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

Gu Yunyan stared at him for three breaths, and the corners of her mouth slowly curled up.

"Are you trying to help me, or do you want to sleep with me?"

"I want both."

Gu Yunyan chuckled. "You're quite honest."

She pushed Shen Yifei away, walked slowly into the bathtub, and soaked herself in the water.

She beckoned to Shen Yifei, "Come here and wash off that stinky stuff on you."

Shen Yifei hurried over and jumped into the bath.

His body was covered in black grime, and when he entered the bath, the water immediately turned black.

However, the pool returned to its original color after a short while. It turned out that the pool was connected to a water source outside, which was a hot spring, with water constantly flowing in and out.

Surprisingly, Gu Yunyan gently rubbed his body, seemingly as a reward for the effort he had just put in.

"You, a Nascent Soul cultivator in the early stages, want to sleep with someone in the early Tribulation Transcending stage? Do you even know what you're saying?"

"I know, if things go wrong, you might kill me."

"Then you still dare to say it?"

"Because I'm telling the truth. If we truly cultivate together once, your demonic energy will be completely cleansed, and my cultivation will increase significantly. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement, so why wouldn't I dare say it?"

Gu Yunyan chuckled, "You're certainly honest. But have you considered that during dual cultivation I need to be completely focused? What if you have other thoughts...?"

"What would I possibly want? To drain you dry? You're only in the early stages of the Tribulation Transcending Realm, while I'm in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. Do you think I could possibly drain you?"

Gu Yunyan didn't speak, her hands roaming over his body.

Finally, she grabbed his arm and said, "You're so different from ordinary people, have you cultivated some kind of demonic art? Are you trying to use my demonic energy?"

"Sect Master, you are overthinking it. Whatever form something takes on its own body is its own business. My dual cultivation with you is solely for the purpose of improving my cultivation level."

Gu Yunyan looked at him, then at it, "Okay, I promise you, but not now."

"When?"

"You'll have to prove yourself first. Refine the first batch of demonic pills and let me see your skills. If you succeed, I'll cultivate with you. If you fail, you'll leave with your arms and legs and go."

"Deal." Shen Yifei stood up from the bath. "The Pavilion Master is a straightforward person. I'll go refine the pills now."

"Wait." Gu Yunyan called out to him. With a wave of her hand, a jade slip appeared in front of Shen Yifei. "This is the formula for the Demon Pill. The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion bought it from outside at a high price. Study it and ask me if you don't understand anything."

Shen Yifei caught the jade slip and scanned it with his divine sense. The medicinal ingredients on the prescription were not complicated, but the key was the section on fire control, which stated "calcined with demonic fire, temperature based on demonic energy sensing".

"Demonic fire? I only have this little bit of demonic energy in my body, can I..." He was still somewhat unwilling to give up, as things might change over time.

"Try it with your spiritual fire," Gu Yunyan interrupted him. "The essence of alchemy is purification and fusion. Spiritual fire and demonic fire are both fire, the difference lies in the fuel. Spiritual fire burns spiritual energy, while demonic fire burns demonic essence. You don't have demonic essence, but there is a wisp of my demonic essence in your dantian. Use that wisp of demonic essence as a catalyst and see if you can transform the spiritual fire into demonic fire."

Shen Yifei thought about it and thought the idea was quite novel.

"Okay, I'll go back and give it a try."

Shen Yifei changed into a clean set of clothes, and after dressing, he left the main hall and headed towards the stone house. Song Hongliao stood on the steps at the entrance of the main hall, her two short knives back at her waist.

"You're out already? What did my senior sister tell you?"

"secret."

Song Hongliao snorted, "If you dare to harm my senior sister, I'll gouge your eyes out and stomp on them."

"Besides gouging out eyeballs, is there anything else you can do?"

"They'll even cut out your tongue."

"Okay, you're good."

After Shen Yifei finished speaking, he deliberately walked towards her.

Song Hongliao jumped to the side. "Why are you so close to me?"

Song Hongliao was initially wary, but after a while, she sniffed the air and asked, "Hmm? What's that smell?"

She sniffed for a while, then slowly moved closer to Shen Yifei. "Is this your scent? It's so strange!"

In fact, through Gu Yunyan's performance, Shen Yifei realized that Tianji Pavilion was not a monolithic entity, and that there was no gap that could not be exploited.

The scent of medicine on his body did have an effect on Gu Yunyan. Gu Yunyan said "it's okay," but the tips of her ears turned red and her legs tightened. This woman was clearly having a reaction, but she pretended to be fine.

The more a woman is like this, the more interesting she is. However, she is still putting on airs and has a high level of cultivation, so it's not easy to make a direct move. I have to test the waters with Song Hongliao first.

Women like Song Hongliao, who are straightforward, are the easiest to fall into traps. She has a fiery temper, a sharp tongue, and is quick to threaten to gouge out eyes or cut off tongues. She may look fierce, but she doesn't actually have that many hidden agendas.

The more a woman wears a fierce expression on her face, the easier it is for her to break down.

Song Hongliao was still sniffing there, her nose twitching like a little female dog sniffing around.

Gradually, she moved to within a foot of Shen Yifei, her eyes fixed on his neck, her gaze sweeping over the edge of his collar.

"What's that smell on you? It's strangely pleasant." She reached out and tugged at Shen Yifei's collar, peering inside. "What medicine did you put on?"

Shen Yifei didn't dodge, letting her look at him.

"I'm an alchemist, I deal with pills every day, isn't it normal for me to smell like medicine? What, are you addicted to it, and want to pull up my clothes to smell it?"

"Who's addicted to the smell? I'm just curious. A man smells so good, like a young woman."

"Does it smell good?" Shen Yifei raised his arm and smelled it. "I don't think so."

"Your nose is acting strange," Song Hongliao snorted. "I could smell it from eight feet away. I thought you were carrying some kind of medicine with you. Turns out you just brought it with you. You're like a walking medicine cabinet."

Shen Yifei chuckled, "You're really sarcastic."

That's just how I talk. Take it or leave it.

Song Hongliao turned and walked away, her ponytail swinging high. After taking two steps, she stopped and looked back at him.

"By the way, your senior sister asked you to refine pills, are you confident in your abilities?"

"Give it a try. If you succeed, your senior sister will be happy. If you fail, I'll keep your arms and legs, which you can use to make medicinal wine."

Song Hongliao's lips curled up slightly. "You remember it clearly. Fine, keep training hard, I'm rooting for you to keep an arm."

"Can't you wish me well for once?"

"What do I have to hope for in you? You're nobody to me."

"Miss Song, I'll start refining demon pills tonight. Your senior sister asked you to deliver some demon essence ore and then help me refine the pills!"

After hearing Shen Yifei's words, Song Hongliao snorted and swung her ponytail in an arc behind her head.

"I'll help you out? How dare you?"

"You're not scared, are you?" Shen Yifei leaned against the stone doorframe, glancing at her sideways. "Afraid my pills will cause you some kind of illness?"

"You think I'm afraid of you?" Song Hongliao's hand was already on the hilt of her sword. "You're just a Nascent Soul cultivator; I could kill you without a second strike. What wouldn't I dare to do?"

"Alright, bring some magic element ore tonight. Not too much, just three or five pieces will do."

Song Hongliao stared at him for a few moments, then turned and walked away. She took two steps, then stopped, without turning back, and asked, "What time?"

"Midnight"

"understood."

The horse's tail disappeared around the corner of the stone steps, and the copper rings jingled all the way.