The next day.
Qi Yuan arrived early for his shift at the herb garden, appearing completely unperturbed, as if nothing had happened.
The strongest cultivator in the Outer Sect, Mo Zhengyang, was only at the late Golden Core stage—a minor realm below Qi Yuan’s own. This was precisely why he had dared to infiltrate Spirit Beast Peak so brazenly the previous night.
Although there had been a slightly awkward incident in the middle, it was ultimately inconsequential. He had successfully completed his mission, so he was in a good mood. After greeting a few herb garden disciples who passed by, he made his way to the patch of Green Leaf Grass.
Looking out, the field contained well over a hundred thousand Green Leaf Grass plants, lush and vibrant, thriving splendidly. Beyond that, there was nothing unusual.
Qi Yuan picked up a water bucket, fetched water from the nearby spirit spring, and began watering the spirit field with practiced ease. Whenever he encountered spirit plants that looked a bit wilted, he deliberately gave them a few extra splashes.
Mindful of Lin Zhen’s warning, he pretended to be nonchalant while secretly sharpening his focus, scanning the spirit field for any suspicious plants.
However, even after he finished watering the entire field, he hadn’t found a single trace of anything unusual. Everything in sight was just ordinary Green Leaf Grass.
Although he had found nothing, Qi Yuan still sensed something was off.
Someone was watching him.
This attention was extremely well-concealed. If he hadn’t been highly focused at that moment, with his senses fully attuned to his surroundings, he might not have noticed it at all.
Who?
Could it be an expert from Falling Cloud Valley?
Qi Yuan’s eyes sharpened. To spy on him so silently and undetectably was no simple feat; it had to be someone at least at the Nascent Soul realm or above.
While internally on high alert, he showed no change on the surface. As usual, after watering the field, he returned the bucket to its place and sat down under a tree beside the spirit field. He slowly began absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy, pretending to cultivate.
Sure enough, once he left the spirit field area, that faint, almost imperceptible sense of being watched vanished immediately, as if it had never existed.
This further confirmed Qi Yuan’s suspicion.
The mysterious watcher wasn’t specifically targeting him; they were monitoring this spirit field!
But if it was someone from Falling Cloud Valley, why didn’t this person intervene when the Servant Disciple named Wen Tao was secretly picking Green Leaf Grass?
Qi Yuan frowned inwardly. After pondering for a long time, he decided to hold his position for now.
Compared to some elusive ten-thousand-year spirit medicine, what concerned him more right now was whether he could continue hiding his identity within Falling Cloud Valley until he completed his current tasks.
A familiar figure approached: Bai Xirou, the Inner Sect’s eldest senior sister. Her face was fair, her eyes clear as autumn water, and her manner calm and graceful. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“Greetings, Senior Sister.”
Upon seeing who it was, Qi Yuan immediately stood up and cupped his hands in greeting.
“Junior Brother Qi.”
Bai Xirou stopped her light steps before Qi Yuan and nodded slightly. A look of concern appeared in her beautiful eyes. “How have you been these past few days working in the herb garden? Are you getting used to it?”
Her clear voice had the musical ring of pearls falling onto jade.
Qi Yuan hastily put on a flattered expression. “Thank you for your concern, Eldest Senior Sister. I am quite happy here.”
Bai Xirou’s arrival had attracted quite a bit of attention. Many herb garden disciples were curiously looking their way, especially some of the male disciples, whose gazes toward Qi Yuan were full of envy.
“I’m glad to hear you’re happy.”
Bai Xirou nodded slightly, a faint smile blooming at the corner of her mouth.
Then, her expression turned serious as she shifted her gaze to the spirit field not far away. Her tone became solemn.
“I know you and Lin Zhen were framed yesterday. Although the innocent party publicly cleared their name in the end and didn’t let those wicked individuals succeed… still, an incident like this is a scandal for our sect.”
“So, after investigating and clarifying the truth, the Enforcement Hall chose to cut the knot swiftly. They only pursued responsibility against the specific individuals involved and didn’t extend punishment too broadly.”
Qi Yuan paused for a moment before asking with confusion, “How so?”
Bai Xirou let out a soft sigh and explained slowly.
“Servant Disciple Wen Tao stole spirit herbs from the herb garden without permission. His punishment is having his cultivation crippled and being expelled from the sect.”
“The newly entered Servant Disciple Liu Yingying intentionally placed the stolen Green Leaf Grass in Lin Zhen’s room—a malicious scheme attempting to frame a fellow disciple.”
“Liu Yingying has not yet begun drawing qi into her body and is therefore not a cultivator. Under sect rules, she is spared the punishment of having her cultivation destroyed. Instead, her memories of the sect’s techniques will be erased, and she will be expelled.”
“Wang Luchuan, the chief instigator, confessed readily, and several Inner Sect Elders pleaded for him. He must pay the victims a thousand spirit stones in compensation and perform a year’s hard labor on Spirit Beast Peak. His stipend will be suspended during that time while his conduct is observed.”
Wow.
Connections ruled everywhere. The well-connected mastermind got a slap on the wrist, while his accomplices without backing were expelled without mercy. That was how the world worked.
Wang Luchuan came from an established cultivation family; they had plenty of spirit stones at home. A fine of one thousand spirit stones was practically nothing—like scratching an itch.
As for doing one year of hard labor on Spirit Beast Peak? That was even more ridiculous. That little fatty wasn’t favored by Outer Sect Elder Mo Zhengyang anyway; he had already been assigned there as a servant disciple.
All things considered, he had scarcely been punished at all.
Seeing Qi Yuan’s somewhat odd expression, Bai Xirou mistakenly thought he was dissatisfied with the handling of the case. A hint of apology surfaced on her face as she explained softly.
“Junior Brother Qi, dual spiritual roots are rare, and many Inner Sect Elders have high hopes for Wang Luchuan. That is why the Enforcement Hall showed leniency and gave him a chance to reform.”
“But if it happens again, I will not tolerate it, even if I offend those elders.”
Qi Yuan shook his head slightly. “I have no objections regarding how the sect handled things.”
In terms of scheming skill? Someone like Wang Luchuan wasn’t even worth noticing in Qi Yuan’s eyes—he posed not even a sliver of a threat.
Keeping him around was merely to serve as a stepping stone for Lin Zhen—the Child of Destiny. If some side quests could be triggered along with it? Even better.
Of course, if Wang Luchuan continued buzzing around annoyingly like a fly right in front of him, Qi Yuan wouldn’t mind casually swatting him dead, just to avoid being disgusted further.
“Good. I am glad.”
Reassured that he meant it, Bai Xirou changed the subject. “As for the robberies at the formation spirit’s dwelling, I have established that none of our own people was responsible.”
“The key to the protective formation’s core has always been kept in the deepest part of the Treasure Pavilion, behind layers of restrictions laid by our ancestral master. No one has touched it in a thousand years.”
“Without that key, entering the main formation core would be incredibly difficult. Not only does it require an extremely high cultivation level but also heaven-reaching mastery over formations themselves! If someone truly capable existed within Falling Cloud Valley, our sect wouldn’t have declined so much.”
Qi Yuan nodded slightly, inwardly agreeing with Bai Xirou’s assessment.
Although not proficient in formations himself, basic common sense told him that trying to sneak into the main protective formation core without breaking the formation itself was a feat ordinary cultivators truly couldn’t manage.
Any formation master capable of achieving such a thing likely wouldn’t care about whatever meager possessions the Formation Spirit might have, either.