No one except the Old Celestial Master and a few others had seen through Wang Qihhe's identity yet.
Even Yan Shouyi only found Wang Qihhe a little peculiar.
Lin Zhitong descended from the Wanfa Altar and rejoined Long Feicheng and the others. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, her attention was fully focused on Yan Shouyi.
Everyone knew that Lin Zhitong only had Yan Shouyi in her heart, so they did not bother them further.
Lü Jing, leading the Lüshan Sect disciples, came to greet Zhang Shantong and Abbess Guanyun. He clasped his fist and bowed, a rare display of politeness:
"This humble Taoist, Lü Jing, Sect Leader of the Lüshan Sect, offers his respects."
Zhang Shantong waved his hand, "We've met before, no need for formalities."
Abbess Guanyun directly greeted him with a smile, calling him "in-law."
Lü Jing, Zhang Shantong, and Abbess Guanyun were contemporaries. They were of similar age and held high positions, thus they spoke as peers.
As Lü Jing approached, Abbess Guanyun smiled and asked, "Is Lin Zhitong your disciple? She is truly outstanding."
"I must admit, she is the closed-door disciple of my senior brother."
"Your senior brother? Lü Jingsheng?" Abbess Guanyun asked doubtfully, "Speaking of which, it's strange. Why did Lü Jingsheng, of all people, give up being the Sect Leader? Where did he go?"
Lü Jing sighed and shook his head, "It seems he went traveling."
Abbess Guanyun didn't quite understand. Traveling was something they had all done in their youth. Now that they were all getting on in years, most sought stability, why would they go traveling again?
However, she didn't pry and simply continued to praise Lin Zhitong.
Lü Jing exchanged pleasantries with them for a while longer, then looked towards the Wanfa Altar and said,
"This Wang He has surprised me. The Suishan Sect has been increasingly reclusive in recent years; I thought they had no successors."
Zhang Shantong frowned, "It's just that Wang He has never used any Suishan Sect techniques from beginning to end, which is very peculiar."
"Regardless, I believe in Shouyi. Wang He is definitely no match for him!" Abbess Guanyun stated with full confidence.
Zhang Shantong chuckled wryly, "Indeed, the tables have turned!"
Previously, when Yan Shouyi faced Yan Guochao, Abbess Guanyun had worried for a long time. Now, facing Wang Qihhe, she was incredibly confident.
It was Zhang Shantong himself who felt a mixed sense of unease.
The audience below had already added Yan Shouyi to their list of mortal enemies, their shouts of "The hatred of a stolen wife cannot be shared!" hoarse.
Seeing Yan Shouyi face the seemingly unfathomable Wang He, they all wore expressions of schadenfreude.
"Heh heh, Yan Shouyi got lucky a couple of times before, but now he's facing Wang He. Let's see what else he has!"
"His mastery of Feng Shui is indeed impressive, but that doesn't mean he's a great fighter. I've observed this Wang He; he's no weaker than Han San or Yuan Jianxin!"
"Yan Shouyi is in for some serious trouble this time!"
The Second Elder of Longhu Mountain announced, "The final match: Yan Shouyi, descendant of Lu Ban, versus Wang He of the Suishan Sect! The match begins!"
The familiar gong sounded. Yan Shouyi made no move to attack, and Wang Qihhe also remained still.
The crowd quieted down, curious about the outcome of this match.
Yan Shouyi asked from afar, "Why aren't you making a move?"
Wang Qihhe stared at Yan Shouyi and sneered, "I'm waiting."
"I checked the weather forecast; there won't be another solar eclipse this year," Yan Shouyi quipped.
Wang Qihhe was unfazed. He said,
"In two incense sticks' time, it will be the anniversary of your father Yan Chou murdering my son sixteen years ago!"
This statement shocked everyone present.
Yan Shouyi's father had killed this Wang He's son?
Wait a minute...
Wang He looked no older than twenty, how could he have a son?
Yan Shouyi also sensed something was amiss, and his suspicion of Wang Qihhe reached its peak.
He asked in a deep voice, "Who exactly are you?"
Wang Qihhe slowly raised his hand and grinned ferociously,
"Enter my formation, and I'll tell you alone!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of bright light erupted from all around the Wanfa Altar.
The audience gasped in surprise and instinctively tried to dodge, only to realize that a large formation had been set up beneath their feet without them knowing!
This formation completely surrounded the Wanfa Altar!
"Not good!"
Zhang Shanli's face changed drastically. He quickly shouted, "Quick, get Yan Shouyi out of there!"
The Second Elder, closest to the Wanfa Altar, was too late to act. The Wanfa Altar was already enveloped by a barrier!
Inside the barrier were only Yan Shouyi and Wang Qihhe!
The Second Elder attempted to break the formation, but the barrier was impenetrable; he had no means to enter!
Zhang Shanli also arrived outside the formation. He actually knew Wang Qihhe's true identity much earlier, but due to the Old Celestial Master's obstruction, he could only continue to observe the match.
He had expected Wang Qihhe to fight Yan Shouyi honorably on the Wanfa Altar, but he hadn't anticipated Wang Qihhe being so prepared, setting up a formation in advance to block everyone out!
Now, Yan Shouyi was to face a Sect Leader, Wang Qihhe, alone. This was definitely a foe beyond his capacity to handle!
Zhang Shanli secretly regretted not apprehending Wang Qihhe earlier!
If Yan Shouyi were to be killed within Wang Qihhe's formation, he would likely feel guilty for the rest of his life!
"Break the formation! Everyone, work together and find a way to rescue Yan Shouyi!" Zhang Shanli commanded.
This sudden turn of events left everyone bewildered, even Lin Zhitong seemed to be caught off guard.
However, she quickly saw a clue from Zhang Shanli's reaction. Without a word, she led Long Feicheng and others to the barrier and began attempting to break it.
Lü Jing, Abbess Guanyun, Zhang Shantong, and others also joined the effort.
Even the elders of the Yan family began searching for ways to break the formation!
Unfortunately, apart from them, the ordinary audience members were less inclined to help.
The reason was simple: they did not like Yan Shouyi. As a successor from a folk sect, achieving such a high ranking in the Luotian Grand Ceremony was not favorable for the traditional sects.
This was not gloating in his misfortune, but rather a matter of indifference.
A group of people milled about outside the barrier, frantic and exasperated, but unable to make even a dent in it.
Lin Zhitong gritted her teeth and looked towards the Old Celestial Master outside the Heavenly Master Hall. Seeing that the Old Celestial Master was still sitting there nonchalantly, she was almost enraged.
"Old Celestial Master, this is your Longhu Mountain's territory. We came to participate in the Luotian Grand Ceremony trusting in the deterrence of your Longhu Mountain. If a villain has infiltrated the ceremony to cause trouble for Yan Shouyi, it's not your fault. However, if your negligence causes any mishap to occur here, I will overturn your Heavenly Master Hall even if it costs me my life!"
Zhang Sishui shouted, "Presumptuous! How dare you speculate on the Celestial Master's thoughts?!"
Zhang Sishui's response, while seemingly coming to his defense, actually fanned the flames, directly reinforcing the general perception that the Old Celestial Master was being indifferent.
Lü Jing tried to console her, "Zhitong, let's not act rashly. We should focus on finding a way to help Yan Shouyi get out!"
Long Feicheng anxiously exclaimed, "But how can we open this barrier!"
As everyone was filled with anxiety, the Old Celestial Master finally spoke:
"Stop wasting your energy. This is a unique formation of the Heshan Sect, known as the Eight Palaces Yuan Yang Formation. Once this formation is established, even I cannot break it. We can only attempt to break the barrier after two incense sticks' time when it weakens."
Two incense sticks?
The crowd became even more anxious.
Two incense sticks were enough time for many things to happen. Even if Yan Shouyi was powerful, how long could he last against an opponent of such a different caliber?
It was likely that after two incense sticks, when the barrier was broken, only Yan Shouyi's corpse would remain in the Wanfa Altar!
"Damn it!"
Wang Jiwang gritted his teeth and swung his saber at the barrier, but to no avail.
The Old Celestial Master said calmly, "Don't you trust Yan Shouyi?"
"This isn't about trust or distrust. The other party has hidden their identity and is clearly prepared!" Yan Nanfei said anxiously.
The Old Celestial Master sighed, "Two incense sticks. As long as he can last that long, I will personally break the barrier then."
"But we can't wait for two incense sticks!"
Long Feicheng was the most anxious. Although his strength was not great, he was doing his utmost, tirelessly striking the barrier with his sword again and again.
Seeing Long Feicheng's effort, everyone else calmed down.
Regardless of whether they could break the barrier, no one was willing to give up. Even breaking it a second sooner would give Yan Shouyi an extra second of opportunity!
Thus, Lin Zhitong, Lü Jing, Zhang Shantong, Abbess Guanyun, Luo Ning, Wang Jiwang, He Xiping, Zhao Yiyao, Yan Nanfei, Ling Xiaoxiao, and others all began to exert their full strength, attacking the barrier!
Before long, the Yan family members also joined in!
Following them, the two qualified Taoists from Longhu Mountain also began to attempt to break the formation!
Finally, even Yuan Jianxin of the Laohui Sword Sect joined the group!
Seeing this, the young Taoist Zhu Feifeng of Longhu Mountain silently picked up a large rock, carried it with difficulty to the barrier, raised it above his head, and smashed it down!
The Old Celestial Master watched this and smiled with satisfaction.
Although the combined strength of these people was less than a tenth of that of the guests present, friends were never about quantity but about sincerity.
Yet, here on Longhu Mountain, so many people were willing to strive for Yan Shouyi, which showed that the young man's popularity was unusually good.
If it were his own Yu Luming... perhaps few would be willing to help?
The Old Celestial Master couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "You brat, if your father had been as good at making friends as you are, this unexpected incident wouldn't have happened today."