An old woman approached and respectfully said, “There are no signs of poison being placed anywhere, and no outsiders have entered the planet. Either the poison was already there, or the poison was completely absorbed.”
“Absorb?” Long Tian was stunned, and suddenly remembered something, the star essence. “Find Wen Diyi and Nong Lie immediately.”
As soon as his voice fell, his communication crystal vibrated. “Junior Progenitor, Wen Diyi and Nong Lie have both been poisoned.”
Long Tian let out a roar of rage and rushed straight over.
…
Within the dark red magma, Lu Yin was still absorbing star essence.
After half a day, Long Tian emerged from a training room with a solemn expression. He had just seen Wen Diyi, and the youth was suffering from the exact same poison as Long Jue, as was Nong Lie as well. Long Tian’s first suspect was Liu Tianmu. She had been the only one with both the motive and ability to leave poison around.
However, Liu Tianmu had never wandered to the regions where Wen Diyi and the others had grabbed the star essence they had used, so she could not have been the one to do the poisoning. On top of that, there was a trace amount of poison in the star essence in Liu Tianmu’s own training room. While this was not enough to completely clear Liu Tianmu of all suspicion, it also was not enough to prove that she had been the poisoner.
“If it wasn’t Liu Tianmu, then who could have done it?” Long Qi’s image flashed into Long Tian’s mind, but he quickly denied the possibility. That guy was training far away from the rooms where Wen Diyi and the others trained, and there was no way to accurately locate the people who had been poisoned. Also, why would Long Qi have poisoned them to begin with? What motivation? To go to the Dominion Realm? Long Qi might not even want to go.
However, if Liu Tianmu and Long Qi were both excluded, who else was there?
Long Tian thought of the people around him. This Junior Progenitor Planet had ten Enlighters, two Envoys, plus Long Tian’s own protector who was a powerhouse who had passed through six tribulations. All of these people were suspects. After all, who could guarantee that none of these people had been bribed to make trouble for him by the Celestial Frost Sect, the Wang family, or Shenwu’s Sky?
Long Tian’s thoughts grew complicated as he continued to consider various possibilities.
After Long Xi heard of what happened, she also had a very dark expression when she arrived. “Brother, what’s going on?”
Long Tian solemnly explained, “Someone is opposing me. They’ve already poisoned Nong Lie and the others so that they won’t be able to accompany me to the Dominion Realm.”
“Poison? We still have a few days before we go to the Dominion Realm; can the poison be cured by then?” Long Xi asked with a frown.
Long Tian shook his head. “It will take ten days to completely clear the poison and its effects from their systems even with the clan’s best medicines. Even if I’m willing to take them to the Dominion Realm while they’re still poisoned, the powers behind them will never agree.”
Long Xi frowned. “Who hasn’t been poisoned?”
Long Tian looked at Long Xi. “Long Qi and Liu Tianmu.”
“You don’t suspect Long Qi,” Long Xi said.
Long Tian snorted derisively. “Of course it couldn’t be him.”
“What about Liu Tianmu?”
“There’s also some evidence that there was also an attempt to poison her, but it didn’t work since she hasn’t cultivated with any of the star essence from the Junior Progenitor Planet.”
Long Xi’s voice dropped/ “Liu Tianmu is the most suspicious.”
Long Tian replied, “I know, but for the moment, only her and Long Qi can join me in the Dominion Realm.”
“Long Qi can’t go,” Long Xi immediately shot down that possibility.
Long Tian stared at her. “Nong Lie, Wen Diyi, even Long Jue can’t go. Aside from Long Qi, who else can I even take? When it comes to pure strength, Long Qi might not lose out to Long Jue. I know I told you before that I wouldn’t take him there for your sake, but with how things have turned out, he has to go. Little sister, promise you’ll stay alive.”
Long Xi opened her mouth, but could not argue against her brother’s logic. She had promised to bring Long Qi to the Junior Progenitor Planet, but given the current situation, she really wanted to go back in time and take that back.
“Little sister, you know the clan’s rules. If you are adamant about refusing to allow Long Qi to accompany me to the Dominion Realm, how will he eventually be able to gain a foothold inside the clan?” Long Tian demanded. “You really want to be your husband’s protector and provider for the rest of his life?”
Long Xi’s body went stiff, but she still helplessly bowed her head. “I’ll go talk to him.”
“It’s not a discussion. He doesn’t have a choice,” Long Tian said firmly.
“Even if Long Qi goes, what about the last person for the team?” Long Xi asked.
“Wen Diyi.”
“Isn’t he poisoned? Will the Virtue Archives agree to let him go?”
“He represents the academy himself.”
The next day, Lu Yin was still cultivating in the dark red magma when a shadow covered his head. He looked up to see an absolute mountain of star essence falling down towards him.
“Finish your nineteenth cycle as soon as possible. You will accompany the Junior Progenitor to the Dominion Realm.” Lu Yin heard the voice of the middle-aged man, who was feeling very helpless at this moment. Before, he had watched as Long Qi had run around grabbing up star essence, and now the older man was having to do so himself for the youth.
Lu Yin was thrilled. “I understand!”
He had succeeded. Luckily, he still had time to finish his nineteenth cycle. He was about to roll his die, but he suddenly stopped. He lifted his head and looked outside.
Since all of the participants for the team going to the Dominion Realm had been confirmed, it was likely that Lu Yin was currently under observation. Given Long Tian’s personality, even if he had no suspicions of Lu Yin being behind the poisonings, the Junior Progenitor would still send someone to observe Lu Yin just to ensure that everything remained in Long Tian’s control.
Lu Yin could not roll his die. He only had two days left, so there was no possibility of him completing his nineteenth cycle in such a short amount of time, but even if he failed, it would still be better than revealing his innate gift.
Two days later, Lu Yin was still absorbing the star essence, and he had not managed to complete his nineteenth cycle. At this moment, Long Tian’s voice spread across the entire Junior Progenitor Planet, “Come.”
Lu Yin opened his eyes and leaped out of the magma. He then flew to where he had seen the statue before.
Once he arrived, he saw that Long Tian, Long Xi, Liu Tianmu, and Wen Diyi had all already arrived.
Lu Yin was surprised to see Wen Diyi. The man had clearly been poisoned, yet he still dared to go to the Dominion Realm.
Wen Diyi showed no signs of poisoning from a glance. His complexion was clear and rosy, if slightly pale.
“Everyone’s here. Get ready. We’re about to go to the Dominion Realm,” Long Tian told them.
Lu Yin stood next to Long Xi, and he tried to quietly sate his curiosity, “How are we going to get there?”
Long Xi was in a miserable mood at this moment. She was remembering the video she had been shown of Long Qi grabbing a large amount of star essence, so she snapped back, “The Junior Progenitor Planet will fly straight to the Dominion Realm.”
“Are you serious?” Lu Yin was surprised.
Long Xi frowned. She then threw a circle over to Lu Yin. “Keep this on you. If anything goes wrong, immediately hide yourself within its protection.”