Await with Bated Breath

Yunmeng Marsh.

Chen Baiqing's brows were tightly furrowed. She summarized the information brought back by Wang Chuan and Li Zhuhua, and before her lay a large sheet of paper filled with an intricate web of connections.

These demons all resided within Yunmeng Marsh and rarely ventured outside. After going around in circles, they naturally became quite familiar with one another.

Even the so-called Marsh God of Huaze Village was currently mapped on this relationship chart. This so-called Marsh God—was nothing more than a wild boar demon in the mid-to-late stage of the Golden Core realm.

Cui Hao craned his neck to look at the relationship chart his senior sister had drawn, which detailed a group of insignificant figures and their approximate cultivation levels.

Lines denoting their relationships connected them in a dense, sprawling network that truly made one's scalp tingle just looking at it.

Indeed, everyone had their own way of doing things.

Eldest Senior Sister's main philosophy was—what's the point of calculating so carefully? A single accident would render half the plan useless; just go up and test their mettle first.

And that was when she wasn't even sure she could win. If she was confident in winning, Eldest Senior Sister's plan would probably be—I'll lead the charge, and you guys clean up the mess.

In stark contrast, Third Senior Sister's working style was completely different.

She focused on meticulous detail and being prepared for all contingencies, starting everything from scratch. It seemed she would only choose to make a move after mastering all the information and confirming every piece of intelligence.

Even her probing started from the most marginal Golden Core wild boar demon.

Moreover, she was quite hesitant, afraid of alerting the enemy.

Following by his senior sister's side and watching her actions, Cui Hao could naturally discern Chen Baiqing's general thoughts.

However, in Cui Hao's eyes, many of these things felt a bit... over-prepared.

If Eldest Senior Sister was reckless.

Then Third Senior Sister was the invincible immortal of super caution.

Caution was naturally good, and Cui Hao was not opposed to it.

It was just that Cui Hao understood that Third Senior Sister's goal-oriented nature meant she would only scratch the surface of certain matters and turn a blind eye to others.

Looking at the chart before him, Cui Hao shifted his gaze to his senior sister and smiled.

"Senior Sister, with all these lines drawn so densely, can you remember them clearly?"

Chen Baiqing replied matter-of-factly:

"Naturally."

"As expected of Senior Sister," Cui Hao praised smoothly, then continued with a smile, "Is Senior Sister planning to start with this wild boar spirit?"

Chen Baiqing turned her gaze toward Cui Hao and, without much hesitation, answered truthfully:

"Not necessarily. I originally thought that anyone who could establish a foothold on the outskirts of Yunmeng Marsh would be at least at the Nascent Soul realm. I didn't expect a Golden Core to be able to do it too. They are much weaker than anticipated."

"It could also be that Senior Sister is being too cautious." Cui Hao gently reached out and tapped the wild boar spirit of Huaze Village. "How about Senior Sister leaves this wild boar spirit to me, and you can look for a more suitable target?"

Chen Baiqing didn't answer, instead looking quietly at Cui Hao.

Cui Hao coughed lightly and, very naturally, touched the Myriad Manifestations at his waist before speaking up:

"I can handle it alone without wasting Senior Sister's manpower. I will also report the situation on time. If I do anything wrong, Senior Sister can call a stop at any time."

"It's rare for me to come out on a trip, so I have to accomplish something. Otherwise, when we return, Master will laugh at me for just being Senior Sister's shadow."

Chen Baiqing lowered her head to look at the chart again and said in a calm tone:

"Yunmeng Marsh is fraught with danger. As your senior sister, I cannot possibly throw you out there alone."

"Bringing you back safely is my most important task."

Hearing this, Cui Hao naturally felt a slight warmth in his heart. Third Senior Sister rarely showed him mercy when scolding him normally, but when push came to shove, she truly wouldn't abandon him.

However, he also had things he wanted to do.

Cui Hao coughed heavily, drawing the gazes of the others toward him, and once again touched the Myriad Manifestations at his waist:

"Senior Myriad Manifestations can naturally keep me safe. What's more, I also have the protection given by Martial Uncle Xu. If things go wrong, I might even be safer than Senior Sister."

Then, Cui Hao unleashed his ultimate move, saying:

"Senior Sister, it's fine if you don't believe in me, but you can't not believe in Master. Master personally said that I would make you look at me in a new light. You have to give your junior brother a chance."

Upon hearing this, Chen Baiqing sighed softly and looked at Cui Hao with a rather helpless gaze.

She believed she knew exactly what kind of person this Fifth Junior Brother was.

Cui Hao probably wanted to do something he didn't want her to know about and was merely trying to send her away.

Except, even after being rejected, he still dared to use their master as an excuse.

Although Cui Hao was unreliable most of the time, he usually knew his limits. Yet, he actually dared to say something that obviously provoked her bottom line.

Chen Baiqing didn't get angry. After a moment of silence, she took out a protective magical treasure from her spatial ring and handed it to Cui Hao.

Cui Hao was taken aback by this and subconsciously reached out to take it.

Chen Baiqing returned her gaze to the chart, only speaking softly:

"Go on. Who told you to be the junior brother? You should remember the most important rule among the sect rules that Master drafted a few lines of and is still revising."

Cui Hao, feeling quite moved in his heart, said:

"Is it the phrase, Safety in all matters is the sect's highest directive?"

Hearing this, the corners of Chen Baiqing's mouth curled into a smile:

"No."

"Ah?"

"It's Those who violate the sect rules shall be punished with ten Perfect Tonic Pills."

"Ah?!"

"You'd better protect even your hair well, otherwise, the Perfect Tonic Pills will protect it for you."

"Ah?!!"

"If you're scared, you don't have to go."

Cui Hao gritted his teeth and cupped his hands in a salute: "Senior Sister, just watch my performance!"

Chen Baiqing gave a slight nod.

Cui Hao didn't hesitate any longer and turned to walk outside. Just as he reached the door, Chen Baiqing's voice came from behind him again.

"Pay attention to your safety. I'll settle this score with you when we get back."

Cui Hao's footsteps paused slightly, but he didn't stop walking out, raising his hand to wave at the same time.

As expected, Third Senior Sister had seen through his thoughts again.

Only, even after seeing through them, she still let him actually go and do it.

At this moment, an indescribable emotion swelled in his heart.

Sure enough, his own sect was like a family.

Lu Lingyi watched from the side as the two had a confusing conversation, only to see the cautious and suspicious team leader actually let Cui Hao, the weakest in the team, go out to handle matters alone.

Her expression showed a hint of hesitation, but perhaps the camaraderie from Cui Hao's drinking party back at the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect had taken effect.

Lu Lingyi still opened her mouth to ask:

"Leader, what is Cui Hao..."

Chen Baiqing looked up: "There's no need to worry about him. If it comes down to a real fight right now, you might not necessarily be able to beat him."

Lu Lingyi looked dubious:

"He's only at the Golden Core realm..."

Chen Baiqing replied indifferently:

"He has the supreme art of relying on his seniors."

Lu Lingyi nodded, seemingly understanding but not entirely.

Chen Baiqing stored the chart away in her spatial ring:

"Let's go. It's time for us to make our move too. Who knows, my junior brother might actually get the job done, and we'll be the ones getting laughed at."

Hearing this, Lu Lingyi smiled:

"Although Cui Hao has some skills, getting the job done won't be an easy task."

Chen Baiqing chuckled lightly in response:

"That's not necessarily true. Have you forgotten my junior brother's self-introduction?"

"He's a genius, after all."

"Let's just wait and see."