To everyone's surprise, Elder Wei didn't shove all the blame onto Elder Qiu.
His voice was hoarse but rang clearly through the grand hall.
"Reporting to Sect Master, Junior Brother Qiu did secretly drug me. I'd already noticed it while I was in seclusion."
He drew in a sharp breath before continuing, his eyes fixed on the Sect Master.
"But the drug he used wasn't lethal poison, it wasn't enough to shatter my life tablet. The reason I was gravely injured, with my life tablet flaring warnings, was because I sensed someone else had made an even more vicious move. I had no choice but to use a secret art to fake death and escape, hoping to lure out the real culprit."
His words admitted that Elder Qiu had indeed used poison, but stripped away the crime of "murder." He reframed it as infighting and pinned the true killing intent on an unseen enemy hidden in the shadows.
Elder Wei's tone grew heavy. "Still, Junior Brother Qiu hoarded forbidden drugs, tampered with records, and neglected his duties, which led to many disciples being poisoned and caused a catastrophe for the sect. That sin can't be excused! As the peak lord, it was my failure to notice in time. Sect Master, please punish me as well!"
With that, he turned a charge of murder against a peak lord into internal strife and gross negligence. He gave the Sect Master and everyone else a way out.
The Sect Master's deep gaze lingered on Elder Wei, then flicked toward Elder Qiu, whose face was ashen as death. A trace of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.
After all, even if Elder Wei hadn't spoken up, he'd already planned to spare Elder Qiu's life and cultivation!
For a second-rate sect like Qingxi Sect, a Golden Core elder was a crucial force. To cripple one would hurt the sect's overall strength.
Elder Wei's move, though framed as admitting fault, was in truth a step back to advance further. He'd stabilized Alchemy Peak, preserved its vitality, and shifted suspicion outward, hinting that a far more dangerous enemy still lurked within the sect.
"In that case…" The Sect Master's voice rumbled with authority after a moment's thought. "Elder Qiu, for hoarding forbidden drugs, plotting against your fellow, neglecting your duties, and causing disaster, you'll be punished for multiple crimes. But considering your years of service refining pills for the sect, and the fact you're not the mastermind behind Elder Wei's near-death…
Your punishment will be eighty years of confinement at the Cliff of Reflection to ponder your mistakes! All of your positions will be stripped away!"
For a Golden Core cultivator, eighty years of isolation was long, but it wasn't a death sentence. His cultivation wouldn't be crippled, and Alchemy Peak's core legacy wasn't completely cut off.
Heavy but not fatal, harsh but not crippling.
"As for the real culprit behind Elder Wei's attempted murder," the Sect Master's gaze swept across the hall with icy pressure, "the Law Enforcement Hall must investigate thoroughly. No leniency!"
But everyone knew the truth.
Finding this so-called "real culprit" wasn't going to be easy. No clues, no evidence, just Elder Wei's word. Whether the case was solved or left unsolved depended less on facts and more on Elder Wei's intentions and the power struggles of the sect's upper ranks. Most likely, it would end as a cold case—a constant reminder of the hidden dangers festering within the sect.
The dust settled, and the balance of power shifted.
Elder Wei's return instantly steadied the near-collapsing Alchemy Peak. He regained the seat of peak lord, but Alchemy Peak's reputation was in ruins. Its strength had taken a huge blow, its vitality crippled. From the leading peak, it had fallen hard, its former glory gone.
The Sect Master also realized the old balance had shattered.
To restrain every side and prevent any peak from becoming too dominant, he discussed with several core elders and made a major decision: Formation Peak, which had rendered great service and proved its strength during this incident, would be elevated to stand equal with Artifact Peak, Medicine Peak, and Alchemy Peak.
But Formation Peak's rise wasn't smooth.
By carving away power and resources that originally belonged to the three peaks, it instantly drew their vigilance and faint rejection. Although Elder Chou achieved her goal of raising Formation Peak's status, she was now in the spotlight, forced to handle constant scrutiny and potential joint suppression from the others.
…
In a quiet residence, Xie Zhaolin leaned lazily against a window, her fingers tapping the frame in a careless rhythm.
Mo Yan softly recounted the final outcome in the hall.
When he finished, Xie Zhaolin showed little reaction. She just yawned, looking as if she'd heard a trivial, boring story unrelated to herself.
"Four-way restraint… heh, it's barely acceptable," she murmured, her tone impossible to read—neither satisfied nor disappointed.
After all the scheming, the result wasn't beyond her expectations.
Elder Wei was clever, weighing gains and losses. He knew sparing Elder Qiu meant preserving Alchemy Peak's foundation and keeping a chip for future revenge.
Even more perceptive than she'd thought. She had expected him, facing a traitor who nearly cost his life, to at least hesitate, to struggle before ultimately sparing him. She hadn't thought he'd cut so cleanly, so decisively. His ruthlessness and patience made her regard him more highly.
Still, as long as Elder Qiu lived, others with ill intentions had room to exploit.
Like her. Like…
Elder Chou.
Xie Zhaolin's gaze lifted as Elder Chou silently appeared in her courtyard. She wore the robes of an Formation Peak elder as always, but this was the first time she'd visited in broad daylight without bothering to hide.
Mo Yan's figure tensed, moving in front of Xie Zhaolin without a sound, brows furrowed.
"Elder Chou, aren't you afraid of suspicion, coming openly like this?"
Instead of anger, Elder Chou only smiled meaningfully.
"At this point, is there any need to pretend?" Her tone was calm. "Formation Peak's just risen. With four peaks now standing side by side, I visit an elder who's not tied to any faction in the sect, to talk about formations and pills, to show goodwill. What's wrong with that? Who could object?"
"You're not worried Elder Wei will suspect that evidence came from you?" Mo Yan pressed.
"Of course he'll suspect." Elder Chou didn't even try to deny it. "But he has no proof. And his focus will be on you."
Her gaze sharpened, locking onto Mo Yan. "A mysterious outsider elder, with unfathomable cultivation, who just happened to produce such damning evidence… Elder Mo, your true purpose is what he'll be most desperate to uncover now and in the future.
As for me," Elder Chou spread her hands with an open smile, "I simply went with the flow. I gained some benefits, but got pushed into the open. Now I've got a headache, dealing with the faint alliance of the other three peaks. So I came to seek out a potential ally, to vent some complaints and discuss countermeasures. Isn't that reasonable?"
Xie Zhaolin looked at the smiling Formation Peak peak lord, knowing full well this woman was far trickier than Elder Wei.
Others might hesitate, but not her.
She was ruthless in calculation, thick-skinned, quick to adapt, and bold enough to come knocking directly. Even though both sides knew the truth…
Alchemy Peak's downfall had Mo Yan's fingerprints all over it.