Wen Xinliang, of course, was not polite. He was respectful to these people, but he couldn't let his group weaken the sect's reputation. Otherwise, what would become of the sect's prestige in the long run? After a slight bow, he strode to a chair and sat down. Li Yan and the other two also chose a chair each and sat down.
Seeing the three of them seated, the stout, curly-bearded man spoke, "I am quite familiar with fellow Daoist Wei. As for his disciples, I have met that boy Li Wuyi , but I have not met the few of you."
Hearing this, Wen Xinliang smiled faintly. He knew what the other party was thinking. He patted his waist, and with a flash of light, the sect token slowly flew towards the curly-bearded man.
Seeing this, Li Yan and the other also understood the other party's meaning. Although the three of them were wearing the attire of the Malevolent Spirit Sect , this could not confirm their identities. The three Golden Core masters in the high seats naturally wanted to confirm further, but they just phrased it tactfully.
Li Yan and Lin Daqiao also patted their waists, and a token that was neither jade nor iron flew out from each of them, flying towards the middle-aged man in the white robe and the skinny old man respectively. The three Golden Core masters did not speak. Seeing the tokens fly over, they each reached out with a gentle beckoning motion, and the three tokens landed in their palms. The next moment, their Divine Sense just swept over the tokens. Then they looked at each other and saw the confirmation in each other's eyes. The expressions on their faces softened a little more.
At the same time, Wen Xinliang's voice sounded again, "We three juniors are disciples of our master. I am the fifth disciple, Wen Xinliang. This is the seventh, Lin Daqiao, and that is the eighth, Li Yan." Wen Xinliang did not wait for the other party to ask further and had already given a brief introduction of their situation in a timely manner.
The three Golden Core masters couldn't help but nod, feeling that this person named Wen Xinliang was not only smart but also very eloquent. They had only asked one question, and he had understood and handled it properly. What they didn't know was that, in Lin Daqiao's words, this Wen Xinliang had been a street ruffian in the mortal world. He had mixed in the martial world in his early years and had long since developed a slick skill of saying the right thing to the right person.
"Oh, you three martial nephews are truly young and promising. The younger generation is to be feared. I am an elder of the Donglin Chen Family. This is Elder Bai of the Piaoyun Valley, and the other is Elder Fan of the Soul-Splitting Sect." The stout, curly-bearded man, who called himself an elder of the Donglin Chen Family, waved his hand and sent the token back. He then pointed to the middle-aged man in the white robe and the skinny old man beside him and spoke. By doing so, he had lowered his status and was being very polite.
In the outside world, a Golden Core was a Golden Core, and a Foundation Establishment was a Foundation Establishment. They were two insurmountable gaps, and the distinction between senior and junior was extremely strict. When a Golden Core master saw a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they would usually treat them as if they were nothing. How could they be so polite? If this scene were to be seen by people in the outside world, it would be very difficult to understand and would cause great surprise. The root cause was nothing more than the three words "Malevolent Spirit Sect." Within this million-li radius, no matter how high your cultivation was, you were still a vassal of the Malevolent Spirit Sect. Every sect was proud to have a disciple who could enter the Malevolent Spirit Sect.
However, the Elder Bai of Piaoyun Valley beside him did not immediately send the token in his hand back. Instead, he looked at Li Yan with a look of surprise and doubt in his eyes. The one he was holding was Li Yan's identity token. His action made the three people below a little strange, but it did not seem to surprise Elder Chen and Elder Fan, as if they had expected it.
Amidst the confusion of the three people below, Elder Bai of Piaoyun Valley spoke, "I have also met fellow Daoist Wei several times, and we once stayed in the same place for several years. Although we each had our own tasks during those years, we did meet. Fellow Daoist Wei's magical power is outstanding, he is low-key, and his divine abilities are unfathomable. Seeing you again today, I once again feel that his judgment is sharp. As for fellow Daoist Wei's disciples, I have only heard Elder Chen mention that Li Wuyi, who is said to be a genius of heaven, has already rushed to the Pseudo-Core Realm in just a few decades. Among the younger generation, he is a leading figure even among the prodigies of the other three major sects. I was a little skeptical before, but seeing Li Wuyi's three junior brothers again today, I am seventy to eighty percent convinced. Although one of you has just reached the initial stage of Foundation Establishment and the other is at the peak of the initial stage, one's cultivation is exceptionally agile, capable of both long-range and close-quarters combat in an instant, while the other's is hidden and ready to strike, likely specializing in one-hit kill techniques. I estimate that if cultivators of the same level were to fight you two based on realm alone, they would surely be in grave danger. Moreover, the scent of blood on you two is strong. You must be people who often walk on the edge of life and death. Your combat experience is not something an ordinary initial-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator can compare to." He pointed his long, slender finger at Lin Daqiao and Wen Xinliang, a look of admiration in his eyes.
His words made Elder Chen and Elder Fan nod frequently. They knew that this Elder Bai's cultivation was extremely profound. He was usually silent and rarely talked to people. Although his cultivation was only at the mid-stage of Golden Core, if they really fought, the two of them together might not be able to gain an advantage. This person had stayed in that perilous place for three years and had actually returned alive. Hearing his words, it seemed that Wei Zhongran had also stayed there. This was the first time they had heard Elder Bai mention it. It was truly surprising that the Malevolent Spirit Sect had sent a figure like Wei Zhongran there.
These words fell on the ears of the three people below, shocking them greatly. They hadn't expected a Golden Core grand cultivator to be so formidable, to see so many things with just a glance. He had even seen through the characteristics of Wen Xinliang's and Lin Daqiao's cultivation arts. Lin Daqiao's path was agile and nimble, while Wen Xinliang's was sinister and vicious. If one hadn't fought with them, it would be extremely difficult to tell from the surface, yet it had been seen through with a single glance. He had also seen that the two of them had killed too much recently. And it was clear that the other party had not even used their Divine Sense, just glanced at them a few times. This level of insight was truly terrifying.
And just as the three of them were surprised, Elder Bai of Piaoyun Valley, unhurriedly, pointed his long, slender finger again, but this time it was at Li Yan. "You little doll, that wisp of Divine Sense earlier was yours, wasn't it? I didn't expect that with just a tenth-layer Qi Condensation cultivation, your Divine Sense seems... seems to have reached the Great Perfection stage of Qi Condensation." As he spoke, he paused, as if uncertain.
This Elder Bai was indeed not too sure. Earlier, when Li Yan's Divine Sense was released and repelled, it was only for an instant, and the distance was very short. He could only judge from the fluctuations of the formation restriction on the courtyard gate that Li Yan's Divine Sense was not weak, at least extremely rare among Qi Condensation cultivators. However, in his heart, he thought that Li Yan must be gifted and born with a strong Divine Sense. This thought was the same in the minds of the other two Golden Core masters. They had never thought that there could be such a powerful Divine Sense cultivation art in the mortal world. With their realms, they more or less knew that the four major sects did not necessarily have specialized arts for cultivating Divine Sense.
"Moreover, your breath is long, and your spiritual power is not as simple as that of an ordinary initial-stage tenth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator. Based on your Divine Sense and the speed of the spiritual power flowing through your body, I estimate that you have few rivals in the Qi Condensation stage. No wonder fellow Daoist Wei made an exception and accepted you as a disciple. His judgment is truly brilliant. Hehe, the Malevolent Spirit Sect is the Malevolent Spirit Sect. The depth of its foundation is not something we small sects can compare to." At this point, he flicked his finger, sending Li Yan's token back, but his words revealed a hint of despondency.
After sending the token back, Elder Bai of Piaoyun Valley closed his mouth and said no more. His action just now was also a trace of reminiscence for Wei Zhongran, a person he had once fought alongside. Seeing his disciple again, and then thinking of the withering talent in his own sect, he couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness and despondency.
His words, however, shocked the three people below again. The difference was that Wen Xinliang and Lin Daqiao had not expected Li Yan's current combat strength to be so formidable. This was something they had not seen. Although they knew that Li Yan had reached the tenth layer of Qi Condensation, they did not know his combat strength. Moreover, neither of them had participated in the trip to the Secret Realm , and some matters had long been subject to a gag order by the sect.
After hearing Elder Bai's words, Wen Xinliang and the other couldn't help but think more highly of this junior brother. They hadn't expected Li Yan to reach such a level in just about four short years. Li Yan, on the other hand, felt a sense of reverence for this Elder Bai of Piaoyun Valley. Although Elder Bai hadn't actually seen the range of his Divine Sense, just by seeing so much from his release and retraction of Divine Sense, it was clear how high his cultivation was. Some things could not be seen with just insight; it required extremely high cultivation and knowledge.
This gave Li Yan a deeper understanding of high-level cultivators. Regardless of whether they were from a famous sect, a small sect, or a rogue cultivator, anyone who could reach this step was not an easy person to deal with. It was achieved through their own hard cultivation, and every one of them was a shrewd person in their dealings with others.
"Alright, now let's talk about what you did outside the city. I'm sure you know why you were asked to come over. Those two women were cultivators from the 'Red Chan Sect,' and you killed them right here. I want to know the reason or what evidence you have that allowed you to act directly. Otherwise, even your Malevolent Spirit Sect cannot act in such a manner. Today, we will have to accompany you three on a trip to the Malevolent Spirit Sect. Otherwise, we can't explain it to the 'Red Chan Sect,' and this Peiyang Trading City will have lost its credibility." At this time, Elder Chen stroked the curly beard under his chin with one hand and got to the point. His face turned stern, and he spoke in a deep voice. This time, his voice lacked the previous warmth and was filled with a sense of pressure.
Hearing this, Li Yan thought to himself, 'Here it comes. This is indeed the place where the three Golden Core masters on patrol in Peiyang Trading City are stationed. But Golden Core cultivators are too formidable. The move was just made over there, and they already know the situation over here. And in such a short time, they have already clearly investigated the other party's background.'
Wen Xinliang, sitting there, had reined in much of his lazy expression. He straightened up and said, "Seniors, in fact, we don't have conclusive evidence. It's just that there was a problem with what the other party said." His words showed no sign of being intimidated by the pressure in the other party's words, nor did he feel any impropriety regarding the origin of the two women in red. He had already found out about their background when he was teasing them earlier. He also knew that the two of them were from the "Red Chan Sect," which was also a subordinate sect of the Malevolent Spirit Sect. To kill a subordinate sect's cultivator so wantonly was a great taboo.
"Oh? Without evidence, you can just kill people within the restricted area of Peiyang Trading City? What's more, the 'Red Chan Sect' is also a subordinate of the Malevolent Spirit Sect. In that case, I wonder how you three will explain this." Hearing this, Elder Chen's heart sank, and a look of displeasure appeared on his face. The Elder Bai of Piaoyun Valley and Elder Fan of the Soul-Splitting Sect also frowned. Wen Xinliang's words displeased them. This was a clear slap in the face to the five major cultivation families and three first-rate cultivation sects of Peiyang Trading City. If it weren't for the fact that these three were from the Malevolent Spirit Sect, they would have killed them directly regardless of the cause.
Seeing that Wen Xinliang was still calm and unhurried, Elder Chen and the other two, being old and shrewd, although displeased, did not immediately demand to take the three to the Malevolent Spirit Sect for questioning.
"Seniors, we don't have evidence, but as for what happened, with the range of your Divine Sense, you must know what their intentions were."
This time, the frowns of Elder Chen and the other two deepened. At the same time, they also felt a headache over their own disciples and those of some other sects and families. Some young disciples would stop at nothing to climb the big tree of the Malevolent Spirit Sect. There were many such disciples in their own sects and families, especially some female cultivators. Wen Xinliang's words seemed to have hit them where it hurt, causing their expressions to change, and their faces instantly became gloomy.