Let's return our focus to the present moment.
Just moments ago, Chu Xiyao had told him that Fu Qian, the Martial Elder of Qingchan Peak, had personally bribed Song Mingde, the Merit Hall deacon of the outer court.
His purpose was to have Song Mingde monitor the correspondence that passed through his hands.
This wasn't particularly difficult for a Merit Hall deacon, and the rewards Fu Qian promised were extremely substantial.
Qi Sea Realm cultivation level, and a position as an inner court deacon.
Such conditions left no room for anyone to think of any reason to refuse.
"And then?"
Chen Yan asked.
"Song Mingde began working for Elder Fu, starting with copying letters, and later doing other tasks as well..."
"Compiling lists of certain people."
"Lists of what kind of people?"
"Only Song Mingde himself knew. Song Mingde didn't have a direct communication channel with his Qingchan Peak contact, because an outer court deacon with no foundation, bought purely by benefits, could betray them at any moment."
Chu Xiyao explained.
That was indeed true. What Elder Fu Qian had promised Song Mingde, those hidden figures in the shadows might very well be able to promise too.
"About four months ago, Song Mingde said he seemed to have discovered something significant, but still lacked crucial evidence."
"And then?"
"Song Mingde began compiling the list he mentioned."
"So you're saying Steward Song's death was caused by him compiling this list?"
Chen Yan raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know."
Chu Xiyao shook her head:
"By the time we tried to figure out what exactly happened, it was already too late."
Song Mingde had died tragically in the outer court's detention center.
"So you believe Steward Song's list is related to the disappearance of the Demon Suppression Stone?"
Chen Yan continued asking.
"That is indeed a possibility."
Chu Xiyao replied.
Song Mingde had discovered something in the outer court. As he investigated further, the matters behind it all made his spine chill with increasing dread, even panic.
He realized that if he continued like this, he would certainly die.
So Song Mingde, unable to actively contact his handler, chose to deplete all the spirit stones from the public account in the Merit Hall, hoping to attract Qingchan Peak's attention.
And indeed, he succeeded in doing so.
Chu Xiyao came to the outer court late at night to find Song Mingde, but ultimately arrived one step too late.
"I'll help you, but there's one condition."
Chen Yan said.
"What condition?"
Chu Xiyao asked.
"I'm helping you, not Elder Fu Qian, so until the truth comes to light, don't speak of this matter to anyone."
The young woman in white hesitated for a moment where she stood upon hearing Chen Yan's condition, then finally nodded:
"Alright, I agree."
Afterward, Chu Xiyao returned alone in the direction of the guest courtyard where Qingchan Peak was staying in the outer court.
Chen Yan believed Chu Xiyao could be trusted—at the very least, her fundamental nature wasn't bad.
In the previous cycle, after witnessing Steward Song's corpse and while leaving the detention center, when they were intercepted and killed by that man with the unnaturally soft voice, Chu Xiyao had stepped forward, attempting to protect him whom she had dragged into this mess.
Although she failed, the compassionate and guilty look in Chu Xiyao's eyes that he saw before his death couldn't have been a lie.
Moreover, Chen Yan didn't just want to help Chu Xiyao—his more important goal was to prevent the catastrophe that would occur two years later.
Could fate truly be changed?
Chen Yan didn't know, because when it came to fate, no one could say for certain.
From the direction of the training grounds came bustling noises and lively chatter.
The young outer court disciples were quite enthusiastic about this outer court competition, and they also held great admiration for the inner court elders and disciples of the sect.
There wasn't a single young outer court disciple who didn't hope to enter the inner court someday.
But the slightly older outer court disciples weren't necessarily the same, especially those who had reached the Martial Spring Realm.
These Martial Spring Realm outer court disciples had a very clear understanding of their situation, well aware that unless they encountered a great opportunity, there was absolutely no possibility of them breaking through to the Qi Sea Realm in this lifetime.
In the inner court, Martial Spring Realm cultivators could at most become disciple managers, and the treatment for managers wasn't much different from ordinary disciples—they just had to bear more responsibilities.
But in the outer court, Martial Spring Realm cultivators were much more valued. Nearly all positions in the outer court could be filled by Martial Spring Realm cultivators.
Although the treatment for ordinary inner court disciples was considerably better than in the outer court, it still couldn't compare at all to that of outer court deacons.
This situation also led to frequent instances of inner court disciples above Martial Spring Realm wanting to seek positions in the outer court to obtain better cultivation resources.
Of course, not every inner court disciple could do this—they needed connections higher up.
For example, the currently biggest beneficiary of connections in the outer court was Lin Qifeng, the personal disciple of Sect Leader Yun Yichen.
After more than twenty cycles, Chen Yan had finally figured out what exactly would trigger the great catastrophe about to descend upon the outer court in two years.
There were still two years left.
Within these two years, he needed to recover that Demon Suppression Stone that sealed the Black Flood Dragon Remnant Soul. Otherwise, the greatest catastrophe the Kongshan Sect's outer court had suffered in a thousand years would arrive right on schedule.
But what if he failed?
In the next cycle, should he try to save them again?
Watching the outer court disciples busily preparing for the outer court competition in front of the training grounds, Chen Yan fell into brief confusion.
In his daze, he spotted a familiar figure in front of the training grounds.
Not as playful and lively as before, her demeanor more steady than in his memories, yet her beauty remained just as captivating.
Cheng Ziying.
Suddenly, someone gently tapped Chen Yan's shoulder.
"Senior Brother Chen."
A young man wearing outer court disciple robes, but with sleeve patterns and a jade token at his waist that displayed his status, stood unexpectedly at Chen Yan's side and slightly behind him.
It was Sun Lu, the disciple of the Spirit Plant Workshop steward.
"That person is..."
Sun Lu followed the direction of Chen Yan's previous gaze and also noticed the young woman standing in front of the training grounds:
"Manager Cheng?"
Chen Yan's eyebrow twitched slightly:
"You know her?"
"Of course. Manager Cheng is practically the banner figure among the younger generation of outer court disciples. The training grounds deacon and ceremonial official both think highly of her. The training grounds deacon even considered taking her as a disciple."
Sun Lu explained.
Manager disciples were backbone disciples selected from among the ordinary disciples—to put it bluntly, they were workhorses doing miscellaneous tasks for the sect's middle and upper management.
However, becoming a manager disciple also meant more opportunities to be seen by the sect's middle and upper management. If there were promotion opportunities or other benefits later, these manager disciples would be considered first.
"Then why didn't the training grounds deacon ultimately take her as a disciple?"
Chen Yan asked.
Sun Lu simply smiled faintly and bowed slightly toward Chen Yan:
"A golden scale is no ordinary creature of the pond, because everyone knows that Manager Cheng is destined for the inner court eventually, just like Elder Lin and Senior Brother Chen—both of you will surely return to Kongyuan Mountain someday."