The Great Hall was quite spacious, and by this time, more than twenty people were already seated.
True Man Qing Xu sat directly below the statue of the Taoist Ancestor, and to his right was another chair, but the chair was empty.
The rest of the people were sitting in two rows on the left and right, divided by Magic and Martial Arts.
On the left side sat the True Masters of Taoism, including the yet-to-be-seated True Man Qing Xia, totaling eleven.
On the right side sat the Martial Arts experts, eighteen in total, of which fifteen were Martial Arts Masters and three were Great Grandmasters.
This was the strength of the Taoist ancestral home, the Daluo Sect!
Merely looking at this lineup would astound anyone who entered the Great Hall.
When Li Fei and Luo Shi entered the Great Hall, the gathered powerhouses all looked over, fixing their gazes on the two men!
Luo Shi couldn't help but tense up, his steps becoming heavier.
He glanced at Li Fei, who still remained calm, and couldn't help feeling somewhat ashamed.
Despite being a Martial Arts Master himself, he was showing less composure than a young man at the Tao Foundation Stage.
"Respects to True Man Qing Xu and the elders of the Daluo Sect."
Although Li Fei was an imperial envoy, he took the initiative to show his respects first.
Luo Shi followed him in performing the gesture.
"You have both traveled far, please take a seat," said True Man Qing Xu.
Soon, two Daluo Sect disciples brought over two chairs and placed them behind Li Fei and Luo Shi.
Thus, the two were situated facing True Man Qing Xu, communicating across a distance of several meters.
"It's embarrassing to say, but the Daluo Sect has made a mistake that has yet to be resolved, prompting the court to send someone to investigate," said True Man Qing Xu after Li Fei and Luo Shi had sat down.
"Fortunately, we now finally have a result."
Hearing this, Li Fei and Luo Shi, who had just sat down, both tensed up and stared closely at True Man Qing Xu.
"Bring the person up," stated True Man Qing Xu indifferently.
Soon, one of the Daluo Sect disciples escorted another Daluo Sect disciple into the center of the Great Hall.
The escorting disciple gave his respects to everyone and then left, while the escorted disciple dropped to his knees, bowing his head, unable to look at anyone.
"Ning Shi, in front of the imperial envoy, speak everything you know!" a slim old man seated in the first seat of the left row commanded loudly.
The old man was True Man Qing Yun, the Peak Master of Flying Cloud Peak who held jurisdiction over the rules of the Daluo Sect, his status within the sect second only to True Man Qing Xu and the absent Martial Saint of today.
Within the Daluo Sect, only Possession Stage Great Mages and Tao Foundation Martial Artists were granted a Taoist name, and this disciple named Ning Shi was a Possession Stage Great Mage.
Kneeling on the ground, he said with a trembling voice, "Yes."
He then began to narrate his experience:
"I am a direct disciple of True Man Qing Ding, having followed Master Qing Ding for twenty-seven years. For the last nine years, I've been responsible for managing various alchemical ingredients for my master."
"Master often tells us disciples, 'Taoists seek immortality, but where is immortality to be found?'"
Hearing this, Li Fei immediately recalled the same words he had seen in a great hall in the Dream Realm.
The same 'Where is immortality to be found' was written there.
This made him more certain that behind that great hall was where True Man Qing Ding conducted his alchemy.
Ning Shi's narrative continued:
"In our eyes, Master has become nearly obsessed with the techniques of longevity! Because of such devotion, Master wanted to create an Elixir that could truly grant immortality."
"I've been by Master's side for twenty-one years, witnessing him pouring almost everything into crafting this Elixir of Immortality. Eventually, when materials became scarce, he... he started looking elsewhere."
"The court sends a large amount of precious materials every year for Master to craft Lifespan Extension Pills, many of which could be used by Master, so he swapped those materials secretly to craft his own Elixir of Immortality. As for the Lifespan Extension Pills for His Majesty... he..."
At this point, Ning Shi faltered.
"Speak!" True Man Qing Yun commanded once more.
Ning Shi shuddered and gritted his teeth:
"Master's Lifespan Extension Pills for His Majesty were actually False Pills, they had no effect!"
After saying this, his entire body collapsed onto the ground.
In the Great Hall, many people showed shocked expressions, seemingly, like Li Fei and Luo Shi, hearing such matters for the first time.
Hearing this truth, Luo Shi also changed color dramatically, frightened by True Man Qingding's actions.
Not to mention deceiving the Emperor, but to do so in such matters, it was as if he was mocking His Majesty!
How bold must one be to dare such a thing?
"How long has True Man Qingding been making these false elixirs?"
Li Fei suddenly asked.
He seemed relatively calm, as he didn't hold the same reverence for imperial power as the people of this era.
"As far as I know, my master has been doing this for the past five years," Ning Shi said, his voice trembling.
True Man Qingding had the Emperor consuming false elixirs for five years!
"Continue," Li Fei said calmly.
This caused the powerful figures present to take a few more glances at him.
"In order to concoct the Elixir of Immortality, my master became more aggressive each year, substituting more and more ingredients. Finally, this year, something went wrong. The elixir he made for His Majesty was faulty. A simple inspection could reveal the problem, and it would definitely not pass the palace's scrutiny."
Even with trust in the Daluo Sect, it was still an elixir for the Emperor, and the palace would surely test the elixir beforehand.
Therefore, even if True Man Qingding made false elixirs, they had to meet a certain standard.
"To prevent this from being exposed, my master decided to make it seem like the elixir was accidentally lost!" Ning Shi finally stated the reason for the loss of the Lifespan Extension Pill. "He ordered me and another disciple, Ning Qi, to attack the disciple who came to retrieve the elixir, thus creating the illusion that the elixir was lost."
True Man Qingxia narrowed her eyes and her expression changed when she heard this.
The disciple who was attacked while retrieving the elixir was from her Luoxia Peak.
"I have a question," said Li Fei, "If there was a problem with concocting the elixir, why not just make it again instead of creating a false scenario of the elixir being lost? Isn't this risk greater than admitting the failure in concoction?"
Ning Shi responded without hesitation, "Actually, the palace sends extra materials every time just to prevent this kind of failure. However, my master substituted too many ingredients this year. After the failure, he had no more materials left to try again.
With my master's alchemy standards, using up all the materials sent by the palace and still failing would be too unusual, as there has not been such a mistake in decades. If reported, the palace would likely still send someone to investigate.
Most importantly, once his alchemy skills are doubted, the palace might not let him concoct the Lifespan Extension Pill again, and they would stop sending materials. This is something my master absolutely couldn't accept!
Thus, he simply chose to make it look like the elixir was lost, so at least the suspicions on him wouldn't be too heavy, and he would still have a chance to continue making the Lifespan Extension Pill."
The logic was indeed reasonable.
He looked at Qingxu True Monarch:
"May I ask, True Monarch, how was the matter of True Man Qingding finally exposed? And how did he die?"
"I'll answer that question," said True Man Qingyun, looking at Li Fei. "I oversee the disciplines of the Daluo Sect. After the incident of the lost elixir, I have been investigating this matter.
Two days ago, a disciple under me discovered some discrepancies in the Alchemy Room's accounts. He intended to report this to me secretly, but suddenly he died!
I left a mark on him, so I immediately sensed something was wrong. I rushed to the Alchemy Room and notified the Master.
However, before I could reach Daluo Peak, Qingding tried to flee, but fortunately, he was intercepted by the Master and was ultimately slain by him."
Li Fei narrowed his eyes.
True Man Qingding was actually killed by Qingxu True Monarch!
Thus, the real culprit in this case had been executed.
It seems this case is already concluded?
PS: Today I'm going back to my girlfriend's hometown with her, and we'll discuss important life matters.
I will return by high-speed train on October 3rd, so there might be fewer updates these few days. I hope everyone understands.
I will update as much as possible whenever I have time!
It's the last day, everyone, cast your monthly tickets now!