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

Shen Yifei leaned against the cabin wall, watching the clouds rushing past the window, pondering what to do after returning to the sect.

The number of spirit stones in his storage ring had exceeded 100,000, and the top-grade pills were piled up like a small mountain. These things were enough for him to live comfortably in the Joyful Union Sect for several years, but he was not satisfied.

Ten thousand spirit stones sounds like a lot, but it'll be gone in the time it takes to buy just a few portions of ingredients for a grade-five pill.

We still need to keep saving, keep refining, and keep earning.

"What are you thinking about?" Sun Yiran sat down next to him, handing him a cup of tea.

"I'm thinking about how to make a fortune when I get back." Shen Yifei took the teacup and gulped down a mouthful.

Sun Yiran glanced at him: "You're living a really carefree life at the Qingyun Sect, have you forgotten all about me?"

Shen Yifei smiled but didn't say anything, and simply pulled Sun Yiran into his arms.

When it comes to dealing with women, a thousand words are not as effective as one concrete action.

Fortunately, Elder Gu was far away from them, and Sun Yiran set up a soundproof barrier.

The airship had been flying for about two hours. Shen Yifei was holding Sun Yiran and was about to fall asleep when he suddenly felt the airship shake violently. He was thrown up from his chair and his head hit the roof of the cabin.

"What's going on?" Elder Gu's voice came from the control panel, both anxious and angry.

Shen Yifei leaned out the window and looked outside; the sight outside sent chills down his spine.

The airship was caught in a huge black net, which closed in from all directions, binding it tightly. Black smoke billowed from the net, and the airship's spiritual energy shield hissed and crackled as it corroded the smoke.

"What is it?" Sun Yiran's face turned pale.

Elder Gu stood up from the control panel, his face ashen, and shouted, "The spiritual energy shield can't hold anymore, prepare to abandon ship!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the flying boat's spiritual energy shield exploded with a "bang," and black smoke seeped in through the cracks in the window, choking people so much that they couldn't open their eyes.

Shen Yifei covered his mouth and nose, feeling that the black smoke had a sweet, fishy smell that made him dizzy.

"Hold your breath! The smoke is poisonous!" Elder Gu shouted, slamming open the cabin door and pushing Sun Yiran out.

Shen Yifei jumped out, and as soon as his feet left the ground, he felt a tightness around his waist, as if something was binding him.

Looking down, he saw a black rope emerge from the black smoke, coiling around his waist like a snake, tightening its grip.

"Elder Gu!" he shouted, but Elder Gu and Sun Yiran were fighting with several men in black and couldn't pay attention to him at all.

The rope tightened suddenly, pulling Shen Yifei deeper into the black smoke. The wind whistled in his ears. He reached out to touch the Cauldron of All Things, but the moment his fingers touched the rim, he was struck hard on the back of the head. Everything went black, and he knew nothing more.

When he woke up again, he was lying in a stone chamber.

The stone chamber was small, with dry grass on the floor that smelled musty. He lay on the grass, his hands and feet bound by black ropes, unable to move.

Shen Yifei tried to struggle, but the rope didn't budge. He then tried to circulate his spiritual energy, only to find that the energy in his dantian seemed to be sealed by something, and he couldn't mobilize it no matter what he did.

"Damn it," he cursed, lying back down on the hay and staring blankly at the ceiling of the stone chamber.

What the hell is going on? He was robbed right after leaving the Qingyun Sect, and he doesn't even know what happened to Elder Gu and Sun Yiran. The people who robbed him used black nets, black smoke, and black ropes; they clearly weren't from any respectable sect.

Just as they were pondering this, the door to the stone chamber opened.

Two people walked in through the door. A man and a woman. The man was in his forties, wearing a black robe with a blood-red skull embroidered on his chest. The woman was young, in her early twenties, and quite attractive.

"Awake?" The man squatted down, pinched Shen Yifei's chin and turned it from side to side. "Hmm, delicate skin and tender flesh, he should be good at refining pills."

Shen Yifei's heart sank. The refined pills? They're going to use him to refine pills?

"Who are you people?"

"The Blood Soul Cult." The man released his grip and stood up. "Have you heard of it?"

Never heard of it. But just from the name, it doesn't sound like anything good.

"Why are you arresting me?"

"You are Shen Yifei, a disciple of the Hehuan Sect. You are skilled in alchemy and can refine top-grade pills. The medicinal fragrance emanating from you has an aphrodisiac effect on female cultivators; those who have cultivated with you experience a surge in their cultivation levels."

Shen Yifei didn't reply. These things were already widely discussed in the Hehuan Sect and Qingyun Sect, so it wasn't surprising that they got out and became known.

"Our leader said we'll take you back and have you refine pills for us. If you do well, you'll be rewarded. If you don't..." The man sneered, "If you don't do well, we'll refine you. You smell so strongly of medicine; the pills you refine will definitely be highly nourishing."

Shen Yifei is currently bound, his spiritual energy is sealed, and he can't touch the Cauldron of All Things. Struggling will only get him beaten up. It's better to go along with them for now and wait for an opportunity to escape.

"Fine, I'll refine pills for you. But you have to untie me first, how can I refine them if I'm tied up?"

The man stared at him for a moment, then drew a dagger from his waist and cut the ropes binding his feet, loosening the ropes binding his hands. Shen Yifei flexed his wrists, trying to circulate his spiritual energy, but he still couldn't get it moving.

"Don't bother." The man chuckled. "Anyone bound by the Spirit Sealing Rope won't be able to circulate their spiritual energy for three days. Just come with us obediently and don't try anything funny."

Shen Yifei stood up, and the woman walked over, took out a black cloth from her bosom and blindfolded him, then stuffed a pill into his mouth. The pill melted instantly in his mouth, and a spicy taste shot straight to his head.

"This is a 'heart-piercing pill' you're given. If you don't take the antidote in three days, you'll die from a ruptured heart and rotten lungs." The woman's voice was clear and crisp. "Don't even think about running away; you'll die anyway."

Shen Yifei was pushed outside by two people. His eyes were blindfolded, so he couldn't see the road and could only walk by feeling.

First there were stone steps, then flat ground, then more stone steps. Going up and down, turning left and right, it took about half an hour before we stopped.

"We've arrived." The man pulled off the blindfold.

Shen Yifei squinted to adjust his eyes to the light and then saw the scene before him clearly.

This is a huge underground palace. In the very center of the palace stands a three-zhang-tall alchemy furnace, its body covered with skulls, and the flames at the bottom of the furnace are black and roaring.

A person stood in front of the alchemy furnace, with his back to him, wearing a blood-red robe and with snow-white hair that reached his waist.

"Master, the person has been brought." The man bowed respectfully.

The man in the red robe turned around.

Shen Yifei's breath hitched when he saw that face.

The woman was extremely beautiful, but her eyes were blood red, and when she stared at him, he felt as if his soul was being sucked in.

"Are you Shen Yifei?" the woman asked.

"it's me."

"My name is Yin Wuxie, leader of the Blood Soul Sect." The woman walked up to him, reached out and pinched his chin, her blood-red eyes staring at his face for several seconds. "Hmm, the medicinal scent is indeed strong. I could smell it just by standing here."

She released her grip, turned around, walked to the alchemy furnace, and patted the furnace body.

"Do you know what this is?"

"Alchemy furnace".

"Yes, a pill furnace. But this isn't an ordinary pill furnace; it's called the 'Blood Furnace,' forged from the blood and flesh of nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine people." Yin Wuxie turned around, his blood-red eyes fixed on him. "Using it to refine pills produces pills ten times more potent than those from ordinary furnaces. But it has a drawback: it recognizes its master. Only when I refine the pills myself can they be produced. If someone else tries to refine them, the furnace fire won't ignite."

Shen Yifei didn't reply. This woman definitely wasn't telling him all this to show off.

"I've heard you can refine top-grade pills." Yin Wuxie walked back and stopped in front of him. "And you don't even need a pill furnace; you can refine top-grade pills with just any furnace. How did you train your pill refining skills?"

"Talent," Shen Yifei said honestly.

Yin Wuxie stared at him for several seconds, then suddenly laughed. That laugh shone brightly throughout the hall, but Shen Yifei felt a chill run down his spine.

"Talent? Fine, then let me see your talent." She winked at the man, "Take him to the alchemy room and give him the medicinal herbs. Within three days, refine one hundred top-grade Qi Gathering Pills. If you can't refine them, use them to refine Blood Pills."