Fifty-three days.
This was Chen Yan's death countdown.
It must be said, among Chen Yan's current dozens of cycles of reincarnation, the current save point was absolutely the most despairing one.
In previous cycles, the predicaments Chen Yan faced always held at least some hope of escaping alive.
Even on Heavenly Summit Mountain, the ultimate goal of He Furen, Wen Hongli, and the others was merely to restore the remnant soul of that Great Demon of Dao Union Realm, and killing everyone on Heavenly Summit Mountain was just a convenient side effect.
But this cycle was different.
Because the other party's target was extremely clear: to kill Chen Yan.
In fifty-three days, Chen Yan would undoubtedly die.
Chen Yan forced himself to calm down as much as possible, then began analyzing the clues he currently possessed and reviewing the conversation he had with Qi Yi in the last cycle.
For example, the reason for killing him was the Black Flood Dragon Remnant Soul within Chen Yan's body.
Qi Yi knew the Black Flood Dragon Remnant Soul was inside him.
But due to the Hidden Immortal Art, not even Qi Yi, let alone a true expert at the Immortal Ascension Realm, could possibly see through this.
Therefore, there was only one possibility.
Someone leaked the secret.
Aside from himself, only four people knew the truth about the Black Flood Dragon Remnant Soul.
Lin Qifeng, Yue Chi, Bai Qiming, and Qin Qingyu of the Star Heaven Sect.
Among them, Lin Qifeng and Yue Chi were the least likely to leak the secret.
His cheap master was deeply convinced that Chen Yan was the reincarnation of some great expert at the Immortal Ascension Realm, especially after Chen Yan displayed spiritual energy on Heavenly Summit Mountain.
Lin Qifeng and Yue Chi absolutely dared not betray him;
they feared that this unknown Immortal Ascension Realm reincarnation might one day reincarnate again and slap them both to death with one palm each.
Moreover, his cheap master and cheap martial uncle were counting on him to achieve great success so they could ride his coattails to a life of luxury.
As for Qin Qingyu, leaking this secret indeed held no disadvantage for her, but judging from the current situation, Qin Qingyu also seemed not to have told anyone about this matter.
Because if she had spoken, then the Kongshan Sect couldn't have settled the matter by just letting one Wei Mian die.
So...
...
Taiyun City.
Chen Yan, dressed in a cyan Daoist robe, disguised as a rogue cultivator, sat at a tea stall near the ruins of the Immortal Gambling Den.
The gambling den not far away was still a pile of rubble.
"Waiter."
Chen Yan called softly.
"Yes, Immortal Master! What can I do for you?"
The tea stall waiter respectfully scurried over to Chen Yan's table.
In Taiyun City, cultivators were not uncommon, especially around the former Immortal Gambling Den where no less than a hundred cultivators passed through daily.
Some cultivators who had lost all their possessions would naturally find a tea stall to rest at after leaving the gambling den, drinking a few pots of mortal tea to cool their tempers.
"I remember this place used to be a gambling den, how come now..."
Chen Yan feigned ignorance as he asked.
"Immortal Master, it seems you haven't been to Taiyun City for quite some years, right?"
The tea stall waiter said.
"Mmm, I haven't been here for five years."
Chen Yan nodded.
"This humble one is but a mere mortal, I dare not recklessly discuss matters of the immortal families. As for this gambling den, all I can say is that it became like this overnight, two years ago."
"Oh?"
Chen Yan again pretended to look confused:
"But I heard this gambling den had the backing of the Kongshan Sect behind it, how could..."
Hearing this, the waiter showed a fearful expression, waving his hands repeatedly toward Chen Yan:
"This humble one truly doesn't know, and dare not speak recklessly. Please, Immortal Master, show mercy..."
Then, Chen Yan put on a rather regretful expression and shook his head:
"Ah, what a shame, coming to Taiyun City after so long."
The tea stall waiter beside him just stood there with an awkward smile.
"Waiter, do you know if, after this Immortal Gambling Den became ruins, there's any place in Taiyun City that can replace it?"
Chen Yan continued, and as he spoke, he took out from his chest a small gold ingot the size of a thumb.
Gold, for cultivators, could be said to have essentially no value at all.
Previously, the Immortal Gambling Den in Taiyun City would give cultivators who lost too much at the gambling tables two or three mid-grade spirit stones and a dozen gold ingots as consolation.
But for the tea stall waiter before him, a thumb-sized gold ingot was equivalent to two years of his income.
He swallowed hard:
"If Immortal Master wishes to go play a bit, this humble one does know a place similar to the gambling den."
"Where?"
Chen Yan asked.
"Just over a year ago, the Huang Family bought a large compound in the southeastern part of Taiyun City. I've heard that recently, the Immortal Masters coming to Taiyun City all like to gather there..."
"The Huang Family?"
Chen Yan asked, puzzled.
Hearing this, the waiter was slightly stunned, showing a somewhat incredulous expression:
"The Immortal Master doesn't know the Huang Family?"
"Not really, I'm not very familiar with Taiyun City."
Chen Yan said.
"The Huang Family is the most powerful family among the seven great immortal cultivation families in Taiyun City. The Huang Family has a full three Upper Immortals, you could say they dominate the area."
The waiter explained.
"Upper Immortals?"
Chen Yan felt quite puzzled by this term suddenly appearing from the waiter's mouth.
"Yes, it seems like, something... qi..."
"Qi Circulation Realm cultivators?"
"That's right, Qi Circulation Realm. The Huang Family has a full three Qi Circulation Realm Upper Immortals..."
Qi Circulation Realm. Upper Immortals.
Linking these two terms together made Chen Yan find it somewhat amusing.
But this was actually normal, because cultivators and mortals fundamentally lived in two different worlds.
Not to mention the Qi Circulation Realm, even Body Forging Realm cultivators were absolutely not to be offended and existed high above in the eyes of these mortals.
As for things like the seven great immortal cultivation families, Chen Yan had never heard of them.
Although Chen Yan had visited Taiyun City many times during his first hundred-year cycle of reincarnation, as a disciple of the Kongshan Sect, he had never interacted with the so-called immortal cultivation families in the city.
Because those so-called immortal cultivation families weren't even given a proper glance by third-rate cultivation sects, let alone a behemoth like the Kongshan Sect.
However, the Kongshan Sect's Stationed Envoys did have relatively close relationships with these immortal cultivation families in Taiyun City.
Managing the cultivation families within the city was itself part of the duties of the sect's stationed envoy disciples.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Chen Yan placed the gold ingot on the table, stood up, and walked toward the southeastern direction of Taiyun City.
"Take care, Immortal Master!"
The waiter called out, using his body to shield the gold ingot on the table as he watched Chen Yan walk away.
After Chen Yan had gone far, the waiter swept his sleeve across the table, collecting the gold ingot into his sleeve.
Then he beamed with joy.