The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

Shen Yifei took another swig of wine and put the wine pot aside.

We need to test the waters regarding Xuanbing Palace's involvement in the siege of Tianyan Sect back then.

"Miss Leng," Shen Yifei said, "you just said you don't know who poisoned you, so let me ask you a few questions, and you can answer them truthfully."

Leng Rushuang opened her eyes and glanced at him.

"You've been poisoned for fifty years. Who gave you the antidote during those fifty years?"

Leng Rushuang was silent for a while, "Every year at the end of the year, someone will deliver the antidote to the entrance of Xuanbing Palace. It will be placed in the mouth of the stone lion outside the mountain gate, leaving no trace."

"Didn't you check?"

"We investigated, but couldn't find anything." There was a hint of resentment in Leng Rushuang's tone. "That person's cultivation level is extremely high, at least at the peak of the Tribulation Transcending stage. Every time he delivered the antidote, the protective array of the Xuanbing Palace couldn't detect it."

Peak of Tribulation Transcending: There are very few people in the cultivation world who have reached the peak of Tribulation Transcending; you can count them on one hand.

Lu Ya is one, Ye Qianqiu is another, and there are some reclusive old monsters who haven't been seen for thousands of years.

"Have you ever considered that the person who poisoned you was Lu Ya?"

Leng Rushuang's eyebrows twitched slightly. "Lu Ya?"

"Think about it, how many years have the Golden Crow Sect, the Profound Ice Palace, and the Myriad Swords Manor stood in a tripartite balance of power? If the Golden Crow Sect wants to dominate, what's the best way? Control the other two. Controlling you is equivalent to controlling the Profound Ice Palace."

Where is Ye Qianqiu?

"You can tell what kind of father Ye Qianqiu is just by looking at his son. What kind of future can a child who only gives birth but doesn't raise or educate have? Wanjian Manor will be his son's sooner or later. If his son is a good-for-nothing, Wanjian Manor will be finished sooner or later. Lu Ya doesn't need to control Ye Qianqiu at all. He just needs to wait."

Shen Yifei got more and more excited as he spoke, "But you're different. The Xuanbing Palace is full of female cultivators, and you're as cold as frost, with high cultivation and ruthless methods. Lu Ya can't control you, so he can only use poison. The poison controls you, and you control the Xuanbing Palace. Isn't that enough?"

Leng Rushuang didn't speak, but Shen Yifei could tell she was seriously considering it.

"What you said makes sense," Leng Rushuang finally spoke, "but not Lu Ya."

Why?

"Because the person who gave me the antidote didn't have the aura of the Golden Crow Sect."

Shen Yifei was taken aback. "Not the Golden Crow Sect? Then it must be Ye Qianqiu?"

Leng Rushuang shook her head, "It's not the sword intent of Wanjian Manor either."

"Who could it be?"

"have no idea."

Shen Yifei's mind raced. If it wasn't Lu Ya, and it wasn't Ye Qianqiu, then who was it? There were only a handful of people at the peak of the Tribulation Transcending stage in the cultivation world. Who else could it be?

He suddenly thought of a possibility, "Could it be a demon?"

Leng Rushuang looked up at him.

"Think about it, the demons have reappeared in the cultivation world. What are they planning to do? Destruction, of course. Poisoning the Palace Master of the Xuanbing Palace and throwing it into chaos—isn't that the best way to cause trouble?"

Leng Rushuang narrowed her eyes, a cold glint flashing in her light blue pupils.

"Go on."

"The person who poisoned you was at the peak of the Tribulation Transcending stage, and they used a technique you're unfamiliar with. There are only a handful of people at the peak of the Tribulation Transcending stage in the cultivation world, and if this person isn't one of them, then there's only one possibility: this person isn't from the cultivation world, or rather, they're not a righteous cultivator."

"Demons?"

"Yes, the demons poisoned the Palace Master of Xuanbing Palace, then framed the Golden Crow Sect or the Ten Thousand Swords Manor, causing the three of you to fight amongst yourselves. Once you've fought enough, the demons will come out to clean up the mess. This plan is flawless."

"But the demon race hasn't appeared in the world for ten thousand years; they've become legends. How could they possibly poison me?"

"If the demon race hasn't appeared in the world, where did that demon Lu Ya come from?"

Leng Rushuang was startled. "You mean Lu Ya and..."

"Miss Shen, this is just a guess. Let's wait and see."

Leng Rushuang fell into deep thought, and Shen Yifei's analysis provided her with a new perspective.

Shen Yifei asked so many questions, but none of them were what he really wanted to ask.

"Miss Leng, I have one last question."

"explain."

"When the Tianyan Sect was wiped out, was the Xuanbing Palace also involved?"

Leng Rushuang raised her head and stared at Shen Yifei for a full ten breaths.

"Yes," Leng Rushuang uttered a single word.

"Who gave the order?"

"I placed it."

A fire suddenly ignited in Shen Yifei's chest, but he held it back.

"Why did you go to besiege the Tianyan Sect?"

Leng Rushuang looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and said, "I have no choice but to go."

"You have no choice but to go? Miss Leng, you are the Palace Master of the Xuanbing Palace, with a cultivation level of the mid-stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm. Who could possibly order you around?"

"The person who poisoned me."

Shen Yifei was taken aback.

"More than a decade ago, before the Tianyan Sect was wiped out, the person who poisoned me said that if I agreed to participate in the siege of the Tianyan Sect, he would give me a year's supply of antidote. Otherwise, I would die."

"So you agreed?"

"Yes."

"Are you that afraid of dying?"

A trace of sorrow appeared in Leng Rushuang's eyes.

"Sect Master Shen, it's not that I'm afraid of death. What will happen to the 1,372 disciples of Xuanbing Palace if I die? That person said that if I don't agree, not a single one of them will be spared."

After listening, Shen Yifei suddenly felt that this woman was living a rather tiring life.

The lives of 1,372 disciples weighed on her shoulders, forcing her to bow her head.

"How many people went to Xuanbing Palace back then?" Shen Yifei asked.

"I brought eight disciples with me, but we didn't make a move when we arrived at the scene."

"The Xuanbing Palace didn't make a move?"

"Yes, when the Tianyan Sect was wiped out, we stood on the outer perimeter and didn't kill a single person." Leng Rushuang's tone was very calm. "I just went to go through the motions and give the person who poisoned us an explanation."

Shen Yifei stared at her for a long time, and the fire in his chest gradually subsided.

"Is what you're saying true?"

"You don't believe what I'm saying?" Leng Rushuang's eyes flashed with anger.

Shen Yifei leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

Although the woman left, she didn't commit the crime. While she was an accomplice, she wasn't the murderer, so her life can be spared.

But that was merely sparing her life; she could be forgiven for her death, but she couldn't escape punishment!

The two stopped talking, and Shen Yifei's mind wandered to all sorts of random ideas.

The airship flew steadily westward at a moderate speed, and Leng Rushuang didn't seem to be in a hurry.

Shen Yifei was almost asleep when the boat suddenly jolted, nearly knocking him off his chair.

"What's going on?" Shen Yifei opened his eyes.

Leng Rushuang had already stood up, her eyes fixed ahead. "Someone is blocking the way."

Shen Yifei leaned closer to the window and gasped in shock.

A figure stood in mid-air ahead, dressed in a white robe, with white hair and beard, and an ancient sword hanging at his waist. The scabbard was inlaid with seven gems, exactly the same as Ye Wuhen's, or even more luxurious.

"Ye Qianqiu," Leng Rushuang said coldly, "You hide first, I'll deal with him!"

Ye Qianqiu was followed by more than a dozen people, all dressed in white robes, with long swords hanging at their waists, exuding a menacing aura.

Shen Yifei recognized four of them; they were the four disciples who had been following Ye Wuhen earlier.

"The Cold Palace Master".

Ye Qianqiu's powerful aura pierced directly through the airship's protective shield.

"I heard that you were present when my son was injured?"

Leng Rushuang stepped out of the cabin and stood at the front of the flying boat, her veil fluttering gently in the wind.

"Present."

"Then I ask you, where is the person who injured my son?"

Shen Yifei tensed up when he heard Ye Qianqiu's words. Leng Rushuang wouldn't lie. If she said she was in the flying boat, he would surely die today.

Even with Ye Qianqiu and the dozen or so people behind him, Leng Rushuang was no match for him!

However, to Shen Yifei's surprise, Leng Rushuang coldly replied with four words.

"I have no idea!"