Wan Nian Temple!
Finally, we've arrived!
The white mist in the mountains suddenly dissipated, revealing a long and wide staircase before Yan Shouyi and the others.
Looking up, the stairs seemed endless, reaching straight into the sky.
"We're in!"
Qi Dongqiang eagerly scanned his surroundings, as if hoping to find Caiyun’s whereabouts right at the mountain gate.
Yan Shouyi let out a long sigh. It was incredibly difficult to get to Mount Emei. The Emei Sect’s location was virtually isolated from the world, which explained why Ling Xiaoxiao had never drunk cola and longed so much for her time down the mountain.
Long Feicheng plopped himself onto a step, his back to the Emei Sect’s mountain gate, and grumbled, "This damn Emei, the path is too damn hard to climb, not even a dog would come here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Yuxian's soul suddenly floated out from Yan Shouyi's embrace.
Long Feicheng quickly corrected himself, "Mount Emei is beautiful, truly a rare fairyland on earth. I truly wish I could stay here forever and never go down the mountain!"
Zhuge Ji and Ye Tianyuan were stunned by Long Feicheng's sudden change in demeanor.
"Little Brother Long, so you're also a successor of a folk sect!" Ye Tianyuan exclaimed in surprise.
Long Feicheng was taken aback and asked, "Why do you say that?"
"You must be a successor of the face-changing opera!" Ye Tianyuan chuckled.
"How dare you, you impudent fellow, joke with me!" Long Feicheng was furious, hopping on one foot and delivering a death joke to Ye Tianyuan.
Fortunately, although Ye Tianyuan's leg was a sad story, it wasn't a scar on his heart, and he could handle such jokes.
Wen Yuxian surveyed her surroundings, the sadness on her face receding slightly, replaced by the emotion of revisiting a familiar place.
Although Yan Chou had brought her back once a few months ago, no one in this world would ever complain about returning home too many times.
"Was the path up the mountain difficult?" Wen Yuxian looked back at Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi shook his head, "As long as Grandma is happy."
Wen Yuxian pointed behind Yan Shouyi and said, "When Grandma was little, she often sat here, watching the sea of clouds below the mountain."
Upon hearing this, Yan Shouyi turned his head and suddenly realized the forest behind him had vanished.
Behind him lay a boundless sea of white clouds.
The clouds rolled with the wind, like layers of slow-motion waves, and a few cranes occasionally weaved through the clouds, adding to the ethereal atmosphere.
For a moment, everyone was captivated by the beautiful scene, unable to speak.
Only the less sensible monkeys, eager to see if there were any wild fruits in this unfamiliar place, had already impatiently started climbing the stairs.
Huanhuan ran at the very front, followed by Lele. The two monkeys reached the end of the stairs first, then suddenly froze in place.
Concurrently, Qi Dongqiang frowned, covering his nose, and said, "Do you smell that? It's awful..."
Awful?
Wen Yuxian felt a pang of annoyance. How could Emei Sect possibly smell bad?
However, being a ghost, she lacked a sense of smell and could only turn her gaze to Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi sniffed carefully, detecting no particular odor, perhaps due to the distance. He began to ascend the stairs.
Soon, he too could smell it.
"It's the smell of blood..." Yan Shouyi, Qi Dongqiang, and Tian Jue'er said in unison.
A sense of foreboding washed over Yan Shouyi. He immediately climbed at full speed, covering over a dozen steps in a single stride. Within a few breaths, he caught up to Huanhuan and the others.
His footsteps also halted at the mountain gate.
The scene that greeted them within the mountain gate caused everyone's pupils to contract, their faces filled with shock.
The once pristine plaza in front of the gate was now littered with corpses around the massive incense burner!
The blood had long since dried into a black crust. A few carrion birds were pecking at the corpses. Seemingly startled by the noise, they flapped their wings and fled, disturbing a swarm of insects from the bodies.
Wh-what happened?!
Wen Yuxian, arriving last, saw the scene and her soul trembled violently, nearly dissipating!
"Grandma!"
Yan Shouyi, afraid that Wen Yuxian's emotional fluctuation would destabilize her soul, acted decisively and drew her back into the Yin wood.
He held the Yin wood with both hands, whispering, "Grandma, calm down... calm down... Let me investigate, okay?"
The Yin wood trembled slightly, as if Wen Yuxian was expressing her emotions, and finally settled down after a while.
It seemed his grandmother’s emotions had stabilized, albeit barely.
However, Yan Shouyi dared not release her again, fearing that more gruesome scenes lay ahead.
He put away the Yin wood and said to everyone in a deep voice:
"Let's... investigate in pairs, splitting up. Report any clues immediately. Also, remember not to stray too far from each other. I'm worried... the killer hasn't left yet!"
At these words, everyone felt a chill in their hearts.
The Emei Sect was no mere minor sect; they were incredibly powerful, easily qualifying as a top-tier sect.
Yet, such a formidable sect was suspected of being annihilated!
What kind of entity possessed such power?
Yan Shouyi glanced at Qi Dongqiang and said, "Dongqiang, you're with me."
Qi Dongqiang nodded silently.
Given Long Feicheng's personality, he would normally have clung tightly to Yan Shouyi.
But this time, he surprisingly didn't cause a scene, choosing instead to partner with Ye Tianyuan.
In reality, Long Feicheng understood clearly that if Yan Shouyi had a choice, he would have preferred to partner with him. However, given the peculiar circumstances at Emei Sect, Yan Shouyi's vigilance was at its peak. He suspected Qi Dongqiang might be a deeply cunning demon, deliberately luring them up the mountain.
Therefore, Yan Shouyi wanted to keep the greatest potential threat close by his side.
The group split up to investigate the plaza.
Yan Shouyi, after examining a few corpses, quickly reached a conclusion.
Most of the bodies on the plaza belonged to female disciples of the Emei Sect, but there were also a small number of non-Emei disciples. Judging by their attire, they were disciples from Qingcheng Mountain and Dianyi Sect!
Yan Shouyi had seen these bodies earlier down the mountain. Their time of death differed from that of the Emei Sect disciples; their blood had not yet dried.
This discovery was crucial, revealing two pieces of information.
First, the disciples from Qingcheng Mountain and Dianyi Sect had arrived at Wan Nian Temple earlier than them.
Second, the recent deaths of the Qingcheng Mountain and Dianyi Sect disciples implied that the killer was likely still at Wan Nian Temple and had not left!
But what was strange was that there were only a few bodies of disciples from Qingcheng Mountain and Dianyi Sect on the plaza. Where were the rest?
Were Daoist Jinbi and Huang Qingcang still alive?
If they were alive, had they seen the killer's appearance?
The clues had emerged. To unravel the mystery of this place, finding Daoist Jinbi and Huang Qingcang was the most direct approach.