What does my ancestor's pregnancy have to do with me, a mere servant?

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

For the past five days, Lin Yuan has neither rested nor slept.

Lin Feilu and Li Yang both came twice. Each time they stayed for two hours before being driven away.

There are only three days left until the opening of the Taixu Secret Realm.

According to the sect's rules, the teams heading to the secret realm should board the boat and depart at this time tomorrow.

On the bluestone platform inside the stone chamber, there were three thick stacks of talismans.

Ten Heavenly Steadfast Talismans were used.

Concealment talismans, shrinking-the-ground talismans, barrier-breaking talismans, spirit vision talismans, Vajra talismans... and countless others.

On the other side of the table, there was a dark gold array plate and twelve black array flags.

The surface of the array plate was covered with dense array patterns, each pattern radiating a cold, eerie luster.

The flags of the Twelve-Pole Array were embroidered with eerie dark red totems, exuding a sinister aura. Even just sitting there quietly, they could send chills down one's spine.

At this moment, Lin Yuan was sitting cross-legged on the stone bed.

The Netherworld Fire enveloped him completely. The pitch-black flames surged across his body, and the eerie blue halo around the edges illuminated the entire stone chamber as if it were a ghostly realm.

The Hundred Refinements of Mortal Bones Technique was pushed to its limit.

During these five days, whenever he had free time, he would consume top-grade body-tempering pills and repeatedly temper his physical body with the extreme yin power of the Earthly Fiend Netherfire.

The body's vital energy and blood have accumulated to a critical point.

boom--

A muffled rumble of thunder emanated from within his body.

The bones trembled violently. Every bone made a crisp popping sound.

A layer of dark golden metallic luster appeared on the skin's surface.

The luster no longer flickered like before, but instead steadily covered his body, like a very thin layer of metal armor.

Lin Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

He exhaled a breath of stale air.

He has reached the mid-stage of the Transcendent Realm.

He stood up.

The bones emitted a series of crisp popping sounds.

The surging power of qi and blood within his body had increased even more than it had been seven days ago.

The vitality contained within flesh and blood is like a rushing river, continuously nourishing every inch of skin and every bone.

Lin Yuan took out the top-grade magic weapon flying sword from his storage bag.

The sword gleamed with a cold, sharp light; its blade was as thin as a cicada's wing and could cut through iron like mud.

Lin Yuan raised his left arm.

Hold the sword in your right hand, aim the blade at the skin and flesh on the outside of your forearm, and slash down forcefully.

"Sizzle—"

A sharp, metallic scraping sound rang out.

It wasn't the sound of a blade cutting into flesh.

It's the sound of metal scraping against metal.

The flesh was forcibly cut open, and blood gushed out.

But after the sword cut in half an inch, it encountered extremely tough resistance.

The muscle fibers intertwined tightly like steel wires, firmly blocking the sword's edge and making it impossible to advance even an inch further.

Lin Yuan drew his flying sword.

The muscle tissue at the wound site immediately contracted and tightened, actively stopping the bleeding as if it were a living thing.

Only a few drops of blood gushed out before being suppressed by the powerful self-healing ability.

Within moments, a thin scab had formed on the surface.

Lin Yuan looked at the scars on his forearm and silently assessed the situation.

A top-grade magical artifact-level blade, when slashed with full force—it can break through defenses, but cannot cause fatal damage. Moreover, its self-healing speed is extremely fast, and it can be fully restored in less than ten breaths.

This level of defense is equivalent to a mid-to-high-grade magic weapon, but it still falls short of a top-grade magic weapon.

If you combine the protective qi and the Heavenly Steadfast Talisman for double defense...

It should be able to withstand a full-force attack from a late-stage Golden Core cultivator without dying.

Of course, it just means not dying.

However, for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, this is already an extremely abnormal level of defensive power.

Just as he finished testing and was about to put away his flying sword...

But the space in the center of the stone chamber twisted without warning.

The next moment—

Shen Guiyan appeared out of nowhere.

The methods of the Nascent Soul Ancestor are still terrifying.

She still had that aloof expression. Her skin was as white as snow, her eyebrows and features were exquisite, and her phoenix eyes were slightly upturned, exuding an innate sharpness and imposing aura.

A long, dark dress clung to her slender, graceful figure, with high slits on both sides of the skirt. Her two long, straight, and dazzlingly white legs were glimpsed as she walked.

"Grandmaster Shen has arrived as promised. I am sorry for not being able to greet you properly." Lin Yuan cupped his hands in a respectful manner.

Shen Guiyan didn't waste any words.

Her phoenix eyes locked onto Lin Yuan, her gaze sweeping over his entire body as if it were a tangible object.

An extremely pure nascent soul consciousness emerged from between her brows and traveled along Lin Yuan's body.

Lin Yuan stood still, letting her consciousness roam freely within his body, his expression calm and serene.

A moment later, Shen Guiyan withdrew her divine sense.

A very subtle hint of surprise flashed in those phoenix eyes.

But she quickly suppressed it.

"Mid-stage Transcendent Realm." Her voice was cold and her tone was flat. "I suppose you weren't just going through the motions."

"I have promised my master, and I will do my best to fulfill my promise," Lin Yuan replied with his head bowed, his tone impeccably respectful.

Shen Guiyan walked to the stone table and sat down.

The movements were elegant and casual, with the legs crossed.

She raised her chin and looked at Lin Yuan.

"I have already fulfilled my promise regarding the quota and resources."

"But I told you before you left that I wanted to inspect the goods!"

Her gaze suddenly became meaningful.

"I want to see just how effective your Yin-Yang Limitless Creation Technique really is."

"Your disciple obeys."

Lin Yuan had no reason to refuse. The Nascent Soul Ancestor's magical power was unfathomable, and a single period of arduous cultivation with her would yield substantial attribute point gains for him as well.

Both parties take what they need.

"Let's begin then," Shen Guiyan said calmly.

Lin Yuan nodded.

……

One hour later.

Both sides slowly came to an end.

The remaining spiritual energy fluctuations within the stone chamber slowly dissipated.

A very faint, indescribable scent permeated the air.

Shen Guiyan straightened her clothes, sat on the edge of the stone bed, and closed her eyes slightly.

Her breathing was slightly more rapid than usual.

A faint blush appeared on that usually cool and aloof face, spreading from the base of her ears to the side of her neck, standing out against her fair skin.

As a Nascent Soul cultivator, she has lived long enough, but... she used to devote herself entirely to cultivation.

In the past, some senior members of sects had introduced her to potential partners, but she rejected them all.

This was the first time something like this had ever happened to her!

However, she naturally wouldn't show any fear, and closed her eyes to feel the changes within her body.

She condensed a fifth-grade Dao Infant.

While not among the top Nascent Soul stage cultivators, they are certainly not bad either.

After hundreds of years of cultivation, the quality of the Dao Infant has long been solidified.

But at this moment—

She clearly sensed that the barrier deep within the Dao Infant, which had been solidified for hundreds of years, had shown an extremely subtle loosening.

It's very mild.

It was so subtle that if she weren't a Nascent Soul cultivator, whose perception of her own Dao Infant was so precise that she wouldn't have been able to detect it at all.

But it does exist.

The quality of the Dao Infant has improved.

Although it was only a tiny, insignificant amount, but—

Shen Guiyan's pupils contracted sharply.

Little by little, it adds up.

If you persist in this for a long time...

Can a fifth-grade Dao Infant be upgraded to fourth grade? Third grade? Or even...?

She dared not think any further.