"Qi Increasing Elixir and Divine Soul Elixir? Although their efficacy is quite decent, involving so many families at once, I still find it hard to believe."

The Third Elder focused his gaze on Yue Yongnan, squinted and asked, "You stole these medicines, planning to refine what kind of pill?"

Yue Yongnan’s old face was flushed red, shaking his head he said, "I don’t know either... When Wang Shi found me, we agreed to split the herbs, but as for what medicine he was going to make, I have no idea!"

Every family’s pill recipe is hereditary. All of these are left by the ancestors, belonging to their personal items, therefore even the Alliance of Families has no right to know.

It is exactly because of this attitude of safeguarding treasures that many ancient things cannot be passed down.

The Third Elder turned his gaze once again to Tang Ming and the seated elder from the Tang Family, asking, "Do you know what Wang Shi is going to do?"

Both of them shook their heads simultaneously, this matter Wang Shi hadn’t mentioned to them at all.

"Is Wang Shi dead now?" Suddenly, the Elder sitting centrally in the hall spoke up. He was a taciturn person; his presence was already notable.

"He got shot in the chest... but the bullet didn’t hit his heart. He’s currently in a coma and being rescued." Tang Ming replied truthfully.

"Rescue for what! This worthless thing, let him die already! If he’s not dead, give him a final stab!" The Elder said mercilessly.

With these words, no matter if it was the standing Tang Ming or the seated elder from the Tang Family, their faces didn’t look pleasant.

After all, he was the Patriarch of the Wang Family. To say killing him is as simple as slaughtering a chicken, isn’t it too disrespectful?

"Alright, alright, let’s leave the matter of the Wang Family here for now." The Second Elder smiled, smoothing things over, and continued: "Next, let’s discuss about the Xu Family."

Hearing this, everyone’s spirits perked up; today’s main event had arrived!

"Xu Miaoxiu. Tell us, what were the people of your Xu Family doing last night?"

The speaker was still the Second Elder of the Alliance of Families. Don’t be fooled by his smiling face, he’s actually a person with deeply profound Inner Strength.

As he finished saying this, the aura around him suddenly surged, an invisible pressure like an avalanche, a tsunami, a roaring snow collapse, pressing Miaoxiu almost out of breath.

This was a display of power, also a fluctuation of Inner Strength!

Under this pressure, Miaoxiu felt as if her knees were filled with lead, struggling not to kneel.

"Hmm..."

With a muffled groan, Miaoxiu forcibly circulated her Inner Strength, counteracting the pressure to prevent herself from kneeling! Once she kneeled, the mental barrier inside her would also crumble!

This was a common trick the Second Elder used during interrogations.

"Uh..."

Miaoxiu yet lacked the skill to forcibly withstand such pressure. Ultimately, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and her knees felt an unprecedented sharp pain, finally unable to resist kneeling down!

"Speak! Did your Xu Family use some array last night?" The Second Elder asked again with a smile, his demeanor as if he were a benevolent elder.

"Second Elder~"

Suddenly, a woman’s voice echoed in the hall. The sound quality was ethereal, extremely penetrating, yet captivating. Any normal man would conjure an image of a beautiful, voluptuous woman just from hearing this voice.

The Second Elder turned, seeking the voice’s source.

What he saw was a pair of crimson eyes! In those eyes lay everything he desired, like a paradise.

Second Elder was lost; he wanted to forever immerse himself in this world!

"Second Elder!" Suddenly, the Elder spoke again, with Inner Strength laced within his voice, jolting Second Elder completely awake.

Almost instantly, Second Elder snapped to reality, realizing he had fallen under the Xu Family’s Charm Technique!

And the one who deployed the technique was Xu Bai Rou, the Xu Family’s elder within the Alliance of Families, a fox spirit in her forties with excellent bone structure!

"Xu Bai Rou! What are you doing? Protecting your Xu Family?" Second Elder sternly rebuked. Being bewitched by Charming Skill was utterly shameful!

"Hehe, is it really as serious as Second Elder’s claim? I merely wished to alleviate some pressure for our Miaoxiu. You put such heavy pressure on a junior, leaving her speechless; how is she supposed to answer your questions? Does this old man wish to harshly interrogate a fair maiden?" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Humph!" Second Elder snorted heavily, no longer engaging her, but rather redirecting his gaze towards Xu Miaoxiu, "Can you speak now?"

Miaoxiu still knelt there; Xu Bai Rou had alleviated the pressure just now. However, she had already exhausted her strength confronting Second Elder, leaving her unable to stand.

With a face like a delicate painting, Miaoxiu said: "Yes! We indeed used an array last night!"

This matter is impossible to conceal because the materials needed for the array are scattered all over Luoyan Dock, without immediate retrieval serving as concrete evidence! There’s no room for reneging.

The array is even more rare a ’resource’ than the pill recipe.

Every family possesses arrays, several types, rarely deployed due to the difficulty in acquiring the necessary materials.

Every array has its unique properties, thus requiring distinct materials.

As for the Xu Family’s arrays, many require Charming Skill, so they need a great amount of materials complementing Charming Skill. It was exactly because of this they got exposed!

"Heh. If I guessed right, it’s probably ’Fox’s Speech’ created by that old fox in your family centuries ago, right? A powerful auxiliary array, capable of confusing enemies on a large scale. You Xu Family came to steal medicine too, didn’t you?"

Second Elder said with a smile: "When cultivated to the extreme, this demonic array renders everyone your puppets. Unfortunately, you young foxes lack the skill to accomplish that."

Miaoxiu wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, smiling gracefully as she said: "You’re not from the Xu Family, never seen Xu Family’s arrays, how can you assert it was ’Fox’s Speech’? Last night, we merely used the array to collect Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to aid cultivation! How could it become a demonic array by your words?"

"Heh, what a lovely smile, it seems you are confident." Second Elder said with a smile: "If I remember correctly, you have a younger sister named Mei Ruyan? She’s lived among the commonfolk. She hasn’t returned to your Xu Family; I suppose some secrets lie within, beyond mere family disgrace?"

Dong...

Miaoxiu’s mind suddenly went blank, how could this person know...