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

In addition, her top-grade spiritual root also underwent a subtle transformation.

The thin film of spiritual energy on the surface of the spiritual root, which had been solidified for hundreds of years, became more transparent and purer.

Although the changes were extremely slight, for a cultivator who had already reached the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm and was at the threshold of the middle stage of the Nascent Soul realm at any time, any slight improvement was priceless.

The most significant changes were to the hidden injuries that had accumulated in the meridians over hundreds of years.

Nascent Soul cultivators have lived for hundreds of years and experienced countless battles, both large and small.

Even with the highest cultivation level, some hidden injuries that are difficult to eradicate will inevitably remain in the meridians. These hidden injuries are not usually noticeable, but they often become fatal hidden dangers at crucial moments when breaking through to a higher realm.

At this moment, those hidden wounds are being repaired in an extremely gentle way.

The magic power also became more solid and pure.

Shen Guiyan slowly opened her eyes.

She looked at Lin Yuan.

The original coldness and imposing aura remained in those phoenix eyes, but something new had appeared deep within them.

greedy.

Undisguised, naked greed.

It's like a traveler who has trekked through the desert for hundreds of years suddenly discovering a spring of sweet water.

Lin Yuan felt a chill run down his spine from her gaze.

He was all too familiar with that look.

Li Yang looked at him with this kind of gaze. Jiang Huaiyue looked at him with this kind of gaze when she saw the opportunity to refine her spiritual root. Wen Yuci saw…

But when a Nascent Soul cultivator looks at him with that kind of gaze, the feeling is completely different.

Both wanted to eat, but the latter could swallow him whole, bones and all.

"Senior," Lin Yuan cleared his throat, his tone sincere yet tinged with just the right amount of difficulty, "While this method is indeed remarkably effective, my cultivation level is too low, and the gap between my cultivation and yours is far too great. Using it frequently would be tantamount to drinking poison to quench my thirst."

He paused, then added a word of reassurance: "If I were to ruin myself, it would be a great loss."

That was an extremely clever way of putting it.

He expressed his refusal, but also attributed the reason to "thinking about the interests of the master".

Shen Guiyan remained silent for a moment.

The greed in those phoenix eyes slowly subsided, and the usual coldness and rationality returned.

She sighed.

"That's enough."

There was a very subtle hint of regret in his voice.

Then, she patted her waist.

In a flash of inspiration, two talismans appeared in his palm.

The two talismans were made of a very special material. They were neither ordinary yellow paper nor spirit beast leather, but a thin metal sheet that was dark gold in color and cool to the touch.

The surface of the thin sheet was covered with dense spiritual patterns, each pattern radiating extremely rich spiritual energy fluctuations.

One of the images depicts a jet-black flying needle. The needle is extremely thin and long, with rings of dark purple spirit patterns wrapped around it, radiating a chillingly sharp aura.

The other depicts an ancient shield. Engraved on the shield is a fierce-looking Xuanwu (a mythical tortoise), with a tortoise and snake intertwined, conveying a sense of weight and stability.

Lin Yuan's pupils contracted slightly.

This is no ordinary talisman.

This is a talisman.

Talisman Treasure – The power of a magical artifact is sealed within a talisman. When used, activating the talisman releases power equivalent to a full-force attack from the magical artifact.

Its power is extremely terrifying.

Moreover, the spiritual energy emanating from these two talismans was far stronger than the one Chu Tianhan had used in the Crimson Forbidden Land.

That was a fluctuation of spiritual energy at the Nascent Soul level.

That is to say-

Each of these two talismans, once activated, is equivalent to a single strike from a Nascent Soul cultivator's magic weapon.

A strike from the Nascent Soul stage.

"Take these two items. If you encounter any life-threatening dangers in the secret realm, you must do your best to save your life."

She paused for a moment.

"I'm waiting for you to come back."

The last four words were spoken very softly.

But Lin Yuan heard it clearly.

He reached out and took the two talismans, carefully putting them into his storage bag.

"Thank you for bestowing this treasure upon me, senior." Lin Yuan's tone was sincere; this time, he didn't need to act.

"How's your Soul-Devouring Demon Worm hatching?" she suddenly changed the subject and asked.

Lin Yuan bluntly stated, "It has passed the early larval stage and is being kept alive by top-grade spirit-feeding pills, growing to the size of a soybean. Its combat power is mediocre, better than nothing. To develop true combat power, it will need at least several more months of feeding."

Upon hearing this, Shen Guiyan's lips curled slightly.

That curve carried a hint of knowing "I knew it."

"In the core area of ​​the Taixu Secret Realm, everyone is focused on that Spirit Gathering Array." Her voice suddenly lowered a few decibels, "but few people know that—six hundred miles southwest of the Spirit Gathering Array, there is an underground cave."

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"There is a pool of ten thousand spirits inside the cave."

"The Myriad Spirit Pool was originally used by the Taixu Sect to refine high-level guardian spirit beasts. The pool water contains extremely rich ancient beast blood essence and earth vein essence. Tens of thousands of years have passed, and those essences have not only not dissipated, but have continued to condense and settle in the closed environment."

"If you can soak your Soul-Devouring Demon Insects in it, you can not only save ten years of catalysis time, but also have a great chance to activate the ancient ancestral bloodline that is dormant in their bodies."

Lin Yuan's breath hitched slightly.

Ancient ancestral bloodline.

As a fifth-grade spirit master, he knew all too well what those four words meant.

The Soul-Devouring Demon Insects are ancient, exotic species. Deep within their bloodlines lie dormant genes from truly ferocious insects of the distant past. Once they successfully revert to their ancestral form, their size, attack power, defense, and reproductive speed all increase dramatically.

"Once you successfully revert to your ancestral form, no one can stop your swarm of insects during the Golden Core stage."

Lin Yuan's heart was in turmoil, but his face remained calm.

However, he was not overwhelmed by this fantastic news.

"However, there is a protective formation left by the Taixu Sect outside the Wanling Pool," Shen Guiyan added, her tone returning to calm. "An ancient formation from tens of thousands of years ago, its power is far beyond what modern cultivators can match."

She glanced at Lin Yuan.

"You need to borrow strength. At least two late-stage Golden Core cultivators need to work together to break the formation in order to open a passage."

Lin Yuan quickly calculated in his mind.

Two late-stage Golden Core cultivators.

Among the late-stage Golden Core cultivators he could command, Li Yang was one of them.

Alternatively, you could temporarily recruit a helper in the secret realm.

Those late-stage Golden Core cultivators who obtained ordinary slots may still have opportunities to be utilized.

Lin Yuan went through these thoughts in his mind, but put them aside for the time being.

We'll have to adapt to the situation once we're inside the secret realm.

"Thank you, Grandmaster." Lin Yuan said sincerely, cupping his hands in a salute. "With the news of the Myriad Spirit Pool, I have more confidence after entering the secret realm, and I also have an alternative route."

Shen Guiyan nodded slightly, seemingly quite satisfied with his attitude.

She turned her head to the side, her phoenix eyes glancing sideways at Lin Yuan.

Her eyes held an extremely complex expression—a mixture of probing, expectation, and a hint of reluctance that even she herself was unwilling to admit.

"Are you sure... we can't do it again?"