Descending the steps of the detention center and then passing through the corridor, the thousand-year-old ancient tree in the central courtyard came into view.
The white-clad young woman's pace was swift, much more hurried than when she had come.
Merit Hall's Steward Song was dead.
However, since the Spirit Tracing Art could still detect his true energy signature, it meant he hadn't been dead for long.
She had to quickly inform her master and the sect's higher-ups about this news.
The earlier the timing, the more certainty they would have.
"Thud!"
Just as the white-clad young woman and Chen Yan stepped into the central courtyard, a round object was thrown from the direction of the Enforcement Hall's black iron gate, landing at their feet.
Looking closely under the moonlight—
The face on this head looked quite young, eyes still open, expression very vacant.
As if it hadn't realized what was happening before being decapitated.
"What wind blows you here?"
A soft, effeminate male voice came from the direction of the black iron gate, where a man wearing Kongshan Sect robes stood.
The distance was far, and Chen Yan couldn't clearly see his expression, but for some reason, Chen Yan felt that the man was smiling.
"Who are you?"
The white-clad young woman's voice was very low.
"Is that important, Chief Chu?"
Chief?
Chen Yan's breath caught.
The white-clad young woman beside him was actually the current Qingchan Peak Chief, Chu Xiyao, daughter of Qingchan Peak's Sword Master Elder Chu Chen?
Although he had guessed the young woman's status as high as possible, he never expected it to reach this level.
Chu Xiyao, Qingchan Peak's chief disciple, and also the first disciple of Qingchan Peak's Sword Master Elder.
Among Kongshan Sect's contemporary disciples, her status could absolutely rank within the top three.
The man at the gate then locked his gaze on Chen Yan, who stood slightly behind the white-clad young woman, slightly narrowing his eyes:
"This young brother is..."
Danger.
When the man's gaze fell upon Chen Yan, he very keenly sensed this feeling.
"Just an ordinary outer sect disciple I randomly grabbed to show the way."
Chu Xiyao said.
The man chuckled softly, his voice still effeminate.
His gaze remained fixed on Chen Yan, then he spoke:
"Then, young brother, don't blame me. Blame Chief Chu, for it was she who dragged you into this."
The man lightly pointed a finger through the air, a subtle true energy rippling out.
Chu Xiyao reacted swiftly, drawing the sword at her waist and positioning herself in front of Chen Yan.
A flash of sword light appeared first, followed by the metallic wail of something striking the blade.
Chen Yan knew that in that instant just now, Chu Xiyao and that guy had already exchanged a confrontation.
And the target of that man's finger technique was himself.
Martial Spring Realm.
With his current cultivation at the peak of the Qi Circulation Realm, just one step away from the Martial Spring Realm, Chen Yan clearly understood their cultivation levels.
But he was powerless against everything.
Because the gap between the Qi Circulation Realm and the Martial Spring Realm was like an unbridgeable chasm.
If not for Chu Xiyao, in that instant just now, Chen Yan would have already died under that man's single finger technique.
Kongshan Finger.
This was the basic technique that all Kongshan Sect Qi Circulation Realm disciples must learn, and also the most versatile spell.
Back then, what Lu Li used to kill Chen Yan was this same Kongshan Finger.
Now, the spell this man used to try to kill Chen Yan was still this same move.
Simple, effective.
No Qi Circulation Realm cultivator could withstand a single Kongshan Finger from a Martial Spring Realm cultivator.
Absolutely no exceptions—this was a fundamental gap in realm and strength.
"I'll give you one chance."
Chu Xiyao's cool, mint-like voice sounded again:
"If you surrender now, come back to Qingchan Peak with us, and confess everything that needs to be confessed, perhaps you can receive lenient treatment."
"Heh."
The effeminate man only gave a short laugh, revealing a half-smiling expression:
"Talking to dead people is really exhausting."
The next instant, the man violently pushed off the ground, rapidly closing in on Chu Xiyao.
An endless stream of true energy surged from his meridians, followed by another palm strike aimed directly at Chu Xiyao's face.
Wind-Splitting Palm!
Yet another mandatory technique for Kongshan Sect disciples, a common move used by Training Grounds disciples during sparring.
This also made Chen Yan realize a fact.
That this man with the effeminate voice was definitely a Kongshan Sect disciple, not an external enemy who had infiltrated the sect.
The waters within the sect seemed deeper than he had imagined.
Chu Xiyao appeared somewhat flustered under the man's fierce assault.
Even though she was one of Kongshan Sect's rare cultivation geniuses in a thousand years, in reality, she was still just a seventeen-year-old young woman.
Lacking combat experience while her moves weren't ruthless and decisive, as if always holding back.
Finally, the effeminate-voiced man found an opening in Chu Xiyao's defense, pushing her back with another palm strike, completely exposing Chen Yan before him.
Chen Yan's breath froze for a moment. He wanted to do something, but the true energy that should have been flowing through his meridians seemed to solidify, completely unable to circulate.
In that instant, Chen Yan already understood what would happen next.
The man's face bore a strange smile, with no emotion detectable from his eyes.
The hair tied behind him fluttered slightly in the night wind, his left index finger aimed directly at Chen Yan's chest.
Bang!
A bowl-sized bloody hole exploded in Chen Yan's chest. He didn't even have time to feel any pain, only a sudden dullness.
He fell forward like a kite with its string cut. Before his consciousness faded, Chen Yan took one last look in Chu Xiyao's direction.
Her eyes stared directly as Chen Yan's body fell toward the ground, her cool, peerlessly beautiful face showing no particular expression.
Only in her autumn-pool-like eyes could one see some traces of self-blame and resentment.
Exactly the same expression he had seen on the white-clad young woman at the Training Grounds entrance during his final moments when the outer court calamity descended that day.
...
[Reincarnation Ended.]
[This Reincarnation Rating: C (The gears of fate are slowly turning)]
[Accumulated Cultivation: Qi Circulation Realm Peak]
[Reincarnation Reward: Hidden Immortal Art (Obscures heavenly secrets, making it impossible for anyone to see through your cultivation level, and allows you to disguise your cultivation as any realm below your true level)]
[Reincarnation settlement complete. Host will return to the previous reincarnation record point, inherit the accumulated cultivation from this reincarnation, and restart life]
...
"Gasp!"
Chen Yan abruptly sat upright on the bed, panting heavily.
Everything around him was pitch black.
He wasn't under the large tree in the courtyard, Cheng Ziying wasn't by his side, and the time wasn't before Lu Li's scripture teaching began.
This time should be...
The moment he had just been startled awake from a nightmare.
Which meant—
The reincarnation record point had changed.