Ye Xiu naturally did not admit to this point.
Because he cherished his own "reputation" very much.
As for Elder Mo, he even prided himself on being a "true villain," because if he hadn't been untrustworthy and gone back on his word, he wouldn't have ended up like this, reduced from a Divine Ability Realm powerhouse who could cover the sky with one hand to a mere Remnant Soul within a ring.
Just as mentioned before, although Elder Mo's current cultivation level is only at the Myriad Transformations Realm, the strength of his divine soul remains at the Divine Ability Realm standard.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have so easily discovered the corpse of Qin Yue, nailed to the wall of the Heavenly Summit Palace.
Elder Mo could still accomplish many things using his divine sense.
For example, during the next round's draw for the seventh ring, Elder Mo could arrange for Ye Xiu and Chen Yan to be placed in the same group.
...
At this very moment, on the viewing stand where the disciples of Kongshan Sect were located.
As the number one Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquirer from Kongshan Sect, Chu Xiyao's ultimate goal in participating in this Dao Inquiry Assembly was, of course, to claim the title of Heavenly Summit Champion.
Although from the very beginning, Chu Xiyao knew the hope was slim.
Because of Qin Qingyu.
As the daughter of Qingchan Peak's Sword Master Elder Chu Chen, and after revealing extraordinary talent for immortal cultivation, Chu Xiyao had been widely watched since childhood.
Around the time she was six years old, Chu Xiyao would frequently hear a name.
Qin Qingyu.
Back then, when the sect's elders and disciples discussed Chu Xiyao, they would often mention Chu Xiyao and Qin Qingyu side by side.
Chu Xiyao came first, and Qin Qingyu came after.
Later on, when the sect's elders or disciples talked about them, it became Qin Qingyu first, and Chu Xiyao after.
At that time, immortal cultivators from various sects across Chenping Continent would still refer to Qin Qingyu and Chu Xiyao together as the "Twin Jewels of Chenping."
It wasn't until Qin Qingyu cultivated the Taoyin Star-Scales Scripture and significantly surpassed Chu Xiyao in both cultivation level and reputation that fewer and fewer people mentioned this term.
And Chu Xiyao's name was no longer mentioned alongside Qin Qingyu's.
Instead, when people mentioned her now, they would simultaneously mention Li Haowen, Yi Liang, and Huang Jing.
For this Chief Disciple of Qingchan Peak, this undoubtedly brought a sense of defeat, of being left behind.
Chu Xiyao also wanted to prove herself.
Therefore, in fact, she valued this Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry more than anyone else.
Even so, the strength Qin Qingyu had just displayed was still far too shocking.
I am definitely not her match.
Chu Xiyao secretly thought to herself.
At the same time, Chen Yan was sitting on a chair beside Chu Xiyao, gazing at the sky filled with ice crystals and cold mist above the first ring.
His fingers lightly tapped the backrest of the chair.
Although his expression remained calm on the surface, deep down, Chen Yan was actually greatly shaken.
Frost Blossom Thousand Blades, the Cold Chi Jade-Shattering Art, the Taoyin Star-Scales Scripture...
Why do these Chief Disciples of the Five Great Sects all know so many flashy and fancy techniques?
Then look at himself.
Kongshan Art, Kongshan Finger, Mountain-Splitting Palm...
Chen Yan had to admit that he was quite lax when it came to cultivation matters.
Since relying on his own talent, it was difficult to progress much beyond the Martial Spring Realm, Chen Yan simply became completely dependent on the rewards from the Cycle of Reincarnation.
This also led to the situation where, even though Chen Yan's current cultivation level was at the peak of the Martial Spring Realm, his combat experience and mastery of techniques were actually not much stronger than an ordinary Energy Channeling Realm cultivator.
When it's his turn to step onto the ring, if his opponent skillfully uses all sorts of dazzling techniques while he can only resort to Kongshan Finger and Mountain-Splitting Palm, wouldn't that be extremely awkward?
"Chen Yan."
Just as Chen Yan was tangled in these thoughts, a familiar voice came from behind him.
He turned his head to look, then stood up and cupped his hands in a salute:
"Master."
The newcomer was none other than Lin Qifeng.
"How long until you take the stage?"
Lin Qifeng asked.
"The group currently on the seventh ring is the thirteenth group. Your disciple is in the twenty-first group."
Chen Yan replied.
"There's still time."
Lin Qifeng said:
"Come with me."
As soon as the words fell, Lin Qifeng turned and left.
Chen Yan felt very puzzled, not understanding why Lin Qifeng was in such a hurry.
"Senior Sister Chu, I must excuse myself for a moment."
Chen Yan said to Chu Xiyao.
"Mmm."
Chu Xiyao merely gave a faint nod.
This was originally just a polite courtesy anyway.
He followed behind Lin Qifeng and looked up towards the stands, towards the seats where the sect elders should have been sitting.
He saw Lin Xinyang standing beside He Furen, leaning in close and saying something to him.
Lin Xinyang looked very serious, while He Furen's face still maintained that uncomfortable smile.
But the area where the elders should have been sitting together was now a stretch of empty chairs.
What happened?
...
Chen Yan followed behind Lin Qifeng, heading in the direction of the Slaying Heaven Pavilion.
"What happened, Master?"
He asked.
"Another person has been killed."
Lin Qifeng said gravely.
Hearing this, Chen Yan was stunned for a moment, but he wasn't overly surprised.
Perhaps he was already used to it.
"Who?"
Chen Yan asked.
"An outer sect disciple stationed at Heavenly Summit Mountain, Energy Channeling Realm cultivation."
An outer sect disciple was killed?
Chen Yan was completely baffled, unable to figure out why this was the case.
He also couldn't understand why he needed to be called to investigate the situation just because an outer sect disciple was killed.
Even though Chen Yan came from the outer sect, there shouldn't be any connection.
"Why summon your disciple here?"
Chen Yan asked directly.
Lin Qifeng did not speak.
Chen Yan's brow furrowed slightly, and a sense of foreboding arose in his heart.
At the mountain gate of the Slaying Heaven Pavilion, two outer sect disciples dressed in light white daoist robes, seeing Lin Qifeng and Chen Yan hurrying over, quickly cupped their hands in salute from afar.
Lin Qifeng chose to ignore them. He led Chen Yan to a courtyard within the Slaying Heaven Pavilion. After pushing open the courtyard gate, Wen Hongli, Zhong Yin, Yue Chi, Liu Yantang, and others were all standing inside.
"Here?"
Seeing Lin Qifeng bring Chen Yan into the courtyard, Wen Hongli slightly raised his head.
"Disciple Chen Yan pays his respects to Elder Wen."
Chen Yan saluted with cupped hands.
In fact, although Chen Yan and Wen Hongli weren't very familiar, they had crossed paths quite a few times over the past year.
After all, Chen Yan's current status was Chief Disciple of Kongyuan Mountain.
"Mmm."
Wen Hongli nodded, then shifted his gaze from Chen Yan, looking down at the ground.
Following Wen Hongli's line of sight, Chen Yan also fixed his eyes on the corpse lying on the ground.
It was an outer sect disciple around twenty years old. Judging by the color of his face and lips, he had been dead for some time.
The fatal wound he suffered was a bowl-sized penetrating wound in his chest. Through the wound, one could see the outer sect disciple's damaged internal organs.
Chen Yan had once died in the same manner, so he blurted out:
"... Kongshan Finger?"
"Correct."
Lin Qifeng said:
"He died from Kongshan Finger, but that's not the most important part."
"Then what is?"
Chen Yan asked.
"Didn't you just ask me why I insisted on calling you back no matter what?"
Lin Qifeng said slowly, then paused for a moment:
"Because the murderer cultivated the Purple Mansion Kongshan Art."