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

Shen Yifei took a step back, rubbing his face where he had been slapped. "Master, are you treating me like a donkey?"

"You're not a donkey, you're a mule." Yin Wuxie stared at him with her blood-red eyes. "Mule can work hard and aren't picky eaters. Aren't they great?"

That sounds familiar. Luo Qinghe also called him a mule, but Luo Qinghe said it coldly, while Yin Wuxie said it with a smile. They're both more infuriating than the other.

"Alright, a mule it is." Shen Yifei plopped down in front of the alchemy furnace. "But I have one condition. Mules need to eat grass even when they work, so you have to provide meals."

Yin Wuxie laughed, and his laughter echoed in the hall, giving everyone goosebumps.

"Of course I'll take care of it. What do you want to eat?"

"Spiritual fruit, fresh. Don't try to fool me with those that've been sitting out for days. The spiritual fruit I ate at the Qingyun Sect was fresh, crisp, and sweet. And meat too, I want meat. Your Blood Soul Sect has been living underground for hundreds of years, eating mushrooms every day, your mouths must be so bland."

Ah Qi stood at the door and heard him say, "It's so bland it tastes like bird's breath," and his lips twitched.

Yin Wuxie wasn't angry at all; instead, he laughed even harder. "Alright, here's some meat. Ah Qi, go get some meat, don't let our mules go hungry."

Ah Qi responded and turned to leave.

Yin Wuxie glanced at Shen Yifei again, "Do a good job, and I won't treat you unfairly." After saying that, he turned and left the alchemy room.

Shen Yifei sat in front of the alchemy furnace and waited until Yin Wuxie's footsteps had completely disappeared before taking out the Myriad Things Cauldron from his ring.

One hundred top-grade Qi Gathering Pills a day, refined using the Myriad Things Cauldron, will be enough for ten batches. Each batch takes the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, so ten batches will only take two hours. The remaining time is enough for him to do other things.

The key is to make sure Yin Wuxie takes enough of the medicated pills he's given.

The effects of the Hehuan Powder and the Bewitching Grass take time to build up. They won't work after a day or two, but after ten days or half a month, they'll start to take effect. After a month, even if Yin Wuxie doesn't become an idiot, he'll definitely go insane.

It will be much easier to run away then.

Ah Qi returned carrying a tray with a plate of meat and a pot of tea. The meat was roasted, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and smelled delicious. Shen Yifei took it and took a bite; it tasted good.

"Where did the meat come from?"

"The spirit rats kept in the underground palace," Ah Qi said expressionlessly. "The meat is tender and delicious."

Shen Yifei was stuck in his throat with the meat in his mouth, unable to swallow or spit it out, his face turning red.

Ah Qi's lips curled up slightly. "I was just kidding, it was mutton."

Shen Yifei took a sip of tea, then swallowed the piece of meat. "You look honest, but you're full of bad intentions."

"I learned it from you."

After finishing his mutton, Shen Yifei wiped his mouth and began refining pills. He sent Aqi away to ask Yin Wuxie for medicinal herbs. No sooner had Aqi left than he pulled out the Myriad Things Cauldron and threw in the spiked herbs.

Fire ignites, medicine melts, pills condense. Twelve pills in one batch, each a top-grade product, each with added ingredients.

After ten batches, there were one hundred and twenty pieces. He kept twenty for himself as spares, and neatly stacked the remaining one hundred on the table.

When Ah Qi returned, he was taken aback when he saw the row of jade vases on the table. "You...so fast?"

"I've already said it, it's about talent." Shen Yifei pushed the jade bottle towards her. "One hundred, count them."

Ah Qi picked up a jade bottle, poured out a pill, looked at it, smelled it, and put it back. "No need to light it, I trust you."

"That's good. Miss Qi, when does your sect leader meditate every day?"

Why are you asking this?

"Just asking, your sect leader is at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Doesn't he need to meditate for four or five hours every day? Otherwise, how can he maintain his cultivation level?"

"The leader meditates from midnight to 7 AM every day for four hours. No one is allowed to disturb him during this time; anyone who does so will be executed."

Shen Yifei understood. From midnight to morning, there were eight or four hours, enough for him to get a lot done.

In the days that followed, Shen Yifei diligently refined pills every day. One hundred top-grade Qi Gathering Pills were delivered to A Qi precisely on time, not one missing. Yin Wuxie would come to the pill room every day, take a pill he had refined, offer a few words of praise, and then leave.

For the first few days, Yin Wuxie didn't change much. She still had that smiling face. But starting on the fifth day, Shen Yifei noticed that her eyes were a little dazed.

On the seventh day, Yin Wuxie yawned.

Shen Yifei could clearly see the powerful cultivator at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage yawning. Yin Wuxie stood at the entrance of the alchemy room, opened his mouth, yawned, and rubbed his eyes.

"Didn't the leader sleep well?" he asked tentatively.

Yin Wuxie glared at him, "Mind your own business," and turned to leave.

On the tenth day, when Yin Wuxie came to the alchemy room, he had bags under his eyes, looking like he hadn't slept well for several days.

"Master, you don't look well. Would you like me to concoct a batch of calming pills for you?"

"You can even concoct tranquilizers?"

"Yes. I can make any pills below the fourth grade. If you don't mind, Master, I can refine a batch for you. It's especially good for calming the mind, stabilizing the spirit, and aiding sleep."

Yin Wuxie hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay, you refine it for me."

Shen Yifei rummaged through the medicine cabinet for the ingredients of the Tranquilizing Pill, threw it into the alchemy furnace in front of her, sat down cross-legged, and orange flames emerged from his palms.

This time, he didn't use the Myriad Things Cauldron, but rather the broken alchemy furnace from the Blood Soul Sect. He controlled the heat perfectly, producing eight Tranquilizing Pills. They were of ordinary quality, but enough to use.

Yin Wuxie took the jade bottle, poured out a calming pill, looked at it, smelled it, and frowned slightly.

"Is this all the quality you're looking for?"

"Master, the Tranquilizing Pill is different from the Qi Gathering Pill. The Qi Gathering Pill focuses on efficacy, while the Tranquilizing Pill focuses on gentleness. If the quality is too good, the medicinal effect will be too strong, and you won't be able to sleep after taking it." Shen Yifei lied through his teeth.

With a hint of doubt, Yin Wuxie put the pill into her mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed. She stood there for a while, then yawned.

"Alright, I'll go back and try it."

After Yin Wuxie left, Shen Yifei leaned against the alchemy furnace, mentally counting the days. It was the tenth day; the effects of the aphrodisiac powder and the bewitching herb should be starting to take hold. Yin Wuxie's sleepy appearance today was proof of that.

A cultivator at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage can go ten days without food, drink, or sleep without any problem. Her yawning wasn't because she was sleepy, but because her mind was being eroded by the bewitching grass, and her body was beginning to become disordered.

Hold on for another twenty days, and once the medication has fully taken effect, it's time to run away.

Ah Qi brought in a plate of mutton and placed it on the table. Her complexion had become much rosier than before these past few days, and her lips had regained some color.

"You look great today." Shen Yifei picked up a piece of mutton and took a bite.

Ah Qi didn't reply. She sat down in the chair, put her hands on her knees, and stared at him.

Why are you staring at me like that?

"The sect leader asked me to ask you if you can refine blood pills."

Shen Yifei nearly spat out the mutton he was eating. "Blood Pill? The kind made from human blood and flesh?"

"Well, the sect captured a few rogue cultivators and has been locking them up in the dungeon. The sect leader said that instead of wasting food by keeping them alive, it would be better to refine them into blood pills. But she has refined them herself several times, and the quality is not good. She wants you to try."

Shen Yifei had also used the Cauldron of Myriad Things to refine people, but that was out of necessity and for defense.

He couldn't possibly turn someone he had no connection with into a pill.

"I can't," he refused decisively.

"The cult leader said you have to learn, whether you know it or not." Ah Qi stood up. "If you can't refine the Blood Pill within three days, we'll use you to refine it."

After Ah Qi left, Shen Yifei sat in the alchemy room, staring blankly at the broken alchemy furnace.

He had heard of the method for refining blood pills: throwing a living person into a furnace and slowly simmering them over a low flame to extract the essence and blood of the person, which would then condense into a pill. The whole process took three days and three nights.

The cultivators inside would also have to endure three days and three nights of torment. This practice was inhumane, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Since we can't bring ourselves to do it, we have to make a move on Yin Wuxie as soon as possible!