I have the face of a great demon.

Elder Gan's figure appeared somewhat hurried in the morning light, and he stopped outside the spirit herb garden where Liu Xingchen and Tie Zhu were.

He reached out and gently knocked on the wooden door of the herb garden. The copper rings hanging on the door made a crisp sound, breaking the tranquility of the morning.

The door slowly opened, revealing Liu Xingchen's slightly surprised face.

He looked at Elder Gan standing outside the door, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, before he put on a warm smile and asked, "Elder Gan, what brings you here?"

Elder Gan, with a hint of worry on his face, cut straight to the point: "Recently, many of the thousand-year-old stalactite liquids in the sect's herb gardens have dried up, resulting in a significant reduction in production. It now takes about fifteen days to produce just one drop of stalactite liquid. How is the situation in your herb garden? Has it been affected?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xingchen and Tie Zhu felt a sudden tightness in their chests.

They exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of panic in each other's eyes.

The problem Elder Gan mentioned should be related to their use of formations to extract stalactite liquid.

They originally thought they could use the stalactite liquid to accelerate their cultivation without anyone noticing, but they never expected it would affect the entire sect's supply of stalactite liquid.

This is hard to hide; it might get exposed.

If they had known this would happen, they should have pretended to report to their superiors that there was a problem with the stalactite liquid, and then Elder Gan wouldn't have been watching them.

However, it’s not too late to say it now.

Liu Xingchen blinked and said, "Yes, yes, our stalactite liquid has also decreased significantly, and we don't even have enough spiritual marrow jade lotus to consume. They're all a bit wilted now."

As he spoke, he pointed to the somewhat listless Spirit Jade Lotus in the medicine garden, trying to divert Elder Gan's attention.

Upon hearing this, Elder Gan immediately quickened his pace and walked deeper into the herb garden, wanting to see the condition of the Spirit Essence Jade Lotus with his own eyes.

His gaze fell on the once vibrant Spirit Jade Lotuses, which now appeared somewhat dejected, and a strong sense of heartache welled up in his heart.

He crouched down and gently touched the leaves of the jade lotus, feeling their dull surfaces, his brows furrowed.

Elder Gan looked up at Liu Xingchen and the other two, his tone tinged with reproach: "Why didn't you report this sooner? These Spirit Essence Jade Lotuses are a precious resource of our sect. If they are damaged, the impact on the sect will be enormous."

Liu Xingchen feigned ignorance, saying, "Oh, we didn't know either. We thought it was a normal phenomenon."

"How can this be normal?"

"I thought it was like rivers and streams in the mortal world, with high water seasons and low water seasons. During the low water season, the water is less, and mountain streams may even dry up."

Elder Gan was both amused and exasperated: "You all have too little experience. This is clearly a problem with the sect's stalactite liquid, not some dry season."

Liu Xingchen and the others pretended to be humbled and receptive to instruction, but secretly they were all laughing to themselves.

Elder Gan reprimanded them and then planned to go back and report to his superiors. It had been confirmed that all the stalactite liquid in the sect was in trouble. This was a big deal and he couldn't handle it on his own. He had to report it to the sect leader.

Liu Xingchen and the others respectfully escorted Elder Gan to the door, thinking that this ordeal was over. But then Elder Gan suddenly turned around and said, "By the way, I'll go into your cave and see how the stalactite liquid is doing now."

Upon hearing this, the three of them immediately thought, "Oh no!"

Their cave still has a formation set up, and there's no time to remove it. If Elder Gan sees it, how could he not know that they are the ones playing tricks?

The three of them were anxious and exchanged glances.

How to do?

We can't let Elder Gan go in; if he does, it'll be all over.

Tie Zhu even revealed a fierce glint in his eyes, wondering if he should kill Elder Gan to prevent future troubles.

Liu Xingchen gave him an incredulous look. Kill Elder Gan? Putting aside whether the three of them were strong enough to kill an elder, even if they could, the death of an elder would make things even worse.

At the critical moment, Liu Xingchen had a flash of inspiration and came up with an idea. He signaled to Tie Zhu and the other man not to rush and to let him handle the situation.

Liu Xingchen gestured for him to follow, leading Elder Gan toward the cave entrance while simultaneously instructing the Spirit Scholar to act.

Liu Xingchen led Elder Gan through the cave, their footsteps echoing in the winding passages, each turn appearing so natural.

After several turns, they arrived at a relatively spacious cave.

A faint dampness permeated the air, and stalactites of various shapes hung from the cave ceiling and walls, shimmering with a mysterious light in the dim light.

Elder Gan's gaze swept across the cave, finally settling on an exceptionally large stalactite.

This stalactite hangs down from the cave ceiling like a giant icicle, with a small drop of crystal-clear liquid condensing at its tip. It shimmers softly in the dim light, and although it is not yet fully formed, it already shows the unique luster of the millennia-old stalactite liquid.

Tie Zhu and Ye Sisi, who were following behind, looked bewildered. Where did the formation go?

How could such a large formation just disappear like that?

Elder Gan approached the stalactite and carefully observed the drop of liquid.

He used his spiritual sense to perceive the cool and pure power, and nodded to confirm, "It is indeed thousand-year-old stalactite liquid. How long has this drop of unformed stalactite liquid been around?"

"It's been ten days already, and I estimate it will start dripping in another five days."

"Hmm." Elder Gan nodded, just as he had thought. Judging from the size of the drop of stalactite liquid, Liu Xingchen was indeed right.

Elder Gan shifted his gaze from the stalactite liquid to Liu Xingchen and the other two: "That's settled then. I already know the situation and will handle it myself. You all keep a close watch on the spirit herb garden and make sure nothing goes wrong. Report any incidents immediately."

Liu Xingchen and the other two nodded vigorously, secretly relieved that they had finally managed to get through this hurdle.

After seeing Elder Gan off, Tie Zhu and Ye Sisi couldn't wait to surround Liu Xingchen, their curiosity in full swing: "Brother Xingchen, that was amazing! Such a big formation, how could it just disappear like that? Was it magic?"

Liu Xingchen looked mysterious, a smug smile playing on his lips: "Remove the formation? Who said I removed it? The formation is still there perfectly fine, I didn't touch it at all."

"What?" Tie Zhu and Ye Sisi exclaimed in unison, looking completely bewildered. "Then why can't we see it?"

Liu Xingchen chuckled and led the two of them through the maze of the cave again, back to the location of the drop of stalactite liquid.

He pointed to the stalactites arranged in a neat and orderly fashion, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Come on, take a closer look. Can you see anything special about them?"