202: Track down the real culprit

[The seventh day,]

[Liu Ruyan unexpectedly came out of seclusion.]

[She sat at the head of the living room, her complexion slightly withered, yet she forced herself to maintain composure—this was clearly a sign of failing to suppress the poison.]

[It seemed the poison had already begun to spread within her body.]

["Xiang Jie is dead? Why wasn't I informed in time?" she asked in a low voice.]

[Xiang Jie was the real name of Eunuch Xiang.]

[Xiang Jie was not only Liu Ruyan's confidant, but the Xiang Family behind him, as a cultivation Family, was also attached to the Liu Clan Immortal Family.]

["This subordinate only learned of the news after the fact. But since you, Young Miss, were in seclusion, I did not dare to disturb you rashly." You replied with a serious expression.]

[In her eyes, you were only at the Heavenly Human Realm, so it was normal for you to be unaware of many things.]

[If she knew you were already a Nascent Soul Cultivator, yet allowed Xiang Jie to meet with an accident right under your nose, that would be suspicious.]

[She took a deep breath and instructed indifferently: "Go collect some medical classics for me, and at the same time, find out the cause of Xiang Jie's death."]

[After a brief pause, she added: "This matter should not be publicized, understand?"]

["Understood!" You nodded solemnly to accept the order.]

[After giving these instructions, she returned to continue her seclusion.]

[At this moment, her heart was filled with confusion regarding the cause of the poisoning.]

[She truly could not understand why she had suddenly been poisoned after arriving at the Tianhuang Secret Realm.]

[She was not proficient in the Poison Dao.]

[Was this poison lying dormant for a long time, or was it contracted only after arriving at the Tianhuang Secret Realm?]

[In a massive cultivation Family like the Liu Clan, internal strife was far more brutal than imperial power struggles; it all boiled down to two words—resources!]

[As the person most valued by the Second Elder Liu Jinfeng, and also one of the ten great prodigies heavily cultivated by the Liu Clan Immortal Family, it was perfectly normal to be envied by certain clansmen.]

[Open spears are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against. Poisoning was indeed the best method to get rid of her; she knew this clearly.]

[Therefore, she had always acted with caution, yet she did not expect to be caught off guard inexplicably this time.]

[She did not suspect that the "blood spirit pill" she refined had any problems—after all, she had refined it herself, and it had never gone wrong in the past.]

[What puzzled her most was that this poison was very strange: it would not take her life, but it would completely cripple her cultivation, making it impossible to mobilize her Nascent Soul Power.]

[If it were really someone from within the Family who acted, they should have directly sought to kill her.]

[This also left her completely baffled.]

[The tenth day,]

[During these days, you transformed into someone else's appearance, carefully visited various places, and collected a large number of medical classics through coercion and inducement, finally delivering them to Liu Ruyan.]

[Looking at the mountain of classics, she rarely showed a look of approval: "Well done. Work hard, and I will definitely not treat you unfairly in the future."]

[Logically speaking—since you had been "implanted" with a Slave Contract by her, she did not need to go to such trouble. Being able to say such words meant she truly recognized your ability to get things done.]

[You didn't care about this—because only you could cure this poison.]

[At this moment, you suddenly had a new realization regarding the three lessons of the Poison Dao Academy: testing poison with the body, dissolving poison with the body, and the unity of person and poison.]

[You suddenly realized—it turned out that the highest Realm of the Poison Dao lay in creating a unique poison.]

[Because to cure a poison, one must know the source and characteristics of the poison. Only by personally testing the poison, turning the poison to one's own use, and reaching the Realm of the unity of person and poison, could one create a unique Poison Dao that no one could cure.]

[It was a pity that there was no detailed memory of those three lectures.]

[You made a secret resolution to definitely go to the Poison Dao Academy for systematic study in the future.]

[You vaguely felt that your own Poison Dao Divine Ability would truly take shape at the Poison Dao Academy. Thinking of this, your heart was filled with anticipation—]

[If your Poison Dao Divine Ability could erode the Law Domain, or even devour the Origin—what an astonishing sight that would be.]

[The fifteenth day,]

[Liu Ruyan found you to ask about the progress.]

["Why is there still no clue about the cause of Xiang Jie's death?" Her tone carried displeasure.]

["This subordinate is incompetent. Judging from the situation at the scene, it is very likely that some Heavenly Human Realm expert took action. If such a person intends to hide, this subordinate cannot think of a good way to investigate for the time being." You answered respectfully and seriously.]

["Bring all the eyewitnesses from that time here; I want to interrogate them personally." Liu Ruyan ordered indifferently.]

["Yes!" You immediately agreed.]

[At the same time, you sighed inwardly—in the previous two simulations, your high-profile actions attracted Liu Ruyan's attention, allowing these eyewitnesses to escape a disaster. Now that you chose to be low-key, they had to face catastrophe.]

[This was also reasonable: if someone killed your subordinate, you would also pursue it to the end.]

[Soon, you transformed into the appearance of an old man, displayed your Heavenly Human Realm cultivation, and brought all the involved parties into the courtyard with decisive and swift methods.]

[The courtyard was crowded with people, including the little emperor, Huang Yi, Fang Chen, Steward Jia, the commander of the imperial guards, and hundreds of guards, a total of several hundred people.]

[Liu Ruyan scanned the crowd, her voice cold: "Today, only one person can leave alive."]

[These words made everyone gasp—the Heavenly Human Realm strength you displayed when capturing them had already deeply shocked them, and yet someone like you was actually just this Young Miss's subordinate.]

[The courtyard was suddenly in an uproar:]

["This Young Miss, what mistake have we actually made?"]

["Even if you have heaven-reaching means, you cannot kill the innocent indiscriminately!"]

[Liu Ruyan glanced at you, and you immediately understood, raising your hand to condense the energy of heaven and earth—]

[Several silver blades broke through the air, instantly beheading those noisy people—their heads rolled to the ground, covered in dust, with endless fear frozen in their eyes.]

[This move made everyone gasp—you would really kill people!!!]

[You felt helpless in your heart: either you enter the tribulation yourself, or you let these people bear the consequences. If you exposed your strength at this time, it would be equivalent to telling Liu Ruyan that these people were your weakness.]

[Unless you possessed the absolute strength to rewrite the rules and could trample everyone under your feet.]

[A look of determination flashed in your eyes: If you do not bear small things, you will spoil great plans. This time, you must improve your strength as soon as possible and completely resolve the hidden danger of the Liu Clan.]

[Just listening to Liu Ruyan say indifferently: "Remember, there is only one chance. Whoever can name the true culprit who killed Xiang Jie will be able to survive."]

[Fang Chen immediately pointed at Huang Yi: "It's him! He did it!"]

[Liu Ruyan glanced indifferently: "What I want is the person who actually took action."]

[Fang Chen hurriedly added: "Then it must have something to do with him!"]

["That's right! That's right!" A few people echoed one after another.]

[Liu Ruyan looked at Huang Yi: "You only have one chance. Tell me who helped you kill Xiang Jie."]

[Huang Yi's gaze was determined, and he smiled indifferently: "If you want to kill, then kill. You high and mighty experts treat human life like grass, and sooner or later you will face retribution."]

[Liu Ruyan turned to you, her voice cold and ruthless: "Execute all the others. Cut off this person's four limbs and hang him on the city gate."]

["I want to see who dares to touch my people." Her words were filled with bone-chilling coldness.]