After making up their minds, Shen Qing and Li Xian didn't waste any time and quickly rushed to the back mountain.
Some time had passed since Pei Xuanjing sent that voice transmission. They had no idea what was going on in the back mountain now.
The back mountain of Qingyun Sword Sect was much more desolate than the front mountain. The spiritual plants and shrubs had withered. Apart from wild grass, there were no more lush plants.
At that time, Shen Qing hadn't reached the stage of fasting. The people in the sect only cared about Lin Yibai and forgot that she also needed to eat. So she had to come to the back mountain to pick some spiritual fruits from a tree.
But in such a barren place, it was impossible to find delicious spiritual fruits. The small fruits were tiny and sour. If it weren't for the need to survive, they would have been almost inedible.
As soon as Li Xian stepped into the back mountain, he felt the gloomy atmosphere and the extremely thin spiritual energy. He asked, "Why does the Qingyun Sword Sect have such a place? There are dense forests on the front mountain with lush plants and strong yang energy, but this back mountain is quite strange..."
Logically speaking, if the front was lush, the back shouldn't be so barren. It seemed more like someone had deliberately set up a formation to suppress the growth of spiritual plants here.
"I heard from other senior brothers and sisters that some senior brother killed his wife to prove his Dao for the sake of ascension, but was killed by his wife instead."
"His wife, out of hatred for her husband practicing the Heartless Dao, set up the Myriad Desolation Formation here, intending to completely annihilate her husband's soul. No one knows where the formation is, whether it's activated, or if it's just a rumor."
Li Xian nodded. Such rumors usually had some basis. According to this, it was normal for the back mountain to be so desolate.
However, Li Xian always scoffed at the act of killing one's wife to prove the Dao. In order to prove that they had cut off all emotions and desires and achieved supreme detachment, the cultivators of the Heartless Dao would kill their loved ones.
But they were reluctant to harm their parents and brothers, so they targeted their wives. When they swung their swords and saw their wives die under their blades without any ripple in their hearts, they thought they had achieved the Heartless Dao.
But such extreme behavior actually revealed the hypocrisy of these people. Such wanton killing would surely lead them to the demonic path in the end.
Since the beginning of the Nine Wastelands Continent, there had hardly been any record of someone ascending by killing their wife to prove the Dao.
Shen Qing walked in front. The back mountain was completely different from what she remembered.
The weeds grew taller than people. Some spiritual mushrooms had grown into strange shapes due to the lack of spiritual energy.
The two of them tacitly concealed their auras and walked lightly and carefully.
After Lin Yibai's death, her body was suppressed in a place not far from the cold pond in the back mountain. Shen Qing knew this. She guessed that Nan Zhijin would also take the person there, so she led Li Xian in that direction.
Sure enough, when they got closer, they heard the voices of several people arguing.
Li Xian took out a charm that could hide one's figure from his storage bag and stuck it on himself and Shen Qing.
This charm could provide half an hour of hiding effect. To others, they would be like the wild grass by the roadside or the air.
Shen Qing hid behind the withered bushes and found a perfect viewing spot.
Pei Xuanjing had his back to them, while Nan Zhijin, He Yu, and Shen Chuyun surrounded a woman in white. It seemed that the woman was arguing with them about something.
"I've said it before. My name is Bai Lingyi. I'm not your former junior sister. Nan Zhijin, did you bring me here just to dig up your junior sister's grave?
"Don't forget that I'm under Immortal Huiyan. He asked you to take good care of me. Is this how you take care of me? Aren't you afraid that I'll complain to him when I get back?"
The woman's voice was a bit hysterical. Shen Qing felt that this voice was completely different from Lin Yibai's.
Moreover, after a careful perception, the woman was different from Lin Yibai in terms of figure, appearance, and aura. But why was Pei Xuanjing so sure that this woman was Lin Yibai?
Shen Qing knew the inside story. With the system, even if Lin Yibai became someone completely unrelated, she wouldn't be surprised.
After Bai Lingyi shouted two sentences, Pei Xuanjing's voice followed. His tone was full of feigned concern, but it also seemed a bit urgent because he really wanted to force Bai Lingyi to reveal her identity.
"Junior sister, I know it was our fault that we didn't save you before. But we've recognized your real identity. Why do you still want to hide?
"After all, you just don't want to forgive us."
Bai Lingyi's voice trembled a bit. "I said, fellow daoist. You guys are surrounding me here now, looking at me as if you want to devour me alive. If I were really your junior sister, how could I dare to admit my real identity?"
He Yu tried to persuade her. "Little junior sister Bai, you and I were the closest in the Qingyun Sword Sect before. Why won't you even give me a chance to make it up to you now?"
Nan Zhijin also said, "Little junior sister Bai, stop pretending. If I weren't sure of your identity, why would I have called senior brother here?
"Are you still angry? Well, we senior brothers will all kneel down for you. We just hope you can forgive us, okay?"
Bai Lingyi bit her lower lip, and a hint of suspicion flashed in her eyes. Were these people really sincere in asking for her forgiveness, or did they just want to force out her real identity?
She wavered between admitting her identity and continuing to hide. Gritting her teeth, she decided to continue testing them.
"If you really loved your junior sister, why did you just watch her die back then? I heard that she was kind, but was slandered by another junior sister, and you all didn't believe her."
Shen Chuyun had been silent. When he heard Lin Yibai slandering Shen Qing, he pursed his lips and almost couldn't hold back.
But Pei Xuanjing saw what Shen Chuyun was thinking and glared at him fiercely where Bai Lingyi couldn't see.
Only then did Shen Chuyun stop and didn't say a word. But with a hint of anxiety, he kept looking into the distance, hoping to see Shen Qing's figure.
Shen Qing asked Li Xian in a low voice, "You've also seen Lin Yibai. Do you think that woman is her?"
Li Xian had observed carefully just now and had some doubts in his heart. Apart from the similar appearance, this woman had nothing in common with Lin Yibai.
But seeing that Shen Qing seemed to have already determined that the woman in front of them was Lin Yibai, he said, "There are countless strange things in the cultivation world. I really can't judge, but I believe your answer."
Shen Qing raised her eyebrows and then asked, "You know I want to kill her, but what if I kill the wrong person?"
Li Xian paused for a moment and then said, "If you kill an innocent person, I'll apologize with you."
Shen Qing smiled brightly. "Haha, I won't kill the wrong person."
After saying that, she tore off the charm on her body, walked out of the bushes, and headed straight for the group of people.