Chen Wei's plan was elegant in its simplicity. He didn't need to poison Liu Yan directly—too obvious, too traceable. Instead, he would contaminate the Foundation Establishment Pill that Elder Mo would eventually give Liu Yan.
But it had to be subtle. The contamination couldn't be detectable by normal inspection, had to remain inert until the pill was consumed during breakthrough, and had to cause failure without killing Liu Yan outright. Death would trigger a thorough investigation.
Chen Wei spent weeks calculating the perfect formula. Three parts Crimson Sand Root to destabilize fire-element qi. Two parts Void Moss to create momentary spiritual emptiness. One part Clarity Petal—ironically used in healing—to make the user's perception sharp enough to notice their own impending failure.
The combination would cause Liu Yan's breakthrough to fail spectacularly, damaging his cultivation permanently without being fatal. And the ingredients were common enough that they could have contaminated the pill through dozens of natural causes.
The tricky part was application. Chen Wei couldn't contaminate all Foundation Establishment Pills—that would be discovered immediately. He needed to target the specific pill destined for Liu Yan.
Which meant predicting which batch Elder Mo would choose.