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

Within the dantian, the black-on-the-outside, red-on-the-inside fire completely ceased its struggle. The two extreme flames merged, hovering steadily at the center of the dantian.

Lin Yuan opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of cold, stale air. The purplish-black mist in the cave had completely dissipated, and the black frost on the ground had turned into water stains.

He calculated the time since he entered the valley, and it had been almost a day.

"Time's almost up, let's go." Lin Yuan stood up and grabbed Lin Feilu's right hand.

Before Lin Feilu could react, Lin Yuan pointed to the frostbite on her tiger's mouth. A crimson flame, infused with Netherfire from his dantian, shot out from his fingertip. Not only did it not burn her skin, but it also completely swallowed the chilling, malevolent energy lingering in the shallow layers of her meridians.

The blackness on the tiger's mouth faded instantly, restoring its whiteness.

The two transformed into two afterimages, rushing along the tunnel they had come from. The instant the eerie green soul flames lit up in the bronze puppet's eye sockets, the two stepped out of the light barrier of the Xuanming Valley, one after the other.

The night breeze carried the fresh, clean air from the outside world.

Lin Feilu stopped and prepared to turn his sword light back to his cave.

"Come to my place," Lin Yuan said, leaving behind three words.

Lin Feilu frowned and turned to stare at Lin Yuan, who was wearing a black robe.

"What's wrong with you?"

Lin Yuan met her gaze and said frankly, "I still need to refine some things for you. The Holy Maiden Selection is in a few days, so you can stay at my cave for the next few days!"

Lin Feilu looked into Lin Yuan's dark eyes, bit her lip, and then turned away.

Lin Yuan followed behind, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Back in his cave, he patted the storage bag at his waist and pushed a jade box in front of Lin Feilu.

Lin Feilu lifted the lid of the box. Ten dark purple lightning beads lay quietly on the yellow silk, their surfaces shimmering with hidden lightning patterns, radiating an extremely violent aura of destruction.

"I've refined ten Yin Sha Nine Nether Thunder Pearls in total. You get five, and I'll keep five for self-defense in the Crimson Forbidden Land."

Lin Feilu reached out and picked one up. The thunder bead was extremely heavy, as if a storm was sealed inside. She knew very well that once this thing was detonated, let alone Jiang Huaiyue, even a Core Formation stage elder would be severely injured if he took it head-on at close range, if not killed.

She swiped the five thunder orbs into her storage bag: "Thank you."

"There are many ways to express gratitude, such as..." Lin Yuan's gaze lingered restlessly on her curves encased in the ice silk dress, a wicked smile playing on his lips like that of a sixth brother.

Lin Feilu's ears turned slightly red, and she snorted coldly, "You're so frivolous!" She quickly put away the Thunder Pearl, and to cover up her panic, she pulled out a futon and sat down cross-legged. She closed her eyes as she swallowed the Qi-Nourishing Pill, but her slightly heaving chest betrayed her unsettled emotions.

In the days that followed, Lin Yuan and Lin Feilu did not leave their cave dwelling.

During the day, Lin Yuan was either in front of the alchemy furnace or in front of the iron felt.

One pill after another, one magical artifact after another was crafted.

Thanks to the blessing of the Netherfire, the quality of both elixirs and magical artifacts is much better than before.

At night, Lin Yuan diligently practiced face-to-face, grinding for attribute points.

……

Time flies by.

The day of the Saintess Election.

Xuan Yin Sect, Main Peak Martial Arts Arena.

Numerous outer sect servants and inner sect disciples surrounded the huge circular grandstand, making it impossible to move.

The rules are very simple.

The disciples of the Nine Peaks, whose cultivation levels range from the late Qi Refining stage to the Foundation Establishment stage, compete in a tournament for fifty spots to enter the Crimson Forbidden Land.

The main event is the competition for the positions of Holy Maiden and Holy Son, because only those disciples who obtain these positions are qualified to enter the Inheritance Hall of the Crimson Forbidden Land.

Moreover, anyone who survives the Blood Forbidden Zone is basically a core disciple that the sect is focusing on cultivating.

Their future achievements are limitless.

Compared to the competition for the position of Holy Son, the competition for the position of Holy Daughter is even more intense.

This year, there are a total of ten female cultivators who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage in the competition.

On the white jade platform directly north of the training ground, several powerful spiritual pressures, as deep as mountains, were released without any concealment.

Seated in the very center was Sima Duan, the peak master of Lingcui Peak. His face was gaunt, his eyes were sunken, and he was toying with two jet-black iron balls in his left hand.

Not far away, Li Yang, the manager of Danbao Pavilion, sat upright on a jade chair in a deep purple robe with gold trim. Her makeup was cold and stern, and her fingertips tapped rhythmically on the armrest. Her gaze seemed to be watching the arena, but in reality, she was searching for the figure wearing a wooden mask among the tens of thousands of outer disciples below.

"Have you heard? Senior Sister Wen Yuci didn't come to register." In a corner of the stands, an inner disciple whispered among himself.

"What a pity! I really wanted to see Senior Sister Wen's beautiful face. If she had participated, the position of Saintess would definitely have been hers!"

"That's alright. Who do you think will win the title of Holy Maiden of our sect?"

"It goes without saying, it's definitely Jiang Huaiyue, Senior Sister Jiang. Elder Sima specially crafted a bronze-armored corpse for her. Although Senior Sister Lin is exceptionally talented, she has only been practicing for three years, so her foundation is not as strong as Senior Sister Jiang's."

"Exactly, Senior Sister Jiang Huaiyue is currently unrivaled in popularity. Who can possibly suppress Lingcui Peak?"

"Look, Senior Sister Lin is on stage!"

"In the third arena, Lin Feilu of Lingcui Peak will face Zhao Qing of Jue Ming Valley."

The elder referee's voice echoed throughout the arena.

Lin Feilu, dressed in a plain white dress, landed on the left side of the arena, her feet seemingly floating in mid-air. She wore no veil, and her cool, stunning beauty silenced the noisy stands for a moment.

Standing opposite her was Zhao Qing, who held a long, narrow dagger. The blade was coated with venom. She was also at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, but her aura was not as refined as Lin Feilu's, clearly indicating that she was a True Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Junior Sister Lin, please forgive me." Zhao Qing licked his lips, his figure flashing out like a snake, his short sword transforming into a net of eerie green light that descended upon her.

Lin Feilu calmly watched the approaching blade. He circulated his internal energy, unleashing a powerful burst of power, and with his fingers forming a sword, he slashed forward.

Clang!

The longsword on his back extended an inch. A cold, icy blue sword aura swept out like a bolt of lightning.

Zhao Qing's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly returned to defend with his short sword.

when!

The short sword was severed with overwhelming force. The blade flipped over and slammed its broad side into Zhao Qing's chest.

Zhao Qing spat out a mouthful of blood, and his entire body flew out of the barrier at the edge of the arena like a kite with a broken string.

One move. One sword strike.

Lin Feilu raised his hand, and the longsword fell back into its sheath.

After a two-second silence, the stands erupted in thunderous cheers.

Before the atmosphere in the stands could settle, the arena formation on the other side lit up.

"The seventh arena, Lingcui Peak's Jiang Huaiyue versus Lianxue Hall's Li Meng."

Jiang Huaiyue, dressed in a bright red silk dress, swayed gracefully as she walked onto the stage. Her narrow, almond-shaped eyes swept across the crowd below, finally pausing for a moment on Lin Feilu's back, a cold sneer playing on her lips.

"The match begins!"

Jiang Huaiyue didn't move. She stood still and snapped her long fingers.

A dense cloud of purplish-black corpse energy exploded in the center of the arena.

A bronze-armored corpse, two zhang tall, crashed to the ground. Its dark blue skin was covered with metallic runes, and its fingernails were like black daggers, emitting a pungent stench of decay.

"Playing tricks!" Li Meng roared. He stomped his feet on the ground and leaped into the air. He gathered all his magic power in his short sword and unleashed a three-zhang-long blood-red blade of light.

Jiang Huaiyue's expression remained completely unchanged.

The bronze-armored corpse stepped forward. It didn't use any magic; it simply raised its thick, black-haired right arm, spread its five fingers, and grabbed at the sharp blade of light.

With a sharp, teeth-grinding "crack," the blood-red blade light, powerful enough to split stone tablets, was crushed into countless specks of light by the bronze-armored corpse with its bare hands!

Li Meng's pupils constricted sharply, and she tried to retreat in terror. Too late! The two-zhang-tall monster suddenly exerted force with its feet, and the hard bluestone arena blasted open, creating a deep crater.

It was like a heavy tank, smashing through the air at a terrifying speed completely out of proportion to its size. Its thick arms, carrying a suffocating aura of death, slammed into Li Meng's chest like a black hammer.

"Bang!" Li Meng was thrown into the air, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The bronze-armored corpse swayed, its jet-black fingernails piercing towards Li Meng's throat.

The late-stage Foundation Establishment elder who was presiding over the competition said, "In a competition, one must not harm their life!" With that, he raised his hand, and a fine gold defensive shield appeared, blocking Li Meng's way.

"Bang!"

The gleaming shield was knocked away, but at least Li Meng's life was saved.