As those words rang out, the surrounding aura and conceptual images abruptly changed. Everyone could sense a peculiar conceptual image gathering toward where Zhang Yuan stood.
Although it was still very weak, given the circumstances, there was no doubt that this was the conceptual image heralding the start of a Truth-Seeking Rite.
He intended to seek truth.
He was not joking.
The expressions of Li Lingyun, Chu Yinbai, and the other cultivators at Celestial Person Perfection changed instantly, becoming quite a sight to behold.
They had only just dealt with Qin Tianyi, and now someone else was attempting True-Seeking Dao Attainment.
So were they supposed to leave or stay?
According to the task their clan True Lords had assigned them, they had come solely to stop Qin Tianyi from seeking truth and proving the Dao. Since Qin Tianyi had already failed, dying with his Dao extinguished, whatever happened afterward should, in principle, have nothing to do with them.
What did Zhang Yuan seeking truth have to do with them? Their task was not to stop him.
So... leave?
Their expressions grew solemn as they quietly began backing away. Their thoughts were remarkably unanimous: when something was none of their business, they should hang it high out of reach; when it was time to run, they should run.
But immediately afterward, Li Lingyun and the others stopped in their tracks, as though they had received some command. They ceased retreating, the corners of their eyes twitching slightly.
The reason was simple: every cultivator at Celestial Person Perfection present had received a voice transmission from his own True Lord, ordering him to stay, stop Zhang Yuan from proving the Dao, and disrupt his Truth-Seeking Rite.
"Hiss... ah, what a mess this is."
Having received their True Lords' decrees, Li Lingyun and the