Chapter 30

Perhaps it was because Ye Qiao spoke so sincerely that the turkey, after some contemplation, nodded its head, accepting the name “Kentucky.”

It wanted to be the most majestic bird!

Wait, no, it wasn’t a bird.

Originally a group of three, they were now accompanied by a beast. Kentucky was small and fluffy with red feathers, hopping onto Ye Qiao’s shoulder, nestling there obediently.

“Little sister, do you really know where the fire element crystal mine is?” Along the way, Mu Chongxi, while playing with Kentucky, asked doubtfully.

Ye Qiao nodded. Seeing the two moving slowly, she pulled Duan Hengdao onto her sword, saying, “At this speed, you won’t even get to eat warm shit.”

“Hurry up.”

Urging them, she activated Treading Breeze, speeding towards their destination.

The Great Secret Realm would arrive a few months early, so there was no guarantee that the protagonist wouldn’t get the treasure-hunting beast first. If that happened, whom could she cry to?

Fire element crystals are born in extremely hot areas. The environment of the Great Secret Realm is always a mystery: one second it’s clear skies, the next it’s raining. And it’s not just any rain; it’s somewhat like acid rain, corrosive and causing a burning pain when it touches the skin.

Duan Hengdao thought for a moment. “I have a defensive magic tool, but it requires some spiritual power to maintain. Do you want to use it together?”

Consuming spiritual power…

Ye Qiao calculated the distance and decisively refused.

What if they encountered enemies with depleted spiritual power?

Mu Chongxi also refused. Previously, he wouldn’t have thought he’d encounter enemies while training, but ever since being with his little sister, she seemed to attract trouble constantly. She had already offended two of the five major sects—unbelievable.

“So, what do we do?” Duan Hengdao touched his burnt hand, only to see Ye Qiao slowly take out two large pots from her storage space.

Wait…

Pots?

“What is this?” Duan Hengdao was stunned.

“Pots,” Ye Qiao answered concisely. “Put them on.”

“Usually used for alchemy.”

Duan Hengdao was confused. “Pots for alchemy?”

Ye Qiao: “No money. Understand?”

Duan Hengdao: “Alright.” He couldn’t help but wonder: after Mingxuan went crazy, did Xue Yu also start using pots for alchemy? Are the disciples of the Changming Sect okay?

Since Ye Qiao didn’t specify who used pots for alchemy and Changming Sect had only one alchemist, Duan Hengdao misunderstood grandly.

Wearing the pot, Duan Hengdao found it quite useful. At least it didn’t consume spiritual power. Although it looked a bit crazy, it didn’t matter—there were no outsiders around.

Ye Qiao had so many strange things that Duan Hengdao couldn’t help but say sincerely, “I hope when we meet at the competition, you’ll show mercy to us from Chengfeng Sect.”

Ye Qiao didn’t look back, her tone innocent, “I’m just a little Foundation Establishment stage. How could I threaten you all, who are mostly at the Golden Core stage?”

Duan Hengdao mumbled, “Hard to say.”

Changming Sect was never highly regarded by outsiders. This year, the first and second places were expected to be either Wenjian Sect or Chengfeng Sect. Even Yueqing Sect and Bishui Sect had a chance to compete.

Only Changming Sect was always a runner-up.

He never really took this perpetually trailing sect seriously, but their new little sister… had too many unconventional moves.

She was impossible to predict.

After the acid rain stopped, a giant snake appeared ahead. Duan Hengdao bit his tongue hard, quickly realizing it was an illusion.

In the secret realm, illusions that could confuse the mind were common, and those with weak resolve could easily get lost within them.

Ye Qiao noticed that, besides herself, the other two were standing dazedly, not moving. She rummaged through her storage bag for a while and then opened a bottle of pills.

A refreshing fragrance wafted from the bottle, clearing the mind. Duan Hengdao rubbed his eyes, coming back to his senses from the illusion. “Clarity Pills?”

She nodded and distributed them to the two.

Duan Hengdao blinked, “How do you have so many pills?”

Ye Qiao replied modestly, “Third Senior Brother gave them to me.”

Xue Yu, after making them, had stuffed a bunch into her hands. Now, if nothing else, she had an abundance of Clarity Pills.

These pills could prevent people from falling into illusions, making them essential for expeditions.

With Ye Qiao’s relentless effort, the three soon found the fire element crystal mine mentioned in the original story.

Compared to the crystals in Duan Hengdao’s box, the ones here were brighter and hotter, continuously absorbing the surrounding heat. Nearly a hundred crystals were embedded in the red volcano. The scent excited Kentucky, who flapped its wings, eager to pounce on the crystals.

A sleeping leopard suddenly opened its eyes, sensing someone approaching. It bared its teeth, ready to pounce and teach the intruders a lesson, but then it noticed a featherless chick gnawing madly on a crystal.

The leopard hesitated, wanting to swallow the prey. But Kentucky tilted its head and glanced at it.

With just one look, the leopard couldn’t control itself, crouching down with its massive body trembling slightly, remaining motionless as the humans collected the crystals.

Completely unaware of what had happened, the three were engrossed in mining. Having learned from previous experiences, Mu Chongxi didn’t waste time and started mining immediately. They cleared out all the fire element crystals in the area, leaving none for others.

After spending a few days with Ye Qiao, Mu Chongxi realized that kindness was useless, and being shameless was much more comfortable.

In the end, Kentucky devoured a third of the crystals, and Mu Chongxi and Duan Hengdao split the rest.

Logically, there should have been beasts guarding the crystal mine.

However, for some reason, the guardian beast never appeared, making the whole process unbelievably smooth.

As they walked, Ye Qiao fed Kentucky, her expression complicated as she looked at the bird.

“Isn’t it eating too much?”

Mu Chongxi dismissed her worry, “A good appetite is a blessing.”

Ye Qiao thought so too, but watching it eat so joyfully nearly suffocated her. Who could afford to feed it?

While feeding Kentucky along the way, they soon attracted the attention of a group of people.

In the secret realm, there were many rogue cultivators trapped and unable to get out. Noticing they were all at the Foundation Establishment stage, Ye Qiao ignored them.

Unexpectedly, the people who had been sneaking around following them suddenly jumped out, immediately questioning them.

“You took my crystals!” The man’s tone was confident, clearly having seen the whole process.

There were a few people behind him, likely rogue cultivators judging by their cultivation levels.

“Your crystals? Did they have your name on them?” Ye Qiao asked lazily, with a relaxed attitude.

“We saw them first,” he raged. “You’re just bullies!”

Because the leopard had at least Golden Core stage cultivation, he hadn’t dared to act rashly and went to call for backup. But when he returned, everything was gone.

Seeing Ye Qiao’s nonchalant attitude, the man’s anger flared, and he lunged at her barehanded, trying to teach her a lesson.

Ye Qiao swiftly dodged, grabbed his arm, and threw him to the ground, smiling slightly, “What? What did you say? I couldn’t hear you.”

Kidding.

If she couldn’t beat someone at the same level, would all of Elder Duan Yu’s harsh training have been in vain?

Facing Ye Qiao’s smiling eyes, the man lay on the ground, stunned.

Only the sharp pain brought him back to reality, realizing he had been beaten by a seemingly frail talisman cultivator.

Damn it, weren’t talisman cultivators supposed to be bad at close combat?

Ye Qiao gave him no chance to react, kicking him back. Her lips curved into a sneer as she declared arrogantly, “I’m a personal disciple of the Yueqing Sect. If you have a problem, go talk to our senior brother.”

A personal disciple?

Could it be…

“She’s the newly recruited Yun Que from Yueqing Sect?!”

Ye Qiao almost laughed out loud.

She had wanted to frame Song Hansheng, but since Yun Que was the only little sister among the personal disciples of Yueqing Sect, she might as well go along with it.

The man immediately felt he had figured it out, angrily denouncing, “I knew it, those shameless people from Yueqing Sect.”

“How dare you insult my sect!” Ye Qiao feigned anger, furrowing her brows.

She threw a formation talisman at them.

The confinement talisman wasn’t lethal, only trapping them for a few minutes.

But as soon as she threw the talisman, the rogue cultivators below exploded in anger.

“Of course, she’s from Yueqing Sect!”

“Who else would be so despicable?! I saw it clearly, that was definitely a Yueqing Sect talisman.”

Yueqing Sect’s talismans were quite distinctive. Their formation talismans, in particular, were recognizable by their unique golden patterns once activated. Experienced rogue cultivators identified them immediately.

This confirmed her identity as a personal disciple of Yueqing Sect.

Disguised as Yun Que, Ye Qiao fearlessly pocketed the crystals and sauntered away.

Duan Hengdao, following Ye Qiao, could only shout “666” in admiration.

When in doubt, blame the enemies.

Ye Qiao had certainly mastered this tactic.

……

“I heard someone discovered a fire element crystal mine in the secret realm.”

“Where?!” Such rare treasures from heaven and earth are incredibly valuable, often fetching astronomical prices at auctions. In an instant, the entire secret realm was abuzz.

“It seems the disciples of Yueqing Sect got the crystals.”

Suddenly, those who were eager became deflated.

A major sect?

Wouldn’t challenging a major sect for resources be suicidal?

Someone immediately incited the crowd, “Don’t be afraid! Even if it’s Yueqing Sect, remember they are just talisman cultivators. We outnumber them significantly. Why should we fear a few talisman cultivators? Let’s seize the crystals and share them amongst ourselves.”

At once, everyone was swayed by the idea.

So what if they’re from a major sect? Once out of the secret realm, who would recognize whom?

On the other side.

Having just shaken off the group from Xuanyun Sect, Song Hansheng couldn’t help but curse, “Those mad dogs are really persistent.”

“Indeed,” the disciples behind him nodded repeatedly, “If it weren’t for Senior Brother’s skills, we wouldn’t have been able to get away so quickly.”

“And that Ye Qiao, she’s got issues. We didn’t even offend her.”

Speaking of Ye Qiao, Song Hansheng had vaguely heard that she used to be an inner disciple of their Yueqing Sect. Then, for some unknown reason, she defected overnight.

Opinions within Yueqing Sect about Ye Qiao’s departure varied, but Song Hansheng always believed she left because Changming Sect had extended an olive branch to her, promising her a position as a personal disciple.

So this woman was ungrateful, disregarding her master’s nurturing to defect.

Otherwise, Song Hansheng couldn’t understand why Ye Qiao would choose to leave the mountain unless she had a better offer.

With a cold tone, Song Hansheng said, “She’s just a traitor. Next time we meet, I won’t let her go.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of rogue cultivators appeared out of nowhere, blocking their path and surrounding them.

“Are you from Yueqing Sect?”

The somewhat familiar question made Song Hansheng momentarily unresponsive. He raised his chin and replied impatiently to the rogue cultivators, “Yes, so what?”

Dealing with Xuanyun Sect was one thing; at least they had some reputation in the cultivation world.

But did these rogue cultivators dare to challenge them?

“That’s perfect.” The rogue cultivators’ eyes lit up, like hungry wolves seeing meat, as they pounced, “We’re looking for Yueqing Sect disciples.”

Song Hansheng: “???”