The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

Shen Yifei was pondering how to deal with these things when he suddenly heard a knock at the courtyard gate.

"Junior Brother Shen! Junior Brother Shen!" It was Qin Wan's voice.

He got up and opened the door. Qin Wan was standing outside, wearing a light green dress, her hair tied up with a silver hairpin, and a smile on her face.

"Senior Sister Qin, it's so late, is something the matter?"

"Can't I come to see you if there's nothing wrong?" Qin Wan glanced into the courtyard. "I heard you came back from the secret realm, so I came to see if you were dead."

Shen Yifei smiled: "Thanks to my senior sister, I'm still alive."

Qin Wan entered the courtyard and sat down at the stone table. Shen Yifei poured her a cup of tea and then sat down opposite her.

"How's the harvest?" Qin Wan asked.

"good."

"How good is 'okay'? You got the treasure and still hid it from me?"

Shen Yifei took out the purple Ganoderma lucidum and several herbs from his ring and placed them on the table. These things were dug up on the outskirts of the secret realm; their quality was average and they weren't particularly eye-catching.

Qin Wan picked up the purple Ganoderma lucidum, examined it, smelled it, and nodded: "A hundred-year-old one, not bad. It can be used to refine a good batch of pills."

She glanced at the herbs again, her brow furrowing slightly. "That's all?"

"That's all." Shen Yifei put the items away. "I'm not at the Golden Core stage, so I didn't dare go any further in. I've been wandering around the outer perimeter for a few days, and I'm already pretty lucky to have found this much."

Qin Wan stared at him for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "Junior Brother Shen, your ears turn red when you lie."

Shen Yifei subconsciously touched his ear.

Qin Wan laughed even harder: "Look, it's red again."

Shen Yifei lowered his hand, thinking to himself, "How can this woman be so shrewd?"

"Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore." Qin Wan stopped laughing and said seriously, "I came to tell you something. Su Yao wants to see you."

Shen Yifei was taken aback: "Su Yao? She wants to see me?"

"Yes. She said you must have a lot of good stuff since you came back from the secret realm, and she wants to see it."

How did she know I was back?

"What matters within the sect can be hidden from her?" Qin Wan stood up. "I'll take you to see her tomorrow morning."

Shen Yifei nodded.

Qin Wan reached the doorway, then suddenly turned back to look at him: "Junior Brother Shen, did you really only dig up these things in the secret realm?"

Shen Yifei remained silent.

Qin Wan smiled, asked no more questions, and left.

Shen Yifei closed the door, returned to the room, put the purple lingzhi and herbs into his ring, and then took out all the things he had brought out from the secret realm one by one to examine them.

There were over 12,000 spirit stones, more than a dozen bottles of various pills, seven or eight magical artifacts, a large pile of medicinal herbs, and that small bronze cauldron.

If all of these things were brought out, they could buy half of the outer sect of the Hehuan Sect.

But he can't take it.

Not at least not now.

We need to find a way to gradually whitewash these things and turn them into "legitimate" income.

As Shen Yifei was pondering this, Liu Mengli spoke up again.

"Little guy, your senior sister seems to have a thing for you."

"Which senior sister?"

"That one just now, Qin Wan." Liu Mengli's voice was tinged with amusement. "The way she looked at you was like she was looking at a medicinal pill, as if she wanted to swallow you whole."

Shen Yifei ignored her.

"And your senior sister Su Yao, I don't think she's someone to be trifled with either."

Shen Yifei still ignored her.

"Little one, you may not have any other skills, but you certainly have a knack for attracting women." Liu Mengli chuckled. "The medicinal scent on you is like an aphrodisiac to female cultivators. Wherever you go, female cultivators follow."

Shen Yifei finally spoke: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying, instead of letting them come and take advantage of you one by one, why don't you take the initiative?" Liu Mengli's voice was low and seductive. "What level have you reached with your 'replenishment technique'?"

Shen Yifei's heart tightened: "How did you know I practice the art of 'sexual cultivation'?"

"I can sense when you cultivate," Liu Mengli said. "Our Nightmare Clan is particularly sensitive to fluctuations in the soul. When you circulate your cultivation technique, your soul will fluctuate, and I can feel it."

Shen Yifei fell silent.

"You've only reached the second level, right?" Liu Mengli continued, "The second level involves absorbing the other person's cultivation technique and talent. This is powerful, but also very risky. If the other person's cultivation level is higher than yours, and their cultivation technique is stronger, you will not only fail to absorb it, but you will also suffer a backlash."

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I want to say, I can help you." Liu Mengli's voice was even lower. "I can enter dreams. In dreams, I can help you control the other person's soul, allowing you to take whomever you want and as much as you want during dual cultivation. The other person won't even be able to resist."

Shen Yifei's heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed down.

"You'll help me? What makes you think you can help me?"

"Because I want to live." Liu Mengli's voice was tinged with bitterness. "Your broken cauldron can refine me into a pill. I don't want to die, so I have to make you think I'm useful."

Shen Yifei thought for a moment: "Is your method reliable?"

"Of course it's reliable." Liu Mengli's voice returned to its languid tone. "This is what we Nightmare Clan excel at. As long as you release me, I'll help you enter your dream, and you can take whomever you want."

Shen Yifei didn't reply. Release her? He wasn't stupid. This demoness could talk a good game, but if she were released, the first thing she'd do would be to sneak into his dreams and drain him dry.

"Take your time thinking about it, no rush." ​​Liu Mengli yawned. "Anyway, I'm locked up in this lousy place by you, and I can't go anywhere. You can let me out whenever you've come to your senses."

Shen Yifei turned over and closed his eyes.

The next morning, Qin Wan knocked on the door.

Shen Yifei followed her deeper into the inner courtyard. Su Yao's residence was at the very back of the inner courtyard, more than twice the size of his own. There were two spirit peach trees planted at the entrance, their blossoms in full bloom, a vibrant pink expanse. When the wind blew, the petals scattered everywhere.

Qin Wan knocked on the door, and Su Yao's voice came from inside: "Come in."

Pushing open the door, I saw Su Yao sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, drinking tea.

"Sit down." She pointed to the stone bench opposite her.

Shen Yifei sat down, and Qin Wan sat down next to him.

Su Yao poured him a cup of tea and pushed it towards him: "Try it, this year's newly picked spiritual tea costs fifty spirit stones per ounce."

Shen Yifei picked it up and took a sip. It was indeed quite good. It had a refreshing aroma, a sweet aftertaste, and a faint spiritual energy that lingered on the tip of his tongue.

"Junior Brother Shen, how was your trip to the secret realm?" Su Yao asked directly.

"Not bad, I dug up a few herbs and fought a few monsters." Shen Yifei gave the same answer.

Su Yao smiled and didn't press the matter. She took a small porcelain bottle from her bosom and placed it on the table.

"Take a look at this."

Shen Yifei picked it up, uncorked the bottle, and smelled it; a pungent odor hit his nose.

"Breakthrough Pill?" He looked up at Su Yao.

"Yes. I had someone refine it for me; it cost three thousand spirit stones. Guess how effective it was?"

Shen Yifei shook his head.

Su Yao put the porcelain bottle away, a slight smile playing on her lips: "It didn't work at all. Eating one was like eating a candy; it was completely useless."

Shen Yifei did not respond.

"So I'd like to ask you to refine a batch for me." Su Yao looked at him, a hint of a smile in her phoenix eyes. "I saw the Acacia Pill you refined for Qin Wan last time, and its quality was excellent. I also saw the Barrier Breaking Pill you refined for Qin Wan; it had nine Dao patterns, making it a top-grade pill. Junior Brother Shen, your alchemy skills are among the top three in the Acacia Sect."

Shen Yifei's heart tightened, but he didn't show it on his face: "Senior Sister Su, you flatter me. I was just lucky."

Su Yao laughed, "Junior Brother Shen, you might fool others with what you're saying, but you can't fool me."