"I haven't seen the abbot in quite some time. I wonder where he is at this moment?" Chen Yuan said, his eyes fixed on the blue-robed monk, observing his expression and subtle movements.

"The abbot..."

The blue-robed monk was silent for a moment, then lowered his voice and said:

"The abbot is currently studying Buddhist doctrines and has been in seclusion for over a year."

"Seclusion..."

Chen Yuan's eyes flickered:

"I wonder where he is in seclusion? Has no one gone to investigate, after being secluded for so long?"

"The abbot is in seclusion in the back mountain. Currently, all affairs in the temple are managed by the Supervising Monk Jie Nan, so we have no right to interfere..." the blue-robed monk said softly.

"Back mountain..."

Chen Yuan murmured, his heart stirring.

No wonder he wandered around the temple for so long and found nothing. It turns out there's a back mountain!

Perhaps the real secrets are hidden there.

"Master, may I ask where the back mountain is?"

The Cien Temple is not located on a mountain, so naturally there wouldn't be a back mountain. Chen Yuan thought 'back mountain' was probably just a name.

The blue-robed monk said directly:

"Benefactor Chen, this is a secret of our temple. Please forgive this humble monk..."

Chen Yuan handed over a tael of silver.

"This..."

The blue-robed monk hesitated, wanting to reach out and take the silver, but seemed to be wary of something.

Seeing the monk's entanglement, Chen Yuan smiled and took out two more taels of silver from his pocket and handed them over.

The blue-robed monk gritted his teeth, quickly put away the silver, and pointed to the direction of the main hall:

"There is a small temple beside the main hall. There is a door in the temple. Push it open and you will see the road to the back mountain. The back mountain was named by the first abbot, and it is actually used to punish monks who violate the precepts of the temple, and..."

"And, a place for secluded cultivation."

Chen Yuan nodded, placing one hand on his chest:

"Thank you for telling me, Master. Chen is very grateful."

The blue-robed monk lowered his head and continued sweeping the floor:

"As long as Benefactor Chen doesn't reveal that I told you about the back mountain, I will be grateful."

"Of course."

Chen Yuan nodded, then turned around and prepared to return to the main hall with Wang Ping.

After Chen Yuan and Wang Ping's figures disappeared completely, the blue-robed monk raised his head and whispered:

"This dirty place will finally disappear soon."

......

When they returned to the main hall, the men, women, old and young who had been worshipping Buddha before had left, replaced by a new batch of believers. The monk who had been collecting money stood aside with a cold expression, unmoved by the kneeling supplicants.

There was no trace of compassion on his face.

Chen Yuan gestured, Wang Ping nodded silently and walked towards the monk, while Chen Yuan inconspicuously approached a small temple next to the main hall.

The small temple had its door open, without any Arhats or Bodhisattvas enshrined. It didn't look like a temple building, but rather a small dilapidated house.

Chen Yuan stepped inside and looked around, focusing on a tattered cloth curtain. It hung very abruptly on the wall, out of place with the bareness of everything else.

"Swish."

Chen Yuan pulled open the curtain, his pupils shrinking.

What appeared before him was a winding path, its view obscured by a grove of trees. After hesitating for a moment, Chen Yuan chose not to enter.

A green light flashed in his eyes, and the Heavenly Eye opened.

Chen Yuan frowned. He didn't see anything special, unlike the Spirit Cleansing Pearl before, which had radiated light and been noticed by him.

"Is it because it's too far away?"

Chen Yuan's heart stirred. Perhaps that was the reason.

But even so, Chen Yuan did not choose to enter and investigate.

He exhaled a long breath and lowered the curtain. Suddenly, his ears twitched, and a series of uneven footsteps entered his ears.

"What are you doing? Why are you here?"

A dull voice came from behind.

Chen Yuan turned around calmly and said:

"I saw a small temple here and thought I'd come to burn some incense."

Turning around, Chen Yuan saw a slightly fat bald monk with ordination scars on his head and a deep knife scar near the corner of his eye.

He looked somewhat fierce.

"Go to the main hall to burn incense. Outsiders are not allowed to enter here," the fat monk said in a low voice.

"Thank you for telling me."

Chen Yuan smiled and walked past the fat monk.

The fat monk watched Chen Yuan leave, locked the door, and limped away in one direction.

"Limp! Fatty!"

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

If it were anywhere else, it would have been fine, but the fact that he appeared in Cien Temple made Chen Yuan think of the culprit's figure that he had deduced from the footprints after the Liu family massacre.

He finally knew why he hadn't found him after searching the county town for so long. It turned out he had been hiding in Cien Temple all along, and his identity was a monk!

There may be coincidences in the world, but there can never be so many coincidences!

Based on this guess alone, Chen Yuan was 100% sure that Cien Temple was the old nest of the No-Life Sect in Ping'an County!

Even if that Lord Zhang came, Chen Yuan could deliver.

After discovering the cripple, Chen Yuan didn't continue to stay in Cien Temple, but quickly left with Wang Ping to avoid arousing the vigilance of certain people.

This was a crucial moment, and Chen Yuan didn't want any more troubles!

......

......

The next day,

East of the city.

Sanhe Fist Hall, backyard.

After definitively discovering the strangeness of Cien Temple, Chen Yuan no longer paid special attention to anything. He just needed to wait for Lord Zhang to arrive, and then it would be time to take action.

Chen Yuan didn't know how strong the No-Life Sect was in Ping'an County, but he thought it must be strong.

After all, being able to directly control a force with a Core Forging expert sitting in charge without anyone noticing was a testament to their strength.

There would definitely be Core Forging experts, but he didn't know how many. There would probably be even more martial artists below the Core Forging realm. Touching them with Chen Yuan's current strength would be like hitting a stone with an egg.

He would not do such a foolish thing.

"Old Zhao, please."

Chen Yuan personally poured a cup of tea for Zhao Nanshan.

Zhao Nanshan accepted the tea with a smile, took a sip:

"I had to ask you to come here unannounced. Those guys keep running here every few days. Don't be angry, Chen Daren."

Chen Yuan smiled:

"Old Zhao, you're being too serious. They need this Constable's protection, and they're also giving this Constable silver. Why would I be angry?"

"Who in this world would turn down silver?"

The reason he came to Sanhe Fist Hall today was that several influential figures in the east of the city wanted to get to know him, but they didn't have the connections. They happened to hear that Sanhe Fist Hall was under Chen Yuan's protection.

So they visited several times, disturbing Zhao Nanshan's peace of mind.

So he sent someone to the yamen to tell Chen Yuan about it, and then Chen Yuan weighed it and came.

"That's good..." Zhao Nanshan pointed to the outside of the door and said:

"In that case, shall we let them in?"

Chen Yuan nodded slightly and smiled at Wang Ping next to him:

"Open the door and let the bad atmosphere outside blow in."