Chapter 89

Ye Qiao decided to demonstrate first, showing this group of pill refiners that a true genius could indeed make pills using a pot. Waving her hand, she invited them, “Who wants to join me?”

“I’ll go,” said Liu Yun.

Since Ye Qiao hadn’t caused any explosions, he believed that after refining pills for so many years, he wouldn’t have any problems either.

The other pill refiners gained confidence. Ye Qiao politely stepped aside, leaving the stage for them to shine.

Having practiced once, she didn’t need to demonstrate again. To her surprise, the rest of the night was filled with constant explosions.

After Xue Yu’s explosion, Si Miaoyan’s followed, then Liu Yun’s, then Miao Miao’s, and back to Liu Yun again.

One after another, they took turns causing explosions.

Several pots were ruined in the process.

Ye Qiao’s initial confidence dwindled as she watched, her expression becoming one of bewildered dismay in no time.

“Are you all crazy?” Ye Qiao rushed over. “Stop touching my pot!”

“Just give us one more chance, Ye Qiao,” Liu Yun said quickly. “I’ve already caught a spark of inspiration. Trust me, I won’t explode this time.”

Finally, after several more attempts, the pill refiners managed to grasp the technique. When they succeeded, some nearly cried tears of joy.

Si Miaoyan sincerely said, “I’ve never been this cautious even when refining supreme-grade pills.”

It wasn’t that they looked down on the pot, but the success rate was just too low.

How many times had Ye Qiao’s pot exploded before she reached such proficiency? All their gazes now held a bit of admiration.

Ye Qiao had no idea what they were imagining. The pill refiners were quite efficient and soon finished their pills, each taking a bottle. She reminded the people from Bishui Sect, “Remember to return the spiritual herbs you used once we’re out of the secret realm.”

Si Miaoyan’s mouth twitched. “Got it.”

With the pill matter settled, the group began discussing their next steps. Ye Qiao smoothly took charge, pulling out a map. “Alright, alright. Let’s go have some fun while it’s still dark.”

“Xue Yu, Mu Chongxi, Si Miaoyan,” she called out three names in one breath. “You three go find some monsters.”

“The rest of you, come with me.”

Liu Yun didn’t argue this time, feeling somewhat defeated by the big pot pill refining. He muttered, “Why aren’t we resting in the middle of the night? Where are we going?”

Even cultivators needed sleep, and everyone was exhausted after not sleeping for three days. They were all weary after refining pills.

“We’re going to turn the tables,” Ye Qiao said, shaking a long-stored bag of explosives at them. “Hey, hey, hey, have you ever heard of guerrilla warfare and fighting bandits?”

“What?”

What’s that?

Ye Qiao didn’t bother explaining. She rummaged through Xue Yu’s storage bag. Her third senior brother often poisoned people by mistake when his pill refining went wrong. “Third Senior Brother, do you still have any poisonous herbs?”

“Yes,” Xue Yu said, seeing Ye Qiao struggle to find them. He poured out all the herbs in one go. “Some are poisonous, some aren’t, but many herbs counteract each other. You can mix your own poisons as needed.”

Xue Yu spoke like a seasoned poison master.

Liu Yun couldn’t help but click his tongue. “Are you two really pill refiners who save lives?”

“Don’t slander me,” Ye Qiao said righteously. “I’m a sword cultivator.”

“…Alright,” Liu Yun conceded. She was a three-discipline cultivator and could be whatever she wanted to be.

Meanwhile, his junior brothers, sisters, and senior sister were already gathering to mix poisons. This was the most harmonious moment between the two sects.

Getting all the inner disciples to cooperate was a skill in itself.

Anyone else would have sparked arguments by now, with everyone unwilling to take orders from another.

After the pill refiners finished mixing the poisons, Ye Qiao dumped out a bunch of artifacts she had taken from the demons. “Choose what you can use, and remember to return them afterward.”

The Bishui Sect members responded in unison.

Ye Qiao was now the big sister of the group. Naturally, they didn’t dare to argue or ask questions, fearing they’d displease her.

“I can use a bit of archery,” said Miao Miao.

Pill refiners lacked self-defense abilities, so Bishui Sect trained them in other weapons. Si Miaoyan could play the flute, and Miao Miao could use a bow, with decent accuracy.

“You take the bow, smear the arrows with poison, and shoot at anyone you see.”

Ye Qiao called this tactic a combination of magic and physical attack.

Miao Miao was stunned and grabbed her bow. “O-okay! We will do our best.”

“So what’s next?” Liu Yun, fascinated by this new approach, urged her on.

“Right now, we are in the dark, and they are in the light,” Ye Qiao explained, fiddling with a butterfly artifact. “I placed a tracking device on them earlier.”

This meant that Ye Qinghan and his group’s whereabouts were entirely under their control. If they didn’t ambush now, when would they?

They could play dirty if Ye Qiao could.

Mind games were deep; whoever took them seriously would lose.

The elders from the other three sects furrowed their brows. “What is Ye Qiao planning with so many people?”

“Who knows,” they replied. They had given up trying to predict Ye Qiao’s moves, completely clueless about her next steps.

…

Under the moonlight, the night was deep. The secret realm was filled with subtle sounds. Two inner disciples squatted in an inconspicuous tree, sweating profusely. Ye Qiao had a monitoring device, so she easily learned the location of Ye Qinghan’s camp.

Cultivators didn’t always stay awake. Especially after exhausting their spiritual power and fighting, they were physically and mentally tired.

Hearing no sound from the butterfly, Ye Qiao continued to wait patiently. Soon, someone’s snoring was heard. She signaled to her companions.

Two spiritual arrows aimed at the three sects’ sleeping area shot out swiftly.

“Run, run quickly!”

As soon as Miao Miao shot the arrow, Ye Qiao grabbed her and fled.

The spiritual arrow pierced the barrier, striking the ground. Waking up, Song Hansheng hurriedly kicked Chu Xingzhi awake. “Someone’s here.”

However, by the time Chu Xingzhi went out to check, the attackers were long gone.

“…”

“Someone was just here.”

The slight commotion woke the inner disciples from the three sects. Ye Qinghan, tired, rubbed his temples. “It must be those from Changming Sect causing trouble.”

“Have someone keep watch tonight.”

They were all weary. No one had rested for the past three days, busy killing monsters and running out of pills, leaving them all in poor spirits.

They had planned to rest well tonight, but someone had come in the middle of the night.

“Chu Xingzhi, you go,” Ye Qinghan said, still holding some camaraderie. “I’ll take over in the second half of the night.”

So Chu Xingzhi endured an hour of guarding, hot and frustrated. Every rustle made him rush to check, only to find nothing.

Ye Qiao led the pill refiners to make noise nearby, and when Chu Xingzhi approached, they ran away.

They ran…?

“Are they crazy?” Su Zhu couldn’t stand it anymore.

They couldn’t sleep or stay awake peacefully, constantly startled by sudden noises.

Ye Qiao wasn’t just messing with their minds; she was now torturing them mentally!

Chu Xingzhi returned exhausted. “What are they playing at? They’re not taking our ID badges or our storage bags. Are they just trying to scare us?”

Qi cultivators’ spiritual senses were naturally sensitive. Qin Huai was also tormented, his eyes cold. “Ignore them. Let’s sleep. They wouldn’t dare confront us head-on.”

After several more rounds of harassment, they thought Ye Qiao was just playing pranks, and their vigilance dropped.

This was exactly what Ye Qiao wanted. She quietly said, “Let’s go.”

Ming Xuan got excited.

He had been interested in Ye Qiao’s bombs for a long time but hadn’t had the chance to test them.

While the others slept, the group stealthily returned to the three sects’ camp.

Song Hansheng sensed an unfamiliar presence, but based on previous experiences, he simply thought Ye Qiao was playing more mind games.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, several small objects were thrown in.

A thunderous explosion shook the ground!

“Damn it.”

The inner disciples, unable to react in time, were blasted to the ground.

Chu Xingzhi was nearly scared out of his wits. “What the hell!!”

Caught off guard by Ye Qiao’s sneak attack, the three sects’ disciples were too scared to sleep, gathering for an all-night meeting.

“Can you catch them?” Ye Qinghan asked.

“You know as well as I do,” Chu Xingzhi ground his teeth. “Those from Changming Sect run like rabbits.”

Say what you will, their techniques were annoyingly effective—they could fight and flee.

“How have they lasted four days? Their spirits are still high. It doesn’t make sense,” Zhu You frowned. “Could we have missed someone? Did we overlook a pill refiner?”

Qin Huai immediately thought of a key figure. “Xue Yu!”

“He’s still alive.”

Since Xue Yu had been wandering alone, they had indeed forgotten about this pill refiner.

Ye Qiao listened to the movements from the monitoring device. Seeing the three sects gathering, she said, “Let’s go.”

They didn’t linger, leaving after their attack.

Guerrilla warfare meant attacking when the enemy advances and retreating when the enemy retreats. If the situation wasn’t right, they’d quickly leave.

Ye Qinghan and his group stayed alert all night, but Ye Qiao’s group didn’t return!

“Ahhh. I’ll kill Ye Qiao,” Chu Xingzhi was nearly driven mad.

How could someone as devious as Ye Qiao exist!!

Those watching from outside were amazed.

“Hilarious, so this is guerrilla warfare? I love it.”

“How could the three sects think they could outdo Ye Qiao?”

“A master tactician is always a master tactician.”

“The crafty always stay crafty.”

*

Six thousand extra words completed. So tired, wow. Thanks for the gifts~