I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 234 - 232: Interrogation

Wang Shun had no time to ask them how they got out from underground when the sound of hundreds of flying devices slicing through the air echoed from afar.

A resonant voice rang out above everyone’s heads.

"Yun Yi——!"

Chu Baili, with white robes and purple eyes, stepped out from the flying device, descending straight from dozens of meters high and instantly appearing opposite Chu Yunyi, eyes brimming with tears.

Chu Baili had a heartfelt love for Chu Yunyi, this outstanding descendant. During the nearly ten hours of Chu Yunyi’s disappearance, Chu Baili felt as if his heart was being fried.

He was not only worried about the chaos caused by the Cult of Slaying Immortals in Qianyuan but also deeply concerned with the blood bond to his kin. If Wang Shun hadn’t stopped him, he would have gone down the tunnel to search himself.

At this moment, his concerned descendant stood before him, intact, with his spiritual power nearly exhausted but without any physical injuries—a misfortune turned fortunate.

"Yun Yi, you—you’ve worked hard!"

Chu Yunyi shook his head, pulling Li Xing, Ye Qingting, and Cui Tianxiao forward, saying, "No need to hide from our ancestor, my survival is all thanks to them."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Chu Yunyi’s tone and demeanor were not ones of modesty, and this greatly surprised Chu Baili. In his view, Chu Yunyi’s strength was undoubtedly the leader among the younger generation in Qianyuan. Being trapped together, Chu Yunyi should have been the one contributing the most effort; who would have guessed it was otherwise.

Chu Baili cupped his hands towards the three, saying solemnly, "The great kindness you three have shown Yun Yi, I will remember for life! Once this matter is over, the Chu Family will surely present you with gifts to express gratitude!"

Ye Qingting hurriedly performed a junior’s salute: "The situation is not as severe as my cousin described. It’s natural to unite and help each other in danger, there’s no need for thanks!"

Chu Baili recognized Ye Qingting. This child, Yun Yi’s cousin, was full of passion and chivalry, unlike Jiang Yuesheng, who was all pretense and calculations.

"Why not? This is not to be argued; thanks will be given nonetheless. Refusing means not giving respect to me! And not giving face to the Chu Family!"

Ye Qingting was helpless: "If Elder Chu insists on giving thanks, then thank Li Xing, she contributed the most, Ah Xiao and I just tagged along!"

Cui Tianxiao nodded like a pecking chicken: "That’s right!"

"Oh?" Chu Baili looked towards Li Xing, eyes filled with a smile: "Li Xing, I’ve heard from Chu Hui about you, saying you are courageous and heroic. I always thought there was exaggeration, but didn’t expect it to be true."

Li Xing pouted, thinking the old blind man must have badmouthed her about the star coins to Chu Baili.

"Elder Chu overpraises, I was just lucky."

Chu Baili looked at Li Xing, then at Chu Yunyi, recalling the latter part of Chu Hui’s words, he laughed heartily, feeling gratified in his old age.

"The four of you follow me to the Elder Council to meet with Elder Ji immediately. Every detail of the transfer and the encounters in the underground tunnels must be reported to the Great Elder."

Ye Qingting was a bit worried about Qi Ming, and asked Chu Baili: "Elder Chu—" The words were not yet finished when Chu Baili interrupted, displeased.

"Jiang Yuesheng dares to shamelessly call me ancestor due to his childhood friendship with Yun Yi, and you, being part of the Chu family by marriage, should do the same, shouldn’t you? Not only you, but everyone in your team should call me ancestor just like Yun Yi. If anything comes up in the future, your ancestor will have your back!"

Ye Qingting blushed, feeling slightly emotional, but didn’t forget the important matter, continuing: "Ancestor, what about our talisman master in the team? Is he alright?"

"Qi Ming is fine. All competitors, including representatives from the four major military academies, are waiting in Xi Yuan City for news. They should know by now that you have returned safely."

Cui Tianxiao had always been brooding over his poor performance in the competition. He wondered about the impact of the interference on the results, and with Chu Baili in a good mood, he decided to ask: 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Ancestor, what about the competition? Will it be postponed?"

"As the arbiter of the competition, I have the authority to decide the competition’s process when an unexpected situation arises. Considering the large forces behind the flag transfer incident, its extensive implications, and many lingering dangerous factors, I have decided to terminate the competition."

"What?" Cui Tianxiao was anxious: "What about our results—"

Chu Baili raised his hand, signaling him to calm down: "Before I officially terminated the competition, all four flags were already retrieved, with Harssas Academy placing second."

The sudden joy made both Ye Qingting and Li Xing show delighted expressions, and Cui Tianxiao was so happy he jumped up: "Yah—!"

After the competition, watching the replay, Cui Tianxiao realized the flag had been "helpfully" retrieved by Jiang Yuesheng.

"It’s getting late, you four should change clothes and follow me to the Elder Council."

"Yes—!"

The four followed Chu Baili, unimpeded, quickly arriving outside the Holy Hall of the Elder Council, where Chu Yunyi was called in first for questioning.

Standing in the center of the hall, Chu Yunyi respectfully saluted.

"Chu Yunyi greets all elders." Except those sent to Xi Yuan City to deal with the flag key incident, Xiang Wuya and Chen Luxi, all elders were present, even the long-unseen Jiang Hongfei.

"No need for formalities!" Elder Ji’s powerful voice echoed in the hall, shortly after an ancient handrail chair appeared behind Chu Yunyi. "Sit and answer."

"Yes."

"Yun Yi, what happened after you were transported by the flag key?"

Chu Yunyi narrated the events to Elder Ji and the other elders, omitting a few details, all concerning Li Xing.

After Chu Yunyi finished, Elder Ji asked a few more questions before letting him out, as the next one went in for questioning, and so the four were questioned one by one.

When it came to Li Xing, Elder Ji inquired in detail about her battle with the sand silkworms and carefully inspected her "elemental fire." Li Xing naturally didn’t disclose that she obtained many Ruo Ye silks, enough to make hundreds of Kufei.

Although Elder Ji found Little Fatty’s energy more abundant than usual Heavenly Armor level Fire Elemental Spirits, he couldn’t have guessed it was actually a peculiar flame, coveted by even the thirty-six sages. Unable to discern the mystery, he attributed the abundant energy to the Double Heaven Armor.

To Li Xing’s surprise, Jiang Hongfei seemed more interested in the sand silkworms and sand snake than their experiences, asking many questions about the underground lake’s location.

If Elder Ji hadn’t interrupted, Li Xing thought he might have asked her to draw a route map from the underground lake’s exit.

With the questioning smoothly concluded, from start to finish, Li Xing didn’t reveal anything about the transparent creature, and to her relief, neither did Chu Yunyi utter a word.

Chu Baili took the four back to Xi Yuan City, while Elder Ji and the other elders expressed their opinions on the matter.

Shen Tuwei: "Great Elder, was this really done by the Cult of Slaying Immortals?"

Elder Ji hummed softly: "The interrogation department of the First Army already has concrete evidence, an officer’s superior was confirmed to be a small hallmaster of the Cult of Slaying Immortals."

Lin Guyang slammed the table, cursing: "Damn! These demons of the Cult of Slaying Immortals are like weeds, unable to be eradicated for hundreds of years!"

Jiang Hongfei chuckled: "With a hierarch who can live forever, it’s no wonder the Cult has never lacked followers."

Nangong Qingxin snorted: "Immortal my foot, it’s all smoke and mirrors by the Cult of Slaying Immortals, lies designed to fool the ignorant!"

Mo Su: "We can’t let them harm our Qianyuan Qilinzi any longer! Great Elder, please allow me to mobilize elite forces from the four major corps to crush the Cult of Slaying Immortals!"

Elder Ji also wished to eradicate the Cult of Slaying Immortals utterly, but the urgency shown by the Purple Demon Pearl, and the ever-unpredictable beast tide made reducing the military strength of the four major corps unwise at this moment.

"The eradication should be planned carefully. The current priority is to thoroughly investigate the entire Federation Government, to identify any others colluding with the Cult of Slaying Immortals. Please inspect the departments under your jurisdiction without missing anyone."

"Yes—!"