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

She clutched her head tightly with both hands and rolled wildly on the ground.

The excruciating pain of her soul being torn apart far exceeded the limits of her physical endurance. Cold sweat instantly soaked through her tattered red dress, mixing with the black mud on the ground, making her look extremely disheveled.

That face, which once looked down on everyone in the ring, was now twisted beyond recognition, and he was making incoherent, hoarse noises, unable to utter a single complete word.

Lin Yuan kept his hands tucked into his sleeves, quietly watching her writhe and struggle, his expression as calm as if he were admiring a flower in bloom.

Ten breaths later, Lin Yuan stopped activating the Divine Forbidden Technique.

Jiang Huaiyue collapsed in the mud, her whole body convulsing violently.

She gasped for air, her chest heaving violently, her eyes devoid of their former arrogance and resentment, replaced only by terror.

"Why don't we all sit down and have a good chat? Why be so impulsive?" Lin Yuan's tone was as gentle as if he were chatting with his junior sister next door.

Jiang Huaiyue's voice trembled: "This is... a divine-suppressing technique?"

"That's right. Since you know it's a divine-suppressing technique, you should know that with just a thought, your soul will shatter." Lin Yuan walked up to her, looking down at Jiang Huaiyue in the muddy water, "a shattering a thousand times more painful than the one before."

Jiang Huaiyue's face turned ashen, and her expression showed despair.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but it felt as if an invisible hand was tightly gripping her throat, and she couldn't squeeze out a single word.

Lin Yuan extended his right hand, palm open: "Senior sister should have cultivated the Thousand Evolutions Corpse Control Technique, right? Hand it over."

Jiang Huaiyue's expression changed drastically.

This cultivation technique is her master's lifeblood, a core secret of Lingcui Peak. If outsiders were to discover it, the consequences for her master would be worse than death. Yet, she also knew that the person before her held her life in his hands.

"Don't even think about it!" Jiang Huaiyue shouted almost instinctively, but she regretted it as soon as she finished speaking.

Lin Yuan didn't waste any words, and his thoughts stirred slightly.

Screams echoed once again through the ruins.

This time, Lin Yuan stopped after only three breaths.

Jiang Huaiyue's body was curled up like a shrimp, her ten fingers digging tightly into the soil, her nails broken and flipped open, with bright red blood seeping from between her fingers.

"It seems that Senior Sister needs to wake up a bit more."

Jiang Huaiyue was struggling internally.

If she hands her over, her master will kill her. If she doesn't, this madman in front of her will make her wish she were dead.

But the master is far away outside the sect, while this person is right in front of us.

Moreover… she suddenly remembered something. She had only learned the first half of the Thousand Evolutions Corpse Control Technique, and handing it over would only result in a fragment.

Even if a mere Qi Refining stage servant obtains a fragment, what good is it? Without a master's personal guidance, it's no wonder he ruins it.

With this in mind, Jiang Huaiyue's psychological defenses finally cracked.

"I...I said..."

"I can only give you the first half of this technique," Jiang Huaiyue said quickly, as if afraid she might change her mind. "My master hasn't taught me the second half of the incantation yet. Besides, this technique is a secret of Lingcui Peak, and my master forbids it from being passed on. If he finds out you've learned this technique, he will definitely kill you without hesitation."

"No need for you to trouble yourself, Senior Sister." Lin Yuan extended his hand forward. "Give it to me."

Old Ma has enough reasons to kill him to last until next year, so one more won't make a difference.

Jiang Huaiyue took out an old black jade slip from the storage bag at her waist and handed it out.

Lin Yuan took the jade slip and probed it with his divine sense.

A flood of complex information rushed into his mind. This was indeed an incredibly profound technique for forging the divine, detailing methods for enhancing the strength of one's divine sense through soul-splitting and tempering.

After confirming its authenticity, he put the jade slip into his storage bag.

After putting away his cultivation technique, Lin Yuan turned and walked towards the center of the spirit field.

He took out a fine white jade box and put the purple orchid into it.

Then, after a moment of contemplation, he squatted down and carefully peeled the remaining roots of the purple orchid from the soil, storing them in another jade box.

The Crimson Forbidden Land belongs to the sect. All spiritual herbs harvested here must be handed over in exchange for corresponding points, which can then be used to exchange for cultivation resources with the sect.

This spiritual herb definitely needs to be handed over, but as for the roots... in other people's eyes, they're just waste material, and no one would want them even if they were handed over.

However, Lin Yuan could easily improve his level as a plant master by adding points, and then use these active roots to re-cultivate the purple-leaf orchid.

In this way, there will be a continuous supply of spiritual herbs.

Scattered throughout the spirit field were a few rare spirit herbs still in their infancy—there was the Xuanxi Green Sprout, which could assist in the formation of the core, with a thin layer of spirit dew still clinging to its leaves; there was even a condensation root less than an inch long, so tender that it was almost transparent, its medicinal age was shallow, and it was far from being usable.

But in Lin Yuan's eyes, these things were just like gold lying on the roadside that no one picked up.

He simply collected them all, roots and all, one by one.

In less than half an incense stick's time, he had completely plucked the entire spirit field, leaving not a single tender leaf behind.

Jiang Huaiyue sat to the side, watching his ruthless harvesting, her lips twitching with anger.

"What do you want from me?" Jiang Huaiyue asked after he finished his work.

Lin Yuan put the last medicinal herb's roots into the jade box, patted the dirt off his hands, and stood up: "This place is not safe to stay for long. Let's find another place first."

The stench of blood from the dead three Netherworld Poison Toads was rapidly spreading across the wasteland, and the explosion of the Prison-Destroying Thunder Talisman was also quite loud. The Crimson Forbidden Land was fraught with danger; every moment spent there increased the risk of being targeted by other cultivators or demonic beasts.

Lin Yuan stepped forward and grabbed Jiang Huaiyue by the back of her collar with one hand.

"You—" Jiang Huaiyue was about to struggle, but the restriction deep in her soul stirred slightly, and she immediately became obedient.

With magic power flowing into their legs, the Wind and Thunder Illusion Boots flashed with light, and the two figures sped off towards the northwest, skimming the ground.

Less than half an incense stick's time after the two left, a dozen giant wolves, their bodies reeking of a foul stench, rushed into the abandoned spirit field, drawn by the scent of blood.

Half an hour later, in a hidden underground cave.

Lin Yuan quickly threw out eight array flags at the cave entrance, setting up a small concealment array to hide his presence.

After doing all this, he turned and walked toward Jiang Huaiyue, who was leaning against the stone wall.

At this moment, Jiang Huaiyue's red dress was tattered, her hair was disheveled and stuck to her face, and her cheeks were covered with blood and mud, making her look like a drowned rat soaked by the heavy rain.

"Tell me your plans."

"How do you and Chu Tianhan plan to deal with Lin Feilu?"

Jiang Huaiyue's lips trembled slightly.

"As the Holy Maiden of the Xuan Yin Sect, Lin Feilu must go to the core Inheritance Hall to comprehend the core cultivation technique after entering the forbidden area. Senior Brother Chu and I had already agreed that after gathering resources, we would set up an ambush outside the Inheritance Hall."

"Be more specific."

Jiang Huaiyue closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, a complex expression flashed deep within her pupils.

She quickly replied, "Senior Brother Chu has a Six Yin Soul-Locking Array. He acquired it at great expense. As long as Lin Feilu steps into the array's range, she can be trapped inside. The Yin energy within the array will continuously erode and deplete her protective true energy and mana reserves. Senior Brother Chu only needs to control the Soul-Devouring Demonic Insects on the outside to help strangle her. Even if a Core Formation cultivator comes, it will take them a lot of effort to escape from the array."

At this point, Jiang Huaiyue paused for a moment, her voice becoming even lower: "As long as we kill her, we can seize her identity token."

"There is an extremely strong restriction outside the Inheritance Hall. Only those who possess the jade tokens identifying them as Holy Sons or Holy Daughters can pass through the restriction and enter. As long as I obtain her token, I can enter the hall in her place to comprehend the core techniques of our sect."

Beneath Lin Yuan's mask-like calm expression, his mind raced. He astutely grasped the most crucial piece of information.

"You mean, the restrictions outside the Inheritance Hall only recognize the token, not the person?"

Jiang Huaiyue nodded: "That's right. In fact, the tokens held by the Holy Son and Holy Daughter are the identity tokens of the elders of the Blood God Palace here. They were discovered during various explorations. The restriction was set up by the ancient Blood God Palace. How could they know any Xuan Yin Sect disciples? No matter who it is, as long as they hold the token, they can enter the main hall."

"This is interesting." Lin Yuan stroked his chin.

Lin Feilu possesses the Saintess Token. Chu Tianhan possesses the Saint Son Token. Two tokens, two entry slots. Only the tokens matter, not the person.

Jiang Huaiyue saw the fleeting intention in Lin Yuan's eyes, stared at him for a few moments, and couldn't help but sneer.

"What good is it for someone at the ninth level of Qi Refining to get the token?" Jiang Huaiyue's tone carried a deliberate contempt. "The profound mysteries of the cultivation techniques within the Inheritance Hall are so complex that even the most talented disciples have to exert all their strength to barely comprehend them. Your aptitude... must be quite average, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't still be doing menial tasks at the ninth level of Qi Refining. Even if you get in, facing a hall full of inheritances would be like casting pearls before swine, a complete waste of your spot."

She paused, as if she had thought of something, and her expression became subtle.

"If you really want to make a fortune in the Crimson Forbidden Land, instead of thinking about the Inheritance Hall, you should go to the Blood Demon Mountain in the north of the Forbidden Land."

"A blank stele stands atop the mountain. On it are many of the Blood God Palace's inherited cultivation methods. With your current cultivation level, studying them will allow you to obtain the method for establishing your foundation in the Heavenly Dao."

He never thought there was any truth to the saying that you can't have your cake and eat it too. Only those who can't have something need to make a choice.

Lin Yuan walked straight to the other side of the cave and sat down cross-legged.

He flipped his hand over, and the black jade slip containing the incomplete Thousand Evolutions Corpse Control Technique that he had obtained from Jiang Huaiyue appeared in his palm.

He placed the jade slip on his forehead, probed it with his divine sense, and carefully read the obscure and profound scriptures.

This technique is extremely complex. The entire text describes how to deliberately tear the complete soul into several strands through a self-torturing method, and then use the Yin energy of the earth as a tempering fire to repeatedly forge, compress, and recombine each strand of the soul, ultimately reaching a state of divine consciousness that is infinitely differentiated and unyielding.

This is entirely a heretical and secret method that trades madness for power. But undeniably, its effectiveness in tempering the soul is unparalleled.

Jiang Huaiyue leaned against the stone wall, watching Lin Yuan meditate with his eyes closed:

"Don't waste your energy. This technique is obscure and profound. The Soul-Splitting Method involved will permanently damage the foundation of your soul if you make even the slightest mistake. I consider myself to be exceptionally talented, but it was only under my master's careful guidance that I cultivated for three whole years before I barely reached the minor success level."

She paused, looking at Lin Yuan's motionless back, her tone becoming more forceful, carrying an ambiguous meaning that was neither mockery nor warning:

"You're just a menial servant in the Qi Refining stage. Without anyone to guide you or any soul-protecting elixirs to help you, forcibly trying to cultivate this high-level Divine Forging Technique will at best result in nothing, and at worst, you'll become an idiot."