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

The next day. Noon.

The elegant seating area on the second floor of Danbaoge.

Today, Li Yang wore a pale yellow cross-collar long dress with a matching silk ribbon tied around her waist, accentuating her slender figure.

She was looking down at an account book when she heard familiar footsteps and looked up.

A hunched-over man in a black robe appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Fellow Daoist, you come quite often." Li Yang put down the account book and gestured to the seat opposite him.

Lin Yuan sat down and took out a jade slip from his sleeve, pushing it over.

"Crimson Fire Serpent Blood, High-Grade Talisman Paper, Profound Yin Sand... In addition, I also need a set of Tier 1 Supreme Array Plates that can conceal one's aura and provide defense, preferably one with a large coverage area."

Li Yang glanced at the jade slip and her eyes lit up. She had just bought a beginner's guide to talismans a couple of days ago, and now she was going to draw more difficult talismans.

"These materials aren't cheap; they cost a total of two thousand spirit stones."

She quoted the price: "I wonder if the master has replied yet?"

Lin Yuan remained silent for two breaths, creating an atmosphere of "wanting to say something but holding back".

"Speak your mind." Li Yang's gaze was intense, and her breathing was slightly rapid.

Lin Yuan deliberately paused for a full three breaths, his withered fingers lightly tapping the table, drawing the oppressive aura to its peak before lowering his hoarse voice: "Manager Li, the master has agreed to help, but... there are conditions."

Li Yang took a deep breath, suppressing her racing heart: "What are the conditions?"

"The master cultivates a special technique that requires him to break through his bottleneck using the primordial yin energy of the Core Formation stage. Moreover, without breaking through this bottleneck, he cannot refine a sixth-grade divine pill to repair his dantian." Lin Yuan spoke calmly. "His exact words were—he needs to cultivate face-to-face with you, Steward, ten times."

The private room fell silent.

The smoke from the sandalwood incense burner rose straight up without the slightest movement.

Li Yang's face darkened inch by inch.

Double repair.

Ten times.

How is this any different from what the Sima family asked her to do?

"Master...you're going too far!"

Li Yang's voice tightened, and a trace of the pressure of the Core Formation stage leaked out uncontrollably. However, in order to repair her dantian, she bit her red lips tightly and swallowed the anger. Her plump body trembled slightly due to extreme humiliation.

Lin Yuan remained unmoved: "If the manager thinks it's excessive, I can truthfully relay it to the master. The master said that there are no more than a handful of people in the world who can refine this pill, and he doesn't need this one order."

Li Yang raised her head and stared at the faceless wooden mask.

You can't see any expression behind the mask.

Her sister Li Lan's words from yesterday flashed through her mind—if there was no movement before the end of the year, the family would send an enforcement team to arrest them. None of the female cultivators who had practiced the dual cultivation technique of the eldest son of the Sima family had lived more than three years.

Compared to the Sima family, ten dual cultivation sessions are worth more than a perfectly intact dantian and a chance to break through to the mid-stage of the Core Formation realm...

Li Yang closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, the humiliation and struggle in those beautiful eyes were forcibly suppressed deep inside, replaced by a businessman's calmness.

"After ten times, the master must hand over the elixir."

"nature."

"When and where?"

"Tonight at midnight, Wan Zhuhai, I've arranged for you to meet with the master."

"make a deal."

Lin Yuan accepted the talisman materials and array flags brought by the maid, sealed the spirit stones, and took his leave.

Back in the cave, I placed the newly purchased array plates in the four corners.

Four array flags were inserted into the stone wall.

Spiritual energy was poured into the center of the array plate.

A pale blue light curtain rose along the edge of the stone wall, completely enveloping the entire cave and isolating it from any external presence or probe.

After finishing these tasks, Lin Yuan sat cross-legged on the bluestone bed.

Mind Lock System Panel.

【Formless Transformation Technique: Great Success (0/1000) (Points can be added)】

Available attribute points: 1088

No hesitation.

One thousand attribute points were deducted instantly.

"boom!"

A buzzing sound came from the depths of his consciousness.

Lin Yuan gritted his teeth.

His bones crackled like popping beans. Muscle fibers alternated rapidly between tearing and rebuilding. Three hundred and sixty-five acupoints unleashed an extremely strong suction force, completely connecting the seventy-two hidden meridians into a perfect closed loop.

Ten breaths later, the pain subsided.

【The Secret of Transforming from Formlessness to Mortal Realm: Perfection】

Lin Yuan stood up.

Driven by intention.

The bones and muscles in his face began to move and recombine on their own. His originally delicate and fair features changed rapidly, his contours became extremely deep and three-dimensional, his sword-like eyebrows jutting straight to his temples, and his eyes like cold stars in the night.

Not only his appearance, but his figure also grew half an inch taller, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His demeanor transformed from that of an insignificant outer servant into that of an unfathomable young hermit.

Lin Yuan took out a plain white robe that had been prepared in advance from his storage bag and changed into it.

He glanced at himself in the water mirror.

This face perfectly embodies the image of a peerless alchemy genius who is naive yet possesses extraordinary abilities.

Lin Yuan withdrew his gaze.

He removed the concealment array at one corner of the stone gate, his figure transforming into a faint streak of light, disappearing into the pitch-black night.

Half an hour later.

Light footsteps echoed along the bluestone path outside the cave.

Lin Feilu, as usual, wore that alluring plain white silk shirt and walked to the stone gate.

She stopped and looked up.

The originally dilapidated stone gate was completely sealed off by a solid light blue array barrier.

Lin Feilu frowned and stepped forward: "Junior Brother Lin?" There was no response.

As she stared at the cold, indifferent light screen, the image of his calm face when he handed her the Qi-restoring pill last night flashed uncontrollably through her mind. A sense of emptiness and uncertainty inexplicably arose in her usually icy heart.

She forcibly extinguished this absurd thought as soon as it arose.

"Lin Feilu, how shameless of you!"

She bit her lower lip hard and muttered a curse to herself.

He then turned around abruptly, a flash of light appeared beneath his feet, and he rode away in a streak of light without looking back.

Wanzhuhai.

Located in a remote valley on the northernmost side of the Xuan Yin Sect. It is covered with thick, purple-black bamboo, and is rarely visited at night.

The moonlight barely penetrated the dense bamboo leaves, casting dappled light spots on the humus-rich soil covered with fallen leaves.

Li Yang has arrived.

She changed out of her usual eye-catching bright red or pale yellow ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and put on an extremely thin, smoky purple long dress, her graceful and voluptuous figure appearing and disappearing in the dim bamboo forest.

She stood under a black bamboo tree, her hands clasped in front of her, her knuckles faintly white.

Clearly, this Core Formation stage cultivator was not entirely unmoved by tonight's humiliating transaction.

A very faint rustling sound of leaves came from behind.

Li Yang suddenly turned her head.

A tall figure dressed in a plain white robe emerged from the shadows.

Upon seeing the person's appearance, Li Yang's tense shoulders visibly slumped, and she let out a long breath.

He has extremely handsome features and a profound and reserved temperament.

On her way to the appointment, she prepared for the worst. Even if the other party was a decrepit old man with one foot in the grave and a face full of pustules, she would have to accept it even if it meant repairing her dantian.

Looking back now, it's not only worthwhile, but it's also quite pleasing to the eye.

Lin Yuan stopped three zhang away from her.

"Manager Li." Lin Yuan clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice slightly suppressed by spiritual power, making it sound mellow and deep.

"The fact that you, Master, have come shows your sincerity." Li Yang tried her best to display her usual charm, a perfectly curved smile playing on her lips. "Now that the deal is settled, this dual cultivation method..."

As she spoke, she walked gracefully toward Lin Yuan.

The two closed the distance to less than half a zhang.

Li Yang's nose suddenly twitched slightly.

Her movements suddenly froze.

She raised her head, and her eyes, which were originally full of charm, instantly froze into ice.