71: Chapter 71 A Conspiracy in a Locked Room and the Awakening of a Witness

Lin Chen's heart sank abruptly. He stood up suddenly, his movement so swift that it caused a sharp pain in his empty Meridians, but he disregarded it.

"What's going on?" He lowered his voice, walked quickly to the door, and pulled open the study door.

Outside the door, Liu Ruxu's delicate brows were tightly knit, her face filled with anxiety and confusion. "Young Miss Su Qingyao's spiritual power is recovering extremely slowly. Logically speaking, with the wood-element spiritual power I've been channeling to nourish her, and the support of the Family's Spiritual Vein, even if her pill essence depletion were severe, it shouldn't be like this. Even stranger, her Divine Soul fluctuations are extremely chaotic, as if... she is resisting something."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen didn't say a word and strode toward the Meditation Room.

The Lin Family estate under the night sky was quiet and deep, with only the occasional faint clinking of armor plates from the patrolling guards.

On an inconspicuous pebble path leading to the backyard utility room, several guards were seemingly casually pruning flowers and trees, but in reality, their eyes were like hawks, alert to any movement in the surroundings.

Lin Chen's footsteps did not pause in the slightest; he walked straight through the utility room and arrived at a corner of the back wall concealed by rockeries and vines.

He pressed his hand against the rough wall, tapping it in a specific sequence three times. The wall silently recessed inward, revealing a pitch-black opening only wide enough for one person to pass through.

A damp breeze, mixed with the scent of soil and Spirit Stone powder, drifted out from the opening.

Without hesitation, he slipped inside.

Behind him, the wall slowly closed, sealing off all light and sound.

This was a backup passage he had spent a great deal of money and effort to secretly excavate when the Lin Family was first established.

The end of the passage connected to an ordinary residence in another street of Qingzhou Prefecture that had been purchased long ago but never used.

In the underground secret chamber of the residence, it was brightly lit.

A huge wooden barrel sat in the center, filled with dark green medicinal liquid, emitting a thick, pungent herbal scent.

A middle-aged man with a dull expression and a gaunt figure was soaking in the medicinal liquid, staring blankly ahead. He was the key witness used by the Ge Family as a pawn to cause chaos at the Alchemy competition—Liu Ming.

He had been moved here secretly during the chaos after the competition, using a micro-teleportation Formation that Lin Chen had Liu Ruxu set up near the Association's temporary holding area.

"Family Head." The two trusted guards keeping watch here immediately stood up and saluted.

Lin Chen waved his hand, his gaze falling on Liu Ming in the wooden barrel.

"How is the situation?"

"Replying to the Family Head," one guard answered, "following Guest Elder Liu's instructions, we have been maintaining the temperature of the medicinal bath. When this person was first sent here, he would occasionally convulse all over and emit meaningless roars, but in the last day, he has become much quieter, though his eyes remain dull."

Lin Chen walked to the edge of the wooden barrel, squatted down, and carefully observed Liu Ming.

He could feel that there was a weak but sinister aura lingering inside Liu Ming, but it seemed to have lost its vitality, remaining only like a stagnant pool of water.

The meridian clearing pill and detox pill that Liu Ruxu had him take in advance had clearly played a key role.

Just then, a guard hurried over from the secret passage entrance and whispered, "Family Head, Guest Elder Liu sent a message. Young Miss Su Qingyao's condition has stabilized, but she still needs to rest quietly. She asked this subordinate to tell you that because the Gu inside Liu Ming lacks subsequent control, its activity is greatly reduced. Now is the best time to remove the root of the illness and awaken his consciousness."

Lin Chen nodded, and the stone hanging in his heart dropped slightly. It was good that Su Qingyao was alright.

He stood up and ordered the guards, "Continue to watch him. Without my command, no one is allowed to approach. Also, pass down the order: raise the security level of the entire estate to the highest. Especially those newly arrived Guest Elder Alchemists, keep a close eye on them and find out all their movements over the past few days."

"Yes!"

Coming out of the secret chamber, Lin Chen did not return to the study but went directly to the Meditation Room where Su Qingyao was.

Pushing open the door, a scent mixed with calming incense and a faint smell of blood rushed toward him.

Liu Ruxu was sitting cross-legged by the bed, her palms pressed against Su Qingyao's back, continuously channeling gentle wood-element spiritual power.

On the bed, Su Qingyao's face was still pale, but her breathing had stabilized significantly.

She kept her eyes tightly closed, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, as if she were in a deep state of meditation.

Lin Chen walked to the bedside, subconsciously rubbing the stone ring on his thumb, his fingertips cold.

"She disregarded her own injuries and forcibly used her Divine Thought to investigate the residual Gu inside Liu Ming, trying to find a way to break it, which ended up triggering her old injuries." Liu Ruxu opened her eyes, her voice carrying a trace of helplessness and admiration. "I have already helped her stabilize her injuries, but her Divine Soul consumption was too great, and she needs time to recover."

Lin Chen remained silent, looking at Su Qingyao's stubborn face, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

This woman, cold as snow on the outside, had a heart hotter and more stubborn than anyone else's.

He did not disturb her, but just sat quietly beside her for three hours. Only when the sky grew slightly bright and he confirmed that Su Qingyao's breath had completely stabilized did he stand up and leave.

For the next three days, the Lin Family estate was calm on the surface, but undercurrents were surging.

Disregarding Lin Chen's dissuasion, Su Qingyao immediately threw herself into the treatment of Liu Ming once her injuries had slightly improved.

She joined forces with Liu Ruxu, one responsible for using spiritual power to clear the Meridians, the other for preparing the medicinal bath, working day and night without rest.

On the fourth morning, the sky just began to show a hint of white.

In the underground secret chamber, Liu Ming, who had always been like a wooden statue, suddenly began to tremble violently.

The skin soaking in the medicinal liquid flushed with an eerie blue-black color. His eyes remained hollow, but his mouth emitted blurred, fear-filled syllables.

"Fire... Pill Furnace... bug... no... I don't want to..."

A gurgling sound came from his throat, as if his neck were being choked by an invisible hand.

"Not good, it's the residual Gu consciousness fighting back!" Liu Ruxu's expression changed. Her fingers moved like flying, and several silver needles shimmering with blue light instantly pierced into several major acupoints on the top of Liu Ming's head, stabilizing his Qi that was about to go berserk.

Su Qingyao's pale face remained calm without a ripple. She extended her slender fingers and tapped lightly on Liu Ming's glabella.

A wisp of cold and pure spiritual power, carrying the properties of the Ice Crystal Flame, like a clear spring, slowly seeped into his Sea of Consciousness.

"Look at me." Her voice was very soft but carried a strange, soothing power. "The fire has been extinguished, and the Pill Furnace is broken. You are safe. Tell me, who made you do this?"

Liu Ming's chaotic eyes had a trace of imperceptible focus. Seemingly guided by this cold power, he began to salvage the broken fragments from the abyss of his memory.

"Three... three years ago... Alchemist exchange meeting..." he murmured intermittently. "Ge Yuan... it was Ge Yuan! He said... to discuss a Pill Formula... invited me... to the villa..."

His breathing became rapid.

"Spirit tea... that cup of spirit tea... drank it... head felt so dizzy... woke up... in my brain... there was an extra thing..." He held his head in pain. "It was Ge Yuan... it was always him... made me steal intelligence on the pill fire... made me... beside someone else's Pill Furnace... detonate a 'Zhenyuan Bead'..."

"There is more than one person like me... not just one!"

Just as Liu Ming's consciousness was becoming clearer and he was about to reveal more inside information, within the Ge Family's temporary residence, Steward Yan Song was pacing back and forth anxiously, like an ant on a hot pan.

Ge Yuan was still in a coma from his serious injuries, and the Old Ancestor Ge Hong, far away in the Family heartland, had already issued a death order—spare no cost to cut off all leads!

"Trash! A bunch of trash!" Steward Yan Song swept the teacup off the table and roared at a trembling man in black in front of him. "You can't even find one Liu Ming? You can't even infiltrate the Alchemist Association's temporary prison? What is the use of raising you all!"

"Steward Yan, please calm down!" the man in black said with a trembling voice. "The Lin Family is currently guarded like an iron bucket; our people cannot get close at all. As for the Association... the people we sent to silence the witness were... were caught on the spot by Elder Tiemian's secret sentries! The people... have already committed suicide by poison, but we have been exposed!"

"Tiemian!" When Steward Yan Song heard this name, his pupils shrank abruptly, and a trace of dread flashed across his face.

He was the newly transferred Law Enforcement Elder of the Alchemist Association, known for being impartial and ruthless.

He realized that the matter had already exceeded his control.

He had to immediately contact those bottom-level alchemists and servants controlled by the Ge Family and use every possible method to make them shut up!

Meanwhile, in a quiet room in the deepest part of the Alchemist Association, tea fragrance curled.

Master Chiyang pushed a cup of spirit tea to the opposite side.

Sitting opposite him was an unusually tall and burly man. His face was cold and hard, with features as if carved by a knife and axe. When his eyes opened and closed, rays of light shot out. It was the Law Enforcement Elder, Tiemian.

"That is how things are." Master Chiyang said slowly. "The incident at the competition, the suspicious behavior of the Ge Family, and the anonymous message delivered by that kid from the Lin Family through Wu Iron-Mouth all point to one thing—the Ge Family is using improper means to control other alchemists to work for them."

Tiemian picked up the teacup but did not drink, his voice steady as a mountain. "The chain of evidence is not yet complete. This person, Liu Ming, is both a human witness and physical evidence. We must ensure his safety and let him stand out clearly to testify. The Ge Family's reaction is so intense, sending people to silence the witness, which precisely shows that they have something to hide."

He put down the teacup and said decisively, "According to the Association's laws, there is sufficient reason to conduct a 'preventive search' of all the Ge Family's properties in Qingzhou Prefecture, including that villa!"

"I have the same intention." A flash of light appeared in Master Chiyang's eyes. "This matter shall be jointly signed by you and me, and executed immediately in the name of the highest investigation team of the Southern Region Alchemist Association!"

The two looked at each other, and everything was understood without words.

In the Alchemy room of the Lin Family estate.

Based on the characteristics of the residual Gu inside Liu Ming and the feelings he occasionally mentioned in his chaotic memories when he was controlled, Su Qingyao was concentrating on improving an ancient Pill Formula.

In front of her, the Pill Furnace flames rose, and she controlled the Ice Crystal Flame as if it were an extension of her arm.

Inside the furnace, the medicinal power of dozens of herbs was being rapidly extracted and undergoing Fusion.

Several hours later, the furnace lid opened, and three Medicinal Pills, white throughout and emitting a faint coolness, lay quietly at the bottom of the furnace.

"Heart-Clearing Soul-Stabilizing Pill." Su Qingyao whispered, carefully putting the Medicinal Pills into a jade bottle.

She fed one of the Medicinal Pills into Liu Ming's mouth. The Medicinal Pill dissolved upon contact, turning into a cool stream, rushing straight into his Sea of Consciousness.

Liu Ming's whole body shuddered, and his originally chaotic eyes became much clearer after a moment.

The memories in his brain regarding Ge Yuan's voice and the appearance of that mysterious poison master Hermit Duxin became gradually clearer, like a painting with the dust wiped away.

Su Qingyao immediately informed Lin Chen of this major progress.

After hearing this, Lin Chen only said one sentence: "Continue refining, regardless of the cost. Keep the Pill Formula safe; this item will be one of the Foundations for our Lin Family to establish itself in the future."

The next day, a "preventive search warrant" jointly signed by Master Chiyang and Elder Tiemian was delivered to the Ge Family's residence in Qingzhou Prefecture like a thunderbolt.

When the news was sent back to the Ge Family's main estate, Ancestor Ge Hong in the secret chamber was immediately furious, smashing the warm jade cup he loved the most in his hand.

"Deception too far! Deception too far!"

But after the rage came a bone-chilling coldness.

He knew that resisting stubbornly would confirm the charges and give the Alchemist Association an excuse for an all-out war.

Through a message jade talisman, he issued a calm and vicious order to Steward Yan Song.

"Let them search! Clean up all the 'things' for me! All those 'test subjects' in the herb garden that cannot see the light must be destroyed on the spot; not a single blade of grass is allowed to remain! The Alchemy secret chamber... immediately activate the level-one camouflage Formation, and seal off those few secret rooms completely for me!"

At the end of the message, Ancestor Ge Hong's voice became eerie, as if it came from the Nine Nether Hell.

"Tell the people sent there to 'cooperate well'. But if they don't know what's good for them and insist on breaking into places they shouldn't go..." He paused, a strong murderous intent flashing in his eyes. "Then activate the 'Spirit-Extinguishing Miasma' of the herb garden and let everyone who dares to step into the core of my Ge Family never return!"

Upon receiving the order, a sinister smile appeared on Steward Yan Song's face.

He bowed deeply and respectfully to the Association deacon who came to read the search warrant, his attitude so humble it was almost obsequious.

"The two Elders are discerning. My Ge Family is deeply impressed. Please! I will lead the way personally and will certainly cooperate fully with the Association's investigation to clear my Ge Family's name!"

He stepped aside to clear the path, but his eyes flashed with the light of a venomous snake.

Under this eerie "cooperation," the search team slowly stepped into the Ge Family's herb garden, which covered a vast area and was shrouded in faint mist all year round.