The Sect Master’s face was also flushed. He shot a glance at Song Wanning, as if to wash away his prior humiliation.

’This time, Song Wanning has shot herself in the foot, hasn’t she?’

"Master, how do you feel?"

Ye Chuxue’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as she looked at Gu Qingyuan.

Gu Qingyuan shook his head gently. Just as he was about to speak, the Spiritual Power inside him suddenly erupted into chaos.

Countless black toxins coursed through his meridians, filling every acupoint...

"PFFT—"

Gu Qingyuan’s response was to spray a mouthful of black blood.

The warm liquid splattered all over her face.

Her vision went dark, stained by blood. Ye Chuxue was shocked into silence, watching helplessly as Gu Qingyuan collapsed before her.

Injured time and time again, and now poisoned...

He finally succumbed and collapsed.

"Junior Brother Gu!"

The Sect Master cried out in alarm.

The elders, terrified, also rushed forward.

"Master!"

Belatedly snapping back to her senses, Ye Chuxue dropped to her knees and hugged Gu Qingyuan tightly.

"Master! Master! Wake up!"

"Master! Don’t scare me! Master!"

Tears streamed from her eyes. Frantic, Ye Chuxue called out Gu Qingyuan’s name again and again.

But there was no response.

An uproar swept through the crowd, their expressions changing dramatically.

"Holy shit! It’s actually poisonous!"

"The Elixir Pill is poisonous! Doesn’t that mean Ye Chuxue was the one who harmed Wu Dan?"

"Could the previous Elixir Pills have been bad too? I just fucking ate one!"

"If she doesn’t know Alchemy, why pretend to be a master? The Elixir Pills she makes are poisonous!"

"If we die from this, can she even take responsibility?!"

"This is terrifying... Thank god I didn’t get one... or I’d be the one lying on the ground!"

"Poor Wu Dan! He was an innocent victim of all this!"

The tide of public opinion turned in an instant. The disciples who had managed to get an Elixir Pill were now as terrified as they had once been smug.

If it could take down even a Nascent Soul Cultivator, just how potent was the poison?

If they had taken it... the consequences were unimaginable!

Everyone couldn’t help but blame Ye Chuxue. ’Why is she even attempting Alchemy if she doesn’t know what she’s doing?’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

’And she had the nerve to give them away!’

’Isn’t that just trying to harm people on purpose?’

"Lan Le, hurry and take a look!"

The Sect Master was frantic. Seeing Lan Le still standing aside, acting as if it were none of his business, made his chest ache with anger.

Gu Qingyuan was a pillar of the Heavenly Inquiry Sect. If something were to happen to him, the consequences for the sect would be immense!

"..."

Lan Le stood up, speechless. He pushed through the crowd and, with a face full of resentment, began to examine Gu Qingyuan.

"I told you the Elixir Pill was poisonous, but he insisted on taking it. Well, look at him now. He’s poisoned!"

"In any case, I can’t cure this poison. You’re on your own!"

Pill Masters were known for their tempers, and after being so thoroughly slighted by Ye Chuxue just moments before, it would have been a miracle if Lan Le were in a good mood.

So now he was just washing his hands of the whole affair. Whether an antidote existed or what it might be, he couldn’t be bothered to care.

Better to avoid getting dragged into the mess.

"You— you truly have no solution?"

The Sect Master was so furious he could have coughed up blood. He inwardly cursed these Alchemy Grandmasters.

’Every last one of them is more arrogant than the last!’

"I don’t."

Lan Le shook his head and turned to leave.

The Sect Master was left speechless.

"Master, please don’t scare me!"

Now Ye Chuxue was truly panicking.

She was only a novice in Alchemy; detoxification was still beyond her expertise, and she hadn’t prepared the ingredients for the Ten Thousand Poison Pill. How was she supposed to cure him now?

"Master... It’s all my fault... SOB... SOB..."

She couldn’t help but cry. "I should have tested the medicine myself! My life is worthless anyway... I shouldn’t have implicated you!"

"Ancestor, Ancestor, I beg you, please save my master!"

At that moment, she finally thought to ask Liu Lan Yi for help.

Liu Lan Yi merely frowned and said coldly, "I am a complete novice when it comes to the Alchemy Dao."

She was not the right person to ask for help saving someone.

Besides, she had witnessed the entire spectacle and naturally had no patience for Ye Chuxue.

"Master Lan, Master Lan, please save my master!"

Ye Chuxue turned to beg Lan Le. "It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have ignored your warning. Please, save my master!"

Even in this critical situation, she refused to lower her head to Song Wanning.

With a cold expression, Lan Le refused her outright. "This poison is complex and bizarre. Forgive my incompetence, but I have not yet found a cure."

"Perhaps you could ask Junior Sister Song."

He was starting to understand now. ’Junior Sister Song knew from the very beginning that there was a problem with Ye Chuxue’s Alchemy methods. Everything has been within her control.’

’Making an enemy of such a terrifying person would be incredibly foolish. I just want to stay out of it and not get involved.’

Deep down, Ye Chuxue knew perfectly well who she should ask for help. But she had just had a major falling-out with Song Wanning. She couldn’t bring herself to go and beg her now!

Bai Yang, who was standing nearby, seemed to read her mind. He stepped forward and pleaded respectfully with Song Wanning, "Master, I beg you to intervene and save Senior Uncle Gu!"

An Ze also hurried over, saying resentfully, "Master, if you hadn’t suggested that Senior Uncle Gu take the Elixir Pill, he wouldn’t have been poisoned! You need to cure him, now!"

’We could have tested it on an animal, but Master refused. She must have done this on purpose!’

The Sect Master, his face grim, added, "Junior Sister Song, regardless of anything else, you and Junior Brother Gu are fellow sect members. You can’t just stand by and watch him die!"

It was as if Song Wanning would be the world’s greatest sinner if she refused to help.

Song Wanning had experienced scenes like this countless times.

She gave a cold laugh and shot An Ze a detached glance.

Ever since he started messing around with Ye Chuxue, An Ze had lost all respect for her.

’In her past life, she had always thought of them as her "children." She blamed herself for being a poor teacher and neglecting An Ze’s upbringing.’

’But the truth was, some people were just ungrateful curs who would bite the hand that fed them.’

’There was no need to blame herself.’

Song Wanning curled her lip, and the full force of her aura pressed down on An Ze.

’Even the main characters had to be a little wary of her; what the hell did An Ze count for?’

THUMP—

An Ze’s knees slammed into the ground, and he was forced into a full, prostrate kowtow.

He immediately started yelling, "Master, what are you doing? Let me go!"

"I was just telling the truth! What gives you the right to control me?"

He struggled to lift his head, his face contorted with rage. A flash of killing intent glinted in his bloodshot eyes.

’Master has injured me time and time again, and now she’s oppressing me like this. She doesn’t deserve to be a master!’

"What gives me the right?"

Song Wanning’s eyes were icy. She lazily lifted her foot and placed it on the crown of An Ze’s head.

The raised patterns on the sole of her Spiritual Boot ground into his scalp. An instantaneous numbness shot through his entire body, which lost all strength, causing him to collapse flat on the ground.

His face pressed against the cold ground, his eyes filled with humiliation and shock.

"Master, what are you doing?"

Bai Yang cried out in alarm, about to intervene.

Song Wanning nonchalantly glanced his way, and a single look froze him in place. "Master..."

"If you still wish to be my disciple, you’ll stand quietly to the side."

"If you want to end up like him, then you can kneel down beside him and take what’s coming to you!"