Ye Qiao gathered her energy on the spot and said, “I know.” She was aware they needed to be quick, but the chaotic environment made it easy to fail when drawing talismans.

Song Hansheng’s wolf-hair brush was better than hers. As soon as she held it, she noticed the difference from a top-grade spiritual tool. She blinked and asked, “Is this brush not just a top-grade spiritual tool?”

Without turning his head, Song Hansheng formed a talisman with his fingers and replied, “It’s the best grade.”

The price of a top-grade spiritual tool was beyond Ye Qiao’s imagination.

As she picked up the brush, she couldn’t help but sigh, “Rich kid, my respect.”

No wonder Song Hansheng always looked down his nose at people.

While speaking, Ye Qiao used her spiritual sense to connect with the wolf-hair brush. She calmed herself and focused on the talisman paper. Defensive talismans were the hardest to draw, and she had never drawn one before. In the past, her second senior brother was responsible for drawing defensive talismans and distributing them to the group.

This was Ye Qiao’s first time drawing a defensive talisman. She repeatedly recalled the common features of the defensive talismans drawn by Ming Xuan and Song Hansheng. Although their defensive talismans had some similarities, their overall drawing styles were different, reflecting the distinct styles of their respective schools.

Ye Qiao, being a bit bold, wanted to try combining elements from both styles.

Since this was her first attempt at modifying a talisman, she wasted three sheets in just three minutes.

Song Hansheng’s initial indifference turned into a deadly stare. “What are you doing, Ye Qiao?”

Wasting three sheets in three minutes—he wanted her to draw talismans quickly, but not like this. Who else fails once for every talisman they draw?

Ye Qiao said, “Don’t worry about my success rate. Just tell me if I’m fast.”

Song Hansheng sneered.

If Ye Qiao was a laid-back slacker, Song Hansheng was definitely the diligent student. Previously, Yun Que’s talisman drawing and formation skills were poor, and Song Hansheng criticized him every day. Now, Ye Qiao was even worse than Yun Que. He hadn’t lashed out not because he was kind, but because there were too many monsters around, and he couldn’t spare the energy.

Ye Qiao knew Song Hansheng was on the verge of exploding. Ignoring him, she rehearsed in her mind for a moment and tried again. This time, she succeeded with one smooth stroke.

Song Hansheng glanced over, saw she had succeeded, and withdrew his death stare, snorting, “I thought you had become as useless as Yun Que.”

In his eyes, Ye Qiao was one of the few with some talent.

Ye Qiao took the opportunity to touch the valuable wolf-hair brush a bit more and retorted with a cold smile, “If you can’t speak properly, just keep your mouth shut.”

She drew a talisman, and Song Hansheng picked it up to study it. At first, he thought it was a talisman from the Changming Sect, but upon closer inspection, he noticed elements of the Yueqing Sect.

However, the overall drawing style leaned towards the Changming Sect, and the combination of the two unexpectedly seemed harmonious.

Song Hansheng frowned tightly. “You failed three times to come up with this?”

In the cultivation world, no one had tried combining elements from different sects because each sect’s talisman techniques were based on the unique methods and principles left by their respective founders. Mixing them was seen as a sign of disrespect.

“What else?” Ye Qiao tested the talisman she had drawn. The defensive effect was indeed much better than using just one sect’s method alone. The Changming Sect focused on speed, which allowed them to quickly counter attacks, but their defense was weaker. The Yueqing Sect, on the other hand, had better defensive techniques. Combining the two resulted in a new type of talisman.

“Hasn’t anyone tried this before?” Ye Qiao encouraged him. “It’s quite useful; you could try it too.”

Song Hansheng gave her a sidelong glance. “No one disrespects the founders like that, and no one would study the talismans of one sect and then another, let alone combine them openly.”

If others saw this, they would call it heresy.

Ye Qiao felt a bit embarrassed. Learning another sect’s talismans and talking about it openly in front of the top disciple of that sect did seem a bit unethical.

After her first success, Ye Qiao found it much easier to draw the talismans. She could now complete a talisman in one stroke.

Her speed amazed Song Hansheng. He could draw talismans in one stroke too, but in such a chaotic environment, it was hard to focus.

Moreover, Ye Qiao was combining talismans from two different sects, a highly unconventional and risky approach, yet she succeeded in one stroke.

“Ye Qiao,” Song Hansheng crossed his arms, laughing angrily, “What level is your spiritual root?”

Ye Qiao anticipated his question and, recalling the dismissive comments about her spiritual root, responded, “Mid-grade spiritual root, do you believe it?”

“Pretending,” Song Hansheng looked at her coldly. “Keep pretending.”

Who with a mid-grade spiritual root could draw talismans in one stroke? It had to be at least a top-grade or supreme-grade spiritual root.

“If you don’t believe it, why ask?” Ye Qiao rolled her eyes. Her expansive sea of consciousness made drawing less strenuous.

When she couldn’t continue, she let Song Hansheng take over. They alternated seamlessly. When their sea of consciousness was exhausted, they used pills from the Bishui Sect to replenish it. After they had drawn a stack of talismans, the surrounding monsters were nearly all defeated.

“Let’s go,” Ye Qiao said, feeling her wrist aching from the continuous drawing. She jumped up, “Let’s get out of here.”

Song Hansheng stood up immediately, not wanting to stay in that wretched place for a second longer. It was cold and dirty.

…

The secret realm was filled with vines. A young demon clan member wielded a blade, easily destroying defensive and offensive formations with just two strikes. As the formations broke one after another, Su Zhu’s face turned pale. “They’re coming.”

Chu Xingzhi casually broke off a tree branch and handed it to the sword cultivators present. “Make do with this.” There were no other weapons available.

The alchemists and artifact cultivators ran first, while those with some combat ability stayed behind to delay the enemies.

Ming Xuan’s formation was the last one. He wanted to hold out a bit longer, but the effort caused him to cough up blood due to the backlash.

“Ming Xuan is indeed powerful.”

“Of course, that’s why he was chosen to set up the final formation.”

“He held them off for half a moment, but it’s still too short. Hopefully, the alchemists and artifact cultivators can escape.” In the cultivation world, alchemists and artifact cultivators were rare, and losing even one would be a significant loss.

Mu Chongxi and Zhou Xingyun teamed up, as did Ye Qinghan and Qin Huai. Two disciples held off one Nascent Soul cultivator. All the talisman cultivators stayed behind. Yun Que was forced to join; she was quick at setting up formations, so she was still useful. This was the only consolation for those outside.

Ming Xuan formed a seal with his fingers, while Zhou Xingyun carried him around. Capturing one person was easy, but dealing with a group was tricky.

The young demon narrowed his eyes. “Who helped you escape?” He swung his blade at Chu Xingzhi, nearly slashing his throat. Mu Chongxi, the closest to Chu Xingzhi, pulled him away just in time.

The Changming Sect was renowned for its speed and quick reactions.

Watching from the sidelines, the elders of the Wenjian Sect broke out in a cold sweat. One of them stood up abruptly, trembling. “Next time, we’ll train them to run faster.”

Before entering the secret realm, the talisman cultivators had prepared many fire resistance talismans, stored in their mustard seed pouches. The slower ones were already entangled by vines that tightened around them, trying to strangle them rather than capture them.

“Miao Miao,” Si Miaoyan’s face turned pale.

Mu Chongxi wielded the tree branch like a sword, its sharp energy slicing through the vines. This technique wasn’t from the Changming Sect but was something he had recently learned from a legacy. It used energy to form a sword, and the sword energy cut through the vines easily.

However, it wasn’t enough.

Mu Chongxi panted, seeing alchemists and slower artifact cultivators being captured. Even the talisman cultivators weren’t spared, getting caught by vines while setting up formations and being hoisted into the air.

The heart method of the Changming Sect was often looked down upon in the past for prioritizing speed. But in this situation, their method proved to be the most effective for escaping. None of the four disciples were touched by the vines.

Yet, being pushed to this point by two Nascent Soul cultivators was tough for anyone.

Ming Xuan’s breathing became labored. Under such extreme conditions, his formation speed improved rapidly, but it was still not enough.

“Too slow.”

He couldn’t hold out for even a quarter of an hour.

“Damn it,” Chu Xingzhi was knocked to the ground by a strike, coughing up blood. “How did a Nascent Soul cultivator get in here?”

A strike from a Nascent Soul cultivator is enough to cost half a life if not withstood.

Moreover, this is the Five Sects Grand Competition. Seriously, a Nascent Soul cultivator entering is ridiculous.

Yun Que unconsciously clenched the Origin Pearl she secretly obtained. The spiritual energy within was dense enough that absorbing it could potentially push her to the Nascent Soul stage.

She didn’t expect her unconscious action to lead to today’s situation.

The demon saintess was somewhat irritated. Ye Qiao had been knocked down the cliff and should be dead by now. Even if she survived, she wouldn’t be able to escape. She had underestimated these righteous disciples.

Three late-stage Golden Core sword cultivators and a group of talisman cultivators were proving difficult to handle.

She was thankful she had taken their storage bags right away.

Otherwise, if the direct disciples of the Five Sects joined forces, defeating two Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn’t have been impossible.

To avoid further complications, the demon saintess manipulated the vines, forming a massive net that ensnared everyone inside. “No survivors, leave Yun Que. Deal with the rest quickly so we can report back.”

“Understood.”

As the vines sealed the exit, the surrounding sky darkened. Mu Chongxi tried to burn them with fire, but their sect’s fire roots were too weak to create an opening, merely pushing the vines back temporarily.

“The exit is completely blocked,” Xue Yu also tried, but it was futile. Since escape was impossible, staying together was the best option.

Zhou Xingyun and Ye Qinghan’s swordsmanship was domineering, one sword like the wind, the other like a knife, both shielding the talisman cultivators.

Miaomiao was moved to tears. “If I survive, I’ll definitely give you all some elixirs.”

Liu Yun nodded wildly. “I’ll never say you sword cultivators are poor again.”

Chu Xingzhi’s mouth twitched. “You didn’t have to say that.”

The scene of the Five Sects joining forces was rare.

Outside, all the cultivators couldn’t help but stand up, staring at the recording stone, holding their breath in tension.

“At this rate, it won’t be long before we’re all killed.”

The vines continued to tighten, encircling them. It was clear the intent was to trap them all. Without their swords or talismans, and with their spiritual energy nearly exhausted, the situation seemed hopeless.

Shen Ziwei, the only one with a storage bag, found it empty. All defensive artifacts were used up, and she had handed out the remaining attack artifacts to the sword cultivators.

“Hold out as long as you can,” Shen Ziwei tried to stay calm. “I wonder when the elders will come.”

Despair grew in everyone’s hearts.

Yun Que, staring at the tightening vines, felt her scalp tingle. She almost took out the Origin Pearl but decided to wait until absolutely necessary.

She always had great luck, surviving dangers each time. She believed this time would be no different.

*

Amidst the lush secret realm, the rapidly growing vines looked particularly menacing and eerie. Ye Qiao and Song Hansheng saw it from a distance.

“There, over there,” Song Hansheng pointed. “They must be there.”

Song Hansheng had never ridden such a strange flying beast before and found it awkward at first. In contrast, Ye Qiao handled it with ease, even taming it during their wild ride.

Ye Qiao urged the red bird to stabilize, constantly urging, “Hurry, hurry.”

The secret realm was eerily silent. The green vines had completely sealed the area, blocking any entrance.

Ye Qiao patted the bird, instructing it to fly over. The bird breathed fire, burning a hole in the vines. “Your turn to shine.”

The bird’s role became clear. A burst of phoenix flame created a small hole just large enough for them to pass through unnoticed.

Seeing the hole, Ye Qiao immediately directed the bird to fly down, “Quick, rescue them!”

Everyone was focused, unaware of the hole above. The red bird, with a reluctant screech, swooped down.

From the bird’s back, Ye Qiao saw the standoff below. She infused her fingers with spiritual power, drawing her bow.

Three extending vines reached out, aiming for the slowest ones. She targeted them, instructing the bird to breathe fire on her arrows. With precise aim, she released three fiery arrows.

The arrows pierced through, burning the vines, causing them to retract quickly.

The arrows flew so fast it stunned everyone.

“Whoa,” an exclamation came from the spectators.

The elders were silent, each more astonished than the last. “What was that?”

The elder from the Bishui Sect recognized it, clenching his fists. “It looks like Miaomiao’s spirit bow.”

Miaomiao?

“But isn’t Miaomiao here?”

All Five Sects were present.

So where did the arrows come from?

“Everyone,” as confusion spread, a clear and familiar female voice rang out, “Hi, hi, how do you like my move? Impressive, right?”

*

Visiting relatives, so many relatives from Shandong, and more to visit in two days.