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

This little girl's ruthlessness and decisiveness were somewhat unexpected.

A person who can be so ruthless to themselves is either truly desperate or confident and deliberately retreating to advance.

Shen Guiyan is more inclined to believe the former.

What right does a half-step Golden Core cultivator, whose meridians are about to be eroded by the reverse flow of cold energy within his body, have to be so confident?

After a while.

Shen Guiyan waved her sleeve.

A stream of extremely pure Nascent Soul stage magic power transformed into a soft blue light, emanating from her sleeve. The blue light, in mid-air, resembled a nimble hand, gently lifting two crystal-clear petals.

Cold Marrow Lotus Petals.

"I'll give you half a month."

If you fail to produce the pill within half a month, I will personally cripple you.

Wen Yuci extended her hands with neither humility nor arrogance, carefully placing the two petals of the Cold Marrow Lotus into the white jade box that had been prepared beforehand.

"Disciple thanks Grandmaster for granting my request."

She kowtowed. The sound of her forehead touching the cold stone surface echoed for a moment in the empty hall.

Then she stood up. Her movements were steady, without the slightest tremor.

It was as if she wasn't the one who had just risked her life.

Outside the cave.

The cold wind was like a knife.

Li Lan strode out of the cave entrance, her emerald green skirt fluttering in the wind. Her face was ashen, and her steps betrayed suppressed anger.

They waited until they were outside the area covered by the restrictions of Shen Guiyan's cave, and confirmed that the Nascent Soul Ancestor's divine sense was no longer covering the area.

Li Lan turned around abruptly.

She stared at the white jade box containing lotus petals in Wen Yuci's hand, her gaze extremely complex. There was anger, astonishment, and a hint of barely perceptible apprehension.

"Who exactly is this alchemist you mentioned?"

Wen Yuci carefully placed the white jade box into her personal storage bag.

A strange blush appeared on her pale face.

"Don't worry, Master, you will know when the time comes."

She didn't answer directly.

She turned around, the hem of her long black dress billowing in the night wind. She walked down the stone steps at the foot of the peak, her steps unhurried.

The wind blew a few stray hairs from her temples.

A face came to mind.

Fair-skinned. Handsome. Tall and slender.

……

Black Crow Mountain, Alchemy Chamber.

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged in front of the alchemy furnace, arranging the medicinal materials for the two sets of Breakthrough Purple Gold Pills in order.

The main ingredient is golden silkworm cocoon, and the auxiliary ingredients are barrier-breaking flower, purple gold mineral powder, and nine-turn spiritual liquid. Each ingredient is a top-quality product carefully selected by Li Yang, with restrained spiritual light and full medicinal properties.

The mere presence of these materials laid out before us exuded a mellow, medicinal fragrance that lingered in the sealed alchemy room.

Lin Yuan picked up the jade slip containing the pill formula and probed it with his divine sense.

The Barrier-Breaking Purple Gold Pill is specially designed for Core Formation stage cultivators to clear blockages in their meridians and repair hidden injuries in their dantian.

The core difficulty in refining it lies in the fact that the medicinal properties of the golden silkworm cocoon are extremely strong, and it will produce a violent repulsive reaction when it is fused with purple gold ore powder.

Even a slight deviation in the heat control can result in a low-grade elixir or, in severe cases, a furnace explosion.

Lin Yuan made a hand seal with his right hand and flicked two fingers lightly.

"laugh--"

A ball of pitch-black flame leaped from his fingertips and landed silently at the bottom of the alchemy furnace.

Instead of scorching heat, there was a bone-chilling cold that condensed into a fine layer of white frost at the bottom of the furnace.

The golden silkworm cocoons were the first to be put into the furnace.

The moment this main ingredient came into contact with the liquid medicine in the furnace, the momentum of the riot was forcefully suppressed by more than half.

If it were a regular alchemical process, this step would take at least half an incense stick's time to tug at the medicinal properties of the golden silkworm cocoon.

The medicinal properties of the golden silkworm cocoon rapidly subsided under the influence of extreme cold. The originally turbulent and surging golden medicinal power became docile and mellow, obediently curling up at the bottom of the furnace.

Purple gold mineral powder followed closely behind.

The moment the ore powder entered the furnace, it collided with the medicinal properties of the golden silkworm cocoon as expected. The two forces tumbled and collided within the furnace cavity, producing a muffled hum.

Lin Yuan's divine sense simultaneously probed into the furnace.

The powerful spiritual energy transformed into an invisible hand, precisely kneading and fusing the two medicinal energies together while they were suppressed by the cold.

Purification. Fusion. Compression.

Impurities were peeled away layer by layer, turning into wisps of blue smoke that drifted out of the furnace. The medicinal liquid changed from turbid to clear, and then from clear to an extremely thick, dark gold color.

……

Half an hour.

"Open the furnace."

Lin Yuan slammed the furnace lid open with one palm.

The moment the stove lid was lifted, a rich aroma of herbs wafted out.

Six pills lay quietly at the bottom of the furnace.

It is dark gold in color, with golden spirit patterns crisscrossing on the surface, arranged in an extremely regular manner.

Inside the pill, a layer of flowing purple light could be faintly seen, like a ray of light sealed in amber.

Each one is perfectly round like a pearl, all the same size, and its brilliance is contained within and does not radiate outwards.

top grade.

Moreover, it's the kind of top-quality product that's only a hair's breadth away from being the absolute best.

Lin Yuan poured six pills into his palm and examined them for two breaths.

Li Yang requested one batch of herbs, but was given two portions.

The remaining second document naturally became Lin Yuan's.

He could keep the extra material for future refining or sell it.

After putting away the pills, Lin Yuan rode his escape light towards the Pill Treasure Pavilion.

Li Yang wore a pale yellow, narrow-sleeved long dress today.

The material is extremely exquisite, woven from the finest ice silkworm silk, as light and thin as gauze yet opaque.

It made her fair skin appear even more radiant, and the exquisite gold chain at her collarbone shimmered slightly under the light of the lamp.

She was checking the numbers in a thick ledger, the tip of her vermilion pen rapidly circling and marking on the paper.

Hearing the door open, I looked up.

Upon seeing that it was Lin Yuan, he put down his pen.

"You said it would be delivered within seven days, but you're faster than expected." Li Yang leaned back in her chair, her phoenix eyes scanning him up and down. "I thought it would take at least five or six days."

Lin Yuan took out a white jade bottle from his bosom and placed it on the sandalwood desk.

The bottle is entirely white, and its mouth is sealed with spiritual wax. Even from the outside, one can feel the steady spiritual energy emanating from within.

Li Yang picked up the jade bottle and uncorked it.

A rich yet subtle medicinal fragrance wafted from the bottle opening.

She was all too familiar with the texture of that medicinal scent.

Only high-quality pills, whose medicinal properties are perfectly sealed inside the pill body with almost no leakage, will exhibit this characteristic of "being able to smell it but not letting it dissipate".

Li Yang tilted the jade bottle slightly with her slender fingers and poured a pill into her palm.

The dark golden pill rotated slightly in her fair palm.

Li Yang's pupils contracted slightly.

top grade.

The quality of this pill has clearly reached the threshold of being top-grade.

The density of the spiritual patterns, the purity of the medicinal properties, and the roundness of the pill—every indicator far exceeded her expectations.

She's been in the business of selling medicinal herbs for over a decade. She knows exactly what grade of elixir corresponds to what quality, just by handling it.

Li Yang raised her head and looked at Lin Yuan sitting opposite her.

"Your alchemy skills are quite impressive..." Li Yang put the pill back into the jade bottle, her tone more serious than before.

"Let alone a sixth-grade alchemist, even a fifth-grade master like Yao Wuchen might not be able to refine this quality if he did it himself."

She paused for a moment. A shrewd glint flashed in her phoenix eyes.

"Just who are you? A mere inner disciple who recently established his foundation, yet your alchemy skills surpass even the sect's top fifth-grade alchemist. With your abilities, why are you content to stay on that godforsaken, desolate mountain and farm?"

Lin Yuan sat down in the chair, crossing his legs. His posture was relaxed, and a faint smile played on his lips.

"Manager, you jest. I was just lucky; the medicinal herbs were of high quality. Anyone else would have gotten the same result."

Li Yang stared at him for three breaths.

Having seen countless people, Li Yang could certainly tell that Lin Yuan was just being perfunctory.

But she also knew that in the world of cultivation, it was a big taboo to pry into other people's backgrounds.

Especially when the other person clearly doesn't want to talk, pressing them for answers will not only fail to get you an answer, but will also push them away.

She's not stupid.

Alchemists of this caliber are too good to pass up; there's no reason to turn them away.

Li Yang stopped pursuing the topic. She took out a bulging storage bag from her sleeve, placed it on the desk, and with a gentle push of her slender, white fingertips, the storage bag slid down the smooth rosewood surface to Lin Yuan's side.

"Ten thousand spirit stones. Let's count them."

Lin Yuan scanned it with his divine sense, confirmed it was correct, and casually put it into his pocket.

"The payment is settled." Lin Yuan stood up and patted off non-existent dust from his robes.

He walked to the door, placed his right hand on the door frame, and turned to the side.

Those smiling eyes swept over Li Yang.

"Test the effects of the pills first. If the pill's power is insufficient—"

His tone paused slightly. The last syllable rose slightly, carrying an indescribable meaning.

"Come find me anytime at Black Crow Mountain. My cave is very quiet. It's perfect for... in-depth discussions."

After saying that, he turned around and pushed open the door to leave.

The footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor.