Chapter 108

The entire secret realm was eerily quiet. After wandering around for a while, Ye Qiao didn’t encounter a single person. She dealt with a few fleeing beasts along the way, but the numbers on her jade slip remained unchanged.

In the vast secret realm, it was as silent as death.

She noticed a discarded bow not far away and bent down to pick it up.

Miao Miao knew how to use a spirit bow, Ye Qiao remembered clearly. It looked like there had been some disturbance here; the surrounding trees were broken and scattered in disarray.

The smile on her lips faded slightly. Something had indeed happened.

At first, Ye Qiao thought it was just an exaggeration. What could possibly go wrong in such a secret realm? It allowed entry but no exit and would only open after the time limit. No one except senior disciples could enter.

But now, it seemed something unknown had indeed occurred.

“Xiao Qi,” Ye Qiao quietly connected with Xiao Qi, “if there’s danger, drag me away.”

“Okay,” the boy agreed softly.

External tools were not allowed in the secret realm, but since something had gone wrong, rules no longer mattered. If not for the absence of her four senior brothers, Ye Qiao, known for her lazy nature, would have crushed her identity token and fled the moment she sensed something amiss.

Sigh.

Without her, this family would fall apart.

She sighed.

Watching Ye Qiao wander alone in the secret realm, a cultivator felt conflicted, “Although it seems inappropriate, she’s the most reliable in critical moments.”

“The lonely senior disciple team now has only Ye Qiao left.”

“There are still a few not caught yet, but they probably will be soon.”

With Nascent Soul cultivators capturing people, the secret realm was almost entirely covered. No one was as good at hiding as Ye Qiao, who even while sleeping, used concealment talismans to avoid being caught.

“The lazier you are, the luckier you get. Look at Song Hansheng and Ye Qinghan, what did they get for their hard work? They were the first to be caught.”

“They worked hard only to receive special attention from the demon tribe.”

Following the traces of battle, Ye Qiao searched for the whereabouts of the other sects. The entangling vines blocking her path were burnt to ashes by KFC’s fire. The crazily lashing vines were reduced to debris by the phoenix’s true fire before they could even touch her.

KFC acted so quickly that the demon tribe’s saintess, who had been searching for other senior disciples, sensed the destruction of the manipulated plants and quickly turned back.

Someone was there!

The demon tribe had only sent her and another Nascent Soul cultivator. They had been keeping an eye on the competition, especially on those senior disciples. The higher the talent, the greater the future threat to the demon tribe. Those with top-grade spiritual roots were at the top of the list.

The presence of two Nascent Soul cultivators in such a secret realm was overwhelming, especially since the senior disciples were unaware, making them easy targets.

“Most of the five sects have been captured. Ye Qiao shouldn’t have burned those vines. Run!”

The cultivators outside were anxious.

“She’s about to be caught.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the demon tribe’s saintess appeared where Ye Qiao had just been. She squinted her eyes and swiftly chased after Ye Qiao.

Just as they were about to collide, Ye Qiao was suddenly pulled into a domain by the elusive Xiao Qi, disappearing instantly from the spot.

Xiao Qi’s mother had been a genuine Nascent Soul cultivator, and his domain was also above the Nascent Soul level, making it easy to detect unfamiliar presences.

“Mother, the person outside is at the Nascent Soul stage,” the boy reported after observing for a while.

A Nascent Soul cultivator. No wonder there were no detectable energy fluctuations. Ye Qiao patted his head, murmuring, “How did a Nascent Soul cultivator get in here?”

Xiao Qi shook his head.

He was just an inexperienced child.

Ye Qiao gathered her scattered thoughts. The only certainty was that something had gone wrong in the secret realm. A Nascent Soul cultivator had infiltrated with malicious intent, targeting the senior disciples of the five sects.

Ye Qiao took out a concealment talisman from her storage bag and stuck it on herself. Only two were left.

These talismans were hard to draw and not entirely reliable, as they could easily be exposed.

After emerging from the domain, Ye Qiao found a safe place to hide, estimating the range of the Nascent Soul cultivator’s spiritual sense and keeping a safe distance.

Whenever the woman sensed something wrong, Ye Qiao had Xiao Qi pull her back into the domain.

Their coordination was successful, allowing her to follow the woman to the barrier where the senior disciples were imprisoned.

Seeing the senior disciples trapped inside the barrier, Ye Qiao’s breath hitched, almost revealing her presence.

Qin Huai from Chengfeng Sect, Song Hansheng from Yueqing Sect, Ye Qinghan from Wenjian Sect, and her senior brother were all bound tightly inside the barrier.

Ye Qiao couldn’t believe that while she had been sleeping, so many of them had been wiped out.

Suppressing her chaotic thoughts, she glanced at them, relieved to see they were still alive. She stuck on an invisibility talisman, reached out, and hooked the storage bags thrown aside by the demon tribe.

After grabbing them, she stuffed over ten storage bags into the domain and ran without looking back.

The spectators were speechless.

“Even in this situation, she doesn’t forget to take the storage bags.”

“Head can be severed, blood can flow, but storage bags cannot be lost.”

Qin Huai was distracted. He had stayed behind to buy time, allowing Duan Hengtang and Shen Ziwei, both artifact cultivators, to escape. Now both were missing, and he could only pray for their safety.

Lost in thought, his gaze shifted unintentionally to a nearby spot.

“…” The man stared blankly as the storage bags disappeared.

Damn.

Haunted?

“What are you looking at?” Ming Xuan nudged him.

Qin Huai pointed under the tree, “The storage bags the demon tribe threw there are all gone.”

Ming Xuan was stunned and looked instinctively.

What’s going on?

“Forget about that,” Song Hansheng said, lips tight, wrists bound, his expression serious. “Breaking the barrier from outside is easy, but our spiritual power is locked. We can only rely on someone to rescue us.”

“This has never happened before. We can only wait for the elders to find a solution,” Si Miaoyan sighed lightly. At this point, she hoped at least one could escape.

Returning would mean certain death, no need for that.

Yun Que was crying silently, tears falling.

Seeing her cry, Miao Miao’s eyes reddened too. During previous trials, the elders were watching. The current situation was different; falling into the demon tribe’s hands meant a terrible fate.

The demon tribe’s saintess returned, counting the captured senior disciples. Impatiently, she stepped on one disciple’s shoulder, “Which of your senior disciples are not here?”

She pressed hard with her foot, a bone-cracking sound followed by a pained grunt, but no words.

The girl sneered, kicking him away, “What about you?” She looked at Song Hansheng.

“Don’t know them,” Song Hansheng’s face was expressionless. “Not familiar. You know there are so many senior disciples, who remembers everyone?”

Only Ye Qiao, Duan Hengtang, and Shen Ziwei were not caught yet.

Although they might soon be captured, Song Hansheng refused to reveal this. No matter how much he disliked Ye Qiao, he wouldn’t side with these fiends.

“How many senior disciples do we have anyway? Anyone not caught has probably run away long ago. Why would they stay?” Song Hansheng argued.

Which senior disciple would be brave enough to come back?

Ye Qiao always ran like a rabbit. With her sharp instincts, she’d probably already escaped.

“A few are missing,” the demon tribe’s saintess said coldly, “Are you going to talk?”

Their identity tokens had been confiscated, and these two Nascent Souls attacked before they could even use them.

“No one’s missing,” Mu Chongxi joked, “Why don’t you count again?”

Sword cultivators could take a beating, but talisman and alchemy cultivators would pass out from a couple of kicks.

The girl stared at him for a moment, then turned to the others bound, unconcerned.

“Which senior disciple is missing from the five sects?” She asked each one, knowing someone would eventually talk. She viciously stepped on Ye Qinghan’s chest, causing excruciating pain.

Ye Qinghan: “I don’t know.”

“Never seen them,” Qin Huai turned away.

She laughed angrily, finding their stubbornness amusing.

The elders watching were anxious but also somewhat relieved, “These are the righteous path’s children. They may argue and fight, but in crucial moments, they won’t betray anyone.”

However, their relief was short-lived when Yun Que meekly said, “Ye Qiao.”

The girl raised an eyebrow, motioning for her to continue.

Yun Que added, “Changming Sect’s senior disciple Ye Qiao, red clothes, with a bird. Very distinct.”

“And two more from Chengfeng Sect, wearing gold.”

At that moment, all the senior disciples stared at her in disbelief, and Song Hansheng nearly spat blood.

Where’s your backbone?

Yun Que, feeling their cold gazes, explained softly, “If I don’t say, she won’t stop. She’ll continue to hurt you. I can’t bear to see that.”

“So you bring someone else to die?”

Everyone, including those from the other four sects, thought the same. They didn’t want others who had escaped to join them in captivity.

But no one expected that Ye Qiao not only didn’t run but boldly came back to steal their storage bags and cause more trouble elsewhere.

This time, two Nascent Soul-level demon cultivators entered the secret realm, determined to capture all the senior disciples. The demon saintess went to check on the captives while the other man swept the realm, searching for those hiding.

Artifact cultivators were easier to catch than sword cultivators, but their strange artifacts were troublesome and unpredictable.

Duan Hengdao used his Rebirth Mirror to shine a blinding light at the demon youth, causing his eyes to sting. When he opened them again, Duan Hengdao had hidden.

Walking through the forest, the demon youth expanded his spiritual sense and soon located Duan Hengdao. He dodged the golden orbs that tracked him automatically and struck Duan Hengdao’s back.

Though Duan Hengdao had many artifacts, one broke, leaving him spitting blood and trying to flee.

The demon youth, fed up, stepped forward to grab Duan Hengdao by the throat, intending to kill him. As far as the Demon Lord was concerned, a dead body would suffice.

The demon youth’s deadly strike carried lethal intent.

Duan Hengdao, pale and cornered, couldn’t escape.

In the next second, just as the demon youth was about to grab him, Duan Hengdao disappeared before his eyes.

The demon youth was stunned. Where did he go?

Duan Hengdao, thinking he was done for, saw the demon youth closing in. Then, suddenly, he was pulled into a dark domain by Ye Qiao, his first thought was that the underworld was indeed cold.

But then he saw Ye Qiao’s familiar face and a timid boy behind her.

Relief washed over him, feeling like he had found a family member, he almost cried, “Ye Qiao?”

Though reliable and unreliable, seeing her calmed him down.

“Mm.” Ye Qiao responded. She had been following Duan Hengdao for a while, just waiting for the right moment to save him.

Duan Hengdao looked around, lips pressed tight, “Is this a domain? You’ve mastered it?”

He didn’t know much about Ye Qiao, but from their brief interactions, he realized she always managed to bring hope.

Ye Qiao laughed, “…You overestimate me.”

A Nascent Soul-level domain was beyond her.

Duan Hengdao waved it off, “Doesn’t matter, you’ll master it eventually.”

Ye Qiao gave him a thumbs-up, “Good eye.” She thought so too.

Once the demon youth’s presence faded, Ye Qiao brought Duan Hengdao out of the domain. Xiao Qi’s domain could only hold someone for a short time, so they had to be careful to avoid detection.

The Chengfeng Sect elder sat back in shock, “Ye Qiao, it has to be her.”

In critical moments, Ye Qiao always came through, even if she was a bit nerve-wracking to watch.

“Who’d have thought she’d have such an opportunity.” If he was right, she saved them using a domain, a rare and powerful ability.

The Wenjian Sect elder frowned, “Saving one is still good. Why aren’t those kids using their identity tokens?”

Every escape counted; everyone hoped at least one could get away.

“The kids are loyal,” Elder Zhao sighed heavily, “But this isn’t a sect competition.”

This was a real trial, where a wrong move could mean death.

The demon tribe hadn’t killed them, likely under orders to capture them alive for bargaining with the cultivation world.

However, this didn’t guarantee their safety.

* * *

One more chapter to go, reaching eight thousand words. No update tomorrow, going to celebrate the New Year.