A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Sword-Forging Servant and Ascending to Immorta

Chen Baichuan's expression changed.

"Does the Third Elder know anything about weapon crafting?" Zhou Lingxuan continued to ask.

"He knows nothing!" Chen Baichuan gritted his teeth. "He's just a reckless swordsman who can't even hold the most basic fire control technique!"

"That settles it then."

Zhou Lingxuan slapped his thigh.

"How could an amateur who knows nothing about weapon crafting manage to bypass the heavy guards of the weapon crafting hall, sneak into the storeroom, and do such meticulous work on three hundred catties of Cold Sound Iron?"

Chen Baichuan's breathing became rapid.

"Even if his cultivation level is high enough to avoid the guards, how can he guarantee that the amount of fire poison seeping in is just right? Too much, and the materials will explode on the spot. Too little, and it won't explode during the forging process."

Zhou Lingxuan looked at Chen Baichuan, his tone carrying a hint of the wisdom of someone who had been through it all.

"I've seen too many slackers and cheaters. If someone wanted to mix slag into iron ingots and get away with it without the foreman noticing, how could an outsider, who doesn't even know where the furnace is, possibly mix it in?"

"Only one of our own people, who spends every day tending the furnace and handling iron ingots, could do something like this."

Chen Baichuan suddenly stood up and paced back and forth in the secret room like a trapped beast.

"Impossible... This is absolutely impossible..."

He muttered to himself, but a fine layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Zhou Lingxuan's words tore open a wound that he had always been unwilling to think about.

The storeroom of the artifact hall is heavily fortified with arrays; even a fly flying in would trigger an alarm.

Before being stored, the Hanyin Iron undergoes three inspections.

If the fire poison was present before it was stored, it would be impossible for the inspectors not to notice it.

If the fire poison was added after the weapon was stored, then the person who did it must be thoroughly familiar with the weapon hall's formations and know the properties of the Cold Sound Iron by heart.

There also needs to be ample time to slowly and methodically force the fire poison into the core of the material in the warehouse.

"It's hard to guard against a thief within the family, Elder."

Zhou Lingxuan added a sentence at the opportune moment.

Chen Baichuan paused, turned around abruptly, his eyes bloodshot, and stared intently at Zhou Lingxuan.

"You mean, there's a mole in the Weaponry Hall?"

"That's not what I said, old man." Zhou Lingxuan quickly waved his hand and took a step back. "I'm just a blacksmith, I was just guessing. Please don't take it to heart."

Chen Baichuan braced his hands on the stone table, staring intently at the surface.

"Someone who has access to this batch of Cold Sound Iron and the ability to implant fire poison into it..."

Several names flashed through his mind.

Each of them is a core figure in the Qi Hall.

Each one of them was either a disciple he had personally trained or a prominent manager in the weapon-making hall.

"But what's the point?" Chen Baichuan suddenly looked up, his face full of confusion. "Destroying this batch of military supplies will get the weapons department punished, and no one will get away with it. What's the mole's motive?"

Zhou Lingxuan sighed, walked to the stone table, and poured himself a cup of cold tea.

"Elder, if I may be so bold as to ask, is the entire Weaponry Hall a united front?"

Chen Baichuan was taken aback.

"You are an elder with real power, and your lineage carries weight in the Weaponry Hall. But if you fail to deliver the military supplies this time and neglect your duty, who will benefit most from the sect's wrath?"

Zhou Lingxuan held the teacup and blew away the foam on top.

"Destroying these shields won't benefit the Third Elder, but it will be extremely beneficial to those within the Weaponry Hall who aspire to rise in rank."

"Failing to deliver military supplies once could be considered an accident."

"What if things keep going wrong?"

"Has your reputation within the sect been completely ruined, Elder Chen?"

"When that happens, if the higher-ups think you're incompetent, the head of the department has a problem with you, and the people below seize the opportunity to make trouble, will you still be able to keep the resources and power you hold?"

Clang!

Chen Baichuan accidentally knocked over a teacup, which smashed to pieces on the ground.

He was struck dumb, frozen in place.

Cold sweat slid down his forehead and dripped onto the blue stone tabletop.

Inside the equipment hall!

Someone wants to use the military supply mission to gradually destroy the reputation of Chen Baichuan's lineage and eventually take his place!

"What a ruthless scheme."

Chen Baichuan gritted his teeth, his voice squeezed out from between them, exuding a chilling murderous aura.

"While I'm frantically forging weapons up front, he's digging up my roots from behind!"

Seeing that the tea was ready, Zhou Lingxuan put down his teacup and slowly straightened up, leaning against the wall for support.

"Elder, now that things are sorted out, I'll head back first. There's still a mess waiting for me at the abandoned hall."

Chen Baichuan grabbed his arm.

"You can't leave!"

"Now that you've seen through this, you've got to help me to the end!"

Zhou Lingxuan winced in pain and quickly pulled his hand back.

"Ouch, Elder, please be gentle! My old bones can't take your rough treatment."

"Catching the mole is an internal matter for your Weaponry Hall. What's the point of a useless hall manager like me getting involved? I'm not ready to die yet!"

Chen Baichuan panicked and blocked the doorway.

"What are you afraid of? I'll protect you!"

"Give me a break," Zhou Lingxuan said with a bitter face. "You can't even protect the materials of your own establishment, how can you protect me? I might as well go back to my abandoned establishment and start a furnace."

Chen Baichuan was so choked up that his face turned bright red.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and softened his tone.

"Brother Zhou."

Even the way they address each other has changed.

"Please, brother, I'm begging you."

"This mole is hiding too well; now I see everyone as a ghost. I can't trust anyone in the entire Qi Hall anymore."

"You're an outsider, but you have a sharp eye and cunning methods. Help me remove this thorn in my side, and you can name your price!"

Zhou Lingxuan stopped in his tracks, his cloudy eyes darting around.

"Drive anywhere?"

"Yes! Take whatever the equipment hall has!"

Zhou Lingxuan touched his chin.

"The old man is looking to have some furniture made, but he's short on wood. I heard your workshop has a lot of rare spirit wood in its storeroom?"

Chen Baichuan was stunned.

"Spirit-Severing Wood? Besides being heavy, that stuff can't even allow true energy to pass through. What do you need it for?"

"I'll hit the bed board, then I'll sleep soundly," Zhou Lingxuan casually made up.

Chen Baichuan's lips twitched.

He knew Zhou Lingxuan wasn't telling the truth, but now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

"Alright! There are still several thousand kilograms left in the warehouse, send them all to the abandoned hall!"

"make a deal."

Zhou Lingxuan leaned back against the stone table.

"The investigation of the mole must not be carried out in a high-profile manner."

"Go out now, pretend you know nothing, and curse or get angry as you please."

"With one hundred Frost Shields delivered on time, the traitor's plan has failed, and he'll definitely panic."

"When people panic, they'll give themselves away."

Chen Baichuan nodded repeatedly, like an obedient apprentice.

"So what do we do now?"

Zhou Lingxuan pointed to the storage bag at Chen Baichuan's waist.

"Bring out the entire inventory list of this batch of Hanyin Iron, along with the records of those who handled it."

"To cultivate fire poison so beautifully, one's cultivation level must be at least at the late Foundation Establishment stage, and one must also be proficient in formations and the principles of material counteraction."

"How many people in the Weapon Hall meet this condition?"

Chen Baichuan's face was gloomy.

"Less than five."

"Find the names of these five people." Zhou Lingxuan tapped the table. "See who went to the warehouse after this batch of Cold Sound Iron was put into storage."

Without saying a word, Chen Baichuan patted the storage bag.

A dozen or so thick ledgers lay on the stone table.

Chen Baichuan pulled up the material inventory list and began searching quickly.

The atmosphere in the enclosed room was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Chen Baichuan flipped through more than a dozen thick warehouse entry and exit ledgers with a rustling sound, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the names on them.

Half an incense stick later, he abruptly closed the last account book, his thick fingers tapping heavily twice on the cover.

"It's been investigated."

Zhou Lingxuan sat across the stone table, toying with an empty teacup in his hand, his eyelids slightly raised.

"How many suspects are there?"

"Three."

Chen Baichuan held up three fingers, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

"In the two weeks since this batch of Hanyin Iron was put into storage, only these three people have entered the Class A warehouse alone, and they have stayed there for a sufficiently long time."

Tell me about it.

"The first one is the chief weapon refiner, Du Heng."

Zhou Lingxuan shook his head without even thinking.

"Cross it, it couldn't be him."

Chen Baichuan frowned: "Why?"

"Although I don't understand your intricacies, I'm pretty good at judging people."

Zhou Lingxuan put down the teacup.

"Just now in the weapon-refining room, that guy surnamed Du was so anxious to save the materials that his eyes were practically bloodshot, he almost came to blows with you. Someone who values ​​the rules of weapon refining more than his own life wouldn't do something as underhanded as destroying materials."

Chen Baichuan pondered for a moment and nodded. Du Heng was indeed stubborn; getting him to poison the materials was harder than killing him.

"The second one is Sun Hai, the foreign affairs officer," Chen Baichuan continued. "This kid is always up to no good and often tries to sabotage things with scraps."

"Cross it out too," Zhou Lingxuan rejected again.

"Why is that?"

"Being dishonest is at most a sign of greed."

Zhou Lingxuan pointed in the direction outside the door.

"But the fire poison within that batch of Cold Sound Iron was extremely well hidden; even you, a Golden Core elder, couldn't see through it. Does Sun Hai, a mere Foundation Establishment stage deacon, possess such skill in deceiving everyone?"

Chen Baichuan was speechless. Indeed, Sun Hai's weapon-refining skills were mediocre, and he was simply incapable of such delicate work.

A brief, deathly silence fell over the sealed room.

Chen Baichuan's finger hovered in mid-air, and he hesitated to announce the third name.

His chest heaved violently, his breathing became heavy, and a barely suppressed rage and murderous intent surged deep in his eyes.

Zhou Lingxuan looked at him, her tone calm.

"Who is the third one?"

Chen Baichuan gritted his teeth, his voice almost forced out from between his teeth.

"Deputy Hall Master, Li Yuan."