Just as those words were spoken, Ye Qiao slowly walked into the room, followed by two demon guards.
Luo Qingyu looked at the demon leader at the door and commanded, “Withdraw everyone hiding in the shadows. I have important matters to discuss with your Saintess.”
The demon leader quickly replied respectfully, “Yes, Elder. We will withdraw everyone immediately.”
With that, he immediately sent out orders to withdraw all the demon soldiers hiding in the dark.
Luo Qingyu formed hand seals with both hands, setting up a soundproofing barrier in the room. She said calmly, “Alright, no one will hear us now.”
Ye Qiao, who had been maintaining her haughty Saintess persona, immediately collapsed. She slumped onto the table with a look of utter despair.
She had been busy acting cool and memorizing faces all day without eating a single bite. The moment she caught a whiff of the delicious aroma of the food on the table, her stomach rumbled instantly.
Ye Qiao immediately sat up straight, grabbed a steamed bun from the table, and took a bite.
Luo Qingyu cried out, “Ah! Junior Sister!”
Song Hansheng also reached out a hand to stop her, but it was a step too late. Neither of them had the chance to intervene.
Ye Qiao gagged. “Blech.”
“This food is awful.”
Song Hansheng and Luo Qingyu: ...Well, they had been too slow to warn her.
Ye Qiao patted her empty stomach and slumped back onto the table, muttering listlessly, “I'm so hungry.”
Luo Qingyu sighed helplessly. “Junior Sister, sit properly first.”
As she spoke, she retrieved pre-prepared dishes, pastries, and spiritual fruits from her storage ring, arranging them on the table until it was piled high with food.
Ye Qiao's eyes lit up instantly. She said happily, “You're the best, Fourth Senior Brother!”
She grabbed a piece of glutinous rice cake, took a bite, and praised indistinctly, “So delicious! It's still that familiar taste!”
Luo Qingyu quickly gestured for Ye Qinghan and Song Hansheng to sit down. “Some of this I made myself, and the remaining snacks and pastries were bought back in Cloud City. Everyone, help yourselves.”
Sitting nearby, Luo Qingyuh felt extremely excited.
In all his years, he had never eaten food cooked by his sister's own hands. He hadn't expected to finally get a taste today.
Looking at the table overflowing with food, Song Hansheng's stomach betrayed him with a loud rumble.
“Thank you!” With that, he picked up his chopsticks and began to eat.
Ye Qinghan quietly tasted a mouthful of the food. His gaze softened, and he said softly, “It's very delicious. Thank you.”
Luo Qingyu cheerfully placed several pieces of meat into Luo Qingyuh's and Ye Qiao's bowls. “If it's good, eat more.”
Seeing Luo Qingyu only serving others, Ye Qinghan felt a bit slighted and stared at her expectantly.
Looking at his pitiful expression, Luo Qingyu's heart softened. She not only served Ye Qinghan but also piled quite a bit of food into Song Hansheng's bowl.
Ye Qinghan had originally wanted Luo Qingyu to serve only him, but seeing Song Hansheng's bowl filled to the brim, he could only sigh.
Forget it. Eating a good meal was more important right now.
Song Hansheng shoveled food into his mouth, silently scoffing.
This guy can't even eat in peace without trying to compete with two kids. How embarrassing.
...
After eating, Ye Qiao secretly transmitted the news about the demon stronghold to Ming Xuan and the others so they could prepare in advance.
Luo Qingyu happened to look up and locked eyes with Ye Qiao.
Seeing the excited glint in Ye Qiao's eyes, Luo Qingyu instantly understood her thoughts. The two shared a knowing smile and high-fived.
The other three, including Ye Qinghan: ???
Ye Qiao looked at them with a smile. “Everyone, care for an exciting adventure?”
Seeing this, Song Hansheng immediately asked, “What are you two up to?”
Ye Qiao: “I'm too poor to sleep.”
Luo Qingyu: “I'm too bored to sit still.”
Song Hansheng: “...”
Ye Qiao continued, “The demons should be pretty rich, right?”
Ye Qinghan couldn't help but ask as well, “What do you plan to do?”
Song Hansheng swallowed hard, looking at the two of them in horror.
Ye Qiao raised her chin and declared righteously, “We're going to raid their treasury!!”
Luo Qingyuh: “!!! We're going that far?”
Song Hansheng disapproved. “That won't work, let me tell you. Demon spirit stones aren't compatible with our cultivation world. It's useless even if you take them.”
Luo Qingyu added from the side, “It's not like there are only spirit stones in the demon treasury. Who knows what other treasures might be inside.”
Without giving the two of them a chance to refuse, Luo Qingyu grabbed Ye Qiao and, with Luo Qingyuh by her side, quickly ran toward the third underground level of the demon stronghold.
Song Hansheng frowned and warned, “There are demon restrictions placed on it.”
Ye Qiao: “Can we open them?”
Song Hansheng rubbed his forehead, seemingly recalling something, and said, “I have some recollection.”
“Do you remember that old man from the second secret realm?”
Hearing this, Luo Qingyu and Ye Qiao nodded in unison.
“I saw him deduce a similar restriction spell before. We can try and see if we can open it.”
Luo Qingyu pulled Ye Qiao back a step and smiled. “In that case, we'll trouble you, Young Master Song.”
Song Hansheng instantly felt a bit awkward. In truth, he didn't remember the details very clearly either. He could only rely on his hazy memory to slowly deduce a way to crack the restriction.
On the other end of the transmission, Qin Fanfan happened to hear what these little rascals were saying. What restriction spell? What secret realm?
“What the hell are you guys up to now?!”
Song Hansheng tried to crack it several times but failed. A trace of embarrassment appeared on his face as he said, “That old man's restriction deduction had too many steps. I need to try a few more times.”
Hearing this, Ye Qiao silently glanced at him.
“Based on what you're saying, even I could do it if I tried.”
Song Hansheng: “???”
Luo Qingyu grew a bit impatient watching this and quickly said, “Move aside, let me do it. If we wait any longer, the opportunity will slip away.”
To the side, Song Hansheng wore a look of disdain. He quietly took a few steps back, fully prepared to watch Luo Qingyu fail so he could mock her.
Luo Qingyu ignored his thoughts, carefully recalling the hand seals the old man had demonstrated in the secret realm. She raised her hand to strike out a seal, then swallowed a Spirit-Replenishing Pill and continued the deduction.
With a sharp click, the treasury doors swung open.
Song Hansheng's eyes widened instantly.
Ye Qiao was also somewhat surprised. She gave Luo Qingyu a thumbs-up. “Awesome, Fourth Senior Brother!”
Luo Qingyu smiled and waved her hand. “Keep it down, keep it down.”
With that, she pulled Ye Qiao and Luo Qingyuh into the treasury, completely ignoring Song Hansheng, who had just been slapped in the face.
The massive treasury was filled with cultivation techniques, magical tools, and pills—everything one could possibly want.
Ye Qiao's eyes lit up instantly. She specifically picked out all kinds of magical tools, stuffing them into her storage ring in one fell swoop.
Standing to the side, Luo Qingyuh also felt eager to try.
Luo Qingyu saw right through his thoughts and smiled. “Go ahead. Take whatever you want.”
Luo Qingyuh was both surprised and delighted. He quickly said, “Thank you, Sis... Brother!”
He turned to see Luo Qingyu standing still and asked in confusion, “Brother, aren't you going to take anything?”
Luo Qingyu shook her head slightly. “I'm an artifact cultivator. I don't lack magical tools.”
Luo Qingyuh was filled with astonishment. Only now did he find out that his sister was actually an artifact cultivator.
Recalling how his sister had protected him all the way and helped him escape over the past few days, his admiration for her grew even deeper.
Luo Qingyu saw him dazed, smiled and urged, “Stop daydreaming. Hurry up and pick the magical tools you like.”
“A compass,” Song Hansheng said, brandishing the magical tool he had chosen. “It can be used to set up formations.”
Ye Qinghan chose the sword that suited him best, grabbing a few extra ones while he was at it.
Luo Qingyuh picked a few magical tools that would make escaping easier, along with quite a few high-grade Invisibility Talismans.
“Yes, for saving my life.”
Meanwhile, Ye Qiao was like a swarm of locusts sweeping through. Any magical tool that could be used was shoved into her storage ring.
Observing from the side, Luo Qingyu's lips couldn't help but twitch.
It's not like I've ever mistreated Ye Qiao before. I usually give her whatever she wants.
How is it that the moment she enters a treasury, she acts like she's never seen a magical tool in her life, plundering so crazily?
...
Once they finished plundering, they turned and left without the slightest hesitation. Luo Qingyu quietly gestured to Ye Qiao with her eyes, signaling her to act.
Ye Qiao immediately made an OK sign and asked for pills.
Luo Qingyu sighed helplessly, took out a few bottles of Spirit-Replenishing Pills, and handed them over. “Eat as many as you want. If it's not enough, just ask me for more.”
With those words, Ye Qiao stopped holding back. She immediately relied on her memory to replicate the hand seals her Fourth Senior Brother had deduced.
Song Hansheng looked at Luo Qingyu in surprise and asked with a frown, “Are you crazy? You're actually letting Ye Qiao set up the restriction?”
Luo Qingyu looked calm, gesturing for him to watch Ye Qiao quietly.
The young girl's movements were highly skilled as she rapidly formed hand seals. Every now and then, she tossed a few pills into her mouth to replenish her spiritual energy, yet her hands never paused for a second while setting up the restriction.
Before long, the black restriction covering the treasury was steadily and completely established by her.
Song Hansheng's mouth fell open in shock. Remembering Ye Qiao's earlier comment of “even I could do it if I tried,” his face burned with intense humiliation.
It would have been one thing to be slapped in the face once, but this time it was delivered by Ye Qiao, whom he had always looked down upon. This feeling was more painful than death itself.
The moment Ye Qiao turned around, Song Hansheng asked listlessly, “Ye Qiao, if Master had kept you back then, would you have become my junior sister?”
Hearing this, Luo Qingyu, who had been enjoying the show, instantly lost her composure.
She immediately blocked Ye Qiao and said, “Hey, hey, hey, Young Master Song, that's not very honorable of you!”
“Trying to poach someone from our Changming Sect right in front of my face? Have you no shame?”
Ye Qiao tugged at Luo Qingyu's clothes and shook her head gently, signaling her not to worry.
Then she stepped forward, looked at Song Hansheng, and said, “My answer is ‘no’.”
“Besides, Yun Hen wouldn't have kept a Qi Condensation Realm disciple with a mid-grade Spiritual Root, and you wouldn't have cared about an inner sect junior sister with mediocre talent.”
Song Hansheng fell silent. She was right; only today had he truly begun to take Ye Qiao seriously.
She understood everything perfectly well; she wasn't a fool. If she left the Changming Sect, where else would she find a benefactor like Luo Qingyu to ask for all kinds of treasures and pills?
Furthermore, her master and senior brothers in the sect had always treated her incredibly well. She couldn't bear to leave them.
Ye Qiao lazily added, “Give up, Song Hansheng! I am the disciple your Yueqing Sect will never obtain in this lifetime.”
Song Hansheng: “...” Damn it, I shouldn't have asked.
Hearing Ye Qiao's words, Luo Qingyu immediately clapped her hands and smiled, rubbing Ye Qiao's head. “Well done, Junior Sister! I'll give you another hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones when we get back.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Qiao's eyes lit up instantly. She said with a face full of joy, “Thank you for the reward, my God of Wealth!”
...
The demons held a brief meeting. “News has come from Yunshui City. Two Golden Cores have been captured, and the rest of our people are still outside, not daring to enter.”
“The Personal Disciples of the Five Sects actually have some skill; they aren't all useless trash.”
“We originally leaked the news to lure those fools into the trap.”
“Who would have thought they actually have some brains and realized it was our conspiracy.”
The leader, Ah Da, let out a sinister laugh. “Hehehe!”
“Who could have guessed? They think their plan is flawless, but they don't know that our Demon Saintess has already broken through to the Nascent Soul realm, and she even has the Young Master's two Protector Elders by her side.”
At this moment, Ye Qiao had an entirely expressionless face. She spoke coldly, “Let's go. This Saintess will lead you to trample the Five Sects!”
The Sect Master of the Wenjian Sect: “...Fanfan! Has this kid not outgrown her chuunibyou phase yet?”
Qin Fanfan thought about Ye Qiao's current age. “Probably not. My little Qiao is only fifteen years old, so it's normal for her to have chuunibyou.”
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