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

Shen Yifei was startled by his kneeling. "My lord, why are you kneeling before me? I am not the Lord of the Spirit Ruins. I was just making things up!"

"Young Master Shen, you are unaware of the truth," Hou Wanshan said respectfully, still kneeling on the ground, "this statue is a touchstone left behind by Lord Wan Shuo himself."

"A touchstone?"

"Yes, the statue responds to you, which means it acknowledges your identity!"

Seeing Hou Wanshan kneeling on the ground, Shen Yifei quickly went to help him up. "My lord, if you want me to deal with Wanling Palace, just say so. Even if you don't, I'll still have to go and cause them trouble!"

"Young Master, please do not refuse." Hou Wanshan insisted on not rising, prostrating himself on the ground and saying in a deep voice, "This statue was erected by Lord Wan Shuo himself. For ten thousand years, I have overseen all affairs of Beiyuan City, and I have never seen this statue react in the slightest. But today, as soon as you arrived, the statue's eyes shone brightly, recognizing you as its master. This must be the will of Heaven!"

Shen Yifei glanced back at the white jade statue, feeling a bit uneasy.

This statue of Wan Shuo is indeed a bit eerie. Just a moment ago, he felt a warm aura surging out from inside the statue, traveling through his meridians, as if imprinting something on his body.

"Lord Marquis, please stand up and speak." Shen Yifei forcefully pulled Hou Wanshan up. "I feel awkward with you kneeling."

Hou Wanshan stood up, wiped away his tears, and said with a bitter smile, "Today, the statue recognizes its master, which means that you are the successor chosen by Lord Wanshuo. As the successor of Lord Wanshuo, you are the master of Lingxu."

Hearing him repeatedly refer to himself as the "Lord of the Spirit Ruins," Shen Yifei still felt that this old fox was setting a trap for him, so he asked, "Lord Marquis, did you already recognize that I am the successor of the Five Elements Demon God?"

Hou Wanshan slowly stood up. "Since this statue recognizes you, I won't hide it from you anymore. Young Master Shen, I've been secretly observing you ever since you entered Beiyuan City."

"My lord, now that you say that, I'm starting to feel uneasy." Shen Yifei chuckled. "You're observing me? Observing what?"

"Because you and that Madam Lan have the exact same aura."

"Mrs. Lan?"

Hou Wanshan took a deep breath: "Young Master Shen, what I'm about to say may be hard for you to accept, but you have to hear me out. I've already sent those female cultivators to the Wanling Palace, including Madam Lan."

Shen Yifei remained silent for a full three breaths before slowly speaking, "My lord, you just mentioned... Lady Lan?"

"Yes, Madam Lan." Hou Wanshan nodded. "When she arrived in Beiyuan City, she called herself Madam Lan. Her cultivation level was not high, and she didn't say what her background was. I saw that she was all alone, and her aura seemed to be the same as Lord Wan Shuo's. She also had a beautiful appearance, so I took her in to stay at the Hou residence."

Shen Yifei's heart began to race. "What does she look like?"

"Phoenix eyes, oval face, always smiling when she speaks, but those eyes... are red, making them unfathomable." Hou Wanshan looked at Shen Yifei, "You and she have a seven or eight-tenths resemblance in your features."

Shen Yifei didn't need to ask any further questions.

Almond-shaped eyes, an oval face, and dark red eyes—this was Youlan, her own mother!

"When did she arrive?"

"It was more than ten years ago," Hou Wanshan said. "When she came, she was badly injured, as if she had escaped from some terrible place. I didn't dare to ask too many questions, so I arranged accommodation for her and hired a doctor to treat her injuries. She stayed at the Hou residence for about half a year. After she recovered, she showed no intention of leaving. She usually spent her days planting flowers and feeding fish in the back garden, and she didn't talk to anyone much. She was very quiet."

"Why...why did she take the initiative to tell Di Yuan about her bloodline?"

"That's what I can't understand either." Hou Wanshan frowned. "She's lived in the Hou residence for over ten years, always behaving herself and never attracting attention. But just last month, she suddenly came to me and asked me to send her to Wanling Palace."

Shen Yifei's heart tightened. "What were her exact words?"

Hou Wanshan thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "She said, 'My lord, send me to the Palace of Ten Thousand Spirits and tell Di Yuan that I have the bloodline of the Lord of the Spirit Ruins flowing through my veins. He will be interested.'"

Shen Yifei looked up abruptly, "The bloodline of the Lord of the Spirit Ruins? The Lord of the Spirit Ruins she's talking about, is it Wan Shuo?"

Hou Wanshan nodded. "It should be, but she didn't say..."

A thought flashed through Shen Yifei's mind, sending chills down his spine.

His mother, Youlan, is a demon princess with demon royal blood flowing in her veins. But what does demon royal blood have to do with Wan Shuo?

Could it be... that besides the demon bloodline, her mother also possesses Wan Shuo's bloodline?

Why did her mother come to Lingxu alone back then? Was she really looking for Wan Shuo's inheritance?

The old sea turtle's words, "She earned the right to open the door with her life," resurfaced in his mind, piercing his heart with waves of pain.

"My lord, has she explained herself clearly? Why did she stay in the Marquis's residence for over ten years, and then suddenly decide to go to the Wanling Palace?"

Hou Wanshan shook his head: "Madam Lan didn't go into details, but she said something that I didn't understand at the time, and now that I think about it, it just doesn't feel right."

"What did you say?"

She said, "Some things can't be avoided forever; someone always has to do them."

Shen Yifei was stunned for a moment after hearing this. His mother had actually willingly walked into a trap.

With her meager cultivation level, how could she possibly fight against Di Yuan?

Isn't this just blatant suicide?

After listening for a long time inside the cauldron, Liu Mengli spoke up, "Master, what your mother said doesn't feel like she was talking about her own bloodline. It's more like she's saying... she's found some clues, and she now has to stop something."

"Stop what?" Shen Yifei frowned.

"Emperor Di Yuan, the Palace Master of the Myriad Spirits Palace, has been stuck at the peak of ascension for thousands of years. Don't you find it strange that he collects spirit beasts, spirit herbs, and female cultivators?"

Xinghe continued, "Brother, spirit beasts, spirit herbs, female cultivators... putting all these things together, what do you think Di Yuan is trying to do?"

Shen Yifei thought for a moment, and the images in his mind gradually came together.

"He...he's refining pills? With spirit beasts, spirit herbs, and a female cultivator, he's refining pills!!!"

"Yes, brother, what he's refining must not be any ordinary pill."

"Xinghe, can you tell what kind of elixir you're refining?"

"I don't know, I can't tell. Pills made from human ingredients aren't legitimate pills!"

Shen Yifei was speechless after hearing this, but all the people he trained were bad guys!

"Alchemy, illegitimate pills!" Shen Yifei muttered under his breath.

Upon hearing this, Hou Wanshan assumed Shen Yifei had already figured it out. "Young Master Shen, it's rumored that the Palace Master of the Myriad Spirits Palace is refining a heaven-defying elixir!"

"As I thought! Could you elaborate on what kind of elixir he's refining, Lord Marquis?"

"The Elixir of Unifying All Spirits!"

Xinghe seemed to remember something. "Brother, I remember now. If it really is this pill, it requires the essence and blood of 9,999 pure yin women, the inner cores of 9,999 spirit beasts, and various spiritual herbs to make it."

Upon hearing this string of numbers, Shen Yifei was startled.

"Holy crap, they need so many female cultivators! That's fucking cruel!"