I defeated the saint with a parry.

"Sweet?"

"What do you mean!"

"We're using the rouge that Madam gave us; we don't have any other rouge. This should smell the same as the box that Madam didn't want before."

"Oh? Really? Maybe it's because I'm sick that I can't smell anything, but it smells really good."

Xiangru and Xia Hua exchanged a glance. Although they felt something was amiss, they did what they always did: one helped the master of the house wash up, while the other brought over the pastries from the room.

"Madam, please have some sweet cakes to tide you over. I have already sent word to have some food sent from the front."

"Sigh, the food at home seems to be getting worse and worse. Just thinking about it makes me lose my appetite." Madam Zhao lay on her side by the bed. Through the bed curtains, one could vaguely see her haggard appearance, but Chunru and Xiahua always felt that Madam Zhao was staring at them.

Madam Zhao said from behind the curtain, "Then let's eat something."

Chunru handed the pastries to Madam Zhao, who stuffed them into her mouth from behind the bed curtains. But the next moment, she lifted the bed curtains and spat them out with a look of disgust.

After spitting out all the pastry crumbs from her mouth, Madam Zhao said sternly, "What is this stuff? It's so bland and tasteless, and it's all crumbs, like mud. Ugh, ugh, ugh!"

Madam Zhao grumbled in disgust, but she didn't notice that Chunru and Xiahua's expressions were a bit off, and the two maids were looking at Madam Zhao's face strangely.

"Madam... why is your face turning pale?"

Chunru, having come from her parents' home with Madam Zhao, asked worriedly, "Has your cold gotten worse? Perhaps I should go and fetch the master?"

After saying that, she realized it wasn't appropriate and quickly said to Xia Hua, "Xia Hua, go and tell the master and mistress that they are not feeling well, and also call the doctor in the manor..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xia Hua nodded and ran out quickly.

Chunru shook her head: "Sigh, this girl is still so impatient. Madam, please don't blame her."

Madam Zhao leaned against Chunru, greedily inhaling her scent. Upon hearing this, she simply shook her head and did not reply.

"Madam, please lie down and rest. You'll be fine when the doctor and master arrive."

As Chunru was about to help Madam Zhao back to her side-leaning position, Madam Zhao grabbed her directly: "No, let me stay like this for a while, it'll be more comfortable. Chunru, don't move."

"Yes, madam."

Chunru had no choice but to give up and let Madam Zhao lean against her chest, resting her head on her shoulder. She patted the lady's back to make her more comfortable.

She and the lady grew up together when they were young, and she had done things like this when she was a child to coax the lady.

I never thought I'd have this kind of opportunity now that I'm older.

"Does Madam still remember us when we were young?"

Listening to Chunru's words, Madam Zhao stared intently at Chunru's neck, where the carotid artery was throbbing slightly. She swallowed hard, her eyes filled with longing, and nodded slightly in response to Chunru's words.

"I never imagined that twenty years would pass in the blink of an eye. Life is truly like fleeting clouds."

Chunru stared out the window, her eyes unfocused, her mind lost in memories. Unexpectedly, Madam Zhao, also with unfocused eyes, was leaning closer to Chunru's neck, her mouth slightly open.

If you look closely, you can see that Madam Zhao is swallowing her saliva frantically, with her saliva flowing out like crazy.

She was really craving it!

"lady!"

Zhao Yi pushed open the door and saw his wife opening her mouth. He quickly blocked the crowd behind him, rushed to the bed curtains, put his arm around his wife, pushed Chunru aside, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

He smiled and said, "Chunru, go and get the 'medicine bottle' from the drawer under the dressing table."

"A medicine bottle?"

"It's just a red jade bottle."

Although Chunru was puzzled, she immediately went to the dressing table, pulled out a drawer, and sure enough, found a small red jade bottle.

She ran back to the bedside, and Zhao Yi snatched the jade bottle, pouring out a blood-red pill.

Chunru twitched her nose and faintly smelled the familiar scent of blood, but there was more of the aroma of medicine.

The master stuffed the medicine into the mistress's mouth, and Chunru heard both the mistress and the master breathe a sigh of relief.

"master?"

"It's alright, Chunru. Just take good care of my wife. You're the only person I trust most in this Zhao household." Zhao Yi glanced at Chunru. "After taking this medicine, my wife will feel much better. You just need to take care of her as usual. I asked Xia Hua to get some demon beast blood for my wife to replenish her strength. Don't give her any other food. She hasn't had a good appetite lately and doesn't like it."

"Yes, sir!"

Chunru nodded, her gaze falling on the lady behind the bed curtains. She noticed that the lady's complexion had indeed improved significantly, her skin regained its color. That medicine was truly extraordinary...

Zhao Yi patted his wife's hand and said softly, "Wanjun...Madam! Please wait a little longer, this illness will be cured soon."

"Master, go to the front yard and take care of Master Xu. I'm much better." Li Wanjun's voice was much louder as she sat up and smiled at the bedside, "You were just weak earlier, don't worry."

After saying that, he urged Zhao Yi to leave.

Zhao Yi smiled and followed her instructions towards the front yard, but as soon as he stepped out of the backyard, his face darkened with worry. It wasn't until he returned to the dining table that he smiled again and greeted her, "I apologize for the poor service. Madam forgot where she put the medicine. Where were we... Oh right, those spirit pearls first appeared at an auction in the Ghost Market. I heard they were specially made by the Thousand Machines Sect for use as cores in mechanical puppets."

"The core of the organization?"

Xu Ling was greatly surprised: "So the demon race uses the core of the mechanism as the array eye? This method is amazing. I've heard that the mechanical puppets of the Thousand Machine Sect are comparable to the precious bodies of extraordinary cultivators, and the core's hardness far surpasses that of the precious body. Using it as the array eye can store energy and is not afraid of being destroyed. It's simply..."

He had to admire Li Xi's imagination.

"Brother Xu is right. That's why the core of the Thousand Machines Sect is a rare commodity in the Ghost Market. Everyone knows that this core can be used by more than just puppets. Now, the Thousand Machines Sect guards against thieves as if they were their mortal enemies, because they're afraid someone will steal the core from their sect. The Thousand Machines Sect has even spread the word that anyone who dares to sell the core is an enemy of the Thousand Machines Sect." Zhao Yi shook his head as he spoke: "These old fogies of the sect, don't they know that they could make a fortune by selling it willingly? Now others are making the money, while they're complaining about it."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Li laughed and said, "Master Zhao is still young. How do you know that the core of that Ghost Market wasn't sent out by the Thousand Machines Sect?"

"Impossible!" Zhao Yi exclaimed. "Why go through all that trouble?"

Zhang Li shook his head and explained, "Things are valued because they are rare."

Zhao Yi's expression changed, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Xu Ling directly chimed in: "Hunger marketing, stirring up the market, there are business masters within the Thousand Machines Sect."

Zhao Yi suddenly realized: "This word is good. Hunger, supply... Brilliant. Direct buying and selling makes the Thousand Machines Sect seem too worldly and loses face for the sect. This trick can both maintain a good reputation and make more money. I really should learn it."

"Brother Xu and Brother Zhang, if you're here to do business, then there's probably nothing for us to do."

"Hey, stop with the flattery." Zhang Li wasn't buying it and continued to ask, "We in the Demon Suppression Division know all that you're saying. Tell me something we don't know."

"Oh?" Zhao Yi smiled. "Does the Demon Suppression Division know that the number of core members at the level of the Thousand Machines Sect is actually precise?"

"What do you mean?"

"The Thousand Machines Sect has 108 core artifacts of the Dao artifact level. Each one is of Dao artifact level, with the strength of a Dao artifact but not its power. However..." Zhao Yi said mysteriously, "If the 108 core artifacts can be gathered together and a secret method is used, a sacred artifact can be created."

Seeing that Xu Ling and Zhang Li were stunned, he leisurely began to hum a little tune:

"With a clear mind, the spirit is naturally pure. Gazing at the sea from afar, one transcends the mundane. Man leaps over the dragon gate, transforming into a god. Returning to simplicity, one directly reaches the realm of the celestial. The three elements unite, and all laws leave no trace."

Finally, he murmured, "Sacred artifacts have the potential to make one a saint."

"If that's the case, why did the Thousand Machines Sect throw these cores away?"

"That's because the Thousand Machines Sect doesn't have all the spirit pearls in its possession."

"PS"

[Book Setting]

Ordinary weapons: Spiritual weapons - Spiritual treasures.

Special Treasure: Dao Artifact - Sacred Artifact.

[The Level of This Book]

Mortal Stage Three (Body Tempering - Meridian Opening - Spirit Concentration)

Transcendent Stage 3 (Spirit Platform - Sea View - Dragon Gate)

The Three Stages of Entering Sainthood (Returning to Truth - Celestial Being - Saint)