"Fellow Daoist Li's contributions certainly cannot be erased. Since A Ying has already acknowledged his status as a prospective 'Qing A Wang,' we old folks shouldn't interfere any further. However, can Fellow Daoist Li truly prove that you and A Ying come from the same sect?"
"After all, A Ying's cultivation is still shallow. If she was once under an illusion art, or if her memory was altered, it's possible that she misidentified someone!"
"Oh, regarding this point, Fellow Daoist Li, please don't take offense. You must be magnanimous. It's not that I'm being nosy, but the identity of a 'Qing A Wang' is too important to the Tianli Clan."
"It involves various extremely high-level secrets of the clan, so we must carefully confirm it. I personally, of course, believe in Fellow Daoist Li's origin. But as an elder, I also have my duties. Some procedures still need to be followed!"
The Second Elder said with a slight smile, his tone unhurried. He repeatedly claimed to believe Li Yan, but anyone could see that he was deliberately finding fault.
However, since he had already said this, and there was indeed some truth to it, if Li Yan couldn't produce a token to prove himself, it would be difficult to explain for a moment.
A sharp glint flashed in Gong Chenying's eyes. The Great Elder and Third Elder did not speak for a moment, but turned their gazes to Li Yan.
Li Yan rubbed his nose before slowly speaking.
"Then how does the Second Elder want me to prove it? Do you know the techniques of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, or can you recognize the tokens of the Malevolent Spirit Sect?"
"Giggle... what's so difficult about that? A Ying also has a Malevolent Spirit Sect token. Fellow Daoist Li, just take out your token and compare them, won't that do!"
Just then, a charming laugh came from the side. The Third Elder covered her lips with a fair, almost overly white, jade-like hand and said with a chuckle, full of charm, a true beauty of the world.
After hearing the Third Elder's words, Li Yan still did not take out his sect token.
"Then if I prove that my sect token is real, but the Second Elder then says that I stole the token, what then?"
Li Yan's eyes were fixed on the Second Elder.
The Second Elder, on the other hand, spread his hands, a helpless expression on his face. Wasn't that exactly what he was thinking? This seemed to be an unresolvable question. After all, this was the Wind God Continent; finding someone to prove it would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
When Li Yan said this, even the charmingly laughing Third Elder at the side immediately stopped her laughter, her gaze hardening.
The Great Elder was about to speak up to refute the Second Elder's unreasonable question. This wasn't the Desolate Moon Continent; how could they get other members of the Malevolent Spirit Sect to prove Li Yan's identity?
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Li Yan's brow relaxed, a half-smile on his face. He spoke first.
"Second Elder, may I ask a question?"
"Fellow Daoist Li, please speak!"
"Is my senior sister here a disciple of the Malevolent Spirit Sect?"
"This... of course she is. Otherwise, I wouldn't be asking about Fellow Daoist Li's sect identity!"
The Second Elder was stunned by Li Yan's question. He hadn't thought why Li Yan would ask this, and for a moment, he didn't know what Li Yan was planning. He could only answer honestly.
After hearing this, Li Yan nodded and continued.
"Good, then as a disciple of the sect, must she abide by the sect's rules and regulations?"
"Of course, otherwise your esteemed sect would not have taught her cultivation methods! Fellow Daoist Li, you have already asked several questions. This is not the time to change the subject. What does this have to do with proving your identity?"
The Second Elder still hadn't guessed Li Yan's intention. He again brought the topic back. Li Yan continued to smile.
"It's good that the Second Elder knows this. As a top sect on the Desolate Moon Continent, the Malevolent Spirit Sect's rules are even more strict and unforgiving. Violators are punished by having their cultivation crippled at the very least."
"About a hundred years ago, the Demon Clan suddenly reappeared on the Desolate Moon Continent. My sect summoned all disciples from outside to return. A summons was also sent to my Sixth Senior Sister."
"Although not all disciples could return to the sect to participate in the war, everyone who could not return was required to state their reasons."
"And not long after, the Demon Clan launched a major battle within the Malevolent Spirit Sect, with even Spirit Transformation cultivators from both sides taking action. From this, one can see the scale of that battle."
"This time, besides searching for my Sixth Senior Sister, I also came to clarify this matter, to provide an explanation for her record in the sect."
"However, why is it that when I came to ask my Sixth Senior Sister about this matter this time, she said she had not received any news at all?"
"We entrusted 'Gui Qu Lai Xi' to deliver the message. I believe that at your level, you should know whether 'Gui Qu Lai Xi' would lose its credibility."
"I would like to ask, did my Sixth Senior Sister read the letter and then, for no reason, lose this memory and not remember this matter, or did something go wrong with 'Gui Qu Lai Xi'?"
"If it's the former, then I, like the Second Elder, suspect that someone has altered my Sixth Senior Sister's memory. You need to investigate this matter, and we also need to investigate it. Otherwise, my Sixth Senior Sister may have to face the sect's discipline."
"But if everyone says they don't know about this matter, then I, in my capacity as a sect ancestor, will go to 'Gui Qu Lai Xi' to verify this matter again. I believe we will have a result soon..."
After saying this, Li Yan stopped, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
The question the Second Elder had asked was something Li Yan simply couldn't refute or prove without a third party recognized by both sides.
Li Yan simply switched from defense to offense. He, in his capacity as a sect ancestor, began to inquire about another matter, stating clearly that it was indeed possible that someone had altered Gong Chenying's memory, but perhaps not on the Desolate Moon Continent, but on the Wind God Continent!
And in these questions, Li Yan deliberately mixed up a few matters and the chronological order. First, the news was sent to Gong Chenying only for Li Wuyi's wedding.
Second, he moved the time of the demon clan's attack, which happened at his Nascent Soul grand ceremony, forward by several decades, using it as a requirement of the sect rules to press his questions step by step.
From the fact that Gong Chenying didn't know about his Nascent Soul formation, Li Yan could conclude that the news of the demon clan remnant's attack had probably not yet reached the Wind God Continent.
Thinking about it, that should be the case. That great battle had only happened fifty or sixty years ago. If news between the two continents could be transmitted so easily, there would be no need to specifically find a cross-realm shop like "Gui Qu Lai Xi" to deliver messages.
Li Yan didn't feel like he was lying. He had just changed the chronological order a little. The events were all real.
"What, the Demon Clan has reappeared, and even Spirit Transformation cultivators have taken action? Is Fellow Daoist Li telling the truth?"
The Great Elder's expression was the first to change. A Spirit Transformation cultivator taking action and a Spirit Transformation cultivator in a standoff were two completely different things. What did that mean? It meant that an entire continent could cease to exist in an instant.
If that was the case, then the great war between the Demon Clan and the Desolate Moon Continent was far more serious than the current war between the Tianli Clan and the Wind Beasts.
That was a catastrophe that could completely change a continent at the drop of a hat, while the Wind Beasts' attacks, for now, could at most only change the situation in a certain area.
For such a great war, regardless of Gong Chenying's cultivation level, as a disciple of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, she was obligated to return to the sect.
Just as Li Yan had said, even if she couldn't go back, the sect had already issued a summons. You had to explain why you couldn't return.
To put it bluntly, in Gong Chenying's situation, Li Yan had every reason to directly cripple her cultivation. As for whether it was worth spending a huge amount of spirit stones to deliver a message for a mere Golden Core cultivator, that was hard to say.
Perhaps the sparsely populated Little Bamboo Peak was willing?
"About a hundred years ago, this... this matter... A Ying, did you really not receive the message?"
The Third Elder was also surprised. Although the Malevolent Spirit Sect was a behemoth on another continent, it still maintained a good relationship with the Tianli Clan. The Tianli Clan did not want to offend them, not out of fear, but because it wasn't worth it.
"I have no need to hide the matter of the Demon Clan's last all-out assault, where Spirit Transformation cultivators took action."
"As long as you specifically send someone to a cross-realm shop like 'Gui Qu Lai Xi' and spend some considerable spirit stones, I believe you will be able to obtain this news!"
Li Yan's gaze swept over the expressions of the few people. The Great Elder and Third Elder were genuinely surprised.
And although the Second Elder's aura fluctuated slightly when he heard about the Demon Clan and the Spirit Transformation cultivators' action, he quickly returned to normal, which also showed that he was equally surprised in his heart.
Especially when Li Yan said he would go to 'Gui Qu Lai Xi' to verify the matter, he, who had been secretly observing the Second Elder, noticed that the Second Elder's gaze quickly glanced at Gong Chenying, which was intriguing.
As for Gong Chenying, a trace of surprise appeared in her eyes only for a moment when Li Yan mentioned the letter, but she quickly returned to normal.
Li Yan had already told her about the Demon Clan appearing at his Nascent Soul grand ceremony, so she was not surprised. She was only surprised that Li Yan would suddenly bring up the matter of the message.
"Third Elder, I truly did not know that a message had come! Although there were also Wind Beast attacks during that time, the situation was not as tense as it is now. Logically, after the message was delivered to the clan, there should have been no problem."
Gong Chenying had already guessed Li Yan's thoughts. Moreover, she was also very angry about this matter, so she "cooperated" with Li Yan even more.
"A hundred years ago? Wasn't the Fifth Elder in charge of matters within the sixty-year cycle, as well as contact with the outside world during that time?"
The Great Elder frowned. Although the three Wind Beast clans had not joined forces at that time, because they were distributed around the Tianli Clan, the Tianli Clan was often attacked by one of them, so not all clansmen could stay within the clan.
Therefore, Gong Chenying might have been out during that time.
For a shop like "Gui Qu Lai Xi" to deliver a message, usually, unless it was specified that the message must be handed to the recipient personally.
Otherwise, in a normal delivery, the messenger from "Gui Qu Lai Xi" would not wait here. After all, no one knew when the person on the battlefield would return.
And back then, Li Wuyi had only asked "Gui Qu Lai Xi" to deliver the news of his wedding to Gong Chenying, and had not specifically instructed them to deliver it to her personally.
After all, in their view, Gong Chenying was the "princess" of the Tianli Clan. This kind of news was not a secret, and it had already been stated that it was for Gong Chenying, so no one doubted that someone would intercept it.
Li Yan looked at the expressions of the few people and snorted coldly in his heart.
'As expected. They just don't want Sixth Senior Sister to go back. Someone wants to get the resources of the Gong lineage through her as soon as possible.'
After learning that Gong Chenying had not received Li Wuyi's message, Li Yan had been pondering the reason in his heart.
He didn't think the problem would be with "Gui Qu Lai Xi." With "Gui Qu Lai Xi's" reputation, the message would at most be delayed in reaching the Tianli Clan, but it wouldn't fail to arrive for decades.
This meant that someone had deliberately intercepted the message. There shouldn't be many people in the Tianli Clan with the authority to get their hands on the jade slip.
First of all, Gong Shanhe would absolutely not do it. He was at ease with leaving Gong Chenying to cultivate in the Malevolent Spirit Sect for a long time, let alone a single message.
And it was just an invitation to Li Wuyi's wedding. What reason would he have not to give the jade slip to his own daughter?
Therefore, this matter could only have been caused by one of the other elders. Li Yan had previously guessed that it probably wasn't the Great Elder, Third Elder, or Sixth Elder.
Gong Chenying herself had said that these people had a very good relationship with the Gong lineage. So, the most likely culprits were the Second Elder and his faction.
Gong Chenying's return to the Tianli Clan, and becoming Dao Companions with her, was the fastest way to obtain the resources of the Gong lineage.
Therefore, it was better for Gong Chenying to stay in the clan. Once she crossed the realm, the time would be long, and who knows what would happen. Only by staying could Gong Chenying have more time to spend with the young talents of the clan.
Besides, it was just news of a wedding. What did it matter if she went or not?
At this moment, the Second Elder was also puzzled. It seemed that such a message had indeed come from the Malevolent Spirit Sect.
Gong Shanhe and Gong Chenying were both at the front lines at that time. So, after the Fifth Elder told him about it, seeing that he had no reaction, he had privately destroyed the jade slip.
At the same time, the Second Elder had also said, "Is such a trivial matter worth risking a cross-realm journey? Do you really think we can come and go as we please?"
But now, why was Li Yan saying that it was a sect summons?
'The Fifth Elder probably wouldn't lie. Who is telling the truth and who is lying in this matter?'
For a moment, the Second Elder couldn't be sure of the whole story, but he still spoke.
"There was such a thing? But... but now the Fifth Elder is seriously injured and has been in seclusion. We will have to ask him for clarification later!"
"Fellow Daoist Li should handle this matter with caution. After all, our relationship with the Malevolent Spirit Sect has always been very harmonious. Let's not have any misunderstandings or mistakes."
Li Yan seemed to fall into thought after hearing this and did not speak for a moment. Seeing this, the Great Elder smiled faintly.
"We will have to trouble Fellow Daoist Li with this matter! By the way, regarding the matter of 'Qing A Wang,' whether it's Fellow Daoist Li's cultivation or his identity and origin, the Third Elder and I don't have many objections. I wonder what the Second Elder thinks?"
The Second Elder smiled and waved his hand.
"I just said that I believe in Fellow Daoist Li's identity. The previous question was just a formality. How could there be any real doubt?"
"Besides, with the Great Elder's sky-high cultivation, he can naturally see if there's anything wrong with A Ying. Fellow Daoist Li's origin is beyond doubt, hehehe..."