Shao Jiao sat in the inn room. The rust-mottled bronze cauldron in front of him had already gone out, much like his current mood.

The door was pushed open from the outside. Yin Wuji strode in, bringing the night wind with him, and shut the door tightly behind him without even taking off his cloak.

“What did you say? Someone found out?” Yin Wuji turned his head, his expression dark.

Shao Jiao didn’t look up; he merely recounted what had happened outside the plaza earlier today.

Yin Wuji stopped pacing and turned to look at Shao Jiao. “The other party caught onto our plan?”

“I’m not sure.” Shao Jiao finally raised his eyes, his gaze full of exhaustion. “He just sat next to me for a while, chatted about this cauldron, and chatted about Alchemy. He didn’t question me about anything, nor did he force any answers out of me. I even felt like… he wasn’t there to interrogate me.”

“Not there to interrogate you?” Yin Wuji’s brows furrowed even tighter. “A person from the judges’ seats doesn’t return to his residence, but instead goes out of his way to find a corner and chat with an unknown Rogue Cultivator like you? Shao Jiao, do you truly not understand or are you playing dumb? He was giving you a warning; he was probing you.”

Shao Jiao didn’t argue, simply lowering his eyelids.

“You underestimate the enemy too much,” Yin Wuji’s voice deepened. “There are only two possibilities as to why he didn’t expose you on the spot. Either he lacks conclusive evidence and dares not act rashly; or he is wary of the power behind us and wants to cast a long line to catch a big fish. Do you really think he wouldn’t dare to make a move just because he lacks evidence? The latter is far more likely.”

“Tomorrow’s plan remains unchanged.” Yin Wuji stopped in his tracks, regaining his composure. “Proceed according to the plan. You don’t need to worry about anything else.”

“What exactly am I doing all these things for?” Shao Jiao couldn’t help but ask.

Yin Wuji stared at him for a moment, then slowly spoke, “You don’t need to know. You only need to do your part. Once the matter is settled, what I promised you will naturally be fulfilled.”

Shao Jiao asked no more, merely lowering his head to look at the bronze cauldron in front of him.

The Blood Lotus Sect had promised him that once the matter was accomplished, they would take the Misty Moon Sect under their protection and ensure the safety of the entire Sect. His Master, his junior brothers and sisters, and the fellow disciples who had endured the impoverished days in the Misty Moon Sect together, their lives were all held in Yin Wuji’s hands.

This was something he had no choice but to do.

But during the day on the steps, when he exposed a fake pill recipe for a rogue cultivator he didn’t even know, that feeling of standing on the side of justice, he hadn’t experienced it in a very, very long time.

How long ago was the last time?

It was when the Misty Moon Sect hadn’t yet been targeted by the Blood Lotus Sect, when he could still sit in front of the alchemy cauldron and focus entirely on alchemy without any distractions.

Shao Jiao closed his eyes, and the image of Lai Li’an’s back walking out of the plaza under the moonlight surfaced in his mind.

That retreating figure was calm and magnanimous, exuding an effortless ease that required no explanation to anyone.

The door closed behind him, and Yin Wuji’s footsteps gradually faded away at the end of the corridor.

Shao Jiao sat alone in front of the extinguished alchemy cauldron. He reached out and stroked the worn patterns on the bronze cauldron’s walls.

The “Flame-Heart Communion” his master left him, he really wanted to use it just once, even if only to experience the legendary Fire-Control Realm.

But, was he still worthy?

The wind swept past outside the door, and the night was heavy and dark.

Yin Wuji walked out of the inn, turned, and disappeared into a narrow alley. The fingers hidden in his sleeves were slowly clenching.

Someone going to intimidate Shao Jiao, this matter in itself was far more serious than Shao Jiao had described.

Shao Jiao himself might not have realized it, but Yin Wuji was keenly aware: the fact that the other party could accurately locate Shao Jiao meant they had at least set their sights on him, and might even know that Shao Jiao had someone backing him.

Who was that person?

Yin Wuji quickly flashed through the faces on the judges’ panel in his mind. If the other party was really someone from the Alchemy Sect or the Law Enforcement Hall, it would actually be easier to handle. Large factions acted according to rules and left traces to follow.

But if the other party was none of those and just a rogue cultivator, that kind of person would be the hardest to deal with.

Because he wouldn’t know where their bottom line was, nor would he know exactly how much leverage they held in their hands.

However, no matter who he was, he could not stop tomorrow’s plan.

He was absolutely determined to get that opportunity to “Ask the Dao.”

As long as Shao Jiao won the championship and got the chance to ask a question to the Heaven-Peering Mirror, he would be able to find the whereabouts of the person he was looking for.

Yin Wuji stopped in his tracks and looked up at the night sky. The moonlight fell on his face, clearly illuminating the deep killing intent hidden in the depths of his eyes.

He had originally planned to cheat during the competition, but since that path had been blocked, he would just have to take another one.

Meng Qiuran was a Core Disciple of the Alchemy Sect Branch. There was no telling how many Dao Protectors were following him, both openly and in the shadows.

Making a move on him would exact too high a price, and if the Alchemy Sect decided to pursue the matter, he might not be able to escape unscathed.

Since it was inconvenient to make a move on this person, they could only settle it on the Alchemy Dao. Meng Qiuran’s style was to seek stability; refining Fourth-Grade was almost a sure thing, but Fourth-Grade was ultimately Fourth-Grade. As long as Shao Jiao maintained the success rate of Fifth-Grade, their odds of winning were still there.

The real trouble was Ruan Se.

Today, that female cultivator could still refine a supreme-grade Cold Dew Pill on the verge of Spiritual Power exhaustion. Her attainments in the Alchemy Dao were already unfathomable. Coupled with her state of mind that only grew sharper in desperate situations, no one knew what she could produce during the free refining segment of the finals.

If she was allowed to enter the finals…

A hint of killing intent flashed past Yin Wuji’s eyes.

There was no need to wait for the finals; simply making her disappear beforehand would do.

It was perfectly normal for a Foundation Establishment Stage Alchemist to meet with an accident in a chaotic place like Yunze Market, where dragons and snakes intermingled.

Such incidents happened a few times a year in Yunze Market, and the Law Enforcement Hall couldn’t even manage to investigate them all.

He took out a Sound Transmission Talisman from his sleeve, his fingertips rapidly tracing a few runes on the talisman’s surface, before lightly flicking it.

The talisman transformed into a faint light, silently vanishing into the night.

Although an Early Golden Core cultivator like him was more than enough to deal with a Foundation Establishment Stage female cultivator, Yunze Market was, after all, the territory of the Law Enforcement Hall.

Today, during the tournament, the Market was teeming with experts. Just the Spiritual Sense of those few old monsters on the judges’ panel was enough to cover nearly half the Market. He had to finish this quickly without alerting anyone.

Calling one more person meant an extra layer of insurance.

After sending out the Sound Transmission Talisman, Yin Wuji adjusted his cloak. With a blur of movement, he disappeared at the end of the narrow alley.

At the same time, Ruan Se was in her room, completely unaware of all this.

Ruan Qin had only left a moment ago. Ruan Se had just finished feeding Su Wan’er today’s dose of the Meridian-Nourishing Decoction and was sitting by the edge of the low couch, using a fine silk cloth to gently wipe the thin layer of sweat from the young girl’s forehead.

The medicinal efficacy of the Eternal Spring Life-Prolonging Pill had already stabilized. Su Wan’er’s complexion was much better than in previous days, and her breathing was steady and long, as if she were merely falling into a deep sleep.

Ruan Se tucked the silk cloth back into her sleeve, stood up, and quietly closed the door behind her.

In the courtyard, the white crane had already curled up by the stone trough and fallen asleep, its long neck buried beneath its wings. It only occasionally twitched its feathers when bathed in the moonlight.

She stood beneath the corridor for a moment, looking up at the crescent moon in the night sky, lost in thought.

Earlier today in the square, when she saw that person sitting in the judges’ seats and waving at her, she had indeed been startled.

But after the initial surprise, she felt that it wasn’t really anything to be surprised about.

It seemed that person never lacked the ability to do the unexpected.

Ruan Se gathered her thoughts and turned toward the Alchemy Room. Tomorrow was the finals; although she already knew every single step of refining the Azure Wood Qi-Harmonizing Pill by heart, she still wanted to go through the complete process one more time tonight.

Pushing open the door to the Alchemy Room, she was about to raise her hand to ignite the Fire-Starting Stone…

From behind, a fierce wind from a palm struck without warning.

Ruan Se’s pupils shrank sharply in that instant. Without even having the time to turn around, her body dodged on instinct.

Her movements were fluid and seamless, an instinct forged from years of dealing with cauldron explosions in front of the Alchemy Cauldron.

The shockwave of a cauldron explosion comes with even less warning than a sneak attack. For someone who had survived dozens of cauldron explosions unscathed, such reaction speed was already ingrained in her very bones.

However, her ambusher was a Golden Core Cultivator, making it unavoidable for the attack to still graze her.

Ruan Se let out a muffled groan as she was sent flying. She crashed into the medicine cabinet, bringing the wooden shelves crashing down. Jade boxes and porcelain bottles of all sizes shattered across the floor, medicinal ingredients scattering like rain.

Crashing to the ground, she spat out a mouthful of blood. Propping herself up against the floor with her left arm, Ruan Se struggled to lift her head.

A figure stood at the entrance of the Alchemy Room.

The person was wrapped in a dark gray cloak with the hood pulled down extremely low, keeping their face completely concealed in the shadows.

Yet, even without seeing their face, relying solely on the aura and timing of that palm strike, she could determine that this person was by no means an ordinary rogue cultivator.

“Who… are you.” Ruan Se gritted her teeth, her left hand quietly reaching for the opening of the Storage Bag at her waist.

The person did not answer, merely stepping slowly into the Alchemy Room. The light of the Spiritual Lamp illuminated a corner of clothing exposed beneath the hem of his cloak, gleaming with a deep, dark luster under the moonlight.

Ruan Se’s pupils suddenly shrank. She had seen this kind of fabric before on a certain occasion, but there was no time to dwell on it.

Her left hand abruptly pulled three Fire-Thunder Talismans from the Storage Bag and threw them at the person, shouting sharply: “Explode!”

The Fire-Thunder Talismans detonated simultaneously. Crimson flames instantly engulfed the Alchemy Room, and thick smoke billowed up.

Ruan Se stumbled toward the side door of the Alchemy Room. As long as she could make it out of this door, she could send out a distress signal and draw the people from the Law Enforcement Hall.

Suddenly, a palm reached out from the thick smoke, accurately gripping the back of her neck.

That hand was as cold as ice. The five fingers tightened, lifting her entire body off the ground.

“Good reflexes. A pity the grade is too low. The self-defense toys an Alchemist carries around are nothing more than this.”

With her throat being crushed, Ruan Se’s consciousness began to blur.