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

Shen Yifei's heart ached so much that it hurt.

This is the essence of lust accumulated by a snake demon in the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm over hundreds of years; every strand is a treasure.

However, his golden core was like a pot with a leaky bottom; meat was cooking on top, while soup was leaking out at the bottom. He swallowed 100%, but 60% leaked out, leaving only 40% truly remaining in his dantian.

But even this 40% has changed his golden core.

On the dark golden body of the pill, the three cracks that had been sewn together by threads of love were rapidly thinning.

Shen Yifei was overjoyed.

Before the Nine Heavens Mystic Lotus was even obtained, the Golden Core began to repair itself.

Bai Lu's lustful essence actually contained a natural self-healing power. This power seeped into his golden core and was repairing those hidden injuries from the inside.

But his joy lasted less than three breaths before he discovered another problem.

The golden core is growing.

The golden pill, originally the size of a pigeon egg, swelled to the size of a chicken egg after absorbing the lustful essence of Bai Lu.

The dark gold color on Dan's body faded, as if a piece of gold had been hammered into a thin sheet, and the color naturally became lighter.

His cultivation level jumped from the late stage of Golden Core to the peak of Golden Core.

But he couldn't be happy.

The larger the golden core, the greater the pressure the cracks bear. Originally, the three cracks were barely held together by the threads of love. Now that the golden core has expanded, the cracks have been stretched even wider.

Even more dangerously, he continued to consume the golden elixir.

The demonic aura of White Dew is unstoppable. Once the dam breaks, it's not so easy to control.

Shen Yifei felt like a container being constantly filled with water.

It wasn't just water that was poured in, but also fire. The demonic energy burned so intensely that his dantian felt like it was on fire from the inside out.

The golden core is still being absorbed, the cracks are still leaking, and the cultivation level is still increasing.

He surged upwards from the peak of the Golden Core stage, reaching the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage, just a step away from the Nascent Soul stage.

But he dared not break through that thin veil. The three cracks on his golden core had reached their limit, and the threads of affection were stretched as thin as a hair, ready to snap at any moment.

If one were to break through to the Nascent Soul stage at this point, the Golden Core would likely shatter into dust first.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but Shen Yifei felt that he was about to give up, and he even had thoughts of despair.

Under extreme strain, the threads of affection seemed unable to hold on for much longer.

Before long, the threads of emotion on the surface of the golden core could no longer hold on. The thinnest one made a soft "pop" sound, like a bubble bursting.

Fortunately, the Demon of Love secretly lends its blessing, so that if one is severed, another is replaced.

"You can't absorb any more of her demonic energy. Your dantian is only so big; if you take too much, it'll burst!" the Demon of Passion advised Shen Yifei.

Shen Yifei quickly regained his composure and circulated his spiritual energy to prepare the table.

Bai Lu said softly, "Don't resist, just let nature take its course."

Shen Yifei wanted to say that he hadn't resisted; it was the demonic energy that was forcibly pouring into his dantian. If it hadn't been controlled, he could have managed it.

But he was in so much pain that he couldn't speak, and could only grit his teeth and endure it.

Fortunately, under these circumstances, Bai Lu's surging demonic power gradually weakened.

And so, Bailu recovered from her shock.

She raised her hand and placed her palm on the back of his head. A cool spiritual energy seeped out from her palm, flowing down Shen Yifei's neck, like a mountain stream pouring into a red-hot iron furnace, sizzling and releasing white steam.

Shen Yifei felt the cool spiritual energy rush into his dantian, enveloping the rampaging demonic energy and the trembling golden core, like a thin layer of ice film, covering the golden core.

The golden core was still expanding, but the ice membrane held it in place, preventing the cracks from widening.

"Bear with it for a moment," Bai Lu said softly. "I'll withdraw the remaining demonic energy."

Shen Yifei felt the surging power within his body abruptly cut off.

The golden core stopped expanding and trembled slightly in the dantian. The cracks on its surface were covered by the cool spiritual energy of Bai Lu and did not continue to expand.

He was panting heavily, his whole body soaked in cold sweat, the clothes on his back clinging to his skin, cold and sticky.

Bai Lu's palm was still pressed against the back of his head, and cool spiritual energy flowed over him in strands, helping to stabilize the surging spiritual energy in his dantian.

After a short while, Shen Yifei felt the turbulent energy in his dantian gradually subside.

Suddenly, Shen Yifei watched in disbelief as a silvery-white light flowed from Bai Lu's feet, spreading upwards inch by inch.

"Are you transforming into human form?" Shen Yifei quickly stood beside him and watched.

At this point, Bailu could no longer utter a complete sentence.

She was indeed transforming, and each transformation was a breakthrough in her cultivation level. This time, she had unknowingly broken through to the Great Perfection of the Divine Transformation Realm!

Finally, Bailu transformed into a creature with the lower half of a snake and the upper half of a human.

The white dew snake lazily swayed its tail and coiled around Shen Yifei.

"Miss Bai, could you please give me a heads-up before you transform into human form?"

"I can't control it. I haven't revealed my true form for over a hundred years, and now I can't suppress it anymore."

"Miss Bai, what's wrong with you...?"

Bai Lu ignored him. Her eyes were closed, the flush on her face was fading, and her breathing gradually became steady. The scales on the snake's tail opened and closed slightly, as if it was readjusting to this body.

The silvery-white scales faded from the tip of the tail, gradually turning back into skin.

From the tip of the tail to the calf, and from the calf to the thigh, the scales have all fallen away, revealing a pair of long, straight legs.

After Bai Lu transformed back into human form, she grabbed Shen Yifei.

"Young master, I feel much better now, can we try again..."

"What? One more time?"

"Well, I helped you the first time, now it's your turn to help me."

When Shen Yifei opened his eyes, Bai Lu was no longer in the cave. He was alone on the stone bed, covered with a light blue dress that belonged to Bai Lu. She had left the dress for him as a blanket, but she was nowhere to be found.

He tried to sit up, but his back ached so much he couldn't. The golden core in his dantian had swelled to the size of an egg, its dark golden surface bearing three clearly visible cracks. The threads of his love were taut like a harp string, as if they might snap at any moment. His cultivation level, however, remained steadily at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage, just a step away from the Nascent Soul stage.

But he dared not break through that barrier.

"Awake?" Liu Mengli floated out of the cauldron, sat cross-legged in mid-air, and had a half-smile on her lips. "The battle last night was fierce. The snake demon transformed, and so did you. She transformed into her original form, and you transformed into a donkey."

Shen Yifei rubbed his lower back. "Where's Bai Lu?"

"Outside. He went out before dawn, saying he was going to find you something to eat. A demon king at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul stage personally finding you breakfast, Master, you have quite the influence."

Just as she finished speaking, Mengli sensed someone coming from outside and immediately returned to the cauldron.

Shen Yifei walked to the pile of centipede torsos, squatted down, and used the tip of his sword to pry open a piece of the carapace. The flesh beneath the carapace was dark red and emitted a foul, fishy smell.

He took out the Cauldron of All Things and put the usable parts inside. The torso of the mid-Nascent Soul centipede demon, its shell could be used for refining weapons, and although the meat was smelly, the little monster wasn't picky about food.