Hidden treasure at the bottom of the pool, boundless wealth

Yue Qingyao could no longer maintain her composure, her voice filled with an irrepressible joy.

She had never imagined that Lin Yuan would succeed on the very first try!

You must know, just in case, she had prepared a full nine portions of Alchemy Materials in the Storage Pouch she gave Lin Yuan!

In her original expectations, even if the Sect's top alchemist were to take action, successfully refining two or three batches out of nine portions would be considered a stroke of immense luck.

Lin Yuan flicked his wrist, and the nirvana pill suspended in mid-air turned into a stream of light, flying towards Yue Qingyao.

Yue Qingyao hurriedly extended her hands, carefully cradling it in her palms.

The Medicinal Pill felt warm and smooth to the touch, like jade.

But when her gaze landed on the surface of the Medicinal Pill, her pupils suddenly constricted!

High Grade!

This was actually a genuine High Grade Medicinal Pill!

Yue Qingyao's heart skipped a beat. Her original, extravagant hope had merely been for a Low Grade nirvana pill capable of healing her injuries.

Yet Lin Yuan had actually skipped over the Medium Grade and refined a High Grade pill!

She knew very well what this meant.

If it were a Low Grade pill, she would have the confidence to recover from her injuries and use it to break through the Nascent Soul Bottleneck, but the chance of success would not exceed thirty percent.

But now, holding this High Grade pill, her confidence in breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage had soared from thirty percent to seventy percent!

This was almost a world of difference!

Yue Qingyao forcibly suppressed the wild joy and agitation in her heart, took a deep look at Lin Yuan, and said:

"There are still eight petals left on this yang returning lotus. This lotus is already fully mature; if we don't harvest it, the medicinal potency will slowly dissipate, wasting it in vain."

"If you refine all of them into pills, I will teach you the method of using this pill."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan's heart stirred, but his face remained as calm and composed as an ancient well, and he simply nodded slightly.

A nirvana pill, combined with the usage method, was equivalent to a life.

Who would complain about having too many trump cards for self-preservation?

In the time that followed, Lin Yuan continued to fire up the furnace for Alchemy.

Meanwhile, Yue Qingyao took care of Su Qinghan, who still had residual poison in her system, while also setting to work on dismantling the massive corpse of the Frost Bone Flood Dragon.

Several days later, when Lin Yuan finished refining the last High Grade nirvana pill, Yue Qingyao had also finished processing all the Materials.

She walked up to Lin Yuan and handed him a Storage Pouch.

"I have great use for the fifth-order Flood Dragon soul. The rest of the things on this Frost Bone Flood Dragon belong to you."

Lin Yuan scanned it with his Divine Sense.

The space inside the Storage Pouch was piled high with mountain-like Materials.

For a fifth-order Yao Beast, every part of its body was a treasure; its sharp claws and teeth could be used to refine offensive Magical Artifacts, its hide and reverse scales could refine defensive Magical Artifacts, and there was also the Dragon tendon.

Its blood could be used to draw Talismans, and even the most useless beast meat contained vast amounts of Spiritual Qi, which could strengthen the Physical Body when consumed.

Yue Qingyao giving these to him so generously was clearly because she valued Lin Yuan's abilities; she was intending to take Lin Yuan back to the Misty Immortal Sect to be a Dao Companion for her daughter.

Lin Yuan did not decline and calmly accepted the Storage Pouch filled with the Frost Bone Flood Dragon Materials.

Yue Qingyao's action was less of a reward and more of an investment, a gesture of goodwill.

"The seeds of this yang returning lotus are also rare spiritual objects in this world."

Yue Qingyao's voice sounded again; she spread her fair palms, and three translucent lotus seeds lay quietly in them.

The lotus seeds were only the size of a thumb, glistening white throughout, with faint streams of light slowly wandering across their surfaces.

A refreshing fragrance permeated the air, and just by catching a whiff of it, Lin Yuan felt his Divine Soul become clear.

"It can heal injuries to the Divine Soul. Three for each person; it is just right for us mother and daughter to divide."

Lin Yuan's gaze flickered slightly as he reached out to take them.

As his fingertips touched the lotus seeds, a gentle warmth seeped through his skin, feeling extremely comfortable.

After handing over the lotus seeds, Yue Qingyao's expression became incomparably solemn.

She took a glance at Su Qinghan, who was still sleeping in the distance, and then her gaze fell back onto Lin Yuan.

"Next, I will go into secluded meditation to heal my injuries."

"The medicinal potency of the nirvana pill is overbearing; once started, it cannot be interrupted. I leave this place to you."

Her voice carried not a hint of emotion.

"Act as my Protector."

"At the same time, take good care of Qinghan."

Deep in the depths of Lin Yuan's eyes, a glimmer of dark, sharp light flashed and vanished.

A Protector?

A captive acting as a Protector for someone from a hostile Sect?

This was by no means trust.

It was a carefully orchestrated test.

She was deliberately revealing a flaw to see what choice he would make when she was at her weakest.

Would he take the opportunity to attack, would he behave himself, or perhaps... did he have other schemes?

Countless thoughts flashed through Lin Yuan's mind like lightning, but his face showed nothing of it; instead, he revealed a gentle and humble smile.

"Senior, rest assured. This Junior will definitely do his utmost."

Yue Qingyao gave him a deep look and then nodded.

Without further words, she walked to a relatively flat and dry stone platform in the cave and sat down cross-legged.

She took out a High Grade nirvana pill.

As soon as the Medicinal Pill appeared, its rich vitality and majestic fire-attribute Spiritual Qi made the surrounding air become scorching and distorted.

She tilted her head back and swallowed the Medicinal Pill.

Boom!

A majestic, fiery-red light suddenly erupted from her body, dazzling and impossible to look at directly.

The Spiritual light then rapidly converged, weaving into a huge cocoon of flame that completely enveloped her figure.

On the surface of the cocoon, countless mysterious runes flickered and flowed, and the aura it emitted climbed steadily at an astonishing speed.

Lin Yuan could clearly perceive that the life aura inside the cocoon was recovering and strengthening in a terrifying manner.

He withdrew his gaze and walked over to sit beside Su Qinghan.

The young girl was still leaning against the cold stone wall, her face so pale it lacked a trace of color, her breath as weak as a candle flickering in the wind.

Seemingly sensing someone approaching, her long, slender eyelashes trembled violently, and she slowly opened her weary eyes.

"This time... thank you."

Her voice was very light, carrying a hint of weak hoarseness.

"If it weren't for you, we mother and daughter..."

Lin Yuan smiled indifferently and sat down cross-legged not far from her.

"We were already grasshoppers on the same rope; if I didn't fight with my life, the outcome would be the same."

Su Qinghan's lips curled into a bitter arc. She gasped for breath for a moment and then continued: "That yang returning lotus is a treasure from top to bottom. The petals are for Alchemy, the seeds are for nourishing the soul; both are rare and good things."

She paused, her gaze turning toward the pool of water that was still surging with milky-white radiance.

"But do you know that the lotus roots at the bottom of that pool, while not as precious as the first two, are also extraordinary."

"They are nourished year-round by the Mysterious Yin Qi and the Earth Vein Spiritual Liquid. If consumed raw, they can greatly temper the Physical Body; if consumed by an infant, it can make them immune to all diseases."

"My mother doesn't care for these lotus roots, and she has no use for them. You go retrieve them, and after we return to the Misty Immortal Sect together, if in the future we... we have children, we can..."

Lin Yuan smiled but did not answer.

Then he walked to the side of the pool, which was exuding misty Spiritual fog, leaped, and jumped into it with a splash.

The pool water was bone-chillingly cold, and a strange energy, intertwined with cold and scorching heat, frantically burrowed into his body through his pores.

This was exactly the so-called Mysterious Yin Qi, which was incomparably overbearing.

Lin Yuan immediately circulated his Spiritual Qi to protect his whole body, his feet stepping into the slippery mud at the bottom of the pool as he began to grope around.

The milky-white pool water severely obstructed his vision, and he could only rely on the sense of touch in his hands.

Soon, his fingertips touched a hard and smooth object.

His heart rejoiced, and he groped along the contours of the object; the muscles in his arms bulged, and he pulled with all his might!

A large section of snow-white lotus root, far thicker than his arm, was forcibly dragged out of the mud by him.

The lotus root was as crystalline as white jade, with wisps of black and white Qi visible to the naked eye swirling around its surface—this was the Mysterious Yin Qi, refined to the extreme.