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

With lightning speed, Liu Mengli transformed into a wisp of green light and disappeared into the cauldron. The moment she vanished, the courtyard gate was pushed open.

No one could just casually enter his courtyard. Zhao Qingshan had come a few times, and each time he would call out from outside before daring to enter. The other disciples were even more polite, knocking on the door and waiting for his response before opening it.

This guy, on the other hand, knocked three times and then pushed it away.

Shen Yifei came out of the house and saw a woman standing at the gate of the courtyard.

Shen Yifei was instantly captivated by her beauty.

Beautiful, this woman is absolutely gorgeous!

Liu Mengli's beauty is alluring, making one's heart itch. This woman's beauty is aloof, like an ice lotus on a snow-capped mountain.

She stood at the gate of the courtyard, her gaze sweeping over Shen Yifei.

With just that one glance, Shen Yifei felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him from head to toe. The peak of the Golden Core stage, half a step into the Nascent Soul realm, the aura pressed down on him, making his chest feel suffocated.

"You're Shen Yifei?"

The voice was cold, crisp but devoid of any emotion.

"It's me. Is my senior sister looking for me?"

"I am not your senior sister." The woman stepped into the courtyard. "I am Luo Qinghe, the Holy Maiden of the Qingyun Sect."

Shen Yifei's heart skipped a beat.

Saintess!

He could easily guess the weight of those two words in the Qingyun Sect.

Below the sect leader, the Holy Maiden is the highest-ranking. The Qingyun Sect has existed for eight hundred years and has produced seven Holy Maidens, each possessing exceptional talent and profound cultivation. The previous Holy Maiden ascended to immortality three hundred years ago, and this current Holy Maiden is the one before us.

Luo Qinghe is at the peak of the Golden Core stage and halfway to the Nascent Soul stage. He is only twenty-eight years old this year.

A twenty-eight-year-old half-step Nascent Soul cultivator is an extremely rare existence in the entire cultivation world.

"Holy Maiden Luo, your presence is an honor. I am deeply sorry for not welcoming you sooner." Shen Yifei cupped his hands in greeting, a smile on his face. "May I ask what business the Holy Maiden has with me?"

Luo Qinghe didn't answer. He walked around the courtyard, his gaze sweeping over the stone table, the alchemy room, and the spiritual spring before finally settling on Shen Yifei's face.

What do you smell like?

Shen Yifei sighed inwardly, thinking to himself, even the Holy Maiden is not immune to worldly desires.

"Reporting to the Holy Maiden, it might be from the smoke produced during alchemy."

"Liar." Luo Qinghe walked up to him, only a step away, and his nose twitched slightly. "This isn't the smell of smoke; it comes from your very bones."

Shen Yifei didn't reply. This woman was more troublesome than any female cultivator he had ever met. She could tell whether the scent was from the perfume or from her very bones just by smelling her; her perception was terrifying.

"Saintess Luo has a good nose." He smiled. "I have a special constitution, and I naturally carry a medicinal fragrance. As for the reason, I can't explain it."

"Special physique?" Luo Qinghe stared into his eyes.

Shen Yifei thought for a moment and decided to cut to the chase. It was pointless to beat around the bush with this kind of woman; she was a hundred times smarter than him, and he'd only end up getting himself into trouble.

"When practicing dual cultivation with a female cultivator, it can help her improve her cultivation level."

Luo Qinghe's expression remained unchanged; not even her eyebrows twitched. She stared at him for a full ten breaths before turning and walking to the stone table to sit down.

"Pour me a cup of tea."

Shen Yifei went inside and got a teapot and teacups, and poured her a cup.

Luo Qinghe picked up the teacup, took a sip, and put it down.

"Shen Yifei, do you know why I came to find you?"

"have no idea."

"Because you've ruined all the female cultivators of my Qingyun Sect."

Shen Yifei was startled; this woman was coming to settle accounts with him!

"What makes you say that, Saintess Luo? My interactions with the senior and junior sisters of the Qingyun Sect were normal dual cultivation exchanges, a matter of mutual consent. How can that be considered harm?"

"Normal dual cultivation exchanges?" Luo Qinghe sneered. "You've had dual cultivation with twenty-three female cultivators in half a month, from Qi Refining stage to Golden Core stage, from outer disciples to inner elites, you've slept with them all. You call that normal?"

Shen Yifei was startled by the number. Twenty-three? Did he really have that many? He counted them, and it seemed he really did. The senior and junior sisters Zhou Yuntong had introduced, and those who had come to him for alchemy and incidentally offered themselves up as well…

"Saintess Luo has a really good memory; she remembers even the numbers clearly."

"Every female cultivator in the Qingyun Sect has a brand on her soul. Who you cultivate with will be recorded on that brand." Luo Qinghe stood up and walked up to him. "In the past half month, you have left twenty-three brands in my Qingyun Sect. Shen Yifei, you have a lot of nerve."

Shen Yifei cursed inwardly. He had never heard of such a thing as a soul imprint before, and the Qingyun Sect's protection measures for its female disciples were far too thorough.

"Saintess Luo, my dual cultivation with them was all voluntary. You can ask them if I ever forced anyone."

"I know they did it voluntarily." Luo Qinghe turned around, her back to him. "That's not the problem."

"What's the problem?"

"The problem is, you've made them addicted."

Shen Yifei was taken aback: "Addicted?"

"Yes, addictive." Luo Qinghe turned around, her cold eyes fixed on him. "You know that the medicinal fragrance on you has an aphrodisiac effect on female cultivators. But you may not know that the spiritual energy of female cultivators who have cultivated with you will be tainted by your aura. This aura can double their cultivation speed, but it also makes them unable to leave you."

She paused, her voice growing colder: "Zhou Yuntong, early Golden Core stage, reached the mid-Golden Core stage in just three days after cultivating with you. Fang Qing, late Foundation Establishment stage, jumped from late to peak in just five days after cultivating with you. And the other female cultivators, their cultivation levels skyrocketed, but they all seem to have lost their souls, constantly chanting your name."

Shen Yifei fell silent.

He truly didn't know about this. He had always thought that dual cultivation with female cultivators was a mutually beneficial thing, never expecting such a side effect.

"Saintess Luo, do you mean...?"

"What I mean is, you've turned the female cultivators of my Qingyun Sect into your harem." Luo Qinghe said, emphasizing each word, "Their hearts are already in turmoil. If this continues, the very foundation of the Qingyun Sect will be shaken by you."

Shen Yifei sensed the killing intent in her words and immediately thought of summoning the Cauldron of Myriad Things.

At the peak of the Golden Core stage, halfway to the Nascent Soul realm, if this woman were to make a move, he wouldn't even have a chance to resist. Whether the Myriad Things Cauldron could be retrieved after being thrown out is still unknown.

"What does Saintess Luo intend to do with me?"

Luo Qinghe stared at him for a while, then suddenly smiled.

With that smile, the ice lotus bloomed!

"Dispose of you?" Her smile faded. "If I wanted to deal with you, I wouldn't have come alone. Do you think the Enforcement Hall of the Qingyun Sect is a pushover?"

Shen Yifei breathed a sigh of relief, but not entirely. This woman didn't play by the rules; who knew what she would do next?

"What does Saintess Naro mean?"

What I mean is, you have to clean up the mess you made yourself.

"How do I clean it up?"

Luo Qinghe sat down again, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

"From today onwards, you are no longer permitted to engage in dual cultivation with any female cultivator from the Qingyun Sect. This is the first rule."

Shen Yifei nodded. That's easy. He's not a lustful fiend; he won't die if he doesn't engage in dual cultivation.

"Secondly, starting today, I will take 50% of the pills you refine."

Shen Yifei felt a pang of pain in his heart. Fifty percent? This was worse than death for him.

"Saintess Luo, I already agreed with the Sect Master that I would take 20% of each batch I refined. You're taking 50% at once, so I'm working for nothing!"

"I can't interfere with what you agreed to with the sect leader. But from today onwards, I'll take 50% of the pills you refine. That's the rule."

Shen Yifei gritted his teeth: "Fine, fifty percent. Is there a third condition?"

"The third rule." Luo Qinghe put down his teacup, stood up, and walked to him. "From today onwards, you can only cultivate with me."