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

"Young Master... I've waited for this day for a long time. Not just to refine the essence blood, but also for..."

Before she could finish speaking, Shen Yifei grabbed her hand.

"Sister Hongxiu, you know better than I do that I, Shen Yifei, am not a respectable person. But I swear, from now on, you are my woman, I will protect you, and no one will be allowed to bully you again."

Shen Yifei didn't hesitate. He raised his hand and set up a barrier around the room to prevent the two of them from making any noise that might disturb the palace guards.

He picked up Hongxiu, buried his head deep in her chest, and took a deep sniff.

"I think... I think I smell it..."

"Young Master, what do you smell?"

"Haha...this is the smell I've been dreaming of!"

Hongxiu's face flushed crimson. She buried her face in Shen Yifei's chest, her voice muffled, "Young Master, you're talking nonsense. There's no smell at all..."

Shen Yifei nudged harder, "I think... I think I smell... I smell my mother's scent..."

Shen Yifei lived with his mother for a period of time when he was a child, but that memory has long been erased.

If it weren't for the Demon of Love bringing out that memory for him, he would have had no idea at all.

But the scent on Hongxiu gave him a strange sense of belonging, just like an infant can naturally sense the scent of its mother.

Hongxiu trembled at his words, her voice soft and trembling: "Young Master... I... I'm not your mother... You can't..." As she spoke, her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible, "You can't listen to Mengli and really treat me like your wet nurse..."

Shen Yifei laughed heartily and kissed her on the forehead. "What are you thinking! I just meant you smell like home. Sister Hongxiu, you're not my wet nurse, you're my wife, my wife!"

Shen Yifei bent down, picked her up, and placed her on the bed.

The flickering candlelight filled the room with a sense of spring.

Shen Yifei sat cross-legged opposite Hongxiu and taught her how to regulate her breathing.

"Sister Hongxiu, the Mysterious Female Qi is deep within your dantian. Don't rush to activate it yet. Close your eyes and feel its location."

Hongxiu closed her eyes as instructed, her long eyelashes trembling gently. After a long while, she whispered, "I can feel it... like a pool of water, always at the very bottom of my dantian, completely still."

"Yes, that's it." Shen Yifei gripped her hand tightly. "Don't be afraid. I'll transfer a wisp of the Five Elements power to help you stir up that pool of water. Once it comes to life, we'll... merge together."

Shen Yifei activated the small vortex in his dantian, silently transferring a wisp of the Five Elements power into Hongxiu's body.

The wisp of the Five Elements power flowed through Hongxiu's meridians like a warm stream, flowing downwards all the way to the deepest part of her dantian.

Shen Yifei's Five Elements Power circled the pool of Xuanpin Qi once, as if tentatively knocking on the door. Then, the pool of Xuanpin Qi suddenly surged up, enveloping Shen Yifei's Five Elements Power. It was hot and soft, as if it wanted to swallow his power whole.

Shen Yifei felt a surge in his dantian, and the mysterious female energy flowed back along with the power of the five elements, like warm spring water flowing upstream. As soon as it entered his meridians, his whole body felt as if he were soaking in boiling water.

"Hiss..." He gasped, "This Xuanpin Qi... it's quite powerful!"

Hongxiu also clearly sensed something was wrong. She bit her lower lip, trying hard not to cry out.

But once that mysterious female energy was awakened, it was like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, completely beyond her control. It surged back and forth along the meridians of the two of them, becoming more and more rapid and hotter with each surge.

"Young Master... I... I can't control it anymore..." Hongxiu was trembling all over.

"Don't panic, don't try to control it!" Shen Yifei calmed himself down while guiding the Xuanpin Qi. "Go with its flow, don't fight against it!"

Although Shen Yifei spoke calmly, he was actually unsure of himself.

This mysterious female energy is too strange; it's more "sticky" than any other power he's ever encountered.

That energy surged upwards along his meridians, hot and soft, binding his Five Elements power and preventing him from fully utilizing his abilities.

What made his scalp tingle even more was that the mysterious female energy seemed to have a mind of its own, and was drilling into the depths of his dantian along his meridians.

"Sister Hongxiu, your Xuanpin Qi... how come it can find its way on its own?"

"Young Master... I... I really can't control myself..."

Shen Yifei suddenly remembered Xinghe's words, "If you can't bear to part with that drop of Demon Emperor's essence blood, don't even think about Hongxiu refining it for you!"

Now, Hongxiu's Xuanpin Qi has completely spiraled out of control. This is not refining essence blood at all; it is trying to occupy her dantian.

The mysterious female energy is unique to women!

If it occupies his own dantian, wouldn't he become like Wan Shuo, neither male nor female?

Thinking of this, Shen Yifei quickly took out the drop of Demon Emperor's essence blood. "Sister Hongxiu, quickly... quickly swallow this!"

Upon hearing Shen Yifei's words, Hongxiu almost instinctively opened her mouth, and the drop of Demon Emperor's essence blood melted instantly in her mouth, burning down her throat like a scalding flame.

The moment the essence blood entered her abdomen, Hongxiu's dantian trembled violently. The chaotic and uncontrolled Xuanpin Qi seemed to have found its commander, instantly restraining its sharpness and surging towards the drop of essence blood.

Shen Yifei felt as if the wisp of Five Elements power that was wrapped in the Xuanpin Qi was being grabbed and pulled back by a giant hand.

The feeling wasn't like being forcibly pulled or dragged, but rather like two rivers that were destined to meet finally finding the same estuary.

"Young Master...you...you felt it?"

"I can feel it..." Shen Yifei felt that the Xuanpin Qi, which was wrapped around his essence blood, was no longer pushing into his dantian, but had entered his bloodline and was closely connected with Hongxiu's bloodline.

Through the transformation of the mysterious female energy, the impurities in Shen Yifei's bloodline were gradually removed, leaving only the purest bloodline.

Hongxiu was in a terrible state. Her dantian felt as if it had been emptied out, and all her Xuanpin Qi had poured into Shen Yifei's body.

She lay limply in Shen Yifei's arms, her body burning hot and her breathing rapid.

"Young Master... this servant feels... feels empty in my dantian..."

"Don't worry, your Xuanpin Qi is refining my bloodline."

After a long while, Shen Yifei let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if his blood and veins had been reforged, and he felt completely comfortable.

A powerful force surged from the depths of his dantian, flowing through his meridians to his limbs and bones.

Instantly, a powerful aura exploded from his body, sending ripples through the surrounding air.

Shen Yifei felt the small vortex in his dantian suddenly expand, and its rotation speed was nearly twice as fast as before.

He looked down and sensed his own level of cultivation; he almost jumped up.

"Mid-stage Tribulation Transcending! I've broken through!"

Hongxiu was also stunned, then her face lit up with joy: "Congratulations, Young Master! Congratulations, Young Master!"

"Sister Hongxiu, you're so kind!" Shen Yifei was so happy that he couldn't help but hug Hongxiu and give her a kiss on the forehead.

"Young Master, now that you've broken through, you should rest well tonight and consolidate your cultivation level..."

"Sister Hongxiu, you know me. I always get stronger with each battle, and tonight..."

After a whole night, when Shen Yifei opened the door the next day, he was full of energy and his demeanor was completely refreshed!

"Zhan Lie, I'm here!"