With heavy hearts, the six individuals, accompanied by a troop of monkeys, emerged from the Wuliang Hall and ventured deeper into Wannian Temple.
The relentless assaults had already cast a pall over everyone's spirits. Even Long Feicheng, usually the most talkative, was unusually quiet.
Yet, he couldn't help but ask Yan Shouyi:
"Brother Yan, do you think Auntie Guan Yun, Junior Sister Xiaoxiao, Yan Nanfei, and the others might be..."
"Don't say such things," Yan Shouyi interrupted.
Long Feicheng fell silent, but his unspoken question was clear.
Given the horrific attack on Mount Emei and the heavy casualties, could Abbess Guan Yun, as the sect leader, have survived?
The attackers' primary target would have surely been Abbess Guan Yun.
Moreover, if they were truly safe, Yan Nanfei and the others wouldn't have gone missing, nor would they have sent peculiar coordinates to Yan Shouyi.
After walking only a few steps, Qi Dongqiang suddenly stopped, his voice grave, "Searching every nook and cranny is too troublesome."
Qi Dongqiang raised his hand and gave a command. Huanhuan immediately acknowledged it and, leading the monkey troop behind her, launched a widespread search into Wannian Temple!
Hundreds of monkeys, a dense swarm, spread out into every corner of Wannian Temple. With their search capabilities, it was highly probable that results would be found quickly.
However, Yan Shouyi blocked Qi Dongqiang, "Your monkeys are clumsy. They might destroy evidence and clues!"
Qi Dongqiang was past caring. He brushed Yan Shouyi's hand away and said in a deep voice,
"Caiyun is dead. I don't care about anything else, only the killer's life! If we are any slower and the killer escapes, I fear I will be consumed by guilt for the rest of my life!"
Qi Dongqiang's objective was to find the killer before they could escape and avenge Caiyun.
But Yan Shouyi was more rational. Not only did he want to avenge Caiyun, but he also wanted to uncover the mastermind's true purpose for attacking Mount Emei.
Unfortunately, after Qi Dongqiang's command, the monkeys could no longer be restrained and would not heed Yan Shouyi's advice.
Yan Shouyi could only accept this with helplessness and wait for news.
Not long after, Huanhuan indeed returned with information!
Qi Dongqiang lowered his head and conversed with Huanhuan for a while. Then, he turned to Yan Shouyi and said,
"To the southwest of Wannian Temple, there is a natural pond. Huanhuan's subordinates saw a group of humans there!"
"Humans? What were they wearing?" Yan Shouyi suspected it might be Daoist Jin Bi or Huang Qingcang.
Qi Dongqiang shook his head. The monkeys' intelligence and ability to express themselves were limited, so the description was not very clear.
Since there was a clue, there was no reason to remain in their current location. Yan Shouyi immediately called out to the others, and they all headed southwest.
To be safe, Yan Shouyi quietly inquired about the pond to the southwest from Wen Yuxian.
Wen Yuxian's emotions had calmed slightly. To assist Yan Shouyi, she immediately explained the origin of the pond.
Legend had it that in ancient times, when Puxian Bodhisattva rode his elephant up the mountain, he once drew water from a pond to wash his elephant. Later, this pond became imbued with spiritual energy and Buddhist charm, hence its name, the Elephant Washing Pond.
At Wannian Temple, not every disciple was qualified to go to the Elephant Washing Pond. Although Wen Yuxian had free access when she was younger, ordinary disciples might never get to enter the Elephant Washing Pond in their lifetime.
And now, a group of outsiders were by the Elephant Washing Pond. What was their purpose?
The group moved swiftly and soon arrived outside the Elephant Washing Pond. Yan Shouyi, leading the way, pushed aside the leaves and saw a group of white-robed figures washing bloodstains from their clothes by the pond.
"Disciples of the Dianyi Sect?" Yan Shouyi exclaimed in surprise.
Huang Qingcang, the sect leader of the Dianyi Sect, was among them. And at this very moment, he was directing his disciples to throw corpses into the Elephant Washing Pond!
"Why is Sect Leader Huang disposing of bodies?" Zhuge Ji could not understand.
Yan Shouyi's ears twitched. His superhuman hearing allowed him to clearly hear Huang Qingcang's voice from dozens of meters away.
"Hurry up and dispose of the bodies! Everyone else, rest and recover your strength. When Old Daoist Jin Bi appears, we must not let him go!"
Yan Shouyi's heart grew heavy.
Huang Qingcang was hunting Daoist Jin Bi?
And why?
If the Dianyi Sect and Qingcheng Mountain were at odds, was it possible that the bodies in the plaza were the result of their mutual combat?
No...
Yan Shouyi's brow furrowed as he discovered a significant flaw.
The Qingcheng Mountain disciples used daggers. The Dianyi Sect disciples favored fist and foot techniques. But among the people who died in the plaza, there were disciples from both sects, and their wounds were clearly sword wounds.
Daggers, being too short, inflicted shallower wounds than sword wounds, and the trajectory of the wounds was also different. Yan Shouyi was certain that the killer of the disciples from both sects must have wielded a sword.
At this moment, Huang Qingcang and his disciples were all empty-handed, carrying no weapons.
What exactly was going on?!
As Yan Shouyi pondered, Qi Dongqiang could no longer hold back and charged directly at Huang Qingcang!
He did not recognize Huang Qingcang. He only knew that Huang Qingcang was an outsider to the Emei Sect. Seeing him appear at the Elephant Washing Pond as an outsider, he naturally became Qi Dongqiang's primary suspect!
"Ahhh!!!!"
Qi Dongqiang sprinted forward, roaring, "I'll kill you all!!!"
This sudden appearance of a person filled with murderous intent startled even Huang Qingcang.
As Qi Dongqiang reached Huang Qingcang, he leaped up, swinging his club unceremoniously towards Huang Qingcang's head!
Huang Qingcang reacted swiftly, his bare hands drawing a perfect arc, deflecting Qi Dongqiang's club to the side.
With a "bang," the club struck a large bluestone nearby, causing the massive stone to instantly shatter!
Qi Dongqiang was not deterred and swung his club horizontally again. Huang Qingcang leaped high into the air.
The long club swept through the air, its energy crisscrossing, causing huge splashes in the Elephant Washing Pond behind Huang Qingcang, reaching heights of over ten meters!
Huang Qingcang was no coward. After reacting, he shouted, "All disciples, heed my command! Subdue this person!"
The Dianyi Sect disciples swarmed forward, overwhelming Qi Dongqiang. Qi Dongqiang struggled like a cornered beast, thrashing like a rabid dog.
"It's about numbers, is it?"
Qi Dongqiang snarled, "Huanhuan! Lele! Come help!!!"
As the words fell, the monkeys hidden in the forest emerged one by one!
Huanhuan and Lele, brandishing wooden sticks and large stones, advanced menacingly towards the Dianyi Sect disciples.
Huang Qingcang's expression darkened, "Are you a successor of a folk sect?!"
Huang Qingcang harbored an intense hatred for the successors of folk sects. Now, encountering a strange young man on Mount Emei who wanted to kill without a word, Huang Qingcang had no intention of showing leniency.
He raised his hand, intending to smash Qi Dongqiang's head with a single blow!
"Sect Leader Huang, hold your hand!"
At the critical moment, Yan Shouyi jumped out, blocking Huang Qingcang.