Zhou Kai shook his head.

Chen Muhui sneered, “Because it’s said that within the Desolate Herb Garden, there are several key medicinal herbs for refining Foundation Establishment Pills! The Heavenly Spring Sect themselves certainly don’t lack Foundation Establishment Pills, nor do they lack these herbs.

The reason they don’t collect the spirit herbs we gather when they open the Desolate Herb Garden is purely a gesture.”

“Their true purpose is to control the flow of Foundation Establishment Pills! By tightly controlling the Foundation Establishment Pills, they can make these lower families fight tooth and nail for them, remaining utterly loyal and working their lives away for the sect.”

“This Desolate Herb Garden doesn’t have particularly powerful Restrictions; theoretically, one could enter at any time. The reason they set a fifteen-year cycle is simply to control the pace and screen for vassals worth cultivating.”

Chen Muhui picked up his wine cup, took a fierce gulp, and cursed in a low voice, “It’s nothing more than wanting the horse to run fast without letting it eat its fill! They’re afraid that if us vassal families become too strong, we’d be harder to control!”

Zhou Kai pondered and said, “I still don’t quite understand. Why would a Nascent Soul great sect feel that small Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment families are hard to control? For them, wiping them out should be as easy as snapping their fingers, right?”

Upon hearing this, Chen Muhui scoffed, “You’re thinking too simply. Who does the Heavenly Spring Sect care about more? Of course, it’s the Golden Core powers attached to them!”

“And who do those Golden Core powers control? Naturally, the Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation families under them. Think about it. Isn’t this just one link connecting to another?”

After listening, Zhou Kai suddenly understood. “So the Heavenly Spring Sect isn’t targeting us specifically. They’re just making a gesture for the Golden Core powers to see, letting them handle us—the vassals of their vassals.”

“Exactly!” Chen Muhui’s voice rose a bit with the wine’s effect. “We are only nominally vassals of the Heavenly Spring Sect! We’re not truly their own people!”

Indeed, none of these great sects are easy to deal with.

Their methods are layered and intricate.

The atmosphere at the banquet became somewhat strange because of these two heavy pieces of news. Although cups were still clinking and toasts exchanged, many were clearly distracted, their eyes flickering as they calculated something in their minds.

Zhou Kai wasn’t too concerned about these matters. The Desolate Herb Garden might be worth a look. As for Shen Hanyi… three Foundation Establishment Pills were indeed tempting, but one needed to be alive to claim them. That woman gave him a feeling that she was not simple.

For now, improving his own strength was most important.

The banquet lasted until late at night before gradually dispersing.

Just as Zhou Kai was about to get up and leave, a voice called out to him.

“Guest Elder Zhou, please stay a moment.”

Zhou Kai turned to see Fifth Elder Chen Heming.

“Does Fifth Elder have business with me?” Zhou Kai asked.

Fifth Elder’s face showed no expression. “The Patriarch and Sixth Elder request your presence. Come with me.”

Zhou Kai frowned slightly.

Patriarch Chen Rulong? And that newly appointed Sixth Elder Chen Xingze?

He had no dealings with those two. Moreover, today was his first time seeing Chen Xingze. He had only interacted with Chen Heming, who managed the Guest Elder Hall.

“Alright.” Zhou Kai nodded and followed Fifth Elder toward a side hall behind the main hall.

Seated in the main position was Patriarch Chen Rulong. To his left sat the newly promoted Sixth Elder Chen Xingze, and to his right sat those two Heavenly Spring Sect Inner Sect Disciples who had been following Chen Xingze.

Four pairs of eyes simultaneously fell upon Zhou Kai.

Especially Chen Xingze; his gaze was filled with undisguised scrutiny.

Zhou Kai’s heart skipped a beat internally, but his expression remained unchanged on the surface. He cupped his hands toward Chen Rulong. “Greetings to the Patriarch, greetings to Sixth Elder, greetings to you two Seniors.”

Chen Rulong nodded slightly but said nothing.

It was Chen Xingze who spoke.

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze sharp as a knife, fixed tightly on Zhou Kai as he slowly asked, “Guest Elder Zhou, I heard you went to Crouching Tiger Mountain yesterday?”

“And moreover, you returned injured?”

Patriarch Chen Rulong’s face was like still water as he sat upright in the main seat. His fingers unconsciously tapped on the armrests, emitting soft tap-tap sounds that seemed particularly clear in the quiet side hall.

And beside him, those two Heavenly Spring Sect Inner Sect Disciples had even colder gazes.

These people have fast news! Zhou Kai cursed inwardly.

But on the surface, he showed no sign of it. He maintained a respectful posture and even deliberately revealed an appropriate amount of bewilderment and flattered surprise.

“Reporting to Sixth Elder,” Zhou Kai cupped his hands, his tone carrying some confusion. “Yesterday, this junior indeed followed Fifth Elder’s orders and went to the peripheral area of Crouching Tiger Mountain to hunt demon beasts. May I ask why Sixth Elder inquires about this?”

“Hunting demon beasts inevitably involves bumps and scrapes. This junior’s skills are lacking. While entangled with those Horned Swine, I carelessly got my shoulder pierced by a tusk. It’s just some superficial wounds; nothing serious. I appreciate Sixth Elder’s concern.”

“Superficial wounds?” Chen Xingze sneered coldly, leaning forward slightly as a sense of pressure suddenly intensified. “Guest Elder Zhou, you make it sound rather light.”

His gaze was like two tangible bolts of cold lightning piercing toward Zhou Kai. “From what I know, when you returned to the clan yesterday, your steps were unsteady and your face pale. That doesn’t seem like just ‘superficial wounds,’ does it?”

“Moreover, even if a few first-order Horned Swine are troublesome, with Guest Elder Zhou’s years of experience, you shouldn’t have fled back in such disarray just from some superficial wounds?”

Chen Xingze’s voice wasn’t loud, but each word struck home. “Guest Elder Zhou, don’t you think there’s something odd about this?”

The two Heavenly Spring Sect disciples beside him didn’t speak but their eyes grew increasingly unfriendly; faint spiritual power fluctuations emanated from them.

A wry smile appropriately appeared on Zhou Kai’s face. With a hint of helplessness and embarrassment, Zhou Kai bowed slightly lower.

“Sixth Elder sees everything clearly; this junior dares not hide anything.” He sighed and pointed toward his lower abdomen area. “To be honest, this junior’s luck was indeed poor yesterday. Although those Horned Swine were only first-order beasts, there were quite a few of them and they fought fiercely without regard for their lives.”

“While entangled with them and dodging a charge from one Horned Swine, this junior was unfortunately ambushed from the side by another.”

“Sixth Elder knows well that this junior has dull aptitude and low cultivation—only at Qi Condensation fourth layer. My dantian was damaged; whenever I circulate spiritual power even slightly, it feels like needles pricking me—agonizingly painful—and I can barely exert thirty percent of my strength at best.”

Zhou Kai’s voice carried a trace of barely noticeable weakness, as if mentioning this matter aggravated his injury.

“At that time, this junior had no helpers nearby; facing that pack of frenzied Horned Swine, I was hard-pressed on all sides; the situation was truly perilous. Rather than leaving my life there, benefiting those beasts for nothing, it was better to retreat back to the clan first, preserve my life, and plan slowly.”

He spread his hands, his tone even more helpless. “After all, cultivation can be regained, but life… there’s only one chance at that. This junior is someone who values his life.”

This explanation mixed truth with falsehood: it explained why he hurried back despite seemingly minor injuries and attributed the reason to his own “low strength” and being “timid and valuing life”—perfectly matching the image he usually projected in front of everyone in the Chen family.

A Qi Condensation fourth-layer Guest Elder facing a pack of frenzied Horned Swine while unable to use spiritual power chooses to flee to save himself—nothing could be more reasonable than that!

Chen Xingze’s eyes flickered thoughtfully; after pondering briefly he spoke again. “Horned Swine? Guest Elder Zhou, your luck probably isn’t just ordinarily bad.”

He lightly tapped the tabletop with his fingers. “Do you know? Just yesterday, at Crouching Tiger Mountain’s periphery—that’s precisely where my Heavenly Spring Sect disciple was killed by Shen Hanyi!”

“These two Senior Brothers beside me are here precisely under sect orders to assist the Chen family in investigating this matter!”

“You happened to appear at that location at this time; you happened to get injured; you happened to flee back in disarray… Guest Elder Zhou, in all under heaven, are there really so many coincidences?”

He was almost certain: Chen Xingze and these two Heavenly Spring Sect disciples definitely did not have evidence of his contact with Shen Hanyi!

Otherwise, they wouldn’t be questioning now—they would have directly apprehended him already!

He must stick firmly to “coincidence”!

Instantly an expression of utter shock appeared on Zhou Kai’s face; his eyes widened roundly as if hearing something unbelievable.

“What? Shen Hanyi?” His voice even carried a slight tremble as if frightened. “S-Sixth Elder… you mean… yesterday near Crouching Tiger Mountain there was… someone like that big shot?”

He suddenly slapped his thigh; his face showing sudden realization mixed with lingering fear. “No wonder! No wonder!”

“I thought so! Yesterday while fighting those Horned Swine in the mountains, I vaguely seemed to hear earth-shattering booms from afar! That commotion was like thunder! And there was spiritual light shooting into the sky—terrifying!”

“At that time I thought maybe some powerful demon beasts were fighting in the mountains or maybe some heaven-and-earth treasure had appeared!”

Zhou Kai gestured exaggeratedly. “With my level of cultivation how dare I join such excitement? Hearing those noises scared me half out of my wits! My first thought then was run! Get as far away as possible!”

“It must have been because those battle noises were too loud, startling those Horned Swine, making them attack me like madmen! Yes! That must be it!”

His tone sounded convinced followed by another look of lingering fear. “Fortunately this junior ran fast; if any later caught up in such big shots’ conflict, I probably wouldn’t even have ashes left now!”

“As for what criminal Sixth Elder mentioned… this junior truly knows nothing about it! Let alone seeing anything! At that time all focused on escaping; my mind went blank; how dare I look around?”