Chapter 228

“Junior Brother Pei’s medicine was replaced by someone?”

Zheng Weiqi furrowed her brows as she sat in the teahouse. After pondering for a moment without any clues, her anger and sword energy surged together: “What clues do you have? Where did that bottle of elixir come from?”

The elixir used for healing had been maliciously replaced with a corrosive poison, which was not a trivial matter to be taken lightly.

Ning Ning had already informed the elders about this, but there were few clues. Even if they agreed to investigate, it would be difficult to find the real culprit behind this.

“That bottle of elixir was brought back from the medical clinic by Pei Ji.”

Ning Ning said, “The doctor saw he was seriously injured and specially gave him a bottle. At that time, the medical clinic was crowded with many medical disciples, rescued girls, and townsfolk. If someone had taken the opportunity to swap the medicine, it wouldn’t have been easily noticed.”

He Zhizhou looked at her with concern: “Is your leg okay?”

“The elders from the Suwen Hall checked it, and the poison isn’t lethal; it just burns the skin.”

Ning Ning shook her head: “But what’s strange is, when I shattered the bottle, black demonic energy seeped out… but when the elders later investigated, they found no trace of it.”

“Demonic energy? Could it be the work of demon cultivators?”

Lin Xun, who had never faced life-and-death situations or a great storm, turned pale after hearing this, his eyes filled with worry and fear: “My father said that although the demons were nearly eradicated after the great war, there are still survivors hiding in various places. But they have no enmity with Junior Brother Pei, so why harm him deliberately?”

Ning Ning couldn’t understand either.

Moreover, speaking of demons, the soul-refining technique used by Luo Yuanming was evidently a cruel secret method of demonic cultivation.

He was born into the righteous path and could not have had the chance to come into contact with such a method unless he had encountered surviving demonic cultivators when he passed through the desert years ago.

And that demon’s cultivation level must be very high.

“Anyway, it is a blessing in disguise.”

Zheng Weiqi sighed, her head aching from all the thinking, and pressed her hand against her temple: “Tomorrow is the annual Lantern Festival in Luan City, and after that is the second round of the Ten Methods Assembly. I’ve heard that this year’s competition is entirely different from previous ones and much more dangerous. If we were severely injured before the conference, there would be no hope at all.”

Although Luo Yuanming’s disgraceful deeds had been exposed, the Ten Methods Assembly would still continue.

Ning Ning had heard before that the assembly was divided into two rounds, the first being a secret realm trial and the second often a one-on-one elimination duel among disciples until only one remained standing.

However, this format, though longstanding, had serious drawbacks.

There are numerous ways of cultivation in the world of cultivation, and in a short period of time, it is often impossible to fully exert one’s own advantages. Moreover, duels are based on strength and not on strategy, so it is difficult for medical cultivators, music cultivators, Buddhist cultivators, and beast-taming cultivators who are weak in offensive nature to win.

Therefore, at Luo Yuanming’s suggestion, after some discussion among the elders, changes were made to the second round’s format this year.

“Although the elders have kept the details tightly under wraps, according to some rumors,” He Zhizhou said mysteriously, “it seems to be even more thrilling than the first round’s survival game.”

Listening to him, Ning Ning couldn’t help but recall the information Luo Yuanming had once casually revealed to her.

His encounter with the Lone Moon Lotus was a lie, but the method for repairing the sea of consciousness should be true. According to him, to cure Wen Hemian, more than two rare spirit plants were needed, one of which, the Lingshu herb, was located in the secret realm they would visit in the next round of the assembly.

But within Luan City, there seemed to be no other accessible secret realms.

At this time, the storyteller had not yet taken the stage, and the teahouse was unusually quiet and leisurely.

Ning Ning was lost in thought when she suddenly heard a deep, magnetic male voice: “What a coincidence to meet you all again.”

Ah, that voice.

She raised her head with mixed feelings, and sure enough, she saw the extremely familiar face of the Young Lord of Jialan City.

Jiang Si’s mouth twitched, and he gave a slanted smile, pointing to the vacant seat beside him and saying, “Can I sit here?”

“Actually, I’ve wanted to ask this for a while.”

He Zhizhou raised his right hand, embodying the spirit of a curious baby who asks when he doesn’t understand: “Young Lord, where did you learn such a profound way of smiling? I remember you didn’t smile like this before.”

Jiang Si smiled and raised an eyebrow, saying lightly, “I owe it all to Miss Zheng.”