As the night grew darker, Li Yan still sat by the window. He repeatedly pondered the murderer's methods in his mind, filtering through everyone present during the day and every sentence they had said. But there were still several key points he couldn't figure out.
It wasn't that Li Yan was keen on other people's affairs, but he rather admired the murderer's methods. This was exactly what he had always hoped to use. He never wanted to fight head-on unless he reached a certain level. He would only use brute force in specific situations, such as when his own ability far surpassed his opponent's, or when he needed to boost morale in a group battle. Li Yan preferred to kill without a trace, to defeat the enemy with skill. Therefore, he was very interested in today's events. To him, this was as important as cultivation.
Just as Li Yan was deep in thought, his eyes suddenly flickered, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Someone's on the move again." Although the protective formation in his room was not activated, his Divine Sense had been spread out to cover the courtyard. He knew there were formations in some places outside the courtyard, so his Divine Sense did not leave this courtyard. Although he didn't know if Xuanqing Temple had fully activated all its formations, he didn't want his Divine Sense to accidentally touch them and trigger the restrictions, which would surely cause trouble.
In Li Yan's Divine Sense, the hunchbacked elder had now turned into a wisp of light smoke and disappeared from the room. The next moment, he appeared under the large tree in the courtyard, his figure extremely blurry, almost merging with the large tree behind him in the moonlight. The hunchbacked elder first swept a barely perceptible wisp of Divine Sense towards Li Yan's room. Li Yan, sitting in his room with an uneasy face, looked as if he were lost in thought. But the moment that wisp of Divine Sense entered Li Yan's room, it immediately paused.
The hunchbacked elder was also stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected Li Yan's room to have no protective formation activated at all. In a cultivator's Divine Sense, it was like being transparent. Seeing Li Yan's pensive look, the hunchbacked elder couldn't help but feel a little contemptuous. 'I thought I had met an expert, but I didn't expect him to be such an idiot. This child must be a disciple of some major sect who ran out on his own for experience, without any elder following him. So reckless, completely unguarded. Now that he's in trouble, he's clearly regretting it. He probably has some life-saving magical treasure given by an elder, so his aura fluctuation looks very mysterious. As for knowing about the thing the Young Master mentioned, there are many classics in major sects. It's normal for there to be occasional records in damaged copies.'
Thinking of this, he withdrew his Divine Sense. The next moment, with a grave expression, he carefully extended his Divine Sense to the other side—the two rooms where the two black-robed figures were staying.
What the hunchbacked elder didn't know was that his every move was enveloped by Li Yan's Divine Sense. Seeing the hunchbacked elder withdraw his Divine Sense and focus his energy mainly on the other two rooms in the courtyard, ignoring him, Li Yan couldn't help but smile faintly. When he looked up, across the lotus pond through the window, that Qin Chengyi picked up the wine pot and took a sip. When he put down the wine pot, the other party happened to see Li Yan look over. Across half the lotus pond, he actually raised the wine pot in his hand to Li Yan. But he seemed to be thinking about something, absent-minded, and his raised arm actually paused in mid-air.
Seeing this, Li Yan also nodded from afar. And just at this moment, Li Yan's expression changed. A piercing scream suddenly rang out. The scream was like a tear in the silent night sky, its sound echoing in all directions. In the dead of night, it was somewhat terrifying to hear. What changed Li Yan's expression was not the misery of the scream, but that it did not come from this courtyard enveloped by his Divine Sense, but from the courtyard next door.
Li Yan's Divine Sense instantly expanded. Just as his Divine Sense left the courtyard wall, he only felt a figure disappearing into the distance. Li Yan hesitated for a moment but still did not continue to track it with his Divine Sense. In his Divine Sense, that person was clearly very familiar with this place, and their route was also strange, clearly avoiding something. Li Yan was still somewhat wary of the formations here.
The scream was extremely piercing in the night. The hunchbacked elder under the tree had just extended his Divine Sense to one of the rooms where the black-robed figures were staying. Although there was a protective formation in the room, he was trying to see if he could probe some information about the other party with his own magical power without alerting them. This sudden scream startled him so much that he almost lost control of his mind. His Divine Sense almost directly slammed into the formation. Cold sweat immediately beaded on his forehead. In a flash, he did not head towards the source of the scream but directly arrived outside the room where he and his Young Master were staying. In another flash, he entered the room.
And in the room, the purple-robed youth's expression also changed after the scream rang out. Just as he stood up, he felt a cold wind in front of him, and his vision blurred. A figure was already standing in front of him.
"What's going on, Uncle Sang?" The purple-robed youth's expression tightened. When he saw who it was, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked quickly.
"I don't know either. The scream came from the courtyard next door. It almost exposed me," Uncle Sang replied, then continued, "Fortunately, I controlled my Divine Sense probe in time. I don't think those two noticed. Let's go out and see now. With such a commotion, staying in the room will also arouse suspicion."
The purple-robed youth said with some worry, "What other mishap has occurred?" In his confusion, he also agreed with the hunchbacked elder's words. The hunchbacked elder didn't answer and had already turned to walk out of the room. How would he know what had happened?
When the purple-robed youth opened the door, he saw Li Yan hesitantly walking into the courtyard. Seeing the purple-robed youth and the hunchbacked elder come out, Li Yan's face relaxed slightly. These expressions were seen by the two, who naturally saw Li Yan's worry.
The hunchbacked elder thought to himself, 'He still hasn't seen enough of the world. He's very scared.'
The purple-robed youth, on the other hand, cupped his hands to Li Yan. "Fellow Daoist, do you know what happened?"
Li Yan quickly returned the salute and said with a mix of confusion and nervousness, "I don't know either. I was thinking about things in my room when I suddenly heard someone shout, so I came out. The sound seems to be coming from the courtyard next door."
The purple-robed youth nodded upon hearing this. He had also heard the sound coming from next door. He looked around but didn't see the two black-robed figures. He couldn't help but look at the hunchbacked elder. The hunchbacked elder shook his head almost imperceptibly, indicating he didn't know either.
The purple-robed youth found it strange that the sound had been going on for a while. Even with a formation isolating the sound, with a cultivator's alertness, the two black-robed figures should have known long ago.
The hunchbacked elder and the purple-robed youth exchanged a glance, their Divine Senses quietly spreading out. A moment later, they both withdrew their Divine Senses. They had not found anyone in their Divine Sense. This was also because the two of them were wary of the formations here and did not dare to release their Divine Sense too far, only slightly out of this courtyard.
At this time, the sound of breaking air could be heard from near and far. After exchanging a glance in the courtyard, Li Yan and the other two also walked towards the courtyard gate.
And at this moment, the two black-robed figures were even more furious and anxious. They had left the courtyard a step earlier and, after some thought, wanted to first test whether the magical treasure in their hands was effective in breaking the Xuanqing Temple's formations. If it was confirmed that it could, then they would go back and act. Their departure would also be smooth. But just over two hundred zhang from the courtyard, a chilling scream came from behind them. The two secretly cursed their bad luck.
Although they didn't know what had happened, the temple would soon be swarming with cultivators. In their panic, the two didn't even dare to release their Divine Sense and hurriedly used their movement techniques to fly back at high speed. But when they were only five or six zhang from their courtyard, they suddenly heard a loud shout, "You there, thief, don't you run!" As the voice spoke, seven or eight figures had already shot towards them, and the sound of breaking air was constantly approaching from all directions in the distance.
The two black-robed figures' expressions changed drastically, and their figures slowed down. A moment later, they immediately stopped and stood on the spot. Their expressions also gradually returned to calm, but they were shocked and angry in their hearts, knowing that things were not good. They couldn't move now, otherwise, a great battle would immediately ensue.
Just as they stopped, the seven or eight figures also arrived like lightning, landing directly in front of them. It was Kong Nantai and a few disciples. At this time, Kong Nantai's face was tinged with a cold chill. After the incident during the day, the Sect Master Senior Brother had arranged for him to continue on duty tonight. But just now, when he was patrolling not far from here, he heard the scream. His expression changed, and he rushed here with all his might. As he approached the source of the scream, two figures appeared in his Divine Sense, streaking through the night. He immediately shouted, and the two figures also stopped immediately.
It wasn't that Kong Nantai's Divine Sense coverage was small. He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and several hundred li was nothing to him. It was just that after the formations in Xuanqing Temple were activated, many places had isolated Divine Sense, not just for the enemy, but also for the Daoists of Xuanqing Temple.
After Kong Nantai saw the two people clearly under the moon, he couldn't help but say in a cold voice, "Fellow Daoists, where are you heading so late at night?" As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on the two black-robed figures. But he suddenly raised a hand and waved forward. Two disciples immediately flashed out from behind him and shot directly towards the source of the scream.
Seeing Kong Nantai's question, although the two black-robed figures were cursing their bad luck, they could only brace themselves and answer. The older black-robed figure cupped his hands. "So it's Fellow Daoist Kong. My brother and I were feeling stifled by the events of the day and wanted to come out and walk along the lotus pond to clear our heads. But just after walking about a hundred zhang, we heard the sound from behind and immediately rushed here to see what had happened. And here we are, we ran into Fellow Daoist Kong before we even got there."
As the black-robed figure was speaking, one of the two disciples who had gone over had already rushed back, shouting loudly, "Senior Martial Uncle Kong, disaster! Senior Martial Uncle Song has been killed."
Although everyone here had already prepared for the worst, their hearts still tightened when they heard the disciple's shout, especially the two black-robed figures, whose scalps tingled. And just at this moment, the sound of breaking air from all directions was already approaching. In the dark night, it was like streaks of meteors. Daoist Gong, Hall Master Ji, and the other three Foundation Establishment cultivators from the temple had heard the sound and were rushing over. They heard the disciple's shout while they were still in the air.
And at this time, Li Yan and the other three had just stepped out of the courtyard gate. They also heard this voice. Looking at the whistling lights not far away and the two groups in a standoff nearby, they couldn't help but stop at the courtyard gate. The purple-robed youth and the hunchbacked elder exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with even more disbelief.
The purple-robed youth directly transmitted his voice, "Uncle Sang, those two actually went out and killed someone?"
The hunchbacked elder looked at where the black-robed figures were standing, then at the young Daoist who had run out shouting. The two black-robed figures were only about four zhang from the courtyard gate next door. No matter how one looked at it, it looked as if they had just come out from inside.
Hearing this, the two black-robed figures cursed their bad luck. Although they were quite confident in their own cultivation, looking at the several sharp auras approaching, especially the leading Daoist Gong, who was already close to the Golden Core realm, they did not dare to be presumptuous.
As they spoke, Daoist Gong had already arrived with an overwhelming rage. Looking at the two black-robed figures before him, his face was as dark as water, and murderous intent surged in his eyes, as if he could strike at any moment.
The other cultivators of Xuanqing Temple behind him were also filled with murderous intent. Although they still didn't know what the situation was at the scene, they had clearly heard the disciple's shout just now.
Daoist Gong glanced at Hall Master Ji behind him, suppressed his murderous intent, ignored the two black-robed figures, and walked directly into the courtyard, saying coldly, "Leave ten disciples to guard the gate. The rest of you, get back."
Hall Master Ji naturally understood the meaning in the Sect Master Senior Brother's eyes. The first priority now was to find out the cause of the matter. He looked at the two black-robed figures, then said word by word, "You four junior brothers, please wait here. I will go with the Sect Master Senior Brother to see Junior Brother Song." He was staring at the black-robed figures, but his words were for the three junior brothers and sister behind him. With that, he also walked straight into the courtyard, leaving Kong Nantai and the other three Foundation Establishment cultivators to firmly surround the two black-robed figures.
Li Yan and the other three from afar witnessed all of this. Seeing that Daoist Gong and Hall Master Ji had already entered the courtyard, the hunchbacked elder couldn't help but sigh and said, "Young Master, let's go over too."
The purple-robed youth nodded upon hearing this. He turned his head to Li Yan and said, "Fellow Daoist, do you want to go over and see what happened again?"
Li Yan still had a trace of fear on his face. Hearing the purple-robed youth's words, he said with a bitter face, "Even if we don't go over, I imagine they will come looking for us soon enough. This place is truly cursed."