The Black Flood Dragon inside his own body?
That day, the enormous black snake projection that had appeared on Heavenly Summit Mountain surfaced in Chen Yan's mind.
Then, he recalled He Furen's ferocious expression, the excruciating pain of being pierced by twelve strands of innate true energy, and finally, that gaping, blood-red maw...
He should have been devoured by the Black Flood Dragon Remnant Soul.
But, why?
"I don't know."
Chen Yan shook his head, then continued:
"I don't remember anything clearly about what happened after that day."
Upon hearing this, Yue Chi didn't speak, only turning his head to look at Lin Qifeng beside him.
Lin Qifeng slowly began, speaking to Chen Yan:
"It has been a full year since the end of the Dao Inquiry Assembly of Chenping Continent, though perhaps more people prefer to call this edition of the Dao Inquiry Assembly the 'Heavenly Summit Mountain Calamity'."
A year?
Meaning he had been unconscious for an entire year?
Chen Yan was inwardly shocked.
Although a year was absolutely not long for a cultivator, it was enough time for many things to happen.
No wonder Lin Qifeng was now serving as an elder in the Alchemy Hall, while Martial Uncle Yue Chi had been promoted, becoming the Dignity Elder of Kongyuan Mountain.
Wait, to become an elder within the inner court of the sect, having a cultivation realm above the Spirit Connection Realm was a necessary condition.
This meant that the current Lin Qifeng had already crossed that threshold, becoming a Spirit Connection Realm cultivator.
"For this Dao Inquiry Assembly of Chenping Continent, the delegation dispatched by our Kongshan Sect totaled seventy-four people. After the Heavenly Summit Mountain Calamity occurred, only seventeen Kongshan Sect cultivators managed to survive by sheer luck."
Lin Qifeng continued:
"Among them, the personal disciple of Qingchan Peak's True Dharma Elder, Qin Yue, perished; the personal disciple of the former Yuanhua Mountain Dignity Elder, Lin Xinyang, perished; the Chief Disciple of Mingxiao Peak, Shen Hong, perished; the Chief Disciple of Yunyin Peak, Zhao Wuduan, perished. It can be said the losses among the sect's younger generation of disciples were quite severe..."
"Fortunately, Li Haowen, Chu Xiyao, and you all returned. Even though you were unconscious for an entire year, at least you are still considered alive."
Hearing these names, Chen Yan couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted.
For this Dao Inquiry Assembly of Chenping Continent, the Kongshan Sect had dispatched a total of five Chief Disciples.
As for Qin Yue and Lin Xinyang, although they were not Chief Disciples of a peak lineage, their status among this generation of young disciples in the Kongshan Sect was also roughly equivalent to that of a Chief Disciple.
Out of seven heaven's pride-level talents at the Chief Disciple level, four perished in this great calamity.
It must be said the losses were quite severe.
"Then, the former Yuanhua Mountain Dignity Elder, He Furen, was executed on the spot by Bai Qiming. The former Kongyuan Mountain True Dharma Elder, Wen Hongli, chose to commit suicide on the Daoyan Arena after suffering severe injuries."
Lin Qifeng said.
"Wen Hongli was severely injured, then committed suicide?"
Chen Yan asked.
"Correct."
Yue Chi nodded:
"After He Furen fled the Daoyan Arena, I, Eldest Senior Brother, Star Heaven Sect's Hu Tianyuan, and Bai Qiming, the four of us ganged up on Wen Hongli. Honestly, if it were a straightforward head-on clash, the four of us combined wouldn't be Wen Hongli's match... Fortunately, that old fox Bai Qiming was there; he knows how to play dirty."
No matter how he listened, Chen Yan didn't think Yue Chi was praising Bai Qiming.
"Across the entire Chenping Continent, eight hundred and forty-six cultivation sects participated in this Dao Inquiry Assembly, dispatching twenty-four thousand, three hundred and twenty-one disciples. In the end, only two thousand, one hundred and nine survived. The total number of cultivators who died or went missing was twenty-two thousand, two hundred and twelve."
The death toll was even higher than Chen Yan had imagined.
But this was also normal. After all, the cultivators from those ordinary sects were mostly at the Qi Circulation Realm, with quite a few even at the Body Forging Realm.
These cultivators couldn't even withstand the spiritual energy pressure unconsciously radiated by the Black Flood Dragon Remnant Soul on Heavenly Summit Mountain.
"This Heavenly Summit Mountain Calamity can be said to be the greatest blow suffered by the cultivation world of Chenping Continent since the Eliminating the Cause of Calamity turmoil twelve hundred years ago. The various major sects have all begun conducting internal investigations and purges."
Lin Qifeng said:
"Of course, the Kongshan Sect, which sealed Heavenly Summit Mountain with a barrier and led this Heavenly Summit Mountain Calamity, naturally became the target of public criticism."
"And then, how did the sect handle this situation?"
Chen Yan asked further.
The white-haired old man beside him, wearing a Bagua Daoist robe—the current Kongyuan Mountain Dignity Elder Yue Chi—first shook his head, then revealed an expression that seemed barely contained.
"Of course, a thorough investigation, to give an explanation to the cultivation world of Chenping Continent."
Yue Chi said:
"However, the department within the sect responsible for this thorough investigation was precisely the Supreme Imperial Law Court led by Huo Mu."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yan also almost failed to keep a straight face.
What kind of investigation is this? Investigating myself?
"The final investigation result from the Imperial Law Court was that the real reason He Furen strayed onto the wrong path was the instigation of Yuanhua Mountain's Sword Master Elder, Wei Mian."
Lin Qifeng stated.
"So, Elder Wei Mian, he...?"
Chen Yan asked.
Lin Qifeng didn't speak, only raising his hand and making a throat-slitting gesture.
Wei Mian was dead.
Chen Yan could guess with his toes that Wei Mian was just a scapegoat pushed out by the Imperial Law Court.
A mighty sixth-realm cultivator, a Myriad Transformations Realm powerhouse, had died a meaningless, wrongful death. Centuries of cultivation had gone up in smoke just like that.
It was truly lamentable.
However, Wei Mian's death did indeed make the various sects of Chenping Continent shut their mouths.
The Sword Master Elder of a Kongshan Sect peak lineage was killed just like that, so what more could they demand?
Could they really go after Huo Mu?
Wei Mian's death could be said to have given the world enough face.
As for the Kongyuan Mountain side, although Wen Hongli was also one of the apparent masterminds of this Heavenly Summit Mountain Calamity, he did not face any accountability from the Imperial Law Court.
It wasn't because the Imperial Law Court didn't want to cause trouble, but because the performance of Sect Leader's direct disciples like Zhong Yin and Yue Chi on Heavenly Summit Mountain made it impossible for the Supreme Elders of the Imperial Law Court to find fault with Kongyuan Mountain.
Moreover, Yun Yichen was also an upper three realms cultivator and had a certain foundation among the sect's Supreme Elders.
He and his people weren't that easy to move against.
"So, who is currently in charge of the overall situation at Yuanhua Mountain?"
Chen Yan asked again.
"The Surveillance Court dispatched a Supreme Elder named Feng Wei to temporarily act as Yuanhua Mountain's Sword Master Elder."
Yue Chi said:
"Originally, Master wanted to get Eldest Senior Brother appointed as the Sword Master Elder there, but it was directly vetoed by the Pivot Court."
"The Pivot Court wouldn't allow Master to extend his reach that far, even though Yuanhua Mountain indeed needs its own people to intervene right now."
Immediately after, Lin Qifeng said:
"In short, the current situation within the sect is roughly like this. Next, we should talk about what happened on Heavenly Summit Mountain."