Chapter 62

When the group arrived at Yunshui City, the disciples from the five sects all gathered but didn’t bother acknowledging each other.

Those who came were highly skilled personal disciples. Qin Huai gripped the sword at his waist, and upon noticing that Ye Qiao wasn’t there, he let out a strange sigh of relief.

It made sense—Longming Sect wouldn’t let someone with such poor cultivation come along.

Everyone wanted the Chaos Pearl, but they had to rely on their skills to obtain it. Throughout the journey, the sects didn’t interact at all and followed the guide into the City Lord’s mansion. Ye Qinghan was the first to ask, “Is there chaos caused by demons in the city? Have any been captured?”

“No,” replied the City Lord of Yunshui City, a rotund man who sighed lightly. “It’s precisely because we can’t handle it that we sought your help.”

The five sects were willing to assist only because of the Chaos Pearl. Understanding this, the City Lord promised, “As long as the demons in the city are eradicated, the Chaos Pearl will be yours.”

Ye Qinghan nodded indifferently. “Agreed.”

He clearly considered the Chaos Pearl already in their possession.

However, Xue Yu frowned slightly, sensing that something was amiss.

…

Meanwhile, Ye Qiao experienced a dizzying sensation. When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying in an open field, which was a relief.

At least it wasn’t a graveyard.

Like teleportation talismans, teleportation arrays had the same issue—random destinations.

She brushed the dust off her sleeves and stood up.

KFC had been transported with her. Its bright red feathers were too conspicuous, so she quickly tucked it under her sleeve, letting it find a place to nestle.

Ye Qiao looked at the sky. It was dusk, already getting dark. Not knowing where she had been sent, she decided to play it safe. She took a breath-holding pill, stuck on an invisibility talisman, and found a safe spot to observe her surroundings.

There were patrolling soldiers around. Since their cultivation levels were low, none of them noticed Ye Qiao hiding stealthily.

When the last soldier passed by alone, she reached out, covered his mouth, and swiftly knocked him unconscious.

KFC (the chicken) was dumbfounded.

It didn’t expect this human to be so bold, knocking someone out even in such a situation.

KFC had woken up to find itself in this strange place with Ye Qiao. It was utterly panicked since its contract partner was just a novice at the Foundation Establishment stage, the kind who couldn’t beat anyone in a fight once they stepped out.

After knocking the person out, Ye Qiao muttered an apology, stripped off his clothes, and changed into them.

She didn’t understand the situation, but her current clothes were too conspicuous. With no one else around, Ye Qiao had no choice but to take a risk, knock the guy out, and change into his clothes.

Once changed, Ye Qiao didn’t dare move recklessly. She found a hidden spot to observe her surroundings and started to ponder where her unreliable junior uncle had teleported her to.

Firstly, she could confirm this wasn’t a place she was familiar with.

After all, the people she heard earlier were speaking in a language she didn’t understand.

After a moment of stillness, Ye Qiao decisively chose to flee. This place looked very dangerous, and not understanding the language only made it worse.

She was already considering how to escape.

“What are you standing there for? Trying to slack off?” Someone suddenly cursed and slapped her on the back.

Thanks to Elder Duan’s regular beatings, Ye Qiao didn’t fall over immediately.

She looked up and met the impatient gaze of the person who had slapped her. Glancing past him, she noticed several others dressed similarly. The highest cultivation among them seemed to be at the Golden Core stage, and there appeared to be seven or eight of them.

After calming down and realizing she would die a miserable death if she tried to escape now, Ye Qiao immediately turned and quietly moved to the back of the group.

A wise person adapts to the circumstances.

Judging by how clueless the person who slapped her was, this might be a small, unorganized group, where nobody recognized each other. Fooling them shouldn’t be too hard.

Ye Qiao’s Foundation Establishment level wasn’t outstanding but it wasn’t too bad either. She was inconspicuous at the back of the group.

The others ignored Ye Qiao, who seemed like a lazy soldier, and chattered away in a language she didn’t understand.

Ye Qiao had a strong learning ability, especially in terms of memory. She quietly memorized the words they repeated.

Following the group, she began to think these people seemed somewhat like the legendary… demons?

Her mouth twitched.

How bad could her luck be?

Being teleported to the demons’ base camp was worse than being teleported to a graveyard. At least there wouldn’t be any danger at a graveyard.

“We’re going to Yunshui City tomorrow. I heard everyone has arrived.”

“The cultivators from the five sects are all there.” The person laughed sinisterly. “We’ll make sure they don’t come back.”

Ye Qiao could barely make out the gist of their conversation, but she didn’t understand the last four words. They probably weren’t good.

Using a jade slip to send a message wouldn’t be suitable in her current situation.

From the demons’ conversation, it seemed they were well aware of the movements of the personal disciples from the other sects. Mu Chongxi and the others were likely being watched from the moment they entered Yunshui City.

…Had the demons’ intelligence network become this extensive?

Ye Qiao suddenly considered another possibility.

Wait.

Could the disciples from the five sects be stupid enough to stroll into Yunshui City in their sect robes?

It seemed possible.

None of her senior brothers had changed their clothes when they left. This meant a group of clueless personal disciples might have swaggered into a demon-infested city, practically announcing, “We’re here.”

And their every move was likely being monitored.

Ye Qiao adjusted her clothes. She thought, if they had to rely on these naïve personal disciples, the cultivation world might as well end sooner rather than later.

…

“How are we supposed to find the demons?” Mu Chongxi looked around. “Nothing seems unusual.”

It wasn’t just the Longming Sect that had sent people. Other sects had also sent representatives, all of whom were treated as honored guests. They claimed to be investigating, but had found no clues.

“If Little sister were here…” Mingxuan propped his chin on his hand. “What would she do?”

“Stop with the Little sister,” Mu Chongxi mumbled, lying on the table. “She’s not here.”

They had to rely on themselves now.

Yunshui City, although a small city-state, had quite a few people. Trying to find demons among them was like looking for a needle in a haystack. They had been at the City Lord’s mansion for seven days without any leads.

“Any news from the other sects?” Mu Chongxi nudged the person next to him.

Xue Yu shook his head. “None.”

They were all running around like headless chickens.

Zhou Xingyun fiddled with the tassels on the table, speaking calmly, “Would there really be a Chaos Pearl in such a small city?”

He had always been skeptical, but the information came from the five sects, so it seemed unlikely to be false.

“Maybe it’s a fortuitous encounter.” Mingxuan shrugged. “We can’t let the five major sects and eight great families get all the good stuff.”

Xue Yu added, “I wonder how Little sister is doing with Junior uncle.”

It was probably lively over there.

He sincerely hoped Ye Qiao was alright.

…

In the demons’ camp, Ye Qiao was doing her best to quickly learn their language to avoid being exposed.

KFC nestled in her sleeve, not daring to move. Following this master was truly thrilling.

Not only had they changed locations after a nap, but they also ended up in the demons’ territory.

And since when could she speak the demons’ language?

Meanwhile, Ye Qiao wore a bright smile and had already started chatting with the demons. She didn’t know any of them, but she wasn’t the least bit nervous. She acted confidently, as if she were very familiar with them.

“When will we arrive at Yunshui City?” Ye Qiao asked.

The other person glanced at her impatiently. “In two days.”

“Shouldn’t we hurry up then?”

“Why do you ask so many questions?” He sneered. “Those personal disciples have already arrived at Yunshui City. Catching them is just a matter of time. To be safe, our demon world’s Holy Maiden will come here too. We’re waiting for her first.”

“Holy Maiden is coming?” Ye Qiao’s tone carried just the right amount of surprise. After all, Qin Fanfan hadn’t mentioned the existence of a Holy Maiden in the demon clan.

All that was mentioned was how easy this task was, that there were demons causing trouble, and that solving it would get them the Chaos Pearl.

If it was too dangerous, the other sects wouldn’t have let their personal disciples go.

…There must be something wrong with the five sects’ intelligence.

Ye Qiao’s naïve tone of astonishment greatly satisfied the other’s vanity.

The demon soldier’s mood improved a bit after hearing her. “Just wait. When our Holy Maiden arrives, we’ll definitely wipe out those foolish disciples from the five sects.”

After speaking, the demon soldier started to laugh loudly.

Ye Qiao wondered if all villains laughed like this or if it was a demon clan tradition. She could only laugh along.

Having gathered the information she wanted, Ye Qiao made some subtle movements while they were traveling, ensuring no one noticed anything unusual about her. She then safely responded to the jade slip message from Qin Fanfan.

Qin Fanfan was frantically asking where the teleportation array had sent her and if she was in danger.

Ye Qiao quickly sent a message: “You won’t believe this, but I ended up in the demon clan’s base camp.”

Qin Fanfan: “…”

He calmly wiped his face and looked at Xie Chuxue sitting on the ground, then kicked him. “Where the hell did you send my disciple?”

Xie Chuxue quickly dodged. “What’s wrong? Wasn’t it she who wanted the teleportation talisman?”

“I even generously gave her a teleportation array,” he said smugly.

Qin Fanfan kicked him again, sending him flying.

After calming down, he sent a jade slip to Ye Qiao.

“What’s your situation over there? Be careful, don’t act recklessly. The demon clan is not a place where you can mess around. Can you find a way to escape? I’ll arrange for someone to pick you up.”

Ye Qiao looked around at her surroundings: “I probably can’t escape for now.”

Moreover, she thought it wasn’t just herself who couldn’t escape; the other personal disciples from the various sects probably couldn’t either.

This mission was looking more and more like a trap.

Ye Qiao didn’t ask if Qin Fanfan could have the senior brothers return. By now, Yunshui City was likely under the demons’ surveillance. Any significant moves would alert the demons.

The best choice was to stay put.

“Have you ever seen what the Holy Maiden looks like?” Ye Qiao put away the jade slip and casually asked the demon soldier next to her.

“No.” He replied, “The Holy Maiden is not someone we can meet.”

Ye Qiao: “Oh.”

Given the current situation, things were clearly not in their favor.

Ye Qiao calmly continued to pry for information. From this demon soldier, she roughly learned that the Holy Maiden was a reticent Nascent Soul stage expert with a goal to capture all the personal disciples.

She would come to meet them in two days.

Ye Qiao had seen demons before. Previously, in the secret realm, an old man who was likely an elder in the demon clan had been imprisoned. He didn’t speak in an incomprehensible language and could converse fluently.

Thanks to that old man, she had learned quite a bit about the demon clan’s formations and how to break them.

If she had to use them, she could indeed manage a thing or two.

Ye Qiao lowered her eyes slowly and suddenly came up with a daring idea.

—

Everyone at home has tested positive for COVID-19, so I probably have it too. I might not update for a couple of days.