Chapter 26

A sudden clap of thunder struck the ground, and in that explosive moment, the rampaging beast outside seemed to feel pain, rolling frantically on the ground, its stomach churning. The few people nearby were disoriented and dizzy from the shaking.

Song Hansheng and Duan Hengdao’s eyes widened slightly; they had never seen something so powerful.

“Is this the secret weapon of the Changming Sect?”

This was the thought that crossed both their minds.

Without hesitation, Ye Qiao threw down three more bombs. The consecutive explosions made the beast’s struggles even more intense. The bombs were as powerful as a blow from a Jindan (Golden Core) cultivator. The beast’s stomach, perhaps the weakest part of its otherwise steel-like body, was torn open by the three bombs.

“Run!” Duan Hengdao commanded, and the group quickly rushed out.

Outside, many disciples of the Yueqing Sect had gathered. Their senior brother had been swallowed, and they were all anxiously awaiting any news. After informing the elders, Yun Que hurried over with reinforcements.

Seeing the group emerge, she was overjoyed. “Senior Brother!”

Yun Que looked worriedly at Song Hansheng, “Are you okay?”

Dressed in light blue robes, the girl looked delicate and ethereal, like a willow swaying in the wind.

A stern-faced young man stood protectively behind Yun Que, blocking inquisitive gazes with a defensive stance. The two of them looked like a perfect match.

“People from the Wenjian Sect?” Song Hansheng’s expression softened as he noticed their attire.

The robes of the Wenjian Sect were primarily white.

Yun Que quickly explained, “Senior Brother Ye saw I was alone, so he came along with me.”

“Senior Brother Ye is amazing,” she said with a bright smile, “I relied on him the whole way here.”

Song Hansheng’s expression showed some displeasure. He nodded slightly to Ye Qinghan, “Thank you for taking care of our little sister.”

“Ah Que,” he said, “come here.”

Yun Que was reluctant. She understood that Song Hansheng wanted her to stay away from Senior Brother Ye, but how could she feel safe in such a dangerous place with a group of talisman cultivators?

She had only hidden behind Mu Chongxi before because she had no other choice. In times of danger, who wouldn’t instinctively seek the protection of a sword cultivator?

Having finally found a sword cultivator from the Wenjian Sect to protect her, how could she possibly go over to Song Hansheng?

Yun Que said nothing, silently refusing his request.

Song Hansheng, feeling humiliated, gritted his teeth. He had never seen this little sister so oblivious to the situation before.

Which sect’s disciple would be so cowardly as to seek shelter with another sect’s team? She might be shameless, but their Yueqing Sect still had dignity to maintain.

Mu Chongxi exclaimed, “Fuck, it’s Ye Qinghan!”

The young man was cold and elegant, dressed in black, holding a sword, his expression stern and indifferent.

Wasn’t he the top disciple of the Wenjian Sect, Ye Qinghan?

Ye Qiao was slightly surprised. “He is Ye Qinghan?”

In a heartthrob novel, there wouldn’t be multiple romantic leads, so there must be one main protagonist.

Back when she read the novel, she had bet on the enigmatic demon lord or the aloof master, but she never expected the true male lead to be the seemingly invincible and overwhelmingly powerful Ye Qinghan, akin to a martial arts legend in a cultivation world.

“It’s definitely him,” Mu Chongxi confirmed. “I’m a sword cultivator too, so I know about Ye Qinghan. He is one of the only two with innate sword bones. He formed his core at fifteen and reached the late Jindan stage by eighteen.”

“Of course…” Seeing Ye Qiao’s shocked expression and fearing that their little sister might become one of Ye Qinghan’s admirers, he quickly added, “Our senior brother is also remarkable. Back then, he was considered equally outstanding as Ye Qinghan.”

This detail was never mentioned in the original story.

Senior Brother… So he used to be on par with the main character?

In Ye Qiao’s impression, their obsessive, stern, and cold senior brother was actually this powerful?

Standing nearby, Song Jian suddenly noticed Ye Qiao, his eyes widening. “It’s you two!”

“Senior Brother, these two scoundrels put a face cover on me.”

Ye Qiao was thoroughly enjoying the show when Song Jian’s loud voice suddenly drew everyone’s attention.

Yun Que frowned, looking in Ye Qiao’s direction. Her voice was soft and puzzled, “Second Senior Sister?”

—Even after leaving the sect for so long, she still calls me Second Senior Sister. Is she trying to sow discord or repeatedly remind me of the gap between us when we were in the Yueqing Sect?

Ye Qiao couldn’t be bothered with her and lowered her voice, “Is Song Jian here to seek revenge?”

Indeed, Song Jian was here for revenge. Staring at the culprit who had covered his face, his expression twisted as he commanded, “Surround them, don’t let any of them escape.”

Song Hansheng also remembered the spirit stones that Ye Qiao had tricked out of him and told several inner sect disciples behind him, “You guys go help as well.”

Seeing the two groups surrounding them in unison, Duan Hengdao quickly stepped back and shouted, “Wait! I’m not with them.”

“If you want to fight, fight them first.”

Mu Chongxi blinked, “Wow, so ruthless? We were just in the same belly after all.”

“…” That sounded so misleading!

Ye Qiao decisively grabbed her senior brother, intending to flee, but Mu Chongxi didn’t want to go. His hand rested on the sword at his waist, his expression cold, “I can handle this with one sword…”

Ye Qiao pulled him back, “Forget the sword.”

If they really fought, they would be outnumbered.

Moreover, Ye Qinghan hadn’t even made a move. If he did, it would be hard for them to escape unscathed. Fighting wouldn’t solve the problem.

Mu Chongxi, dragged away by Ye Qiao without a word, couldn’t help but question his life choices, lamenting, “I finally understand. The elders made us learn Qingfeng Step just to avoid getting beaten to death outside.”

He had previously lived with a nonchalant attitude towards life and death, fighting whenever provoked. Ever since the little sister came along, they had been either escaping or on the run.

“Ah, so you aren’t rogue cultivators?” Duan Hengdao was surprised, “I thought you were some rogue cultivators out on a training mission.”

“Stop chatting,” Ye Qiao yelled, “They’re catching up.”

Chasing them were not only sword cultivators but also talisman cultivators.

While talisman cultivators weren’t great at fighting, the most troublesome were their formations, which were nearly impossible to defend against. Unfortunately, none of them understood formations.

The Changming Sect only had talismans and no records of formations. As Ye Qiao ran, she thought she needed to thoroughly study the talisman books Song Hansheng had given her and figure out how to use talismans to set up formations.

Ye Qinghan had no interest in getting involved in the inner sect’s petty grudges. For a protagonist like him, it would only lower his status. So Ye Qiao wasn’t worried about him interfering.

Seeing the Wenjian Sect people relentlessly pursuing them, Ye Qiao turned her head and, taking advantage of their distraction, threw out a handful of talismans.

Ye Qiao had an abundance of talismans at the moment. She threw them out in such a large quantity that it looked like a spectacular display of scattered flowers.

There were so many talismans that the pursuers couldn’t avoid them.

Song Jian got a talisman stuck on his face. Just as he reached out to pull it off, he felt his limbs gradually losing control.

Soon, his body twitched as if electrocuted, uncontrollably falling to the ground and starting to mimic a snake, writhing and twitching like he had a short circuit in his pocket.

“…” Duan Hengdao turned his head and was stunned by the sight.

“What’s going on?”

Did an evil god invade the cultivation world?

Those stuck with the crawling talisman, all dressed in the white inner sect disciples’ uniforms, started crawling on the ground like bugs, wriggling faster and faster.

Gradually, rogue cultivators began to notice the commotion and approached to check it out, only to be stunned by the scene.

They saw a group of Wenjian Sect disciples, led by Song Jian, crawling on the ground in a bizarre manner.

“Is this… the Wenjian Sect?”

If they hadn’t seen the disciples in Wenjian Sect robes, they might have thought it was some bugs or snake demons evolving into human form.

Surrounded and pointed at by the crowd, Song Jian felt deeply embarrassed and hurriedly crawled away.

“…”

Ye Qiao stopped fleeing, turning her head to softly lecture her fourth senior brother, “See, I told you we shouldn’t parade around in sect robes every day.”

Embarrassment is always identifiable!