Forced to become a pure and innocent female pharmacist in order to cultivate immortality.

"Um, Senior Sister Tantai, you might not know this, but Aoxue is actually avenging me. I got into a conflict with the disciples of Fire Cloud Peak while I was hunting demonic beasts. Could you help me put in a good word for me?"

Tantai Mingyue was taken aback. This was a great opportunity to get closer to Lin Aoxue, so she definitely couldn't refuse.

"If that's the case, then it's easy. I've already caught a whiff of Jiang Yan's presence." Tantai Mingyue turned to look south, and sure enough, a streak of fire flew in from afar like a meteorite. This was a fire escape technique, similar to Ji Chunling's lightning escape technique, and its flight speed was much faster than normal flight.

The flame quickly stopped in front of Ye Liuyun and the others, and Jiang Yan himself appeared in front of Lin Aoxue with a fierce expression.

"Finally found you, Junior Sister Lin. Eh? Tantai is here too. Junior Sister Lin, you'd better give me an explanation. Why did you attack our Fire Cloud Peak disciples? What did our Fire Cloud Peak disciples do to offend you? You actually eliminated more than a dozen of our Fire Cloud Peak teams in one go." Jiang Yan questioned in a deep voice.

Lin Aoxue wasn't going to tolerate his temper. She was about to speak when Ye Liuyun produced a spirit fruit and stuffed it into her mouth, silencing her.

"Waaah..." Lin Aoxue immediately glared at Ye Liuyun.

However, she also knew what Ye Liuyun meant, which was to tell her to shut up and speak less.

Jiang Yan was stunned when she saw this scene, and then her gaze fell on Ye Liuyun. Originally, she came to cause trouble, but when she saw the graceful, pure-looking, sexy and mature Ye Liuyun, her eyes widened.

For a moment, he forgot what he was supposed to do next. His body flickered and he appeared in front of Ye Liuyun.

"Wow? Um, junior sister, what's your name? I didn't expect the Cloud Sect to have such a beautiful junior sister. There are so many beauties in the Cloud Sect, how come I've never seen you before?" Jiang Yan asked with a smile.

This guy just gives off a weird uncle vibe, like he's trying to trick a little girl.

He was furious just a moment ago, but suddenly became kind.

Tantai Mingyue was just about to speak up and act as a peacemaker, but before she could open her mouth, Jiang Yan suddenly appeared in front of Ye Liuyun as if he had lost his mind.

"Huh? This?" Ye Liuyun was dumbfounded. Her mind was still a bit foggy, and she couldn't figure out who this Jiang Yan was.

————————————————————————————

She was stunned for a long time before she finally answered.

"Um, my name is Ye Liuyu, a new disciple of Caiyun Peak?"

Jiang Yan smiled and nodded, but immediately, he seemed to realize who Ye Liuyu was, and he suddenly found that the person in front of him seemed somewhat familiar.

So I thought back a bit.

"Oh... I remember now, you're Ye Liuyu, the older sister of Junior Sister Lin, who lives in Bixia Valley. No wonder you looked so familiar," Jiang Yan said with a surprised expression.

They all sent people to inquire about Ye Liuyun and saw what he looked like.

Perhaps it was because Ye Liuyun's appearance just happened to match Jiang Yan's aesthetic standards that he momentarily forgot about the trouble he was looking for.

Ye Liuyun and Lin Aoxue are a really interesting couple. They are liked by many people, but unfortunately, all their affection is in vain.

Lin Aoxue was not used to people getting too close to Ye Liuyun, especially men.

"Senior Brother Jiang, please keep your distance from my sister." Lin Aoxue's body flashed and appeared in front of Ye Liuyun. When Jiang Yan saw Lin Aoxue suddenly run over, he instinctively took a few steps back.

Only then did he realize that he had come to cause trouble.

"Hmph! I almost forgot, I'm here to cause trouble, Junior Sister Lin. You haven't answered my question yet." Jiang Yan dropped his teasing expression and became irritable again.

Tantai Mingyue sighed, then walked up to Jiang Yan and whispered a few words to her.

After hearing this, Jiang Yan's anger immediately subsided by half.

"Oh, I see. But, Tantai, you can just say whatever you want to say, but don't get so close to me. I don't want you to mess up my sexual orientation." Jiang Yan intentionally or unintentionally moved away from Tantai Mingyue.

Tantai Mingyue immediately felt a black line appear on her forehead, and she suddenly had the urge to hit someone.

Upon hearing this, Ye Liuyun's pupils contracted. How could she not understand what she was saying?

"No way? This Tantai Mingyue was a man before? Oh, I remember now, I was wondering where I heard that name before. She's the one who transformed from a man into a woman and became the most beautiful woman in the Yun Sect, Tantai Haoyue, the direct disciple of Ziyun Peak." Ye Liuyun realized.

After realizing what had happened, Ye Liuyun was filled with distress. Such a beautiful woman, and she was actually a man before? It was too outrageous.

No wonder Jiang Yan told Tantai Mingyue to stay away from him. How many people could resist being in close contact with such a beautiful woman for a long time? If they couldn't resist and ignored the other person's previous gender, and fell in love with her, it would be too painful.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me she was a man before?" Ye Liuyun whispered to Lin Aoxue.

"Tch, you look pretty smug, don't you? Besides, what's the difference between you and her? Why are you looking down on others?" Lin Aoxue retorted.

Ye Liuyun was speechless.

Jiang Yan had calmed down a bit.

"So that's how it is. But, Junior Sister Lin, if you want to avenge Junior Sister Ye, can't you go find the real culprit? Are all the disciples of my Fire Cloud Peak who attacked my Fire Cloud Peak indiscriminately the kind of petty scoundrels who bully the weak?" Jiang Yan said unhappily.

Although Lin Aoxue was very beautiful, she was not Jiang Yan's type at all, because Jiang Yan preferred women with a gentler appearance and temperament, while Lin Aoxue's temperament was too aloof and domineering.

"Hmph! Then I suggest you go back and give your junior brothers a lesson on cultivator ethics," Lin Aoxue said sarcastically.

Jiang Yan fell into deep thought for a moment, but then she suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, I suddenly remembered something else. Junior Sister Ye, your team clashed with Fang Hao and Wu Lian's team near Cuiping Mountain, right?" Jiang Yan asked.

Their storage bags for all twelve people have been taken, and they have already sent a request for help to all the disciples of Huoyun Peak.

"Oh, I don't know the two people you're talking about, but the rest of my team and I were indeed robbed of our prey by two teams from Fire Cloud Peak, or rather, three times. The first two times, my five senior sisters and I set up an ambush and robbed them of their prey. The third time, they brought in a senior sister named Liu Yanli. In the end, we were forced by Senior Sister Liu Yanli to return the stolen prey to them."

"Afterwards, our team split up. The other five senior sisters were afraid of retaliation from your Fire Cloud Peak, so they handed in their missions early. I came to find my sister, but I didn't expect to be ambushed by them on the way. They had no evidence, but they said that I took their storage magic treasure. I'm innocent!" Ye Liuyun began his Oscar-worthy performance again.

Anyway, with a pitiful and aggrieved look on her face, she quickly won Jiang Yan's sympathy.

"Is that so? These guys are shameless. They lost, so what? Well, alright, let's leave it at that for now. But, Junior Sister Lin, I hope you won't attack any more disciples of my Fire Cloud Peak." After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yan warned Lin Aoxue.

Lin Aoxue snorted coldly, neither nodding nor shaking her head, which was taken as tacit agreement not to make a move.

After Jiang Yan finished speaking, he greeted Ye Liuyun with a smile again.

"Junior Sister Ye, please visit my Fire Cloud Peak sometime. If those guys really wronged you, I promise I'll make them apologize to you. As for me, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now. We can discuss this further another day." Jiang Yan left after saying this, using his Fire Release: Flight Technique once again.

After Jiang Yan left, Ye Liuyun finally breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at Tantai Mingyue with amazement.

"Senior Sister Tantai, I never expected that you were actually a man before. This is quite a surprise to me," Ye Liuyun couldn't help but say.

Tantai Mingyue was taken aback.

"Eh? Junior Sister Ye, you're only just finding out about this?"

Tantai Mingyue thought Ye Liuyun already knew, after all, she was already famous in Yunzong.

"Well, haha, well, after I came to Yun Sect, I stayed in Bixia Valley and rarely learned about sect affairs," Ye Liuyun explained awkwardly.

"I see. Actually, for cultivators, the most important thing is mindset. Outer appearance is just a shell. If you believe in yourself as a man, what does it matter what others think? Now that the matter is resolved, I'll take my leave. Junior Sister Ye, you're welcome to visit my Purple Cloud Peak sometime." Tantai Mingyue said with a smile, and then flew away.

However, Ye Liuyun really wanted to respond to what Tantai Mingyue had said earlier. She wanted to say that the idea that she still considered herself a man was just self-deception, and she was a perfect example of that.

After all the outsiders left, Ye Liuyun finally relaxed completely.

"You, do you dare to stop acting so domineering? As a woman, you should be gentle when you need to be. If you keep being so stubborn, you'll suffer sooner or later," Ye Liuyun admonished.

"Mind your own business. Do I need you to teach me how to be a woman? Let me tell you, being assertive has its advantages. If I acted like you, believe me, a lot of men would come and harass me," Lin Aoxue said.

Ye Liuyun did not doubt this statement, after all, she had experienced it herself.

For the next few days, Ye Liuyun stayed with Lin Aoxue. Being with Lin Aoxue meant there was basically no trouble. Those dozen or so people from Huoyun Peak could only cause trouble after the conference ended.

Ye Liuyun is now capable of fighting alongside Lin Aoxue and no longer needs Lin Aoxue's special protection.

Together, the two of them could easily deal with a late-stage Dao Palace demon beast. Ye Liuyun finally went from playing a supporting role to being the main attacker. She relied on her powerful physical body to attract the demon beast's attention from the front, while Lin Aoxue flanked from the side.

Almost no late-stage Dao Palace demonic beasts can withstand their combined attack, but they are helpless against peak Dao Palace demonic beasts. Peak Dao Palace demonic beasts are known as half-step Four Extremes, and once they reach this level, they are basically beyond the capabilities of Dao Palace Nascent Soul cultivators.

Fortunately, there aren't many peak-level demonic beasts in each region, only a few. If you don't provoke them, they won't attack human cultivators.

And so, the demon-hunting tournament quickly came to an end.

Ye Liuyun and Lin Aoxue also arrived at the place to hand in their missions and turned in the monsters they had captured.

With their submissions, the two of them surged into the top 100 of the Demon Hunting Ranking, securing their place in the Sect Tournament. As for the top spots, they were undoubtedly taken by the veteran disciples and promising talents of the sects.

It doesn't matter, as long as they make it into the top 1000, since Ye Liuyun and Lin Aoxue have everything they need, and the points given by the sect aren't of much use.

Chapter 294 Sudden Thoughts (4500 words, bonus chapter for 950 monthly votes)

The sect conference will begin three days after the Demon Hunting Tournament ends.

Meanwhile, the Yun Sect's higher-ups were waiting for the final rankings of the conference, mainly the rankings of the number of participants from each peak. They didn't care how many strong individuals from each peak made it through, because only one hundred people would ultimately attend the Nanling Grand Gathering. No matter how strong you were, you couldn't replace everyone else.

"First place, Yunxiao Peak, with 236 finalists."

Inside the sect's main hall, the fourth elder, who was in charge of this demon-hunting tournament, was announcing the results.

No one was surprised that the main peak was number one, because the main peak had always been number one in various activities in previous years. Although Murong Huan, the strongest disciple of the sect, was not a direct disciple, he was still a seed of the main peak. With him guarding the main peak, the sect had never lost in any competition.

The reason why the main peak does not easily establish personal disciples is that the main peak's personal disciples are usually chosen within a hundred years when the Cloud Sect Master is about to pass away or reaches the age where a successor must be selected.

This time, the appointment of Lin Aoxue's direct disciples to the main peak was a special approval, and they do not have the right to inherit the Yun Sect.

Therefore, at present, Murong Huan is the most likely person to take the position of leader of the Yun Sect.

Therefore, everyone is focused on the rankings of the other five peaks, because the situation of each peak this time is different from usual, and it is hard to say whether they can maintain the same level as before.

"Second place, eh? Qingyun Peak, 204 people made it." The Fourth Elder hesitated for a moment when he read out the second place, clearly somewhat surprised.

Upon hearing this, the master of Qingyun Peak immediately burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, you're too kind, everyone," the master of Qingyun Peak said smugly.

Huo Ling and the Lord of Lei Yun Peak immediately frowned. They hadn't expected that Qing Yun Peak would surpass their two families. They had thought that even if it wasn't Huo Yun Peak, it would at least be Lei Yun Peak.

"Third place, Caiyun Peak, with 188 people making the cut." The third place was even more surprising.

You should know that Caiyun Peak used to be last place, but now it has climbed directly to second place among the five major factions. In their ranking of the five peaks, Yunxiao Peak is usually not included because there is no suspense.

"What? Second place at Rainbow Cloud Peak? Impossible? How could this be?" Huo Ling and Lei Li, the master of Thunder Cloud Peak, stood up in disbelief.

Su Ying was also astonished when she heard the rankings. She didn't have high hopes for this demon-hunting competition; she just wanted to avoid coming in last place. However, she never expected to win third place.

"What kind of attitude is this? Do you think that because Caiyun Peak has been showing weakness for so long, Caiyun Fei will never rise again?" Su Ying said, dissatisfied with their reaction.

The two men looked very upset. They couldn't understand why this was happening, meaning that their Fire Cloud Peak, Thunder Cloud Peak, and Purple Cloud Peak had become the last ones standing.

The Fourth Elder wasted no time and went straight to talking about the remaining three.

"Purple Cloud Peak is fourth, Thunder Cloud Peak is fifth, and Fire Cloud Peak is sixth. This is the current ranking."

This result was completely unacceptable to Lei Li and Huo Ling. They knew that in the past, their two factions could occasionally defeat the main peak and take first place, but this time, they were ranked last.

"Why is this happening? I don't believe it. Although I know that the strength of our two peaks will definitely decline, it shouldn't have declined to this extent, right?" Huo Ling said angrily.

“That’s right, why is that?” Lei Li also questioned.

Seeing how excited the two were, Fang Mingyu immediately spoke up.

"Junior Sister Huoling, Junior Brother Lei, both of you calm down and look at the rankings yourselves. You'll know why then." Fang Mingyu had already seen the rankings and could basically guess what was going on.

Upon hearing this, the two quickly took out their identity tokens to check. They checked them one by one and soon discovered that many disciples who they thought should be ranked very high were ranked lower than usual, and quite a few were not even in the top 1,000.

For example, Huoyun Peak has three core disciples who are not among the top 1,000, meaning they didn't make the cut. These are three core disciples, while the core disciples of other factions have basically all made the cut.

Anyway, apart from a few disciples who consistently occupy the top 100 spots, there aren't many mid-level disciples, and even fewer low-level disciples.

Why are the disciples of Lei Yunfeng and Huo Yunfeng ranked so low this time?

There are three reasons. First, these two factions are the two that have produced the most disciples, since they used to have the most people, but this time they are outnumbered.

Secondly, the two peaks originally didn't have many female disciples, but this time they suddenly had half more female disciples. However, the cultivation methods for female cultivators are different from those for male cultivators, and many of the gender-swapped female disciples were unable to fully adapt, resulting in a significant drop in their combat power.

Third, because Lei Yunfeng and Huo Yunfeng have always been the two factions with the greatest conflict, their fierce fighting resulted in the largest number of disciples being eliminated.

The two of them only need to glance at the rankings to understand what's going on.

"Damn it, you factions have completely taken advantage of the time and personnel changes this time." Lei Li sat down listlessly.

However, Huo Ling couldn't help but complain about Fang Mingyu.

"Senior Brother, our Fire Cloud Peak's low ranking is largely due to Lin Aoxue from your main peak. She eliminated many Core Formation stage cultivators from my main peak in one fell swoop. Furthermore, three core disciples from my main peak were also eliminated. On the other hand, two teams of disciples from Green Screen Mountain had their storage treasures stolen by unknown individuals. I am not satisfied with this Demon Hunting Tournament," Fire Spirit protested.

This ranking is too embarrassing. You have to know that Fire Cloud Peak and Thunder Cloud Peak are the two factions with the highest combat power in the Cloud Sect.

After all, lightning and fire magic are the two most lethal attributes.

"These are two different things. The sect will investigate the issue of your disciples' storage treasures being stolen, but whether there will be any results is hard to say. However, judging from the process of this competition, your Fire Cloud Peak disciples are used to being arrogant. At least half of the incidents of stealing their fellow disciples' prey came from your Fire Cloud Peak. You saw it yourself," Fang Mingyu reprimanded.

Upon hearing this, Huo Ling immediately sat down awkwardly, unable to deny the truth of the matter.

Of course, Fang Mingyu couldn't be too protective of Ye Liuyun. After all, the theft of the Fire Cloud Peak disciples' storage magic treasures was closely related to Ye Liuyun, so it was reasonable to suspect her.

"Junior Brother Bao, you are in charge of the sect's law enforcement hall. Go and investigate the matter of the Fire Cloud Peak disciples' storage bags being stolen. Make sure to get to the bottom of this before the sect assembly begins." Fang Mingyu glanced at a seemingly upright middle-aged elder.

"Yes, Sect Master." Elder Bao nodded immediately and then left the main hall.