Chapter 12

After distributing the pills to a few senior brothers, Ye Qiao decided to keep the remaining pills for her own use rather than selling them.

However, for some reason, when Xue Yu heard that she still had those pills, his smile became a bit stiff.

He thought for a moment and then spoke gently, “It’s nice that you have this intention, Little sister.”

But it’s really not necessary!

Unaware of his internal scream, Ye Qiao thought her third senior brother was too moved to speak. She smiled with twinkling eyes, “It’s okay, for you all, I will continue to strive to become stronger.”

Xue Yu’s inner thoughts: No!! You are already strong enough, there’s no need to try harder.

Not noticing her senior brother’s pained smile, Ye Qiao hummed a tune as she returned to her courtyard and began drawing talismans.

She hadn’t memorized those dozen talisman books for nothing.

Ye Qiao tore off the old Spirit Gathering Talisman and drew a new one. With the dense spiritual energy of the main peak and the effect of the talisman, she was already on the verge of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. She just needed a bit more time, and reaching Foundation Establishment wouldn’t be so hard.

*

Several inner sect elders of the Changming Sect were having a meeting. After a moment of contemplation, Duan Yu said, “Ye Qiao is stuck at the peak of the Qi Refinement stage. I was thinking we should let them prepare and go to a secret realm for some training in a few days.”

“A secret realm in Yunzhong City is about to open. The other four sects will probably send their personal disciples for training as well. It’s a good opportunity for them.”

Although there’s no hope for the Changming Sect in this year’s grand competition, the current disciples, aside from Ye Qiao, have pretty decent talent. They still need to go through proper training.

Elder Zhao, recalling the strange concoction Ye Qiao had made, silently nodded, “I agree.”

Quickly, let this troublemaker leave.

If she doesn’t, he fears that the next day the forums of the cultivation world will be buzzing with: “Changming Sect Elder Beats Up Personal Disciple – A Twist of Human Nature or a Decline in Morality?”

Qin Fanfan said, “Since no one has any objections, let’s send these kids off.”

He felt that if these little rascals didn’t go out for training soon, they might just tear down the Changming Sect.

How long has it been, and they already dared to set fire to the library?

Qin Fanfan had an inexplicable premonition that ever since he took in this little disciple, the sect’s grand competition next year would be very lively.

Manager Yu exclaimed, “The sect leader is wise!”

Finally, they were sending those little rascals away.

If it wasn’t forbidden to light fireworks, he would have gone out and set off a few strings of firecrackers to celebrate.

…

“Little sister.”

Xue Yu knocked on the door, unsure if it was his imagination, but it seemed that the spiritual energy in his little sister’s courtyard was even denser than a few days ago.

Hearing the noise, Ye Qiao was frantically absorbing spiritual energy. She had a premonition that she was about to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, perhaps within the next few days. Upon hearing the knock, she slightly opened her eyes, “Third Senior Brother?”

Xue Yu looked at her and said, “Pack up, tomorrow we are going to a secret realm. The three of us will take you for some training.”

Ye Qiao was taken aback. “What?”

Xue Yu said, “A small secret realm is opening under Yunzhong City. Because the realm is small, there won’t be any powerful beings, making it perfect for your training.”

Xue Yu wasn’t particularly interested in the small secret realm, but since this was his little sister’s first outing, he decided to accompany her.

Ye Qiao slapped her forehead as she remembered.

There was a mention of the small secret realm in Yunzhong City in the novel.

There were plenty of treasures inside.

“The secret realm under Yunzhong City used to be divided between the Wenjian Sect and the Yueqing Sect.”

Xue Yu chuckled lightly, “But the personal disciples of Yueqing Sect have always been arrogant and likely won’t be interested in a small secret realm.”

Ye Qiao thought to herself.

No.

They would be interested.

Because the protagonist would go there.

The protagonist would obtain many spiritual plants there, including some ancient plants on the verge of extinction. Acquiring these treasures depended on one’s strength, but aside from the Yueqing Sect, none of the other major sects visited this small secret realm. Some unaffiliated cultivators didn’t dare offend the major sects, so naturally, all the spiritual plants ended up in Yun Que’s possession.

However, it seemed that the butterfly effect caused by her presence led to the Changming Sect deciding to send their disciples to the small secret realm for training.

Ye Qiao’s eyes lit up. “Let’s invite the other senior brothers to join us.”

Yun Que has senior brothers, and so does she. They are all personal disciples; no one is superior to anyone else.

So it was happily decided.

Early the next morning, the four of them packed up their things and prepared to set off down the mountain.

Ming Xuan leaned on a crane and waved at her, “Little sister, over here.”

He casually tossed Ye Qiao a set of clothes. Ye Qiao touched the fabric, which felt cool and comfortable. She was puzzled, “Are these the personal disciple robes of the Changming Sect?”

She saw that the three of them were all wearing red.

Neat and tidy, they looked like three bright turkeys standing there.

Mu Chongxi propped his chin and nodded, “It’s made of thousand-year-old ice silkworm silk. Although our sect is a bit poor, we are generous with our personal disciples. These clothes are water and fireproof.”

Ye Qiao didn’t wear them. She found the personal disciples of the Changming Sect to be quite flashy, with their red robes.

Too eye-catching to wear outside.

“Change into casual clothes,” she said solemnly. “The more inconspicuous, the better.”

Mu Chongxi was confused, “Why? Don’t our personal disciple robes look good?”

Ye Qiao shook her head, “It’s not that.” — The main issue was that wearing personal disciple robes while playing tricks would immediately reveal which sect they were from. That wouldn’t work.

She realized that the personal disciples of the Changming Sect seemed a bit naive.

Finally, at Ye Qiao’s repeated request, Ming Xuan changed into white clothes, and Xue Yu wore green.

So, with Ye Qiao flanked by a “blue dragon” and a “white tiger,” and a “blockhead” in the middle, they set off on the crane happily.

The blockhead Mu Chongxi was extremely excited, “Charge, charge, charge!”

Due to the imminent opening of the small secret realm, the flow of people in Yunzhong City had increased significantly these past few days, with unaffiliated cultivators and disciples from small sects everywhere. The four of them, dressed in casual clothes, blended into the crowd of various sect robes, looking quite inconspicuous.

The four of them enjoyed their leisure and started wandering around the market in Yunzhong City.

Ming Xuan looked around curiously, “I heard there’s a popular talisman on the market recently.”

“What kind of talisman?”

“A Gathering Spirit Talisman. I heard you can cultivate while lying down.”

Ming Xuan was itching to try, “Shall we buy one to try?”

Ye Qiao was stunned and grabbed the eager Ming Xuan, “No, they’re all scams.”

“How do you know? Let’s buy one to try; they’re not expensive anyway.”

“…” Poor Ye Qiao was hit again.

How did she know? Because she drew them herself!

She had a bunch of them. Initially, she just wanted to make some money, but after those cultivators discovered their utility, the sales went out of control. It was well known that disciples of the five major sects were strictly prohibited from privately selling talismans and pills.

Ye Qiao feared being recognized and then confined, so she had to stop selling talismans in the black market.

As a result, local vendors saw a business opportunity and started producing fakes, with prices more than ten times higher than what she originally sold them for.

Ye Qiao stopped Ming Xuan from buying a dud, “Let’s find an inn to stay first. If other sects arrive, we might not have a place to stay.”

Ming Xuan regretfully stepped back, “Alright then.”

They could buy it later.

When the four of them arrived at the inn, the first floor was packed with people, seemingly watching something. The crowd-loving Mu Chongxi dragged Ye Qiao into the throng.