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

It was already dark outside when they left the cave. Shen Yifei found a sheltered spot, started a fire, and took out and inventoried the items he had found in the cave one by one.

The eight Golden Core stage storage bags contained a considerable amount of items.

More than 10,000 spirit stones and a few magical artifacts, but these artifacts could only be sold secretly.

There was also a bunch of miscellaneous items: talismans, array flags, ores, monster materials... Shen Yifei was too lazy to count them one by one, so he stuffed them all into his ring.

After taking stock of everything, Shen Yifei was overjoyed.

These spirit stones alone would be enough for him to live comfortably in the Joyful Union Sect for several years. Not to mention the hard currency such as pills, magic tools, and medicinal herbs.

"Little fellow, you've had quite a haul," the succubus said again.

Shen Yifei ignored her. This girl was too good at bewitching people. Without her help, would such a ridiculous thing have happened?

Thinking about it now, it was quite exciting. Sun Yiran was an experienced woman.

However, on the other hand, how many female cultivators in the Hehuan Sect are as youthful and innocent as Liu'er!

"Little one, please let me out," the succubus pleaded again.

Shen Yifei was too lazy to argue with her, so he entered the cauldron with his consciousness: "If you say another word, I'll really refine you."

"Go ahead and refine it." The succubus wasn't afraid at all. Instead, she stretched out her arms and legs, striking a pose of complete submission. "Anyway, I'm like this now, so you can refine it if you want. But let me warn you, I only have half a life left, so the pills I refine won't be very useful. If you keep me, I'll be worth something once I'm healed."

Shen Yifei was taken aback by her words. This succubus was quite shrewd, using him as a bargaining chip.

"You're quite optimistic."

"What good will it do if you can't think straight?" The succubus's smile vanished, her green eyes fixed on him. "You've locked me in this wretched place, I can't get out, and I can't beat you in a fight. Why don't you try to be happy? Are you going to cry every day?"

Shen Yifei didn't reply. This female demon gave him a strange feeling; unlike the demonic beasts he had encountered before, who would fight to the death on sight of humans, she was intelligent, articulate, calculating, and even capable of bargaining.

"What's your name?" he asked.

The succubus paused for a moment, then laughed: "You've kept me locked up for days, and only now you remember to ask my name?"

"Say it or don't, it's up to you."

"Liu Mengli." When the succubus said this name, her tone suddenly became more serious. "Remember that, little one. If you forget me again next time, I'll be angry."

Liu Mengli. Shen Yifei repeated the name in his mind and thought it sounded quite nice, not like the name of a monster.

"What kind of demon are you?"

"Guess," Liu Mengli said, her usual playful expression returning. "There's a reward if you guess right."

"I won't guess. Tell me if you want."

"You're so boring." Liu Mengli pouted, lay down, turned to her side, and propped her head up with one hand. "I'm a Nightmare Demon. Ever heard of me?"

Shen Yifei shook his head. He had never heard of the name "Nightmare Demon".

"That's right, you haven't heard of me." Liu Mengli's tone carried a hint of smugness. "We Nightmare Demons are few in number; I'm the only one in the entire Tianyuan Continent! I've survived this long entirely on my own merits!"

"What skills do you have?"

"Enter the dream." Liu Mengli blinked. "I can enter people's dreams and drain them dry."

When Shen Yifei heard her say that she could enter people's dreams and drain them dry, a chill ran down his spine.

"How many people did you kill in the secret realm?" he asked.

Liu Mengli tilted her head and thought for a moment, "I can't remember. Everyone who came to the secret realm that I met, not one of them escaped."

Her green eyes were fixed on Shen Yifei's direction, with a hint of curiosity in them. "You're only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and I didn't even pull you into my dream."

How did you get into my dream?

"My singing can penetrate people's brains. They fall asleep while listening, and then they dream. In their dreams, I enter their minds. Once inside, they can't wake up."

Shen Yifei recalled the little tune he had overheard while peeping at her taking a bath, and felt a chill run down his spine.

It turns out she was already singing back then. If I hadn't reacted quickly and woken up in time, I might have become a dried-up corpse.

Seeing that Shen Yifei remained silent, Liu Mengli continued, "Little guy, how about we make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

"Let me out, and I'll do things for you."

Shen Yifei chuckled: "You'll work for me? Besides draining people dry in their dreams, what else can you do?"

"There's so much more." Liu Mengli counted on her fingers. "I can help you gather information, confuse the enemy, steal things for you... Aren't you a disciple of the Hehuan Sect? What does the Hehuan Sect lack most? It lacks cauldrons for sexual cultivation. I can help you enter dreams, and you can cultivate whomever you want, however you want. Those female cultivators can't even resist in their dreams."

Hearing her say that, Shen Yifei was indeed tempted. The deal sounded like a good deal, but upon further reflection, he felt something was amiss.

"Don't give me that crap." He scoffed. "The first thing you'll do after I release you is drain me dry."

Liu Mengli, caught off guard, wasn't annoyed. Instead, she giggled, "You're quite clever, little one. I can't fool you. But remember this: I finally managed to regain some physical strength, and you broke it! I'll make you pay for it with your own flesh someday!"

"Give me back my meat, and you'd better stay inside quietly." Shen Yifei ignored her.

Liu Mengli started humming a little tune again, and Shen Yifei didn't stop her. To shut her up, he had to show her his power and methods!

Shen Yifei drifted off to sleep and slept soundly through the night without any dreams.

The next morning, Shen Yifei was awakened by the chirping of birds. He took out some dry rations, ate a few bites, drank some stream water, packed his things, and continued deeper into the secret realm.

The further you go in, the stronger the spiritual energy becomes.

"Little one, don't go any further in," Liu Mengli suddenly said.

"What's wrong?"

"There's a big one inside. I can sense it; it's at least a fifth-tier demonic beast."

A fifth-tier demonic beast is equivalent to a human in the late Golden Core stage or even the early Nascent Soul stage. Shen Yifei paused, his heart pounding.

How did you sense it?

"Our Nightmare Clan is particularly sensitive to powerful souls. That thing's soul is very strong; I can sense it even from dozens of miles away. For someone like you, a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, to go in is just like handing it a snack."

Shen Yifei turned and walked in another direction, intending to take a long detour and sneak in from the side.

Liu Mengli sighed inside the cauldron: "You little rascal, you really have no fear of death."

"I'm afraid of death, but I'm even more afraid of poverty."

Liu Mengli was amused by his words: "How poor are you in the Hehuan Sect? Are you even willing to risk your life?"

"I was poor for three years, and I couldn't even afford to eat. Now that I finally have a chance to turn my life around, do you think I'd let it go?"

Shen Yifei continued forward, circling around in a large area, venturing deeper into the secret realm from the east. After walking for about an hour, Liu Mengli suddenly spoke up: "That thing moved."

"What do you mean?"

"Idiot! It's spotted you and is coming this way."

Shen Yifei's scalp tingled, and without daring to look back, he turned and ran.

He activated his lightness technique, using every ounce of his strength, and ran like a whirlwind into the woods. But he hadn't run far when he heard heavy footsteps behind him.

"Thump! Thump! Thump..."

Each step felt like a footstep on his heart, making his chest feel tight.

When Shen Yifei turned around, he almost lost his mind.

A giant ape, three zhang tall, covered in long black fur, with eyes like two red lamps, was chasing after him.

With each stride, the giant ape covered three or four zhang (approximately 13-14 meters). Shen Yifei ran for his life, but the distance between them kept getting closer and closer.

"Little guy, you can't outrun it!" Liu Mengli shouted from inside the cauldron.

Shen Yifei knew he couldn't outrun it, so he suddenly stopped and turned to face the giant ape.

When the giant ape saw him stop, it slowed down and approached him step by step.

"Little guy, you're really done for this time." Liu Mengli's voice carried a hint of schadenfreude.

Shen Yifei ignored her, staring at the giant ape, his mind racing.

This thing is a fifth-tier demon beast, with thick skin and flesh. My little skill is like tickling it.

A direct confrontation won't work; we need to think of another way.

He remembered the Ice Soul Pill he had obtained in that cave!