Xiao Bo'an's eyes immediately narrowed, his entire body tensing up in an instant:
"Immortal Master Yan..."
"Is there still a need to continue this act, Chief Disciple Xiao?"
Chen Yan continued speaking at a slow pace, looking as if everything was completely under his control.
"...Why?"
Xiao Bo'an's voice trembled slightly.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out how Chen Yan had seen through his identity.
No, just on what basis?
The moment Chen Yan called out his name, every emotion deep within Xiao Bo'an's heart completely dissipated, leaving only fear behind.
He simply had no way to understand.
Even when facing cultivators of the upper three realms, Xiao Bo'an had never felt such immense pressure.
So much so that the hand he had hidden behind his back couldn't stop trembling.
"Chief Disciple Xiao, are you planning to continue speaking with me while looking like this?"
Chen Yan said, then walked over to a wooden chair in the courtyard and slowly sat down.
The look he directed at Xiao Bo'an, who stood rigidly to the side, was filled with a hint of amusement.
Xiao Bo'an didn't speak. After remaining silent for another moment, he raised his sleeve and gave a gentle wave in front of his face, revealing his appearance from when he was at Heavenly Summit Mountain.
"...Chief Disciple Chen."
Xiao Bo'an spoke in a deep voice.
"So, is this now Chief Disciple Xiao's true appearance?"
Chen Yan asked lightly.
"That depends on how Chief Disciple Chen understands it."
Xiao Bo'an said.
His body language remained extremely tense, as if facing a formidable enemy.
Seeing this, Chen Yan laughed outright:
"No need to be so nervous, Chief Disciple Xiao. Weren't you specifically waiting for me here?"
Xiao Bo'an's breath hitched once more.
"So, Chief Disciple Chen must already know the true identity of the mastermind behind the scenes..."
"Roughly."
Chen Yan said.
"Then, Chief Disciple Chen, please give the answer."
Chen Yan smiled faintly:
"Chief Disciple Xiao, aren't you also a part of it?"
Hearing this, Xiao Bo'an was stunned again.
Chen Yan didn't directly name the mastermind, but instead used a method that Xiao Bo'an, as someone involved in the scheme, would inevitably understand.
"What's wrong, Chief Disciple Xiao, am I that frightening?"
Seeing Xiao Bo'an still standing rigidly in the courtyard, Chen Yan teased.
"Chief Disciple Chen is immensely talented. I, Xiao, bow in admiration."
Finally, Xiao Bo'an's hands trembling slightly, he respectfully bowed in Chen Yan's direction with a formal salute.
"Chief Disciple Xiao praises me too highly."
Chen Yan simply shook his head, then continued:
"So, what's next? Did Grand Elder Qi give any instructions on what I should do?"
"Jiyuan Huaxiao."
Xiao Bo'an only uttered these four words.
...
Forty-six days remained until the Outer Court Cataclysm.
Five days had already passed since Chen Yan returned to the sect from Taiyun City, having investigated the truth behind the so-called massacre at the Immortal Gambling Den.
And during these five days, Chen Yan had been in the same place.
Yuanhua Mountain.
Every day, Chen Yan sat before the pitch-black Jieyou Abyss, gazing at the pool water in front of him that was as calm as death.
Day and night.
At first, the disciples of Yuanhua Mountain were still curious about this Chief Disciple of Kongyuan Mountain who kept sitting before the Jieyou Abyss, but after five days, they had grown completely accustomed to it.
Li Haowen was not currently at Yuanhua Mountain.
It seemed he didn't want to stay on Yuanhua Mountain either right now, so he had gone to Xinglin Valley with the disciples from the Merit Hall a few days earlier.
According to the passing Yuanhua Mountain disciples, the situation regarding the mission at Xinglin Valley had apparently become more severe.
Because things weren't as simple as the sect elders had previously imagined.
Originally, the elders speculated that a relatively powerful demonic beast, likely with strength above the third realm, might have emerged from the depths of Xinglin Valley. That would have driven the first and second realm demonic beasts out of the valley, posing a threat to the surrounding human settlements.
For the Kongshan Sect, such matters were extremely simple. They just needed to casually post a mission at the Merit Hall, letting the sect's younger disciples go over to gain some experience, and it would be easily resolved.
However, based on the intelligence relayed back by the two Supervisors from the Linwu Mountain Merit Hall who were sent into the depths of Xinglin Valley, the sect discovered the situation was becoming more complicated.
The root cause of this disturbance was not in the depths of Xinglin Valley.
It was in the Fallen Sword Mountain Range.
Xinglin Valley bordered the Fallen Sword Mountain Range. This place where the first sword cultivator of Chenping Continent fell had always been considered relatively low-key in Chen Yan's memory.
Most of the demonic beasts that usually roamed the Fallen Sword Mountain Range were below the third realm.
But this didn't mean dangerous demonic beasts didn't exist within the Fallen Sword Mountain Range. Chen Yan had heard more than once legends of a great seventh realm demon within the mountain range.
If it weren't for Chen Yan's lifespan nearing its end in his first life, with his cultivation having just reached the mid-stage of the Qi Circulation Realm at that time, he would never have set foot in the Fallen Sword Mountain Range no matter what.
And in the end, he indeed died from severe injuries inflicted by a demonic beast within the mountain range.
"Senior Brother Chen."
Suddenly, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind Chen Yan.
Chen Yan instinctively turned to look and found a young disciple standing behind him. A breeze blew past, slightly lifting his Daoist robe, revealing numerous darkish scars on his wrist.
Those were injuries from the Shadow Binding Rope.
"Qian Xun?"
Chen Yan said.
"I've seen you sitting here by the Jieyou Abyss for several days now, Senior Brother Chen. What are you doing?"
Qian Xun asked.
"I'm waiting."
Chen Yan replied.
He himself didn't know what exactly he was waiting for.
"Is that so?"
Qian Xun slightly raised his head, looking towards the pitch-black Jieyou Abyss before them:
"Senior Brother Chen, have you ever thought about ascending to immortality?"
"Yes."
Chen Yan replied.
Every cultivator in this world has imagined ascending to immortality, just like how every person in Chen Yan's previous life imagined becoming wealthy.
"But our Kongshan Sect has only ever produced three True Persons who reached the Immortal Ascension Realm, hailing from Kongyuan Mountain, Yuanhua Mountain, and Qingchan Peak respectively."
Qian Xun continued.
This was something almost every Kongshan Sect disciple knew.
"Senior Brother Chen, do you know why Qingchan Peak produced a True Person Caiyun, yet it remains Qingchan Peak and not Qingchan Mountain?"
Qian Xun said.
"I don't know."
Chen Yan had also been curious about why this was.
Although few people nowadays cared about the difference in status between a mountain and a peak, it was completely different in the past.
In the old days of the Kongshan Sect, the status of a mountain was higher than that of a peak.
Although Linwu Mountain never produced a True Person who reached the Immortal Ascension Realm, it did produce a great expert of the Dao Union Realm who turned the tide for the Kongshan Sect, so it was exceptionally promoted to mountain status.
As for Qingchan Peak...
"Because True Person Caiyun made a mistake."
"A mistake?"
Chen Yan's eyebrows raised slightly.
"He once tried to slay a great demon of the Dao Union Realm. What he didn't know was that this great demon's cultivation was already close to the tenth realm. True Person Caiyun was unfortunately severely wounded by that great demon of the Dao Union Realm."
Qian Xun said.
"Seriously injured, True Person Caiyun lost the ability to slay that great demon of the Dao Union Realm. So he separated the great demon's physical body and soul, suppressing them separately. The demon's soul was suppressed within the Demon Suppression Stone, while the physical body of that great demon..."
As he spoke, Qian Xun raised his right hand, pointing at the Jieyou Abyss before them, the ring on his finger glinting faintly:
"...was suppressed right here in the Jieyou Abyss."