After hearing this, Hall Master Ji fell silent. After a while, he said, "Now that you mention it, the events that have transpired since yesterday do bear some resemblance to the strangeness of those two sects. Since our esteemed Master has been gone for several days, he should have some clues by now. In that case, once Master returns, the clouds may part to reveal the sun. The most urgent task now is that before Master returns today, the two of us must, even at the cost of our lives, prevent any further accidents in the temple."
Daoist Gong nodded. "These recent strange events are likely not only related to the two vanished sects but also to the secret order sent by the Malevolent Spirit Sect. The secret order requires all sects, upon discovering any abnormalities, to report back immediately.
As far as I know, the Ten-Pace Courtyard and the other two major sects have also issued similar orders. It's just that your and my cultivation levels are low. Something unknown to us must have happened in the cultivation world recently for the four major sects to take it so seriously. But as a Golden Core cultivator, the Ancestor should be informed of some of the internal affairs of the four major sects. This brings us back to needing the Ancestor to return."
Just as Daoist Gong's voice transmission ended, a sharp glint suddenly flashed in Hall Master Ji's eyes. He quickly said, "Because of Junior Brother Luo's death just now, I lost my composure for a moment. If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten something."
As he spoke, he slapped his waist, and three Jade Slips appeared in his hand. Then, with a somewhat strange expression, he handed the Jade Slips to Daoist Gong.
Their voice transmission exchange left the others in the main hall clueless, but they were all as quiet as cicadas in winter. Who would dare to go up and ask?
Even Kong Nantai and Qin Chengyi, seeing their two senior brothers communicating via voice transmission and then taking out several Jade Slips, had no idea why the two of them weren't arranging the next steps but were transmitting voices there. They had to know that there were still hundreds of people waiting outside the main hall, completely unaware. But the two of them only dared to peek over, and likewise did not dare to go forward and ask.
Seeing the strange look in Hall Master Ji's eyes, Daoist Gong took the three Jade Slips with suspicion. He immediately probed one of them with his Divine Sense. A moment later, he raised his head and continued to transmit his voice, "So those two black-robed men are the brothers He Manzi and He Manhua. These two are great demons among evil cultivators, without a sect or faction. They are proficient in the 'Demon-Suppressing Sea Art' and are especially good at joint attacks and advancing their skills. Although they are only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, if they join forces, even a Pseudo-Core cultivator might not be able to gain an advantage. These two often kill and rob, and they never leave survivors. Their methods are quite brutal. I wonder where they are heading by teleporting here."
"Yes, wherever those two go, blood will surely be shed. So before our Master returns, we must be extra careful. It's just that in the deaths of our three junior brothers, no demonic art aura was found, which is inconsistent with their legendary cultivation techniques. This point is somewhat similar to the Bloodhand Flying Sickle," Hall Master Ji replied via voice transmission. Although they were righteous cultivators, they had no reason to eliminate demons and defend the Dao without cause. Otherwise, if some evil cultivators learned of this, they would not come here for teleportation in the future, and their Spirit Stone income would be greatly reduced.
Daoist Gong's Divine Sense quickly sank into the second Jade Slip. After just a moment, he withdrew his Divine Sense again. "These two could be from the 'Huchen' family? If so, I've really misjudged. It's just..." As Daoist Gong transmitted his voice to this point, a cold glint actually appeared in his eyes, but he immediately shook his head again.
"It seems the Sect Master Senior Brother has also thought of it. For the 'Huchen' family, one needs to show their identity, and even a first-rate sect has to give them face. But these two are being secretive. Their identities haven't been truly confirmed, it's just a possibility. According to the disciple who gathered the information, finding out the identity of these two was very difficult. They come from a mountain village ten thousand li away from here. They usually keep a low profile. Even after being in that mountain village for over a decade, no one from the 'Huchen' family has been found to have appeared there. However, they once accidentally saved a villager who was poisoned by a demonic beast. According to the treatment method described by that villager, it is very similar to the 'Ghostly Poison Scroll' technique of the 'Huchen' family. But even if these two are from the 'Huchen' family, they have never set foot in this main hall, so they had no time to come into contact with the sandalwood incense. It's also impossible for them to have such a magical method."
Hall Master Ji naturally knew what the Sect Master Senior Brother was thinking, but he shook his head slightly.
"It's better to have less to do with the 'Huchen' family. Even if he is the real murderer, I imagine even our Master would have to consider how to deal with him properly," Daoist Gong felt a huge headache and couldn't help but rub his forehead.
"Sect Master Senior Brother, you should read the last Jade Slip before saying anything." A strange look appeared in Daoist Gong's expression.
Hearing Hall Master Ji's voice transmission and seeing that strange look in his eyes again, Daoist Gong couldn't help but be stunned. Having read the first two Jade Slips, how could he not know that this third Jade Slip was about the lone Bloodleaf Sect disciple? But seeing Hall Master Ji's expression, he immediately felt that this was not the case. He hurriedly probed the last Jade Slip with his Divine Sense. This time, his Divine Sense did not immediately withdraw, as if he were repeatedly checking it. His face also slowly became grave.
After a long while, Daoist Gong finally withdrew his Divine Sense. He immediately transmitted his voice, "Are you sure this information is reliable?"
"It should be fine. The Bloodleaf Sect is not too far from Xuanqing Temple. There are often disciples of our sect active there, so we are very familiar with the situation of the Bloodleaf Sect. This person's name does not exist in the Bloodleaf Sect, but it is the same as one of the three Upper Sect cultivators who appeared a while ago."
...
Li Yan looked at Daoist Gong in front of him and had a faint guess in his heart.
Just now, after Daoist Gong and Hall Master Ji walked out of the main hall with grim faces, besides the disciples on the square still not being allowed to move freely, they actually transferred dozens more disciples into the main hall to monitor every corner. Then, they invited the purple-robed youth's pair, the two black-robed figures, and himself into three separate side rooms in the main hall. The entrances were heavily guarded, and even outside the windows, dozens of disciples were stationed.
With the successive deaths of cultivators in Xuanqing Temple, Li Yan and the other two also knew that their guarding measures were maximized for defense.
Subsequently, not long after Li Yan entered the room, Daoist Gong came to his room. With the room's formation already activated, he casually set up another set of restrictions. Although Li Yan was not very proficient in formations, he could see that this was just a set of formations to isolate Divine Sense and sound. So he stood quietly in the room, watching Daoist Gong.
Daoist Gong looked at Li Yan and saw that the tension and timidity in his expression were gone. He was basically certain that the news was reliable. He stared at Li Yan and slowly said, "Fellow Daoist Li, please forgive Gong's rudeness. I was unaware of the presence of a distinguished guest from the Upper Sect. Please don't be offended."
Li Yan shook his head slightly. 'Within ten thousand li, it's no distance at all for a sect. And I left my real name. I thought I would be gone in a few hours and no one would bother to ask a Qi Condensation cultivator too many questions, but things went contrary to my wishes. It seems I will have to be more careful in my actions in the future.' Thinking of this, although Li Yan felt helpless, it was also a good opportunity to leave.
He replied with a cold expression, "Daoist Gong has indeed found out my origin." With that, without waiting for Daoist Gong to ask further, Li Yan flipped his hand, and a small, black token that was neither iron nor gold appeared in his hand. He then casually tossed it over.
Seeing this, Daoist Gong's expression became even more serious. He reached out and caught the token, making it float in front of him. As a subordinate sect of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, he, as the Sect Master, was not the only one who knew the Malevolent Spirit Sect's token by heart; even the disciples under him knew it well. He recognized the authenticity of the token with just a sweep of his Divine Sense. He thought to himself, 'So it's a cultivator from the Malevolent Spirit Sect's "Little Bamboo Peak".'
Immediately, a respectful look appeared on his face. He took the floating token with both hands, then took two steps forward and presented it back with both hands. Although he was a Sect Master of a generation, facing a behemoth like the Malevolent Spirit Sect, even a first-rate sect would be extremely careful. Not to mention Xuanqing Temple was only a second-rate sect. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of such second-rate sects under the jurisdiction of the Malevolent Spirit Sect. They usually couldn't even get in the door if they wanted to climb the big tree of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, let alone dare to offend it.
"Since you already know my identity, arrange for my departure later," Li Yan ordered unceremoniously.
Hearing Li Yan's words, a hesitant look appeared on Daoist Gong's face. Seeing this, Li Yan couldn't help but frown and said coldly, "What? Sect Master Gong doesn't want to let me go? Or do you have to wait for your sect's Ancestor to return?" Although his cultivation was still at the late tenth layer of Qi Condensation, a wisp of Divine Sense instantly descended upon Daoist Gong.
Daoist Gong felt a weight on his body, and a pressure that made his heart palpitate made him feel short of breath. He was horrified. Although he had guessed that Li Yan was hiding his cultivation before, with his Pseudo-Core Realm, he didn't think Li Yan was that high. With his centuries of experience, he could see that Li Yan's face was not disguised; it should be his real age. In his mind, this Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivator in front of him might have good aptitude, and with the unimaginable cultivation resources of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, to be out traveling at such a young age, he would be at most at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. But now, a wisp of Li Yan's Divine Sense actually made him feel it was difficult to breathe.
'What kind of cultivation is this? I'm already at the Pseudo-Core Realm. Could this person already be at the Golden Core stage?' Thinking of this, sweat beaded on Daoist Gong's forehead. He quickly said, "Please don't be offended, Senior. Please listen to this humble Daoist. It's not that I won't let you leave. If you want to leave now, I can arrange it immediately. It's just that this humble Daoist has one more thing to say. A few days ago, our temple received an order from your esteemed sect, requiring all sects and families that received the order to be vigilant in investigating any abnormalities in their jurisdictions recently. Once they occur, they must immediately report to your esteemed sect without fail. Otherwise, it will be treated as a delay of an important matter. Now, strange things have been happening in our humble sect since yesterday. Senior has also experienced this personally. This matter is already an abnormality. And since you are a cultivator of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, I must first report to you and see how to deal with it." With that, Daoist Gong recited a Daoist name, then slapped his waist, and a pale yellow Jade Slip appeared in his hand. He respectfully handed it to Li Yan.
Daoist Gong was also helpless. Now strange things were happening one after another in the temple, and the Malevolent Spirit Sect's secret order did indeed say so. Moreover, after seeing Li Yan's unfathomable cultivation, he naturally wanted to get another helper.
Li Yan was still frowning. How could he want to get into more trouble? He had many things to deal with. But after Daoist Gong took out the pale yellow Jade Slip, he saw the familiar restrictive fluctuation on it. His heart couldn't help but stir. He thought of Gong Chenying and Zhao Min rushing back. At that time, he had guessed that something big must have happened in the sect. Now the sect had actually issued an order to all its subordinate sects. In that case, the matter here might really be related to the sect recalling them. So, could he deduce what was happening in the sect from here?
Li Yan didn't take the Jade Slip. He just swept his Divine Sense over Daoist Gong's hand. As Daoist Gong had said, the Jade Slip indeed contained the sect's order for the receiving sects and families to focus on investigating abnormalities in their jurisdictions and to report to the Malevolent Spirit Sect at the first instance.
Seeing that Li Yan's brow had unfurrowed after his Divine Sense sweep, Daoist Gong finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. He didn't want to offend Li Yan. Seeing Li Yan's reaction, he thought to himself, 'I should be able to keep this expert from Little Bamboo Peak. I heard that the cultivators of Little Bamboo Peak are the fewest and the most difficult to enter in the Malevolent Spirit Sect. With him here, I have more confidence. As long as I can hold out until Master returns, it will be fine.' Until now, he still couldn't judge whether Li Yan was a Pseudo-Core cultivator with a deeper foundation than himself, or a Golden Core senior.
Li Yan thought for a moment. At this moment, he really wanted to see what was happening in the sect through this matter. And he already had some guesses about what had happened in Xuanqing Temple, but there were still a few things he couldn't figure out.
"Perhaps, I can help you find out who the murderer is," Li Yan said suddenly after some thought.