Patriarch Ximen, Ximen Gong, never imagined his son would end up like this.

The Golden Healing Pill was supposed to be fine; it should have been able to heal his son.

But now, something had gone horribly wrong.

His son’s entire body was bright red, and wisps of black energy occasionally drifted across his skin.

Master Chen was also at a complete loss.

"Patriarch, the young master has definitely been poisoned."

"This is bad!"

Suddenly, he cried out in alarm.

He watched as Ximen Jianren’s limbs twitched a few times.

Then, he went completely still.

"Son..."

Ximen Gong cried out.

He tried to wake Ximen Jianren, but his son didn’t last long before he breathed his last.

All signs of life were gone.

Ximen Gong and Master Chen were both dumbfounded.

They stood frozen on the spot.

Everything had happened too quickly. From the Golden Healing Pill showing its healing effects to Ximen Jianren’s sudden death, only a few hours had passed.

’How could this happen?’

’My son... is dead?’

Ximen Gong stared blankly at his son’s corpse.

Even in death, the red hue on the body did not fade.

Suddenly, Ximen Gong whipped his head around to face Master Chen.

He roared, "Chen Ran, why did you murder my son?"

Master Chen’s face went pale with shock.

"Patriarch, it wasn’t me! I swear, it wasn’t me!"

He panicked. He’d never had any intention of harming Ximen Jianren.

He couldn’t understand why Ximen Gong was accusing him.

But at this moment, Ximen Gong seemed to have lost his mind.

He snarled, "If it wasn’t you, then who was it? Did you tamper with the Golden Healing Pill just now? Did you poison it?"

"Do you dare deny it?"

Chen Ran’s expression changed drastically.

He hastily explained, "Patriarch, please calm down. I understand your grief."

"But I’ve been with the Ximen Family for so many years and have always been loyal. How could I possibly do something like that?"

"There’s absolutely no benefit in it for me."

But Ximen Gong still didn’t believe him.

"Then how did my son die? How was he poisoned?"

His son, Ximen Jianren, was dead. Stone cold dead.

It was all over.

Chen Ran tried his best to explain.

"Patriarch, you should know my character."

"I would never do such a thing."

"In my opinion, we’ve overlooked one thing: the origin of the Golden Healing Pill."

’What?’

Ximen Gong froze.

"The origin of the Golden Healing Pill? What do you mean?"

Chen Ran said, "Think about it. We had never heard of a Golden Healing Pill in Hanwu City before. But as soon as we put up a reward, news of one suddenly appeared."

"This means someone did this intentionally."

BOOM!

Understanding dawned on Ximen Gong in an instant.

His eyes looked ready to split with rage.

"You’re right. It seems that’s the case."

"Someone really did deliberately leak the news about the Golden Healing Pill."

"I apologize for my disrespect earlier. I was simply overwhelmed."

Chen Ran shook his head. "I understand how you feel."

At this point, Chen Ran had already figured everything out.

He said to Ximen Gong, "Patriarch, this is a conspiracy. Someone wanted the young master dead."

"So they leaked news of the Golden Healing Pill, which was already poisoned before we ever got our hands on it."

"And it’s an unknown toxin, one we couldn’t possibly detect."

At that moment, Ximen Gong collapsed to the ground, his whole body trembling.

Gazing at his dead son, his eyes were bloodshot.

He looked like a furious, crazed beast—a terrifying sight.

He had calmed down, but he had also gone mad.

Finally, with a savage expression, he asked, "Master Chen, tell me, who did this?"

His son being poisoned to death had driven him, Ximen Gong, to the brink of madness.

As long as he knew who killed his son, he would absolutely avenge him.

In his anger, he had called Master Chen by his name.

Now, he had once again reverted to using his title, "Master Chen."

He clearly understood now that Chen Ran was not the one who had murdered his son.

Chen Ran thought for a moment.

Finally, he said in a low voice, "Patriarch, the only ones who have a grudge against us recently are the Jiang Family."

"Besides, didn’t you say that you injured Jiang Chen, the son of the Jiang Family Patriarch, Jiang Han?"

"If we’re talking about who would want to kill our young master right now, there’s no one else besides the Jiang Family."

BOOM!

The realization hit Ximen Gong like a thunderclap.

He leaped up from the ground.

"The Jiang Family... The Jiang Family."

"That’s right! It must be the Jiang Family!"

"Damn you, Jiang Family! The Ximen Family will not rest until you are destroyed!"

He understood now; only the Jiang Family would do something like this.

Chen Ran shook his head with a bitter smile.

Everything had happened so suddenly.

He offered his condolences, "Patriarch, please accept my sympathies."

Ximen Gong’s expression was utterly savage.

He gnashed his teeth and said, "Son, you can rest in peace."

"I will kill your enemy with my own hands and avenge you."

In truth, he was also filled with regret. He was the one who had personally fed the Golden Healing Pill to his son, causing his death.

Filled with hatred, Ximen Gong said to Master Chen, "I must avenge my son and our fallen clan members."

"We will wipe out the Jiang Family."

"Master Chen, give me a plan."

Chen Ran was known for being a strategist.

He was not short on ideas.

He said to Ximen Gong, "Patriarch, right now, the Jiang Family is somewhat stronger than our Ximen Family."

"A direct confrontation would be disadvantageous for us."

"Therefore, it’s best we adopt an indirect strategy and start by dealing with the Jiang Family in other areas."

Ximen Gong understood as well. The Ximen Clan had suffered successive defeats at the hands of the Jiang Family, and their strength had already waned.

There was certainly nothing to be gained by facing the Jiang Family head-on.

He asked, "Whatever ideas you have, tell me all of them."

After a moment of contemplation,

Chen Ran said, "I previously asked you to inquire about the Jiang Family’s Alchemist, Ling Xuan. I heard he’s about to be promoted to a Second-Grade Alchemist."

"To defeat the Jiang Family, we must first cut off their financial resources. That will definitely catch them off guard."

"So, my plan is to spend a great sum of money to poach their Alchemist, Ling Xuan."

"Once that happens, the Jiang Family will have lost its financial pillar. Our Ximen Family can use this opportunity to grow stronger. Then, we can make our move in the shadows and make the Jiang Family disappear from Hanwu City for good."

As he listened to Chen Ran’s plan, Ximen Gong’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He was thrilled.

"Master Chen, your ideas are always the best."

"But, will Ling Xuan be easy to poach? Would he even be willing to leave the Jiang Family?"

This was Ximen Gong’s main concern.

Of course, he was filled with passion for the idea of ruining the Jiang Family.

Only the complete annihilation of the Jiang Family could quench the hatred in his heart.

Chen Ran chuckled. "Patriarch, as the saying goes, ’Every wall can be torn down if you swing your pickaxe hard enough.’"

"That Ling Xuan is a restless one. As long as you’re willing to promise him a fortune, he will surely betray the Jiang Family and join our Ximen Family."

"Crushing the Jiang Family will be easy then."

Instantly, Ximen Gong was filled with confidence.

"Excellent. No matter how difficult it is, I must try."

"It’s settled then. We must destroy the Jiang Family."

With that, Ximen Gong began to make preparations for poaching Ling Xuan from the Jiang Family.

Meanwhile, the Jiang Family was still in the dark, completely unaware of the Ximen Family’s conspiracy.

And, of course, they had no idea that Ximen Jianren had already died from the poison.