Fourth Senior Brother felt a bit stuffy and short of breath.
He walked over to Second Senior Brother, full of confusion.
"Why didn’t you stop that girl just now? The people from the Eight Desolates Sect aren’t ones to mess with. Now that it’s done, if they really hold a grudge, our days ahead won’t be easy."
Second Senior Brother looked indifferent.
"If you provoke them, you provoke them. There’s nothing to stop."
"You... Senior Brother, how can you go along with her nonsense? If First Senior Brother finds out, he’ll definitely be angry."
"If anything happens, I’ll handle it, so don’t worry."
With that, Second Senior Brother turned around and went to meditate.
Fourth Senior Brother sighed.
Oh well, it doesn’t help if only he cares. Better to relax and think about what to do next.
Indeed, the Eight Desolates Sect didn’t come looking for trouble again, but they did see a disciple scribble on a rock and paste a talisman paper, prohibiting anyone from approaching.
In the evening, Third Senior Brother was the first to successfully advance to the Seventh Rank, his entire demeanor was rejuvenated, and he excitedly paced in front of Jiang Lai.
"No wonder the elders say entering the Seventh Rank is the true beginning. Seventh Rank is really different from Sixth Rank—sharp hearing and sight, and a seemingly inexhaustible energy!"
Jiang Lai encouraged him.
"Third Senior Brother, your potential must be beyond the Seventh Rank. Keep pushing forward, aim to reach the Tenth Rank before the end of the trial!"
"Hahaha... Tenth Rank is wishful thinking. I’m not greedy; I’d be grateful if I can go up another rank!"
Originally, ascending smoothly from the Fourth Rank to the Seventh Rank was already a great fortune; how dare he aim too high and far?
Jiang Lai patted his shoulder.
"Don’t worry, with me here, anything is possible."
Jiang Lai indeed had great fortune, so thinking about it, his advancement was entirely thanks to Jiang Lai.
So now, whatever Jiang Lai said, Third Senior Brother would agree with. After hearing about the daytime conflict with the Eight Desolates Sect, he unhesitatingly stood with Jiang Lai.
"Can the Eight Desolates Sect bully people arbitrarily? If they want this place, they should have a better attitude; everyone flatters them and steps aside for them, and they really think they’re above it all."
Fourth Senior Brother knew he would say that.
"You can explain these words to First Senior Brother later."
At night, it was quiet around the tents, Jiang Lai slowly got up, passed by Du Furong, and walked straight to the second tent.
Just as she lifted the flap, a deep voice came from inside.
"Who?"
"Second Senior Brother, it’s me, Jiang Lai."
"Jiang Lai?"
After a moment, Second Senior Brother came out, looking at Jiang Lai.
"What do you want?"
"I heard Second Senior Brother is skilled in the Five Elements Dao, can you draw this talisman paper?"
Second Senior Brother looked at her, a hint of caution in his eyes.
"Who said I’m skilled in those?"
"Master said so, and also told me if I have any issues to find you, says among the four senior brothers, you’re the most reliable."
Second Senior Brother kept a straight face, his suspicious gaze scrutinizing Jiang Lai from head to toe.
Jiang Lai didn’t care what he was thinking, she went forward and took him by the arm.
"Come on, I’ll show you something."
With that, the two arrived at the place where the Eight Desolates Sect had pasted talisman paper earlier in the day, pointing to the pattern on the talisman paper.
"Second Senior Brother, do you recognize this?"
The man frowned slightly upon seeing the talisman paper, his breath heavy.
"Hmm, explosive talisman."
"This is an explosive talisman? Then look here, are these all the same?"
With that, Jiang Lai directly bypassed the rock to a patch of grass behind it. Pushing aside the grass, one could see dozens of talisman papers densely stuck to the ground, with a strange pattern drawn in red sand in the middle.
Jiang Lai looked at Second Senior Brother.
"Why do you think the people from the Eight Desolates Sect are doing this?"
"How did you discover this?"
"They were sneaky, so I just followed them quietly."
Second Senior Brother was already too tired to question Jiang Lai’s flimsy excuse. Now, what concerned him was the explosive talismans capable of blasting through the Secret Realm, why they were pasted around their tents.
"Seems they said they wanted to requisition our place just to set the talismans."
Jiang Lai and Second Senior Brother exchanged a look, she then smiled slightly.
"Second Senior Brother, how about we return these things to them?"
The man looked at her, his lips curling into a smile.
"Little Junior Sister, you’re so clever, since you already know everything, why bring me along?"
"The Eight Desolates Sect has so many people, I’m afraid if discovered, I can’t beat them."
"Really?"
Among the four senior brothers, only this Second Senior Brother seemed to think a bit, but Jiang Lai didn’t plan to hide anything and nodded confidently.
"Of course."
Under the cover of night, the two arrived at the place where Ye Yunzhou and others were camped.
Here, Jiang Lai also saw the tent of the female lead, Mu Wu.
Mu Wu was grilling fish, and the enticing aroma was from the fish she caught during the day. Many people gathered around, including a few disciples of the Eight Desolates Sect, creating a pleasant atmosphere.
In front of the Sun and Moon Sect disciples, the disciples of the Eight Desolates Sect seemed almost like different people, dropping much of their arrogance.
Jiang Lai knew that Mu Wu had a treasure that made the food she prepared even more delicious and tempting; this treasure played a significant role in her smooth journey of leveling up and fighting monsters.
For instance, now, even the people from the Eight Desolates Sect were drawn in, persuaded by her grilled fish, and the male lead Ye Yunzhou sat nearby, occasionally glancing over.
Mm, what a beautiful scene.
Not causing some sabotage would let down Jiang Lai’s fiery, antagonistic role.
Second Senior Brother’s cultivation was even more profound than Jiang Lai had imagined. Seeing him weaving through the tents without alerting Ye Yunzhou in the crowd proved his cultivation was definitely not below Ye Yunzhou’s.
No wonder he was the big villain both the male and female leads joined forces to deal with; Jiang Lai had indeed found the right person.
If it were someone else, just appearing nearby would probably get them noticed by the male lead.
While Second Senior Brother was slipping talisman paper under the tents, Pudding, hidden on Jiang Lai, became restless, desperately wanting to get out.
Jiang Lai let it out, and it bolted directly into an Eight Desolates Sect disciple’s tent.
After a while, it came back out, rapidly climbing into Jiang Lai’s arms, and when it opened its mouth, a bright red pearl rolled out.
"Well done."
Jiang Lai picked it up and the corner of her mouth curled into a villainous smile.
When Second Senior Brother came back, seeing Jiang Lai smiling so strangely, he knew their restless Little Junior Sister was up to something again.
Once everything was settled, the two didn’t go far. After ensuring they wouldn’t be affected by the explosion, they found a place to hide and wait.
At dawn, as the first rays of light pierced the thick jungle and fell upon them, accompanied by a flapping buzz, an earth-shattering explosion rumbled, and even with ears covered, Jiang Lai felt the shockwave sting her eardrums painfully.