Lin Laogou's cunning and shrewdness

Time flowed slowly.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day the Demon Falling Valley was about to close.

These past few days, aside from resting, Lin Yuan spent his time cultivating diligently face-to-face with Lan Caier and Ji Hanyou.

Before the Demon Falling Valley closed, he led the three women out of this desolate land.

"Master, what should I do if I miss you?"

Standing outside the valley, Ji Hanyou's beautiful eyes were filled with reluctance and affection, completely lacking the coldness of a princess.

Lin Yuan had not expected the effect of the Nether Soul Slave Seal to be so overbearing.

"You should go back and be your princess in peace."

Lin Yuan's voice was calm.

"In the future, I will naturally go and retrieve the Profound Fiend Ice Flame, and I will contact you then."

Ji Hanyou nodded heavily, gazed deeply at Lin Yuan twice more, and only then controlled her Escape Light, reluctantly departing.

"You should leave too."

Lin Yuan looked toward Lan Caier.

A hint of lingering affection flashed in Lan Caier's eyes, but she said nothing, merely threw Lin Yuan a flirtatious glance before controlling her Escape Light and dashing away with unrestrained ease.

"Let's return to the Sect's senluo bone boat too," Xue Linglong said.

Lin Yuan shook his head.

"You go back first. After the senluo bone boat flies ten thousand miles, find Mu Wanqing and tell her to stop the bone boat and wait for me."

Although Xue Linglong was confused, she did not ask further, just nodded seriously, and then also controlled her Escape Light to leave.

Lin Yuan stood deep within the dense forest, his aura merging seamlessly with the withered trees.

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the layers of branches and leaves to look at the massive bone boat slowly sailing across the sky.

Just then, Lin Yuan's pupils slightly contracted.

A stunningly beautiful figure appeared without warning right in front of the bone boat, blocking its path.

She floated silently, yet she seemed to be the center of the entire world.

A terrifying pressure, like an invisible raging tide, spread out from within her body, sweeping across the wilderness. The air twisted, Spiritual Qi wailed, and the forest below was pressed down, falling into complete silence.

Even across such a great distance, Lin Yuan could still feel the terrifying Nascent Soul Stage pressure emanating from Yue Qingyao.

A cold arc curved up at the corner of Lin Yuan's mouth.

"Just as I predicted, Yue Qingyao really came looking for me. Fortunately, I was prepared..."

Lin Yuan murmured, no longer lingering for a moment. He concealed all his aura, and his figure transformed into an inconspicuous streak of light, flying away.

The speed of the light feather boat was far inferior to the senluo bone boat, but it excelled in stealth.

Lin Yuan did not look back, flying ten thousand miles in one breath before finding a barren hilltop to land.

The Illusion Transformation Art activated.

Cracking sounds of bone dislocation came from within his body, and his figure and appearance rapidly changed within a few breaths.

Moments later, the Yin Corpse Sect elder whose Lifespan was nearing its end disappeared, replaced by an ordinary-looking middle-aged man whose aura was completely concealed.

He sat down cross-legged, waiting quietly.

A short half-day quietly passed.

At the edge of the sky, a barely perceptible spot of light finally appeared.

The spot of light moved from far to near, rapidly enlarging, eventually transforming into the massive senluo bone boat, which slowly hovered.

Lin Yuan leaped, silently landing on the deck of the bone boat.

Mu Wanqing and Xue Linglong were already waiting. Seeing him, they led Lin Yuan into the private room where he had stayed last time.

Mu Wanqing leaned against the soft couch, her beautiful eyes assessing Lin Yuan with interest. Her red lips parted slightly, her tone teasing.

"Fellow Daoist Sun, what excellent methods you possess."

"I am just very curious, how exactly did you manage to provoke such a terrifying existence?"

The turn of events was exactly as Lin Yuan had predicted.

Yue Qingyao had boarded the senluo bone boat, but she had not asked for anyone by name. She must have simply used her Divine Sense to scan the entire bone boat inside and out several times; unable to find the person, she could only leave.

Lin Yuan smiled faintly.

He certainly couldn't say that he had not only provoked the other party but had also slept with this lofty Nascent Soul True Monarch.

If this news got out, Yue Qingyao, who dared to trespass alone into the Yin Corpse Sect's mountain gate when she was only at Core Formation, would likely break directly into the Yin Corpse Sect to take his life now that she was a Nascent Soul.

"This matter... involves some misunderstandings. It's better not to mention it."

He changed the subject, getting straight to the point.

"I wonder if there are any surplus purple firmament ape heart flowers and netherworld grass among the Spiritual Materials acquired this time?"

Mu Wanqing sat up straight and nodded.

"The acquired quantity of both Spiritual Materials is quite considerable. I can spare two stalks of each to sell to Fellow Daoist Sun."

She paused, her expression turning serious.

"However, these Spiritual Materials are too important to the Sect, so I have an additional condition."

"Please speak," Lin Yuan replied concisely.

"If Fellow Daoist Sun uses these Materials to refine foundation establishment pills, any surplus must be sold to me first."

"That's easy to arrange." Lin Yuan nodded.

"In that case, these four Spirit Medicines will be sold to you at a price of five thousand Spirit Stones per stalk. That totals twenty thousand Spirit Stones."

Lin Yuan currently had no spare Spirit Stones on him.

The savings he had accumulated earlier had already been exhausted when purchasing the Substitute Puppet.

He pondered briefly, then asked, "I wonder if I can use Magical Artifacts as collateral?"

"Naturally." A hint of shrewdness flashed in Mu Wanqing's eyes. "However, I won't accept ordinary trash."

Lin Yuan said no more and handed over a Storage Pouch.

Inside were the spoils he had collected after killing Cultivators from the Hundred Beasts Mountain, Five Poisons Sect, and other groups in the Demon Falling Valley this time.

Among them were many supreme grade Magical Artifacts, whose value far exceeded twenty thousand Spirit Stones.

Mu Wanqing took the Storage Pouch, and as her Divine Sense probed inside, her previously casual expression instantly froze. Then, a look of satisfied amusement spread across her face.

"If these Magical Artifacts were taken to the market for sale, their value would be far more than twenty thousand Spirit Stones. It seems I've taken advantage of you."

Both parties were delighted with this transaction.

Mu Wanqing put away the Storage Pouch, and a complex emotion suddenly appeared in her beautiful eyes. She hesitated for a moment, lowering her voice slightly.

"When you return, please help me ask that Alchemy Great Master about refining the soul nurturing pill..."

An unnatural blush appeared on her cheeks, and her gaze was evasive.

"That... I have thought about the matter of the pill guide. As long as the soul nurturing pill can be successfully refined, I am willing... to be... the pill guide."

Before coming to the Demon Falling Valley, Mu Wanqing had asked Lin Yuan for help in refining the soul nurturing pill, which could restore damage to the Divine Soul.

It was just that at the time, Lin Yuan's Alchemy grade was still insufficient, so in order to legitimately cultivate diligently face-to-face with her to gain attribute points, he had fabricated a claim that a special Physique was required as the pill guide.

He hadn't expected Mu Wanqing to actually agree.

"Alright."

Lin Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he calmly accepted.

"After returning to the Sect, I will relay this matter to that Alchemist. If he agrees, he will notify you."

"Since that is the case, I shall take my leave first."

After seeing Mu Wanqing off, Lin Yuan lightly tapped the table with his fingertip.

A moment later, Xue Linglong pushed the door open and entered.

"Have you collected all the Materials for the supreme detachment pill you want me to refine?" Lin Yuan asked straightforwardly.

Xue Linglong's body stiffened slightly. Her already pale face now looked even whiter.

She stared blankly at Lin Yuan, the light in her eyes dimming.

"Do you really want... to help me refine this Medicinal Pill?"

A trace of confusion arose in Lin Yuan's heart.

Previously, she had desperately pleaded for help, wanting to escape the torment of her Cultivation Technique's backlash, so why was she acting like this now?

Could it be that she no longer wanted to escape that pathological dependence?