Chapter 15

After entering the secret realm, the crowd gradually dispersed. Xue Yu was the most experienced and stable among them. He cautioned, “Watch your step. There are many moving spirit plants in the secret realm, some of which are aggressive.”

“Also, don’t touch things randomly in the secret realm, and don’t wander off to avoid getting lost.”

Ye Qiao hurriedly followed closely behind her three senior brothers. If she ended up alone in a place like this, it would certainly lead to trouble.

“What are those fools from Yueqing Sect doing?” Mu Chongxi turned his head and saw those people still lingering in place, seemingly searching for something.

In Su Zhuo’s mind, after foolishly handing over a hundred top-grade spirit stones, the people from Yueqing Sect had been promoted to a bunch of rich fools. They clearly had money, but not sense.

Xue Yu explained, “They’re probably looking for stronger rogue cultivators to follow and benefit from their actions.”

“The people from Yueqing Sect love picking up leftovers.” Xue Yu had early encounters with Song Hansheng and the others during his previous trips to the secret realm.

“We finally managed to squat on some Qingxin Grass to refine the Qingxin Pill. Just after Senior Brother had killed the guardian beast, Song Hansheng and his group took advantage of us.”

He said he wasn’t angry, but he had no choice. Xue Yu could only quietly guard against these people from Yueqing Sect.

Mu Chongxi was surprised. “What should we do? Shouldn’t we keep our distance from them?”

He didn’t want to work so hard only to have someone else snatch the prize.

Ming Xuan pondered for a moment. “Let’s walk faster so they won’t target us.”

The three of them exchanged words, leaving Ye Qiao deeply amazed by their conversation.

“Why should we shake them off?” Ye Qiao pulled Xue Yu and stared straight at him. “Third Senior Brother, haven’t they been picking up leftovers like this before? Don’t you all want to retaliate?”

“Retaliate?”

Xue Yu had never heard this term before.

He instinctively held onto his little sister and corrected her, “We disciples of the righteous path should act openly and aboveboard. How can we resort to retaliation?”

Even Ming Xuan, who usually had a bad temper, rarely nodded in agreement. “We are not rogue cultivators.”

Ye Qiao sighed, “Fine.”

She changed her approach, “Don’t you want to reciprocate?”

It was impossible to avoid others bumping into a wall, but she wanted to make a hole in that wall.

“What do you want to do?” Xue Yu rubbed his hands. “Third Senior Brother, do you have any elixir that can temporarily conceal cultivation base?”

Concealment Pills were of little use to cultivators, as one’s cultivation base had to be displayed to show one’s strength to the world. How could a cultivator of the cultivation world want to hide their strength?

Since it was useless and could not be sold on the black market, no alchemist would bother to make such an undesirable Pills.

However, Xue Yu liked to research these strange things, so when Ye Qiao mentioned it, he immediately remembered that he did.

“Do you want to use the Concealment Pills?” Xue Yu asked.

Ye Qiao shook her head, “I don’t need it, but you do.”

She was just a Qi refining cultivator; there was nothing she could conceal.

Concealing the cultivation bases of Xue Yu and others was the most important thing. In this way, they could go to Yueqing Sect to deceive… ahem, to have friendly exchanges with Yueqing Sect.

Xue Yu had a bad feeling when he heard this. “What are you planning to do?”

Honestly, as a senior disciple for so many years, Xue Yu had seen all kinds of storms, but Ye Qiao kept refreshing his worldview.

Ye Qiao blinked and smiled, “Nothing, I just want to have a friendly exchange with them.”

…

Song Hansheng and the others targeted a Golden Core rogue cultivator. They were symbol cultivators and didn’t have the combat power of sword cultivators, so each time they entered the secret realm, they focused on bullying rogue cultivators without backing.

“Don’t worry, Little sister. With me here, I will definitely help you build your foundation this time.” He glanced at Yun Que, still satisfied with his little sister—so beautiful and gentle, she melted people’s hearts.

Song Hansheng’s eyes carried a hint of amusement. “When the time comes, I will deliver the treasures of heaven and earth to you.”

Yun Que blushed slightly under his gaze. “Okay.”

High talent, good family background, and the chief direct disciple—such a person still treated her so specially, leaving Yun Que feeling elated.

Watching the close interaction between the two, Su Zhuo felt a bit hurt inside but didn’t say anything.

He knew that his little sister had always regarded him as her older brother.

Just as the two were getting heated, a deliberately subdued voice came from not far away.

Song Hansheng immediately slowed his pace for a moment and activated a sound-amplifying talisman, and soon there was movement from the other side.

“I didn’t expect the leaves of the Enlightenment Tree to appear here. Little sister, since you have the highest cultivation base here, you must take the Enlightenment Leaves out.”

Ye Qiao held the box tightly, solemnly saying, “Rest assured, I will protect it.”

Enlightenment Leaves?

Song Hansheng’s ears perked up.

As the name suggests, the leaves grown from the Enlightenment Tree had a chance to enlighten cultivators. This was a good thing coveted by countless major sects.

Su Zhuo frowned, puzzled. “How did these rogue cultivators have such good luck?”

“Could this be a trap?”

He harbored a cautious vigilance.

However, Song Hansheng was unperturbed. Extending his spiritual sense, he confirmed there were no dangers around before speaking, “Among these two, the one with the highest cultivation is that little ghost at the peak of Qi Refinement. What benefits do they gain from doing this?”

In the secret realm, apart from a few individuals, almost everyone else wore white masks that covered half their faces. With the dense fog masking their features, Song Hansheng couldn’t discern that Ye Qiao was the mastermind who had swindled them of one hundred spirit stones earlier.

Listening, Yun Que gently tugged at Su Zhuo’s sleeve and whispered, “Junior brother, is this really appropriate?”

Her cautious words softened Su Zhuo’s heart slightly. His little sister was too kind-hearted. He chuckled unconcernedly, “In the world of cultivation, it’s survival of the fittest. If they can’t defend what’s theirs, it’s just an early lesson for them.”

His shameless statement drew an approving glance from Song Hansheng.

Indeed, they were merely teaching these rogue cultivators about discretion in wealth and the dangers of the mortal realm.

…

“Hand over Enlightenment Leaf.”

Ye Qiao instructed her other two senior brothers to hide, leaving only Xue Yu to cooperate with her. Upon hearing movement, she exchanged a quick glance with her third senior brother.

The shameless person who shouted this was Su Zhuo.

Meeting Su Zhuo’s cold gaze, Ye Qiao, rarely distracted, was briefly lost in thought.

In her memory, the original protagonist and Su Zhuo had grown up together.

One was of average talent, at best an inner disciple, while the other, exceptionally gifted from a young age, was a highly anticipated direct disciple.

As it turned out, differing talents destined them to diverge. Su Zhuo could betray the original protagonist for the sake of his little sister.

He had his little sister to protect, and Ye Qiao also liked her senior brothers.

So, she would certainly prevent these senior brothers from becoming underlings of the female lead.

Suppressing her thoughts, Ye Qiao’s expression turned fearful. Her voice trembled slightly, “What do you want?”

“Younger sister, hand over the Enlightenment Leaf.”

Song Hansheng smiled leisurely, “Otherwise, you wouldn’t want to see your senior brother crippled by me, would you?”

Ye Qiao turned pale, “How can you be so cruel?”

Before she could finish, Song Hansheng’s finger talisman flew out, emitting a dazzling golden light that struck directly at Xue Yu’s abdomen, causing him to collapse, clutching his chest and spitting blood!

“Little sister… Don’t mind me.”

“Third senior brother.” Ye Qiao’s eyes widened, her voice suddenly raised.

Seeing her reaction, Song Hansheng was quite satisfied. He hadn’t expected that the talisman, intended merely as a deterrent, would have such power, causing the person to spew blood immediately.

Ultimately, he blamed it on the low cultivation level of this rogue cultivator.

“If you don’t want your senior brothers to suffer further, hand over the Enlightenment Leaf,” he said coldly.

After a brief standoff, Ye Qiao had no choice but to throw the box she held. Immediately, she quickly helped her senior brother up, “The box has a prohibition formation. Let us leave, and I’ll tell you how to break it.”

Her words somewhat reassured Song Hansheng.

If Ye Qiao had handed over the Enlightenment Leaf too hastily, he would have suspected a trap.

Ignoring her words, Song Hansheng attempted to dismantle the prohibition, but to no avail. He was secretly amazed at the box’s intricate design. Reluctantly, he agreed, “Fine, I promise to let you go. What’s the way to break the prohibition?”

Ye Qiao didn’t hesitate, reciting a set of multiplication formulas on the spot.

“This formation is passed down in our sect. You need to wait patiently for forty-nine days. By then, just silently recite the multiplication formulas I just taught you, and the box will open.”

Ye Qiao spoke confidently, and her recitation of the formulas flowed smoothly, sounding unexpectedly rhythmic.

Su Zhuo threatened harshly, “If you dare to deceive us, you’ll regret it.”

Ye Qiao looked miserable, “How could I? I’m just a rogue cultivator. How could I dare to deceive the esteemed disciples of major sects?”

Song Hansheng was quite satisfied with this outcome. He couldn’t be bothered with these lowly rogue cultivators anymore, so he left without looking back, holding the box.

Once the members of Yueqing Sect had completely departed, Xue Yu, who had supposedly been “incapacitated,” sprang up like a carp.

The two senior brothers hiding behind the trees also emerged.

“Damn, when did you learn this trick behind my back?” Ming Xuan exclaimed in astonishment, praising his third junior brother’s acting skills as astonishingly convincing, with no ambiguity about the blood he spat.

Xue Yu wiped off the “bloodstains” from his mouth and pulled out a red berry from his mustard seed bag, “I brought it along earlier on a whim, never thought it would come in handy.”

“Nice.” Mu Chongxi silently raised his thumb.

After accompanying his little sister this time, his mind was filled with thoughts like ‘so this is possible,’ ‘there are such operations,’ and ‘damn, that’s possible too.’

Praised by Mu Chongxi, Xue Yu felt a little embarrassed and lightly coughed, “By the way, little sister, what’s inside that box?”

It was his usual storage box for herbs, mainly used for storing herbs that could be unlocked when the time was right, without the need for any formula.

“Oh, it’s got a half-eaten big biscuit in it.”

Ming Xuan was once again amazed, staring wide-eyed, “Why did you bring a big biscuit? Who enters a secret realm without artifacts but with a big biscuit?”

Ye Qiao looked innocent, “To eat, of course. I haven’t built my foundation yet, and I get hungry.”

“Actually, our Changming Sect’s storage boxes have quite a long shelf life. It shouldn’t go bad after a month, right? Hehe, I wonder which lucky person from Yueqing Sect will get to find my half-eaten big biscuit.”

Xue Yu: “…” The little sister was quite cheeky.

“And what about that multiplication formula?” He had never heard of it before, but compared to some of the obscure and difficult-to-memorize formulas, this one seemed quite catchy.

Ye Qiao’s tone became even more innocent, “Oh, that’s something all the kids from our hometown know how to recite.”

It turns out it fits seamlessly even when transported to the cultivation world.