Seeing that his disciple didn't seem to care much, Qi Zhiheng reminded him, "Don't circulate your spiritual energy anymore."

Feng Yuanyi paused. He had just been planning to circulate his spiritual energy to see if he had been affected by the poisonous insects. He asked, "Master, I don't feel any discomfort."

Qi Zhiheng said, "Of course you won't feel anything. By the time you do, your hand will be ruined, and it won't recover for a while."

Feng Yuanyi shuddered. He didn't even think it was a big deal to cut off his hand, since his master would definitely give him a limb-regenerating pill. It would be difficult to even reconnect this rotten hand.

Qi Zhiheng, however, did not mean that. After being poisoned, he had to first detoxify his body, otherwise even if he took the pill, he would not be able to regrow new limbs.

Feng Yuanyi looked distressed and said, "Master, what should I do?"

Qi Zhiheng said, "Go do what you need to do, and find out who brought this poisonous insect to the alchemy room."

Upon hearing this, Feng Yuanyi knew that Qi Zhiheng must have a way to solve his problem, so he went to carry out Qi Zhiheng's order.

His first suspect was, of course, Bai Yilian! He stormed out, somewhat annoyed.

Qi Zhiheng went to the mission hall at Danfeng and exchanged some spiritual herbs. He then returned to the alchemy room to refine pills.

Feng Yuanyi was only poisoned today, so it shouldn't be too difficult to remove the poison. Qi Zhiheng spent some time refining the pill and said to one of his disciples, "Go and call Feng Yuanyi back."

Feng Yuanyi returned with that disciple not long after.

"Master, I've found out who wanted to harm me!" Feng Yuanyi was still a little angry.

Qi Zhiheng placed the bottle of pills on the table and gestured for Feng Yuanyi to come up: "Take one pill a day for ten days."

Feng Yuanyi took the pill, swallowed one, and muttered, "So troublesome? I thought one pill would be enough."

Qi Zhiheng didn't respond to his nagging, and said directly, "Let's go, it's time to punish those who have harmed our fellow disciples."

A group of disciples followed closely behind Qi Zhiheng, heading towards the alchemy room for registered disciples.

Zhang Ruosheng's eyelids twitched, and he had a bad feeling.

Such a situation had never occurred in the alchemy room before, which made Zhang Ruosheng think of a suspect, but he found it hard to believe.

Feng Yuanyi pushed open the door and then let Qi Zhiheng go in first.

Feng Yuanyi and Qi Zhiheng frequently visited this alchemy room, which the disciples were used to. However, it was rather strange that they were followed by a large group of formal disciples.

Everyone thought that Qi Zhiheng might have something to announce, so they quickened their pace in refining pills.

Qi Zhiheng was not in a hurry to announce anything. He patiently waited for all the disciples present to finish making their pills before speaking, "I have something to say today."

The disciples below listened quietly to Qi Zhiheng's next words.

Qi Zhiheng said, "Since I took in more than a hundred disciples, I have been teaching them carefully. Originally, I insisted on directly taking in disciples in the Foundation Establishment stage, because disciples in the Foundation Establishment stage could become third-level alchemists faster. But I did not. The reason I took you in is because you are still young and have strong potential. Even if you had some bad thoughts, they can be corrected in time. I also have some small requirements for you. The highest requirement is that you should build a harmonious relationship with your fellow disciples."

Some disciples nodded in agreement.

Qi Zhiheng praised, "You have done a great job in terms of unity and harmony. Over the past few years, I have watched you grow step by step. Although you may make some minor mistakes, they are not serious. At least you have maintained that the brothers do not harm each other. This is also the point I am most proud of when I go out and talk to others about my disciples."

The disciples below listened attentively, moved by Qi Zhiheng's words. As Qi Zhiheng's disciples, the greatest praise they received was for their ability to refine pills across ranks! While some could refine pills across ranks, others could not. Qi Zhiheng's words included them as well. In another sense, no matter that they were not cross-rank alchemists, Qi Zhiheng was still a disciple he could be proud of. These words were tantamount to winning people's hearts.

Qi Zhiheng's tone suddenly changed: "But today, someone has broken that rule! Some people have wicked intentions; instead of focusing on learning alchemy properly, they have put their minds on harming their fellow disciples!"

The previously quiet alchemy room was suddenly filled with gasps. Everyone looked at each other, and finally turned their attention to Bai Yilian.

Bai Yilian's heart skipped a beat, and her expression showed a moment of panic, but she quickly regained her composure. Even if they discovered the imposter, there was no evidence to prove that she was the one who did it. Seeing that the disciples were all looking at the other disciples, Bai Yilian was a little annoyed. What did these people mean by this?

Qi Zhiheng said, "When your third senior brother was refining pills today, he mixed poisonous insects into the spiritual herbs. These poisonous insects are called 'disguisers'. They can hide very well. Once they enter a person's body, the toxins will begin to spread. With the circulation of spiritual energy, they will spread throughout the body."

Upon hearing this, Bai Yilian's face turned even paler. She bit her lip slightly, realizing that her poisonous insects had indeed been discovered!

Feeling a gaze fixed on her, Bai Yilian looked up and saw Zhang Ruosheng staring straight at her, making her feel a little guilty.

“This poison can remain hidden for a few days. The part of the body that first comes into contact with the poisonous insect begins to rot, and then it spreads to other parts until all the muscles in the body are completely rotted away. After that, even if the person doesn’t die, they probably won’t have the courage to live.” Qi Zhiheng said, glancing at everyone, and continued, “I have never dared to think of such a vicious method in all these years.”

The disciples below began to discuss it, finding such a method truly too vicious! They had never even heard of it under Qi Zhiheng's tutelage!

Qi Zhiheng raised his hand to quell the disturbance and said, "Alright! Who did this? I'll give you a chance. If you step forward now, I'll choose a lighter punishment. After all, you're all young, and it's normal for you to go astray for a while."

The alchemy room fell silent immediately.

Zhang Ruosheng continued to stare intently at Bai Yilian, which annoyed her greatly!

"No one has the courage to admit their mistakes?" Qi Zhiheng frowned.

At this moment, a female disciple stepped forward and said, "Master! Bai Yilian was the last to leave the alchemy room yesterday, and I think she is the most likely person to have done it. Third Senior Brother did not find anything unusual yesterday, so he must have done it after the last alchemy session. If it was not this morning, it must have been last night, and last night, Bai Yilian is the most likely candidate."

“Master! I also think it’s most likely Bai Yilian. A few days ago, Third Senior Brother whipped her ten times with a bone whip. She must be holding a grudge because of that. It’s most likely that she committed the crime.” A male disciple stepped forward to testify.

Qi Zhiheng looked at Bai Yilian and asked, "Bai Yilian, what do you have to say?"

Bai Yilian calmly stepped forward and said, "Master, these are just their side of the story. I was the last to return yesterday, but that was only because I was dull-witted and couldn't finish the homework my senior brother assigned before leaving. As for the poisonous insects, I know nothing about them."

Qi Zhiheng said, "So, you don't admit that you did it?"

At this moment, a disciple stood up and said indignantly, "You're talking nonsense. Before you came, there were no problems in our alchemy room. This situation only occurred after you arrived. Who else could it be but you?"

"You said it yourself, this happened because of my arrival. It's possible that someone saw I was the last to leave last night and deliberately framed me!" Bai Yilian finished speaking and turned to Qi Zhiheng, saying, "Please, Master, be clear, this was not my doing!"

Qi Zhiheng was silent for a moment before asking, "Does anyone else have something to say?"

The disciples fell silent for a moment.

Qi Zhiheng nodded and said, "It seems that some people are inherently bad and cannot be changed no matter what. Since no one admits it, I hereby announce that after we find the mastermind behind this, we will break their arms and legs, abolish their cultivation, and expel them from the sect! Do you have any objections?"

"We have no objection!" the disciples replied in unison.

Qi Zhiheng then turned to Bai Yilian and asked, "Bai Yilian, what about you? Do you have any objections to my punishment?"

Bai Yilian felt a cold sweat break out on her back, and she even suspected that Qi Zhiheng already knew that she was behind it. In this day and age, it was just a fleeting thought, and she quickly suppressed it. It must be that Qi Zhiheng was deceiving her, trying to force her to reveal her true colors. She calmly said, "Master, this disciple has no objection!"

Qi Zhiheng smiled and said, "Alright! Since none of you have any objections, then let your third senior brother announce the results of his investigation."

Qi Zhiheng remained silent. Feng Yuanyi stepped forward and said, "The real culprit this time is Bai Yilian!" He looked at Bai Yilian as he spoke.

Bai Yilian's face turned pale as she retorted, "Words are meaningless, Third Senior Brother. You can't pin this on me just because you don't like what you see!"

Feng Yuanyi said, "Whether it's just empty talk or not is not up to you to decide." As he spoke, he took out a recording stone and held it up in front of Qi Zhiheng.

"Master, there's a recording stone in my alchemy room that's been continuously dripping with oil. It has recorded everything the thieves did yesterday. Please take a look!"

Qi Zhiheng took the photo stone that he handed over.

At this moment, Zhang Ruosheng's expression had become numb. In just a few days, his beloved had become like this. Or perhaps, this was just her true nature.

Qi Zhiheng adjusted the screen to last night, showing Bai Yilian entering the alchemy room, opening the box containing Feng Yuanyi's spirit herbs, and placing a poisonous insect inside.

Bai Yilian was shocked to find such a thing in the alchemy room, and her face turned deathly pale.