"Ye, how do you explain this?"

Ye Chuxue certainly didn’t intend to poison a disciple. No one would do something so foolish.

It was more likely that her skills were lacking and something went wrong during the alchemy process.

"I don’t know what happened, but I’m certain there’s nothing wrong with my Elixir Pills!"

Ye Chuxue still firmly believed in herself. She had followed the inherited recipe to the letter, even managing to produce a Mid Grade Elixir. ’How could it possibly be poisonous?’

"The facts are right in front of you, and you still claim there’s no problem?"

The Second Elder sneered, "Does the disciple have to die before you’ll admit there’s a problem with your Elixir Pills?"

Ever since Gu Qingyuan had done those things for Ye Chuxue, Ye Chuxue herself had become quite an eyesore.

She sized Ye Chuxue up. Everyone knew full well why she was working so hard at alchemy.

Now that something had gone wrong, of course she was unwilling to admit it.

"I didn’t!"

Ye Chuxue’s face flushed with anxiety as she retorted, "I followed the Pill Recipe exactly! It’s impossible for me to have made a mistake!"

"There must be some misunderstanding!"

"Sect Master, my Elixir Pills absolutely cannot have a problem. I implore the Sect Master to investigate this clearly!"

’If I admit the Elixir Pills are poisonous, how will I ever sell any in the future? Who would ever seek me out for Elixir Pills again?’

"Ye, it’s not that I don’t believe you, but your Elixir Pills are, as a matter of fact, poisonous."

The Sect Master’s brow was furrowed, and he felt helpless.

’I would have been thrilled for the sect to produce another Alchemy Grandmaster, just to avoid having to deal with Song Wanning’s moods all the time. But the facts are plain to see. I can’t just lie, can I?’

"Of course, you certainly didn’t do this intentionally. But now that a disciple has been poisoned, you should cooperate and quickly find an antidote."

The Sect Master didn’t much care whether a mere Outer Disciple like Wu Dan lived or died.

However, Ye Chuxue was a True Disciple. If this matter wasn’t handled well, it would damage her reputation.

"Yes, Ye, tell me the Pill Recipe first. Let me see where the problem might be."

Lan Le was focused on saving the victim, but after hearing the recipe, his brows knitted tighter and tighter.

"This is just the standard recipe for a Gathering Spirit Pill. There’s indeed nothing wrong with it."

’That’s strange. How could the same recipe produce poison?’

Everyone else also found it strange.

Just then, Gu Qingyuan arrived with others in tow.

Bai Yang and An Ze had rushed over as soon as they heard the news. They ran into Gu Qingyuan at the entrance, and the three of them came up together.

"Nothing is wrong with Chuxue’s Elixir Pills."

The moment Gu Qingyuan appeared, he became defensive, firmly shielding her behind him.

"Senior Brother Lan, you yourself said there was nothing wrong with the recipe, so the problem definitely doesn’t lie with Chuxue!"

"Master!"

Ye Chuxue’s eyes lit up. Gazing at his broad, straight shoulders, she was suddenly filled with a sense of security.

’As long as Master is here, none of these people can touch me!’

"Don’t worry, I am here."

Gu Qingyuan offered a word of comfort, his cold gaze falling on Wu Dan for a brief moment before shifting away with indifference.

Bai Yang also stepped forward at this moment. "Master Lan, since Junior Sister Ye’s recipe is fine, could the problem have come from somewhere else—"

Beside them, An Ze suddenly shouted, "It must have been Li Rao! It must have been her!"

He ran excitedly to Ye Chuxue’s side. "Yesterday I had Li Rao bring the Thousand Mountain Spirit Spring to you. Were you there at the time?"

Ye Chuxue froze at his words, then shook her head blankly.

"I stepped out for a bit during the alchemy process. When I came back, I did find the Thousand Mountain Spirit Spring and just assumed you had brought it to me..."

"I was only gone for less than a quarter of an hour. Plus, there were no outsiders on the peak, so I didn’t activate the restrictive spells..."

As soon as she said this, everyone present immediately understood.

So someone had tampered with things while Ye Chuxue was in the middle of her refinement!

"Are you sure?"

Gu Qingyuan looked down, his expression questioning, and asked for confirmation again.

"I’m sure. When I got back, the Thousand Mountain Spirit Spring was indeed in my room."

Ye Chuxue pressed her lips together, her face a pale, mottled green with rage.

’Song Wanning is so vicious! She actually sent someone to poison my ingredients in my Alchemy Room! How despicable!’

"It must be Li Rao!"

An Ze was so angry he was practically hopping on his feet.

"She definitely acted on her Master’s orders to deliberately frame Senior Sister Ye!"

"Or maybe she meant to poison Senior Sister Ye directly, but just didn’t expect the Elixir Pills to be eaten by someone else!"

"After all, someone like her Master would never have imagined that Senior Sister Ye would be generous enough to share her Elixir Pills with other disciples!"

Their Master has targeted Senior Sister Ye plenty of times in the past. This must be her doing too.

"What? Grandmaster Song? No way, would Grandmaster Song really do something like that?"

"Why not? After all, if Ye Chuxue becomes an Alchemy Grandmaster, she’ll be the first one to threaten her position!"

"She must be jealous of Ye Chuxue’s talent!"

"That’s right! She probably ordered her disciple to sabotage her just to protect her own status!"

"Hiss! Grandmaster Song is actually that kind of person?"

The more the disciples thought about it, the more convinced they became that Song Wanning was the mastermind.

Hearing this, Bai Yang frowned and shot An Ze a displeased glance.

"Our Master has been in seclusion. What does this have to do with her?"

"Stop spouting nonsense!"

His proactive defense of Song Wanning made the already-aggrieved Ye Chuxue’s heart clench. She looked at him with surprise and disappointment.

’The facts are so obvious, yet Bai Yang is still siding with Song Wanning! He’s changed!’

"We’ll know the truth of the matter once we call Junior Sister Li over for questioning. That way, we won’t wrong her, either."

Ye Chuxue forced a magnanimous expression, offering her Master a pale smile.

Gu Qingyuan’s heart softened, and he immediately sent someone to bring Li Rao over.

"Li Rao is just a junior disciple in the Qi Refinement Realm, and Song Wanning is in seclusion. Aren’t you just bullying them?"

The more the Second Elder looked at Gu Qingyuan, the more disgusted she felt, especially by his doting gaze, which was truly nauseating.

"Besides, what would she know about using poison? I think it’s more likely that a certain someone made a mistake themselves and is trying to pin the blame on others."

Her sarcastic gaze swept over Ye Chuxue, filled with disdain.

Ye Chuxue clenched her fists, fury surging within her.

’I’ve never offended the Second Elder, have I? Why is she being so passive-aggressive?!!’

Gu Qingyuan’s brow darkened as well, and he shot a cold, murderous glare in her direction.

The Second Elder was not intimidated and glared back angrily. The smell of gunpowder instantly began to fill the air.

Seeing this, the Sect Master felt a headache coming on.

He inwardly sided with Gu Qingyuan and Ye Chuxue and was actually hoping that Li Rao was responsible for this.

’She’s just a True Disciple in name only, anyway. It would be for the best if she could take the blame!’

He placated the Second Elder and Gu Qingyuan, and soon saw Li Rao being brought over.

The young girl had a bewildered expression on her face. Her hair was a mess, her hands were covered in mud, and she looked quite disheveled.

The moment she drew near, Gu Qingyuan instantly unleashed his oppressive aura.

THUD—

Li Rao fell to her knees.