Shen Yifei turned his finger over and over, examining it several times. It was bare, with nothing on it. Yet he could faintly sense that something was wrapped around his thumb, like an invisible band.
At the mere thought, a dark, murky space suddenly appeared before his eyes.
This space was immeasurably larger than the Storage Pouch he had seen earlier—at least the size of three or four rooms. It was empty inside, with only a few jade boxes and two books piled in the corner.
With another thought from Shen Yifei, a jade box appeared in his hand.
He opened it to find a lingzhi, purplish-red and palm-sized. He had worked in the Alchemy Room for three years and had seen plenty of good things. This was at least a century-old Purple Lingzhi—worth several hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones if sold outside.
He took out the remaining jade boxes as well, five in total. Besides the Purple Lingzhi, there were two He Shou Wu—one had taken on a human form, complete with roots and tendrils, looking like a little doll; one Blood Ginseng; and the last was Ambergris.
Shen Yifei's heart could no longer be described as wildly overjoyed. If all these Medicinal Herbs were converted into Spirit Stones, he would be the richest Menial in the entire Hehuan Sect!
He put the jade boxes back into the ring and took out the two books.
One was the 《Crimson Flame Fist Art》, and the other was the 《Yin-Yang Essence Harvesting Technique》.
Shen Yifei opened the 《Yin-Yang Essence Harvesting Technique》. The first page bore eight large characters: Harvest Yang to Supplement Yin, Harvest Yin to Supplement Yang. After that, the following pages were filled with illustrations of naked men and women engaged in Dual Cultivation, accompanied by explanatory text.
Shen Yifei only half understood, and flipped a few more pages. They all discussed how to harvest from the other party, how to circulate Spiritual Energy, and how to avoid getting dragged in oneself.
He thought of what had happened during the day. He knew nothing at all, yet he had somehow brought that vicious Senior Sister to her knees. If he actually learned these methods, wouldn't that be incredible?
He immediately sat cross-legged among the firewood and began mimicking the diagrams.
He trained all night. Just before dawn, he suddenly felt a warmth in his lower abdomen, and that "little fish" abruptly expanded, transforming into a warm current that surged through his entire body. His whole body crackled and popped, and even the crevices of his bones felt blissfully comfortable.
He stood up and casually waved his hand. With a "clatter," the pile of firewood beside him flew straight out and smashed against the wall, scattering everywhere.
Shen Yifei looked down at his own hand, stunned.
This strength was considerably greater than yesterday's.
As he stood there dazed, a knock came at the door.
"Shen Yifei! Up yet? Time to work!"
It was the senior brother of the Alchemy Room, surnamed Zhou, at the Qi Refining Stage. On ordinary days, he ordered the Menials around with a domineering attitude.
Shen Yifei hurriedly responded, put everything into the ring, and opened the door.
Senior Brother Zhou stood at the doorway, frowning as he glanced inside. "What were you doing last night? You've made a mess of everything."
"N-nothing... I didn't do anything. I just sleep restlessly and kicked over a few piles of firewood."
"Alright, alright, hurry up and tidy things. There's work today. Senior Sister Ye from the Inner Sect wants to refine a batch of pills, and she specifically asked for you to assist."
Shen Yifei's heart skipped a beat. He quickly asked, "Senior Brother Zhou, which Senior Sister Ye?"
"Who else could it be? Ye Hongling, Senior Sister Ye!"
"What are you standing there for? Go!" Senior Brother Zhou kicked him.
Shen Yifei braced himself and followed Senior Brother Zhou toward the Alchemy Room.
His heart was pounding. That woman had been tormented by him like that yesterday, and today she specifically asked for him—wasn't she likely settling scores after the fact?
Entering the Alchemy Room, he indeed saw Ye Hongling standing before the Pill Furnace.
She had changed clothes, wearing a lake-green long dress with a tightly cinched waist, standing there like a fresh water scallion. Seeing Shen Yifei enter, she raised her eyelids slightly, her face betraying no expression.
"Senior Brother Zhou, I'm borrowing this person. He'll be with me for today's work."
"Yes, yes, yes. Senior Sister Ye, use him as you please." Senior Brother Zhou nodded and bowed, then shot Shen Yifei a glare. "Serve Senior Sister Ye well, you hear me?"
Shen Yifei nodded and followed Ye Hongling out of the Alchemy Room.
The two walked one behind the other along the mountain path, neither speaking.
When they reached a secluded spot, Ye Hongling suddenly stopped and turned to look at him.
Shen Yifei tensed up and took a step back.
"Senior Sister..."
"What did you do last night?" Ye Hongling stared at him, her eyes red, as though she hadn't slept all night.
"N-nothing... I didn't do anything. I was sleeping."
"I'm asking what you did to me." Ye Hongling's voice was soft and weak, lacking strength. "Do you know that my Cultivation has fallen to the Qi Refining Stage?!"
Shen Yifei had no idea what the Qi Refining Stage was, but judging by Ye Hongling's appearance, it seemed quite serious.
"Then... then what should we do?"
"What should we do? You're asking me what should we do?" Ye Hongling was so angry she ground her teeth. "It took me ten years of cultivation to reach Foundation Establishment, and in one night you dragged me back to the Qi Refining Stage. What do you think we should do?"
Shen Yifei didn't know what to say, so he could only lower his head and listen to her scold him.
After scolding him for a few sentences, Ye Hongling suddenly stopped and stared at him, sizing him up from head to toe.
"Today you're coming back with me. I've called Senior Sister Zhao Xin. The two of us are going to study you together!"
When Shen Yifei heard that Ye Hongling had even brought in help, he was so frightened he turned to run, but Ye Hongling grabbed him.
Actually, his current Cultivation was just a tiny bit higher than Ye Hongling's. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to use Spiritual Energy, so he could only let Ye Hongling drag him, stumbling all the way toward the Inner Courtyard.
Soon, Ye Hongling stopped in front of a small courtyard, pushed open the door, and glanced back at him.
"Go in."
Shen Yifei braced himself and stepped into the courtyard.
The courtyard wasn't large. A few stalks of bamboo were planted there, and stone tables and stools were arranged in the corner. The main house's door was open, and a woman's voice drifted out from inside.
"Hongling, did you bring the person?"
"Brought him."
Ye Hongling led Shen Yifei into the house.
A woman sat inside, appearing to be in her early twenties, wearing a white long dress. Her looks were even more seductive than Ye Hongling's.
She was holding a teacup and drinking tea. Seeing Shen Yifei enter, she looked him up and down, glancing at his clothes.
"Him? A Menial?"
"Senior Sister Zhao, don't judge him by his low status. He..." Ye Hongling bit her lip. "He harvested me."
Zhao Xin's teacup paused mid-air. She raised her eyes to look at Ye Hongling.
"What did you say?"
"I said, he harvested me." Ye Hongling's face flushed bright red. "Yesterday I was originally going to harvest that one surnamed Liu, but this brat was peeping from outside. I intended to deal with him too, but who knew... who knew that in the end I'd be the one harvested by him."
Zhao Xin set down the teacup, stood up, walked over to Shen Yifei, and circled him twice.
Shen Yifei felt his hair stand on end under her gaze. He lowered his head and didn't dare move.
"Take off your clothes."
Shen Yifei's body went rigid. He thought, It's over. They really did bring in help to kill me!
But then he reconsidered. Ye Hongling's words just now had confirmed that he had reverse-harvested her, proving he had this hidden strength. Plus, last night he had cultivated the Essence Harvesting Technique...
At that thought, he nimbly stripped off all his clothes.
Zhao Xin looked at the bare Shen Yifei, her eyes gleaming with interest. "Not a bad foundation. But I don't believe a Menial could harvest you! How did he harvest you?"
Ye Hongling hemmed and hawed, recounting the whole matter. When she got to the part about collapsing on the ground and being unable to get up, her voice grew softer and softer.
"Three years of eating Medicine Dregs, and it produced a freak? Today I'd like to try out this freak of yours!"