Profound Heaven Soul Sovereign

"What a fine way to ’uphold justice.’" Ye Xuan sneered. He ignored Hongde and addressed the crowd, "Everyone, I believe you are all furious right now. But to uncover the truth, shouldn’t you give Xiuyi Pavilion one more chance? Don’t let yourselves be manipulated by certain people with ulterior motives."

Xu Wenlin said angrily, "Who are you calling someone with ulterior motives? Didn’t everyone see the previous inspection? Flowery words!"

Ye Xuan ignored Xu Wenlin and continued, "This is my first time in Celestial Capital Prefecture, and it’s the first time any of you have seen me. But that’s alright. I trust you’ll all be hearing my name soon enough. I am Xuan Ye. I’d like to ask for a chance, a chance for all of you to learn the real truth. Trust me, it won’t take longer than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. If I can’t find the truth within that time, you can all smash, raid, and plunder this Xiuyi Pavilion. How about it?"

Ye Xuan’s words gradually calmed the crowd. Su Xiuyi’s eye twitched.

"Hmph. Everyone, don’t be fooled by him," Xu Wenlin sneered. "This person is just trying to stall for time. Xiuyi Pavilion isn’t his. Do his words even count?"

Everyone turned to look at Su Xiuyi.

A glint flashed in Su Xiuyi’s eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "Xuan Ye’s words are my words. I hope you all will give him a little time. If he can’t find the truth, I, Xiuyi Pavilion, will compensate everyone and shut our doors for good."

"Pavilion Master!" Jiang Huarong and Changyuan exclaimed in shock.

Su Xiuyi took a deep breath. "Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing."

He had no other choice. Even Elder Yao couldn’t find the source of the problem. The situation had become extremely dire.

The opposition had come so aggressively; they must have been fully prepared. If he didn’t uncover the truth now, his Xiuyi Pavilion would be swallowed up sooner or later.

The crowd gradually calmed down.

"Fine, we’ll give Xiuyi Pavilion one last chance."

"It’s only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. It’s not like Xiuyi Pavilion can run away."

"Master Hongde and the others are reacting so strongly. Could there really be a conspiracy?"

From within the crowd, Jiuchen and his companions also spoke up, helping to buy Xiuyi Pavilion a chance.

"Who was that?" Xu Wenlin and his group turned their heads, their expressions cold. But the voices of those who had spoken were ethereal, their source impossible to pinpoint.

With this, the crowd’s anger gradually subsided.

"Fine. We’ll give you one last chance." Left with no choice, Xu Wenlin sneered, "But this is the last one. If you can’t provide an explanation this time, nothing you say will matter."

Su Xiuyi didn’t speak, just looked at Ye Xuan and said in a heavy voice, "Xuan Ye, it’s all on you now."

Ye Xuan smiled. "Don’t worry. Just finding the source of the problem? Nothing could be simpler."

His voice was relaxed, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, which only made Su Xiuyi more nervous. Changyuan and the others from Xiuyi Pavilion were also sweating, their hands clenched tight. They couldn’t understand why the Pavilion Master would pin all his hopes on this young man.

Xu Wenlin and Hongde, however, just watched with cold sneers on their faces, as if looking at a clown.

They didn’t believe a boy like Ye Xuan could find anything.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Ye Xuan picked up the poisoned Miasma Origin Pill, glanced at it, and then suddenly tossed it into his mouth.

"Ah?"

The entire crowd jumped in fright. Many of them clamped their hands over their mouths, staring at Ye Xuan in horror.

"To inspect a Poison Pill like this, you have to experience it personally to get a real feel for it, of course."

Ye Xuan smacked his lips, closed his eyes, and actually began to savor it. It was as if he were tasting some kind of delicacy.

Everyone was dumbfounded. Even Xu Wenlin and Hongde were startled, but they quickly recovered, a cold smirk appearing on their lips as they waited for Ye Xuan to die from the poison.

Yun Aoxue and her companions also instinctively covered their mouths, their eyes glued to him, their expressions tense.

A few breaths passed.

Suddenly, Ye Xuan started convulsing, and white foam frothed from his mouth.

"Haha, he’s poisoned! The guy’s been poisoned!" Xu Wenlin burst out laughing. "Pavilion Master Su, is this Xiuyi Pavilion’s final inspection? Testing the poison with one’s own body—how unique! Hahaha."

Su Xiuyi and the others were horrified.

"Young Master Ye, are you alright?" Elder Yao was the first to rush forward in a panic.

"THUD."

But before Elder Yao could reach him, Ye Xuan had already fallen flat on his back, stiff as a board. His face turned black. From the looks of it, he couldn’t be more dead.

"Ah!"

"Someone’s been poisoned to death!"

"That guy..."

Everyone was stunned, gaping in disbelief. This young man had tested the Miasma Origin Pill and ended up testing himself to death. How could anyone be so idiotic?

The eyes of the people from Xiuyi Pavilion filled with despair.

"Haha! Pavilion Master Su, what do you have to say for yourself now?" Xu Wenlin shouted coldly, his face full of ridicule as he strode forward.

He threw his arm in the air and yelled, "Everyone, let’s tear down this Xiuyi Pavilion and bring justice to Celestial Capital Prefecture!"

Master Hongde shook his head and sighed sorrowfully, "He truly brought this upon himself. A self-inflicted doom."

Su Xiuyi’s face was pale. He had no idea what to do.

Just as Xu Wenlin and his men were about to make their move, a clear voice suddenly rang out.

"Ahem, excuse me, everyone, but the time it takes for a cup of tea doesn’t seem to be up yet, does it? What do you think you’re doing?"

"Young Master Ye, you..."

Elder Yao, who had been anxiously examining Ye Xuan, jumped in fright and scrambled back.

The same Ye Xuan who had been foaming at the mouth with a blackened face just moments ago suddenly stood up, looking as if nothing had happened at all.

"Gah!"

Everyone jumped back in alarm, their faces filled with terror.

"Are you a man or a ghost?"

"Weren’t you just poisoned to death?"

The crowd stared blankly, while Xu Wenlin and Master Hongde also wore expressions of utter disbelief.

Ye Xuan smacked his lips. "Er, that Poison Pill was so delicious, it made me accidentally fall asleep. Is there really a need for all of you to make such a fuss?"

Everyone was left speechless. So delicious he fell asleep? Was this kid joking? Because this joke wasn’t funny at all.

Yun Aoxue and her companions, who had been about to rush out, stopped in their tracks, stunned. They were so relieved they could have cried, but they were also angry. "That damn bastard, he scared us to death."

Their hearts had nearly leaped out of their chests. They kept patting their chests to calm themselves.

"Alright, let’s get back to business." Ye Xuan’s expression suddenly turned serious. "I know what’s wrong with this Miasma Origin Pill. This Miasma Origin Pill is indeed different from Xiuyi Pavilion’s. Someone must have deliberately concocted it to frame them."

"What? It’s really different?"

The crowd was shocked and disbelieving, their faces full of suspicion.

Elder Yao said, overjoyed, "Young Master Ye, you figured it out?"

"Of course I did. These two Pills, just as you analyzed yourself, are actually identical in terms of ingredients. The difference isn’t the ingredients, but something else."

Master Hongde said angrily, "Nonsense! If the ingredients are the same, how can they be different? Stop trying to be mysterious."

Although he said this, the mockery in his eyes vanished, replaced by a grave expression.

He knew exactly how terrifyingly toxic the Miasma Origin Pill was.

A regular Tier Six Peak Martial Venerable would die instantly after taking it. Even a Tier Seven Martial King would show symptoms of poisoning. But this young man was completely fine after consuming it. It completely overturned his understanding of the world.

Ye Xuan sneered, "You’re just a fraud to begin with, so how would you know the subtleties? The ingredients of these two Pills are the same. What’s different is the heat control during the refinement process."

Heat control?

The crowd was puzzled. Since they weren’t Alchemists, they found it hard to understand.

Ye Xuan smiled and said, "Everyone, let me give you an example. Alchemy is like cooking. Take the same vegetable. Before it’s cooked, it’s raw and not as nutritious. If it’s half-cooked, it’s underdone and tastes bad. But if you cook it to perfection, it’s just right—the best quality. But if you overcook it, it gets burnt and turns into garbage."

"Alchemy follows the same principle. The Miasma Origin Pill has a main ingredient called Flower Bud Powder. This material requires extremely precise heat control. If it’s over-refined, it produces a toxin that is harmful to one’s health."

Just then, someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed, "You’re talking about Flower Poison!"

The crowd turned to look and let out a collective gasp. It turned out this person was also an Alchemist named Zhen Tong. His alchemy level was as high as Sixth Grade, and he was quite famous in the West District, though he hadn’t shown his face until now.

Ye Xuan smiled. "This master is correct. It is indeed Flower Poison."

At this moment, Hongde suddenly said coldly, "The fact that over-refining Flower Bud Powder produces Flower Poison is common knowledge among all Alchemists. But while Flower Poison is a toxin, its toxicity is very low. At most, it will only cause some discomfort, not kill someone. How do you explain that?"

Zhen Tong nodded. "Master Hongde is right. Although Flower Poison is a toxin, its toxicity is not high. It generally can’t kill someone."

Ye Xuan chuckled. "Simple Flower Poison certainly won’t kill anyone. The key is that the person who refined this Miasma Origin Pill was extremely malicious. During the refinement process, they added an extra portion of Purple Essence Liquid. Purple Essence Liquid is also one of the ingredients for the Miasma Origin Pill, but normally, the standard amount of Purple Essence Liquid would be completely integrated into the pill. With an extra portion added, it immediately reacted with the toxin from the Flower Bud Powder, turning into a deadly poison."

Master Hongde snorted again. "Aren’t you being a bit alarmist? They are all just ingredients. What difference does one extra portion make? If it could really produce such a deadly poison, how could a pill formula like this even exist on the continent? Aren’t you being a bit foolish?"

Ye Xuan sneered. "You’re the foolish one, aren’t you? As a supposed Seventh Grade Alchemist, you don’t understand how the amount of ingredients affects a Pill? Oh, that’s right. I forgot. You’re a fake."

"You..." Master Hongde’s expression changed. He snorted coldly, "Such a glib tongue."