"Emei Lotus Formation?"
Wen Yuxian could no longer sit still. She exclaimed, "Is that great formation just a legend?"
Ling Xiaoxiao, the closed-door disciple of Master Guanyun and the next candidate for the Emei Sect leader, was also bewildered. "Master, what is this Lotus Formation you speak of?"
Master Guanyun, holding her whisk, fidgeted uneasily and said in a deep voice,
"The Emei Lotus Formation is a formation passed down by our ancestors. It was originally set up to prevent external invasion. However, it later became incomplete. Once activated, outsiders cannot enter, nor can those inside leave, and it cannot be voluntarily shut down!"
"This means that if someone activates the Emei Lotus Formation, we will be trapped on Mount Emei until the formation's energy is depleted, which will take a full three months before we can break free!"
"Only successive sect leaders know about this... But why do the damnable Twelve Yuan Chen know about it too!"
Master Guanyun couldn't fathom it. She believed that only she among everyone in Emei knew about the Emei Lotus Formation.
But now, the Twelve Yuan Chen intended to use the Emei Lotus Great Formation against her!
"The Twelve Yuan Chen plan to activate the Emei Lotus Formation?" Long Feichen stood up abruptly, disbelief in his voice. "Doesn't that mean we'll be trapped here for three months?"
As soon as he spoke, everyone suddenly heard movement from the clouds, accompanied by waves of resonant Buddhist chants.
Pink ripples surged through the clouds but did not disturb them in the slightest.
Seeing this, Master Guanyun felt a wave of powerlessness. "The Emei Lotus Great Formation... they've actually activated it!"
What they had just experienced was the reaction to the activation of the Emei Lotus Formation.
Yan Shouyi's heart sank.
With the immature Qing Si Gu larvae floating on Mount Emei, he couldn't bring the Feilai Hall back to the sect anytime soon. Moreover, with the Emei Lotus Formation activated, the day of leaving Mount Emei seemed indefinitely postponed.
Could this be the true objective of the Twelve Yuan Chen?
At this moment, Yan Shouyi recalled his previous speculation, which perfectly matched the Twelve Yuan Chen's goal in activating the Emei Lotus Formation!
His face darkened, and he said in a deep voice,
"I never expected that after so much effort from the Twelve Yuan Chen, their true target would be me..."
Everyone was stunned. Wen Yuxian asked in surprise, "Shouyi, what are you saying? The Twelve Yuan Chen instructed Qi Dongqiang to destroy Emei. What does this have to do with you?"
Yan Nanfei was also confused. "Brother Yan, don't blame yourself too much. This matter has nothing to do with you."
"No... listen to me."
Yan Shouyi waved his hand and said through gritted teeth,
"We all knew beforehand that the Twelve Yuan Chen had two goals: one was to split the prestigious sects, and the other was to create conflict between sects. They could achieve either one. The three members of the Twelve Yuan Chen who dealt with the Emei Sect, their actions so far have had no connection to their two goals. This is absolutely abnormal."
"Qi Dongqiang sought revenge by destroying Emei. What about the other two? They stood by and watched indifferently when Qi Dongqiang died. This means they weren't even friends with Qi Dongqiang, let alone acting out of friendship to help him."
"Little Long, do you remember when we first arrived at Xixiang Pool and encountered Huang Qingcang and the others who were controlled? When I pursued them, they chose to jump off the cliff without hesitation. But afterwards, they turned back to die, why? The only answer I can think of is – they did it intentionally!"
"I guess, while I was chasing Huang Qingcang, someone was hidden in the shadows, secretly recording the 'evidence' of me slaughtering the disciples of the Dian Yi sect, then sending it out of Emei. After that, they drove us to the Feilai Hall, seized the opportunity to activate the Emei Lotus Great Formation, and sealed all of us on Mount Emei, preventing us from leaving for three months."
"And during these three months, they can take the video of me slaughtering the Dian Yi sect disciples and spread it far and wide, even accusing me of being the mastermind behind the destruction of Emei! While all those who know the truth are sealed within Emei... three months is enough time for them to do many things!"
After listening to Yan Shouyi's analysis, everyone couldn't help but shiver, a chill running down their spines.
The entire affair was a chain of events. At first glance, it had nothing to do with Yan Shouyi. He was merely a third party who was drawn in by chance.
But in the end, Yan Shouyi turned out to be the protagonist?
According to Yan Shouyi's words, the Twelve Yuan Chen had indeed achieved their goal – creating conflict between the prestigious sects and the folk sects!
Once the video was released, the prestigious sects would surely fly into a rage, attacking the folk sects en masse. The folk sects, unable to defend themselves, already at a disadvantage, would face a crueler world than before.
This world had no room for folk sects!
Zhuge Ji was also startled by Yan Shouyi's deduction. With his intelligence, he quickly understood that Yan Shouyi's inference was highly likely to be the truth.
But he still held onto a sliver of hope, comforting everyone, "But we don't have direct evidence..."
"Think carefully, why did Huang Qingcang want to kill Daoist Jin Bi?" Yan Shouyi retorted.
Zhuge Ji was immediately rendered speechless.
Huang Qingcang and his group initially had a strong desire to kill Daoist Jin Bi because Daoist Jin Bi was also a third party who knew the truth. If he were allowed to leave Mount Emei, his testimony would be very beneficial to Yan Shouyi's exoneration.
Therefore, they did not want Daoist Jin Bi to live.
At this point, everyone slowly accepted the reality.
While Master Guanyun felt anger on behalf of Yan Shouyi, she couldn't truly grasp the pressure he was under.
The folk sects, united with great effort under his leadership in recent years, had gradually gained recognition from the orthodox sects through the Luotian Grand Ceremony.
But his hard work was about to be shattered by Li Genmiao's scheme.
Trust took time to build, but breaking it only required a small incident.
"Brother Yan..."
Ling Xiaoxiao opened her mouth, but didn't know how to comfort him.
Yan Shouyi murmured, "If I am trapped here, the Folklore Research Association will be without a leader. That girl will definitely take the reins. Moreover, as the leader of the Lu Shan Sect, she will inevitably face more criticism and pressure. But she is already pregnant, and three months... it's even close to her due date... Yet I, as her husband, cannot be by her side."
He knew without needing his phone that there would be no signal here. This meant he couldn't even send Lin Zitong a message to reassure her of his safety. Lin Zitong would likely spend three months in fear and worry.
"Damn Li Genmiao!!!"
Enraged, Yan Shouyi punched the ground, creating a large pit in the stone-paved floor.