"That’s right! Give us the antidote now, or the Luo family will pay!"

"If you give us the antidote, we’ll pretend today never happened. Otherwise, we’ll go straight to the Alchemist Association and report you."

The other two shouted as well, a mix of shock and fury in their voices.

Ye Xuan just smiled faintly. "Go right ahead and report us to the Alchemist Association. You’ll need evidence to accuse us of poisoning, though. Oh, that’s right, I forgot to mention something. This Seven-Colored Poison Heart Pill, much like the Truth Elixir, is an ancient Pill. It has a rather unique property: only the victim can sense that they’ve been poisoned. No one else can detect it, not even a Tier Seven King Level Alchemist. If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to examine one another."

’What? No one else can detect it?’

Dubious, Elder Qi and the other two quickly gathered to examine each other. Their expressions grew uglier by the second.

No matter which of them they examined, their senses detected no trace of poison. Yet, when they turned their senses inward, they could clearly see their own hearts were a shimmering, seven-colored mess.

The phenomenon left the three of them utterly terrified.

A faint smile hung on Ye Xuan’s lips. "The three of you should have discovered that what I said is true. To be honest, you should be thanking me. I have a whole pile of poisons here. This Seven-Colored Poison Heart Pill is one of the more potent ones, refined from seven types of Tier Six toxic Spirit Medicines. It’s a fitting poison for Alchemists of your stature, so it’s not an insult. Most importantly, the Seven-Colored Poison Heart Pill takes three months to activate. After three months, you’ll die suddenly, and no one will ever suspect a thing."

"Alright, I’ve said enough to make my throat dry. The three of you can leave now."

Ye Xuan waved a hand dismissively, as if shooing away unwanted guests.

But Elder Qi and the other two were rooted to the spot, as if struck by lightning. They couldn’t take a single step.

Taking that step meant they only had three months left to live.

Everyone watched Ye Xuan in shock. ’Young Master Ye is incredible,’ they thought. ’He can even concoct a poison like that. He’s playing with their lives!’

For a moment, the silence in the air was terrifying.

Elder Qi’s expression flickered. After a moment, he let out a long sigh. "Young Master Ye, I submit. Just tell us what you want."

Elder Qi finally understood. Young Master Ye was completely out of their league. With his mastery of Alchemy, killing them would be child’s play. No wonder he hadn’t even taken them seriously before.

"Elder Qi, is there really no other way?" the other two middle-aged Alchemists asked anxiously via a secret message.

Elder Qi shook his head. "A poison like this... it’s a work of demonic genius. I have been immersed in the art of Alchemy for nearly fifty years, but I’ve never even heard of a poison that can block another’s Profound Sense and only be felt by the victim. It’s terrifying..."

"Not even a Sixth Grade Alchemist?"

"Sixth Grade? Heh. I am but a single step away from becoming Sixth Grade myself, yet I can’t detect the slightest abnormality in either of you. And even if a true Sixth Grade Alchemist could identify the problem, so what? Detecting a poison and curing it are worlds apart. The chances of them developing a cure are pitifully low. Perhaps if you two could find a Seventh Grade King Level Alchemist, you might have a sliver of a chance. But that’s just a ’might.’"

After speaking, Elder Qi shook his head and fell silent. Based on what Young Master Ye had said, even a Seventh Grade King Level Alchemist would struggle to cure this poison.

The two middle-aged Alchemists, who had been so arrogant just moments before, were now on the verge of tears. ’What is this?! If I’d known it would come to this... this is no different from being killed outright! And I was stupid enough to think the Alchemist Association’s protection meant something!’

"Young Master Ye! My dear Young Master Ye! I have elders to care for and children to raise! I don’t want to die!"

"Young Master Ye, I just married a beautiful thirty-eight-year-old wife! I haven’t even had the chance to... enjoy our time together! I’m begging you!"

"We were deceived by the Qu family! That’s why we did such a foolish thing! For the sake of my eighty-year-old mother and my three-year-old son, please spare my life!"

"Yes! It was all that damned Qu family! Damn them to hell! We were just hired hands; we never meant for this to happen! How about this? If you spare me, Young Master Ye, I’ll... I’ll offer my beautiful thirty-eight-year-old wife to you!"

With a THUD, the two middle-aged Alchemists fell to their knees and began to wail.

In the face of death, no one can remain calm.

"Young Master Ye," Elder Qi said, his gaze profound as he looked at Ye Xuan, "Just tell us what you want. With your abilities, you could have us drop dead in a few days without ever using a Pill. Wasting such a precious Pill on us seems rather counterproductive, don’t you think?"

"It seems there’s a smart one among you after all," Ye Xuan said with a faint smile. "You three, come with me. Patriarch Luo, Master Luo Xiang, you as well."

It was true. It would have been far too easy for him to kill Elder Qi and the others without a trace, in a way that could never be linked back to the Luo family.

He had poisoned them for a reason.

Soon, the six of them entered a small side room, leaving the other Alchemists staring blankly in the main hall.

「In the small room.」

"What? Young Master Ye, you want us to spy on the Supreme Elder from the Profound Mystery Sect who’s with the Qu family?" the two middle-aged Alchemists exclaimed in terror.

"Is there a problem?" Ye Xuan said coolly. "If it’s too difficult, you don’t have to do it. You can leave right now. Close the door on your way out. I won’t see you off."

"That’s not it, Young Master Ye," the two said, nearly in tears. "The Qu family really did bring a Supreme Elder from the Profound Mystery Sect, but he’s a Tier Seven Martial King! The two of us don’t even have the clearance to see him."

"That’s right! We may be Alchemists sponsored by the Qu family, but we’re not part of their inner circle. We aren’t privy to most things. If we were, we wouldn’t have been the ones sent here to be spies."

The two were terrified. ’Asking us to spy on a Supreme Elder from the Profound Mystery Sect? That’s a death sentence!’

"I’m not asking you to report his every move," Ye Xuan said calmly. "Just pass along whatever you can find out about the Qu family’s activities."

In the end, the two had no choice but to agree to Ye Xuan’s request. It wasn’t as if they could refuse.

Elder Qi, however, was much more proactive. Before Ye Xuan could even ask, he began to spill everything he knew about the Murong family’s situation.

The Murong family was ostensibly close with the Fifth Prince’s faction in the Imperial Capital, but they always maintained a certain distance. Their business dealings were extensive and varied, giving them immense influence in the capital.

Rumor had it that the Murong family also had connections to the Imperial Capital’s Soul Master Tower, but it was just a rumor. Even Elder Qi knew little about it.

"Elder Qi, you’ve spilled everything about the Murong family. Aren’t you afraid they’ll come after you?" Ye Xuan asked with a wry smile.

"Young Master Ye, I didn’t come to the Luo family as a spy for the Murong family out of loyalty. Long ago, I received a great favor from them, a debt I was honor-bound to repay. I have already given them the formulas for the Luo family’s Tengguang Pill and Obstacle Clearing Pill. With that, the debt is paid. I have no further connection to the Murong family."

Elder Qi said earnestly, "Young Master Ye, your attainments are unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed. If you would be willing to guide me in the art of Alchemy, I would even join the Luo family. Besides, my life is currently in your hands."

Elder Qi knew perfectly well that to survive, he had to do exactly what Ye Xuan said. There was no room for hesitation. Furthermore, the skill Ye Xuan had previously demonstrated had left him completely stunned.

For one, Ye Xuan had been able to smell the lingering scent of the Tengguang Pill and Obstacle Clearing Pill on him from days prior and had easily seen through to his true strength—feats beyond the capabilities of an ordinary Sixth Grade Alchemist.

If the Luo family truly intended to make a full-scale push into the Imperial Capital’s Pill market under Young Master Ye’s leadership, Elder Qi felt a glimmer of hope for their future.

Most importantly, Ye Xuan’s recent fame in the Imperial Capital was considerable. His relationship with Master Lu Li of the Artifact Refining Workshop was a subject of endless speculation, something Elder Qi had also heard whispers of.

When facing a young man like him, if you treated him as an ordinary person, you wouldn’t even know what hit you.

Ye Xuan asked a few more questions, and Elder Qi answered them all, holding nothing back.

From Elder Qi, Ye Xuan gained a much deeper understanding of the Imperial Capital’s Pill market.

Seeing Elder Qi and the other two men submit so readily to Young Master Ye, Luo Min was overjoyed.

When he first learned that Elder Qi had been the one to leak the formulas for the Tengguang Pill and Obstacle Clearing Pill, his immediate impulse had been to kill the man.

But he also understood that killing the three of them wouldn’t bring the Luo family’s formulas back. In fact, it would likely bring a great disaster down upon them.

Outside, Luo Min had been in a bind, unable to decide whether to kill the three men or let them go.

He never imagined that Young Master Ye would step in and have all three of them submitting in a matter of minutes.

The thought that the Luo family had just gained another Alchemist on par with Luo Xiang, as well as two Fourth Grade Alchemists, made Luo Min ecstatic.

It was truly a blessing in disguise.

After dealing with the spies, Ye Xuan found a room to think alone.

Between his own knowledge and the information from Elder Qi, Luo Xiang, and the others, Ye Xuan now had a very clear picture of the Imperial Capital’s Pill market.

In the Imperial Capital, the markets for low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade Pills were all massive.

The low-grade Pill market was fiercely competitive, resulting in low profit margins.

Meanwhile, high-grade Pills required a level of technical skill that not every faction could manage.

Therefore, the key to dividing the market lay in mid-grade Pills.

Mid-grade Pills were those ranging from Third Grade to Fifth Grade. This segment of the market had the highest sales volume and the greatest demand in the Imperial Capital.

If the goal was to build a reputation, high-grade Pills were undoubtedly the fastest path. The release of any practical, high-grade Pill would cause a massive stir and instantly make a name for its creator.