My compliments are always sincere.

Xie Lingyu saying her skills were average was actually the truth; she was probably at the level where she could play a piece clearly by following a tutorial.

As for deeper concepts like infusing emotion into the music, she truly had absolutely none of that.

Chu Xingchen's understanding of music naturally wasn't that profound either. As long as the instrument made a sound and didn't sound like a grinding millstone, he considered it good music.

Not to mention, it was Xie Lingyu who was playing. Let alone the fact that she played decently, even if it actually sounded like sawing wood, Chu Xingchen would still decisively praise her right now—saying that her sawing sounded better than others' playing.

Everyone currently in the courtyard was one of their own, and Cui Hao was especially known as the king of hyping things up.

Xie Lingyu didn't play the entire piece; she ended it after just one turn of the melody.

"As expected of Master's Wife! It truly is like heavenly music briefly illuminating the mortal realm."

Cui Hao was the first to speak up and clap, wearing an expression of pure bliss.

Xie Lingyu slightly raised her eyes and looked over:

"Your master once said, overpraising is just insulting."

"Uh..." Cui Hao looked at his master with a slightly awkward gaze, using the sect's secret technique of eye communication—Master, why do you have to teach Master's Wife everything?

Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow—Your master's wife is self-taught.

Cui Hao also raised an eyebrow—You'll suffer for it in the future, Master.

Chu Xingchen wore a smile on his lips—Your master's wife would never treat me like that.

Xie Lingyu could probably tell what the master and disciple were communicating about, but words left unspoken couldn't be counted as evidence.

Lin Luoyu's expression relaxed slightly, and an unconscious smile appeared on her face.

Their own sect was good in every possible way.

Everyone was wonderful.

Eastern Victory Divine Continent.

Because Chen Baiqing had falsely reported the situation to Daoist Yuyang, she basically had to be excluded from any upcoming matters that required commanding others. After all, when there was a truly urgent mission at hand, time was extremely precious and couldn't withstand any questioning.

Li Xingtian, on the other hand, was being examined to see if anything had gone wrong with his divine soul, and if there was any damage, whether it could be repaired.

Naturally, the news released to the outside world was that Li Xingtian was researching whether his blood qi could be purified.

To outsiders, this news might sound rather nonsensical, but for their own sect members, they would probably show an expression of sudden realization and approval.

At least Li Yingling found it believable.

Lin Luoyu needed to go find Daoist Yuyang to clarify the true arrangements, while Cui Hao needed to follow Xie Lingyu and handle some matters where Xie Lingyu was slightly lacking.

The arrangements made by Chu Xingchen were indeed extremely appropriate.

Yun Li was a pure cultivation maniac, acting as if some urgent matter was closely chasing after him.

Thus, Li Yingling could only bring Zhang Miaoyu, the only outer sect elder in the sect, to do the work.

Although Zhang Miaoyu had been staying in the Heavenly Derivation Sect for quite a while, she had mostly spent her time cultivating on the Mutual Love and Family Peak and guiding the outer sect disciple Zhou Ping in his cultivation.

Basically, it was no different from being in her sect back at Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge.

The people she interacted with were all acquaintances, and on the rare occasions she went out for a stroll, she would follow Li Yingling.

Only when staying by Li Yingling's side could Zhang Miaoyu avoid feeling so nervous and inferior when facing the favored children of heaven from the Eighteen Immortal Sects, who in the past wouldn't have even spared her a glance.

In the past, as long as these geniuses of the Eighteen Immortal Sects revealed their identities, rogue cultivators like them could only step aside and make way.

The gap in status might have been leveled out by now, but the long-standing inferiority complex in her heart would always surface subconsciously.

After all, only after truly interacting with them once or twice did she realize... just how absurdly powerful these genius disciples of the Eighteen Immortal Sects really were.

Zhang Miaoyu was absolutely certain that she wouldn't even be able to defeat the Golden Core cultivator guarding the gate of the Heavenly Derivation Sect.

This time, the operation Li Yingling brought her along for was no longer something a ragtag group could just scrape by with. Instead, it was a major event jointly planned by countless geniuses and brilliant-minded cultivators from top-tier sects.

It was Zhang Miaoyu's first time participating in something of this level.

Unlike Li Yingling's calm and breezy demeanor, Zhang Miaoyu was genuinely nervous.

Ever since the incident in the Western Ox-Heard Continent, although the demons had hidden their tracks extremely well, a few clues to their origins had been found, showing they were fleeing toward the Eastern Victory Divine Continent.

Li Yingling was responsible for overseeing and searching, as well as providing support at critical moments and handling the somewhat tedious task of collecting and organizing intelligence.

The key to this kind of support was that it had to be handled by the most trusted of confidants to put people at ease.

The Profound Clarity Heavenly Sect and the Heavenly Derivation Sect stated there were no issues, so the personnel here were all composed of members from these two sects.

Zhang Miaoyu even heard that legendary Tribulation Transcendence great cultivators were also participating in this operation.

Because the actions of Li Yingling's group were kept strictly confidential almost the entire time.

Their living quarters also had quite the vibe of being deep in the remote mountains and old forests.

However, compared to Zhang Miaoyu's nervousness and anxiety, Li Yingling remained as usual... one could even say she was a bit leisurely.

Inside a slightly dilapidated room, Li Yingling held a command token in one hand, her gaze sweeping over the continuously gathering streams of information.

Fortunately, Zhang Miaoyu was mostly just assisting, and she was extremely skilled when it came to being Li Yingling's assistant.

The only thing she wasn't skilled at was how to relay Li Yingling's orders to this group of immortal sect disciples.

Zhang Miaoyu had never relayed orders to people whose cultivation levels were so much higher than her own.

Fortunately, this matter wasn't considered difficult... or rather, it was extremely simple.

Those disciples from the Eighteen Immortal Sects were simply too perfect. Unlike when dealing with a disorganized group, where an order had to be repeatedly explained while being constantly questioned about why it was being done.

Nor would they look down on Zhang Miaoyu, whose cultivation was far lower than theirs.

After receiving a task, this group of true immortal sect disciples rarely asked any questions; for the most part, they simply took the order and executed it.

They didn't ask for the reason, didn't ask why, and didn't ask for the objective. They just went and completed the orders handed down to them.

Moreover, they were extremely efficient—so efficient that it once made Zhang Miaoyu wonder if they had actually gotten the job done or were just paying lip service.

Furthermore, the contents of their reports were extremely concise and efficient.

They were the kind that allowed one to understand the situation at a single glance.

This feeling... was so smooth it was almost outrageous.

It even gave Zhang Miaoyu the feeling that it didn't really matter if she was useless. As long as she could speak and didn't miss any words when relaying Li Yingling's orders, that was enough.

Li Yingling held a jade token containing important information in one hand while stuffing a small pastry into her mouth with the other, her voice slightly muffled as she said:

"Miaoyu."

Zhang Miaoyu was currently organizing information. Hearing the voice, she immediately looked up and responded:

"Team Leader, I'm here."

"Has any news come back from the Western Ox-Heard Continent?" Li Yingling asked in a relaxed tone.

Zhang Miaoyu immediately used her divine sense to search through the reports, and then quickly replied:

"Team Leader, there isn't any. Do you need me to send someone to investigate and inquire about it?"

"That won't be necessary." Li Yingling put away the command token in her hand, then lazily stretched her body and said, "After all, Master is in the Eastern Victory Divine Continent..."

After finishing her stretch, Li Yingling slowly continued:

"With Master around, there probably won't be any difficult problems."

Zhang Miaoyu nodded.

Li Yingling looked at Zhang Miaoyu, whose expression was still tense, and said with a light chuckle:

"It really is much more relaxing to work with you as a partner. You're doing a great job."

Hearing this, Zhang Miaoyu was taken aback, and then asked softly with a lack of confidence:

"Team Leader, is what you're saying true?"

Li Yingling smiled and raised an eyebrow, saying:

"When I praise someone, I always speak the truth."

For some inexplicable reason, Zhang Miaoyu felt profoundly moved.