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

Yao Wuchen felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He scrambled to his feet from the pile of rubble and staggered to the entrance of the cave.

As he was leaving, he bowed deeply and respectfully, then disappeared into the darkness of the passageway at the fastest speed he had ever seen.

The stone gate behind them slowly closed.

Shen Guiyan strolled slowly. The hem of her dark purple robe trailed across the gravel ground, making a soft rustling sound.

Breakthrough Pill.

This is a necessary elixir for her to cleanse the impurities of her Nascent Soul and break through the bottleneck of the mid-stage Nascent Soul.

Without this pill, her cultivation level would remain stuck at the early Nascent Soul stage.

The difference between the early and middle stages of the Nascent Soul realm is large enough to determine her status within the sect.

Nine-petaled Cold Marrow Lotus.

Three times it exploded in the oven, and all three pieces were lost.

Thinking of this, Shen Guiyan's temples throbbed twice.

Now only six petals remain. Yao Wuchen is undoubtedly the most outstanding fifth-grade alchemist in the Xuan Yin Sect, yet even he failed three times in a row. If she continues to bomb, her meager resources will be completely depleted.

Forget about breaking through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage; the loss alone would be enough to make her wince.

at this time,

A clear female voice entered the main hall through the array.

"Li Lan, along with his disciple Wen Yuci, pays respects to Martial Uncle Shen."

Shen Guiyan's pacing suddenly stopped.

Her expression turned cold in an instant.

Li Lan. The most cunning and ruthless little girl in the Li family.

People don't come to the temple without a reason; if they come at this time, they must have something to do with it.

Shen Guiyan coldly uttered a single word.

"Enter."

The heavy stone gate suddenly swung open.

Dressed in a magnificent emerald green robe, Li Lan stepped calmly into the cave.

Her back was ramrod straight, and her face was bright yet haughty.

The angle of his chin being slightly raised was just right, expressing respect for the Nascent Soul senior without making himself appear too humble.

Half a step behind her was Wen Yuci, dressed in a long black coat.

Wen Yuci is absolutely beautiful.

Her features were so exquisite they resembled a work of art. Yet, her demeanor was cold to the extreme.

What's even more striking is her complexion.

That unnatural paleness was a sickly whiteness left behind by the reverse flow of cold energy within the body. As he walked, a few wisps of uncontrolled chill unconsciously emanated from his body.

Shen Guiyan stood in the center of the hall, scanning the two people back and forth.

"What is it?"

Li Lan bowed respectfully.

"Reporting to my master."

"I heard that my martial uncle found a nine-petaled Frost Marrow Lotus in the Crimson Forbidden Land. Such a rare and precious treasure is extremely rare in the world. It is truly a blessing for the sect that my martial uncle is using it to make medicine and pills."

She paused for a moment. After just the right amount of build-up, she got to the point.

"This disciple dares to guess. Even if the pill refined by my master is very precious, he probably wouldn't use all nine petals. It would be a waste to leave the unused petals lying around."

Shen Guiyan did not respond.

Those deep, dark eyes were like two bottomless, dry wells, staring intently at Li Lan.

Li Lan forced herself to continue.

"Yu Ci has been practicing an extremely cold cultivation technique, and now the backlash from the yin and cold energy is intensifying, causing severe damage to her meridians. If she doesn't have the Cold Marrow Lotus to neutralize it, her life may be in danger."

"This junior shamelessly requests two unused lotus petals from my martial uncle to use in refining healing pills for Yu Ci. The Li family is willing to offer spirit ore and rare medicinal herbs of equal value in exchange, ensuring that my martial uncle will not suffer any loss."

The hall was quiet for a few moments.

Then, a cold laugh escaped from Shen Guiyan's lips.

"Left unused?"

Shen Guiyan repeated those two words, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Who told you that there are any unused Cold Marrow Lotus seeds?"

Li Lan's expression stiffened slightly.

Her gaze involuntarily swept over the devastation inside the cave—the overturned alchemy furnace, the furnace lid embedded in the dome, the dregs and rubble scattered all over the ground, and the lingering pungent smell of burnt food in the air.

Her heart sank.

The oven exploded.

And judging from the extent of the mess, this is probably not the first time.

In other words, Shen Guiyan's Cold Marrow Lotus was not only not idle, but may have already been partially consumed.

Asking for lotus petals at this time is like pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth.

We've run into the line of fire.

Li Lan cursed her luck inwardly. She should have sent someone to scout ahead first; otherwise, she would have run into this unlucky time.

She was rapidly organizing her thoughts, preparing a flawless script to try and defuse the situation—

Behind them, a figure suddenly took a step forward.

Wen Yuci stepped forward.

Li Lan's pupils contracted slightly, and she subconsciously wanted to reach out and stop him.

But it was too late.

"Grandmaster."

"This disciple knows that our master's alchemy has failed."

The moment she uttered those words, Shen Guiyan's eyes turned dangerous.

"But I know a master alchemist with profound knowledge of alchemy."

Wen Yuci raised her head and met Shen Guiyan's gaze.

"He might be able to assist our grandmaster in refining the precious elixir."

Shen Guiyan slowly raised her eyebrows.

Those eyes, which had seen it all, held a condescending scrutiny as they looked at the young female cultivator before them, who exuded an uncontrollable chill.

"Even Yao Wuchen couldn't do that." Shen Guiyan's tone was cold to the point of being ruthless. "What kind of experts could a junior like you possibly know?"

You, Wen Yuci, say you can find someone to refine the pill formula that caused Yao Wuchen's furnace to explode three times in a row.

If these words had come from a Nascent Soul cultivator, Shen Guiyan might have seriously considered them. But coming from a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it sounded like pure fantasy.

Wen Yuci offered no explanation.

Her gaze remained fixed on Shen Guiyan's eyes.

"Grandmaster, please grant your disciple two lotus petals."

"If that alchemist cannot use these two lotus petals to refine the pill required by our master, it proves that he is a fame-seeking charlatan—"

"This disciple is willing to offer himself as an apology to our master."

In the world of cultivation, this phrase has a very clear meaning—it's not about paying a few spirit stones or getting away with a beating. It means handing over one's cultivation level, physical body, and even soul entirely as compensation to the other party for disposal.

A stunningly beautiful female cultivator at the half-step Golden Core stage. She herself is an extremely precious natural treasure.

A hint of surprise finally flashed in Shen Guiyan's eyes.

Li Lan's pupils suddenly contracted to their maximum size.

"Yu Ci! Are you crazy?!"

Li Lan lowered her voice, her tone filled with anger and disbelief.

Wen Yuci stood ramrod straight, a resolute glint in her eyes.

She knew her situation better than anyone else. The backlash from the extreme cold technique was almost eroding her meridians. If she couldn't get the Cold Marrow Lotus to neutralize it, she wouldn't be able to condense her golden core, let alone maintain her current cultivation level.

His meridians were completely shattered, and his cultivation was utterly destroyed.

Rather than sitting idly by and waiting for your cultivation to be devoured inch by inch by the reverse cold energy within your body, it's better to gamble everything for a chance.

Shen Guiyan fell silent.

Two lotus petals.

It's equivalent to exchanging all the wealth of a half-step Golden Core cultivator.

This deal is a win-win situation no matter how you look at it.

Moreover, Wen Yuci's extreme cold cultivation technique and the Frost Marrow Lotus share the same origin, both being of the extreme yin attribute. Her physical body, tempered by the extreme cold technique for many years, is itself an extremely precious yin-attribute spiritual body. Whether used to refine special pills or as an auxiliary material for breaking through to higher realms, its value far exceeds that of two petals of the Frost Marrow Lotus.