Chapter 65
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Chapter 65: Finally Entering the Second Floor
At dinnertime, Lin Shi came to the room as usual.
Zhou Luo glanced at the food; it was indeed made from the ingredients he’d seen piled in the kitchen during the day. Only then did he feel reassured.
He picked up his chopsticks and began eating.
The poison he’d used this time was a first-level middle-grade poison. After ingestion, it would cause the entire body to go limp and lose strength. Only someone with a cultivation level reaching the Qi Refinement seventh level or higher could forcibly purge it completely using spiritual energy.
Zhou Luo had calculated that this large-scale poisoning would inevitably alarm the higher-ups.
Then, using the pretext of research, he could head to the second floor to investigate, where he might just encounter people belonging to the Great Elder.
"Brother Zhou, why is your cat so temperamental? Is it in heat?" Lin Shi asked, holding Little White.
At noon, this little creature had aggressively injured him, yet now in the evening it was being surprisingly docile.
"I disciplined it," Zhou Luo said casually.
Just then, the sound of rushing wind suddenly came from outside the house. Their keen hearing also picked up the sound of many footsteps.
Zhou Luo and Lin Shi exchanged a glance and immediately headed out.
Opening the door, they saw numerous guards, dressed efficiently and looking grim, heading towards the entrance to the second floor.
"What’s going on?" Lin Shi grabbed one of the guards and asked.
"There’s been a large-scale poisoning incident on the second floor. It might be an invasion by evil cultivators," the man said with a serious expression.
"How is that possible?" Lin Shi gasped in surprise.
Beside him, Zhou Luo stayed silent.
It seemed the plan was working.
"Brother Zhou, I need to go see."
Lin Shi handed Little White back to him and followed the large group heading towards the second floor.
Zhou Luo didn’t linger. Instead, he returned to his room.
Thud! Thud! Thud!—
Not long after, rapid knocking sounded at the door.
Zhou Luo opened the door to find a tall, middle-aged man standing there.
Behind him, several poisoned individuals lay on stretchers.
Before Zhou Luo could speak, the man pushed his way into the room and laid the poisoned individuals nearby.
"Can you concoct a corresponding antidote?"
The middle-aged man asked impassively, his voice ice-cold.
Zhou Luo’s eyes flickered slightly.
It seemed the people from the main family weren’t foolish either. To prevent him from going up to the second floor, they’d brought the poisoned people directly to him and demanded he concoct the antidote.
However, the more they acted like this, the more determined he became to get onto the second floor.
"I need to see what it is."
After saying that, Zhou Luo directly started inquiring about the symptoms of the poisoned people.
After listening to the symptoms, he pretended to examine their bodies and said with a troubled expression, "I haven’t seen this kind of poison before; it’s very troublesome."
"Won’t an antidote work?" the middle-aged man said with a frown.
"An antidote must also be tailored to the specific cause. I believe a regular antidote definitely won’t work."
"Moreover, I’m not sure what caused it; finding the source of the poison is necessary to refine a potion properly."
Zhou Luo said seriously.
"It’s an issue with the meal," the other party replied, then signaled a subordinate to bring a basin of leftover food.
They had uncovered the cause in a very short time.
"Is that so?" Zhou Luo feigned surprise, then carefully examined the basin of leftover food and said doubtfully, "I don’t detect any trace of poison."
That poison had been specially made by him and blended into the ingredients; after being processed by the spiritual chef, it was nearly impossible to detect.
Zhou Luo was certain the other party hadn’t discovered the poison either.
The middle-aged man spoke, "Everyone was poisoned after eating the meal."
Sure enough, they couldn’t confirm the poisoning was deliberate and could only speculate.
"It’s possible something was added that reacted with the second floor’s special environment, causing mass poisoning," Zhou Luo offered a hypothesis.
"Does such a thing exist?" the other party said with a skeptical look.
"I’m not sure, so I need to see for myself in person," Zhou Luo said, circling back and finally pointing everything to the second floor.
Hearing these words, the middle-aged man visibly showed a hint of hesitation.
He didn’t respond immediately but only said, "For now, give them some antidotes to see."
After speaking, he turned and left the room.
It seemed he was reporting to his superiors.
Zhou Luo knew the other party would have to compromise.
Because in the entire spiritual mine, only he, as the Pill Master, could potentially create an antidote; other spiritual symbol masters, formation masters, and the like could not.
Afterwards, Zhou Luo still refined several antidotes in front of everyone.
As expected, after taking the antidotes, those people showed no improvement.
After he stated he might also be helpless, that middle-aged man brought the decision from the higher-ups.
He was allowed to enter the second floor for investigation.
With his goal achieved, Zhou Luo appeared calm on the surface while inwardly he was ecstatic.
In his view, the leaders resisting his access to the second floor must fear he’d uncover something highly important to the main family.
Because of this, truly entering the second floor might let him seize the initiative.
Just like that, escorted by a group of people, Zhou Luo arrived at the second floor.
Unlike the first floor, the second floor was constructed much more crudely, resembling a cave.
First to catch the eye were stacks of lightly glowing spiritual mines, silently piled on one side like a hill, emitting a strange and alluring aura.
Behind those piles of spiritual mines, a long corridor could faintly be seen, with figures pushing small carts to transport the spiritual mines up.
Additionally, the buildings here weren’t as neat as on the first floor but were rather disordered.
Currently, guards stood in front of each building.
"Begin the investigation," the middle-aged man said while standing beside Zhou Luo.
Zhou Luo then raised his head and started observing the environment.
Behind him, the middle-aged man followed closely without leaving any gap, clearly unwilling to let him interact with the people here.
The middle-aged man’s name was Lin Kai, primarily responsible for security on the first floor.
After the incident occurred, he reacted immediately and accurately deduced the poison’s source was that evening’s meal.
Now, everyone responsible for the kitchen duties that night had been taken in for questioning.
His duty was to urge Zhou Luo to finish refining the antidote, restore normality to the second floor, and prevent him from contacting the Great Elder’s people.
Realizing Lin Kai was monitoring him, Zhou Luo suggested inspecting each room.
A chilling look appeared in Lin Kai’s eyes, but he didn’t stop him.
Reaching the first room, judging by its internal decoration, it likely belonged to a supervisor; after a brief look, Zhou Luo headed towards the next room.
He continued examining each one until he arrived at a room with formation discs, charts, and various spiritual stones, where he stopped.
He glanced at the old man lying on the bed, first pretending to inspect the room, then slowly approached him.
Right then, Lin Kai suddenly grabbed him.
"I think the trigger might be outside. Otherwise, why would there be mass poisoning?" he said coldly.
Feeling the pressure on his arm, Zhou Luo knew the other party was blocking him.
He didn’t panic but instead nodded in agreement and said, "You’re correct. I’ll go outside and take a thorough look."
Only then did Lin Kai release his grip.
Zhou Luo then turned and left the room.
