The entire Heavenly Summit Mountain had completely entered a state of high alert.
Although the cultivators from various sects currently remaining on the mountain faced no restrictions while on the mountain itself, the moment they approached the ferry docks of Heavenly Summit Mountain or the roads leading down the mountain, they would immediately find themselves locked onto by numerous gazes.
The Five Great Sects were no strangers to covert scheming and rivalry.
But when something like Qin Yue being pinned to the Heavenly Summit Palace with a sword occurred, at least on the surface, the other four great sects had to offer Kongshan Sect some convenience and provide whatever assistance they could.
This was called maintaining decorum.
Of course, on Heavenly Summit Mountain, relying solely on the personnel of the Five Great Sects was insufficient to fully implement high alert across the entire mountain.
They mobilized personnel from sects with closer ties to the Five Great Sects for the Five Great Sects to command.
Liu Yantang retrieved Qin Yue's corpse from the Heavenly Summit Palace and temporarily placed it in the quarters originally assigned to Qin Yue within the Slaying Heaven Pavilion.
After that, Zhong Yin, Lin Qifeng, Liu Yantang, and Chen Yan gathered together.
Except for Yue Chi, who had been sent back to Kongshan Sect to deliver the news.
"Qifeng, Chen Yan."
Elder Zhong Yin slowly began to speak:
"You two were the last to see Qin Yue. Was there anything unusual at the time?"
"In reply to Martial Uncle Zhong, there wasn't anything particularly unusual. It's just that when Qin Yue left, she seemed somewhat panicked and agitated."
Chen Yan said, then briefly glanced sideways in Lin Qifeng's direction.
He could only say this much.
As for anything extra, it depended on whether Lin Qifeng himself wanted to speak.
"Senior Brother, I suspect Qin Yue fled in such a panic at that time because of me."
Lin Qifeng said.
"Because of you?"
Zhong Yin was puzzled.
"Yes. For some reason, Qin Yue seemed to be very afraid of me."
Lin Qifeng continued:
"But I also don't know what exactly she was afraid of about me."
"That is indeed strange."
Liu Yantang frowned slightly:
"Senior Brother Zhong, who do you think is responsible for this matter?"
"The current situation on Heavenly Summit Mountain is complex. Almost every sect on Chenping Continent with even a slight reputation has sent people."
Zhong Yin said slowly:
"However, the one who could accomplish such a deed must be a cultivator with a cultivation level at the Passable God Realm or above."
That was indeed true.
Although Qin Yue's cultivation realm was only at the mid-stage of the Martial Spring Realm, she had after all cultivated the Pure Dust Glazed Art. Even when facing a peak Martial Spring Realm cultivator, she would not be at a disadvantage.
If a Qi Sea Realm cultivator made a move, Qin Yue would undoubtedly die, but a Qi Sea Realm cultivator could not achieve a one-sword kill while also pinning the person to the Heavenly Summit Palace over two thousand zhang high in the sky.
In other words, only a cultivator at the Passable God Realm or above could accomplish this.
"In that case, the suspect pool can likely be reduced from over twenty thousand people to less than five hundred."
Lin Qifeng said.
On Heavenly Summit Mountain, including the Five Great Sects, there were currently about four hundred or so Passable God Realm cultivators.
"To find the culprit, we must start from the beginning and consider who would have a motive to want to kill Qin Yue?"
Zhong Yin posed the question.
Just at that moment, the door was suddenly opened from the outside.
A white-haired old man wearing a Bagua Daoist robe stepped into the room, looking travel-worn. The newcomer was Yue Chi.
"Eldest Senior Brother, I have already conveyed the information to Master and Qingchan Peak."
Yue Chi said:
"Qingchan True Dharma Elder Bai Qiming and Kongyuan True Dharma Elder Wen Hongli are currently waiting for you in the main hall of the Slaying Heaven Pavilion."
"...Understood."
Zhong Yin let out a long, heavy sigh.
He was not feeling light-hearted, because Zhong Yin clearly knew that he would definitely be held accountable today.
While he was leading the delegation, a personal disciple of a peak lineage, and moreover, a disciple selected by the sect for the Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry, had died under such baffling circumstances, in such an unclear manner.
By both sentiment and reason, he, as the Delegation Envoy, would bear the primary responsibility.
Zhong Yin walked towards the door. Standing at the doorway, Yue Chi waved his hand towards Chen Yan's direction:
"You come along too."
"Yes."
Chen Yan replied, then followed.
...
Slaying Heaven Pavilion, Main Hall.
This great hall had stood here for over a hundred thousand years. Throughout these long millennia, it had been repaired thousands upon thousands of times.
The Slaying Heaven Pavilion had been allocated to Kongshan Sect for sixty thousand years.
Therefore, the interior of its main hall had also been renovated to more closely resemble the style of Kongshan Sect, rather than the original appearance of the Heavenly Summit Mountain's Slaying Heaven Pavilion.
Chen Yan followed Martial Uncle Zhong Yin and Martial Uncle Yue Chi into the main hall. At this moment, quite a few people had already gathered inside the hall.
Within the delegation, the elders from the peak lineages were all present. The Chief Disciples were also all there, except for the Chief Disciples of Yibai Peak and Linwu Mountain who had not come to Heavenly Summit Mountain.
And Linwu Mountain and Yunyin Peak had also respectively sent senior disciples to observe and bear witness.
In the center of the main hall sat two peak lineage elders: Qingchan True Dharma Elder Bai Qiming and Kongyuan True Dharma Elder Wen Hongli.
Both of their expressions were extremely solemn and serious. Bai Qiming's eyes and brows even revealed a trace of anger.
Qin Yue was Bai Qiming's personal disciple, so he himself was certainly going to come.
As for Kongyuan True Dharma Elder Wen Hongli, he had been instructed by Yun Yichen to represent Kongshan Sect in coming to investigate this matter and uphold justice.
Apart from these two, slightly below and to the left of the two True Dharma Elders in the very center, sat another cultivator wearing a dark, almost black, Daoist robe, appearing to be around fifty-something years old.
Chen Yan did not know who he was.
But upon seeing Lin Xinyang standing beside this dark-robed cultivator, Chen Yan could roughly guess his identity.
Yuanhua Mountain Dignity Elder, He Furen.
If the appearances of Bai Qiming and Wen Hongli on Heavenly Summit Mountain were understandable and justified,
then what was he, an elder from Yuanhua Mountain, doing here?
Regardless, Chen Yan paid close attention to this dark-robed cultivator.
Because He Furen had once wanted his life.
On that night when Chen Yan fled back to Kongshan Sect after obtaining Song Mingde's list from the Taiyun City Immortal Gambling Den, it was almost certainly He Furen who had sent people to intercept and kill him.
He Furen's name was also on that list.
But Chen Yan couldn't understand what that list represented. Not only him, even Lin Qifeng couldn't understand it.
The only one who seemed able to understand it was Elder Fu Qian alone.
But after obtaining that list, Elder Fu Qian became dispirited and demoralized. The previously escalating conflict between the Qingchan True Dharma lineage and the Qingchan Martial Discipline lineage also began to quiet down.
Just at that moment, perhaps sensing Chen Yan's gaze, He Furen suddenly turned his head to look at him, then smiled at Chen Yan.
Chen Yan's facial expression remained completely unchanged. He merely gave a slight nod in He Furen's direction, showing the respect a junior owes to a superior.
He Furen also made no other indication. He simply, quite ordinarily, shifted his gaze away from Chen Yan.