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

The Shadow Demon's body went limp and collapsed to the ground, twitching twice before becoming completely still.

When the last wisp of demonic power was drained by the threads of love, her entire body turned into a puddle of clear water, seeping into the cracks in the floor, leaving not even a single hair behind.

The demon of love let out a burp in his chest.

"Young master, this shadow demon's demonic power is even more potent than I imagined. If I had known there were such treasures in Greenwood City, I would have moved here long ago."

Shen Yifei looked down at the puddle of water on the ground, then at his own shadow on the wall.

The shadow returned to normal, showing a head, two arms, and two legs.

"You've drained her dry, aren't you afraid the people behind her will come after you?"

"Young master, shadow demons don't have anyone backing them. They are formed from the resentment of cultivators after death. This shadow demon was most likely a female cultivator whose eyes were gouged out in life. She died unwillingly, and her resentment solidified into a shadow demon that specifically targets people's shadows. These kinds of demons are extremely lonely, without allies or backers. Don't worry, young master, no one will avenge her."

Shen Yifei lifted the door panel off the ground and managed to wed it against the door frame. The latch was broken, so he moved a chair behind the door to make do with it.

Turning around, Liu Mengli floated out of the cauldron, sat cross-legged in mid-air, and sneered: "You certainly know how to pick up bargains. The demonic power of the Shadow Demon is the closest thing to a cultivator's soul. By absorbing her, you've essentially taken a humanoid tonic. At this rate, your heart will heal in less than three years."

Unaware of Liu Mengli's unspoken message, the Demon of Love said, "Three years? At this rate, with two more Shadow Demons, my heart will be half healed. If I could absorb the power of a powerful demon, it might be completely healed in a year."

Shen Yifei ignored the two women's bickering. He propped the chair back against the door, sat cross-legged on the bed, and probed his dantian with his divine sense.

The three cracks on the golden core were stitched up tightly by the threads of love, and dark golden spiritual energy flowed slowly around the cracks, showing no signs of leakage. The pain was gone, but those few strands of red thread embedded in the golden core, like repaired porcelain, still looked unsettling.

"How long can this love last?"

"Young Master's love threads are thick and resilient, they can hold together for ten or eight years without any problem. However..." The Demon of Love paused, "I must remind you, Young Master, that love threads are alive. The deeper your feelings for those women, the thicker and resilient the love threads become. If one day you lose your feelings for them, the love threads will become thin and brittle, and then the seam on your golden core will not be able to hold them together."

Shen Yifei opened his eyes.

"You mean I have to keep liking them?"

"It's not liking, it's affection," the Demon of Love corrected. "Whether it's love, hate, desire, or guilt, as long as it's affection, it can nurture the threads of affection. Young Master's affection for that Blood Soul Cult leader is mostly hatred and desire, with only a tiny bit of love. But that's enough; it's still quite strong."

Shen Yifei fell silent.

This is tantamount to binding him to those women. If he dares to start something and then abandon it, his golden core will be shattered first.

"Master, don't listen to her trying to scare you." Liu Mengli floated over and sat cross-legged on his lap. "The love threads sewing the golden core is temporary. Once you find the Nine Heavens Mystic Lotus and completely fuse the three powers, the golden core will grow back on its own. At that time, those love threads will naturally fall off. She deliberately made it sound so serious because she wants to stay in your heart."

The Demon of Love snorted: "I'm not lying. It's true that the Nine Heavens Mystic Lotus can fuse three powers, but can the golden core grow back on its own after the fusion? His golden core was forcibly pushed to the late stage of the golden core, and its foundation is not stable at all. Even if the three powers are fused and the cracks on the surface of the golden core heal, the internal injuries will still remain. In the end, he will still need my love threads to help him stabilize it."

"There are plenty of ways to solidify things, why do you have to use your emotional ties?"

"Then tell me a better method than 'love threads'."

The two women's argument gave Shen Yifei a headache. He grabbed Liu Mengli, one in each hand, pulled her off his knees, and shoved her back into the cauldron. He then patted his chest to signal the Demon of Passion to shut up.

"Alright. We haven't even gotten our hands on the Nine Heavens Mystic Lotus yet, and you're already arguing. Let's talk after I get out of the Hundred Thousand Mountains alive."

Liu Mengli and the Demon of Love both snorted and fell silent.

Shen Yifei closed his eyes, leaned against the headboard, and mentally reviewed tomorrow's route.

Three hundred li south of Qingmu City lies the outer edge of the Ten Thousand Mountains. Five hundred li further south is the Black Pine Forest. Two hundred li south of the Black Pine Forest is the Cold Pool.

The entire journey is a thousand li. At his pace, if he doesn't encounter any trouble, he can arrive in three days.

But trouble was inevitable in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. The outer areas were manageable; he could handle the Golden Core stage demons. But the mid-Nascent Soul stage centipede demon in the Black Pine Forest was a major problem.

The next morning, Shen Yifei checked out of the room.

Shen Yifei bought two sesame seed cakes at the city gate and ate them as he walked south.

Once outside the city gates, the population along the official road gradually thinned out. After walking for about half an hour, the road came to an end, leading to a patch of low bushes. Behind the bushes, the outline of the Ten Thousand Mountains was faintly visible in the mist.

"Young Master," the Demon of Passion's voice echoed in his mind, "someone is following us."

Shen Yifei didn't turn around, nor did he stop walking.

"How many people?"

"Three. One in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, and two in the late-stage. They've been following us since we left the inn."

"That old man at the herbal medicine shop was definitely suspicious."

"What does the young master intend to do?"

"Let's go into the mountains and talk about it; it's a good place to bury people."

The road narrowed as we walked, and the shrubs on both sides turned into tall trees with canopies that blocked out the sun, making the light suddenly dim.

Shen Yifei stopped in front of an old tree that was so thick it would take three people to hug it. He turned around, leaned against the trunk, and drew his Listening Tide Sword.

"You three, you've been following us for so long, come out now."

The woods were quiet for a couple of breaths.

Three people emerged from behind the tree. The one in the lead was a tall, thin man in the late stage of the Golden Core realm.

Behind him were two cultivators, one fat and one short. The fat one was in the late stage of the Golden Core realm, and the short one was in the middle stage of the Golden Core realm.

The tall, thin man cupped his hands in greeting: "Fellow Daoist, please don't misunderstand. We three brothers were also going into the mountains to gather herbs, and we just happened to be passing by."

"On the way?" Shen Yifei chuckled. "From the inn to the city gate, and from the city gate to here."

The tall, thin man's smile remained unchanged: "Fellow Daoist, you jest. We simply wish to make friends with you. The Hundred Thousand Mountains are teeming with demons; traveling alone is never safe. Traveling together allows us to look out for each other."

"Take care of me? Do you mean take care of me, or the things on me?"

The tall, thin man's smile finally crumbled. He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a dagger, clearly a weapon specifically designed for bloodletting.

"Since you've put things so plainly, we won't pretend anymore. Our shopkeeper has taken a liking to the sword at your waist. Leave the sword and you can go. If you don't, you'll leave with the sword."

Shen Yifei looked down at the Listening Tide Sword in his hand, then looked up at the three people opposite him.

"Is your manager the old man from the herbal medicine shop?"

"Yes." The tall, thin man slung the ghost-head saber over his shoulder. "The shopkeeper has been doing business in Qingmu City for sixty years and never gives out information for free. You exchanged a map for two mid-grade spirit stones? Where in the world is there such a cheap deal? Consider that sword as compensation for the difference."

Shen Yifei chuckled. This old man certainly knows how to do business. He uses information that's half true and half false, then sends someone to snatch the goods back later—a risk-free, highly profitable scheme.

"What if I don't give it to them?"

"You won't give it to us?" The tall, thin man took the ghost-head knife off his shoulder, pointing the tip at Shen Yifei. "Then we'll take it ourselves. Third brother, make an escape route."

The short cultivator flashed behind Shen Yifei, blocking his retreat. The three of them formed a triangular formation around Shen Yifei, their teamwork impeccable, clearly indicating they were no strangers to this kind of thing.

Shen Yifei held the Listening Tide Sword horizontally in front of him, and dark golden spiritual energy surged from his dantian, flowing into the sword through his meridians. A layer of water-like patterns appeared on the blade, rippled outwards in concentric circles.

The tall, thin man's eyes lit up when he saw the ripples on the water.

"A top-grade spiritual weapon, indeed a good thing. Second brother, third brother, attack together, don't hold back."