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

As Shen Yifei spoke, Shi San was huddled behind a grand chair, only his eyes peeking out as he timidly looked at the two of them.

Seeing that Shen Yifei agreed so readily, Hou Wanshan no longer tried to hide anything.

He took out an ebony box from a hidden compartment. Inside were three dark, murky pills that emitted a pungent, fishy odor.

"This is the medicinal ingredient to unlock the Yuan Gu, called 'Gu-Attracting Incense'."

Hou Wanshan picked up a pill, his expression solemn. "Later, I will use my spiritual power to force out the Gu worm from Shi San's dantian. Young Master Shen, you watch the opportunity and, as soon as the Gu worm leaves his body, immediately seal his dantian with your essence blood to prevent the auspicious beast bloodline in his body from going berserk."

"My lord, these pills of yours don't look very legitimate." Shen Yifei leaned closer to sniff them, and a pungent, fishy odor assaulted his senses. "Will this stuff even work?"

"The Gu worms love this smell; they'll crawl out as soon as they smell it." Hou Wanshan ignored Shen Yifei's disgusted expression. "Shi San, come here and eat this pill."

Shi San shrank back in the chair, shaking his head vigorously like a rattle-drum: "My lord... I see there's hair growing on these pills... Will I die if I take them?"

"If you don't eat, you'll be a jinx for life, always having to watch other people's faces and serving chamber pots for the rest of your life."

Shen Yifei squatted down and looked at him with a smile, "Eat it, and maybe you'll turn into a majestic and powerful ancient divine beast, soaring into the sky and bringing glory to your ancestors."

"Sir...you make it sound nice, but I'm still scared." Shi San's voice trembled. "There's even hair growing on it..."

Shen Yifei patted him on the shoulder, "If you really don't dare, I won't force you. But... I've heard that girls despise cowards the most. If you want to get married in the future... sigh... with you like this, I'm willing but unable."

Shen Yifei deliberately sighed, stood up, and turned to leave.

"My lord!" Shi San jumped out from behind the chair. "I'll eat! I'll eat! I'll eat it all to get a wife!"

He held his breath, grabbed the three pills, stuffed them all into his mouth, and swallowed them all without chewing.

Seeing that he had swallowed the pill, Hou Wanshan immediately raised his hand and slapped him on the back of the chest. A wisp of powerful spiritual energy flowed through his meridians and into Shi San's dantian.

Shi San froze instantly, his face flushed red, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

After about three breaths, a fist-sized lump swelled up on Shi San's lower abdomen. The flesh writhed and rolled like a living thing, stretching the skin until it shone, and a black worm could be faintly seen crawling under the skin.

"Young Master Shen, watch closely!" Hou Wanshan shouted, suddenly increasing the force of his palm strike.

Shi San let out a "howl," and the meat bun climbed up from his dantian along the meridians, all the way over his chest, up his neck, and finally to his throat.

He opened his mouth, and with a "whoosh," a black worm as thick as a thumb crawled out of his mouth, landed on the ground, and wriggled a couple of times.

Shen Yifei reacted quickly, flicking the tip of his Long Sky Sword, sending the worm flying into the air where it was burned to ashes by the Netherworld Cold Fire.

Hou Wanshan breathed a sigh of relief. "The Locking Yuan Gu is cured. Young Master Shen, it's your turn!"

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Shi San's body trembled violently.

His eyes were bloodshot, his blood was surging, and fiery red lines appeared on his skin.

The lines looked like they were branded onto the skin by a red-hot iron, spreading from the chest to the limbs and then covering the cheeks.

"Here he comes!" Hou Wanshan's expression changed. "Young Master Shen, quickly... quickly use your essence to subdue him!"

Without hesitation, Shen Yifei bit his fingertip, and a drop of crimson blood fell into his palm. He then pressed his palm against Shi San's chest, transferring the blood into his body.

Shi San let out a roar, arching his body like an enraged beast.

"Ah... sir... your blood is so hot..." Shi San's speech had become slurred, and sparks were even coming out of his mouth.

Immediately afterwards, his joints cracked like popping beans, Shi San's back arched, and he let out a wild beast's roar. His skin cracked inch by inch, revealing crimson scales underneath.

The changes came very quickly.

In less than ten breaths, Shi San had completely changed his appearance. The skinny little servant had transformed into a ferocious beast covered in crimson scales.

Its body was as big as half a room, its limbs were as thick as pillars, and its tail swept lightly, smashing a wall to pieces.

A pair of large, copper-bell-shaped eyes, burning with crimson-gold flames, stared at Shen Yifei standing in front of him.

Hou Wanshan gasped, taking a half-step back: "A fire qilin...it's actually a fire qilin! The ancient auspicious beast, the fire qilin!"

Shen Yifei was also stunned. In just a short while, the frail Shi San had transformed into a majestic and domineering fire unicorn!

He reached out his hand, and the fire qilin stretched its head over, looking incredibly obedient.

Shen Yifei patted its head. "Shi San, look at yourself now! So majestic and imposing! What woman wouldn't love that!"

There was a pond in the courtyard. The fire unicorn Shi San tilted his head, and his reflection was perfectly mirrored in the water!

This one look gave me quite a fright!

Then, something unexpected happened.

The majestic and domineering fire qilin let out a scream upon seeing its own appearance!

That sound was like the meow of a cat in heat!

"Woohoo..."

That voice was high-pitched and thin, with a vibrato!

Then, with lightning speed, the fire qilin turned its head and burrowed into the most secluded corner of the courtyard.

Its massive body was squeezing desperately into the cramped corner, its tail tucked tightly between its legs, its head buried under its front paws, its whole body trembling, and it was making whimpering noises.

It looked exactly like a terrified big cat.

"My lord, is this the ancient auspicious beast, the Fire Qilin?" Shen Yifei was dumbfounded.

Hou Wanshan also looked bewildered: "This... Shi San is usually timid and cowardly. After his bloodline awakens, his personality might follow the original owner's, so..."

"My lord... I... how did I turn into a monster?" Shi San's muffled voice came from the corner, trembling with sobs. "My lord, please, turn me back! My wife, I don't want her anymore!"

Shen Yifei sighed, "Hey Shi San, you're supposed to be an ancient auspicious beast, can't you be a little more dignified?"

"My lord, I don't want to be a monster. I want to be human, I want to be human..."

"Come out first! How am I supposed to help you if you're sticking your butt out and tail between your legs like that!"

The fire qilin shrank back further: "No... I won't go out. I look too ugly; I can't face anyone."

"Ugly?" Shen Yifei walked over to him, squatted down, and said, "I'm telling you, Shi San, look at your scales, crimson red like fire, shimmering with iridescent light. Your four claws are harder than iron hooves, and you can breathe fire with a single breath. You think you're ugly? Do you know that if those cultivators outside saw you like this, their legs would go weak with fear?"

"Really?" The fire qilin raised its head, revealing a pair of bright eyes. It looked at Shen Yifei's face for a while, then looked down at its own massive body, seemingly somewhat doubtful.

"Of course it's true." Shen Yifei reached out and patted his head. "Listen to me, you are an ancient auspicious beast, the Fire Qilin, not some monster. As long as you cultivate diligently, you can transform at will, becoming human when you want to, or a Qilin when you want to. When that happens, walking down the street, you'll be so majestic that all the young girls will starry-eyed."

After listening to his eloquent explanation, Shi San finally felt a little more at ease: "Sir...can I really turn back?"

"Yes, take human form, and you will be my follower! Transform into a fire qilin, and you will be my mount. In the future, you will fight alongside me against the Emperor's Abyss!"