Infiltration into the High Ranks

The air in the mine seemed to freeze instantly.

Jiang Yifan suddenly clenched his right hand, his nails digging deep into the old scars on his palm. As blood wound its way down his fingers and dripped, he finally rasped, "It's... the third elder."

"Jiang Mingyuan?" Feng Qingping frowned deeply. "Hasn't he always been at odds with your branch of the family?"

This question was like a knife, slicing directly into the cruelest truth. Jiang Yifan's body swayed visibly, his lips trembling, but he could not utter a word of refutation.

Li Nanzhu's pupils suddenly shrank as a more terrifying thought surfaced in her mind. "Wait... if that's the case, why would Hehuan Sect disciples appear in a place like this?"

This doubt acted as a key, instantly connecting all the clues.

Feng Weilan's expression changed drastically. "It's a trap!" His voice was squeezed out from between his teeth. "They deliberately let their disciples go missing to bait the bigger fish—the direct disciples of the various sects!"

This deduction sent a shiver down everyone's spine.

If this was true, then the Blood Fiend Sect's layout was far more meticulous and malicious than they had imagined—exploiting the internal conflicts of the major families and spreading false information to lure cultivators into the net.

It was even very likely that they had already infiltrated the high-level ranks of the various sects! And they held a certain level of status at the very least!

Just like the third elder who had leaked this news to Jiang Yifan. To think optimistically, he only got wind of something and wanted to seize the opportunity to kill Jiang Yifan... but the worst-case scenario was...

Li Nanzhu looked up at Jiang Yifan, who kept his head lowered.

'The third elder might very well be a member of the Blood Fiend Alliance!'

Feng Qingping suddenly stood up, clutching her communication jade slip tightly, but the dim spiritual light indicated that the signal here was still being blocked.

"This information must be sent out, even if we die here..."

Jiang Yifan suddenly grabbed her wrist. "If... if the third elder really is problematic..."

He opened his mouth, but the final words remained unspoken.

But Li Nanzhu understood what he wanted to say.

—The entire Jiang family might be implicated, even labeled as evil cultivators.

She knew that no matter how much the fourth senior brother showed his discord with the family, it was still his ancestral home, the family where he was born.

For cultivators in the cultivation world, having a major family as a backer was also the source of their confidence while traveling abroad.

Although Li Nanzhu didn't quite understand Jiang Yifan's complex psychology, she knew he must be feeling extremely conflicted right now.

"If there's a problem, it must be investigated," Feng Qingping said with a rare icy expression. "If there's more than one place like this, and something truly goes wrong when the time comes, your Jiang family might be the first to go under."

Jiang Yifan released his grip and fell into silence again, while Feng Weilan silently rubbed Feng Qingping's wrist.

Looking at Jiang Yifan's pained expression, Li Nanzhu felt a pang of bitterness in her heart.

The proud, talented refinery master from the original novel was now facing the cruelest betrayal. She remembered the book's description of the Jiang family—infighting, deception, and schemes. It was precisely because Jiang Yifan loathed these things that he chose to leave and eventually joined the Five Elements Dao Sect.

"Fourth senior brother..." She didn't know how to comfort him.

Jiang Yifan suddenly laughed, though the smile looked worse than crying. "Little junior sister, do you know? When I left the Jiang family seven years ago, I still held on to a tiny shred of hope."

He fingered the star-patterned iron in his hand, his voice as light as a feather. "The Jiang family... head didn't care about me either. I always felt... but the news didn't just come from the third elder, it came from him as well!"

Jiang Yifan clutched his head in pain, but Li Nanzhu was stunned.

The Jiang family head... wasn't that Jiang Yifan's father?

It was no wonder he was like this... anyone would find it impossible to remain calm after discovering that their own father might want them dead... if it had only been the third elder, Jiang Yifan likely wouldn't have come here so easily.

But now Li Nanzhu could only remain silent. She was an orphan and had never experienced the innate bond between a child and their parents, so she couldn't offer any advice.

He had to get through this on his own.

During this time, Feng Weilan and Feng Qingping had also collected quite a bit of star-patterned iron. Of course, they were careful to spread out their mining; otherwise, if they focused on one spot, those tentacles might drill through the weakened area.

"Fourth senior brother," Feng Weilan patted Jiang Yifan's shoulder. He didn't offer excessive comfort but instead handed the star-patterned iron to him.

"Whether we can get out of here alive will depend on you now."

Jiang Yifan took the star-patterned iron and took a deep breath. When he looked up again, he had regained his previous composure and said solemnly,

"Leave it to me."

Feng Qingping sighed and took a small azure jade bottle from her storage bag. "But before that, take care of your injuries first. I don't know where you got that annoying habit of having to finish talking before treating your wounds."

The moment the stopper was pulled, an indescribable, foul stench instantly filled the entire tunnel. Li Nanzhu had habitually blocked her sense of smell already.

With a flick of her finger, a blackish-red pill rolled into Feng Qingping's palm, immediately emitting a nauseating stink.

"Third senior brother's scarlet sun pill," she said in a tone as calm as if she were discussing the weather. "Specifically designed to counter yin malevolence."

Jiang Yifan's adam's apple bobbed violently, and he instinctively took half a step back. "Can... can I have a different one?"

This wasn't him being picky.

Ever since joining the sect, he had deeply experienced the third senior brother's unique approach to alchemy—that taste and texture were simply a total assault on the five senses.

He would take what Li Nanzhu gave him without hesitation, but the ones Feng Qingping and Feng Weilan carried were bound to be the third senior brother's 'proudest works'.

Over the past twenty-plus days, the relatively mild versions in his own stock had long been exhausted. What remained were some... extremely explosive premium items.

This was the real reason he had been reluctant to treat his injuries.

Feng Qingping saw through Jiang Yifan's thoughts at a glance and gave Feng Weilan a look.

Without a word, the latter took the pill, clamped one hand on Jiang Yifan's jaw, and decisively shoved the pill inside.

"You have no choice," Feng Weilan said flatly, the strength in his hand brooks no resistance.

"Ugh—" Jiang Yifan's entire face distorted instantly. His adam's apple bobbed violently, but how could he refuse a pill that dissolved the moment it touched his tongue?

The moment the medicinal power took effect, the veins on his temples bulged, and his knuckles turned white from the strain.

Feng Qingping had already stepped three paces away. If even she avoided the pill, its potency could only be imagined.

Li Nanzhu was secretly amazed. Looking at the unfazed sixth senior brother... she couldn't help but sigh in her heart.

'The sixth senior brother is the only true god!'

"The effect is good." Feng Qingping nodded with satisfaction as she observed the black mist gradually dissipating from around Jiang Yifan. "Meditate for half a day, and your injuries will be seventy to eighty percent healed."

Jiang Yifan weakly raised a hand. "Water... give me water..."

Li Nanzhu hurried to hand over a water skin. Jiang Yifan gulped down more than half of it in one breath before finally letting out a long sigh of relief. "Don't you guys have anything else? Why does it have to be third senior brother's?"

Feng Qingping gave a cold snort and flicked the pill bottle accurately back to Jiang Yifan. "In your dreams." A flash of mischief crossed her eyes. "People who insist on staying despite knowing the danger only deserve to enjoy third senior brother's specially made pills."

Li Nanzhu silently gave a thumbs-up, her eyes full of admiration—the fifth senior sister's aura simply dominated the scene.

Turning to look at Jiang Yifan, who was suppressing his discomfort but didn't dare to argue back, she couldn't help but smile.

This seemingly eccentric fourth senior brother actually looked like a child who had done something wrong in front of the fifth senior sister.