Five Immortal Sects
Chapter 130: Li Yan’s Discovery

Sensing Gong Chenying’s gaze, Li Yan instinctively looked up, a trace of confusion still lingering on his face.

Ever since seeing those corpses inside the sphere, his mind had been preoccupied. He hadn’t fully figured out some of the connections, which was why he hadn’t been paying attention to the conversations around him earlier.

“Sixth Senior Sister, I’ve made a few discoveries… though I’m not sure how helpful they’ll be.”

He drew in a deep breath, eyes gleaming as he looked at Gong Chenying.

The moment he spoke, even those who had already been preparing to charge into the snowstorm paused and turned their attention toward him.

“Oh? And what have you discovered?”

Gong Chenying angled her body slightly, now facing Li Yan directly.

“It’s just speculation. There are still things I haven’t quite figured out. What I’m about to say may turn out to be nonsense.”

Li Yan gave a bitter smile.

Surprisingly, neither Mi Yuanzhi nor Qi Busheng made any sarcastic remarks. At this moment, even a sliver of information was enough to ignite hope.

Despite Li Yan’s modest tone, his earlier actions had been nothing short of enigmatic. None could quite see through him, and so many began to hold high expectations for what he might say.

“Speak concisely. You have one quarter of an hour, no more. We must make a decision: move forward as planned, or change tactics based on what you’ve discovered.”

Gong Chenying’s tone held no special softness for someone from Little Bamboo Peak. After a brief consideration, she allotted him only that much time. Any longer, and they might not survive this round.

“Do you all remember what that monk from the Pure Land Sect said before he died in the first round?”

‘What a pity… we met too soon….’

“I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now I believe I understand what he meant.”

Li Yan got straight to the point, and many of the others blinked in surprise. After a moment, some recalled the line. Before they could ponder it further, Li Yan pressed on:

“What that monk meant was probably this, he had hoped that in the first round, they would encounter someone other than us. Ideally, one of the other sects or even the beast faction. That way, by the time we reached the third round, we’d see what we now know, multiple paths merging into one.

“But we ended up facing them directly, which left them with no room for maneuver and us with no chance of survival.

“As for the beast faction, I believe they can be ruled out. It’s highly unlikely they’d ally with the other three sects. We saw nothing strange from the beast side during the second round.

“Furthermore, the intel we received from within the sect only mentioned a three-way alliance: Ten-Step Court, the Grand Profound Sect, and Pure Land. The beast faction wasn’t part of it.”

As he finished, many of the cultivators began nodding. His tone carried the promise of a solution. Spirits lifted, eyes lit up with a flicker of hope.

Gong Chenying’s beautiful gaze shimmered as she stared at Li Yan, unmoving. Amidst the snow and wind, her figure seemed cloaked in silver armor, awe-inspiring and radiant.

“The death of the Grand Profound Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator inside the sphere were primarily caused by Wen Wutong, Bone-Piercing Grass, and Wanqian Shadow Poison, several kinds of deadly poisons. Sixth Senior Sister had already confirmed this earlier.”

As he said this, Li Yan looked toward Gong Chenying, and the others followed suit. Under his gaze, a faint blush unexpectedly appeared on her face. She gave a subtle nod.

Li Yan continued.

“Those two Foundation Establishment cultivators died seven steps apart. The sword cultivator from Ten-Step Court was closer to the ‘exit’ which, in truth, was nothing more than an elevated earthen platform that rose after their arrival.

“Based on this, I’ve made a judgment: these two didn’t enter at the same time. One arrived first, and the other entered only after the first had died or perhaps nearly died.

“Why did this happen?

“I suspect it’s because of a rule governing the sphere, when two living Foundation Establishment cultivators are present, the array determines them as enemies locked in a battle. All exits are sealed until one perishes.

“In other words, the sphere might only permit one Foundation Establishment cultivator per side at a time.”

His words detonated like a thunderclap.

The group burst into an uproar. What Li Yan said offered them their first true glimpse of survival.

But soon, the commotion quieted again. Though his conclusion was striking, he hadn’t yet explained how he reached it. All eyes turned back to him.

Li Yan glanced up at the snow-laden sky. His pace quickened.

“The two Foundation Establishment cultivators died from different poisons. The one from Ten-Step Court was killed by my trap.”

He emphasized this plainly.

“One of the poisons I deployed spreads through the air rapidly. It clogs the throat and suffocates the victim, leading to a swift, painful death.

“It leaves a distinctive mark, a ring of red welts around the throat. Even if you dig out the flesh, the red marks only go deeper.”

He didn’t explain how this poison worked in detail, simply described the symptoms in passing.

Even so, none of the cultivators present could recall ever encountering this poison in their training or experience. Their expressions shifted subtly, being unable to detoxify a poison was one thing, but having never even heard of it was a fatal flaw for any poison cultivator.

Yet Li Yan continued unbothered.

“As for the other Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Grand Profound Sect, his death was due to Bone-Piercing Grass. His flesh had completely rotted away, but red markings were still visible on his cervical spine.

“However, those red marks were not the same as when someone is poisoned while alive. The color was a vivid red, clearly formed after death. When this poison is contracted in life, due to the stagnation of spiritual energy and blood, the red blotches turn dark crimson.

“The two corpses were only seven steps apart. The Ten-Step Court cultivator was poisoned while still alive. Given my familiarity with this poison, it can spread across seven steps in less than half a breath.

“To cover the entire forty-zhang sphere would take only a few seconds. Yet we’re seeing one poisoned alive, the other only poisoned after death. That gives us grounds to suspect that they did not appear in the sphere at the same time.

“While it’s possible the first one died and the second one later collapsed near him, there’s something else, the sword cultivator from Ten-Step Court left behind a very telling sign.

“When he fell, he held a blue crystal in one hand, while his other hand was curled in a sword-forming gesture. His body lay less than a zhang from the sphere’s wall. Behind him was the earthen platform. His posture suggested he had tried to retreat.

“More than that, there was a skidding footprint through the blood on the ground, and his boots were stained with blood as well. In contrast, the Grand Profound Sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivator’s soles were nearly clean, only the back of his robes was heavily bloodstained, likely from falling through the air.

“Based on this, my speculation is as follows: in order to ambush us, the enemy had one Foundation Establishment cultivator from Grand Profound Sect lead a team of Qi Condensation cultivators into the sphere, while the Foundation Establishment cultivator from Ten-Step Court remained outside due to sphere rules.

“Once the Grand Profound Sect cultivator entered the empty sphere with his team, they likely started setting up an ambush, only to immediately trigger the traps we had laid.

“This led to a massacre. Fearing the black shadow above would descend too quickly, we had placed fast-acting, lethal toxins which led to death within seconds, no time to escape.

“As for the Ten-Step Court cultivator waiting outside, perhaps he received a signal of some sort, or maybe the black shadow above was already drawing near, forcing him to enter the sphere.

“Regardless of how, he would’ve gone in at full alert. As a sword cultivator, he likely launched in with a burst offensive technique.

“But upon realizing something was wrong, he abruptly stopped and tried to retreat. That’s why there was a skidding footprint in the blood on the ground.

“He must’ve instinctively pushed off to flee, leaving his bloodstained footprints. This suggests he didn’t know the sphere was filled with gore, or he would’ve flown instead.

“A seasoned cultivator would know that flight is the quickest method in such conditions. But by then, the poisons had already spread through the air and he had inhaled the toxins I’d deployed.

“Meanwhile, the Grand Profound Sect Foundation Establishment cultivator, truly caught in the center of the trap, realized the danger and flew upward to escape. Unfortunately, already infected with multiple poisons, he fell from the sky landing hard, explaining the bloodstains on his back.

“Another point, the Ten-Step Court cultivator fell facing halfway toward the earthen platform. He likely died mid-turn. The platform only rises when two sides have entered the sphere. That means his entrance may have triggered the platform, sealing off the exit.

“Faced with that, he instinctively tried to destroy or halt the platform's ascent, possibly to reopen a path of escape. That’s why, while retreating, he unleashed a sword beam at it.

“I found over a dozen sword gashes on the platform and nearby ground. It had been shredded. But before he could continue forward, the poison took effect. He collapsed, frozen in the motion of flicking his fingers to release another sword beam.

“The fact that he tried to destroy the platform suggests that it had not yet risen before he entered. That his intrusion caused the sphere’s rules to activate. Doesn’t that support the idea that they weren’t part of the same wave of entrants?”

Li Yan recited all this in a single breath. The crowd stood dumbfounded.

Even Gong Chenying’s starry eyes flickered in astonishment. She hadn’t imagined Li Yan could deduce so much from his own poison formations and the traces left behind.

It was as if he had personally witnessed everything unfold, yet somehow, his words seemed completely believable.

“If the platform rising seals off the passage, then what if we entered first, and their people followed afterward?”

A cold, clear voice echoed across the snowy field. It was Gong Chenying’s, her gaze fixed steadily on Li Yan.

Li Yan smiled faintly in response.

(Chapter End)