On the spherical mountain, only Li Yan and Gong Chenying were left, looking at each other in dismay under the countless gazes fixed upon them.
"Let's go too," Gong Chenying said to Li Yan, clearly not wanting to be the center of attention. She directly summoned her White Jade Skiff and stepped onto it first. Li Yan, of course, had no desire to stand here and be watched like a pet. He quickly followed, and the White Jade Skiff transformed into a streak of light, tearing through the sky.
"Were you being deliberate just now?" On the White Jade Skiff , Gong Chenying stood at the prow, facing the wind, her long robes rustling loudly. She didn't turn back, but asked lightly.
"Oh... no, I was just curious," Li Yan replied, stunned for a moment, then answered with some sheepishness.
After hearing his reply, Gong Chenying tilted her head slightly, glancing at Li Yan from the corner of her eye. Standing inside the skiff, Li Yan couldn't help but scratch his head.
"Senior Sister, don't tell anyone about the pill I gave you. That pill is a bit strange, I can't make sense of it, but its effects don't seem like something from this realm. If someone with ill intentions were to find out, they might even resort to soul-searching," Li Yan suddenly sent a voice transmission.
Gong Chenying remained at the front, her robes still fluttering, and said nothing. Seeing this, Li Yan fell silent. He had already warned her about this inside the Wheel of Life and Death , but he was afraid this stubborn girl would just blurt it out, which would lead to a lot of trouble later.
The spherical mountain was only about twenty li from the peak where the Malevolent Spirit Sect was located. With Gong Chenying flying at high speed, they arrived in an instant. The White Jade Skiff circled once before landing on the peak.
After the two landed, Gong Chenying waved her hand to retrieve the skiff and led Li Yan toward Elder Peng and the others. The eight of them had long been staring at the two with burning gazes.
As Li Yan walked over, he spotted Zhao Min , Li Wuyi , and Li Changting standing to the side of the eight Golden Core elders, as well as the joyful faces of Yun Chunqu and Wei Chituo behind them. Farther away were Wang Tian, Wei Feng , the Chu brothers, and others. Their expressions varied—some were joyful, some were cold, and some nodded in acknowledgment, but no one came forward to talk. They all clearly knew this was the time for the elders to ask questions. However, their gazes inadvertently swept past Gong Chenying's waist.
Li Yan nodded to Li Wuyi and the others as he walked. When he saw Zhao Min , the girl with the ponytail gave him a cool nod before turning her gaze to Gong Chenying. At that moment, Gong Chenying, who was walking ahead of Li Yan, clearly stiffened before quickly adjusting her pace and walking toward the eight elders. Li Yan could only smile at Li Wuyi 's group and hurry to follow.
"Little Martial Brother's team suffered such heavy losses? And Senior Sister Six's Spirit-Storing Pouch is gone too," Li Changting whispered with a frown.
"The situation doesn't look good. Baili Yuan and Gan Shi haven't come out yet. Could it be that besides the top three, out of the nearly seven hundred cultivators who went in, only these few are left?" Li Wuyi's expression was not good.
"At least they came out. Not a single person or demon from the demonic cultivators or the Pure Land Sect has emerged," Zhao Min said, raising her dark eyebrows. She stood with her hands behind her back, watching the two figures. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but Gong Chenying's expression seemed a bit unnatural when she saw her just now.
Behind them, Yun Chunqu had not yet fully recovered from his injuries and was being supported by Wei Chituo . A rare smile appeared on his perpetually ice-like face as he whispered, "It's good that you're back. It's good that you're back." Hearing this, Wei Chituo patted his shoulder gently with his other hand.
Farther away, Wang Tian and his group had grim expressions and were talking in low voices. One didn't need to listen closely to know what they were talking about. It was because out of all the cultivators from the other peaks who had entered with Gong Chenying, not a single one had come out, leaving only this senior sister and her direct junior brother. They were naturally discussing this matter. At the same time, they hadn't seen a Spirit-Storing Pouch on either Gong Chenying or Li Yan, which only deepened their questions, but they couldn't ask for the time being.
Just as Gong Chenying and Li Yan reached Elder Peng, before they could even bow, Elder Peng waved his hand, and a light shield enveloped them along with the other seven Golden Core elders. At the same time, Immortal Elder Hangwu and the others from the Supreme Mystery Teachings were doing something similar, hastily questioning Qiu Jiuzhen about the situation. The Ten-Pace Courtyard had Sword King Xiahuà personally treating Wang Lang, but it was clear that Wang Lang would not be waking up anytime soon.
Inside the light shield, Elder Peng started by asking a few simple questions, which Gong Chenying answered one by one. Then, she began to recount what had happened from the moment she entered the Wheel of Life and Death , with other elders occasionally interjecting with questions. Li Yan stood bored at the back, having to respectfully listen to the whole story again. But when she mentioned how Li Yan had poisoned eighteen monks and tricked a Chan Master in the first trial, the elders all shot Li Yan a meaningful glance, which made him feel unexpectedly flattered. The respectful look on his face deepened.
When Gong Chenying continued to talk about the unexpected events of the third trial, all the elders showed surprise on their faces. Although they had guessed that the three sects, including the Ten-Pace Courtyard , had some hidden means to deal with the Malevolent Spirit Sect , they had never imagined that they could actually rendezvous in violation of the rules to deal with their side. For a moment, they didn't know how such an impossible thing could happen under the constraints of the Wheel of Life and Death's rules.
A murderous aura rose from Li Yuyin's pretty face. As her voluptuous body swayed slightly, a wave of killing intent filled the light shield, making it difficult for Gong Chenying and Li Yan to breathe.
"I told you they were a bunch of shady, despicable scoundrels, ganging up on us with their numbers."
"Junior Sister Li, calm your anger. It's not too late to discuss this after they finish speaking." Elder Yi of Four Symbols Peak waved a large hand, and the killing intent within the light shield vanished. Only then did Gong Chenying and Li Yan feel the pressure on them ease, sweat beading on their foreheads. The Golden Core grand cultivators were truly not to be trifled with.
Gong Chenying let out a breath and gave a wry smile. She gathered her thoughts and continued. Much of what she said next was related to Li Yan. She described how Li Yan had analyzed the battle traces and the items left behind by the enemy, piecing together the clues to uncover the secret of the rhomboid crystals. Not only that, but he had then discovered the space outside the passages within the Wheel of Life and Death and used these discoveries to get out and notify Gan Shi and Baili Yuan. Of course, she only knew the gist of these events and wasn't entirely clear on the details. She then recounted how Li Yan had returned to find her and gravely injure Wang Lang.
However, when it came to the matter of Li Yan healing her, she glossed over it, only saying that after being injured by Wang Lang's aftershock, she had escaped with Li Yan's help and taken a sect-provided pill, and was now fine. She believed that apart from Peak Master Li Yuyin, who might inquire about her injuries due to being a woman, the others would not press for details.
The elders, seeing her stable aura, did not probe or ask further questions. They had prepared a large number of medicinal pills for these disciples before they entered the Wheel of Life and Death anyway. Besides, their attention was now completely captivated by Li Yan's story.
Gong Chenying then explained the whereabouts of Mei Bucai's group and her own speculations, which earned a slight nod from the elders. The measures Gong Chenying had taken at the time were correct. Otherwise, if a whole team went in and only the team leader and her direct junior brother came out, it would be extremely difficult to explain to any of the peaks. As long as Wang Lang was alive, it wouldn't be hard to find out what had happened, so they were certain the two wouldn't dare lie about this.
After her account, Gong Chenying fell silent. The elders' eyes grew brighter and brighter as they listened to the story. They had never expected a genius to truly appear among this batch of Qi Condensation disciples. Leaving aside everything else, just Gong Chenying's mention of him using poison to kill Chan Master Zhizhong of the Pure Land Sect , Liang Liang of the Ten-Pace Courtyard , and a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Supreme Mystery Teachings was already incredible. The fact that he had gravely injured Wang Lang in the end was even more bizarre. These were the classic methods of a genius killing those of a higher cultivation level. Although Gong Chenying and others were involved, the final, fatal blow had always come from the boy standing before them.
"Hee hee, little one. I've long heard of the reputation of the Fragmented Poison Body . It's a shame I didn't get to see it in person during the competition. Did you know that if it weren't for that little Wei brat fighting with me for you back then, you would have been a disciple of my Never-Parting Peak ?" A charming voice, seductive to the bone, rang out within the light shield, making Li Yan's entire body go numb. A dazed look appeared in his eyes, but he recovered his clarity in an instant. Even Gong Chenying, who was standing beside him, felt her heart race and her face flush red after hearing the words.
After recovering, Li Yan quickly took a few steps back until his back was against the light shield, a trace of apprehension in his eyes.
"Hee hee hee, not bad at all. To recover in such a short time." Peak Master Li Yuyin of Never-Parting Peak smiled bewitchingly. Even the other elders beside her looked uncomfortable.
"I say, Junior Sister Li, why must you use your arts on a junior?" Elder Peng said with a displeased look on his face.
"It's not like I did it on purpose. But it seems this little one is really formidable. Whether it's his scheming or that Fragmented Poison Body , I was much weaker when I was his age," Li Yuyin said with a lazy air, her posture and figure captivating.
Seeing her treat Li Yan this way, Gong Chenying lowered her head, an unfamiliar discomfort in her heart. She had seen this Senior Aunt Li several times before and knew that the cultivation art she practiced was special, so she had never felt anything amiss. But today, she felt a sense of displeasure. However, with her head lowered, no one noticed.
"Alright, alright. Li Yan, you can relax. I never thought your mind was so meticulous as to discover the three sects' secret. Now, tell us again how you notified Baili Yuan and the others after you left." Elder Peng's face was filled with admiration. He first glanced outside the light shield—it had been half an incense stick's time since Gong Chenying and the others had entered the shield, and there was still no movement from the spherical mountain—then he turned to Li Yan and spoke gently.
Hearing their conversation, Li Yan knew that this aunt of Senior Sister Li Changting was teasing a junior again. He felt a wave of frustration. He had no choice but to step forward again and respectfully bow to the elders, though he stayed a few steps farther away from that Peak Master Li.
He then recounted how he had found Gan Shi after exiting the passage, how he had led them out of the passage again to find Baili Yuan, how he had been teleported to the final trial on his way back to find Gong Chenying, and how he and Gong Chenying had devised a plan to deal with Wang Lang again, hitting only the important points. He made no mention of Pingtu. Even so, his words made the eight elders gasp in astonishment.
"Little one, according to you, this space was created based on the principles of the five elements' harmony and conflict. To think that your multiple spirit roots inadvertently thwarted their scheme."
A short, dark, middle-aged elder from Four Symbols Peak said, his eyes glinting.
Li Yan nodded. "Yes, Senior. Your nephew also heard them admit it themselves." He then recounted how he had encountered Wang Lang and Quan Jiuxing, and the gist of their conversation.
"So, you're saying that after Wang Lang and Quan Jiuxing rendezvoused, you were the one who broke the five-element balance, causing them to kill each other? Then you finished off Miao Zhengyi of the Ten-Pace Courtyard ? And after that, you found Gong Chenying and hid in that sky of black shadow that could destroy all things, waiting for an opportunity to gravely injure Wang Lang?"
After hearing everything, Elder Peng fired off a series of questions. The more they thought about it, the more shocked they became. This disciple now looked as harmless as could be, yet during this trial of the Wheel of Life and Death , most of the three sects' Foundation Establishment masters had died at his hands. He had also killed many Qi Condensation disciples along the way. The most tragic part was that the cultivators of those three sects had no idea how they had died by his hand.