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

Gu Yunyan stood up and walked outside.

Song Hongliao followed behind her, took two steps and then stopped. "Senior sister, his...that thing is pretty scary."

Gu Yunyan turned and glanced at her. "What's so scary?"

"Well... never mind, go see for yourself." Song Hongliao turned and ran away, but after running a dozen steps, she turned back and called out, "Senior sister, take it easy, don't kill him."

Soon, Gu Yunyan arrived in front of the stone house.

The stone house door wasn't closed properly, and Gu Yunyan kicked it open, the door slamming against the wall with a bang.

Shen Yifei lay on the bed, the blanket pulled up to his chest, his eyes closed as if he were dozing. Hearing a noise, he opened one eye, saw Gu Yunyan standing in the doorway, and then closed it again.

"Master, why are you kicking down my door in broad daylight?"

"stand up."

"I can't get up; I was exhausted from refining pills last night."

"Are you exhausted from alchemy? You've really been taking advantage of the female disciples of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion these past few days!"

"I'm harming them? Sect Leader, that's heartless of you to say. They're lucky." Shen Yifei turned over, his back to her. "If you don't have anything else to say, Sect Leader, let me sleep a little longer."

Gu Yunyan walked to the bedside and kicked the bed leg.

The bed shook three times, and Shen Yifei, completely naked, sprang up from the bed, his head almost hitting the ceiling.

"What...what are you doing?"

Shen Yifei swallowed back the words of his curse.

"Get up, I have something to ask you." Gu Yunyan pulled up a chair and sat down.

Shen Yifei sat naked on the bed, covering his lower body with a blanket.

"Put your clothes on first!" Gu Yunyan turned her face away.

Shen Yifei took out a piece of clothing from his storage ring, put it on, got off the bed, and dragged a chair to sit opposite her.

"Master, what brings you to kick down my door so early in the morning?"

"Hongliao said you refined a top-grade elixir?"

"Hmm...she gave you the pills?"

"Yes, you gave me one. You didn't only make this one, did you?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yifei was filled with rage. This fool Hong Liao had given her the pills to help her improve her cultivation, and also to compensate her for her hard work that night.

But she went ahead and gave it directly to Gu Yunyan!

"Master, that one red knotweed was given to her so she could test its medicinal properties. If it's not good, I'll improve it. There are two in one batch; I've prepared one for you."

After saying that, Shen Yifei took out a top-grade magic pill and placed it on the table.

Gu Yunyan reached out to take it, but Shen Yifei was quick and slammed her hand and the pill onto the table.

"Master, what happened to the three conditions we agreed on?"

Gu Yunyan stared at him. "Fine, I, Gu Yunyan, keep my word. First, I'll pay three times the market price in spirit stones. Second, you can use any medicinal herbs from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion you like. Third, I won't put on airs during dual cultivation; I'll do whatever you ask me to do."

Shen Yifei released his grip, and Gu Yunyan took the pill, smelling it under her nose.

"The quality is alright." She put away the pills. "First question, how are the spirit stones calculated?"

"Top-grade magic pills are out of stock on the market. A medium-grade magic pill costs 5,000 spirit stones. Top-grade ones are at least five times more expensive, at 25,000 each. Three times that would be 75,000."

Gu Yunyan frowned. "Seventy-five thousand a piece? Are you robbing me?"

"Sect Master, you're mistaken. Top-grade demonic pills are priceless. You spend 75,000 to buy one, and after consuming it, your demonic essence purity doubles, your cultivation speed doubles, and a breakthrough to a higher realm is just around the corner. Your money is well spent."

Gu Yunyan gritted her teeth, "Fine, 75,000 it is. But let me tell you, although Tianji Pavilion is rich, it can't afford to be ripped off like this."

"You don't need to spend any money," Shen Yifei grinned. "I'm giving you this pill for free."

"free?"

"Yes, free. Master, I believe in long-term business. We'll have plenty of opportunities to cooperate in the future. The first one is free; consider it making friends."

Gu Yunyan stared at him for a long time. "What mischief are you up to now?"

"What kind of scheme could I possibly have? I just want to get on good terms with the Pavilion Master. In the future, when I'm refining pills on Mount Cangwu, I'll still have to rely on the Pavilion Master's protection."

"Relying on me for protection?" Gu Yunyan sneered. "You've already slept with seven or eight female disciples of my Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. If this continues, I think you'll be the Pavilion Master!"

"Sect Master, I'm just an alchemist. I help you detoxify, refine medicine, and earn some spirit stones on the side. If you feel I threaten your position as Sect Master, I'll leave tomorrow."

"Do you think you can just leave?" Gu Yunyan glanced at him sideways. "You slept with seven or eight female disciples of my Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, and you think you can just walk away like that?"

"Sect Leader, I was merely healing and saving lives. It's your cultivation methods that are truly harmful. Look at these female disciples of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion; they're all underdeveloped. But you, Sect Leader, have a truly impressive figure. Are you hiding something from them?"

"What did you just say?" Gu Yunyan's voice suddenly changed.

"I said the Pavilion Master has a good figure."

"The previous sentence."

Shen Yifei thought for a moment, "The cultivation techniques you practice are truly harmful. Look at these female disciples of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, they're all underdeveloped. But you, Pavilion Master..."

Before she could finish speaking, Gu Yunyan slammed her hand on the table. "Say it again."

Shen Yifei remained calm. "Sect Master, I may have been too harsh. But you know in your heart whether what I said is true or not. Is there something wrong with the cultivation technique you practice?"

Gu Yunyan let out a long sigh, pondered for a moment, and said, "The cultivation technique of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion is called the Profound Yin Technique, which has been passed down for over a thousand years. In the early stages of cultivating this technique, progress is rapid, and one can form a core in three to five years. However, it becomes increasingly slower as one progresses, and each step forward is like climbing a mountain of knives."

"So that's how it is. No wonder these female disciples are all at roughly the same level..."

"The Profound Yin Technique only cultivates demonic essence, not the physical body. The purer the demonic essence, the more severe the cold poison. The cold poison accumulates in the body, eroding the meridians and suppressing qi and blood. The higher the cultivation level, the more severe the cold poison, and the worse the body becomes."

"Then, Master, why aren't you as thin as them?"

"Because I ate a Xuan Yang Fruit. I found it in a secret realm three hundred years ago. After eating it, my body gained more yang energy, which suppressed the cold poison. Otherwise, I would just be a skeleton now. I had this opportunity, but my junior sisters didn't. I don't want them to become neither human nor ghost in the future!"

Shen Yifei understood.

"Master, you asked me to refine top-grade demon pills not to sell them for money, but to save your junior sisters."

"That's right. Only top-grade demonic pills can eradicate the problem completely; other qualities can only delay it!"

Shen Yifei nodded. "So that's what you were thinking, Pavilion Master. I misunderstood you. How about this: every female disciple of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion will receive a top-grade demonic pill!"

"Thirty-seven female disciples of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, one pill for each of them, that's thirty-seven pills. Thirty-seven top-grade demonic pills, can you refine them?"

Shen Yifei chuckled, "A top-grade demonic pill? As long as the Pavilion Master provides me with enough demonic energy, I can refine it in just two days!"

Upon hearing that it could be mastered in just two days, Gu Yunyan immediately stood up!

"You...you can really refine so many?"

"Master, don't underestimate me; I can refine it. But now, I've changed the conditions!"