When husband and wife join forces, we can conquer the world!

An indescribable warm current and emotion surged through her entire body. He not only gave her the Opportunity to step into the Nascent Soul stage, but also paved the way for her future, intending to push her to the true pinnacle of power.

She looked at Lin Yuan, and in her clear and cold phoenix eyes, pride, tenderness, gratitude, love... all emotions intertwined, ultimately transforming into unparalleled determination.

"I understand."

She stood up, took a deep breath, and the aura around her subtly changed in an instant.

She was no longer the docile kitten in Lin Yuan's arms, but the decisive Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator who was about to take charge of a Sect!

She stepped out.

When the door of the quiet room opened, Gu Zheng, dressed in a plain skirt, stood gracefully on the steps. A chilling pressure belonging to a Nascent Soul Cultivator swept towards the Elders outside the door like an invisible tide.

The air in the courtyard seemed to solidify.

"Elders, why are you all gathered here making noise instead of cultivating in your Immortal Caves?"

Elder Wei, Granny Long, and others, who had been anxiously scratching their ears and cheeks, were all greatly shaken by this oppressive force. The fanaticism on their faces instantly turned into awe and fawning.

"We... we..." Elder Wei opened his mouth, momentarily unsure how to speak.

Granny Long's eyes darted around, and she quickly forced a flattering smile, bowing to Gu Zheng: "Greetings, Elder Gu! We heard that Elder Lin's Alchemy Dao is divine, so we specially came... specially came to pay our respects, hoping to seek an Immortal Opportunity."

"Immortal Opportunity?" A faint, enigmatic smile played on Gu Zheng's lips.

"Elder Lin is a Supreme Guest Elder of my Yin Corpse Sect, with a noble status. He has already expended immense effort refining Medicinal Pills for me and Senior Sister Su. For you all to come and ask him to open his golden furnace again, aren't you treating yourselves a bit too much like insiders?"

Elder Wei became anxious and quickly said: "Elder Gu misunderstands! We absolutely have no such intention! We are willing to offer our lifelong treasures, only asking that Elder Lin can..."

"Treasures?" Gu Zheng interrupted him, her voice suddenly turning cold. "Your treasures are your own. Where are the Sect's interests?"

She scanned everyone, her voice echoing throughout the courtyard.

"You are all pillars of our Sect, stuck at Core Formation Perfection for many years. Everyone in the Sect knows this. I can understand your desire to Breakthrough. I can also speak to Elder Lin about it."

Upon hearing this, all the Elders' eyes instantly burst forth with brilliant light, and their breathing became rapid.

"However!" Gu Zheng's tone shifted, becoming extremely serious, carrying an undeniable authority.

"I have one condition."

"You all must swear by your Heart Demons that from now on, within the Sect, there shall be no more divisions of factions! All resources will be allocated uniformly, and all commands will be executed uniformly! You, and the Family forces behind you, must put aside all selfish desires, unite as one, and prioritize the Sect's interests above all else!"

"If you can do this, I can seek Breakthrough Medicinal Pills. If not..."

Elder Wei, Granny Long, and the others all had shifting expressions, their eyes filled with struggle and deliberation.

This was no longer a simple request for Medicinal Pills, but a naked political transaction.

To surrender the factional forces they had managed for hundreds of years, to surrender their control over Family resources, in exchange for an Opportunity to step into the Nascent Soul stage. This was tantamount to them severing their own arms, completely binding their lives and fortunes to the Sect, or rather, to Gu Zheng, the future Sect Master.

"Elder Gu, you..." One-Eyed Elder, being the most fiery-tempered, couldn't help but want to retort.

"Hmm?" Gu Zheng merely glanced at him indifferently. The Sword Intent contained in her gaze instantly made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave, swallowing the rest of his words.

Granny Long gently tapped her bone staff on the ground and spoke in a hoarse voice: "Elder Gu, this matter is of great importance. We... need time to consider."

"Alright." Gu Zheng nodded decisively. "I'll give you three days. Give me your answer in three days."

After seeing off these heavy-hearted Core Formation Cultivators, she returned to the small courtyard.

Lin Yuan casually pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the cheek: "That 'striking the mountain to shake the tiger' tactic was beautifully played. Give them pressure, and give them hope; they'll surely fall into line."

Praised by him, a touch of charming blush couldn't help but appear on Gu Zheng's usually cold face.

Outside, she was a majestic Nascent Soul Cultivator. In front of him, she would always be the woman whose heart would race from a few teasing words.

"It's just..." Gu Zheng leaned into his arms, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, "The Spiritual Materials for the breaking nascent soul returning origin pill are too rare. There isn't much left in the Sect's treasury. Moreover, refining this Medicinal Pill requires a large amount of Spirit Stones as base Materials, three million per furnace..."

"Don't worry, your husband here has already thought of a solution."

"What solution?"

"Since the original version is too expensive, we'll give them a 'youth version'," Lin Yuan smiled like an old fox.

"Youth version?" Gu Zheng looked bewildered.

Lin Yuan explained with a smile: "I've studied the Pill Formula for the breaking nascent soul returning origin pill. Although it's exquisite, in pursuit of extreme medicinal efficacy, it uses too many redundant and expensive Spiritual Materials. Furthermore, the refining technique is overly complex, leading to huge Spirit Stone consumption."

He was now a First-Grade Alchemist, and his vision was already extraordinary. In his opinion, that Pill Formula was like a machine overloaded with top-tier parts but with a bloated structure; its performance was strong, but its cost-effectiveness was extremely low.

"I can improve the Pill Formula." Lin Yuan's eyes sparkled with wisdom and confidence. "I'll replace several of the rarest main medicinal ingredients with Spiritual Materials of similar medicinal properties that are easier to find. Then, I'll optimize the refining process. This way, the cost of refining one furnace can be reduced by at least two-thirds!"

"One million Spirit Stones for the Spiritual Materials will be more than enough for one furnace!"

Gu Zheng's phoenix eyes instantly widened, her face full of disbelief.

"But... wouldn't that greatly reduce the medicinal efficacy of the Medicinal Pill? What if they still can't Breakthrough after taking it, then..." Gu Zheng worried.

"Of course it will be discounted," Lin Yuan admitted frankly. "The medicinal efficacy is estimated to be only about half of the original. For ordinary Cultivators, the success rate would indeed be significantly reduced."

"However..." He changed the subject, a 'cunning merchant' smile appearing on his face. "Don't forget, besides being an Alchemist, what else is your husband?"

Gu Zheng was stunned, then suddenly realized.

"Formation Master!"

"Bingo!" Lin Yuan snapped his fingers, triumphantly saying: "If the Medicinal Pill isn't enough, the Formation will make up for it! I can specially design a 'Heavenly Cycle Spirit Gathering Grand Formation' for them. Once this Formation is set up, it can forcibly gather the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within a hundred-mile radius, forming a Spiritual Qi tide that pours directly into them!"

"The improved 'Breakthrough Pill', combined with the 'Heavenly Cycle Spirit Gathering Grand Formation', will be a two-pronged approach. Although the process will be a bit more painful, and the risk slightly higher than the original, the success rate of breaking through to Nascent Soul can be guaranteed to be at least seventy percent!"

"Seventy percent!" Gu Zheng was completely stunned. She stared blankly at Lin Yuan, feeling like her brain wasn't quite keeping up.

"Most importantly..." Lin Yuan leaned into her ear, lowering his voice, smiling like a fox that had stolen a chicken, "The improved Pill Formula and the method for setting up the Formation are both in my hands. In the future, how much each Medicinal Pill sells for, and how much 'hardship fee' we charge for each use of the Formation, won't that be entirely up to us?"

"This is simply a business that yields ten thousand times the profit!"

"The fat doesn't flow to outsiders. In the future, the entire Yin Corpse Sect, and even the entire Eastern Domain's Nascent Soul Cultivator production line, will be completely monopolized by us!"

Gu Zheng: "..."

She looked at Lin Yuan's money-grubbing, eagerly rubbing his hands together, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say.

It was clearly a shocking method capable of shaking the entire cultivation world, but coming from his mouth, how did it turn into an exclusive, monopolized, black-hearted business?

This man is truly... both lovable and impossible to deal with...