65: Finally entered the second floor

At dinner time, Lin Shi came to the room as usual.

After glancing at the food, confirming it was indeed the pile of ingredients he had seen in the kitchen during the day, Zhou Luo finally relaxed.

He picked up his chopsticks and began to eat.

The poison he used this time was a First-Order Pill mid-grade poison; after consumption, one's entire body would become weak and lose strength, unless their cultivation reached above Qi Training Seventh Layer, in which case they could forcefully dispel it with spiritual energy.

Zhou Luo had already calculated that this large-scale poisoning incident would definitely alarm the higher-ups.

At that Time, he would use the excuse of research to go to the Second Level for investigation, which would allow him to come into contact with the Great Elder's people.

"Brother Zhou, why is your little cat so moody? Is it in heat?" Lin Shi asked while holding Bai.

At noon, this little guy had still been aggressive and injured him, but in the evening, it was surprisingly well-behaved.

"I taught it a lesson," Zhou Luo said casually.

Just then, sounds of air breaking suddenly came from outside the house, and the two with sharp hearing also heard many footsteps.

Zhou Luo and Lin Shi exchanged glances and immediately walked outside.

Opening the door, they saw guards dressed neatly and with serious expressions walking towards the entrance of the Second Level.

"What's wrong?" Lin Shi grabbed a guard and asked.

"There's a large-scale poisoning incident on the Second Level, possibly an invasion by Evil Cultivators," the man said with a solemn expression.

"How is that possible?" Lin Shi exclaimed.

Zhou Luo remained silent beside him.

It seemed his plan had worked.

"Brother Zhou, I have to go take a look."

Lin Shi returned Bai to him and also followed the large group towards the Second Level.

Zhou Luo did not stay, but instead returned to his room.

Bang bang bang—

Not long after, a series of urgent knocks sounded.

Zhou Luo opened the door and found a tall Middle-aged man.

Behind him, there were several poisoned people lying on stretchers.

Without waiting for Zhou Luo to speak, the other party forcefully entered the room and placed the poisoned people nearby.

"Can you refine the corresponding antidote Pills?"

The Middle-aged man asked indifferently, his voice cold.

Zhou Luo's eyes flickered slightly.

It seemed the Main Family's people weren't stupid; to prevent him from going to the Second Level, they directly brought the poisoned people here for him to refine the antidote Pills.

However, the more they acted like this, the more he wanted to enter the Second Level.

"I need to take a look."

Zhou Luo finished speaking and immediately began to inquire about the symptoms of the poisoned individuals.

After hearing the symptoms, he pretended to examine their bodies and said with a troubled expression, "I haven't seen this kind of poison before, it's very troublesome."

"Antidote Pills won't work?" the Middle-aged man frowned.

"Antidote Pills also require targeted treatment; in my opinion, ordinary antidote Pills definitely won't work."

"Moreover, I'm not sure what caused it. Only by finding the source of the poison can I refine the Pills properly."

Zhou Luo said seriously.

"It's the food," the other party replied, then motioned for his subordinates to bring a basin of leftovers.

They had already identified the cause in a very short Time.

"Really?" Zhou Luo feigned surprise, then carefully examined the basin of leftovers, wondering, "I didn't detect any traces of poison."

That poison was specially made by him, and it was incorporated into the ingredients. After being processed by the spiritual chef, it was basically very difficult to detect.

Zhou Luo was certain the other party hadn't found the poison either.

The Middle-aged man spoke up, "Everyone got poisoned after eating the food."

Indeed, they couldn't be certain the food was poisoned, only that it was a guess.

"It's also possible that something was added to it, and then reacted with the special environment of the Second Level, causing collective poisoning," Zhou Luo offered a conjecture.

"Is there such a thing?" the other party asked with a suspicious look.

"I'm not sure, so I have to go see for myself," Zhou Luo went in a big circle, finally pointing everything towards the Second Level.

Hearing this, the Middle-aged man clearly showed a hint of hesitation.

He didn't answer immediately, only saying, "You give them some antidote Pills first and see."

After speaking, he turned and left the room.

It seemed he went to report to his superiors.

Zhou Luo knew that the other party would definitely compromise.

Because in the entire Spirit Mine, only he, the Alchemist, had the possibility of developing an antidote; other Spiritual Talisman Masters, Array Masters, and so on, could not.

Afterward, Zhou Luo still refined several antidote Pills in front of everyone.

As expected, after taking the antidote Pills, these people did not show any improvement.

After he indicated that he might also be unable to do anything, the Middle-aged man brought the decision from the higher-ups.

He could enter the Second Level to investigate.

His objective achieved, Zhou Luo remained outwardly calm as still water, while his heart was filled with wild joy.

In his opinion, the reason the people above were so resistant to him entering the Second Level was definitely because they were afraid he would discover certain things, and these things were undoubtedly extremely important to the Main Family.

The more this was the case, the more likely it was that if he truly entered the Second Level, he might be able to gain the upper hand.

Just like that, under the escort of a group of people, Zhou Luo arrived at the Second Level.

Unlike the First Layer, the structure of the Second Level was significantly simpler, resembling a cave.

The first thing that came into view was the piles of Spirit Mines emitting a faint glow; they were quietly stacked on one side, forming mountains, exuding a strange and enticing aura.

Behind those piles of Spirit Stone, a long corridor could vaguely be seen, with figures pushing small carts to transport the Spirit Stone up.

Furthermore, the rooms here were not as orderly as those on the First Layer, but rather somewhat messy.

Currently, in front of every room, there were guards standing.

"Begin the investigation," the Middle-aged man said, standing beside Zhou Luo.

Zhou Luo, however, raised his head and began to observe the environment here.

Behind him, the Middle-aged man followed him step for step, clearly not wanting him to come into contact with the people here.

The Middle-aged man's name was Lin Kai, and he was primarily responsible for the guards on the First Layer.

After the incident occurred, he reacted immediately and accurately deduced that the source of the poison was tonight's food.

Currently, everyone responsible for the food in the kitchen tonight had already been taken for questioning.

And his duty was to supervise Zhou Luo in completing the refinement of the antidote Pills, then to restore the people on the Second Level to normal, while also preventing him from contacting the Great Elder's people.

Realizing that Lin Kai was monitoring him, Zhou Luo proposed to check every room.

A layer of coldness appeared in Lin Kai's eyes, but he did not stop him.

Arriving at the first room, judging by the interior decoration, this should be the overseer's room. After casually looking around, Zhou Luo walked towards the next room.

He investigated along the way until he reached a room containing Array Formation Plates, Array Formation diagrams, and various Spirit Stone, where Zhou Luo stopped.

He looked at the old man lying on the bed, first pretending to investigate the room, then slowly approaching the other party.

Just then, Lin Kai suddenly grabbed him.

"I think the cause might be outside the house, otherwise why would everyone be collectively poisoned?" he said coldly.

Feeling the strength coming from his arm, Zhou Luo knew the other party was stopping him.

He wasn't in a hurry, instead nodding in agreement, "You're right, I'll go outside and take a good look."

Only then did Lin Kai let go.

Zhou Luo then turned and left the room.