Chapter 81

The Low-key Genius…

Genius…

Mu Chongxi silently swallowed his sarcasm, feeling a surge of frustration. He couldn’t help but recall his evaluation of Ye Qiao: utterly ordinary, mid-grade spiritual roots.

Ye Qiao looked at Mu Chongxi, who seemed struck by lightning, then turned to Ming Xuan. “If needed, you can come to me.”

She pondered for a moment, “I’ll try to make them taste a bit better.”

Her pills already looked rather unappealing, but what could she do without a proper pill furnace?

“You should save the fact that you can refine pills for when Xue Yu comes,” Ming Xuan’s mouth twitched. He had already come to terms with Ye Qiao’s talisman-drawing skills.

But honestly.

Ming Xuan patted her head, thoughtful, “You didn’t turn into an idiot?”

That was what surprised him the most.

Spiritual roots, divine sense, and talent are closely linked.

Take Xue Yu, for example, with his top-grade spiritual roots, already at the mid-stage of Golden Core, he experienced no discomfort while refining pills. In fact, his divine sense in alchemy, tool refining, and talisman crafting was the strongest.

Sword cultivators, on the other hand, were significantly weaker in this regard.

Divine sense could be used to explore the surroundings and even attack the opponent’s sea of consciousness.

A strong divine sense could even turn someone into an idiot without them realizing it.

Zhou Xingyun blinked his beautiful eyes, curiosity barely concealed. “So, what level is your divine sense?”

Mu Chongxi eagerly raised his hand, “Why not have Ming Xuan and the junior sister attack each other and see?”

“You’re both talisman cultivators, so a contest of divine sense would show who’s stronger, right?”

Really? Mutual harm? With the loser turning into an idiot?

“…”

In the end, Mu Chongxi received a punch from both his senior sister and senior brother. Pouting, he was already hot as a dog and unceremoniously reached out to rummage through Ye Qiao’s storage bag. “Since you can refine pills, do you have any that can cool a person down?”

“No.” Ye Qiao slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch that.”

She had done her homework beforehand and knew they needed Clarity Pills here. She also prepared other pills, like the Replenishment Pill.

What kind of pill cools people down?

She didn’t even have the basic spiritual plants, so where was she supposed to get such pills?

Zhou Xingyun, who didn’t feel the heat as much, looked at the two senior brothers who were hot as dogs and said in a mockingly sympathetic tone, “Just four more days. You can bear it.”

The spectators nodded in agreement:

“Young people are too hot-headed.”

“Yun Que seems quite comfortable.”

“Of course, with her top-grade water spiritual root, she’s at ease here.”

Those with fire spiritual roots had it rough, turning into hot dogs in this heat.

Ye Qiao had lightning spiritual roots and Zhou Xingyun had wind spiritual roots, so they were fine. The ones suffering were the three with fire spiritual roots.

“How many disciples with fire spiritual roots are there?”

“Quite a few. Around seven or eight, and unfortunately, Changming Sect has three.”

Ming Xuan, Xue Yu, and Mu Chongxi all had fire spiritual roots.

It seems Changming Sect lacks fire in the five elements.

In this secret realm like Flame Mountain, Ye Qiao casually released KFC to forage. Fire-type spiritual stones typically form in extremely hot areas, and KFC was currently at the mid-foundation stage.

The cultivation level of a contracted beast matches that of its master. If KFC had a higher cultivation level, Ye Qiao wouldn’t need to cultivate herself.

But since KFC was weak, Ye Qiao had to carry the burden.

KFC strutted around after being released, eventually scampering off to find food. Ye Qiao let it be.

“Let’s go,” Ming Xuan said worriedly. “Let’s check on it.”

With so many beasts in the secret realm, losing their sect’s only divine beast to another beast would be a disaster.

…

Yun Que, with her treasure-seeking beast, had found numerous spiritual plants and spirit-restoring fruits along the way. On her shoulder perched a beautiful blue phoenix, and in her arms, she held a yellow treasure-seeking beast.

This sight made other disciples look back several times.

It was rare to see someone with two contracted beasts.

And both beasts were quite extraordinary.

One was a spiritual beast, and the other resembled the legendary Qingluan Bird.

Yun Que noticed the discreet glances from Bihuazong and smiled smugly. Just as she was feeling proud, the Qingluan on her shoulder suddenly moved.

Flapping its wings, it flew off towards a red bird in the distance, leaving Yun Que momentarily stunned and instinctively chasing after it.

What was happening?

Si Miaoyan was also puzzled. “Let’s go see.”

Since they were collaborating with Yueqing Sect, the two sects had to stay together. As Yun Que chased after her Qingluan, she found it frequently showing affection towards a red bird.

It even shook its blue feathers like a peacock displaying its beauty.

Si Miaoyan: “What is it doing?”

She recognized the red bird as Ye Qiao’s contracted beast.

“Changming Sect people are nearby,” Song Hansheng reminded. Seeing the bird gave him a headache. Knowing Ye Qiao was around, he had to stay alert, using his divine sense to scan for traps.

They had been tricked by Ye Qiao so many times, they had become wary.

Yun Que watched her contracted beast trying to follow the red bird, remembering how the treasure-seeking beast had sought out Ye Qiao. Her face darkened.

“Qingluan, come back.”

As a descendant of the phoenix, the Qingluan instinctively followed KFC.

Yun Que couldn’t call it back.

In a fit of frustration, she grabbed KFC and threw it aside. Unfortunately, it landed near some magma, which immediately engulfed it in scorching waves.

KFC was momentarily stunned.

But it didn’t struggle.

Phoenixes love fire and can be reborn from it. This temperature was no different from warm water to it.

It was a chance to escape the persistent Qingluan.

Song Hansheng gasped at the sight.

“What happened?”

“It looks like Yun Que threw a chicken into the magma.”

“That’s not a chicken,” a familiar-looking cultivator whispered. “I think that’s Ye Qiao’s contracted beast.”

When Ye Qiao and the others arrived, they saw KFC being thrown into the magma. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly sensed the beast’s location.

She sighed in relief.

The bird was doing just fine.

Phoenixes, being fire-types, typically find fire stones in extremely hot areas. Even if Yun Que hadn’t thrown it, KFC would have gone there to forage.

But still…

“Was that intentional?” Mu Chongxi frowned. Throwing it into magma—if KFC were an ordinary beast, it would have been killed instantly.

The death of a contracted beast would severely harm its master.

Yun Que was either malicious or just plain stupid.

Ye Qiao thought Yun Que was more likely stupid.

“You threw my little sister’s contracted beast?” Ming Xuan’s face darkened with anger. He always knew Yun Que had issues but didn’t expect her to be so brainless.

Yun Que’s face turned pale, trying to stay calm and appealing to Ye Qiao. “Second Senior Sister, I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t think it would fall.”

“And it seems fine, right?” If something were wrong, Ye Qiao wouldn’t be standing there so calmly.

Mu Chongxi couldn’t hold back, swinging his sword at her. Today, he was going to kill this idiot.

No one expected Mu Chongxi to act first. Yun Que was unprepared, and her protective mirror shattered instantly. Though she had many good items from various opportunities and gifts from Yun Hen.

The Heart-Protection Mirror, which could withstand a full-strength blow from a Golden Core stage cultivator, shattered. Yun Que was heartbroken.

Ye Qiao, moving with the wind, approached Yun Que, grabbed her collar, and punched her square in the face.

Yun Que’s pupils shrank, her throat tasted metallic, and her face went numb. Clearly, Ye Qiao hadn’t held back.

She looked up, biting her lip hard. “Ye Qiao!”

“Not calling me Second Senior Sister now?” Ye Qiao laughed.

Ye Qiao was sick of Yun Que calling her “Second Senior Sister” in that insincere tone.

“So, you can talk normally after all.”

Ye Qiao didn’t understand why Yun Que wouldn’t listen to her unless she got a beating.

“What are you doing?”

A sword wind followed, intercepted by Zhou Xingyun. Two domineering sword auras collided, emitting a dazzling light before canceling each other out.

Ye Qinghan, who had rushed over after sensing the fight, saw so many people bullying Yun Que alone. His voice turned cold, “Changming Sect, this is too much.”

“The competition is no excuse for a group fight.”

Yun Que took a step back, feeling wronged. “I didn’t mean it. What happened was an accident.”

That contracted beast wasn’t harmed, was it? She felt Changming Sect was targeting her.

“That’s too bad.” Mu Chongxi, hugging his sword, sneered. “That’s just how we are at Changming Sect.”

Don’t ask why; it’s just the way our sect operates.

“You go.” Zhou Xingyun glanced at Ye Qiao and said succinctly, “I’ll handle this.”

Seeing Ye Qinghan being blocked, Ye Qiao immediately went after Yun Que.

She had wanted to punch Yun Que for a long time.

A talisman sealed Yun Que’s path, and Ye Qiao’s sword strike approached like a snake, aiming for her face. Yun Que kneeled and kicked at Ye Qiao’s abdomen, trying to create distance.

Yun Que’s reaction speed wasn’t slow.

But she couldn’t withstand Ye Qiao’s relentless sword strikes. One sword broke many of Yun Que’s storage artifacts, and her Vajra Talisman was nearly depleted.

Seeing this, Ye Qiao sheathed her sword and started punching Yun Que directly.

A Golden Core stage cultivator being beaten by a mid-Foundation stage cultivator was a sight to behold.

“What kind of disciples does Yueqing Sect teach?” The sect leader of Wenjian Sect couldn’t sit still. What kind of strength could turn a top-grade water spiritual root genius into a waste?

Yun Hen also felt ashamed by Yun Que’s performance but defended weakly, “Our talisman cultivators aren’t like sword cultivators who focus on fighting.”

Qin Fanfan observed for a while, frowning. “How did this child form her core? Did the heavenly lightning strike?”

Everyone realized something was off. Even with poor talent, forming a core should trigger at least some symbolic lightning strikes.

The five sects monitored each other, but they hadn’t seen any tribulation clouds over Yueqing Sect.

“Did she use pills to force it?”

The elders discussed this disdainfully.

“Didn’t Ye Qiao break through quickly too? Why don’t you suspect her?” Yun Hen’s eyes turned cold. For any sect, using pills to break through was a disgrace.

A Bihuazong elder defended Ye Qiao, speaking slowly, “She practices both swordsmanship and talisman crafting. What’s there to doubt about her rapid breakthrough?”

Sword cultivators learn through fighting, and talisman cultivators through crafting. Dual cultivation meant Ye Qiao could break through by mastering either path.

The cultivation world is lenient towards geniuses. Despite Ye Qiao’s troublesome personality, some elders admired her, even regretting she didn’t join their sect.

“How fast could her talisman crafting be?” The Yueqing Sect elder laughed, doubting anyone could match Ye Qiao’s speed in talisman crafting.

Qin Fanfan hadn’t seen Ye Qiao’s talisman skills but boasted anyway, “Faster than yours.”

…

When Chu Xingzhi and Zhu You arrived, they saw their senior brother fighting Changming Sect’s senior brother.

Zhu You was bewildered. “Senior Brother?”

Why fight with Changming Sect? She didn’t understand.

“Are you getting involved too?” Mu Chongxi pointed his sword at Chu Xingzhi. They were at the same level but had never fought. Wenjian Sect’s swordsmanship was fiercer, but Changming Sect was faster. A fight wouldn’t hurt.

Chu Xingzhi raised his hands and stepped back. “Are you kidding me? What’s it got to do with me? Even in war, messengers aren’t killed. Overreacting is unfair.”

“Are you chasing Yun Que?” Zhu You asked. “What did she do to you?”

Ming Xuan tersely replied, “She threw my little sister’s contracted beast into magma.”

Zhu You gasped, stepping back and pulling her senior brother away. “That little sister of Yueqing Sect really knows how to court death.”

Even Wenjian Sect hesitated to clash with Changming Sect now, yet Yun Que managed to offend them deeply.

Zhu You sympathized with Song Hansheng, thinking it must be tough having such a troublesome little sister.

Song Hansheng sighed, unable to understand Yun Que’s knack for causing trouble.

Ye Qiao caused trouble too, but she could handle it.

Su Zhuo weakly defended, “Little sister didn’t know it was Ye Qiao’s contracted beast. Throwing it aside was normal.”

Song Hansheng had no words but eventually acted. He couldn’t just watch Yun Que get eliminated.

Ming Xuan blocked Su Zhuo.

Mu Chongxi confronted Song Hansheng.

And Ye Qiao? She was taking revenge on Yun Que.

Yun Que, beaten down by Ye Qiao, teared up, desperately seeking help. “Senior Brother Ye.”

“Who are you calling Senior Brother?”

Chu Xingzhi saw Changming Sect’s people glaring at him and scolded without thinking, “Don’t try to get close to Wenjian Sect. Otherwise, even if I have no urine left, I’ll wake you up with it!”

Yun Que’s face burned painfully, and a flash of hatred appeared in her eyes.