Drug trial

As Baichuan slowly returned to Sifangyuan carrying his bamboo basket, Yunqian also returned from watching the competition at Wujitai.

The two met unexpectedly at the courtyard gate. Yun Qian, with her keen eyes, almost instantly sensed that Bai Chuan's aura was different from usual. She stopped and carefully scanned Bai Chuan with her gaze.

His clothes were clean and new, without a speck of dust.

The bamboo basket on his back was intact, and the herbs were safe and sound.

Her hair was neatly styled, without a trace of dishevelment.

Only his eyes, and the lingering trace of coldness between his brows, were completely different from his usual gentle and sickly appearance.

Before Yun Qian could ask, Bai Chuan calmly stated, "Senior Sister, someone tried to kill me today."

Yun Qian's brows furrowed suddenly, and her eyes instantly filled with undisguised worry.

"I sent more than a dozen Nascent Soul stage cultivators." Bai Chuan's tone remained calm, as if he were talking about a trivial matter that had nothing to do with him. "Perfect, I used them to test the newly developed poison, and then I solved all of them."

"Are you injured?" Yun Qian asked immediately, her words quickening. She didn't care about the lives of others; she only cared about whether her junior brother was alright.

Bai Chuan's cough has been flaring up more and more frequently lately. Today, he is facing a combined attack from eighteen skilled opponents of the same level. Even if he wins, it is hard to guarantee that his old ailment will not be aggravated and his vital energy will be depleted.

“They were unharmed.” Bai Chuan shook his head slightly and explained, “They inhaled my ‘Dispersing Power Miasma,’ which greatly reduced their cultivation level, leaving them with less than 50% of their internal energy. They were not difficult to deal with, and most of them were fatal with a single blow.”

Hearing Baichuan say he was unharmed, Yun Qian's tightly furrowed brows did not relax. She stared at Baichuan's slightly pale face and corrected him, "I was asking about your health. Is your cough serious? Is your spiritual energy depleted?"

Upon hearing this, Baichuan smiled with relief and shook his head, saying, "Don't worry, Senior Sister, this is just a minor illness, it's not serious..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yun Qian had already reached out and precisely grasped his wrist. Her fingertips, imbued with spiritual energy, probed in like silk threads, carefully sensing the pulse beneath.

The pulse was steady and powerful. Although the flow of spiritual energy was active due to the recent strategic maneuver, the foundation was solid, and there was no sign of disorder or loss.

As he said, there was no major problem.

Yun Qian's heart finally settled down, and the solemn expression on her face softened considerably.

Knowing that his senior sister was worried about his health, Bai Chuan didn't want her to worry too much, so he took the initiative to change the subject, his tone carrying a rare hint of annoyance: "It's just... I acted too quickly, I was so busy testing the medicine and sword that I forgot to leave a survivor, and I didn't get a good look at their fighting style. Now, it's hard to tell which sect sent them."

Given Cangmin Mountain's current predicament at the center of the storm, it wouldn't be surprising if any sect made a move. Therefore, identifying exactly who it was isn't as crucial.

"The most important thing right now is to prevent them from making another move," Yun Qian said, her voice unusually solemn. Now that one sect has already started this, it's hard to guarantee that other forces won't follow suit. The three of them must be on high alert and constantly on guard.

"Hmm." Baichuan nodded, then asked, "Should I remind Xiaowu to be careful too?"

Yun Qian shook her head: "No need. Xiao Wu is calm and steady, and his swordsmanship is already highly developed. He knows his limits, so I'm at ease." In comparison, she was more worried about her second junior brother, who always appeared sickly but was actually more stubborn than anyone else.

"Starting tomorrow, if you go out to gather herbs again, have Qin Wu follow you in secret," Yun Qian decided. This time the enemy could send over a dozen late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators; next time, they might send even more powerful figures, or even set more insidious traps. She dared not gamble Bai Chuan's life on any unforeseen circumstances.

In all things, caution is paramount.

"What should we do next?" Baichuan asked, habitually relying on Yunqian as his main concern.

“Next,” Yun Qian’s eyes turned slightly cold as she looked at the layered mountains outside the courtyard, her tone resolute, “we just need to observe and wait.”

Losing more than a dozen disciples at the late Nascent Soul stage at once is no small matter for any sect; it is enough to cause serious damage.

If the sect behind the scenes chooses to swallow its anger and suffer in silence, it will be a bitter pill to swallow, and it might restrain itself in the short term. However, if they can't contain themselves and publicize the matter, using it as an excuse to attack Cangmin Mountain, then it will be self-evident who will be the first to make a move against Cangmin Mountain.

Yun Qian sneered inwardly. This direct ambush and killing style was quite reminiscent of the style of Si Li, the head of Tianyan Mountain.

They must not have been able to figure out her true strength, and they were wary of Qin Wu's unparalleled Cangmin swordsmanship, so they chose to attack Bai Chuan, who seemed to be the weakest and easiest to control.

It's likely that Sili never anticipated that Baichuan's Cangmin Sword, seemingly used for self-defense, might not be much slower than Qin Wu's when wielded.

Inside Chaohui Hall, Sili was indeed in a predicament.

He tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, his brow furrowed. The existing clues were simply insufficient for him to make an accurate judgment.

Did those dozen or so disciples unfortunately run into the unpredictable elder of the demon race before they even found Baichuan, and were easily dealt with? Or did they actually die by Baichuan's sword, and then someone deliberately fabricated traces of demonic energy to confuse the public and shift the blame?

If it's the former, that's easier to say. After all, the newly appointed Grand Elder of the Demon Clan, though young, has a capricious and eccentric temperament, and acts entirely on a whim. It's not impossible that he might casually kill a few troublesome cultivators to vent his anger.

But if it's the latter, then the situation is truly troublesome. A medical cultivator who can single-handedly face eighteen elite late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators and defeat them all with a single move, swiftly annihilating them all—how terrifying must their true combat strength be? This is far more frightening than a mere sword cultivator.

Sili raised her hand and gently rubbed her throbbing temples.

The three people who appeared in the world this time from Cangmin Mountain are all more bizarre and more unfathomable than the last.

Losing so many elite disciples at once will be difficult to explain to the old fogies within the sect. However, a glint flashed in Si Li's eyes. These people didn't die in vain; at least their lives tested the depths of Cangmin Mountain, revealing it to be far more complex than imagined.

Sili was never one to suffer losses. With so many disciples dead, wouldn't it be a waste not to seize this opportunity to make the most of their sacrifice?

Regardless of who ultimately killed these disciples, the fact remains that they died from "demonic energy," at least on the surface. Wouldn't it be a waste not to make good use of this readily available and irrefutable excuse?

Soon, an order personally signed by Sili, the head of Tianyan Mountain, spread throughout the residences of all participating sects:

"A demon has infiltrated Tianyan Mountain and brutally murdered eighteen of our disciples! To ensure the smooth progress of the Immortal Sect Competition and the safety of all fellow Daoists, effective immediately, all sects must unconditionally cooperate with Tianyan Mountain in its investigation and purge any demon spies that may be hiding there!"

Look, what a high-sounding reason!

It would be such a waste not to take advantage of such a great opportunity.