to prove that they had learned about the situation here in advance. They couldn't afford to provoke the existence of the ghost infant, nor did they dare to. Anyway, their mission was simply to capture Ye Qiao.

However, just as the rogue cultivators finished laughing, dark shadows gradually spread across the ground, silently engulfing people within them.

Ye Qiao had been observing her surroundings with her divine sense. When she sensed the familiar area unfolding, her heart finally settled. She grabbed Ming Xuan and said, "Come here." In the blink of an eye, the two of them vanished without a trace in front of everyone.

"What's going on?!"

Holy crap, how come everyone who was perfectly fine is gone?

A knowledgeable cultivator frowned: "It seems to be a domain."

How could a realm that is said to only appear at the Nascent Soul stage or above be here?

The rogue cultivator's voice trembled. "You mean that Ye Qiao's disciple offended a powerful being with a domain?"

The other person nodded heavily: "If I'm not mistaken, yes."

No one expected Ye Qiao's move. We've seen people court death, but we've never seen someone willingly throw their life away. Even KFC was stunned. It couldn't understand where Ye Qiao got the ability to provoke people everywhere and still be alive and kicking.

It's a miracle that she's still alive.

When Mingxuan was pulled in by Ye Qiao, he was completely taken aback. Looking at the pitch-black surroundings, he was stunned for a moment and asked, "Where am I?"

Ye Qiao: "The ghost infant's domain. How about it, isn't it exciting?"

Mingxuan's face turned pale.

He assumed that Ye Qiao's talk of stalling for time meant that reinforcements were coming.

I never expected to stumble into such a dangerous territory.

Ugh, you're toxic, Ye Qiao!

If things weren't so bad, Mingxuan would have transformed into Master Ma, grabbed her collar, and roared at her.

"Don't be afraid, he hates me the most right now," Ye Qiao comforted him. "You're just a freebie."

She wasn't afraid at all.

Mingxuan: "...Thank you for your comfort."

While they were arguing, an unfamiliar presence appeared behind them, and the two instinctively moved aside.

"Mother." The boy stared intently at Ye Qiao and asked, "Were you looking for me?"

Ye Qiao calmly replied, "No."

You misheard me.

"Why don't you want me?" he pleaded pitifully, chasing after Ye Qiao. "You promised to play with me."

Ye Qiao ran away frantically without looking back, shouting, "Our fake mother-son relationship is broken! Forced relationships are never sweet."

"Liar, liar, liar..."

A series of sounds relentlessly pursued her from behind, shrill and high-pitched, making Ye Qiao's head buzz with pain.

In this realm, Ta Qingfeng's speed was reduced by more than half.

It makes life even more unbearable.

Mingxuan was also yelling, "Help! There's a ghost, Ye Qiao! Holy crap, I need to go back to my sect!"

The two took turns belting out a high-pitched medley.

Ye Qiao was almost driven crazy by the noise; she has persevered until now entirely thanks to her iron will.

Within the domain, she tried the first move of the Qingfeng Technique, Qingfeng Kai, and the second move, Qingfeng Langyue. However, neither single-target nor group attacks could cause any damage to the ghost infant.

Seeing that she was about to be caught, Ye Qiao, after assessing the opponent's strength, roughly knew what was going on and immediately shouted:

"KFC!"

In an instant, bright flames shone dazzlingly in the domain. The fire control talisman could not ignite the domain, but the phoenix's innate fire could.

He clutched his burning hand and immediately burst into tears, "It hurts."

As soon as he finished speaking, the boy's aura turned cold. He stared straight at Ye Qiao and pounced on her. KFC launched another ball of fire at her, but this time, because the two of them were dodging each other, his aim was off and he missed.

Ye Qiao took a deep breath.

Grass.

"Xiaoxi." Just as he lunged at her, she suddenly grabbed the boy's hand. "I'm sorry."

At the same time, Ye Qiao subtly transmitted her voice to Ken: "If he makes any move to eat me, give him a ball of fire. Be precise, thank you."

KFC: "..."

The boy was a little confused by her reaction. He subconsciously wanted to open his mouth and bite Ye Qiao, to eat her up.

After all, she lied to him.

"Mother didn't mean to lie to you." Before he could explode, Ye Qiao quickly began her deception: "I just want to be with Xiao Qi forever."

Upon hearing Ye Qiao's words, he was indeed stunned for a moment: "What?"

With a child's brain capacity, it's really impossible for them to react in time.

Ye Qiao, without changing her expression, patted his head, skillfully brainwashing the innocent little devil: "What I mean is, after you eat your mother, your mother will be gone, right?"

"Like everyone else you ate before, they all disappeared."

The ghost infant feeds on resentment; the resentment of the cultivators it devours automatically gathers and lingers, providing it with a continuous source of food.

Once you've fooled a child once, the second time is even less stressful.

Seeing his thoughtful expression, Ye Qiao continued softly, "Mother just wants to be with Xiaoqi forever, so what's wrong with me running away? I just love you too much."

Mingxuan: "..."

The boy stared at her blankly for a moment, then asked, "Really?"

His dark eyes met hers, carrying an icy coldness. At that moment, Ye Qiao almost broke out in a cold sweat.

But she became even calmer in this situation. "Yes. What the other children have, Mother will gradually make up for for you later."

"But if you eat me, we won't be able to be together forever."

Ye Qiao spoke with heartfelt sincerity and exceptional gentleness: "Although I can't give you the best, I will definitely love Xiao Qi the most."

After she finished speaking, the six-year-old ghost baby was completely bewildered.

When he became conscious, his mother forced him to eat all sorts of resentment. Each time he finished eating, she would coldly tell him to continue.

But Ye Qiao was different. She was very gentle with him. Although she lied to him the first time, she gently patted his head and coaxed him softly. She wouldn't torture him for doing something wrong. Moreover, she said... she liked him the most!

The boy's previously chilling aura subsided for a moment.

Gone was his initial madness; the boy's dark eyes fixed on her for a few seconds: "Mother."

Will you always love me?

She smiled gently, radiating maternal tenderness, "Of course I will. Whether you're good or not, I will always love you."

At this moment, the ghost baby was clearly shaken.

He stared intently at Ye Qiao, perhaps remembering his previous experience of being deceived, and looked at her expressionlessly: "Then you will make a contract with me."

Ye Qiao had been waiting for these words.

First, she made him waver and feel moved, then she made him think of his experience of being deceived, and finally she tricked this kid into making a contract with her. Ye Qiao had been waiting for him to say this for a long time.

Ye Qiao hesitated for a moment, then nodded, looking hesitant. "Okay."

It was as if she had made a huge concession; her pained expression left Mingxuan stunned.

Depend on.

"..."

Damn it, I've seen scammers, but I've never seen anyone who doesn't even spare ghosts.

*

Ye Qiao: Equipment +1

It's almost Chinese New Year! I went out to buy clothes today, sorry about that. I'll update more tomorrow.