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

The stone chamber remained quiet for a long time.

Wen Yuci stared at Lin Yuan, her once cold and sharp eyes now only filled with a layer of desolation.

The Golden Elixir is damaged.

The initial stage of Core Formation is the end point.

This statement is even more deadly than the backlash from the Soul Devouring Technique.

She worked hard for over twenty years. From the time she could remember, her master threw her into the Cave of Ten Thousand Corpses to cultivate. She reached the Foundation Establishment stage at fourteen, the mid-Foundation Establishment stage at nineteen, and the late-Foundation Establishment stage at twenty-three.

Before the extreme cold toxin invaded her meridians, she was recognized as the number one among her peers in the Xuan Yin Sect.

Then the cold poison erupted.

Struggling, enduring hardship.

After much effort, the golden elixir was finally formed—but it turned out to be a broken elixir.

Wen Yuci slowly closed her eyes.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, a smile more unsightly than crying.

He chuckled silently.

"Senior sister, there's no need to be so discouraged. I have a way to help you repair your foundation, and I can even help you advance further."

Wen Yuci suddenly opened her eyes.

A glint of light suddenly flashed in those dull, lifeless eyes.

But this glimmer of light lasted only a moment before she forcibly suppressed it.

She understands the rules of exchanging favors all too well.

The more desperate a person is, the easier it is for others to manipulate them.

And this man happens to be most adept at manipulating people.

"But before we talk about that, I have a question."

Wen Yuci tensed up. Her back straightened involuntarily, and her early-stage Golden Core cultivation power instinctively circulated through her meridians for a small cycle.

But she quickly realized that the action was pointless.

The mark of the Divine Suppression Technique was etched deep within her consciousness. With just a thought from Lin Yuan, her soul would be instantly crushed.

"Who wants the Crossing-the-Earth Pill?"

Wen Yuci's expression froze for a moment.

"After we left the Crimson Forbidden Land, Shen Guiyan took the Frost Marrow Lotus. These two petals in your hand were given to you by her."

"The Cold Marrow Lotus is the main ingredient in the Calamity-Crossing Pill. You came to me to refine pills, not for Shen Guiyan."

Wen Yuci's breath hitched for a moment, then she nodded.

"That's right. The Crossing-the-Calamity Pill is what Grandmaster Shen wanted."

"I risked my life to obtain the petals of the Frost Marrow Lotus and the formula for the Soul Purification Pill from her. Originally—"

She paused, shifting her gaze from Lin Yuan's face to her outstretched palm.

The lines on the palm were clearly visible under the light of the lamp, like an intricate map of fate.

"I originally thought that the Soul Devouring Technique could control you and make you obediently refine pills."

His voice carried a strong sense of self-deprecation.

"I never imagined your spirit could surpass mine."

There was silence for several breaths inside the stone chamber.

Lin Yuan remained outwardly calm, but his mind was racing with calculations.

Shen Guiyan.

An old monster in the Nascent Soul stage.

He knew his own limitations perfectly well. He was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage. In front of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, he had no chance to even run away, let alone resist.

Don't even touch it. Don't even think about it.

"If you don't refine this pill, and if Master Gu investigates, neither of us will survive."

She paused for a moment, then added a sentence.

"She also gave us today as the deadline."

Lin Yuan pondered for a moment.

Shen Guiyan needed to overcome the Calamity Pill, and Wen Yuci was the middleman. Now that he has Wen Yuci under his control, it's as if he has the entire connection in his hands.

Refining alchemy carries risks—it exposes his ability as a fifth-grade alchemist, giving him another handle to be coveted by others in the shadows of the Xuan Yin Sect.

If he doesn't refine, he'll die—once the old monster in the Nascent Soul stage investigates, he definitely won't escape.

The lesser of two evils.

Moreover, from another perspective, refining pills for Nascent Soul stage monsters is itself a kind of investment.

"I can refine the pill for you."

"But what benefit would I get from that?"

Wen Yuci was speechless.

She quickly went through her family's assets in her mind.

The spirit stones had already been thoroughly emptied by Lin Yuan under various pretexts. The storage bag contained no more than two hundred spirit stones in total.

Her magical artifacts, the Thousand Soul Banner and the Copper Armor Corpse, were her natal artifacts and trump cards refined over many years. These two items were equivalent to her life.

After thinking it over and over, I realized that I had nothing in my hands.

A direct disciple at the Core Formation stage, reduced to having nothing of value.

"What do you want?" Wen Yuci asked through gritted teeth.

Lin Yuan tilted his head.

Suddenly, he asked a completely unrelated question.

"Do you know any high-ranking female cultivators?"

Wen Yuci was taken aback.

Her previously tense facial muscles relaxed slightly, and then she frowned.

Several faces flashed into my mind as if by conditioned reflex.

Master, late stage of Core Formation, has a gloomy and eccentric personality. He took her as his disciple purely because he saw that she had good spiritual root aptitude and was suitable to inherit his mantle.

Shen Guiyan – Nascent Soul stage, the revered ancestor of the entire Xuan Yin Sect.

"The one with the highest cultivation is naturally Grandmaster Shen." Wen Yuci frowned, suspiciously scrutinizing Lin Yuan. "What do you want to do?"

Lin Yuan considered this in his mind for a second.

Nascent Soul stage.

Provoking such a being... never mind.

Lin Yuan waved his hand.

"Never mind, I didn't ask."

He swiftly abandoned that unrealistic idea and got straight to the point.

"I'll refine the pill for you. There are two conditions."

Wen Yuci stared at him. Her aura involuntarily tightened.

She had a very bad feeling.

"First, you must not reveal any information about me to Shen Guiyan. My identity, my alchemy skills, my cultivation level—not a single word is allowed to be mentioned. To her, the one who refines pills is you, not me."

Wen Yuci nodded.

"second."

"From this day forward, I am your master."

Wen Yuci stared intently at Lin Yuan, her chest heaving violently. Her lips were pressed into a thin line.

Owner.

She knew better than anyone what those two words meant to her.

She is a direct disciple of the Xuan Yin Sect. A genius disciple of the Xuan Yin Sect.

It made her submit to a male cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

A sense of humiliation welled up from the depths of her heart, almost tearing her reason apart.

"Senior sister."

Jiang Huaiyue leaned against the door frame, her hands folded in front of her chest.

She turned her head and glanced at Wen Yuci.

"In terms of status and position within the sect, I'm no less than you."

"I am also a direct disciple. My master is Elder Sima Duan. In terms of cultivation, I am also at the Golden Core stage."

She paused for a moment.

His gaze shifted from Wen Yuci's face to Lin Yuan's tall and straight back.

"Being able to follow your master is the greatest blessing of your life."

This statement is perfectly reasonable.

Wen Yuci looked at Jiang Huaiyue's face.

She knew Jiang Huaiyue.

Sima Duan's chief disciple. A genius at the peak of the ninth level of Foundation Establishment. Among the younger generation of the sect, Jiang Huaiyue ranks among the top.

Such a person—voluntarily recognized a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator as his master?

The struggle and humiliation in her eyes hadn't completely faded. But beneath those surging emotions, reason had taken over.

Wen Yuci is a smart person.

A wise person knows when to bow their head.

"……yes."

"Owner."

Lin Yuan nodded.

There were no superfluous expressions. There was no smug look, nor any insincere reassurance.

He turned and walked to the stone table, taking out the prescription for the Crossing-the-Calamity Pill that Wen Yuci had brought earlier from his storage bag. The yellowed medicine slip unfolded, and the densely packed pharmacological annotations were clearly visible under the spirit lamp.

Lin Yuan glanced at it.

A fifth-grade elixir formula. The main ingredient is the petal of the Cold Marrow Lotus, supplemented with seven rare and precious medicinal herbs. The conditions for its formation are extremely demanding, requiring very high attributes of the elixir fire.

For an ordinary fifth-grade alchemist, producing one out of ten batches of this stuff is considered extremely lucky.

He carefully put away the prescription, then took out a blank jade slip from his pocket and twirled it in his hand.

"Remember this before I start refining pills."

"The Yin-Yang Limitless Creation Great Law. You should study it first. After the Tribulation-Crossing Pill is refined, I will help you repair the foundation of your Golden Core."