Flipping through the pages, the first twenty described the places Feng Yue had traveled to. The next hundred or so were filled with recipes for various poison pills.
Elixirs could heal people, but naturally, they could also harm.
In ancient times, alchemists had split into two factions: medicine and poison. The two sides were often at odds and competed fiercely.
But as time passed, most alchemists today focused on medicine. Even if poison pills were brewed in secret, alchemists rarely spoke of them openly.
That was why alchemists mostly appeared as healers nowadays.
Song Wanníng practiced both alchemy and poison. It was a poisoned pill stolen by Bai Yang that worsened Ye Chuxue's condition.
She had always been deeply interested in poison pills, but since the formulas were lost, she could only make a limited number of them.
Now with this poison pill formula before her, she was thrilled and immediately stored it away. She also selected several other pill legacies and had the golden little sword copy them all.
After organizing everything, she went up to the fifth and sixth floors.
The vast variety of books overwhelmed her. After days of searching, she was dizzy and exhausted but still found no mention of the Dragon Vein.
She sighed. Her worst suspicion had come true. Such an important secret must be in Feng Jinchuan's hands. That made the problem even trickier.
But at the thought of the Nine-Cycle Soul Devouring Formation, a spark of hope lit up in Song Wanníng's heart.
Now she had to find a way to lure everyone there. She left the library with her full haul and returned to her courtyard. She checked Feng Jinchuan's whereabouts and learned he was still guarding the seal. Her eyes darkened.
Peng Yu's news alone was unlikely to attract Feng Jinchuan.
She would need a bigger bait.
Song Wanníng pondered deeply for days.
The golden little sword occasionally offered suggestions, but she rejected them all.
She would not alert Feng Jinchuan unless she was at least 80 percent sure. Then one day, while roaming the city searching for ideas, she spotted a familiar figure. It was someone from the Peng family. She had seen him during the earlier fight in the crowd. His movements were suspicious. He seemed to be snooping around.
"Sister, has the Peng family noticed something wrong?"
The golden little sword frowned, eyeing the man's furtive back and sneered.
"If you ask me, we should spread news of the seal. Let's see how the Feng family responds."
Then Feng Jinchuan would face pressure from several great families, maybe creating an opening. But Song Wanníng's expression remained serious, not optimistic.
"If this news leaks, the Feng family will be in big trouble. But the pressure on the Song family will double. Once everyone works together to break the seal, who can guarantee the other families won't discover the Dragon Vein?"
These questions haunted her. Otherwise, she would have leaked the secret long ago.
"I overlooked that point."
The golden little sword's frown deepened, letting out a faint sigh.
"Why not just trick them all into that formation? One less enemy is one less enemy. Even if they survive, they'll be badly beaten. For a while, they won't have the mind to worry about anything else."
Its words were like cool water on a hot summer day, snapping Song Wanníng back to focus.
But she quickly shook her head. "Other families have no karmic ties to the Song family. Recklessly sacrificing them would bind me in karmic debt. Forget ascension, I might get struck down by lightning the moment I step outside."
The Heavenly Dao did not favor her. If it detected karmic debt on her, it would follow the rules and dispose of her without hesitation.
Crying would be useless then.
The golden little sword fell silent. Its ideas all seemed like desperate tricks...
Still, its words gave Song Wanníng an idea. Just relying on Peng Yu's news would never draw Feng Jinchuan out.
But she had a certain treasure that might tempt him.
Her divine sense tingled. Back in the Song family's main body, Song Wanníng immediately received the message and opened her eyes, exhaling a long breath.
Careful observation showed her aura had improved and now carried a strange coldness.
Her clone was in trouble and needed her to intervene, so she had to interrupt her cultivation for now.
She left the training hall and walked toward the Song family's council chamber, where she asked Song Qingyun to temporarily take away the trial tower.
"The trial tower is yours anyway. Take it, no need to tell me."
Song Qingyun thought about the recent changes in the Song family and felt increasingly gratified.
Thanks to the trial tower and spiritual stones, the disciples were growing rapidly. Plus, all the legacies Song Wanníng provided brought great benefits.
Song Wanníng's status in the Song family was almost godlike. The disciples revered and loved her. No one dared speak ill of her.
Song Qingyun had subtly spread this reputation. His daughter had done so much for the Song family and everyone needed to know and remember her contributions. Sometimes Wanníng was just like that — always giving without expecting anything in return, which made it easy for others to forget to be grateful.
"Alright, I'll take it away first."
Song Wanníng nodded and went to collect the trial tower. Then she headed toward the rift.
By the time she arrived, her clone had already gotten there. The clone used a jade hairpin to bypass the seal and took the trial tower.
It also handed over a copy of all the legacies and pill recipes.
Watching her clone turn and leave, Song Wanníng's expression was subtle. Having a clone was a strange feeling — every movement carried a special closeness, even though the other wore Feng Youming's face.
After sending off the items, she did not stay. Her clone was in urgent trouble, and she could not waste time either. She had to cultivate well.
When she eventually faced those Divine Transformation cultivators, her clone would need powerful strength to protect itself.
...
Meanwhile, the clone carried the trial tower and hurried to the cave.
Bai Yang finally saw Song Wanníng and immediately stood up, eyes sparkling. "Master, you're here?"
"Mm."
Song Wanníng nodded and stepped into the cave. After confirming Peng Yu was still alive in the corner, she turned to Bai Yang. "Follow me and don't ask any questions. Just come with me."
Bai Yang's sole purpose was to bring her good luck and to help things go smoothly, like a lucky charm.
She then wrapped Peng Yu in a cloth and headed back to the wasteland with both of them.
Flying, she took out a communication talisman and told the other Feng family elders, "I found Peng Yu's trail, but she injured me and ran away. She even bragged that even if all of us attacked together, we're no match for one of her fingers!"