They spoke in unison. "The Qu family!"

An uproar erupted!

The entire room instantly erupted into an uproar. Everyone stared at the scene in disbelief, wondering what kind of Pill Young Master Ye had given the two men. In just a few breaths, they had been reduced to this state.

But the two men were completely oblivious to the commotion in the hall, their gazes remaining vacant and dull.

"Why did the Qu family send you here?"

"The Qu family had us infiltrate the Luo family to pass them intelligence and steal the secret formulas for the Tengguang Pill and the Obstacle Clearing Pill."

"And did you succeed?"

"We obtained the ingredients for the Tengguang Pill and the Obstacle Clearing Pill, but not the refining method. The Qu family told us to continue lying in wait..."

Just like that, with Ye Xuan asking and the men answering, they soon confessed everything.

Beside them, Luo Min and Luo Xiang’s faces were ashen, their killing intent flaring.

Luo Min was furious that the Qu family had planted spies in his own family to steal their secret formulas. Luo Xiang, on the other hand, was enraged that these two had been hiding among them for two years, even managing to steal the ingredients for two secret Pills, and he had remained completely oblivious.

After a round of questioning, Ye Xuan suddenly snapped his fingers.

"You... what did you do to us? Why couldn’t we control our own thoughts just now?" The two men snapped out of it, their eyes flashing with intense fear.

A moment ago, they could see everything clearly and hear Ye Xuan’s questions just as clearly. They hadn’t wanted to answer, but their own minds had been completely beyond their control.

Both men were Fourth Grade Alchemists, but they had never heard of such a Pill. This defied all common sense, filling them with an indescribable terror.

"Now it’s your turn."

Ye Xuan walked up to Elder Qi.

A bitter look appeared on Elder Qi’s face. His eyes were no longer murky as they had been at the start; instead, they glinted with a sharp light. "Can you tell me, was the Pill you gave them the legendary ancient Pill—the Truth Elixir?"

"For a Third Grade Alchemist, you’re quite knowledgeable," Ye Xuan said mockingly.

"So it really was the Truth Elixir! I thought such a Pill only existed in legends," Elder Qi said, completely shaken.

"Since you’ve heard of the Truth Elixir, you should know its effects." Ye Xuan produced two more Pills.

"No need to feed them to me. I’ll talk," Elder Qi said bitterly. "I am an Alchemist from the Murong family. I came here for the formulas of the Tengguang Pill and the Obstacle Clearing Pill as well. But unlike those two idiots, I not only learned the ingredients for the Tengguang Pill and Obstacle Clearing Pill, but I also figured out the refining methods for both."

At this, the bitterness on Elder Qi’s face deepened. "I was planning to resign from the Luo family tomorrow. I never expected to run into you today."

"What? Elder Qi is with the Murong family?"

"Unbelievable. Elder Qi has always been so well-liked. I can’t believe he’d do something like this."

"He learned the complete formulas for the Tengguang Pill and the Obstacle Clearing Pill."

The crowd erupted again. Compared to the previous two, Elder Qi had been with the Luo family the longest and had the best relationship with everyone. They could never have imagined he was a spy for the Murong family.

"Does that mean the Murong family really gave the Qin family the Return Light Pill and the Obstacle Removal Pill?" Luo Min asked icily, a vicious glint in his eyes.

Elder Qi shook his head. "That, I do not know. My orders were simply to uncover the formulas for the Tengguang Pill and the Obstacle Clearing Pill. I succeeded last year and handed them over to the Murong family. As for whether the Murong family gave those two Pills to the Qin family, I’m not clear on that. However, from what I know, the Murong family and the Qin family do have some dealings in the shadows."

"So that’s the Murong family for you," Luo Min seethed, his eyes filled with rage.

Elder Qi had joined the Luo family five or six years ago. That was precisely when the conflict between the Luo family and the Qu family began to intensify. How could Luo Min not understand? The Murong family had already been planning to obtain the Luo family’s pill formulas and abandon them back then.

"Young Master Ye, I’ve told you everything you wanted to know. It’s time to let me go, isn’t it?" Elder Qi said, shaking his head. "Truth be told, I never wanted to be your enemy. But I once owed the Murong family a favor, and I had no choice but to follow their orders."

"Let you go? Do you think that’s possible?" Patriarch Luo Min said furiously, the killing intent in his eyes so intense it seemed to want to swallow Elder Qi whole.

It was because of him that his family’s ancestral Pill formulas had been leaked, causing an immeasurable loss to the family.

Elder Qi sighed. "Patriarch Luo Min, I know you hate me, but surely you wouldn’t kill me, would you? I forgot to mention, Young Master Ye was correct earlier. I’m not just a Third Grade Alchemist. I’m also a Fifth Grade Alchemist, registered with the Alchemist Association in the Imperial Capital."

"If you dare to touch me, the Murong family will definitely report it to the Alchemist Association. When that happens, no matter what backing the Luo family has, you won’t escape annihilation."

"After all, I am merely a contracted Alchemist of the Luo family. We have a contractual relationship, not one of master and servant. You have no right whatsoever to dispose of me."

Hearing this, Luo Min’s expression froze. His eyes were so red they looked as if they might shoot flames.

"That’s right! We’re registered Alchemists with the Alchemist Association! We only have a contractual relationship with you! You have no right to punish us! If you dare to kill us, you’re dead men once the Alchemist Association finds out!"

The other two middle-aged Alchemists now shouted excitedly.

"You two think you can follow my lead?" Elder Qi shot them a disdainful glance. "I am a Fifth Grade Alchemist, part of the upper-middle echelon in the Alchemist Association. You two are merely Fourth Grade Alchemists; the Association wouldn’t care much about you. But if something were to happen to me, and the Murong family reported it to the Alchemist Association, the Luo family would undoubtedly be dragged into a vortex of trouble."

Although Elder Qi was tied up, there wasn’t a trace of panic on his face.

Luo Min’s expression grew even uglier.

As the head of an alchemy family, how could he not understand that what Elder Qi said was no empty threat?

Elder Qi wasn’t an Alchemist cultivated by the Luo family; he was hired from the outside. Their relationship was purely contractual.

On this continent, Alchemists held a revered status. If the Luo family dared to privately execute an Alchemist, they would be utterly annihilated once it was discovered.

The Alchemist Association was one of the largest organizations on the continent. Even the Artifact Refining Workshop, let alone his Luo family, would never dare to offend the Alchemist Association in the Imperial Capital.

"You stole our Luo family’s pill formulas, and now you think you’re in the right? Even if this case went to the Alchemist Association, you’d have no leg to stand on," Luo Xiang said coldly, seething with anger.

"Then hand us over to the Alchemist Association!"

The two middle-aged Alchemists immediately clamored. They knew that staying in the Luo family was a dead end, but going to the Alchemist Association would, at worst, result in having their Alchemist emblems revoked—and that was only if the allegations were proven.

And the Luo family had no proof that they had stolen the pill formulas. In the end, it would most likely result in nothing more than a warning.

Luo Min was immediately conflicted. He wanted nothing more than to kill the three of them on the spot, but he knew he couldn’t.

At this critical moment, his only recourse was to look to Ye Xuan for help.

Ye Xuan smiled faintly. "Patriarch Luo, Alchemists are indeed of noble status and cannot be killed casually. Since that’s the case, let these two go for now. Otherwise, if the Alchemist Association investigates in the future, it will be difficult for us."

When everyone heard Ye Xuan’s words, they were all stunned.

Luo Min and Luo Xiang were also dumbfounded.

"Haha, Young Master Ye is right! A true master, you know how the Alchemist Association operates."

"You should have just done this from the start. You made our poor hearts go THUMP, THUMP."

The two middle-aged Alchemists spoke with smug excitement.

"Patriarch Luo Min, aren’t you going to untie them?"

When Ye Xuan saw Luo Min hesitate, he prompted him. Only then did Luo Min, gritting his teeth, untie the two men.

At the same time, Ye Xuan walked over to Elder Qi and said with a smile, "And this man is a Fifth Grade Alchemist. The Luo family can afford to offend him even less. He should be untied as well."

SMACK!

He suddenly jabbed a finger at Elder Qi’s chest. Elder Qi’s mouth fell open involuntarily. As he watched in horror, Ye Xuan flicked his finger, and a black Pill shot into his mouth like a lightning bolt.

After doing all this, Ye Xuan nonchalantly untied the ropes binding Elder Qi.

"You... what did you make me eat?" Elder Qi demanded, shocked and enraged, the moment he was free.

"Oh, it’s nothing. Since Your Excellency has heard of the ancient Truth Elixir, I wonder if you’ve also heard of the Seven-Colored Poison Heart Pill?"

"The Seven-Colored Poison Heart Pill?" Elder Qi asked doubtfully. He had clearly never heard of such a Pill, but his expression was extremely ugly.

The other two middle-aged Alchemists, who had been untied and were about to leave in a hurry, froze in their tracks when they saw this.

One of the two Pills Ye Xuan had fed them earlier was identical to the one he had just given Elder Qi.

None of them had ever heard of the Seven-Colored Poison Heart Pill, but the name alone told them it was a potent poison.

The three men hurriedly focused on inspecting their own bodies. What they saw gave them a fright. Within their Profound Sense, their hearts had turned a kaleidoscopic, seven-colored hue, like a poisonous mushroom.

"HISS!" The three of them couldn’t help but suck in a sharp, cold breath.

One of them asked, trembling, "What in the world is this Seven-Colored Poison Heart Pill? How dare you poison us!"

’He fed us poison. What’s the difference between letting us go and just killing us?’

Elder Qi’s face was also ghastly. He said grimly, "Young Master Ye, I admire your methods. But do you have any idea what the consequences will be once the Alchemist Association confirms that you’ve poisoned us? All the three of us have to do is report this to the Alchemist Association, and the Luo family will face annihilation."