Squeeze dry? No, it's about maxing out attribute points.

Upon hearing Lin Yuan's words, the blood drained from Junior Sister Zhou's face.

Being used as a human cauldron for Dual Cultivation harvesting meant that her hard-earned Cultivation would become someone else's wedding gown; the best outcome would be barely surviving with her life.

"Th-then you... be gentle..."

"Fine, lie down, leave the rest to me!"

A day and a night later.

In the dim cave, the campfire crackled, its orange-red light reflecting off the cave walls.

Lin Yuan lay on the ground in a spread-eagled position, a thick black robe spread beneath him.

Junior Sister Zhou curled up beside him, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion and doubt.

The pain she had anticipated—being forcibly harvested, losing her mana, and having her vital essence dissipate—had not come to pass.

"You..." She finally could not help but speak, her voice hoarse.

Lin Yuan slowly opened his eyes, and no emotion could be seen in his murky, old eyes.

"This old man has never Cultivated that kind of Yin-harvesting and Yang-replenishing Cultivation Technique; this was merely pure Dual Cultivation!"

Junior Sister Zhou was suddenly stunned.

She stared blankly at Lin Yuan, her mind a complete blank.

If she was not being used as a human cauldron, then her Cultivation would not be drained.

"Th-then... do you mean that my Cultivation... can be preserved?"

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Really?"

A surge of wild joy erupted in Junior Sister Zhou's eyes, and immediately, two lines of clear tears uncontrollably slid down her cheeks.

She wept with joy: "Thank you... thank you..."

Lin Yuan watched her tear-streaked face, his expression unchanging in the slightest.

"However, wanting to preserve your Cultivation isn't that simple."

His voice was like a basin of cold water, extinguishing the flame in Junior Sister Zhou's heart.

"What do you want?"

"The heavenly heart jade marrow. The injuries on your body must be because you were fighting to snatch this item, right?" Lin Yuan said indifferently.

Junior Sister Zhou felt a chill in her heart and did not speak, which was considered a tacit admission.

She had indeed been hunting that Cultivator from the Yin Corpse Sect to snatch this heavenly heart jade marrow, and she had been severely injured by the opponent's self-detonation before death.

She struggled to sit up, rummaged through her disheveled clothes to find her Storage Pouch, and without the slightest hesitation, threw it directly to Lin Yuan.

"Inside is the heavenly heart jade marrow, as well as all my possessions."

"I only ask... that you spare my life."

Lin Yuan took the Storage Pouch and probed it with his Divine Sense.

A piece of jade marrow, the size of a fist, crystal clear and emitting a soft spiritual light, was lying quietly inside.

This heavenly heart jade marrow was not only of extremely high quality but also quite large.

If consumed during Foundation Establishment, this amount would be enough for at least four or five people to use.

Besides the heavenly heart jade marrow, there were over two thousand Spirit Stones in the Storage Pouch, as well as some Medicinal Pills, Jade Bottles, and a few good-quality Magical Artifacts.

She was worthy of being an elite Disciple of the Misty Immortal Sect; her wealth was indeed substantial.

Lin Yuan put away the Storage Pouch with satisfaction.

"Rest assured, this old man keeps his word; I will spare your life."

"However, not right now."

Junior Sister Zhou's heart, which had just settled, instantly jumped back into her throat.

"What else do you want to do?"

"Naturally, continue doing what we haven't finished..."

Seven days later.

Inside the cave.

Lin Yuan exhaled a long breath of stale air.

The small golden characters at the bottom of his vision blurred and then refreshed.

【Cultivation: Ninth Layer of Qi Refining: 10/900 (addable points)】

【Seventh-Grade Alchemist: 4/300 (addable points)】

【Second-Grade Fire Control Art: 3/200 (addable points); Illusion Transformation Art (Perfection)】

【Available attribute points: 500】

A trace of irrepressible joy flashed in Lin Yuan's eyes.

He had originally had less than two hundred attribute points left.

In seven days, he and this Junior Sister Zhou, or rather Zhou Waner, had cultivated face-to-face, forcibly farming over three hundred attribute points.

He turned his head to look at Zhou Waner in the corner.

At this moment, her face was pale, and her aura was withered, as if she had just suffered a major illness.

Her gaze toward Lin Yuan was filled with deep fear and confusion.

She even suspected that this old Devil Head had never seen a woman before.

These seven days were spent either resting or cultivating face-to-face.

Although this process had not damaged her Cultivation, the mental exhaustion had left her nearly on the verge of collapse.

Lin Yuan stood up, took out Zhou Waner's Storage Pouch, and retrieved the heavenly heart jade marrow from inside.

"You need this item for Foundation Establishment?" Lin Yuan said.

Zhou Waner nodded.

Lin Yuan cut off a small piece and handed it to her, saying: "A day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of grace; this counts as your compensation for the hard work."

As he spoke, he carefully inspected the Storage Pouch. Besides some Spirit Stones, there was nothing in it that attracted him, so he simply tossed the Storage Pouch back to her.

"Alright, you can go."

As he spoke, he formed a hand Seal and tapped a few times in the air at several major acupuncture points on the woman's body, releasing the Seal he had placed.

"R-really?"

Junior Sister Zhou took the Storage Pouch and felt the mana flowing in her body again, her face filled with disbelief.

Lin Yuan nodded.

In this woman's Sea of Consciousness, he had long since planted the God-Sealing Technique.

As long as he willed it, no matter how far apart they were, he could instantly detonate the Restriction and leave her Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

Therefore, he was not at all worried that the other party would retaliate.

Moreover, killing her would bring him no benefits.

Junior Sister Zhou dared not stay for another moment; she hurriedly tidied her clothes, clutching the Storage Pouch tightly.

Enduring the pain, she supported herself against the cave wall and stumbled out.

Immediately, a wretched Escape Light disappeared into the horizon like a fleeing bird.

Lin Yuan watched her leave and calculated the time; this trip had already taken nearly half a month.

It was time to return.

If he truly wanted to go to that Demon Falling Valley, he still needed to make some preparations in advance; time was tight.

Subsequently, Lin Yuan's gaze refocused on the small golden characters at the bottom of his vision.

He added all five hundred newly acquired attribute points to the Fire Control Technique and Alchemy.

Hum!

The small golden characters before his eyes instantly refreshed.

【Cultivation: Ninth Layer of Qi Refining: 10/900 (addable points)】

【Sixth-Grade Alchemist: 0/400 (addable points)】

【Third-Grade Fire Control Technique: 0/300 (addable points); Illusion Transformation Art (Perfection)】

【Available attribute points: 7】

Almost the moment the panel refreshed, an immensely vast torrent of information surged into Lin Yuan's mind.

Countless exquisite methods regarding fire control, countless refining techniques and pharmacological changes for Sixth-Grade Medicinal Pills, were deeply imprinted into his Divine Soul, as if he had personally experienced thousands of practices.

His understanding of flames was instantly elevated to a completely new level.

The Alchemist Rank and the Fire Control Technique Rank were indeed complementary.

Lin Yuan understood this in his heart.

If he only had the knowledge of a Sixth-Grade Alchemist but his Fire Control Technique could not keep up, wanting to refine those high-grade Medicinal Pills would be no different from a fool's dream; blowing up the furnace would be the only outcome.

More importantly, he had just obtained the Earth Core Nether Fire.

To truly unleash the power of this heaven and earth exotic fire, he had to have a Fire Control Technique of the corresponding Rank to control it.

Now that the Fire Control Technique had advanced to the third Rank, he could finally be considered qualified to truly control the Earth Core Nether Fire.

This was the real purpose for which Lin Yuan had gone to great lengths to spare Junior Sister Zhou's life.

Feeling the brand-new power surging within his body, Lin Yuan did not linger, released the black wood shuttle, transformed into an inconspicuous black light, and sped off toward the direction of the Yin Corpse Sect.