Daoist Gong secretly took a breath, suppressing the anger in his heart. He also stared at Qin Chengyi and said word by word, "You. Think. Your methods. Are very clever? I have long suspected you. And, you. Are not worthy of calling out the two words, 'esteemed Master'."
After he said this, unexpectedly, a trace of contempt appeared in Qin Chengyi's eyes. "Cough... cough..., your suspicion, I... I naturally guessed it long ago. But... but before Senior Brother Luo's death this morning, you had basically... stopped suspecting me. You should have... become suspicious of me again after what happened... in the main hall. This... this matter, I had long... foreseen. I wonder if this junior brother is right, cough... cough...
If it weren't for... esteemed Master returning this evening, with just a little... more than half a day's time, you wouldn't have... suspected me again. It is precisely because of... this that I had... to take the risk... to kill Senior Brother Luo this morning again. But I also calculated that you, cough... cough... at most, you would just be a little more suspicious of... me, without any evidence. In that... case, plus the other people you suspect, you would have... to monitor many people at the same time. And... and, the people you sent to monitor... you probably don't trust them, right? I estimate it's only Hall Master Ji... alone. This way, the people you can use... are stretched thin, and you have no time to pay too much attention to me. You... you shouldn't have known I was coming here. This... this is the biggest doubt in my heart. Cough... cough..., could it be... could it be..."
Although Qin Chengyi's face was terrifyingly pale, a look of pride slowly appeared on his face, which was constantly twitching in pain. But when he said the last words, he suddenly looked at Li Yan, who had been silent all along, with a look of disbelief in his eyes.
Looking at Qin Chengyi's incredulous gaze, Li Yan couldn't help but sigh in his heart. This person was truly exceptionally intelligent. In terms of cultivation, he looked to be only a year or two older than himself. Without the rich cultivation resources he had in the Malevolent Spirit Sect, he had actually almost reached the requirements for Foundation Establishment.
What shocked Li Yan the most was Qin Chengyi's meticulous mind. The last words he said to Daoist Gong were as if he had seen what Daoist Gong was thinking. And the reality was just as he had predicted, with almost no error. And Qin Chengyi, in just a few moments of speaking, had finally locked his gaze directly on him, even though he had not opened his mouth from beginning to end. Qin Chengyi had already guessed some of the reasons just by his appearance here. Such intelligence was admirable.
Daoist Gong's face was even more ashen. He never would have thought that this usually low-key junior brother was so formidable. His thoughts and judgments were all within his calculations. And he had even calculated that he didn't dare to use torture on him directly now.
Thinking of this, Daoist Gong couldn't help but let out a heavy "humph" from his nose, then looked at Li Yan. Because even Daoist Gong himself, up to now, only knew why he chose to set up an ambush here. He was completely unaware of the other circumstances. He had just wanted to catch the murderer first to prevent any more accidents. He really hadn't had time to ask Li Yan about the other matters.
Seeing that Daoist Gong's gaze was indeed on the Qi Condensation cultivator named Li Yan beside him, Qin Chengyi couldn't help but stare at Li Yan with a burning gaze. At this moment, his face actually showed a look of excitement.
"If I remember correctly, Fellow... Fellow Daoist Li is a cultivator of the Bloodleaf Sect, right? I didn't expect to have misjudged. This game... was actually broken by you." As he said this, he was no longer panting heavily, as if he had regained his spirit.
Hearing this, and seeing Daoist Gong look at him with a mix of curiosity and anxiety, he looked at the sun again. It was already the hour of the Rabbit. Less than three hours until noon. It wasn't long, but it wasn't short either. This Qin Chengyi had already grasped the fact that there was no Golden Core cultivator here. Daoist Gong was also hoping he could state his judgment as soon as possible.
"You flatter me, Fellow Daoist Qin. I was just guessing," Li Yan cupped his hands slightly to Qin Chengyi. He was also relieved in his heart. 'At least you didn't see that I'm not a Bloodleaf Sect cultivator. Otherwise, you would have truly terrified me, Li.' This cupping of his hands was from the bottom of his heart. From a bystander's point of view, he greatly admired Qin Chengyi. If it weren't for the fact that the other party was pressed for time and had to make a move again in the main hall in the early morning, he wouldn't have connected the doubts he had discovered yesterday to him.
Li Yan looked at Qin Chengyi and said faintly, "If Fellow Daoist Qin hadn't been worried about your esteemed Master's return and made a third move by force, this round would have been your victory, Fellow Daoist Qin. Your plan was very perfect, whether it was the timing or the manipulation of people's hearts. I, Li, am impressed."
After Li Yan said this, what astonished Daoist Gong was that a childlike smile of praise appeared on Qin Chengyi's face. Looking at Qin Chengyi, whose eyes revealed a look of confidence, Li Yan spoke for the third time, directly.
"Yesterday's first incident, Fellow Daoist Liu died from the potent poison 'Attacker's Tear' condensed from the 'Green Crystal Six-Headed Demonic Centipede,' right?"
"You actually know about the 'Green Crystal Six-Headed Demonic Centipede'?" Qin Chengyi only heard Li Yan's first sentence and couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice. He had originally just hoped to get an answer as to how the other party could have guessed that he would definitely come to the 'Daojing Hall.' He hadn't expected the other party not to mention this matter but to directly state his method of killing yesterday, and it seemed he was very clear about it.
Li Yan glanced at him and continued, ''Green Crystal Six-Headed Demonic Centipede,' an ancient vicious beast that prefers the cold. When it reaches adulthood, it can reach the sixth tier, which is the Void Refining realm among cultivators. Its poison is one of the most unique in the world, ranked 415th on the ancient list of strange poisons. In ancient times, there were cultivators who collected its poison and refined it into a poison called 'Attacker's Tear.' It specifically attacks the hearts of living creatures. When activated, it will silently merge into the world. After being inhaled by a living creature, it will quickly attach to a point on the surface of the heart. When it reaches a certain amount, it will suddenly erupt, breaking the heart and instantly invading, directly corroding everything inside the heart. However, the so-called condensing to a certain amount here is actually just a thread, which can cause an eruption.
However, this poison has long since disappeared with the extinction of the 'Green Crystal Six-Headed Demonic Centipede.' I didn't expect you to still have such a world-class poison." At this point, Li Yan looked at Qin Chengyi. Qin Chengyi's face had returned to normal, but he remained silent, though his gaze at Li Yan flickered a few times, as if he were thinking about something.
Seeing Qin Chengyi's expression, Li Yan had already made some tests in his heart. When he saw that "Senior Brother Liu" had died from this poison, he was already extremely shocked. He didn't expect this poison to still exist in this world. Now he guessed that this poison was definitely not something the Qin family could possess. It should have been provided by the force behind Qin Chengyi. In that case, wasn't this force's power heaven-defying?
"It's just that 'Attacker's Tear' has two other important characteristics. The first is that once this poison touches you, you can't get rid of it. It will firmly adhere to the skin, then seep into the pores and converge towards the heart. The second is that if you want to activate it from a distance, you need to use spiritual power. But its other characteristic is that it will directly follow the source of the spiritual power all the way back, making it impossible for the poisoner to escape. So if someone took this poison and directly activated it, that poisoner would have died first during the activation. That's why the ancients, after refining this poison, would often have a special activation talisman.
It is precisely because this poison is activated by spiritual power that the symptoms after being poisoned are similar to having one's heart directly destroyed by magical power. It will leave residual wood and water dual-system spiritual power fluctuations on the heart, which can easily confuse others. The reason it is a strange poison is that its most chilling aspect is that the poisoned person's three souls and seven spirits will also be corroded away, losing the chance to fall into the cycle of reincarnation. This is its most vicious aspect."
At this point, a look of admiration appeared in Li Yan's eyes. He said to Qin Chengyi, "I don't know if this poisoning was done by you, or if someone else told you the corresponding activation method. If you really thought of this poisoning method, I really admire you. You were able to think of a way to activate this poison without being killed by it following your spiritual power back. And in the end, after a series of cover-ups, you were able to make it difficult for people to find the method of killing."
Hearing Li Yan's words, Qin Chengyi did not answer and still quietly waited for Li Yan's next words. However, Li Yan and Daoist Gong had already gotten the answer from the proud expression on Qin Chengyi's face. It was just that up to now, Daoist Gong was still confused. He had never even heard of "Attacker's Tear" before. But he seemed to have seen the name Green Crystal Six-Headed Demonic Centipede in a classic text and knew it was an ancient vicious beast, but he was not clear about the specific situation.
Li Yan continued, "Initially, when I was in Fellow Daoist Liu's courtyard, I also thought that Fellow Daoist Liu had died from someone else's attack. But when that Fellow Daoist Gui said, 'It should be impossible to find clues from the formation. It would be better to work on the cause of that Junior Brother Liu's death. I remember that there was still some spiritual power remaining on the ruptured part of that Junior Brother Liu's heart. Can we find out the corresponding cultivation technique from this?' This suddenly made me connect the formation with the residual spiritual power on Fellow Daoist Liu's heart. After a final Divine Sense check, I determined that Fellow Daoist Liu had died from 'Attacker's Tear.' However, there were two doubts at that time that could not be explained, so for a time, I still couldn't deduce who did it. It was not until I spoke with Sect Master Gong today and learned some of the situation in the temple that I first solved the first doubt."
At this point, Li Yan's words paused, as if he were organizing his thoughts. In fact, he had other thoughts in his mind. At that time, what made him even more certain that "Senior Brother Liu" had died from poison was another reason: the purple-robed youth's whisper of "Attacker..." From this point of view, that purple-robed youth must also be extremely proficient in the way of poisoning. This kind of almost extinct strange poison, Li Yan had only seen partial records of it in a broken classic in the Malevolent Spirit Sect by chance. This youth had stated its origin as soon as he opened his mouth. It was clear that he was extraordinary. So Li Yan felt that the master and servant pair were strange, and it was better to have less contact with them. So he kept his mouth shut here.
"Fellow Daoist Qin must have been planning for a long time to steal that Guluo Nine-Tailed Turtle's eyeball. I heard from Sect Master Gong that you entered Xuanqing Temple four years ago. I imagine you were waiting for an opportunity in the temple in this way.
But in these four years, the Golden Core Ancestor of Xuanqing Temple, that is, your Master, has not gone out. You would never dare to steal something under the nose of a Golden Core cultivator, so you never had a chance.
It was not until a few days ago that your Master went out, and you had a chance. But you had to plan carefully, so you didn't act immediately.
The night before last, after you had prepared everything, it just so happened that Fellow Daoist Luo dragged you, Fellow Daoist Liu, and Fellow Daoist Song out to gamble. This gave you the opportunity to start your plan. Oh, perhaps you created this opportunity yourself. Otherwise, how could you have prepared the activation method for the 'Attacker's Tear' strange poison so early?
That day, you lost a lot of Spirit Stones, and in the end, you even lost all the Spirit Stones that had already been used and had less spiritual qi. Hmm, this matter was mentioned by Fellow Daoist Luo when you were admitting your mistake to Sect Master Gong.
And it is precisely this sentence that solved my first question, which is how the 'Attacker's Tear' strange poison was successfully activated."
Li Yan stared at Qin Chengyi as he spoke.
Qin Chengyi saw Li Yan looking at him and chuckled lightly. "Fellow Daoist Li, please tell me."