Chapter 73

Memory Stone?

What the heck.

“Ye Qiao,” Song Hansheng exclaimed, “you brought a memory stone?”

Is she serious? Who brings a memory stone when infiltrating the demon tribe?

Ye Qinghan’s perpetually indifferent face also showed signs of cracking. After all, who wants to remember their time in prison, especially being bossed around by Ye Qiao?

But since Su Zhuo had voiced his objections, Song Hansheng could only glare coldly at his junior brother, watching as Qin Fanfan threw out the memory stone, displaying the scene before everyone.

Not only were the disciples curious about what Ye Qiao had gone through, but the sect leaders were also curious. They had only heard bits and pieces, and Qin Fanfan hadn’t dared ask for specifics, fearing it might ruin his disciple’s plan.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, they first saw Ye Qiao sneaking onto the demon tribe’s territory, lying there for a moment to calm herself before expertly attaching a talisman and stealing a demon soldier’s clothes.

They watched how Ye Qiao cunningly gathered information by blending in and conversing with the demons.

Simiao Yan commented fairly, “You might have her skills, but not her courage. And even with that courage, could you remember the demon language?”

Su Zhuo was silent, unable to claim, “I could do it too.”

For this task, no one else could have managed it.

In the memory stone, Song Hansheng and Ye Qinghan were dubbed the “prison duo,” looking miserable as they stared at the wall, questioning their life choices.

Seeing them, Ming Xuan exclaimed, “So they really ended up in prison, huh. Congratulations!”

“I told you not to go,” Ming Xuan said insincerely. “Who can you blame for not listening?”

Song Hansheng: “…”

Ye Qinghan tried to freeze Ming Xuan with his icy glare.

Ming Xuan didn’t care how much hatred he was attracting, watching Ye Qiao in the memory stone calmly tricking people out of their clothes and then taking on the role of a leader.

The following scenes were even more entertaining.

Especially seeing Ye Qinghan and Song Hansheng’s expressions when they realized the demon was Ye Qiao. “Horrified” didn’t even begin to describe it.

The crowd felt an odd sense of balance.

So, everyone was terrified by Ye Qiao, huh? That’s reassuring.

The memory stone didn’t play quickly. By the end, everyone was silent.

Even Chu Xingzhi, who loved arguing, had nothing to say. He was completely deflated, raising his hand in surrender, “Fine, fine, Ye Qiao is the star of the show.”

He was frustrated. Now he understood why their senior brother ended up being Ye Qiao’s right-hand man.

It turned out they got thrown in prison on the first day.

Chu Xingzhi felt like an annoyed pufferfish.

“Amazing.”

“I couldn’t learn that in a year.”

The gap between people felt immense.

“So, while we were planning, she was infiltrating the enemy.”

“While we were setting up formations, she became a saintess.”

“When we woke up, she had already turned the Cloudwater City lord against them.”

The progress on both sides wasn’t comparable. What could they do?

Miao Miao rested her chin on her hand. “Is this what a true expert who can carry others is like?”

This proves that real experts can indeed carry the weakest.

She was the most grateful to Ye Qiao, who had freed her thanks to her kindness towards girls.

Song Hansheng and Ye Qinghan didn’t get this treatment.

Miao Miao was overjoyed, waving at Ye Qiao, her eyes smiling, “Next time we enter a secret realm, our two sects can join forces.”

She wanted to experience the joy of being led by an expert.

Ye Qiao didn’t refuse, “Sure, if there’s a chance.”

“…”

“Seeing her get the Chaos Pearl hurts more than dying,” Chu Xingzhi said, feeling tormented.

The young sister from the Sword-Seeking Sect found him embarrassing, dragging him away, “Second Senior Brother, stop shouting.”

They couldn’t outdo her cunning. Even their senior brother and Song Hansheng escaped thanks to Ye Qiao. If not her, who else?

“Senior Brother,” Su Zhuo asked, frustrated, “Should we leave?”

“Let’s go. We’ll make them pay next time!” Song Hansheng said coldly.

It was all he could say. He couldn’t match her cunning, so he had to say something tough to save face.

Yun Que’s eyes flashed, and she followed them.

She had no presence throughout the mission.

Ye Qiao noticed Yun Que because of her strange aura.

Zhou Xingyun spoke slowly, “That little sister from the Yueqing Sect has a demonic aura.”

Ye Qiao asked, “A demon king?”

So soon? Was Yun Que’s speed in winning over men that fast, reaching the level of a demon king?

Zhou Xingyun: “Probably not. Maybe she tamed a demon beast.” The demonic aura was too strong; not only did he sense it, but Ye Qinghan clearly noticed it too.

While everyone has different opportunities to tame demon beasts, this Yun Que’s luck seemed excessively good.

Ye Qiao raised an eyebrow, pondering for a moment.

She thought of a pet the heroine had in the original plot.

A Qingluan bird?

In the novel, Yun Que had many pets, including the divine bird Qingluan and a treasure-seeking beast. Later, various demon kings and other creatures also appeared.

“I heard Si Miaoyan saw her walking with a man before,” Mu Chongxi remarked, moving closer. “She changes men quickly.”

“Well, she’s pretty,” Ye Qiao said, touching her chin.

“…” Xue Yu was speechless.

These people gathered together really seemed like old men gossiping in the village.

And why was the little sister joining in? She’s a girl too!

Ye Qiao, after so long, clearly saw herself as one of the guys. She even crossed her arms and tapped her foot in a laid-back manner, making anyone watching fall silent. Her clothing was also very simple.

Aside from the sect uniform, it was either dark blue or grayish tones.

“Little sister,” Xue Yu said worriedly, “you won’t find a partner like this.”

“Our sword’s wife is our sword,” Mu Chongxi loudly retorted.

“One who walks the path of the sword is destined to be single,” he declared seriously. “The sword will never betray you.”

Ye Qiao applauded him, impressed by his insight.

After the five sects returned home in a grand procession, Qin Fanfan delivered the Chaos Pearl. Everyone gathered around the table to study it.

“How do we use it?”

Ye Qiao placed it on the table, contemplating.

It was a treasure from the beginning of the world, about the size of a fist.

She suggested, “Swallow it?”

“You’ll choke to death,” Mu Chongxi prodded it.

“We should ask the elders,” Ye Qiao said, putting it away. “Let me show you something fun first.”

She had found some interesting artifacts in the demon tribe’s treasury, like seven black beads used for sneak attacks and a butterfly-shaped device that acted as a modern-day bug.

There were many others that she hadn’t figured out yet, but she believed that with some brainstorming, they could maximize their use.

Ming Xuan’s mouth twitched. “Did you go shopping in the demon tribe?”

Ye Qiao defended herself, “Don’t say that. I just took a few things.”

“Anyone need anything?” Ye Qiao offered the artifacts on the table, knowing she couldn’t use them all.

Ming Xuan leaned back lazily. “No, you keep them.”

These things were better left to Ye Qiao; he could never forget how she had used a demon-binding rope as a makeshift zipline.

With so many artifacts, the next secret realm would be a blast.

…

Since they couldn’t figure out how to use the Chaos Pearl, Ye Qiao had to ask around. Qin Fanfan was also unsure; no one knew its exact purpose.

It was impressive enough to bring it out as a reward.

Ye Qiao sighed and, holding onto a sliver of hope, sought out her unreliable junior uncle.

Xie Chuxue was napping when she asked about the Chaos Pearl. He opened his eyes, thought for a moment, and suggested, “Why don’t you try swallowing it?”

Ye Qiao gulped. “That could kill me, Junior Uncle.”

Xie Chuxue shrugged, reaching for the stick hanging from her waist, tossing it in the air with a grin. “Hey, hey, hey, this is your life-bound sword, right?”

“…”

“This is a sword?” Ye Qiao was shocked. “No, no, no, it’s a stick.”

Xie Chuxue: “?”

“It’s not a sword?” He weighed it in his hand. “Oh, it does look a bit odd.”

“But it is a sword.”

Ye Qiao: “What kind of sword? A good one?”

Xie Chuxue sighed, amazed at how nonchalant she was. He admired Qin Fanfan’s laissez-faire teaching method, wondering if their sect’s motto was, “As long as the disciple survives, it’s fine?”

“This sword is called Bu Jianjun.” He pointed to some barely noticeable, inscribed black characters. “It has a name.”

“And why does it look like a stick? Because you’re too weak,” Xie Chuxue bluntly stated. “A spiritual weapon grows with its owner. It’s not for you to play with.”

Xie Chuxue’s only impression after watching her memory stone was that she was quite playful.

Toying with the other disciples was her specialty.

Ye Qiao imagined the scene, picturing herself fighting with a black stick against sword cultivators. They’d probably feel insulted.

“But…” Ye Qiao sighed, “I named it ‘Duo Sun’ (Bamboo Shoot Snatcher).”

Xie Chuxue was dumbfounded. “Who taught you to name things like that?”

Does that even sound good?

He chuckled briefly. “Spiritual swords have spirits. If it gains sentience, it might chase you down.”

It was the first time Ye Qiao heard this. “Swords have tempers?”

“Of course. Your senior brother’s sword is called Duan Chen,” he said, rubbing his chin, not hesitating to share some gossip. “It despises your senior brother’s half-hearted attitude, so he rarely uses it.”

Ye Qiao: “…Quite a personality.” Now she understood why her senior brother disliked using his sword.

While they were chatting, two sudden claps of thunder sounded outside. Although no lightning struck, the noise was quite startling.

“It’s a thunder tribulation,” Xie Chuxue realized.

Ye Qiao looked up curiously at the dark clouds gathering outside. “A Golden Core stage thunder tribulation?”

Judging by the direction, it must be from their Changming Sect. Apart from her second senior brother, it couldn’t be anyone else.

She realized that, despite being in the cultivation world for so long, she had never witnessed a thunder tribulation.

Golden Core cultivators were quite rare in the cultivation world. The demon clan had more of them, but their methods were often unorthodox, and their thunder tribulations lacked the grand spectacle of those who built their foundations step by step.

“The higher the talent, the greater the thunder. Ming Xuan’s thunder tribulation seems quite substantial.”

Ye Qiao couldn’t help but take a half-step back, watching the thunder rumble outside. She muttered, “How terrifying.”

“Fortunately, my talent is average.”

Xie Chuxue smiled without commenting.

Sometimes, talent and spiritual roots aren’t accurately measured by testing stones, but the thunder tribulation never lies.

The heavenly tribulation strikes harder the higher the talent.

He was actually very curious about what Ye Qiao’s Golden Core stage thunder tribulation would be like.

Ye Qiao shivered at the sight of the heavy clouds and suddenly thought of something. She ran out, saying, “I’ll see if I can draw some talismans to help.”

Thunder tribulations could be mitigated, especially for those with lower cultivation levels, who were less affected by them.

This prospect greatly intrigued Ye Qiao, who had never seen such an event. She eagerly ran out to join the excitement.

Ming Xuan had found an open area and was preparing to distance himself from the sect, fearing the thunder might create a large crater, which Elder Zhao would make him pay for.

Just as he sat down, he saw his little sister running over.

Ye Qiao found a relatively safe spot and began drawing qi from the ground. “Second Senior Brother, I’ll draw a Vajra Talisman for you.”

A Vajra Talisman, that’s all.

Ye Qiao’s speed at drawing talismans was fast enough to keep up with the falling thunder. She could stay a bit farther away and toss talismans into the tribulation area, helping Ming Xuan deflect some of the residual thunder.

Ming Xuan: “…Unbelievable.”

It was the first time he saw someone daring enough to draw talismans nearby during a thunder tribulation.

Mu Chongxi and Xue Yu, hearing the commotion, looked up at the dark clouds. They shivered. “Is that Ming Xuan’s thunder tribulation?”

What a huge cloud.

“Yes,” Xie Chuxue said, unsurprised. He remembered Zhou Xingyun’s thunder tribulation being even bigger.

But Xie Chuxue was more curious about something else.

“Aren’t you interested in seeing Ye Qiao’s talisman-drawing skills?”

Xie Chuxue knew Ye Qiao was a talisman cultivator, but even among talisman cultivators, there were differences. Only those who could draw talismans quickly and accurately were considered truly gifted.

He picked up his two nephews like they were chicks, enthusiastically rushing towards the thunder: “Come on, let’s see how she does it.”

“???”

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