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

Gu Yunyan walked barefoot to the entrance of the main hall, her back to him.

"The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion occupies Cangwu Mountain, not because of its good feng shui. There's something beneath this mountain."

Shen Yifei's heart skipped a beat.

"What is it?"

"The Demonic Vein".

Gu Yunyan turned around and said, "There is a demonic vein at the foot of Cangwu Mountain, rich in demonic energy. For us demonic cultivators, it is even more important than spiritual veins. That's why we occupied this place immediately after the Tianyan Sect was destroyed."

Gu Yunyan walked barefoot on the stone slab for a couple of steps. "The Tianyan Sect chose this place to build its sect because Cangwu Mountain has abundant spiritual energy. But they didn't know that beneath the spiritual energy lay a demonic vein. The spiritual vein was on top, and the demonic vein was below, the two layers stacked together, suppressing each other. After the Tianyan Sect was destroyed, the spiritual vein dispersed, and the demonic vein was exposed."

"Then what else do you need? You already have the demonic vein."

"The demonic essence in the demonic vein ore contains too many impurities. If you absorb it directly, you'll have to expel 70 parts of the impurities for every 100 parts you absorb. If you can refine it into a demonic pill, the purity can be increased, and the cultivation speed can be three times faster."

Shen Yifei thought for a moment, "I need to think about this. I've never refined a demon pill before, but the principles of pill refining should be the same. It's simply about extracting the effective components from the medicinal herbs and then fusing them using heat and techniques. The difference is that spiritual energy pill refining uses spiritual fire, while demon pill refining might require a different kind of fire."

"You can refine it?"

"Give it a try. If you succeed, you pay me; if you fail, you don't lose anything."

Gu Yunyan stared at him for a long time, then suddenly laughed.

"You're an interesting person. Okay, give it a try. Use any medicinal herbs from Cangwu Mountain you like, and I'll buy them back at three times the market price once they've been refined."

"Three times? Pavilion Master Gu is so generous."

"Don't be too happy yet." Gu Yunyan put away her smile. "If you can't refine it, you leave behind all those top-grade pills. You can leave, but you have to leave behind an arm and a leg."

Shen Yifei looked at his arm. "Sect Master Gu, you've done a very shrewd job. If you succeed in refining it, you profit from the pills; if you fail, you profit from my arm and leg. Keeping this thing of mine is useless to you."

"Weren't you quite confident just now?" Gu Yunyan tilted her head to look at him. "What, scared now?"

"I'm not afraid, but I have conditions." Shen Yifei was going all out; you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub, and you can't make money without sacrificing your limbs.

"What are your conditions? Tell me."

"First, I need to stay on Mount Cangwu; alchemy takes time. Arrange a courtyard for me. Second, I need to understand the characteristics of demonic energy; you must send someone to teach me. Third…"

"There's a third one? You've got quite a few conditions."

"Third, I want to take a stroll around Mount Cangwu. The Tianyan Sect was established here more than a thousand years ago, and I want to see if they have left anything behind."

Gu Yunyan narrowed her eyes. "Are you here to refine pills, or to look for something?"

"Do both. Refining pills is the main task, and wandering around is just a side job."

Gu Yunyan stared at him for a few moments. "Alright. I'll arrange a courtyard for you, and you can use any medicinal herbs you like. I can personally teach you about demonic energy properties. But there are a few forbidden areas on Cangwu Mountain that belong to our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, so you'd better not wander around."

Which places?

You'll find out then.

Gu Yunyan stood up and walked barefoot onto the stone slabs outside. She turned back and glanced at him when she reached the door.

"What are you standing there for? Follow me."

Shen Yifei stood up and followed her out of the main hall. Gu Yunyan walked barefoot ahead, leaving not a single footprint on the stone floor.

As she walked, the hem of her black skirt fluttered, revealing a section of her calves, which were as white as jade.

Liu Mengli said inside the cauldron, "This woman has really beautiful legs."

"What are you, a woman, doing looking at another woman's legs?"

"I'll learn from their strengths, Master. You've looked at her calves a hundred and eighty times, which means you like this type of leg. I'll transform them for you in the future!"

Shen Yifei ignored her and followed Gu Yunyan across the square, heading towards the back of the mountain.

The mist atop Cangwu Mountain was blocked by the array, and the sunlight shone down, making it warm and pleasant.

Behind the mountain is a medicinal herb garden, where the herbs grow haphazardly, clearly neglected.

"These medicinal herbs were all left behind by the Tianyan Sect. No one has taken care of them for more than ten years, and the wild ones grow better than the cultivated ones."

Gu Yunyan pointed to a row of stone houses next to the herb garden, "These used to be the alchemy rooms of the Tianyan Sect. They're empty now, so you'll stay here!"

Shen Yifei walked to the stone house, pushed the door open and went inside. The inside was quite clean, with living quarters and a stone house for alchemy.

"Make do with this place. Just let me know if you need anything else."

"There's one less person to warm the bed here."

Gu Yunyan glanced at him and said, "You've got some nerve."

"I'm the kind of person who says what I mean. Don't take it to heart, Pavilion Master Gu. I was just venting."

Gu Yunyan snorted and turned to leave.

Liu Mengli floated out of the cauldron and rode on his neck.

"Master, you're flirting again."

"It wasn't me flirting with her, she seemed attracted to the smell of medicine on me! Didn't you see her walk up to me again and again? She was trying to confirm the smell of medicine on me!"

"Master, her cultivation level seems to be much higher than yours. The medicinal scent on you has little effect on her."

"As long as it works, that's fine. How effective it is depends on my methods!"

Liu Mengli reminded him, "Master, have you considered that refining spirit pills requires spiritual energy, while refining demon pills probably requires demonic energy? You don't even have demonic energy, so how can you refine demon pills?"

Shen Yifei thought for a moment, "Let that woman try channeling demonic energy into me."

Liu Mengli's eyes widened. "Are you crazy? Demonic energy is poison to cultivators; contact with it will cripple them. You're asking her to channel demonic energy into you—what's the difference between that and drinking poison?"

"It's just a try. As long as you can control it, everything will be fine!"

Liu Mengli rolled her eyes. "Hmm, that's a good way to get an advantage."

"Could you please stop relating everything to that?"

You know the truth in your heart.

Knowing he couldn't win the argument, Shen Yifei stood up and walked out.

"Where are you going?"

"Go out for a walk and get familiar with the surroundings."

Liu Mengli hurriedly followed, then hid behind him and lay down on his back.

Shen Yifei left the stone house and walked up the stone steps towards the mountain. The top of Cangwu Mountain was much larger than he had imagined. The old site of Tianyan Sect was astonishing in scale, with several main halls and rows of side halls.

However, most of them are dilapidated and in ruins, and now they are all occupied by Tianji Pavilion, so there is not much repair work done.

Shen Yifei thought that this might be the reason why there weren't many people in the Tianji Pavilion. He had walked around for a long time but hadn't seen many people, and they were all women.

Shen Yifei walked for a long time before a woman came towards him.

She was a young, beautiful woman, wearing a dark red dress and with her hair tied in a ponytail. Two short swords were tucked into her waistband, and she walked with a brisk, efficient gait.

When the woman saw Shen Yifei, she stopped and looked him up and down.

"You're the one who refines pills?"

"Yes, who are you?"

"Gu Yunyan's junior sister, Song Hongliao." The woman clasped her hands in a fist and palm salute. "My senior sister sent me to keep an eye on you and prevent you from running around."

Shen Yifei chuckled. "Looking at me? I'm not stealing anything."

"Who knows?" Song Hongliao snorted, turned around and walked forward. "Come on, your senior sister asked me to show you around. See what you should see, and don't see what you shouldn't."

"What shouldn't you watch?"

"Hmph, I shouldn't have looked! If I'd looked any longer, I'd gouge your eyes out!"