"The Black Jade Spirit Coral Plum itself has no aggressive properties and no offensive capabilities. However, it possesses a tremendous characteristic — its compatibility and its latent attributes. Elder Wanjun, did you know that the Black Jade Spirit Coral Plum is a common Spiritual Medicine used in the refinement of poisons within the alchemy world?"
"Refinement of poisons?"
"Heh heh, the Elder knows one thing but not the other,"
The moment these words left Jiang Chen's lips, Yan Wanjun understood at once. His heart shook violently, and a flash of shock appeared in his eyes. "This… is this true?"
"Absolutely. This Dream Origin Grass here — it must be Elder Wanjun's pride and joy, yes? The aura of the Black Jade Spirit Coral Plum can merge with the aura released by this Dream Origin Grass. Once those two auras fuse, they will generate a massive quantity of toxic gas. This poison even carries a faint fragrance and isn't pungent at all. Especially at midnight, the fusion accelerates, and the volume of poison released increases significantly."
"It's that terrifying?" By now, Yan Wanjun believed seven or eight tenths of what he'd heard. He knew Jiang Chen's character well — this was absolutely not the kind of young man to speak idle nonsense.
If he dared to say such things, there had to be at least some truth to it.
In that instant, Yan Wanjun's expression became extraordinarily vivid.
"So you're saying that right now, this toxic gas is already spreading?" Yan Wanjun's eyes filled with dark shadows.
"It hasn't reached midnight yet, and it hasn't completed a full cycle, so the poison isn't lethal at this stage. But by this time tomorrow, the toxin will have infiltrated every organ in your body. At that point, even if a god descended to earth, saving you would be difficult."
Yan Wanjun's entire body trembled violently. Amid the shock, a measure of relief also surfaced.
"Guards!" Yan Wanjun roared.
Several of Yan Wanjun's trusted aides and attendants had long since emerged from the shadows. "Elder."
"Go. Bring that
Yan Wanjun had not reached the rank of Supreme Elder without having the means to back it up. He had his own share of loyal retainers. Once he had grasped the general outline of what had happened, he immediately formulated a response.
Jiang Chen said lightly, "Act swiftly — there must be no delay. Of course, you should also be on guard against whether the mastermind behind this is still somewhere in the vicinity of Cloud Camel Mountain, and whether they might shield him."
Yan Wanjun's voice was grave. "Do you suggest I go personally?"
"Heh heh, that won't be necessary." Jiang Chen shook his head.
"In that case, shouldn't this Black Jade Spirit Coral Plum be destroyed to eliminate the hazard?" Yan Wanjun's eyes blazed with fury, and he moved forward to strike at the plant.
"Let me destroy it!"
But Jiang Chen quickly interjected, "No need, no need. Simply separate the two plants by five hundred meters, and they will no longer be able to resonate with each other. Though even that isn't the best approach. The ideal method is to cultivate the Black Jade Spirit Coral Plum in isolation, and to set up a formation array around it that prevents its aura from merging with that of any other Spiritual Medicine."
Those who routinely cultivated Black Jade Spirit Coral Plums would do exactly that.
It was simply that Yan Wanjun's expertise in this particular area was somewhat lacking. He didn't know much about this particular herb.
Yan Wanjun still harbored a sliver of hope and couldn't help asking, "Young friend, could it be that Wang Jing gave me this Black Jade Spirit Coral Plum as nothing more than a misunderstanding? Or perhaps it was just a coincidence? That even he didn't know this thing had such a poisonous aspect?"
Jiang Chen offered a faint smile. "It was not a misunderstanding."
"How can you be so sure?" Yan Wanjun was still unwilling to accept the truth. He simply could not bring himself to believe that someone within his own clan would try to harm him.
Even if there were rivalries between the various factions within the clan, it shouldn't escalate to outright murder. Once family members began to destroy one another, what future could the clan possibly have?
Yan Wanjun still had deep feelings for his clan. Naturally, he did not wish to believe that someone within it wished him ill.
"If Wang Jing had admitted that this Black Jade Spirit Coral Plum was artificially cultivated, I wouldn't dare jump to conclusions. But since he insisted it was naturally grown and wild-harvested, the lie becomes rather obvious. The signs of artificial cultivation on this Black Jade Spirit Coral Plum are unmistakable — it is decidedly not something that grew wild in nature. Perhaps he thought claiming it was a wild-born natural treasure would more easily earn your trust. But I can tell at a glance that this herb shows clear evidence of deliberate cultivation. That suspicion alone proves that Wang Jing harbored ill intentions from the very beginning — passing off an artificially cultivated herb as a naturally occurring spirit plant."
Yan Wanjun sighed softly. "Even so, couldn't it be that Wang Jing was simply trying to curry my favor and inflated the item's value on purpose?"
"That possibility cannot be ruled out entirely, which is why I asked whether anyone else knew about the herbs you cultivate personally. That is precisely the point. I believe someone must have known that the Black Jade Spirit Coral Plum could merge its aura with that of the Dream Origin Grass. And the fact that you possessed the Dream Origin Grass — that, too, must have been accounted for by someone with ulterior motives long ago. I must say, it is a masterfully orchestrated scheme."
Yan Wanjun shook his head once more, his voice heavy with pain. "I still want to believe this is merely a coincidence."
The probability of it being a coincidence was not zero, but it was certainly less than ten percent. From every angle Jiang Chen examined, the suspicious circumstances were simply too numerous.
Jiang Chen did not press further. He had made his points clearly enough. As for how Yan Wanjun chose to handle the matter from here, that was not for Jiang Chen to dictate.