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

Shen Yifei took the bronze cauldron out of his ring and examined it several times.

This cauldron was a size larger than his Myriad Things Cauldron, with three legs and two handles, and its surface was covered with densely packed runes. He tried to channel spiritual energy into it, and a ball of blue flame immediately emerged from the cauldron, roaring as it burned.

"A spirit-grade alchemy furnace," Liu Mengli commented from inside the cauldron. "It's in good condition, worth at least three to five thousand spirit stones."

"I'm not selling it." Shen Yifei put out the fire, put away the bronze cauldron, and said, "I'll use it as a cover for refining pills from now on."

"What grade is your Myriad Things Cauldron?" Liu Mengli asked.

Shen Yifei thought for a moment: "I don't know. Anyway, it's better than this."

"Nonsense, something that can refine living people into pills can't be ordinary, can it?" Liu Mengli paused. "Little guy, let me give you a piece of advice: use that cauldron as little as possible. It's too evil; using it too much can easily cause trouble."

"What happened?"

"I can't really explain it," Liu Mengli said, her voice unusually serious. "But I've lived in the secret realm for hundreds of years and seen many wonderful things. The more malevolent something is, the more likely it is to turn against its master. Your cauldron can even refine fifth-tier demonic beasts; who knows if it might refine you one day?"

Shen Yifei felt a chill run down his spine after hearing what she said.

But he quickly dismissed the thought. The Cauldron of All Things was his greatest trump card; without it, he'd still be chopping wood and tending a fire in the alchemy room.

"I know what I'm doing," he muttered, turned over, and went to sleep.

For the next few days, Shen Yifei didn't go anywhere; he just stayed in the courtyard cultivating.

After returning from the secret realm, he clearly felt that the spiritual energy in his dantian was much more abundant than before. The power he gained from refining the giant ape was still being digested slowly. Every day when he circulated his cultivation technique, he could feel that power flowing through his meridians, gradually integrating into his flesh and blood.

That evening, Shen Yifei was studying pill formulas in his alchemy room when someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Upon opening the door, they found an unfamiliar male cultivator, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, dressed in a gray robe, whose face was completely unknown.

"Shen Yifei?" The male cultivator looked him up and down.

"It's me. What can I do for you, Senior Brother?"

"Senior Brother Han asked me to pass on a message to you." The male cultivator's voice was very low, "The matter in the secret realm is not over yet."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Shen Yifei stood at the door, watching the man's figure disappear into the alley, a cold smile playing on his lips.

Han Zhengli sent someone to deliver a message to him, telling him that this matter was not over. For a dignified mid-stage Golden Core cultivator to send someone to deliver a message to deal with a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator shows that this person is not only petty but also narrow-minded.

"Little guy, what are you planning to do?" Liu Mengli asked.

"Whatever." Shen Yifei closed the door and went back inside. "If he dares to come, I'll make him suffer the same fate as that giant ape."

"Are you crazy? He's a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator. You tricked that giant ape in the secret realm when it wasn't on guard, and you even lost an Ice Soul Pill. Han Zhengli is a human, not a beast. He won't be stupid enough to walk right into your trap."

"I know." Shen Yifei lay down and stared at the roof beam. "So we have to think of a way to make him afraid to touch me."

"What method?"

"I haven't decided yet."

Liu Mengli sighed inside the cauldron: "You little rascal, you're really bold, and you've got a real big heart."

The next morning, Shen Yifei went to find Su Yao.

Su Yao was drinking tea in the courtyard when she saw him arrive. A slight smile appeared on her lips: "The pills are ready?"

"It's ready." Shen Yifei took out the jade bottle containing the Five-Pattern Barrier-Breaking Pill from his ring and handed it over.

Su Yao took it, poured out the pill, looked at it, and smelled it. A hint of satisfaction flashed in her phoenix eyes.

"Five Dao patterns, not bad." She put the pill back, took out nine thousand spirit stones from her storage bag, and pushed them in front of him. "This is the rest."

Shen Yifei put the spirit stones away and didn't leave.

Su Yao glanced at him: "Is there anything else?"

"Senior Sister Su, Han Zhengli sent someone to tell me yesterday that the matter in the secret realm is not over yet."

Su Yao's eyebrows furrowed slightly, but quickly relaxed again.

"He seems quite anxious." She picked up her teacup and took a sip. "Don't worry, he won't dare to openly harm you. Elder Gu made it clear the other day that if he dares to lay a finger on you, Elder Gu will cripple him. Although Han Zhengli is petty, he's not stupid. He won't ruin his future just to vent his anger."

"If they don't dare to do it openly, what about secretly?"

Su Yao put down her teacup and stared at him for a moment: "Junior Brother Shen, you may seem simple-minded, but you're more shrewd than anyone else. If Han Zhengli makes a move in the shadows, it's truly impossible to guard against. How about this, I'll keep an eye on him for you. If he makes any moves, I'll let you know in advance."

"Thank you, Senior Sister Su."

"Don't thank me." Su Yao picked up her teacup again. "You help me refine the pills, and I'll help you avoid trouble. It's a fair trade; neither of us owes the other anything."

Shen Yifei understood the meaning behind her words: she was telling him that their relationship was a transaction, and he shouldn't expect her to help him for free.

He smiled, stood up, and took his leave.

After leaving Su Yao's courtyard, Shen Yifei ran into Sun Yiran on his way back.

Sun Yiran had changed into a light blue long dress, and her hair was tied up with a jade hairpin. She looked much more energetic than she had in the secret realm. When she saw Shen Yifei, her eyes lit up, and she quickly walked over.

"Junior Brother Shen, I've been looking for you."

"Senior Sister Sun, what's the matter?"

"Can't I come to you for no reason?" Sun Yiran laughed and punched him lightly. "Come on, let's go to my place for a bit, I'll treat you to tea."

Shen Yifei hesitated for a moment, but still went along.

Sun Yiran's courtyard was much larger than his, and several spirit flowers were blooming brightly in the yard. She invited him into the house, poured him a cup of tea, and sat down opposite him.

"Junior Brother Shen, I've always wanted to thank you for what happened in the secret realm." She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said, "If it weren't for you, I might not have even made it out alive, let alone broken through."

"Senior Sister Sun, you're too kind. I didn't do anything."

"You helped me break through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, and that's nothing?" Sun Yiran put down her teacup and looked at him. "Junior Brother Shen, what's the origin of that medicinal fragrance emanating from you?"

Shen Yifei's heart tightened, but he didn't show it on his face: "I don't know either, it might be from eating the dregs of the medicine."

Sun Yiran stared at him for a long time, then suddenly laughed: "Your ears turn red when you lie, you know?"

Shen Yifei subconsciously touched his ear, and Sun Yiran laughed even harder.

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore." She stopped laughing and said seriously, "Junior Brother Shen, I'm being serious. You know that the medicinal fragrance on you has an aphrodisiac effect on female cultivators, right?"

Shen Yifei nodded.

"Do you know that this effect is greater for female cultivators with higher cultivation levels?"

Shen Yifei was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"I was thinking about this when you helped me break through in the secret realm," Sun Yiran said in a low voice. "I've been stuck at the early stage of the Golden Core realm for three years. I've tried all sorts of pills, but I just can't break through. But that day, after smelling the medicinal fragrance on you and... you know... that, I broke through directly. What does that mean? It means that the medicinal fragrance on you can not only aphrodisiac but also help people break through bottlenecks."

Shen Yifei fell silent. Qin Wan and Liu'er had both mentioned this, but their cultivation levels were low, so breaking through a small realm wasn't a big deal for them. Sun Yiran, however, was at the Golden Core stage, and breaking through from the early to the middle stage was no small matter.

"Senior Sister Sun, you mean...?"

"What I mean is, your physique is both a treasure and a scourge in the Joyful Union Sect." Sun Yiran looked at him earnestly. "The treasure is that any female cultivator who cultivates with you will benefit. The scourge is, what if someone becomes greedy and wants to possess you?"

Shen Yifei felt a chill run down his spine after hearing her words.

"Senior Sister Sun, do you think anyone would have such thoughts?"

"Someone's already started," Sun Yiran sneered. "Han Zhengli's trouble with you, do you think it's really because you got something good in the secret realm? He's just jealous. Someone who went in at the early Foundation Establishment stage came out at the mid-stage and got a lot of benefits in the secret realm. He, a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, came back empty-handed. He's resentful, that's why he's taking it out on you."

Shen Yifei thought about it and felt that what she said made sense.

"What should I do then?"

"Two options," Sun Yiran said, holding up two fingers. "First, find a powerful backer. In the Hehuan Sect, whoever has the biggest fist calls the shots. If you can get close to a Nascent Soul stage elder, Han Zhengli won't dare utter a sound."

"And the second one?"

"Second, become stronger yourself. Once you reach the Golden Core stage, Han Zhengli won't dare to touch you."

Shen Yifei smiled wryly: "Breaking through to the Golden Core stage isn't that easy."