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

Shi San was completely bewildered by Liu Mengli's words. He scratched the back of his head and asked, "Madam, what... do you mean by that?"

Shen Yifei understood the implication in Liu Mengli's words. "Mengli, are you saying this kid isn't an ordinary handyman?"

Liu Mengli crossed her arms and circled Shi San again, her peach blossom eyes scrutinizing him as if he were a rare object. "Master, think about it, an orphan, raised by the Marquis of Beiyuan's mansion, unable to cultivate from a young age, his bloodline sealed—is that normal?"

"This is not normal," Shen Yifei shook his head.

"What kind of place is the Marquis of Beiyuan's mansion? It's one of the top powers in Lingxu. Do you believe that the Marquis would personally investigate whether an orphan can cultivate?"

"I don't believe it." Shen Yifei shook his head again.

Shi San felt uneasy under their gazes. "Sirs, you...you two are not trying to scare me..."

"Who has the time to scare you?" Liu Mengli flicked his forehead. "Kid, that seal on you doesn't just seal your bloodline, it seals your luck too. If I'm not mistaken, you've had bad luck since you were a kid, like choking on water or hitting your heel with a fart, right?"

Shi San's face turned pale, and he stared at Liu Mengli tremblingly, his voice shaking: "Madam, how...how did you know?"

"How would I know?" Liu Mengli scoffed. "Your forehead is dark, and your soul is filled with bad luck. You could step in dog poop every few steps. Someone has deliberately sealed your luck and suppressed your destiny, just waiting to become a scapegoat in the future."

Shi San's knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground with a thud: "Madam, save me! I've truly been unlucky since I was little. I trip and fall on flat ground, I even encounter roof collapses when I go out to buy groceries, and rats bite my ears when I sleep at night... I thought I was just born with bad luck!"

Shen Yifei grabbed him and said, "Let me take a look at your seal."

He separated a wisp of the power of the Five Elements and probed it into Shi San's body. That energy drilled down his meridians.

Shi San's meridians weren't wide, but fortunately they were unobstructed. However, when he reached the vicinity of his dantian, a gray barrier blocked his way.

That barrier was clearly left intentionally.

Shen Yifei frowned and gently touched the barrier with the power of the Five Elements.

"Hiss..." Shi San gasped, curling up into a ball, clutching his dantian and rolling around. "Master, it hurts! It hurts!"

Shen Yifei said in a deep voice, "This thing is extremely evil. It doesn't seem to be simply suppressing your luck; it's more like raising a Gu poison."

"Raising Gu?" Shi San's legs went weak, and he almost knelt down again. "Sir, please don't frighten me... I'm easily frightened..."

Liu Mengli fiddled with a foxtail grass in her hand. "Master wasn't trying to scare you. That thing in your dantian is a living creature that can devour your blood, flesh, and essence, growing bigger and bigger. The day it grows to its full size will be the day you become someone else's wedding dress."

Shi San's face was deathly pale, and his lips trembled as he asked, "Then... how much longer can I live?"

"It's hard to say." Liu Mengli poked his stomach with a foxtail grass. "It could be as short as three months, or as long as six months."

Upon hearing this, Shi San's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground. "My lord... Madam... Help! I don't want to die! I haven't even had a wife yet!"

Shen Yifei was both amused and annoyed. "Alright, alright, stop wailing. Since we've run into this, we'll take care of it. We'll cure you and even find you a wife."

"Sir, are you... are you telling the truth?" Shi San looked at him expectantly.

"Nonsense, I, Shen Yifei, always keep my word."

The group first found an inn to stay in. Shi San was busy running around, quick-witted and clever, which won Shen Yifei's favor.

The inn in Beiyuan City was quite nice; it was a three-story wooden building with a large tavern on the ground floor and living quarters upstairs.

Shen Yifei requested two superior rooms, one for himself and the other for Shi San. Liu Mengli and Hongxiu did not want to stay outside the cauldron.

Although many people now live inside the cauldron, the place is too big and it is still deserted.

Hai Xue'er and Mo Ran rarely showed themselves, busy cultivating. Seeing that all the women around Shen Yifei possessed special skills, they were quite anxious.

Abao and Meishu had a clearer goal: to regain their human form. Abao stayed indoors all day and night, cultivating his spiritual consciousness with Meishu.

Shen Yifei felt that the world inside the Cauldron of All Things was still boundless, perhaps because his cultivation was not yet sufficient and he had not fully evolved.

The little monster stayed quietly on the stove lid, which is usually just a container on the stove lid.

Since the Myriad Things Cauldron is Wan Shuo's most prized possession, it must have other uses, which he just doesn't know yet.

As night deepened, the taverns in Beiyuan City were bustling with noise. Shen Yifei sat in a corner, holding a wine glass in his hand, his gaze sweeping over the cultivators in the hall who were clinking glasses and exchanging toasts, while he pondered what had just happened.

How could Shi San possibly be qualified for the Marquis to personally examine his physique? The only explanation is that Shi San's background is inextricably linked to the Marquis of Beiyuan.

Just then, a commotion broke out at the entrance of the tavern.

A young man dressed in a yellow robe with a curved sword hanging at his waist pushed open the door and entered, followed by four black-clad guards, each exuding a menacing aura.

The young man saw Shen Yifei and strode over.

"This friend looks unfamiliar." The young man plopped down opposite Shen Yifei, and without any ceremony, picked up the wine pot on the table, poured himself a cup, and gulped it down.

"I am Hou Feng, the second young master of the Marquis of Beiyuan. Today, I heard from my servants that a skilled martial artist from out of town has been meddling in some matters within the territory of my Beiyuan City and has taken something he shouldn't have. I've come specifically to inquire whether that thing... should be returned to its rightful owner?"

Shen Yifei didn't reply immediately, but instead looked Hou Feng up and down.

This person looked to be no more than twenty years old, but his cultivation level was at the peak of the Tribulation Transcending stage.

Shen Yifei put his wine glass on the table and said slowly, "I did take an account book, but it was dropped by your Marquis's people when they were chasing an innocent boy. I found it, but I haven't decided whether to return it or not."

"Yeah, I like straightforward people who are decisive and honest." Hou Feng grinned. "Then I won't beat around the bush. Name your price for the account books."

"What's your price?"

"Yes." Hou Feng rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward. "The contents of that ledger are of great importance. I'll buy it back with real money, and we'll be even."

Shen Yifei chuckled, unsure whether to reply, "The ledger doesn't just record the buying and selling of spirit beasts and female cultivators. I flipped to the later pages, and it seems it also records some secrets about the Spirit Ruins. For example... what exactly did that person named Xuanming do after he went to the Myriad Spirits Palace? It's not clearly written there."

Hou Feng narrowed his eyes slightly. "Friend, you've crossed the line."

"Oh?" Shen Yifei said with a smile, "How did I cross the line?"

"The contents of the last few pages of that ledger are beyond your knowledge."

Hou Feng's voice turned somber. "I'll give you one last chance. Hand over the account books, and I won't make things difficult for you. You want spirit stones, pills, women? My Beiyuan Marquis's Mansion can give you anything. But if you insist on using that stuff to bully me... then don't blame me, Hou, for being ruthless."

Shen Yifei was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"Would you like to hear my terms?"