A playful glint flashed through Xie Zhaolin's eyes. "Oh? Tell me the details."
Mo Yan lowered his voice. "Just as you predicted, Elder Wei and Elder Qiu really did have a falling out. Word is, during the Alchemy Peak internal meeting, Elder Wei suddenly lost control of his emotions. He lashed out at Elder Qiu, accusing him of mismanaging things and causing unfair distribution of resources on Alchemy Peak."
Xie Zhaolin let out a soft laugh. "Looks like that powder worked nicely."
She paused, then asked, "And after that?"
"The other elders rushed in to mediate, so things got suppressed in the end," Mo Yan said, with a faint trace of regret. "If word spread that the elders of Alchemy Peak were at odds, the other peaks would seize the chance to stir trouble and snatch more resources. So on the surface, the two of them are still putting up a good show of harmony."
Xie Zhaolin nodded thoughtfully. "As expected. Those old foxes are best at smiling in front while stabbing from behind." She tapped her finger lightly, her eyes gleaming with amusement. "Since that's the case… let's add more fuel to the fire."
Pulling out a jade slip, she contacted Liu Feng and Lin Ziye.
"There's something I need you two to handle."
"Please, master, give the order."
A sharp light flickered in her gaze. "Spread some whispers. Say Elder Wei's temper seems a lot worse than before, that he snaps over the smallest things."
She paused, then added, "And casually mention that Elder Qiu's alchemy has improved again, his pills are even better than before."
"Understood."
"Remember, it has to sound natural, like idle chatter, not deliberate."
When the transmission ended, Xie Zhaolin didn't speak right away. She just stared quietly toward Alchemy Peak, her eyes lost in thought. Mo Yan stood silently nearby, careful not to disturb her.
The hall fell into silence, broken only by the occasional whisper of the wind outside.
A long while later, she finally turned back.
"Mo Yan," her voice dropped low, "what do you think a man who can suppress the grief of losing family fears the most?"
Mo Yan thought for a moment. "He fears losing control. Especially control over his emotions and judgment."
A faint smile tugged at her lips. His answer pleased her.
She knew Elder Wei far too well.
A man who can keep a calm facade through grief like that has terrifying self-control. But the more self-controlled a person is, the faster he collapses when a crack appears. Right now, Elder Wei must've already realized his emotions are off. All she had to do was give him a "reasonable" suspect.
She walked to her desk and drew out another jade slip. It was intelligence Mo Yan had gathered when she first joined the sect, a detailed record of Alchemy Peak's history, especially the rivalry between Elder Wei and Elder Qiu.
Back then, during the fight for Alchemy Peak's leadership, Elder Qiu's alchemy was undoubtedly superior. Everyone thought he'd become the peak lord.
But Elder Wei won by relying on clever networking and schemes.
Since then, Elder Qiu devoted himself to alchemy and steadily improved, while Elder Wei got stuck in endless sect affairs. His cultivation and alchemy stagnated. That growing gap had long since become a thorn buried deep in his heart.
Now, Liu Feng's vague whispers were enough to set his shaken mind spinning.
Could Elder Qiu have been tampering with pills or using a secret technique to cloud his judgment? Were his recent bursts of temper Elder Qiu's handiwork? Was he deliberately making him lose face?
Once that thought took root, Elder Wei would start reexamining every detail.
Didn't he smell something strange at that meeting? Didn't he feel unsettled after taking Elder Qiu's pills? And what if… what if Elder Qiu had something to do with Wei Qingwu's death?
Making a man doubt his own mind is deadlier than framing him outright.
The trick was subtlety.
Every clue had to remain ambiguous, every "evidence" half-convincing, so he'd sink deeper and deeper into his own suspicions until he collapsed entirely.
Even if the rumors felt sudden, Elder Wei's mind was already shaken. No matter how rational he tried to be, he couldn't keep his clarity forever.
And once the seed of doubt was planted, it would grow and grow.
He'd wonder if Elder Qiu wanted to seize power, if Elder Qiu was scheming behind the scenes, if Elder Qiu…
She sneered inwardly. She wanted to see just how long the calm and collected Alchemy Peak lord could keep his composure once he doubted his own mind, his right-hand man, and even his sanity. What choices would he make? And how would Elder Qiu react?
After Mo Yan withdrew, Xie Zhaolin pulled out the thousand-year-old Purple Cloud Ginseng from her storage ring.
It was the main ingredient for refining the Purple Heaven Thunder Origin Pill, miraculous for repairing thunder tribulation damage and enhancing thunder arts. If refined, its value would skyrocket. With a thousand-year specimen, no wonder sects had fought bitterly over it.
After all, a pill made from such a treasure was basically another life during tribulation.
For her, whose Xuanyin Foundation Technique doubled the power of thunder tribulations, this was her shield. But she also knew, in her current situation, finding a trustworthy alchemist capable of handling this treasure was impossible.
As the former young sect master of the Hehuan Sect, she'd studied a little alchemy, but only for low-level pills. She couldn't even dream of touching something like Purple Cloud Ginseng.
"I'll need to find a way to contract a high-rank alchemist someday," she thought silently.
She carefully put the ginseng away, then pulled out the Nine Nether Ice Lotus and the other spiritual plants she'd taken from the Fusang secret realm.
Thanks to Zhou Zhilán, she'd used the excuse of "being under her protection and too timid to fight for resources" to avoid handing these over to the sect.
They couldn't be refined into pills, but absorbing them directly still boosted her cultivation. Right now, nothing mattered more than raising her strength.
With Yu Xiaotang's cunning, it was highly likely she'd already guessed the black-robed figure was her.
Before being exposed, she had to at least break through to Golden Core. Only then would she have the strength to protect herself, even in the Demon Realm. Sitting cross-legged, she formed seals with her hands. One by one, the spirit plants dissolved into pure energy, flowing into her body.
Time slipped away. Her aura grew denser, her cultivation in the late Foundation stage steadily climbing toward its peak. She could feel it—only one step away from the summit. With more effort or a stroke of fortune, the breakthrough would come naturally.
She rose and stretched, her body feeling lighter than ever. The power-up didn't just strengthen her, it sharpened her senses of heaven and earth as well.
Just then, a clear knock sounded at the door.