Chapter 676: Qi Ying

Elder Chen's appearance exceeded my expectations. This old man—suspected of being the Two-Faced Buddha—was unfathomable, and definitely not as simple as he seemed.

Chen Jiuge was a disciple of Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple, and Elder Chen's connection to the same faction put me on guard.

Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple stood detached, existing above the Five Great Upper Sects. Even Leng Qingxuan and Blind Liu knew little about them.

'There's something wrong with this sect's origins. It's highly likely they have an illicit deal with the Two-Faced Buddha!'

With that realized, I finally withdrew my gaze from Elder Chen and looked at the others.

"Noon has passed. Fellow Daoist Qingqiu, you may begin," the middle-aged Daoist Xu Yinglong urged impatiently, squinting up at the blazing sun. He glared viciously into the heavy fog. "We must capture that little thief alive today!"

The fog generated by the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation blocked their vision. If it dispersed, this Daoist—constantly on the verge of a rampage—would discover that his "little thief" was actually standing just steps away.

Clutching my token, I hid among the rocks and eavesdropped on their every word.

"Yang Qi is at its thickest at noon, but going beyond is as bad as falling short. A feng shui grand formation emphasizes the harmony of yin and yang, so let us wait a bit longer." Ye Qingqiu was not anxious in the slightest. Unlike Xu Yan or Mr. Paper, his hands were completely empty. He didn't rely on external objects like a Compass. Instead, he simply used his own footsteps to continuously measure the terrain outside the mountain.

"Fellow Daoist Yinglong, do not be anxious. We have confirmed that Gao Jian is hiding here; he cannot escape."

"Of course you aren't anxious, Fellow Daoist Mei. Your precious disciple didn't lose a single hair, so why bother expending any effort to subdue demons and eradicate evil alongside us?" Normally, Xu Yinglong would never offend a Maoshan Yin Master, but his eyes were already bloodshot with frenzy.

"Why would you say that, Fellow Daoist Yinglong? My disciple also nearly fell prey to that scoundrel's treacherous hands..."

Leng Qingxuan's master tried to defend himself, but Xu Yinglong completely ignored him. "The disciples of my Golden Mountain Sect possess both loyalty and righteousness! They aren't like some younger-generation disciples from certain sects who cower in fear before battle and act completely spineless!"

His words were practically a slap to the faces of Leng Qingxuan and his master. Daoist Priest Mei flicked his robe, unwilling to entangle himself further with Xu Yinglong. Leng Qingxuan suffered in silence, only occasionally looking up at the fog-enshrouded Three Yin Sect with a pained expression.

"Why are you getting so agitated? We joined forces to come here to slay demons and eradicate evil. If we start fighting amongst ourselves at the foot of the mountain, won't we just become a laughingstock to that vile fiend?" The one who spoke up to mediate was the scrawny old man. He dressed plainly, and the Golden Bells he wore jingled continuously.

"Since True Person Lingbao has spoken, Yinglong will naturally obey." Xu Yinglong acted extremely respectfully in front of the scrawny old Daoist; it seemed this True Person Lingbao held much higher seniority.

'He's from the Lingbao Sect?' I took careful note of this old Daoist. In the cultivation world, titles like True Person and Celestial Master were not casually thrown around. They required both seniority and sheer power. This unkempt old Daoist would definitely become a massive obstacle to my escape.

The group remained in place until a little past one in the afternoon, when Ye Qingqiu of the Profound Truth Sect finally came to a halt. Standing beneath the blazing sun, his body seemed like the needle on a Compass—one side bordered the thick, baleful Yin fog, while the other side faced the bright sunlight.

"The Dragon Burial Pit, an ascending dragon terrain. The Three Yin Sect really picked a fine location. By establishing their sect here, they ensured endless incense offerings and could even borrow the momentum of riding the dragon. Logically speaking, as long as Jiangcheng still stands, they can never be wiped out." Ye Qingqiu's current stance was extremely peculiar. He stood in the sunlight, yet his shadow fell into the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation, making for an incredibly eerie sight.

"Daoist Qingqiu, are you saying that Gao Jian has joined forces with the Three Yin Sect's cultivators? Or rather, that the true culprits who slaughtered our disciples belong to the Three Yin Sect?"

"Not at all." Ye Qingqiu gave a faint smile. "I'm merely a bit curious."

"Curious about what?" Xu Yinglong was baffled. "Since the Three Yin Sect won't be wiped out, and Gao Jian still managed to hide inside their sect... The Three Yin Sect's cultivators not only didn't stop him, they even used their grand array to shelter him. Isn't that enough to prove their relationship?"

"The Three Yin Sect isn't sheltering Gao Jian." Ye Qingqiu clasped his hands behind his back, the gleam in his eyes mirroring the scorching sun above. "Right now, Gao Jian is the only person inside the Three Yin Sect. He has already bathed the entire sect in blood."

"What?!" The group inhaled sharply in unison, and even Leng Qingxuan looked shocked.

"Impossible! How could he single-handedly wipe out the entire Three Yin Sect?"

"Exactly! Besides, one person's strength is nowhere near enough to operate a sect's grand array."

The group clamored with varying opinions, but ultimately, none of them believed him.

Ye Qingqiu didn't explain. He simply untied a black cloth sachet from his waist. "When I first received this news, I was equally shocked. I have a rudimentary understanding of feng shui, and I know better than anyone that once the momentum of riding the dragon is formed, it is incredibly difficult to halt. What this Gao Jian has done goes far beyond human imagination."

He tossed the sachet in front of the others.

Not long after, the sachet actually began to move on its own.

Deathly energy pervaded the air as a bizarre-looking insect crawled out of the sachet.

Just as they were watching it, Ye Qingqiu beckoned toward the mountain, and two disciples carried a living person over.

The reason they had to "carry" him was because the man's arms and legs had been completely severed, leaving him looking like a human stick.

As soon as the sect disciples threw him to the ground, the man unleashed a torrent of curses at Ye Qingqiu. However, Ye Qingqiu remained unfazed. He merely flicked his hand, tossing a grain of sand onto the Gu worm. The man immediately snapped his mouth shut and writhed on the ground in agony.

"For the specific details, you can ask this person." Ye Qingqiu casually waved his hand. The several cultivators all turned to look at the limbless man. He was disheveled, his face smeared in grime, and bore numerous wounds across his body.

"Who is he?" Leng Qingxuan's master walked over, finding the man on the ground somewhat familiar.

"This person is the sect master of the Ghost Infant Lineage of the Three Yin Sect—Qi Ying."

The moment Ye Qingqiu finished speaking, not only did the sect cultivators tense, but my own heart clenched.

'To think that the Ghost Infant Sect Master who escaped back then actually fell into the hands of the Profound Truth Dao! He knows that I possess the potential of a Fate Usurper!'

"It really is him. I thought he looked familiar just now. A few years ago, when the Ghost Infant Lineage of the Three Yin Sect came to Maoshan to issue a challenge, this man was among them." Leng Qingxuan's master walked up to the Ghost Infant Sect Master, a hint of sympathy actually revealing itself in his eyes. "Fellow Daoist Ye, although this person has committed many evils and harbors wicked intentions, does he really deserve such cruel torture?"

"The one who reduced him to this state wasn't our Miaozhen temple, but Gao Jian." The relaxed expression on Ye Qingqiu's face slowly faded. "A few days ago, when he found his way to our secular properties, he was already heavily injured. If I hadn't treated him, his soul would have likely returned to the afterlife by now."

The Ghost Infant Sect Master on the ground gnashed his teeth at Ye Qingqiu, his eyes brimming with such fury that he looked ready to eat the man alive. Anyone who saw this would know Ye Qingqiu was lying.

Hiding in the distance, I was equally astonished. When the Ghost Infant Sect Master fled, he was injured and his arms were severed, but his legs had still been intact. Otherwise, he never could have escaped on his own.

Obviously, Ye Qingqiu had tortured the Ghost Infant Sect Master to force a confession.

Everyone present was well aware of this, but no one pointed it out.

Ye Qingqiu seemed to understand this as well. He smiled faintly, maintaining his elegant demeanor. "I expended quite a few spirit pills and miraculous medicines to treat Fellow Daoist Qi Ying, but he proved quite uncooperative. He constantly refused to divulge any information regarding the Three Yin Sect and Gao Jian. Left with no other choice, I had to use my sect's Heart-Punishing Dao-Inquiring Secret Method to pry his mouth open."

Hearing him say this, I looked at the Mother Insect on the ground and finally remembered. This bug was precisely a product of the Heart-Slaying Dao Inquiry. As long as this insect existed, it could control the victim's mind. The only slim chance of survival required the live sacrifice of someone sharing the same bloodline.

"Dare I ask what clues Fellow Daoist Ye obtained from him?" The Golden Mountain Sect's Daoist administrator, Xu Yinglong, was the most eager. His heart was set on revenge, and he hated me to the bone.

"It's better to let him say it himself." Ye Qingqiu stood beside the Gu worm, looking as though he could crush it with a single step. The tiny insect was terrified, curling its body into a ball, much like the current Ghost Infant Sect Master.

Hearing Ye Qingqiu's voice, Qi Ying struggled to raise his head. His eyes were filled with venomous resentment, but under the threat of the Gu worm, he had no choice but to obey Ye Qingqiu's command and explain the Three Yin Sect's protective array—the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation.

The crowd finally realized why Ye Qingqiu had been able to set up a corresponding feng shui grand formation with such precision. It turned out he had an inside source.

From Qi Ying's mouth, these sect cultivators also learned about some of my past—how I had offended them, and how I had entered their sect to bathe it in blood.

These matters were far from glorious. As he neared the end, Qi Ying's voice grew lower and lower.

Hiding within the grand array, I also heard everything Qi Ying said. What puzzled me was that he hadn't revealed the fact that I possessed the potential of a Fate Usurper.

'He seems to be intentionally keeping it a secret for me.' At first, I couldn't understand why Qi Ying would do this. It wasn't until I saw the deep, venomous resentment in his eyes that I realized this guy probably wanted to use my hands to get revenge for him.

Once Qi Ying finished speaking, the several sect cultivators all wore strange expressions. Only Ye Qingqiu kept his hands behind his back, his gaze calm. "Fellow Daoists, every word Qi Ying spoke is the truth. If he uttered even half a lie, the Heart-Punishing Gu would definitely claim his life. However, there is one thing I wish to remind everyone of."

He lifted his foot, stepped right over the Gu worm, and arrived in front of Qi Ying. He sized him up with a smile. "This person harbors malicious intentions. Although he hasn't lied, he is still hiding something from us."

Ye Qingqiu grabbed Qi Ying's shoulder and hoisted him straight up. "Therefore, I would like to ask the Fellow Daoist from Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple to take action. Your noble sect can comprehend the Dao in dreams; you should have a way to uncover the secrets hidden deep in his heart."

"Fellow Daoist Ye flatters me. The Dream Dao is not omnipotent." Elder Chen glanced at Qi Ying, seemingly unable to bear the sight. "Put him down and let me try."