The life of a spiritual herb is also a life.

"It's quite simple," Qi Yuan spoke slowly. "As a Pill Saint, Senior Ancestor Zu's Alchemy techniques have reached the peak. Even when refining the most common Qi Gathering pill, the quality is far superior to those made by others."

"Such unique Medicinal Pills can be identified at a glance by any alchemist who knows their trade."

"Under normal circumstances, a thief who steals so many priceless Medicinal Pills at once certainly won't be able to use them all. They will inevitably find a way to fence the goods, turning the Medicinal Pills into Spirit Stones and various Cultivate resources."

"And the Pill Saint Immortal Workshop just happens to be the largest distribution center for Medicinal Pills in the world. Even if the thief is naturally cautious and chooses to sell the stolen goods elsewhere, it won't be long before those stolen Medicinal Pills automatically flow back to the Pill Saint Immortal Workshop."

"If we can find suspicious Medicinal Pills in the market, we can use them as a clue to follow the trail and uncover the thief's true identity."

Although he wasn't skilled in investigation, even if he hadn't eaten pork, he had seen pigs run; all those episodes of Conan he watched in his previous life weren't for nothing. With a little thought, he could guess what Zu Xianxian wanted to do.

Although the young girl's train of thought was good, if she encountered an unconventional schemer who didn't play by the rules, she was likely destined to waste her efforts.

Qi Yuan pondered silently.

"Exactly." Zu Xianxian's eyes sparkled as she listened, looking at Qi Yuan with newfound respect. "You really are an expert at investigating cases. No wonder you have the confidence to intervene in this matter."

As she spoke, she looked at Qi Yuan with a suspicious gaze:

"You being so kind-hearted, it must be to curry favor with my Great-Grandfather, right?"

The corner of Qi Yuan's mouth twitched slightly.

This little brat wasn't very old, but she was as shrewd as a ghost. However, her EQ was quite lacking—who talks like that?

He gave a light cough to hide the embarrassment on his face and simply laid his cards on the table:

"To be honest, This Qi does indeed have a request for Senior Ancestor Zu, but that is something to be discussed after the case is solved."

"For now, I ask Miss Zu to describe the specific details of the case so that I can identify clues from them."

Hearing this, Zu Xianxian nodded in satisfaction, a sweet smile appearing on her small face, looking quite endearing.

"You are quite candid, much better than those hypocritical and pretentious fellows."

Then, as if thinking of something, she wrinkled her nose in discouragement and said helplessly:

"I've been going around the Immortal Workshop for over ten days. Besides catching many unscrupulous merchants selling low-quality Medicinal Pills, I've gained nothing else. It seems the path of starting from the stolen goods is a dead end."

Zu Xianxian sighed dejectedly and forced herself to describe the case:

"A month ago, that thief first visited the Spirit Medicine Garden and abducted the four most precious Ten Thousand Year Spirit Medicines inside."

"Then it swept away a large number of Spirit Stones from our Pill Saint Sect's treasury; tens of thousands of Top-Grade Spirit Stones alone were stolen."

At this point, Zu Xianxian clenched her small fists indignantly, her face full of exasperation as she said:

"That would have been fine, but most hateful of all is that he actually targeted Great-Grandfather's Pill Room. Not only did he empty out the Medicinal Pills Great-Grandfather had refined over the years, but he also left a message on the Pill Furnace to provoke us. It's simply outrageous!"

Qi Yuan listened quietly. Once Zu Xianxian's emotions had calmed down slightly, he raised the question in his heart:

"Um... I wanted to ask, what exactly did the thief write to make you this angry?"

At the mention of this, Zu Xianxian's expression suddenly became strange. She hesitated, seemingly unwilling to say it aloud.

Seeing this, Qi Yuan quickly added:

"Miss Zu, this sentence is crucial for solving the case. To a large extent, it can reflect the thief's mental state at the time. Please do not hesitate to tell me."

On the other side, Liu Qi and Pu Genshuo, who were acting as spectators, also subconsciously pricked up their ears, clearly very curious about the matter.

"Well..." Zu Xianxian hesitated for a long while before finally making up her mind and speaking through gritted teeth:

"The thief wrote on the Pill Furnace: '[Spiritual Plants' lives are lives too; anyone who uses Spiritual Plants for Alchemy is a Great Devil Head!]'"

"What's even more irritating is that the passage was not only written in a crooked and messy scrawl, but more than half of it consisted of typos. We had to find several knowledgeable Sect Seniors to barely translate the sentence. Tell me, if this isn't a provocation, what is?"

Zu Xianxian grew more indignant as she spoke, her fair face turning flush red:

"As alchemists, we deal with all kinds of Spiritual Plants all day long. Spiritual Plants are meant to be used for Alchemy. If we don't use Spiritual Plants for Alchemy, what else are we supposed to use?"

"The thief wrote such nonsense just to slander and defame the world's alchemists. It's simply malicious, despicable, and shameless. It's infuriating!"

Hearing this, not only were Liu Qi and Pu Genshuo dumbfounded, but even Qi Yuan was momentarily speechless.

He considered himself experienced, having seen many cat lovers, dog lovers, and even general animal lovers, but this was the first time he had heard of a Plant Lover.

At this moment, Qi Yuan was completely certain that this matter was definitely related to that bratty Little Grass Spirit.

The only doubt was whether, with the Little Grass Spirit's abilities, it was possible for it to commit such a major crime alone.

One must know that the Pill Saint Sect was a first-rate Sect second only to the Seven Great Holy Lands. Although no Mahayana Cultivator presided over it, it was still many times stronger than a small house like Falling Cloud Valley.

Furthermore, that group of alchemists was incredibly wealthy and lacked anything but Spirit Stones. If nothing else, the various defensive measures within the Sect were definitely maxed out.

To be able to silently wreak havoc throughout the vast Pill Saint Sect without leaving a trace—if it were just that Ten Thousand Year Phantom Star Grass spirit, it seemed far from capable... Thinking of this, he rubbed his brow thoughtfully, a suspicion forming in his heart.

Could it be that the Little Grass Spirit has an accomplice?

Just as Qi Yuan's thoughts were racing, he saw Liu Qi hurriedly pulling at him and asking:

"Fellow Daoist Qi, how is it? Have you made any new discoveries from this information?"

Pu Genshuo also joined in the excitement: "Tell us quickly, I'm already confused!"

Zu Xianxian, on the other hand, stared at him with a gaze full of expectation, clearly hoping he could provide an answer.

Qi Yuan pondered for a moment and then said slowly:

"Based on Miss Zu's description, I can roughly infer that the thief's concealment methods are extremely sophisticated, allowing them to easily bypass your Sect's guards and infiltrate important areas like the medicine garden, treasury, and Pill Room."

Hearing this, Zu Xianxian was immediately disappointed and muttered:

"You didn't need to tell us that. Our Pill Saint Sect's security is tight and has never had a breach before. If this villain didn't have some tricks up their sleeve, they would have been caught on the spot long ago."

However, Qi Yuan gave a faint smile and continued to voice his hypothesis:

"This Qi knows your Sect's security is tight and full of Restrictions; normally, even a fly couldn't get in."

"But I wonder if Miss Zu has ever considered whether such a meticulous defense might also have a weak link..."

Hearing this, Zu Xianxian couldn't help but widen her eyes and look at Qi Yuan with a startled expression:

"You mean?"

Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes and said in a calm tone:

"For example, the one place most Formation powers cannot reach... underground!"