Shen Honglian

"This matter is very fishy; it has put the Pill Saint Sect through quite an ordeal lately."

Liu Qi paused as if to keep him in suspense, then lowered his voice mysteriously and said, "Whatever you do, don't tell Revered Master that I'm the one who told you, or he'll give me trouble again."

Seeing how hesitant he was, Qi Yuan frowned slightly but cooperated verbally: "Don't worry, my lips are sealed."

With that assurance, Liu Qi cleared his throat importantly and said slowly:

"Even though I'm currently expelled from the Sect, the Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters under Revered Master still look out for me. According to them, a series of strange things have been happening within the Sect since last month."

"First, several ten-thousand-year-old Spirit Medicines that the Pill Saint Sect had collected for generations staged a collective prison break and escaped from the Spirit Medicine Garden. Later, the Sect's treasury was visited by a thief, resulting in the loss of a vast amount of Spirit Stones."

"After that, even Revered Master's exclusive alchemy room was burglarized, and all the precious Medicinal Pills he had refined over the years were completely looted..."

"Such a thing happened?"

Before Qi Yuan could say anything, Pu Genshuo, who was standing nearby, was the first to be shocked and couldn't help but interject:

"Although the Pill Saint Sect doesn't have a Mahayana Realm Cultivator presiding over it, it's no ordinary second or third-rate power. With their mastery of the Dao of Alchemy, their influence is not at all inferior to the Seven Great Holy Lands."

"Even the villains of the Demonic Path are unwilling to easily offend the Pill Saint Sect. Who would dare to provoke Pill Saint Zu Chengzhi? Are they not afraid of becoming public enemy number one in the Cultivation World?"

Qi Yuan had the same doubt in his heart.

For Cultivators, Medicinal Pills are the most important cultivation resource, bar none.

Refining pills requires Alchemists, so Alchemists hold a transcendent status in the Cultivation World.

And the Pill Saint Sect just happens to be the leader of the Alchemist Association.

In other words, offending the Pill Saint Sect is equivalent to offending the entire Alchemist Association; even the unscrupulous Demonic Sects wouldn't dare to do such a thing.

To actually dare to tweak the whiskers of Pill Saint Zu Chengzhi—if nothing else, their courage is truly boundless... Seeing that both of them looked interested, Liu Qi smiled slightly, his face full of mystery:

"What's even more detestable is that the thief didn't just strip Revered Master's alchemy room bare; they also had the audacity to scrawl a line of large characters on the wall as a provocation."

"Although the exact contents are unknown, I heard that when Revered Master saw those words, he flew into a rage on the spot, nearly destabilizing his Dao Heart. He was so furious that he swore an oath of eternal enmity against that thief."

Having said this, he turned his gaze to the thoughtful Qi Yuan and continued his narration:

"Unexpectedly, that thief has quite a bit of skill. Many days have passed now, and far from being caught, not even a trace of them has been found."

"This has caused Revered Master's temper to flare up recently; he finds fault with everyone and has sent all my Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters out to investigate the case."

"If you can get to the bottom of this, Revered Master will surely be overjoyed. Forget one batch of pills—even ten batches wouldn't be a problem..."

Thief... Spirit Medicine Garden... stealing things... Hearing these, Qi Yuan's eyelids twitched. As these pieces of information connected, a sense of déjà vu immediately surged in his heart.

Could it be the work of a certain Little Grass Spirit?

...Meanwhile.

Baleful Yin Sect.

A black and red tidal sea rolled and roared high in the sky, shrouded in yin mist and echoing with the wails of ghosts, as if it were a netherworld abyss.

Countless strange and bizarre Demonic creatures roamed within, occasionally churning up waves; the glimpses of scales or claws they revealed all exuded a terrifying and ferocious aura.

Deep in the gloom, a majestic and magnificent palace hall imbued with an ancient aura stood tall, like an unparalleled demon god filling the heavens and earth.

This was the core restricted area of the Baleful Yin Sect, as well as the residence of the Baleful Yin Sect Revered Master: Miro Palace.

Inside the hall, the floor was paved with jade and lined with golden pillars. Ever-burning Shark-oil lamps hung on the walls, emitting an eerie, forest-white fluorescence.

Upon a spacious and magnificent black throne sat a graceful and slender figure.

To the left and right of the throne were dozens of beautiful maids in elegant dresses and elaborate hairstyles, in various poses.

These maids either knelt holding fragrant tea, held ceremonial fans, or stood on either side. All had their brows lowered and eyes averted, holding their breath and concentrating, their breathing becoming extremely faint, not daring to disturb the stunningly beautiful woman on the throne in the slightest.

The woman on the throne wore a black gown embroidered with gold-thread phoenix patterns. Her waterfall-like hair fell casually to her waist. Her aura was as deep as an abyss and obscure, like a patch of boundless night.

This majestic and stunning beauty was none other than the current Sect Master of the Baleful Yin Sect, Shen Honglian.

At this moment, her jade-like arms rested casually on the armrests of the throne, her curvaceous body leaning slightly against the backrest in a lazy posture, as if she were asleep.

After a long time, Shen Honglian suddenly opened her eyes and looked outside the hall. A few wisps of blood-red flame flickered in her ink-black pupils before quickly vanishing.

Only a breath later, a respectful report came from outside the hall:

"Reporting to the Sect Master, True Disciple Ji Chan'er requests an audience."

Shen Honglian's face was calm, showing no emotion as she spoke indifferently:

"Let her in."

Soon, a beautiful lady in a purple dress entered the hall led by an attendant, then gracefully knelt on the ground:

"Disciple Ji Chan'er pays respects to the Sect Master!"

"Mhm."

Shen Honglian responded flatly, her gaze sweeping over Ji Chan'er's pretty face. "Rise and speak."

"Thank you for your grace, Sect Master."

Hearing this, Ji Chan'er hurriedly stood up and said respectfully:

"I have taken the liberty of requesting an audience to report on an old matter."

As she spoke, without any nonsense, she took out a diamond-shaped object from her robes, held it up with both hands, and said slowly:

"Ten thousand years ago, the three Old Ancestors of the Yin Sha Sect brought back three puzzles from a certain ruin within the Immortal Burial Valley."

"By solving these three puzzles, one can obtain the key to enter the ruins and thus gain the opportunities within."

"To be honest, the Endgame puzzle that our Ji Clan received has already been solved. I wonder what the situation is with the other two families?"

"Oh?"

Shen Honglian raised an eyebrow, appearing quite interested. She casually pulled the diamond-shaped object into her palm, observing it closely while saying in a puzzled tone:

"I have also heard a bit about this. The three Demon Venerables once said that the Restrictions outside those ruins are extremely fearsome; even three Mahayana Realm Cultivators working together could not break them. It is very likely left behind by an Immortal from the Primordial Era."

"Unfortunately, those three puzzles are too profound. Generations of sages from the Shen Clan exhausted their wisdom but still couldn't find the answers. I didn't expect your Ji Clan to be the first to solve one. As expected of the Yin Sha Sect's number one Family."

Thinking of something, Shen Honglian glanced at her and said meaningfully:

"Although I don't know how far the Situ Family has gotten with their puzzle, I am certain they haven't found the answer either."

"Now that your Ji Clan has the upper hand, you could easily find a way to seize the items from the other two families and claim all the resources within the ruins for yourselves."

"Yet you come here to report this to me now. Are you not afraid of alerting the enemy?"

Meeting Shen Honglian's scrutinizing gaze, Ji Chan'er slowly raised her eyes, her gaze flickering with a resolute light as she said in a low voice:

"I believe that no matter how domineering the Ji Clan is, we are ultimately a part of the Yin Sha Sect. Without the prosperity of the Yin Sha Sect, my Ji Clan would be like a tree without roots or water without a source, eventually fading away."

"If our Ji Clan were truly as greedy as you suggest, it would only force the other two families to unite against us. Once internal strife begins, the Yin Sha Sect will be bathed in blood, and there will never be peace."

"Although you come from the Shen Clan, your current identity is the Revered Master of the Yin Sha Sect. Surely you, more than anyone, would not want such a thing to happen?"

Her speech was neither fast nor slow, her logic clear, and her expression neither humble nor arrogant; she had clearly come well-prepared.