128: Chapter 128 The Herb Garden Turmoil: Cleverly Unraveling a Treacherous Scheme

Ye Tian following Elder Xie to learn Alchemy was not publicly known, but eventually, some "interested parties" found out.

"Alchemy? Hmph! This brat sure knows how to find a backer."

Inside a side hall of the Law Enforcement Hall, Zhao Qian's Face turned gloomy after hearing his subordinate's report.

Elder Xie held a special status within the Sect; although he did not hold power, his seniority was extremely high, his cultivation was unfathomable, and his mastery of Alchemy was miraculous. Even Elders of the Inner Sect had to give him some Face.

If Ye Tian truly became Elder Xie's Disciple, it would be much more troublesome to deal with him.

"I cannot let him stay in the Medicine Garden peacefully!"

Cold light flashed in Zhao Qian's eyes, and he quickly calculated in his heart.

Going to the Medicine Garden to demand someone or cause trouble openly was just asking for embarrassment. Elder Xie's temper was known throughout the Sect; if he angered him, he would have to bear the consequences himself.

He summoned his confidant and whispered instructions: "Go, find two sharp-witted people who understand medicinal properties and have unfamiliar Faces. Mix them into the group of Disciples going to the Medicine Garden to collect Heart-Clearing Grass recently."

Heart-Clearing Grass was the main ingredient for refining Calm-Heart Pills, and the Medicine Garden distributed it to the Disciples of various peaks periodically to assist in their Cultivate.

"Let them..."

Zhao Qian's voice grew lower, and a sinister, cold smile appeared on his Face.

The confidant understood, bowed, and retreated.

A few days later, the Medicine Garden welcomed a wave of Outer Sect Disciples coming to collect Heart-Clearing Grass.

Elder Xie disliked noise, so such miscellaneous matters were usually handled by two Named Disciples in charge of chores in the garden.

Ye Tian, in his own small Alchemy room, was concentrating on attempting to refine his first batch of blood-stopping powder.

The Red Fire Cauldron was placed before him, and ten portions of medicinal herbs were neatly arranged to the side.

According to the records in the "Basic Alchemy Manual" and Elder Xie's guidance, although blood-stopping powder was the most basic healing medicine, it involved multiple steps such as smelting medicinal herbs, Fusion of medicinal properties, and controlling the heat, which were extremely difficult for a beginner to grasp.

Ye Tian failed several times; either the heat was too intense and scorched the herbs, or the timing for Fusion was wrong, causing the medicinal power to dissipate.

However, he was not discouraged. After each failure, he carefully reviewed it, sensing the temperature changes of the Medicine Cauldron, observing the state of the medicinal liquid, and adjusting his True Yuan output.

His Divine Sense was powerful, and his perception of subtle changes far exceeded that of ordinary people, which gave him a great advantage.

Just as he was focusing his mind and preparing for his fifth attempt, a burst of arguing suddenly came from outside the garden.

"What is going on?"

Ye Tian frowned slightly, calmed his mind, and stood up to walk out of the Alchemy room.

At the entrance of the Medicine Garden, the two Named Disciples responsible for distributing Heart-Clearing Grass were arguing with five or six Outer Sect Disciples who had come to collect medicinal herbs.

Two of the Disciples with unfamiliar Faces were agitated and shouted loudly: "By what right is the Heart-Clearing Grass given to us of such poor quality? The leaves are withered and yellow, and the Spiritual Qi is lacking! How can this be used for Alchemy?"

"Exactly! We clearly saw that the ones you gave to the Golden Flame Peak Disciples in front were top-quality, dripping with green! Do you think we from the Cold Jade Peak are easy to bully?"

"You must change it for us! Otherwise, we will report this to the Deacon Hall!"

The two Named Disciples were sweating profusely and defended themselves: "Senior Brothers, the distribution of medicinal herbs in the Medicine Garden has always been fair. They are taken in order; there is absolutely no favoritism! This batch of Heart-Clearing Grass was harvested from the same herb field, so the quality should be consistent!"

"Consistent? Look at this! Can this be the same?"

The unfamiliar Disciple grabbed a handful of wilted Heart-Clearing Grass and almost poked it into the Named Disciple's Face.

The argument attracted more attention and also disturbed Elder Xie, who was tending to a rare spiritual plant deep in the herb field.

Elder Xie walked over with a gloomy Face and said coldly: "What is all the noise about?"

Seeing Elder Xie, the few Disciples restrained their Aura slightly, but they still refused to let it go, presenting the inferior Heart-Clearing Grass and complaining about the "unfairness."

Elder Xie glanced at the Heart-Clearing Grass, then looked at the green medicinal herbs in the basket nearby, his eyebrows furrowed together.

With his keen eyesight, he saw at a glance that these inferior Heart-Clearing Grass had not withered naturally, but had been quietly over-ripened by some kind of cold method, causing the Spiritual Qi to leak out prematurely, while the appearance was not easy to detect.

This was clearly someone causing trouble on purpose!

But he had no evidence.

If he forced them down, it would inevitably lead to criticism, saying the Medicine Garden was unfair and shielding Disciples.

If he let them make a big scene, it would also damage the reputation of the Medicine Garden.

Elder Xie had a solitary personality and hated such underhanded schemes the most; his Face looked extremely ugly for a moment.

Ye Tian stood on the periphery of the crowd, observing calmly.

His keen Divine Sense noticed that the two troublemaking Disciples had flickering eyes, and although their Aura was suppressed at the third or fourth level of Ningyuan, their Foundation was flimsy, not like those who practiced diligently, but more like those who had forcibly improved their cultivation by taking Medicinal Pills.

Moreover, the timing of their attack on the Heart-Clearing Grass was too coincidental; it was exactly during the critical period when Elder Xie was evaluating him.

"Is this aimed at me?" Ye Tian understood instantly.

Zhao Qian did not dare to deal with Elder Xie directly, so he used such low-class means, trying to interfere with his learning by ruining the reputation of the Medicine Garden and creating trouble, and even taking the opportunity to drive him out of the Medicine Garden!

"What a vicious scheme!" Ye Tian's eyes turned cold.

If handled improperly, Elder Xie might be furious and perhaps vent his anger on him, the "source of trouble."

At this moment, the two troublemaking Disciples saw Elder Xie silent and became arrogant again: "Elder Xie, you are a person of high prestige, you must decide for us! If the Medicine Garden only has this quality of medicinal herbs, how can we complete the Sect tasks?"

Another person added sarcastically: "I heard that a new Disciple recently came to the Medicine Garden. Could it be that he has privately hidden all the good medicinal herbs and used inferior ones to fool us?"

The spearhead was vaguely pointed at Ye Tian!

Hearing this, Elder Xie swept his sharp gaze toward Ye Tian, then looked at the two Disciples, his anger growing, but he could not find a way to break the deadlock for a moment.

Although he could force them away with his prestige, once rumors started, it would be unfavorable for Ye Tian and the Medicine Garden.

Just as the atmosphere was deadlocked, Ye Tian suddenly stepped forward, bowed to Elder Xie, and then turned to the two troublemaking Disciples, saying calmly: "What the two Senior Brothers said concerns the reputation of the Medicine Garden and cannot be ignored. I am untalented, but I have recently been studying medicinal properties with the Elder and know a thing or two. May I examine these Heart-Clearing Grass?"

The two Disciples were stunned; they did not expect Ye Tian to take the initiative to stand up.

They looked at Ye Tian and saw his Aura was ordinary, so they felt disdain in their hearts, but they said: "You? A newly entered Disciple, what do you know about medicinal properties? Don't add to the chaos here!"

Ye Tian ignored their mockery, walked straight to the basket of inferior Heart-Clearing Grass, picked one up, sniffed it gently, twisted the leaves with his fingers, and even injected a trace of imperceptible True Yuan to sense the medicinal power inside.

A moment later, he put down the medicinal herb, turned to the crowd, and said loudly: "Senior Brothers, after my examination, these Heart-Clearing Grass indeed have problems."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked!

The two troublemaking Disciples' Faces changed slightly. Did this brat really see something?

Ye Tian continued: "However, the problem is not that the Medicine Garden is unfair in distribution, but that these medicinal herbs themselves have been tampered with. They did not grow poorly naturally, but were forcibly over-ripened by someone using a cold method of Cold Marrow Powder mixed with the Withering-Prosperity Technique, causing the internal Spiritual Qi to leak out prematurely, leaving only the appearance. This method is secretive and difficult to detect by ordinary inspection, but it will cause the medicinal properties to become cold and toxic. If used to refine Calm-Heart Pills, it will not only be useless but may damage your Meridians!"

His words cited specific drugs and methods, sounding very convincing, making everyone half-believing.

"Nonsense! On what grounds do you say that?"

The troublemaking Disciple retorted with a fierce expression but a weak heart.

Ye Tian smiled slightly, his gaze sweeping over all the Disciples present who were collecting medicinal herbs: "It's very simple. Heart-Clearing Grass is mild in nature and contains the vitality of plants. If it is over-ripened by a cold method, there will be a trace of extremely faint cold poison at the junction of the roots and stems, and the flow of medicinal power will be stagnant. If you don't believe me, you can circulate a trace of True Yuan, gently stimulate the roots of the Heart-Clearing Grass in your hands, and then smell its scent. If there is a faint, fishy, astringent feeling, it is poisoned by Cold Marrow Powder. Normal Heart-Clearing Grass will only emit a fresh, grassy fragrance."

This method was simple and easy, requiring no profound cultivation.

Some Disciples heard this and curiously tried it.

Soon, exclamations followed one after another: "It's true! Mine has a fishy smell!", "Mine too! The roots feel cold!", "The ones I collected before didn't have this!"

By comparison, the truth was revealed!

Those inferior Heart-Clearing Grass had indeed been tampered with!

Everyone's eyes instantly focused on the two troublemaking Disciples, full of anger.

The two Disciples' Faces instantly turned pale, and cold sweat streamed down.

They never expected that Ye Tian would not only see through their means but also provide such a simple and effective verification method!

Now they were completely exposed!

"You... you are spitting blood!"

They still tried to argue, but they had no confidence left.

Elder Xie's Face was as dark as water, and the murderous intent in his eyes was revealed!

He took a step forward, and the terrifying pressure of the True Martial Realm instantly enveloped the two Disciples: "Speak! Who ordered you to come to the Medicine Garden to cause trouble?!"

Under that pressure, the two Disciples' legs went weak, and they collapsed to the ground: "Elder, spare our lives! It... it was Deacon Zhao from the Law Enforcement Hall... He told us to come! It has nothing to do with us!"

Wow!

The scene was in an uproar!

A Deacon of the Law Enforcement Hall ordered people to frame the Medicine Garden?

This was a shocking scandal!

Elder Xie laughed out of anger: "Good! A good Zhao Qian! How dare he stretch his claws into my Medicine Garden!"

He flicked his sleeves, and an invisible force swept up the two pale-faced Disciples: "Get to the Punishment Hall and repeat what you just said, word for word!"

After dealing with the troublemakers, Elder Xie turned around, his gaze toward Ye Tian full of appreciation.

If it weren't for Ye Tian's careful thinking and solid knowledge of medicinal properties, the Medicine Garden would have truly suffered an unjust charge today, and in his rage, he might have really vented his anger on him.

"Brat... this time, thanks to you." Elder Xie's voice softened a lot.

Ye Tian bowed and said: "It is the Disciple's duty."

But he felt no pride in his heart; instead, he became more vigilant.

Zhao Qian's means were endless, sinister, and vicious. There would likely be more trouble in the future.

After all, open spears are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against!

After everyone dispersed, Ye Tian returned to the small Alchemy room to continue trying to refine the blood-stopping powder for the sixth time.

He had to master Alchemy as soon as possible and improve his strength to survive in this crisis-ridden Sect!