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

On the other side, at the Xuan Yin Sect's Pill Treasure Pavilion.

The air on the second-floor private room was filled with the fragrance of incense. A woman dressed in a magnificent emerald green gown walked in gracefully. Her face was exactly the same as Li Yang's, but her temperament was completely different, with an air of arrogance in her eyes and brows.

She is Li Yang's twin sister, Li Lan.

"Sister certainly has the leisure for elegance." Li Lan sat down in the main seat without any ceremony, toying with the white jade tea lid with her fingers, making a crisp clinking sound. "Father asked me to pass on a message. You've been wasting nearly thirty years at the Pill Treasure Pavilion. If you still can't break through to the mid-stage of Core Formation, you'll have to go home at the end of the year and marry into the Sima family. The eldest son of the Sima family has been longing for your pure Yin physique for a long time."

Li Yang leaned back on the soft couch, her bright red dress outlining her voluptuous figure. She picked up her teacup and took a small sip, her face expressionless.

"Sister, you don't need to worry about Father. You all know what kind of cultivation technique the Sima family practices." Li Yang put down her teacup, her tone calm. "I have found a highly skilled alchemist. With his help to repair my old injury to my dantian, breaking through to the mid-stage of Core Formation is only a matter of time."

Li Lan paused, then sneered, "Damage to the dantian is a wound to the very foundation of your cultivation. In the entire Chu Kingdom's cultivation world, anyone capable of refining medicine to repair the dantian must be at least a sixth-grade alchemist. Where do you, a mere outer sect manager, find the connections to such an old monster? You're just putting on a brave face."

She stood up and straightened her emerald green cuffs: "You'd better watch yourself. If there's no movement by the end of the year, the family will send an enforcement team to arrest you."

Li Lan turned and left. Footsteps echoed down the wooden stairs, gradually fading into the distance.

The private room fell into a deathly silence.

Li Yang sat alone on the soft couch. She picked up the teacup again, but her fingertips trembled slightly, and the tea rippled in the cup.

A bloody battle in a secret realm thirty years ago damaged her dantian's core essence. This is the real reason why, despite her reputation as a genius, she has been stuck at the early stage of Core Formation for thirty years without making any progress. Now, in order to curry favor with the Sima family, her family wants to send her away as a cultivation vessel.

The top-grade Qi Gathering Pill that the man in black robes took out yesterday was made with extremely skillful technique and perfect control of the fire. That was definitely not something an ordinary alchemist could do; it was very likely the work of a reclusive sixth-grade alchemy master.

This is her last chance.

Staircase entrance.

Lin Yuan, draped in a wide black robe and wearing a faceless wooden mask, trudged up the steps. The mustachioed deacon led the way, bowing and scraping.

As she reached the corner, the emerald green hem of her skirt swept across the wooden steps.

Lin Yuan stopped and stepped aside to make way. His eyes, hidden beneath his cloak, glanced upwards out of the corner of his eye.

A delicate face identical to Li Yang's came into view. It only lacked some of Li Yang's mature charm, but possessed an undisguised arrogance and coldness.

Li Lan's gaze swept coldly over the hunched figure in black robes standing against the wall. Her eyes did not linger for a moment.

She walked straight down the stairs, through the lobby, and into the bright sunshine outside.

The head steward with the mustache who was leading the way let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

"Who is this?" Lin Yuan lowered his voice, making a dry, hoarse, friction-like sound.

"This is the Second Young Lady," the mustachioed deacon said in a low voice, his tone filled with reverence. "She has a terrible temper. She rarely comes to the outer gate."

Lin Yuan withdrew his gaze, a strange glint in his eyes. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Twin sisters? This Xuan Yin Sect not only produces demonic cultivators, but also top-grade thunderbolts!"

However, this second young lady has a terrible temper and her cultivation level is probably unfathomable. Getting involved with her would definitely be a huge problem. As a sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator, it's best for me to stay put and avoid her as much as possible.

"Junior brother, let's go upstairs. Steward Li is waiting for you."

Second floor private seating area.

Wisps of smoke rose from the sandalwood incense burner.

Li Yang leaned against the soft couch. Hearing footsteps, she quickly adjusted her breathing, and that languid and charming posture returned to her.

Lin Yuan stopped three steps away from the table. The mustachioed steward tactfully withdrew and closed the wooden door of the private room behind him.

"Fellow Daoist, is it because you have more pills for sale today?" Li Yang asked softly, picking up her white jade teacup.

Lin Yuan didn't waste any words. He raised his right hand, which was covered by a black cloth glove, and flipped his wrist.

Six small white jade bottles landed steadily on the mahogany table.

Li Yang put down her teacup and sat up straight.

She reached out and picked up a jade bottle, then uncorked it.

A rich, pure medicinal fragrance instantly filled the elegant room. She poured a pill into her palm. It was emerald green and perfectly round, with two clear white cloud patterns imprinted on its surface.

The cooking time remains consistently perfect. There is absolutely no residue of erysipelas.

A flicker of fervor flashed in Li Yang's eyes. She put the pill back into the bottle and looked up at Lin Yuan.

"Fifty-four in total. All are top-grade, first-class quality." Li Yang quoted the price directly, "Still thirty-two low-grade spirit stones per stone. That's one thousand seven hundred and twenty-eight."

Lin Yuan said in a hoarse voice, "No need to pay in cash. I want to buy something."

He took out a jade slip from his wide sleeves, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Li Yang.

Li Yang extended two slender fingers and pressed them against the jade slip. A wisp of divine sense probed into it.

The next moment, her gaze suddenly froze.

The jade slip contained two long lists of medicinal herbs.

The first item on the list: Condensation Fruit, Purple Blood Vine, Hundred-Year Earth Spirit Ginseng, Cold Jade Grass... These are the main ingredients for Condensation Pills used to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining, and a full twenty portions were ordered. This amount is not small, but it is still quite common.

Li Yang's attention was completely drawn to the second list.

Centennial Blood Jade Ginseng, Centennial Moonlight Grass, Formless Fruit...

This is an excellent medicine for healing wounds.

Li Yang's heart raced. Thirty years ago, her dantian suffered irreversible damage, and her cultivation had been stuck at the early stage of Core Formation for thirty years without any progress. Her family was forcing her to marry because they were certain that she had no hope of breaking through in this lifetime.

Yesterday, she only guessed that the man in black robes had a high-level alchemist behind him. Today's list further confirms the man's abilities.

Li Yang took a deep breath. Her full chest heaved violently. She stood up, walked around the mahogany table, and stood in front of Lin Yuan.

A unique spiritual pressure, characteristic of a Core Formation stage cultivator, rippled through the private room. This was not a deliberate show of force, but rather the outward manifestation of agitated emotions.

Lin Yuan stood still, his eyes beneath the hood remaining calm and undisturbed.

"Fellow Daoist," Li Yang stared intently at Lin Yuan's black mask, "Is this healing formula what the master desires?"

Lin Yuan replied dryly, his tone flat and emotionless, "Exactly."

Li Yang stared intently at the wooden mask on Lin Yuan's face, her breathing slightly rapid, and a faint fragrance involuntarily wafted towards her: "To be honest, I have a chronic ailment in my dantian, which has caused me great suffering. If you, Master, are a sixth-grade alchemist, you could undertake the task of refining this divine pill to repair my dantian..."

She slowly straightened up, her originally alluring gaze instantly transforming into one of intense aggression and sincerity, and said, word by word, "If Master has any need, I, Li Yang, will spare no effort to repay your kindness!"

Lin Yuan remained silent.

Beneath the black mask, his brain was working at lightning speed.

A cultivator at the Core Formation stage actively seeks out medicine. This is a tremendous opportunity.

By using this fictitious "sixth-grade alchemist" persona, he could easily access the resources of the Pill Treasure Pavilion and even use Li Yang to collect top-grade spiritual herbs that could not even be found in the Blood Forbidden Land.

More importantly, the attribute point gains during the Core Formation stage are absolutely astronomical.

But he was also well aware of the risks.

In the cultivation world, the strong prey on the weak. A low-level disciple with no background, if he were to reveal that he is a sixth-grade alchemist, would definitely be captured by those old monsters, have his soul restricted, and be imprisoned for life in a dark and sunless earth fire chamber as a pill slave.

Wen Yuci had already taught him the hard way about the soul restriction technique. He would never repeat the same mistake.

We cannot agree, nor can we refuse. We must firmly grasp the initiative in our own hands.

A full ten breaths passed.

Lin Yuancai let out a hoarse, dry laugh: "Manager Li thinks too highly of me. The master has an eccentric temperament and spends most of his time in seclusion studying alchemy, rarely concerning himself with worldly affairs."

A hint of disappointment flashed in Li Yang's eyes.

Lin Yuan changed the subject: "However, the materials on this second list are exactly what Master needs for the upcoming furnace test. If Steward Li can prepare them diligently, I will certainly put in a good word for him with Master. As for when Master is willing to receive guests or when he is willing to start the furnace, that is not something I, as a mere errand boy, can decide."

The fire in Li Yang's eyes reignited.

As long as the other party still needs materials, this supply line will remain open. Although the errand runner can't make decisions, their influence through pillow talk is just as deadly.

"I was being presumptuous." Li Yang took a half step back, creating some distance, and a bewitching smile reappeared on her face. "This kind of divine pill that can rebuild one's foundation naturally depends on fate."

"Then what spiritual materials do I need?"

"Twenty portions of the main ingredients for Condensing Essence Pills cost two thousand spirit stones on the market." Li Yang quickly assumed the role of the head manager. "As for the second portion of healing ingredients, the century-old Blood Jade Ginseng and the Formless Fruit are extremely rare. The Pill Treasure Pavilion currently only has one portion in stock. The price isn't cheap. The cost price is also one thousand spirit stones."

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly beneath his mask, quickly making plans in his mind.

He originally had 1,000 spirit stones sponsored by Lin Feilu, and with the 1,700 spirit stones he had just earned from selling pills today, he only had 2,700 spirit stones left, which was not enough to buy these medicinal materials.

Lin Yuan deliberately remained silent for a couple of breaths, then said in a low, hoarse voice, "Manager Li, the master's rule has always been to not act until he sees the benefit. This sincerity in finding the medicinal herbs..."

Li Yang, being a shrewd person, immediately understood and generously replied, "We're all family here, so let's consider this batch of spiritual materials as a way to build good karma. I'll give you a 10% discount, so it'll be 2,700 spirit stones. How about that?" Lin Yuan, seeing that things were going well, calmly transferred the spirit stones, and the money and goods were settled.