Looking at Wang Qiang's smug expression, a cold smile crept up the corner of my mouth. I slowly pulled an array formation disc from my robe and gently placed it on the ground...
"You want to frame me? Then I'll play along with you!" I sneered inwardly, a cold glint flashing in my eyes.
"Stop right there!"
At that moment, an angry shout rang out, and a figure flashed to the front of the crowd like lightning. It was none other than Elder Zhao, the leader of the Rogue Cultivator Organization and a powerhouse at the Golden Core stage. His gaze was like a torch as he swept it across the crowd, and a powerful coercive pressure instantly enveloped the entire spirit herb garden.
Wang Qiang and the others fell silent like cicadas in winter, lowering their heads and not daring to meet Elder Zhao's gaze.
"What is going on? Who is causing trouble in my spirit herb garden?" Elder Zhao's voice was deep, yet it carried an unquestionable majesty.
"Elder Zhao, it's Lu Chen! He destroyed the spirit herb garden, and I... I was just trying to stop him!" Wang Qiang explained in a panic, a trace of fluster flashing in his eyes.
"Oh? Is that so?" Elder Zhao turned to look at me, his brows furrowing slightly. "Lu Chen, do you know your crime?"
I sneered inside. Wang Qiang's acting was truly pathetic; unfortunately, such little tricks of his were completely transparent to me. Putting on a look of panic, I loudly argued, "Elder Zhao, I've been wronged! Wang Qiang is the one who ordered people to destroy the spirit herbs and then tried to frame me! The moment I stepped into the spirit herb garden, I found the spirit herbs already ruined, and it was simply too late for me to stop it!"
"You're lying! It was clearly you—" Wang Qiang tried to argue further, but was cut off by Elder Zhao's sharp gaze.
"Enough!" Elder Zhao gave a cold snort, the overwhelming pressure turning Wang Qiang's face pale and sending cold sweat streaming down his back. "Right and wrong, this old man can judge for himself!"
With a wave of Elder Zhao's hand, an invisible force enveloped me, Wang Qiang, and the sharp-cheeked man. The next moment, the three of us felt our vision blur as we found ourselves in an unfamiliar room.
In the center of the room stood a massive bronze mirror, its surface as smooth as water, reflecting the figures of the three of us.
"This is the Heart-Reflecting Mirror, capable of telling loyalty from treachery! A single glance will reveal who is in the right between the two of you!" Elder Zhao said in a deep voice.
My heart sank slightly. The Heart-Reflecting Mirror was a rare treasure in the Cultivation World, capable of reflecting a cultivator's deepest thoughts, and it was completely impossible to fake.
Wang Qiang's face turned ashen white, a trace of panic and fear flashing in his eyes. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he lowered his head, not daring to look at the bronze mirror.
As for me, I stood calmly in place, letting the light of the Heart-Reflecting Mirror shine upon me.
"Hum!"
The Heart-Reflecting Mirror suddenly let out a soft hum, its surface rippling as my reflection shifted continuously, finally settling into the image of a youth dressed in black. The youth had a resolute expression and clear eyes, and an aura of righteous integrity emanated from him naturally.
"Lu Chen's intentions are pure, and he harbors no malicious intent!" Elder Zhao's voice echoed in the room.
I let out a long breath, silently calling myself lucky. Fortunately, I had prepared in advance; before entering the spirit herb garden, I had deliberately set up an array formation on myself to conceal my aura, otherwise the Heart-Reflecting Mirror might truly have exposed my flaws.
Seeing this, Wang Qiang's face instantly turned as pale as paper. He knew he was finished...
Three days later, I returned to the Rogue Cultivator Organization with rich spoils. As soon as I stepped through the door, I was surrounded by a group of people.
"Lu Chen, are you alright?"
"I heard you made a huge contribution at the spirit herb garden and even gained Elder Zhao's appreciation?"
"How was the harvest this time? Did you find any good things?"
...
Everyone chimed in with questions, their eyes filled with envy and admiration.
I smiled faintly, taking a portion of spirit herbs and spirit crystals from my storage pouch and distributing them to everyone. "I was lucky enough to encounter some good fortune, and these are for everyone. Please accept them."
"Whoa! So many top-grade spirit herbs!"
"And middle-grade spirit crystals! These are treasures that cultivators at the Qi Condensation stage dream of!"
"Lu Chen, you're the best!"
Seeing what I had brought out, the crowd gasped in astonishment, their eyes filled with greed and desire.
I sneered inwardly. To me, these things were a drop in the bucket, but to these rogue cultivators, they were rare treasures. Doing this was merely to win people over and lay a foundation for my foothold in the Rogue Cultivator Organization in the future.
"Lu Chen, you're amazing! To think even Elder Zhao praised you so highly!" A tall, pretty female cultivator walked up to me, her eyes full of adoration. "You'll have to take good care of us junior brothers and sisters from now on!"
I smiled faintly, maintaining a discreet distance from her. "Senior Sister flatters me. I just got lucky."
At that moment, a gaze full of jealousy and malice shot out from beyond the crowd. I turned to look and saw Wang Qiang standing not far away, his face gloomy, fists clenched so tight his knuckles had turned white...
I naturally felt Wang Qiang's snake-like, venomous glare. He stood at the edge of the crowd, biting his lower lip hard, his already dark complexion cast in deep gloom. I could feel that the fires of jealousy in his heart were about to consume him entirely.
"Hmph, he just got lucky, what's there to be so smug about!" Wang Qiang finally couldn't help muttering a low curse.
Though his voice was soft, it sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet courtyard. Many people heard it and turned to look at him. Feeling their gazes, Wang Qiang not only didn't rein it in, but instead thrust out his chin and said sarcastically, "Don't look at how grand he is now; who knows how those spirit herbs and spirit crystals were obtained? I heard that someone stopped at nothing to take desperate risks for treasure, and even—"
He dragged out his voice intentionally without finishing, but his eyes kept glancing at me intentionally or not, the implication obvious.
I sneered inside. Wang Qiang really couldn't hold his temper; he was already itching to make a move. I wanted to see what tricks he planned to pull.
In the crowd, Madman Liu's eyes popped out when he saw the spirit herbs and spirit crystals I had produced. He had already felt guilty toward me because of the previous incident, and now seeing me reap such a generous reward, he regretted it deeply.
"Sigh, if I had known, I should have listened to Brother Lu and gone along with him. Then I wouldn't be coming back empty-handed like this now," Madman Liu muttered softly to himself.
A rogue cultivator beside him heard this, patted him on the shoulder with a smile, and said, "Madman Liu, stop daydreaming. Do you think everyone is like Brother Lu, with such good luck that they can walk into a spirit herb garden and come back fully loaded?"
Hearing this, Madman Liu smiled bitterly and shook his head, his admiration for me growing even deeper.
I took in everyone's expressions, secretly noting Wang Qiang's petty actions and Madman Liu's remorse. I knew Wang Qiang wouldn't let the matter rest; he would definitely find other ways to deal with me. And Madman Liu might just become a chess piece for me...
Just as I was pondering how to deal with the upcoming situation, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the crowd. I looked up and saw a handsome young man in a green robe walking in, surrounded by a crowd of people.
"It's Senior Brother Li! Senior Brother Li is back!"
"Senior Brother Li is the number one genius of our Rogue Cultivator Organization. He must have harvested a lot from this trip out for experiential training!"
"Senior Brother Li, you have to tell us all about your experiences this time!"
Seeing the newcomer, the rogue cultivators who had been surrounding me instantly scattered, rushing over to warmly greet the green-robed man.
Looking at this scene, a playful curve formed at the corner of my mouth. It seemed a good show was about to begin...
"Senior Brother Li, I heard..." Wang Qiang sidled up to the green-robed young man, whispering something in his ear while casting a venomous look at me, as if he wanted to tear me to pieces...
The crowd's attention was quickly drawn by this "Senior Brother Li," and I, glad for the peace and quiet, walked alone to a corner to observe how things would develop. Wang Qiang was still whispering in Senior Brother Li's ear, pointing at me from time to time, his words full of instigation. After listening, Senior Brother Li frowned slightly, turning his gaze toward me with a scrutinizing look.
I met his gaze calmly and composedly. I knew Wang Qiang must have spoken plenty of ill of me in front of him, but my conscience was clear. Let him say whatever he wanted; I only needed to mind my own business.
"Junior Brother Lu, I heard from Junior Brother Wang that you harvested quite heavily in the spirit herb garden this time?" Senior Brother Li walked up to me, his tone flat, revealing neither joy nor anger.
"I just happened to encounter some good fortune," I replied modestly.
"Oh? I wonder what kind of good fortune allowed Junior Brother Lu to acquire so many spirit herbs and spirit crystals in just a few days?" Senior Brother Li pressed on, a trace of suspicion in his tone.
"I..." I started to explain, but was cut off by Wang Qiang before I could finish.
"Senior Brother Li, you don't understand! This Lu Chen is usually quiet and unassuming, but who knew he could be so cunning and treacherous? To get his hands on treasure, he stopped at nothing to..." At this point, Wang Qiang deliberately paused, looked at me with a suggestive gaze, and then continued, "In short, his harvest is probably not from any legitimate source!"
As soon as Wang Qiang's words fell, a wave of whispering broke out around us. I looked at him coldly, anger burning in my chest. This guy really stopped at nothing, actually smearing me in front of so many people!
"Wang Qiang, food can be eaten casually, but words cannot be spoken carelessly! What evidence do you have that my things came from an illegitimate source?" I suppressed the anger in my heart and said word by word.
"Evidence? Hmph, you want evidence, do you? Let me ask you, a rookie at the early Qi Condensation stage, how on earth did you manage to snatch food from the mouths of so many fierce beasts? Dare you say you didn't use some underhanded methods?" Wang Qiang asked aggressively.
"I..." I was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure how to refute him. Wang Qiang was right; with my strength at the time, it was indeed impossible for me to snatch spirit herbs and spirit crystals from so many fierce beasts.
"What? Can't answer? Feeling guilty, are you?" Seeing me stumped, Wang Qiang wore a triumphant smile.
"Who said I can't answer?" I took a deep breath, reached into my storage pouch, and took out an object—it was precisely the jade slip I had obtained from the three-eyed spirit fox. "I found this deep within the spirit herb garden; it records an ancient array formation capable of controlling fierce beasts. I suppose this is the reason I was able to come back alive."
I tossed the jade slip to Senior Brother Li. He caught it, examined it carefully, and his expression gradually turned solemn.
"This jade slip..." Senior Brother Li pondered for a moment, then looked up at me, his eyes filled with astonishment. "The array formation on this jade slip is indeed the long-lost ancient beast-taming art, and this jade slip should be the legacy of that legendary beast-taming grandmaster!"
Hearing Senior Brother Li's words, the surrounding crowd erupted into an uproar. A beast-taming grandmaster was a legendary figure, and his legacy was worth a fortune!
"Impossible! How could you possibly obtain the legacy of a beast-taming grandmaster?" Wang Qiang cried out in disbelief.
"Believe it or not," I said indifferently, ignoring him further. I turned to face the crowd and said in a clear voice, "I, Lu Chen, act openly and aboveboard, and I never resort to underhanded thievery! Today, I stake my life to guarantee that everything I have obtained was won by my own capability. If there is half a falsehood in this, may I be struck by lightning!"
My ringing words echoed in the courtyard, lingering for a long time.
In the days that followed, my reputation grew louder and louder within the Rogue Cultivator Organization, until almost everyone knew my name. As for Wang Qiang, he avoided me like a plague god, never daring to provoke me to my face again.
However, I knew this was merely the calm before the storm. Wang Qiang would definitely not let it go; he would surely find other ways to retaliate against me.
On this day, as I was meditating, I suddenly heard a hurried knocking on my door.
"Senior Brother Lu, it's bad! Something's happened!"
My heart tightened, and an ominous premonition surged within me...