When Li Yan was led by the Qi Condensation cultivator named Feng Zhiran to a large hall in the rear, four people were already standing there: the purple-robed youth and the two black-robed men.
After Li Yan and Daoist Gong came out, he had asked Daoist Gong for a map. A quick scan with his Divine Sense made Li Yan's heart leap with joy. The Xuanqing Temple was, after all, in the teleportation formation business. The map they had, while not as extensive as the one Wei Zhongran had given him, was extremely detailed for a radius of nearly ten thousand li. Afterwards, Li Yan asked for some of the sandalwood incense used earlier in the main hall. This incense was comparable to a first-tier medicinal pill and was very beneficial for calming the mind. Li Yan, of course, did not stand on ceremony. Daoist Gong satisfied all these requests.
Originally, Daoist Gong had wanted to personally escort Li Yan to the teleportation formation, but Li Yan would never agree to that. It would only make others suspicious of his identity. Seeing this, Daoist Gong complied with Li Yan's wishes and summoned a Qi Condensation disciple, telling him: The matter within the temple has been cleared up; take this guest to the teleportation formation.
The young Daoist who was summoned was someone Li Yan actually recognized—Feng Zhiran, the one who had led him in yesterday. Although Feng Zhiran was a bit surprised to see the Sect Master personally with this young cultivator, he quickly dismissed it. The events that had transpired in the temple over the past day had left them all in a state of constant panic. Those were the three greatest masters in the temple after the founding ancestor, the pillars of the sect, and they had died so bizarrely. Although the Qi Condensation cultivators had discussed it privately, the more they talked, the more frightened they became. This morning, they suddenly received a message from the Disciplinary Hall stating that the murderer had been caught, and it was the youngest, Martial Uncle Qin. This news stunned the temple disciples, and for a time, they didn't know what had happened. But the Disciplinary Hall had said only that much and strictly forbade private discussion.
The guest, Li Yan, being with the Sect Master now, was likely for the same reason Hall Master Ji had gone to see the other four guests earlier. It was probably to ask some more questions or to explain the situation to them. After all, the temple's affairs had caused the guests to be detained, and a simple explanation afterwards wouldn't suffice. That would seem too insincere, and they still had to continue their teleportation formation business in the future.
In the hall, Feng Zhiran made a Daoist salute to Li Yan, asked him to wait here for a moment as someone would arrange their teleportation, and then turned and left. He was feeling quite gloomy himself; it seemed the Spirit Stone reward they discussed yesterday had gone up in smoke.
Li Yan looked at the four people standing in the center of the hall. His face still showed a trace of lingering fear, and his eyes hastily swept over the four before he lowered his head, making his expression unreadable.
The other four saw a couple of figures walk in through the doorway. Their gazes swept over and saw it was Li Yan, his face still pale with fear. They each retracted their gazes and paid him no more attention.
After lowering his head, Li Yan's eyes flickered several times. Though it was just a glance, he saw that the four people were split into two groups, with a significant distance between them. The purple-robed youth was constantly looking around, appearing somewhat unnatural, while the hunchbacked old man remained as stoic as ever. The two black-robed men, though their faces were hidden under their cloaks, seemed to be staring fixedly at the purple-robed youth, based on the direction they were facing. Waves of yin energy emanated from them, causing a chill to permeate the hall despite it being the seventh month of summer.
For a time, the hall was eerily silent. But this situation did not last long. Not long after Feng Zhiran left, an old man with graying hair walked in. He went directly to the front of the group in the hall and said in a low voice, "Fellow Daoists, Seniors, our sect's Martial Uncles are all occupied with matters, so I have been arranged to assist you with the teleportation. Please follow me." The gray-haired old man's cultivation was only at the tenth-layer Great Circle of Qi Condensation. He was quite direct. After a simple sentence, he walked towards a room on the side of the hall.
Hearing this, Li Yan and the others said nothing and followed. They walked around a few massive, thick pillars in the hall and saw the gray-haired old man walk to the side wall, push open a door, and enter first.
Li Yan and the others followed in turn. Li Yan felt his vision go dark for a moment, and then two formations, glowing with a soft white light, appeared before his eyes. Both formations were in the shape of a bagua, inscribed with dense and complex runes that were constantly flowing along with the soft white light emanating from the ground, giving them an ancient and mysterious look.
The gray-haired old man walked to one of the formations and then turned around. Seeing that Li Yan and the others had all entered, he spoke again in a low voice, "In light of what happened in our sect yesterday, the Sect Master has ordered that this teleportation will be free of charge. Although there are fewer than six people, we will activate the teleportation now. Please tell me your destinations, Fellow Daoists and Seniors, so I can mark the exit nodes for you. The formation I am standing at teleports to the north. The one next to it goes east. Yesterday, you all intended to head north. If anyone has changed their mind, even if it's just one person, our sect can teleport you east separately." As he spoke, he stretched out a withered finger and pointed to the other formation, which was also emitting a soft white light.
Hearing this, Li Yan and the others felt that the Xuanqing Temple's attitude was quite sincere; they would even activate a teleportation formation for a single person.
After the gray-haired old man finished speaking, he stood in front of the north-bound teleportation formation and waited. But after a moment, a look of confusion appeared on his old face. He had spoken very clearly, yet not a single person had stepped forward.
The purple-robed youth and the hunchbacked old man seemed to be hesitating, while the two black-robed men stood motionless, as if they hadn't heard a thing. Li Yan stood at the very back, also showing a hesitant expression as he looked at the four in front of him, wondering why they weren't moving.
"Fellow Daoists, Seniors, did the little old me not speak clearly, or is there some question?" the gray-haired old man had to ask again.
Although Li Yan looked hesitant, with three apparent seniors in front of him, he acted like a junior and did not choose first. But looking again at the four who remained motionless, he seemed to have an epiphany. He had also received information about the four from Daoist Gong and knew a little about them.
But he had to leave. So, amid the silence, he seemed to muster his courage and walked towards the gray-haired old man, saying nervously, "Fellow Daoist, I am going to Linshui City."
The gray-haired old man had long been impatient. These people had wanted to leave early in the morning, so why were they all acting strangely and not saying a word now? Were they trying to make a fool of him? Seeing Li Yan approach, he nodded. He tapped his waist, and a token shaped somewhat like a military arrow appeared in his hand. With his other hand, he formed a seal towards the token. Instantly, a beam of white light shot out from the token towards Li Yan.
Li Yan stood there obediently, not dodging. The white light flashed and imprinted itself on the corner of Li Yan's robe, forming a white spot of light that glowed faintly. Li Yan quietly probed it with his Divine Sense. Within his Divine Sense, he could feel a rune inside the white light spot, flickering intermittently. It was the source of the glowing spot, seemingly sending out some kind of signal.
After the gray-haired old man finished, he looked at the four who were still motionless and said directly, "Is this Fellow Daoist the only one going north? If so, then please step into the teleportation formation, and I will activate it. However, the remaining four Fellow Daoists can only go east. After all, activating a teleportation formation is not easy, and for today, we can only offer one free trip in each of the two directions for you all."
Hearing this, Li Yan no longer looked at the other four. He couldn't care less about them. He took a step into the formation before him. Among the remaining four, the two black-robed men still stood silently, as if they hadn't heard. The purple-robed youth glanced at the two black-robed men opposite him. He seemed to feel their cold, mocking gazes from under their cloaks. He then glanced at the hunchbacked old man, knowing that no matter where he chose to go, those two would likely follow, unless he didn't leave at all. But he figured the two black-robed men wouldn't leave either.
Gritting his teeth, he took a step forward, heading for the north-bound teleportation formation. Since he had to teleport, taking a detour was clearly not a wise choice. As he moved, the hunchbacked old man also followed. The two black-robed men just watched their backs.
When the purple-robed youth and the hunchbacked old man arrived in front of the formation, he looked back. Seeing that the two black-robed men hadn't followed, he couldn't help but feel surprised and suspicious. Was he wrong all along? Taking a deep breath, he said to the gray-haired old man, "The two of us are going to Linshui City."
The gray-haired old man nodded. He performed the same hand seal, and two beams of white light shot from the arrow-shaped token in his hand, landing on the corners of the purple-robed youth's and the hunchbacked old man's robes.
After seeing the white dots land on their robes, the purple-robed youth hesitated no longer. He and the hunchbacked old man also stepped into the formation where Li Yan was. After stepping in, he looked back and saw that the two black-robed men were still standing in the same spot, making him even more suspicious and tense.
'Was I really being paranoid? Are these two just the type who don't like to talk much?' the purple-robed youth thought. The moment this thought arose, the two black-robed men also moved. They walked a few steps to stand before the gray-haired old man, and an icy voice emerged from under one of the cloaks. "The two of us, are going, to Linshui City!"
After speaking, the cloak shifted, seemingly turning to face the purple-robed youth again. The joy that had just begun to rise in the purple-robed youth's heart instantly turned to ice. How could he not understand now? These two were waiting to confirm that he had actually stepped into the teleportation formation before speaking. Moreover, he heard a kind of mockery in that cold voice. Anger flared in his heart, and his expression became even more unsightly.
The moment the last two black-robed men stepped into the teleportation formation, everyone activated their protective spiritual shields. The teleportation they were using this time was a multi-node teleportation formation, not a single-node one that would take them directly to their destination. If someone's teleportation node brand was destroyed by another person during the journey, there was only one outcome: being randomly teleported into the spatial turbulence. Therefore, self-protection was essential.
Furthermore, a protective spiritual shield could resist the spatial forces during teleportation. Even for single-node teleportations, everyone would usually do this. Otherwise, if the teleportation distance was even slightly long, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be unable to resist the dizziness.
Finally, all five were in the teleportation formation and had activated their protective spiritual shields. The gray-haired old man walked around the formation. With a flick of his sleeve, pieces of Spirit Stones, emitting a dense spiritual energy, flew into the various corners of the bagua formation.
Then he formed another hand seal. A dazzling white light shone from the tip of the arrow-shaped token, striking the base of the formation where Li Yan and the others stood. The formation's base instantly erupted in a brilliant white light, shooting up to form a massive pillar of light that instantly engulfed the five people. It began to rotate rapidly. The ancient runes appeared like a waterfall, covering the white pillar of light, appearing and disappearing in rapid succession.
The entire formation emitted a buzzing sound, which started small and grew louder and louder, until it seemed it could deafen them. However, the gray-haired old man had long since sealed his six senses, and this side hall was also covered by a sound-insulating formation, so nothing could be heard from the outside.
The massive white pillar of light spun faster and faster, eventually becoming like a skyward tornado. With a final, thunderous boom, it shot up and vanished into the seemingly infinitely high, black-hole-like ceiling of the side hall, leaving only the formation on the ground, still emitting a buzzing sound. The sound grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared completely. The original form of the formation gradually reappeared, still an octagonal formation glowing with a faint, soft white light, its runes slowly circulating.