Chapter 523 - 533: Everyone’s Suspicion

Sun Li stood awkwardly at the entrance to the main hall, his head slightly lowered. Before him was a shattered Pill Bottle. Amidst the porcelain fragments lay a single, unremarkable pill, lustrous and dark.

Seeing this, Hua Lie frowned and asked, "Hua Du, what is going on here?"

Instantly, everyone’s gaze turned toward Hua Du.

Behind Hua Lie, Hua Yuling’s expression flickered when she saw Sun Li with his head lowered. Her heart tightened with worry.

When Hua Du saw his father asking, he shot Sun Li a vicious glare before saying to Hua Lie, "Peak Master, this man is Sun Li, the third disciple of the Life Peak Master. He, too, presented a birthday gift, but he lied, claiming it was a Dragon Tiger Pill to deceive us. I exposed his trick on the spot."

"Oh? A Dragon Tiger Pill?" Hua Lie glanced at Sun Li, raising an eyebrow slightly. He naturally knew Sun Li’s name, having often heard Hua Du mention the matter between him and Hua Yuling.

Hua Du’s brow furrowed. He pointed at the pill on the ground and said, "That pill on the ground is the ’Dragon Tiger Pill’ Sun Li lied about."

Everyone couldn’t help but follow Hua Du’s finger and look at the pill on the ground.

"Is that a Dragon Tiger Pill? Aren’t they rumored to be crimson-red?"

"Sun Li? I don’t even know who that is. Him, get a Dragon Tiger Pill? What a joke."

"He probably just rolled up a few clumps of mud from who knows where and passed it off as a gift."

Looking at the black pill on the ground, the surrounding crowd couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Hearing their words, the color drained further from Sun Li’s face.

"Nonsense!" Hua Lie’s expression changed as he snapped angrily.

Situ Yun, who was beside him, quickly said, "Senior Brother Hua, don’t be angry. Sun Li surely meant well."

A young man behind Gu Yifeng sneered, "A Dragon Tiger Pill? Do you really think my Taiyi Pavilion hands out Dragon Tiger Pills like they’re cabbage? You think someone from your Celestial Profound Sect can just pull one out of thin air?"

This person was none other than Gu Yifeng’s disciple, Fang Qingnan. His skill in the Alchemy Dao had already reached half of his master’s level, making him a fairly well-known Pill Master in the Eastern Profound Domain.

Gu Yifeng glanced at the black pill on the ground, shook his head with a faint smile, and looked ahead with a placid, all-knowing expression. With his expert eye, he could naturally tell if the pill was real or fake. A black Dragon Tiger Pill was simply a joke.

However, as Daoist Shangxuan looked at the dark pill on the ground, he instinctively felt that there was something strange about it. His brow furrowed slightly as he asked, "Where did you get this pill?"

Seeing Daoist Shangxuan question him, Sun Li said nervously, "My junior brother refined it."

"Your junior brother? Is it Wen Qingye?" Before Daoist Shangxuan could speak, Miaoxuan, who was down at the banquet, heard this and quickly called out.

Sun Li looked at the somewhat agitated Miaoxuan and nodded in surprise. "It was refined by my junior brother, Wen Qingye."

A commotion rippled through the crowd, and the buzz of discussion grew louder.

Jun Buwu muttered under his breath, "Wen Qingye knows alchemy too? How strange."

After hearing Sun Li’s confirmation, Miaoxuan practically leaped to their feet. They walked over to the broken shards, bent down, and picked up the black pill.

Miaoxuan studied it for a long while before shaking their head and sighing softly, "’This pill seems very ordinary. Could I have been mistaken?’"

"Senior Miaoxuan, why are you even looking at that pill? A pill refined by your sect’s Wen Qingye is, nine times out of ten, just a failed Low-Level Pill of some kind. Did you really think it was a Dragon Tiger Pill? I’ve never seen a Dragon Tiger Pill that glows black. How utterly ridiculous! HAHAHAHA!" Fang Qingnan burst into unrestrained laughter at the side.

Huang En, an Elder from the Sword Sect, shook his head and said with a smile, "It seems we don’t need to make the first move. Someone else is already unwilling to let the Celestial Profound Sect have an easy time."

Moo Luo nodded. "Although the Celestial Profound Sect’s momentum has weakened in recent years, and this generation isn’t as formidable as the last, their strength is still growing steadily."

The Celestial Profound Sect’s era of rapid advancement was the previous generation, when the current Peak Masters were still disciples. The current meteoric generation is that of Chu Bufan, Lu Wushuang, and Wang Hao.

Wen Qingye, Sheng Ao, and others could only be considered disciples of the new generation, as there was still a notable age gap between them and the former.

At this point, any discerning person could see that the atmosphere today was anything but simple.

The Celestial Profound Sect was the second-largest sect in the Eastern Profound Domain. Taiyi Pavilion, ranked above them, wanted to suppress their rapid development, while the Sword Sect, ranked below, wanted to take their place.

Watching Fang Qingnan’s brazen laughter, a wave of fury surged through Hua Lie.

"Utterly ridiculous? Do tell. How is it so utterly ridiculous?"

Suddenly, a clear, cold voice drifted in, and three people walked in from the entrance.

"Brother Wen!" "Wen Qingye!" "Qingye!"

The three were none other than Wen Qingye, Zhang Zhilin, and Ji Hai.

Seeing Wen Qingye, many people couldn’t help but gasp softly.

Gu Yifeng, Ling Tianyu, Huang En, Moo Luo, and Liu Xiaomo all looked over as well.

Zhang Zhilin and Ji Hai cupped their fists toward Hua Lie and said, "Senior Brother Hua, we have arrived late."

Hua Lie nodded, calming down as well. He looked at Wen Qingye, who now stood with his hands clasped behind his back, a faint smile on his face as he watched Fang Qingnan.

Daoist Shangxuan stared intently at Wen Qingye, his brow furrowed as he muttered to himself, "’Him? That’s Wen Qingye?’"

"So you’re Wen Qingye?" Fang Qingnan sneered. "I see the rumors were a disappointment. You casually refine some pill and dare to call it a Dragon Tiger Pill? Do you even know what a Dragon Tiger Pill is?"

"When the pill forms, it’s ink-red with a point of crystal clarity. Dragon and tiger attend it, and its power is as boundless as the wind and clouds," Wen Qingye said lightly.

"Hahaha, so you do know a little about the Alchemy Dao," Fang Qingnan continued his brazen mockery. "In that case, why would you take out something made of black mud to deceive everyone by calling it a Dragon Tiger Pill?"

Bu Yanting said doubtfully, "That’s right. This pill has no Pill Fragrance and no pill halo. It’s completely unremarkable. Is it really the legendary Dragon Tiger Pill?"

The old ancestor from the Desert North Ancient Land pursed his lips and said, "How could Wen Qingye possibly refine a Dragon Tiger Pill? It’s an Emperor-grade High-level Pill made from rare materials. In the entire Celestial Profound Sect, no more than three people can refine it. I simply don’t believe he could."

Everyone present was murmuring amongst themselves, but without exception, their voices were filled with doubt.

Wen Qingye shook his head helplessly. "Do you truly understand the Alchemy Dao?"

Hearing Wen Qingye’s question, Fang Qingnan felt fury burn within him. His laughter choked in his throat as he said coldly, "What do you think? I’ve been an Emperor Level Junior Alchemist for two years. Do you think I understand the Alchemy Dao or not?"

Wen Qingye nodded, then turned to the leisurely and self-satisfied Gu Yifeng. "Seeing this Elder’s thick and condensed Primordial Qi, and the faint trace of Cinnabar Qi at the Three Yang Acupoints two inches below his waist, I presume you must be Gu Yifeng of the Taiyi Pavilion?"