Chapter 79

Zhu You was speechless at these nonsensical people.

“Are we fighting or not?” She drew her sword with a cold expression, “Second Brother, don’t let his words provoke you.”

She didn’t have a good impression of the Chang Ming Sect either. Their poor ranking in the second round was due to Ye Qiao’s sneak attack, which had caused them all to be eliminated.

When enemies meet, it’s understandable to feel particularly resentful, but there’s no need to be as insufferable as Ming Xuan.

Mu Chongxi and Ming Xuan were trying to reason with Chu Xingzhi, “It’s only the first day. Let’s avoid unnecessary fighting and consider negotiating.”

Zhu You was at the early Golden Core stage, while Chu Xingzhi was at the mid Golden Core stage. If it came down to a one-on-one fight, it was hard to say who would win.

Moreover, the conditions in the secret realm were ever-changing. Who knew what they would encounter next? Fighting would only harm everyone involved.

Chu Xingzhi, already angered, had no intention of negotiating.

The sword Qi was sharp. In the brief moment of their confrontation, it charged at Ming Xuan with the force of destroying withering plants, causing the talismans in Ming Xuan’s arms to shatter.

He was forced to step back, his expression darkening.

Chu Xingzhi sneered, “That’s all you’ve got?”

“It’s ridiculous for you to mock someone in the early Golden Core stage while you’re in the mid stage,” Mu Chongxi retorted, twisting his wrist and clashing his sword Qi with Chu Xingzhi’s.

The clash of the two powerful sword Qis caused a slight tremor on the ground.

“Chu Xingzhi,” Ming Xuan’s eyes narrowed as he stepped forward, “You’re pushing us into a corner.”

“Fourth Junior Brother, I’ll count to three.”

He shot a frantic look at Mu Chongxi.

“One.”

Zhu You instinctively tightened her grip on her sword, preparing for what she thought might be a big move.

“Three.”

In the next moment, Ming Xuan’s words took a sudden turn. With an acceleration talisman affixed to him, he grabbed Mu Chongxi and ran.

Wait? Wasn’t he supposed to count to two?

Where’s the two?

Realizing they had been tricked, the two exchanged glances with veins popping on their foreheads. Even Zhu You had never felt such a strong urge to chase down someone.

Ming Xuan had learned this trick from the little sister before. It didn’t matter if they understood or not—he would scare them with a few words and then make a quick escape, not looking back.

The escape route taken by the two matched the route of Ye Qiao’s group, leading to an encounter between the two groups.

“Little sister.” Mu Chongxi’s eyes lit up when he saw familiar faces, “Senior Brother.”

Seeing the two familiar teammates, Mu Chongxi, who had originally been ready to flee, immediately gained the courage to turn around and fight back.

“Charge, charge, charge.” He unsheathed his sword, preparing for the four of them to gang up on the Sword Sect.

But unexpectedly, as soon as Ye Qiao and he exchanged glances, she grabbed him and began running in the opposite direction.

?

Ming Xuan was also puzzled, “What’s going on?” He was about to teach those arrogant Sword Sect members a lesson.

Ye Qiao, not looking back, said, “There’s a Golden Core demon beast behind us.”

Ming Xuan instinctively responded, “Oh, what a coincidence. We have Chu Xingzhi and his little sister behind us too.”

Ye Qiao sighed, “How nice.”

“……”

Just as they were unsure how to deal with the Golden Core demon beast, wasn’t this a perfect opportunity for help?

She abruptly stopped, her fingers flying over talismans to form a binding seal that trapped the demon beast for a moment, and in the next instant, the talismans turned to dust.

The demon beast roared, raising its hands, producing a piercing sound. The Golden Core pressure it emitted almost made the weakest Ye Qiao’s legs give out.

Moreover, the demon beast’s roar could cause a mental attack. Ye Qiao’s spiritual sense was in sharp pain, and covering her ears had no effect.

Ming Xuan set up a soundproofing formation to block most of the noise, “Let’s cooperate for now.”

Chu Xingzhi, wary of the demon beast that could pounce at any moment, held his sword and said angrily without hesitation, “Get lost. Who wants to cooperate with you? You attracted the demon beast yourselves.”

It was obvious to anyone with eyes that the demon beast was chasing Ye Qiao and Zhou Xingyun.

Chuxing didn’t want to get involved in this, especially not with a Yuan Ying (Nascent Soul) beast.

“We’re leaving.” He grabbed his little sister and was about to leave this trouble spot.

But just as they were taking a step to distance themselves from the people of the Changming Sect, they looked down and found that an imprisonment talisman had been stuck to them, trapping both of them in place.

Ming Xuan pinched the talisman with a smirk that seemed to straddle the line between a smile and a sneer. “Where are you going? Weren’t you just following us around like a dog, acting all friendly?”

Chuxing: “……”

“Does Ming Xuan never get hit for talking like that?”

“Sometimes it’s not surprising if people from Changming Sect get beaten up or even thrown in a sack.”

Such a troublemaker.

Chuxing initially thought Zhou Xingyun was a normal person, but can a normal person really slice off the hair of a Yuan Ying beast with a single sword strike?

Ye Qiao spoke quickly: “If you don’t help us, we will chase you down.”

Come on, let’s go down together.

Ye Qiao didn’t mind recreating the scene from the first secret realm.

Chuxing’s face darkened for a moment, evidently remembering how their senior brother was chased and fled in the first scene. He stared at Ye Qiao for a moment, trying hard to suppress his killing intent, and coldly said, “If we’re cooperating, after we deal with this beast, the beast’s bones and inner core are ours.”

A Yuan Ying beast is full of treasures. Its bones and inner core are valuable.

Ming Xuan curled his lips. “No, no, no, haven’t you seen the situation clearly? We don’t need to negotiate with you right now.”

“There are four of us. And there are only two of you. Besides, if we are unhappy, we can just chase you down.”

Ming Xuan calmly wiped the dust from his hand onto Mu Chongxi. “What’s your status compared to ours?”

Mu Chongxi exploded: “Why the hell are you wiping dust on me while talking?”

The beast was also assessing their combat capabilities. Yuan Ying beasts have intelligence. If it can’t defeat them, it won’t charge in recklessly. With six people, five of whom are in the Golden Core stage, it hesitated for a moment, knowing that it’s better to pick on the weaker target. It decisively charged towards Ye Qiao.

Ye Qiao was well-prepared. Without needing Ming Xuan’s cover, she quickly stepped away from the spot, throwing several explosion talismans that caused violent commotion.

It didn’t cause any harm.

Realizing that her attack talismans were no more effective than tickling a Yuan Ying beast, Ye Qiao stopped overestimating her own strength. She took out a Mist Talisman, and as it ignited, a large area of mist spread out.

“Attack.”

Such talismans are perfect for obscuring vision. Chuxing had no choice but to cooperate. He gave Ye Qiao a fierce glare and drew his sword.

The young man’s sword intent almost instantly conveyed the meaning of breaking all techniques with a single strike.

Compared to the Changming Sect’s swordsmanship, which focuses on speed, their sword intent was much more imposing. When it struck the beast’s tough hide, the ground around them trembled slightly.

Ye Qiao’s talismans were like tickling, but Chuxing’s sword actually inflicted damage.

The beast was enraged instantly and charged at them, eyes all over its body. Whenever someone tried to attack it, it could react. To deal with it, someone needed to attract most of its attention.

“I’ll draw its attention.”

“You guys attack from the side.”

Ye Qiao spoke quickly. She had acceleration talismans and the Mist Talisman for cover. Most importantly, although her spiritual energy was not as abundant as her senior brothers, she could use pills.

Chuxing instinctively mocked, “Just you?”

It wasn’t that he looked down on Ye Qiao, but drawing fire was a risky task for someone in the Foundation Establishment stage.

If she drew too much attention and exhausted her spiritual energy, Zhou Xingyun might not be able to save her.

Zhou Xingyun also said, “I can go.”

He had long disliked the sight of so many eyes on the beast.

Ye Qiao gave him an OK hand gesture. “No problem.”

She infused sword qi into her attack and performed the first move of the Qingfeng Jue. To make sure the damage was sufficient, she threw a few bombs as well.

One bomb was equivalent to the explosion of Golden Core stage spiritual energy. After a few of them, the damage was definitely enough.

The beast focused on attacking Ye Qiao alone.

Ye Qiao dodged its attacks with two jumps and occasionally turned back to strike it with her sword. When the Vajra Talisman shattered under another attack, she tasted a bit of blood in her throat.

The pressure from the realm was undoubtedly exhausting.

Especially as Ye Qiao actively drew its attention, it was very dangerous.

A small mistake, and she wouldn’t see the sun tomorrow.

The onlookers outside were sweating coldly.

“Ye Qiao is only in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, her spiritual energy must be running out.”

“Too reckless.”

“Should have sent Zhou Xingyun. Where did Ye Qiao get the courage?”

Is she crazy for seeking the limelight?

Elder Zhao couldn’t help frowning, but in his impression, Ye Qiao was never one to seek death actively. If she wasn’t confident, she would have run away in such a situation.

Soon, they understood where Ye Qiao’s confidence came from.

As her spiritual energy neared exhaustion, Ye Qiao took out a Spirit Recovery Pill and stuffed it into her mouth. Her pale face slightly relaxed.

The nearly depleted inner core’s spiritual energy immediately replenished.

This caught the attention of the Sword Sect elders, who muttered in tones of either envy or jealousy, “…Does your Changming Sect have so much money?”

Using pills to wear down the opponent.

Elder Zhao was confused for a few seconds.

Each sect provides pills to their direct disciples when entering a secret realm.

But, did they ever give Ye Qiao this many pills?

Ye Qiao didn’t engage the beast directly; she acted as a decoy.

Whenever her spiritual energy ran out, she just used more pills.

Moreover, Ye Qiao’s movements were so elusive that the beast couldn’t hit her. The beast, driven into a frenzied state, repeatedly tried to charge at her.

Ye Qiao dodged while simultaneously doing live marketing, shouting passionately to the audience outside, “Changming Sect’s Pill Pavilion, one pill is better than six, cures internal injuries, sugar-free, all fellow Daoists are welcome to call!”

“Choose me for alchemy, I’m super sweet.”

The audience: “……”

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Happy New Year, la la la