The next day.

Qi Yuan arrived early for his shift at the herb garden, appearing completely unperturbed, as if nothing had happened.

The strongest cultivator in the Outer Sect, Mo Zhengyang, was only at the late Golden Core stage—a minor realm below Qi Yuan’s own. This was precisely why he had dared to infiltrate Spirit Beast Peak so brazenly the previous night.

Although there had been a slightly awkward incident in the middle, it was ultimately inconsequential. He had successfully completed his mission, so he was in a good mood. After greeting a few herb garden disciples who passed by, he made his way to the patch of Jade Leaf Grass.

Looking out, the field contained well over a hundred thousand Jade Leaf Grass plants, lush and vibrant, thriving splendidly. Beyond that, there was nothing unusual.

Qi Yuan picked up a water bucket, fetched water from the nearby spirit spring, and began watering the spirit field with practiced ease. Whenever he encountered spirit plants that looked a bit wilted, he deliberately gave them a few extra splashes.

Mindful of Lin Zhen’s warning, he pretended to be nonchalant while secretly sharpening his focus, scanning the spirit field for any suspicious plants.

However, even after he finished watering the entire field, he hadn’t found a single trace of anything unusual. Everything in sight was just ordinary Jade Leaf Grass.

Although he had found nothing, Qi Yuan still sensed something was off.

Someone was watching him.

This attention was extremely well-concealed. If he hadn’t been highly focused at that moment, with his senses fully attuned to his surroundings, he might not have noticed it at all.

Who?

Could it be an expert from Falling Cloud Valley?

Qi Yuan’s eyes sharpened. To spy on him so silently and undetectably was no simple feat; it had to be someone at least at the Nascent Soul realm or above.

While internally on high alert, he showed no change on the surface. As usual, after watering the field, he returned the bucket to its place and sat down under a tree beside the spirit field. He slowly began absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy, pretending to cultivate.

Sure enough, once he left the spirit field area, that faint, almost imperceptible sense of being watched vanished immediately, as if it had never existed.

This further confirmed Qi Yuan’s suspicion.

The mysterious watcher wasn’t specifically targeting him; they were monitoring this spirit field!

But if it was someone from Falling Cloud Valley, why didn’t this person intervene when the Servant Disciple named Wen Tao was secretly picking Jade Leaf Grass?

Qi Yuan frowned inwardly. After pondering for a long time, he decided to hold his position for now.

Compared to some elusive ten-thousand-year spirit medicine, what concerned him more right now was whether he could continue hiding his identity within Falling Cloud Valley until he completed his current tasks.

Just then, a familiar, graceful figure approached from afar. With fair features like jade and eyes like autumn water, her demeanor was serene and elegant. It was none other than Bai Xirou, the Senior Sister of the Inner Sect.

“Greetings, Senior Sister.”

Upon seeing who it was, Qi Yuan immediately stood up and cupped his hands in greeting.

“Junior Brother Qi.”

Bai Xirou stopped her light steps before Qi Yuan and nodded slightly. A look of concern appeared in her beautiful eyes. “How have you been these past few days working in the herb garden? Are you getting used to it?”

Her voice was clear and pleasant, like pearls falling onto a jade plate—extremely melodious.

Qi Yuan quickly put on an expression of being overwhelmed by favor. “Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister. I’m doing quite well here.”

Bai Xirou’s arrival had attracted quite a bit of attention. Many herb garden disciples were curiously looking their way, especially some of the male disciples, whose gazes toward Qi Yuan were full of envy.

“I’m glad to hear you’re happy.”

Bai Xirou nodded slightly, a faint smile blooming at the corner of her mouth.

Then, her expression turned serious as she shifted her gaze to the spirit field not far away. Her tone became solemn.

“I know you and Lin Zhen were framed yesterday. Although the innocent party publicly cleared their name in the end and didn’t let those wicked individuals succeed… still, an incident like this is a scandal for our sect.”

“So, after investigating and clarifying the truth, the Enforcement Hall chose to cut the knot swiftly. They only pursued responsibility against the specific individuals involved and didn’t extend punishment too broadly.”

Qi Yuan paused for a moment before asking with confusion, “How so?”

Bai Xirou let out a soft sigh and explained slowly.

“Servant Disciple Wen Tao stole spirit herbs from the herb garden without permission. His punishment is having his cultivation crippled and being expelled from the sect.”

“The newly entered Servant Disciple Liu Yingying intentionally placed the stolen Jade Leaf Grass in Lin Zhen’s room—a malicious scheme attempting to frame a fellow disciple.”

“Considering she hasn’t yet begun Qi Condensation and cannot be considered a true cultivator… following sect rules exempts her from having her cultivation crippled. Her punishment is having all memories related to our sect’s techniques erased before being expelled.”

“As for Wang Luchuan—the primary instigator—his attitude during his confession was good… plus several Inner Sect Elders personally pleaded on his behalf… He has been ordered to pay one thousand spirit stones in compensation to those harmed… and is sentenced to one year of hard labor on Spirit Beast Peak… During this period, his monthly allowance will be suspended… pending observation of his future conduct.”

Hearing this, Qi Yuan stared blankly for a moment, then couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Wow.

Indeed… connections and social maneuvering are unavoidable everywhere! The mastermind with backing gets lifted high but set down gently, while accomplices without backing get struck down with one blow—expelled from the sect without any leeway whatsoever! It was just too real.

Wang Luchuan came from an established cultivation family; they had plenty of spirit stones at home. A fine of one thousand spirit stones was practically nothing—like scratching an itch.

As for doing one year of hard labor on Spirit Beast Peak? That was even more ridiculous. That little fatty wasn’t favored by Outer Sect Elder Mo Zhengyang anyway; he had already been assigned there as a servant disciple.

In short… after rounding things off… it basically amounted to no punishment at all.

Seeing Qi Yuan’s somewhat odd expression, Bai Xirou mistakenly thought he was dissatisfied with the handling of the case. A hint of apology surfaced on her face as she explained softly.

“Junior Brother Qi… Wang Luchuan possesses rare dual spiritual root talent… Many Inner Sect Elders have high hopes for him… That is why the Enforcement Hall showed leniency this time—giving him a chance to reform himself.”

“Of course… if there is ever another incident like this… even if it means offending those elders… I will not continue to tolerate or indulge him.”

Qi Yuan shook his head slightly. “I have no objections regarding how the sect handled things.”

In terms of scheming skill? Someone like Wang Luchuan wasn’t even worth noticing in Qi Yuan’s eyes—he posed not even a sliver of a threat.

Keeping him around was merely to serve as a stepping stone for Lin Zhen—the Child of Destiny. If some side quests could be triggered along with it? Even better.

Of course, if Wang Luchuan continued buzzing around annoyingly like a fly right in front of him, Qi Yuan wouldn’t mind casually swatting him dead, just to avoid being disgusted further.

“Mmm… good then…”

Seeing that his tone didn’t seem feigned, Bai Xirou seemed somewhat relieved as she changed topics. “Junior Brother Qi… regarding the matter of the Formation Spirit Elder’s cave being robbed… I can now confirm it wasn’t done by anyone within our own sect.”

“The key required to enter our main protective formation core has always been kept deep within the Treasure Pavilion’s innermost area… There are layers upon layers of restrictions personally set up there by our Ancestral Master himself… No one has touched them for thousands of years…”

“Without that key, entering the main formation core would be incredibly difficult. Not only does it require an extremely high cultivation level but also heaven-reaching mastery over formations themselves! If someone truly capable existed within Falling Cloud Valley, our sect wouldn’t have declined so much.”

Qi Yuan nodded slightly, inwardly agreeing with Bai Xirou’s assessment.

Although not proficient in formations himself, basic common sense told him that trying to sneak into the main protective formation core without breaking the formation itself was a feat ordinary cultivators truly couldn’t manage.

Any formation master capable of achieving such a thing likely wouldn’t care about whatever meager possessions the Formation Spirit might have, either.