Chapter 333
Following Xu Ping and Xu An, the other elders of the Ancient Pill Tower also testified, detailing the process of Yu Shi stealing the ‘Ancient Pill Scroll.’
They spared no detail.
They even described what Yu Shi ate on the day he stole the scroll and what he did with Lin Feng as if they had seen it with their own eyes!
Yu Shi was at a loss for words, exclaiming that they were all mad people.
Just as Elder Zheng was beginning to think that Shi Ning and the others indeed showed signs of madness and couldn’t be completely trusted, Jiang Chen suddenly spoke up.
“I have analyzed that the Ancient Pill Scroll was indeed stolen by Yu Shi!”
Analyzed?
What are you analyzing? What does this have to do with you?
Elder Zheng was baffled.
Jiang Chen didn’t feel embarrassed and asked Yu Shi, “May I ask Elder Yu, when was the Ancient Pill Scroll stolen, and was there anything unusual when it was stolen?”Yu Shi didn’t want to respond, but feeling that he couldn’t take the blame for this, he honestly explained, “I do not know when the scroll was stolen. I only discovered it when I went to inspect it before the start of the conference.”
“So, you mean to say there was nothing unusual when the scroll was stolen?” Jiang Chen pressed.
Isn’t that obvious?
If there had been anything unusual, wouldn’t he have known?
After giving Jiang Chen a glare, Yu Shi nodded impatiently.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Jiang Chen smiled faintly and analyzed in detail:
“As everyone knows, the Ancient Pill Scroll is the foundation of the Ancient Pill Tower and is always heavily guarded.”
“For outsiders to steal it, they would first have to break through the Ancient Pill Tower’s sect formation and then pass through the numerous formations protecting the scroll.”
“As far as I know, with the foundation of the Ancient Pill Tower, even a Nirvana realm cultivator would not be able to do so quietly.”
“Is my statement correct?”
The crowd nodded in agreement.
Although the Ancient Pill Tower’s Old Ancestor and the old Tower Master had fallen, leaving the highest cultivation among the tower’s cultivators at the Fate Transformation realm, the millennium foundation was no joke.
Whether it was the Ancient Pill Tower’s protective sect formation or the formations protecting the scroll, they were all high-level formations!
A Nirvana realm cultivator might be able to break them, but definitely not without making a sound.
Yu Shi also felt this made sense and immediately, with a brightened expression, exclaimed, “I know, it was Jiuyan Old Ancestor! Rumor has it that Jiuyan Old Ancestor’s cultivation has surpassed the upper four realms. Only he could have done this!”
Upon hearing this, the people from the Jiuyan Sect’s expressions turned cold.
Before Jiang Chen could speak, Elder Zheng cursed, “Nonsense! With the Empress’s decree in place, all Old Ancestors of the sects are under surveillance by the Imperial Pavilion, avoiding the world! Are you questioning my Imperial Pavilion?”
The Imperial Pavilion, as the supervisory body of the Central Domain, would resolutely enforce the Empress’s decree and monitor everyone.
If it weren’t for this, given Jiuyan Old Ancestor’s character of ‘it’s only wrong if you get caught’, he would have quietly come over to personally make people feel ‘pain’.
The reason why they made such a big move to have the Jiuyan Sect people go out and abduct someone was precisely because they knew that although there weren’t many cultivators in the Imperial Pavilion, they had many means to monitor the movements in the Central Domain.
And Yu Shi’s words were indeed questioning the Imperial Pavilion.
Realizing this, Yu Shi was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and repeatedly said, “I dare not.”
“Hmph! A man with such inclination dares to speak nonsense?!”
After snorting coldly, Elder Zheng allowed Jiang Chen to continue speaking.
With a smug smile, Jiang Chen continued, “Since it’s impossible for an outsider to be the culprit, there must be a traitor among you! And Yu Shi, who holds a high position and is usually responsible for guarding the Ancient Pill Scroll, is a prime suspect!”
“That makes sense,” Elder Zheng nodded, stroking his beard.
The onlookers in the audience also nodded in agreement.
“This is slander! It’s mere speculation without any evidence! Moreover, why would I steal what I am guarding? I can view the Ancient Pill Scroll whenever I want!” Yu Shi retorted.
That did make some sense! Elder Zheng’s face showed contemplation.
Indeed, as Yu Shi said, stealing the Ancient Pill Scroll wouldn’t make much sense for him.
“I indeed have no evidence, just analysis. However, there is one thing that is well-known to everyone,” Jiang Chen said with a shrug.
“What is it?” Elder Zheng pressed.
“The fact is, this Alchemy Conference, while ostensibly a competition among pill refiner masters, is actually a stage prepared by Yu Shi for Lin Feng!” Jiang Chen declared emphatically.
After a brief silence, Elder Zheng asked, puzzled, “What does this have to do with the theft of the Ancient Pill Scroll?”
“Consider this, Elder: if Yu Shi did steal the Ancient Pill Scroll, and the winner of this conference is not me but Lin Feng, what then?” Jiang Chen posed the question.
“This…”
Elder Zheng closed his eyes in deep thought.
If Lin Feng won, he would naturally attract the attention of the Imperial Dynasty and become famous throughout the Central Domain.
Moreover, he would have the opportunity to view the Ancient Pill Scroll…
Wait a minute! A light bulb went off in Elder Zheng’s head.
If Lin Feng viewed the Ancient Pill Scroll, since he’s one of their own, he certainly wouldn’t expose the fact that the scroll was stolen.
At that point, the matter would only be investigated internally within the Ancient Pill Tower.
And as everyone knows, Yu Shi holds absolute power within the Ancient Pill Tower, so how the investigation proceeds would be up to him.
As a result, it’s likely that the matter would be swept under the rug!
Indeed, Yu Shi may not need to steal the scroll for himself, but he could give it to his ‘beloved disciple’!
Keep in mind that although the winner of the conference gets to view the Ancient Pill Scroll, there is a time limit.
Furthermore, the Way of the Pill requires talent, understanding, and experience.
It’s impossible for even a cultivator with a good memory to digest all the information in the Ancient Pill Scroll in a short time.
In contrast, being able to study the Ancient Pill Scroll over several days would be much more beneficial!
At this moment, a suspicion arose in Elder Zheng’s mind.
A conspiracy!
This entire conference was a sham from the start, orchestrated by Yu Shi.
There was no Ancient Pill Scroll, and the winner had already been predetermined to be Lin Feng.
The purpose was to cover up the theft of the Ancient Pill Scroll!
But Yu Shi hadn’t anticipated not only did Shi Ning and others go mad one after another, but the competing pill refiner masters also disapproved of the master and disciple’s conduct, leading to some quitting and others causing their furnaces to explode.
In the end, the title of the conference winner fell upon Jiang Chen!
“Hiss—”
Elder Zheng took a sharp breath.
What a grand scheme!
What a massive cover-up!
Perhaps even he was just a pawn in Yu Shi’s eyes!
Of course, Elder Zheng didn’t fully believe this, as there was no evidence and it was all speculation.
But does that matter?
It doesn’t!
After all, as an Elder of the Imperial Dynasty, the theft of the Ancient Pill Scroll had nothing to do with him.
And with too many madmen around, for the sake of his own life, he wanted to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.
Moreover, since Yu Shi and Lin Feng were now the targets of public criticism, punishing them would also serve to demonstrate his own righteousness to a certain extent.
Definitely not a loss!
With these thoughts, Elder Zheng stood up abruptly and roared, his voice echoing around: “How dare you, Yu Shi, to steal it for yourself?!?!”
“????”
Hearing this, Yu Shi was full of question marks.
He wanted to explain, but there was no chance.
As soon as Elder Zheng finished speaking, Shi Ning, along with the other elders of the Ancient Pill Tower, leaped up and landed in front of Yu Shi.
“According to our rules, your cultivation must be destroyed!” Shi Ning, holding a spiritual sword, had coldness in her eyes.
The other elders were also eager to fight, showing a murderous intent.
They had been waiting for this moment for a long time!
If it weren’t for seeing that Jiang Chen wanted to participate in the conference, Yu Shi would have been destroyed long ago!
“Elder, save me!” Feeling the intense killing intent, Yu Shi cried out to Elder Zheng for help.
“This matter has nothing to do with me. It’s an internal affair of the Ancient Pill Tower. Do as you please.” With that, Elder Zheng left with a flick of his sleeve.