Bone Saint inheritance.
Luo Gui wanted to try his luck badly. He didn't even dare to dream of obtaining the true inheritance—if he could just pick up anything inside, it would be enough to benefit him for a lifetime.
That was the advantage of following a true powerhouse.
The big shot casually pours you a sip of "soup," and your strength skyrockets faster than ten or twenty years of grinding on your own.
"I've been to the Upper Riverlands a few times," Luo Gui said with a light cough, looking calm and steady. "If you don't mind, I can lead the way."
He looked almost like a warmhearted old man eager to help.
With Luo Gui's Moon Wheel Realm cultivation and his high-grade Fifth-Rank alchemy skills, even in the Upper Riverlands he counted as valuable talent.
Not top-tier, but still someone many forces would respect and invite.
So he had been to a fair number of places in the Upper Riverlands.
But in the vast Upper Riverlands, there still wasn't anyone he could reliably approach who could refine a Mystic Heart Meridian-Opening Pill.
Maybe such people existed—but Luo Gui couldn't reach that level.
Luckily, he met Lin Ye.
Otherwise, he truly wouldn't know what to do next.
"Won't that be too much trouble for you?" Lin Ye glanced at him.
"Not at all," Luo Gui said righteously. "Helping others brings joy. Don't worry—this old set of bones can still cross mountains and rivers."
"Alright," Lin Ye nodded.
"But before we leave, I need to send Luo Huai somewhere," Luo Gui added. "Only after I settle him can I feel at ease."
If he brought the kid along, he'd only become a burden.
Once they reached the Upper Riverlands, even Moon Wheel cultivators were nothing more than errand runners at that level.
The danger was too high.
In the Central Riverlands, they could still swagger a little.
In the Upper Riverlands, they had no real advantage.
"Fine. No rush," Lin Ye said. "I also need to refine some pills."
He had gathered many herbs—he needed to turn them into actual elixirs.
And Seventh-Rank pills would greatly increase his strength.
"Good. Then we'll set out soon," Luo Gui said, worried about delay.
Luo Huai's meridian issue was resolved—what he needed now was stable cultivation, not following Luo Gui around in chaos.
In the future, Luo Huai would need enormous resources to cultivate.
So Luo Gui had to start preparing early.
It really was exhausting.
After years of roaming the world, Luo Gui had a few old friends he trusted.
If he handed Luo Huai over to them, he could relax.
"I…" Xia Wei hesitated, her eyes bright with expectation.
"You should come too," Lin Ye said. "You're the one who decoded the map—you'll understand it best."
Xia Wei's face lit up instantly.
"I'll work hard on my cultivation too!" she said firmly.
Then she remembered something.
"In a few days, my Xia Clan caravan will arrive in Thousand Spirit City. Do you have any message you want sent back to your sect?"
After all, Lin Ye was the Sect Master of the Wind-Thunder Mystic Sect. He should still care about it—even far away.
Lin Ye paused.
"Oh. Right. That."
"I'll send them some pills."
He had almost forgotten.
He still had a sect under him.
Refining some Fourth- or Fifth-Rank pills wasn't a big deal.
Even if he no longer relied much on the Wind-Thunder Mystic Sect, Lin Ye was the type who kept his word.
If he promised something, he would do it.
He thought for a moment, then said, "If I refine everything myself, I won't have time. Go tell the Sect Master of the Hundred Spirit Medicine Sect to come see me."
Xia Wei froze.
"Ah? Ask… their sect master… to come?"
The Hundred Spirit Medicine Sect master had pride too. How could he just come knocking because of one sentence from Lin Ye—or her?
Lin Ye waved a hand. "Forget it. There's spirit stones in here—go purchase pills instead."
He had harvested countless storage rings from Moon Wheel experts, plus the spirit stones the Black Dragon Sect had delivered earlier.
He lacked many things, but not money.
The Wind-Thunder Mystic Sect could mine for ten or twenty years and never produce that much.
"O-okay!" Xia Wei nodded quickly.
If you paid enough, people would be happy.
No one fought spirit stones.
The Hundred Spirit Medicine Sect was practically half alchemists. They produced many pills—but funding alchemists burned money at a frightening rate.
The amount Lin Ye handed over…
At minimum, six or seven billion spirit stones.
And a huge portion were higher-grade spirit crystals.
One spirit crystal equaled ten thousand spirit stones.
That meant hundreds of thousands of spirit crystals.
The sheer scale left Xia Wei dazed.
In the past, the auction house often had cash-flow crises—big investments always carried unexpected risks.
Sometimes they only needed a few hundred thousand spirit stones to solve an emergency, yet it could still drive them frantic.
Now, the numbers she handled were being counted in billions.
Even Xia Wei started feeling numb.
Purchasing pills was her specialty, so she took the job.
Meanwhile, Lin Ye prepared to refine a Seventh-Rank pill.
"Seventh-Rank pill… Sun Palace Pill."
Refining a Seventh-Rank pill was still a challenge even for him.
But as he reviewed the recipe, he realized he was missing one critical ingredient—
Seventh-rank ferocious beast essence blood.
"We're still short… seventh-rank beast essence blood," Lin Ye muttered, rubbing his forehead.
For an alchemist, that ingredient was notoriously hard to get.
A seventh-rank ferocious beast was equivalent to the Solar Radiance Realm.
Not many could defeat such a creature.
Even if you could obtain it, it would be priced beyond imagination—usually traded internally, not sold openly.
Lin Ye called out to Xia Wei, who was about to leave.
"While you're at it, ask around. If anyone sells seventh-rank ferocious beast essence blood, buy some. If not, we'll postpone."
The moment Xia Wei heard "seventh-rank ferocious beast essence blood," her head buzzed.
That was a seventh-rank beast!
Who could even obtain that?
Luckily, Lin Ye didn't force her. Otherwise, she'd have been doomed.
Lin Ye continued cultivating in the courtyard until dusk.
When Xia Wei returned from the Hundred Spirit Medicine Sect branch hall, her face was bright with excitement.
"Good news!" she said in one breath, not wasting time—she knew Lin Ye hated pointless delays.
"The Hundred Spirit Medicine Sect master heard we're buying pills in bulk. He decided to visit personally."
"And… he'll bring seventh-rank ferocious beast essence blood!"
"Oh. Good," Lin Ye replied calmly.
Only the essence blood counted as real good news.
As for the Hundred Spirit Medicine Sect master—if he didn't come, it was his own loss. Lin Ye didn't care.
There were countless mediocre alchemists in the world.
True high-level ones were rare.
Lin Ye was giving them an opportunity—if they seized it, the Hundred Spirit Medicine Sect's future could rise higher.
Xia Wei hesitated, then added, "Um… nothing else. I picked up some clothing and supplies on the way. These clothes are for you."
Lin Ye still wore simple garments.
Experts might not care about appearance, but comfortable clothing mattered.
And with constant fights, clothes ripped easily. In the wilderness, replacing them wasn't simple.
Xia Wei placed the folded clothes on the table. Her heart thumped wildly.
She turned away fast, not daring to linger.
This was the kind of thing a wife—or someone in an intimate relationship—would do.
She didn't even know why she did it.
Suddenly, she felt bold.
"Wait."
Lin Ye's voice stopped her.
Xia Wei's heart tightened. She gripped the corner of her clothes nervously, like someone caught doing something wrong.
"Your cultivation is too weak," Lin Ye said calmly. "Refine these pills as soon as possible."
He casually tossed her a porcelain bottle.
They were cultivation-assisting pills.
Whenever Lin Ye had spare time, he refined pills.
Some were made on the ship over the last few days.
Alchemy was like skill with a blade—the more you did it, the sharper you became.
Even if a pill was "simple," repeated refinement could spark new insight.
There was no end to learning.
Lin Ye didn't want his alchemy to stop forever at Ninth Rank.
If higher realms existed, he would climb them.
"O-okay. I'll work hard," Xia Wei said, catching the bottle.
Relief washed through her—
And a faint, quiet disappointment.
Again, it was cultivation.
Did Lin Ye's mind contain nothing but cultivation?
Back in her courtyard, Xia Wei opened the bottle.
Then froze.
"S-sixth-rank pills?!"