Chapter 100

A master can sign multiple contracts, but first, their spiritual awareness must be sufficiently broad; otherwise, they will face backlash. Since the ghost baby can sustain an entire domain, it means their spiritual awareness is at least as strong as hers, if not stronger.

At the moment the contract was finalized,

The familiar feeling of spiritual exhaustion hit Ye Qiao, and blood dripped from her ears and nose. She looked down and calmly wiped it away.

As soon as the contract was confirmed, Xiao Qi unhesitatingly hugged Ye Qiao, resting her head on her shoulder, and cheerfully cheered, her voice crisp: “Mom.”

The scene was exceptionally maternal and filial, almost blinding Ming Xuan with its absurdity.

Ridiculous.

Ridiculously out of place in the grand scheme of things!

“Ye Qiao!” The nearby KFC was furious, frantically rushing to Ye Qiao and directly confronting her with anger, “Why don’t you even spare ghosts?”

It was enraged. Its contract partner, who was once just herself, might have been a bit reckless and self-destructive, but at least she was alone before.

Now, she had contracted with a little ghost, which made KFC feel that its position as the main partner was severely challenged.

“You can talk?” Ye Qiao had heard of divine beasts gaining intelligence long ago, but she had previously thought it was mute.

KFC: “Just learned.”

After returning from the secret realm of Flame Mountain, it learned after a nap. It had been too lazy to argue with these people before; don’t think it didn’t know, the Changming Sect was full of chatterboxes.

Xiao Qi’s eyes lit up: “Chicken.”

KFC’s brilliant golden pupils gradually narrowed into slits, a sign of irritation in beasts preparing to attack, “You’re the chicken.”

“It’s so scary.” The boy shrank his neck, expressionless. “Not like me, I only worry about my mother.”

Ming Xuan, who was originally scared, looked over in surprise. At such a young age, this kid was so slick, the future looked promising.

In the future, the green tea lineage would have a successor.

A bright flame suddenly erupted, and the temperature in the domain rose significantly, Phoenix’s innate fire.

Xiao Qi’s pitiful expression vanished, and the temperature in the domain quickly turned cold. Relying on a ghost baby to have a good temper was definitely a mistake. When a ghost and a beast met, it naturally led to a fight, a principle of “brave wins when encountering a narrow path.”

The two beings continually adjusted the temperature, letting Ye Qiao experience the sensation of ice and fire in the domain.

Are you two some kind of intelligent air conditioners?

One moment it’s hot, the next it’s cold.

“Tell me honestly, Ye Qiao.” Watching the two rare creatures fighting fiercely, Ming Xuan nudged her arm, his lips twitching. “Did you deceive those poor demon clans like this back then?”

“Ming Xuan.” Ye Qiao turned to look at him, stroking her chin with confidence. “Did you see my awe-inspiring performance just now?”

She firmly believed that not having been invited to the Oscars was their loss.

Ming Xuan admired her greatly because he could never predict what would happen next with Ye Qiao. He pointed behind her, “Your backyard is on fire, Ye Qiao.”

In the next moment, a fireball was hurled fiercely at Ye Qiao. She dodged it and turned to see her Phoenix attacking her child.

Damn it.

Ye Qiao’s pupils trembled: “Wait, Xiao Qi is still a child. KFC, don’t hold it against him.”

Xiao Qi wasn’t to be underestimated; never underestimate the mischief a six-year-old could cause. He grabbed the Phoenix and reached out to pull its feathers, intent on plucking it bald to show who was in charge.

Ye Qiao was also exasperated: “Don’t pull its tail too!” That’s a Phoenix’s tail, very expensive.

The two rare creatures were fighting, but the entire domain was filled with Ye Qiao’s cries of distress.

…

After a chaotic struggle, the senior siblings each caught one creature and managed to control the situation enough to give Ye Qiao a chance to ask about the outside conditions.

“How long can your domain last, Xiao Qi?”

Xiao Qi, perched on her shoulder, thought for a moment and said with a childish voice, “It will dissipate after an hour.”

So, the domain couldn’t last indefinitely. Even a ghost baby couldn’t keep people trapped inside for a long time. Ming Xuan frowned, “But if we go out now, we’ll be surrounded by the people guarding outside.”

The ghost baby could silently kill people because it was suspected that Xiao Qi and its previous ‘mother’ acted together. Even with the domain’s help, they couldn’t solve everyone in one go.

Ye Qiao was noncommittal; a siege was certain. She turned to Ming Xuan, “However, I have another plan. Do you want to hear it?”

“What plan?” Ming Xuan asked.

“Now it’s a moonless night with strong winds. Knowing that there’s an issue at the Song residence, everyone’s spiritual senses are heightened several times. Even a little disturbance can scare them into panicking.”

Ye Qiao looked at him earnestly: “At this time, you just need to take Xiao Qi and make some eerie, maniacal laughter. They’ll be terrified and flee in a panic.”

“…” Ming Xuan’s heart trembled slightly.

Let a person afraid of ghosts take a ghost baby out to scare people? Ming Xuan thought he might be in trouble.

“Heaven bestows great responsibilities on a person.” Ye Qiao reached out and picked up Xiao Qi, presenting him to Ming Xuan. “As the saying goes, if you don’t go to hell, who will?”

“Second Senior Brother,” she tried to encourage him, “A man should be a bit stronger.”

“…”

Ming Xuan and Xiao Qi stared at each other for a moment. Considering the domain would dissipate if they didn’t leave, he eventually nodded in agreement.

Only, his back seemed to carry a sense of the bleak wind and the heroic, tragic feeling of a warrior who would never return.

Xiao Qi noticed Ye Qiao’s intention and obediently opened the domain. The cultivators who had been waiting outside, ready to see if Ye Qiao was dead, were startled when they saw a living person suddenly appear and took a step back in shock.

“Who’s there?”

Ming Xuan lowered his head and didn’t answer.

The leader of the group subtly shifted, always ready to flee if something went wrong. “Who are you?”

They couldn’t clearly see the face in the darkness, but the white clothes the person was holding a child, appearing particularly eerie in the night.

“Big Brother,” the nearby loose cultivator said with a pounding heart, “He appeared out of nowhere.”

Ming Xuan remembered Ye Qiao’s instructions. He forced out a smile that was more painful than crying and then burst into laughter. With a light, floating tone, he asked, “Who do you think I am?”

“Since you’re here, let’s all stay.”

As soon as the words fell, the group of cultivators chasing Ye Qiao was immediately terrified and their souls seemed to scatter.

“…It’s that ghost, ghost cultivator!!”

Everyone broke out in cold sweat, feeling as if a sinister, ghostly aura was spreading behind them, making their hands and feet go numb.

Wasn’t it said that the ghost cultivator hidden in the Song residence wouldn’t show up easily?

Why were they so unlucky?

“Run.” The leader gritted his teeth, trembling as he spoke, “Run quickly.”

“Not looking for Ye Qiao anymore?” Some still weren’t willing to give up, glancing back at the area where Ye Qiao had been. Ye Qiao was worth a lot of money.

“Ye what Qiao? She might be dead already.” The man’s face darkened. The number of people who could survive in the area was few, and compared to Ye Qiao, they were more concerned about their own lives.

Ye Qiao, who had come out from behind the area, witnessed their panicked flight. She curled the corners of her lips into a smile and leisurely chased after them.

Occasionally, she emitted a villainous laugh.

Xiao Qi was also happy to cooperate, producing crisp, clear laughter. The pair, large and small, chased and laughed behind them, causing the fleeing crowd to scream in terror.

At this moment, all they needed to do was occasionally throw a stone or two, and the paranoid cultivators would immediately scream. They used all sorts of techniques just to fend off the ghost cultivator’s “assassination.”

The few of them were having a great time.

—

When Song Hansheng discovered that his courtyard had been blown up, he was stunned.

The Song family was wealthy, so losing a courtyard wasn’t something to get too angry about. However, what made Song Hansheng furious was that the courtyard housed people from the Changming Sect.

When he angrily returned to the Song family’s library, Yun Que was reading a mental cultivation method.

“What happened?” Hearing the noise, Yun Que looked up in confusion.

Song Hansheng said coldly, “My house was blown up.”

“Most likely Ye Qiao did it.” When something went wrong, if the cause was unknown, it was definitely Ye Qiao’s doing.

Yun Que’s eyes flickered, and she asked casually, “What was Ye Qiao doing here?”

Although she didn’t want to admit it, Yun Que often unconsciously tried to find out about Ye Qiao and then secretly compared herself to Ye Qiao.

In recent days, while at the Song family residence, an old man had appeared in her dreams, saying he wanted to pass on a legacy to her.

Previously, Yun Que might have hesitated.

She didn’t think she would practice swordsmanship, as sword cultivators were very tired and had to fight and kill. But now, with Ye Qiao as a comparison, Yun Que agreed without hesitation.

The legacy sought those with the best bone structure first, so not choosing others could only mean her talent was high.

Song Hansheng said, “Who knows what she’s done this time.”

While the senior siblings were chatting, the door to the building was suddenly kicked open. Mu Chongxi rudely barged in and straightforwardly said, “My little sister and senior brother are missing.”

“They disappeared here.” When Xue Yu and the others returned, they found that the two’s auras had completely vanished, which gave him a bad premonition. He was still polite and asked, “Could you send out a few Golden Core cultivators?”

Yun Que, sitting quietly, secretly curved her lips into a smile. Upon hearing that Ye Qiao was missing, her first reaction wasn’t worry but a strange sense of delight. She barely suppressed this emotion and spoke gently, “This is the Song family, not your Changming Sect.”

“Even the Five Great Sects can’t force our senior brother to find someone.”

Song Hansheng coldly lifted his eyes and couldn’t help but ask, “Ye Qiao?”

“Are you worried about Ye Qiao?”

Pah.

These shameless people, don’t they know Ye Qiao’s mischief capabilities?

Instead of worrying about Ye Qiao, they should worry about whether his house would hold up until they leave without being blown up.

“But she’s only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.” Xue Yu was still uneasy, looking at the indifferent Song Hansheng, and thought for a moment, “Your Song family has many experts. It wouldn’t be a problem to lend us some people. We’ll settle the spirit stone costs with the Xue family.”

Hearing this, Song Hansheng coldly smiled, preparing to raise the price. “A Golden Core cultivator costs thirty thousand high-grade spirit stones.”

Xue Yu calmly replied, “Spirit stones aren’t the issue. So can we send someone now?”

There was no helping it; his family was rich.

Song Hansheng enjoyed seeing the Changming Sect people anxious. He smirked, planning to delay. “No rush…”

However, Zhou Xingyun couldn’t be bothered with Song Hansheng’s whining. He grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away, saying listlessly, “You talk too much.”

Why waste words when you can take action?

Holding onto Song Hansheng, Zhou Xingyun walked out the door and called out, “Listen, Song Hansheng is in my hands. If you want him alive, come with me.”

In an instant, a group of experts from the Song family was stirred up.

With a hostage in hand, the three were naturally fearless. Led by Zhou Xingyun, the group, including some experts, headed towards the place where Ye Qiao had disappeared.

—

Song Hansheng, who was being kidnapped, was nearly spitting blood. He definitely shouldn’t have underestimated the Changming Sect people.

Damn it, these sword cultivators are all so despicable.

Zhou Xingyun had never been this despicable before.

Song Hansheng had dealt with him before, back when he was on a training expedition. At that time, Song Hansheng had arrogantly occupied the spiritual herbs with his superior formation skills, exploiting the fact that there were few Changming Sect members.

The other party seemed too lazy to argue and simply moved to another place with their disciples to find more.

Previously, Zhou Xingyun had clearly been too lazy to argue!

So now that he has a little sister, things are different, huh?

Song Hansheng was furious.

On the other hand, Ye Qiao looked at the fleeing speed of these cultivators and slowly curled her lips. One of the cultivators turned back and suddenly recognized the woman behind them.

“Ye Qiao?”

The girl in plain clothes with a stick tied to her waist—this distinctive feature was unmistakably Ye Qiao, who had been hunted by them.

“She’s teamed up with that ghost cultivator.” The crowd immediately realized, their expressions darkening as they concluded, “That’s why she claimed the ghost baby is her son.”

“She, a direct disciple, has actually fallen to the point of associating with evil spirits.”

Ming Xuan, who was the only one who knew the truth: Dammit, their guesses are getting more and more outrageous!

Ye Qiao, along with the ghost baby and Ming Xuan, forced the group into a room. All six Golden Core stage cultivators were trembling, huddled together like frightened brides forced into prostitution.

Xiao Qi quietly said, “I’m hungry.”

He wanted to eat.

The ghost baby’s eerie tone and expressionless face scared the others to death.

One of them nearly collapsed, kneeling on the spot, “Spare us, great one, spare us! We will do whatever you want from now on, just don’t eat us. We haven’t bathed in seven days.”

Ye Qiao stared at them for a few seconds, deliberately pausing for a long time, her slow manner making everyone’s hearts race.

“Really?” she asked.

“Really!” They nodded frantically.

“Then you should fight each other first.” She spoke calmly, casually rubbing Xiao Qi’s head, clearly treating this place as her own territory.

Ye Qiao’s words gave the group hope. They exchanged glances, and to save their lives, immediately turned on each other.

They had only teamed up temporarily, so there was no real bond between them. Moreover, since they had come to accept a bounty, it proved they were all ruthless individuals.

The room quickly became unstable from their fighting.

As the six began to brawl, Xiao Qi whispered in Ye Qiao’s ear, “Someone is looking for me.”

Ye Qiao thought for a moment, “Your previous mother?” The ghost cultivator must have a special way to contact Xiao Qi. She was just wondering how to complete her task, and now it seemed the ghost cultivator couldn’t wait any longer.

The boy nodded.

Ye Qiao patted his head, “Then go find her. When we start fighting, come back, okay?”

She eagerly anticipated the ghost cultivator’s reaction when she saw her ghost baby defect.

“Okay.”

He was a fickle ghost. Having found a new mother, he didn’t hesitate to abandon the previous one.

Ming Xuan asked at the right time, “Your son is leaving. Should we run too?”

The six sword cultivators had already started setting up formations subtly, planning how to grab Ye Qiao and escape once they were exposed.

“Run? Why?”

“Whether we can win or not, we need to show some spirit.” Ye Qiao took out a skull from her storage bag and smiled slightly, “Trust me.”

Damn.

The sight of the object in her hand made Ming Xuan’s hand shake violently, “What’s that?”

Ye Qiao poked him, “It’s a demon beast bone.”

“At the Nascent Soul stage, very valuable.”

These bones were usually used by weapon cultivators and sold for high prices on the market. After killing high-level demon beasts in the secret realm, Ye Qiao had stored the bones in her storage bag.

She hadn’t had the time to sell them before, but now they came in handy.

Ming Xuan asked, “What are you doing?”

Holding a skull like a maniac.

Ye Qiao tossed the skull up and down casually, then slowly locked eyes with the scattered cultivators.

In the next second, they were scared into fighting each other even more fiercely.

Ah, Ye Qiao, that maniac! She actually plays with human heads.

It’s no wonder she won two major competitions—clearly not through any legitimate means!

“See?” Ye Qiao was pleased with their reaction and tossed the demon beast skull to Ming Xuan, “Learn from this.”

Ming Xuan: “Sorry for disturbing you.”

Can’t compete with her antics, can’t compete.

A group of cultivators, forced into chaos, attacked each other while Ye Qiao occasionally lashed out at them, making the scene lively.

Yun Que, following Mu Chongxi and the others to find Ye Qiao, sensed an aura. She bit her lip and whispered, “Senior Sister Ye Qiao running around like this is really troublesome.”

Seeing no one respond, Yun Que continued, “And she’s only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Senior Brother Ming Xuan must be burdened by her.”

No one disagreed.

The accompanying cultivators thought the same. Seeing Song Hansheng being held hostage, their first reaction was to think it was an assassin.

Only later did they realize that a direct disciple from the Changming Sect, who was just at the Foundation Establishment stage, had caused the trouble.

“Foundation Establishment shouldn’t be messing around. Stay in your own sect and don’t cause trouble. Now they only come out to make a mess.” One cultivator was unhappy, having no respect for direct disciples.

He never watched the competitions, thinking the five major sects were just groups of idiots enjoying the best resources.

Mu Chongxi and the others ignored the complaints and circled around the detected aura, finally pinpointing the location.

“Hurry up!”

He had already imagined the scene of Ye Qiao and Ming Xuan being bullied.

He would definitely mock them later, no, comfort them properly.

“Ye Qiao! We’re here to save you.”

With a loud bang, Mu Chongxi kicked the door open, and the door fell with a crash.

The next moment, the scene before them rendered everyone silent.

Five thousand words, wanted to write six thousand, failed.

I am useless.