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

Wen Yuci's expression grew increasingly grim.

After a while, Wen Yuci gritted her teeth, reached out and patted the storage bag, and another heavy cloth bag flew towards Lin Yuan.

"I don't have many spirit stones left. Here, take these three thousand spirit stones." Wen Yuci coldly said, then turned and transformed into a beam of light, soaring into the sky. Clearly, she didn't want to see Lin Yuan's face again.

Lin Yuan caught the cloth bag with lightning speed, and a quick scan with his divine sense revealed three thousand low-grade spirit stones neatly arranged inside. He happily transferred them all into his storage bag.

Watching him expertly collect the money, Lin Feilu finally couldn't help but ask, "When you're extorting money, don't you really feel any guilt at all?"

Lin Yuan casually tucked the empty cloth bag away and turned to look at her.

Lin Feilu stepped forward and lowered her voice: "Those Yin Sha Nine Nether Thunder Pearls were clearly refined by you yourself by extracting evil energy in the Xuanming Nether Valley. You got the materials for free, so where did you get the idea that you spent all five thousand spirit stones? You even won fifteen thousand spirit stones from the underground stakeout. Your storage bag is fuller than most inner sect elders, yet you're still complaining about being poor!"

"Senior Sister, you're mistaken." Lin Yuan puffed out his chest confidently. "I risked my life to forge weapons in the secluded valley; do you think my labor was free? I refined top-grade Qi-Nourishing Pills for you; do you think my skills were free?"

He suddenly stepped forward, leaned close to Lin Feilu's ear, and spoke with a hint of mockery in his voice.

"Besides, I guide you on the path of cultivation day and night, helping you solidify your Dao heart and break through realms. How do you expect to pay for all this hard work?"

Lin Feilu's fair cheeks flushed instantly. She took a step back, gritted her teeth, and turned her head away, unable to respond to this bastard's nonsense.

Lin Yuan laughed and turned to walk towards the mountain path. With a wave of his sleeve, he said, "Let's go, senior sister. Let's not waste any more time. Let's go to the main peak and broaden our horizons to see how strong this Holy Son Chu Tianhan really is."

The main peak's martial arts arena. The bluestone arena is in ruins.

Chu Tianhan, clad in a cloud-patterned robe, stood with his hands behind his back, suspended in mid-air.

His opponent was a senior disciple from Biefeng, who was in the late Foundation Establishment stage. This senior disciple was horrified and was frantically activating an ancient bronze shield.

A dense cloud of insects, composed of countless black-armored worms, was swirling and gnawing at the bronze shield.

The extremely piercing sound of metal chewing echoed throughout the training ground.

In just three breaths.

The aura emanating from the surface of the top-grade defensive artifact completely dissipated. The bronze shield was riddled with countless holes, losing all its spiritual power.

The swarm of insects did not stop, and instead rushed towards the protective aura of the senior disciple.

In a short while, the thick protective aura thinned at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"I surrender!" Senior Brother Na shouted, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

With a single gesture, Chu Tianhan caused the black swarm of insects to quickly recede and disappear into his sleeve.

"In this Holy Son Election, Chu Tianhan of Cang Lei Peak wins!" the elder judge announced loudly.

A commotion erupted around the stands. Chu Tianhan unleashed the spiritual power of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, combined with the strange swarm of insects, resulting in a decisive and utter crushing defeat.

Jiang Huaiyue strode to the edge of the arena.

The wounds on her face from yesterday have all healed, leaving only a faint red mark.

Chu Tianhan landed back on the ground and stood side by side with Jiang Huaiyue. The two turned around at the same time, their gazes fixed on Lin Feilu on the other side of the stands.

Chu Tianhan didn't waste any words. He raised his right hand and made a horizontal slash across his own neck, pointing it towards Lin Feilu.

Lin Yuan stood at the back of the crowd, his hands tucked into the wide sleeves of his black robe.

He memorized every detail of Chu Tianhan's actions.

The spiritual energy fluctuations of someone at the late-stage Foundation Establishment realm are extremely concentrated. They likely possess several top-grade magical artifacts. The most troublesome are those demonic insects.

The demonic insects were ubiquitous, capable of even swallowing spiritual energy shields whole, making them extremely difficult to defend against.

This is just the tip of the iceberg in their quest for power.

The election ended. The crowd dispersed in all directions.

Lin Feilu returned to his cave alone, preparing for his journey to the forbidden area. Lin Yuan, on the other hand, changed direction and headed straight for the Pill Treasure Pavilion.

The inner room on the top floor of Danbaoge.

Li Yang leaned languidly against the brocade couch, the hem of her deep purple robe parted high. She held a jade cup in her hand, her eyes sparkling, and every gesture exuded a mature and alluring charm.

Lin Yuan pulled out a chair and sat down, getting straight to the point: "Does Manager Li have any information about the insects on Chu Tianhan's stage today?"

Li Yang put down the jade cup and leaned forward.

"Spirit-Devouring Insects." Li Yang's tone was extremely certain. "An ancient species. These things are extremely numerous in Fallen Demon Valley. They can devour the five elements of spiritual energy and high-grade metal magical artifacts. Their shells are extremely hard and impervious to water and fire."

Lin Yuan frowned.

"Once adult Soul-Devouring Insects swarm together, even early-stage Core Formation cultivators can only flee in terror." Li Yang took out a blank jade slip, probed it with her divine sense to imprint it, and then tossed it to Lin Yuan. "But the batch Chu Tianhan has is only in its juvenile stage. The larvae's shells haven't been fully tempered and transformed yet. Following the principle of the Five Elements' mutual restraint, this insect belongs to the Metal element. It fears extreme explosive flames or the Wood element's divine power that restrains Metal. Since you are a cultivator, you only need to refine some high-level Fire or Wood element treasures with large-scale explosive characteristics, which can completely restrain these Soul-Devouring Insects."

Lin Yuan caught the jade slip and scanned it with his divine sense. On one side was a method for drawing a fire-type talisman, and on the other was a blueprint for refining a wood-type spirit net.

"Thank you." Lin Yuan put the jade slip into his storage bag.

Li Yang rolled her eyes at him: "I just don't want you to die at Chu Tianhan's hands and cut off my future supply of treasures and pills."

Lin Yuan nodded, took out a piece of parchment from his sleeve, and pushed it onto the table: "Prepare all the top-grade healing herbs, spiritual materials that instantly restore mana, the formula for Foundation Establishment Pills, and a set of formations that can be quickly set up to conceal one's aura. Also, I have one more question."

Li Yang beckoned to his trusted maid to prepare the materials, then turned to look at him.

Lin Yuan looked directly into Li Yang's eyes: "Where in the sect can I obtain special techniques to strengthen the soul?"

Li Yang's eyes narrowed slightly. She looked Lin Yuan up and down for a moment.

"Soul cultivation techniques are extremely rare and don't circulate in the market at all. Within the Xuan Yin Sect, only Old Ghost Sima possesses a fragment called 'Thousand Evolutions Corpse Control Technique'," Li Yang warned in a low voice. "Don't get any ideas. This technique is Old Ghost Sima's lifeblood."

"Thank you for your explanation, Steward Li." Lin Yuan stood up and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

Half an hour later, Lin Yuan left the Pill Treasure Pavilion with a storage bag full of high-grade materials.

Back in his cave, Lin Yuan immediately activated all the isolation formations.

Three days later. The main peak of the Xuan Yin Sect, deep in the abyss beneath the mountain.

The vast underground plaza was illuminated by hundreds of fist-sized luminous pearls. Fifty disciples, about to enter the Crimson Forbidden Zone, assembled and lined up.

At the very front of the square stands a shattered spatial light curtain, tens of feet high.

The light curtain was irregularly torn. Through the light curtain, thick, blood-red mist flowed inside, and the outlines of desolate mountains and ancient stone pillars that had collapsed into the clouds could be vaguely seen.

This folded space is extremely unstable, exuding an ancient, deathly aura spanning tens of thousands of years.

Three Core Formation stage elders sat cross-legged above the light barrier. One of them was Sima Duan, the peak master of Lingcui Peak.

The white-haired elder in the center spoke in a deep voice, his voice carrying magical power that resonated throughout the entire area.

"The Crimson Forbidden Zone will be open for two months each time."

"Two months from now, the laws of the forbidden area will expel all survivors. All the rare and precious materials and ancient herbs you have collected within must be handed over to the sect. The sect will calculate your contribution based on the resources you hand over and issue rewards accordingly."

"Those who hoard it may blame us for being impolite."

The white-haired elder's gaze swept over the fifty disciples below: "Furthermore, the forbidden area is teeming with demonic beasts, and remnants of ancient formations still exist. You are all the elite of our sect; once inside, you must support one another. Anyone who dares to take advantage of the situation to kill their fellow disciples will be severely punished after leaving the valley."

The room was completely silent.

Even the newly recruited outer disciples wouldn't believe such platitudes. The survival rate is low every time the Crimson Forbidden Zone opens. The real danger never comes from the demonic beasts, but from the fellow disciples behind them.

Sima Duan's withered dough twitched slightly. His cold gaze lingered for a moment on Lin Feilu in the Xuan Yin Peak team, a chilling killing intent flashing in his eyes.

Chu Tianhan and Jiang Huaiyue stood side by side in the front row. After hearing the rules, they both turned their heads and glanced at Lin Feilu.

Chu Tianhan's lips curled up, a cold smile evident in his expression.