The Lin's Patriarch is weird.

Azure Willow City:

In Lin Xuan’s private courtyard, medicinal fragrance was lingering in the crisp autumn air.

Lin Xuan slowly withdrew his spiritual qi from the alchemy furnace before him and the flames gradually died away.

Another batch of refinement was completed and two hundred pills floated out.

A gentle chill radiated from them, yet it carried no discomfort. Instead, the cold felt strangely soothing, as though it could quiet one’s mind with a single breath.

These were Everwinter Soul Calming Pills.

Winter was fast approaching and for cultivators, it was a season filled with both danger and opportunity.

Most spirit beasts entered hibernation during the coldest months, leaving vast stretches of the Yew Woods far less populated than usual.

Countless adventurers would seize the chance to venture deeper into the forest in search of spirit herbs and hidden treasures.

Naturally, the Everwinter Soul Calming Pill would become one of the most sought-after medicines during that time.

Not only could it keep the consumer’s body comfortably warm throughout the harsh winter, but as its name suggested, it also soothed the mind and stabilized the soul.

More peculiarly, each pill continuously emitted a gentle aura of cold that did not affect its owner in the slightest while subtly lowering the temperature around them.

Lin Zhaoyue raised a finger and one after another, the pills drifted into the air under the guidance of her spiritual qi before neatly entering a jade bottle floating beside her.

After sealing it, she inspected the bottle for a moment before lightly furrowing her brows.

"Papa, you’re improving."

She glanced at the still-warm alchemy furnace.

"I think it’s time we started refining with forty furnaces at once."

"Tsk, tsk."

Lin Xuan clicked his tongue and smiled.

"Who frowns when someone improves?"

Lin Zhaoyue ignored his question and let out a helpless sigh.

"There’s already five full bottles of pure-quality pills in this batch alone. If you keep this up, I’m not going to be able to sell all of them."

"Tsk."

Lin Xuan shook his head with a smile.

"Pure-quality pills are sought after everywhere. Why are you acting as though I’ve refined a batch of defective pills?"

Lin Zhaoyue let out another helpless sigh.

"But the lower-quality pills are exactly what I want, Father."

She gently rolled the jade bottle between her fingers.

"These pure-quality pills can only be afforded by cultivators from the major sects and powerful clans. I don’t want to sell them to those people and make them even stronger. I want to sell them to the loose cultivators. They’re the ones who need affordable pills the most."

Lin Xuan frowned.

Loose cultivators were those who belonged to no cultivation family or sect. Some had been banished from their former factions, while others had abandoned the righteous path altogether and gone rogue.

Before he could respond, he sensed someone standing at the entrance to his courtyard.

A family guard stood outside, not daring to step inside without permission.

"Stay here."

With those words, Lin Xuan rose from his seat and calmly walked toward the gate.

As soon as the guard saw him, he immediately bowed and then narrated everything that happened at the harbour.

With those words, Lin Xuan rose from his seat and calmly walked toward the gate.

As soon as the guard saw him, he immediately bowed and then narrated everything that had happened at the harbour.

Lin Xuan frowned after hearing the report.

Who gave these people the courage?

That was the first thought that crossed his mind.

The Lin family was after all, a bonafide rank 8 cultivation clan.

At present, there were only two Rank Seven cultivation families within the Loushi Kingdom.

One was the Shangguan Family.

However, they had personally approved the harbor’s construction. Obstructing it now would only make a mockery of their own authority, something a family of their stature would never do.

The other was the Hong Family.

Unlike the Shangguans, the Hong Family was based in Riverbend City on the kingdom’s eastern coast, more than a thousand li away from Azure Willow City.

Between the two cities lay Greenpeak City, Clearbrook City, and countless mountains and rivers, making direct contact between them exceedingly rare.

Moreover, after the downfall of the Xu Family, the Hong Family should have been just as occupied as the Shangguan Family, consolidating their influence and expanding into the territories the Xu Family had once controlled.

Lin Xuan saw no reason why they would expend effort sabotaging a newly promoted Rank Eight family that was, on paper, under the Shangguan Family’s sphere of influence.

Which left only one remaining suspect.

The Qin Family.

Lin Xuan let out a quiet sigh.

But then again, all they had asked for was the recipe for the Body Tempering Pills.

And compared to money, spirit stones, or other treasures, that was actually a manageable demand.

After all, the Body Tempering Pill was merely the lowest-grade medicinal pill.

With that thought in mind, Lin Xuan instructed the guard to inform Lu Changseng that he would personally bring the Body Tempering Pill recipe to the harbor and that construction should resume immediately.

After sending the guard away, Lin Xuan returned to the courtyard.

By the time he came back, Lin Zhaoyue had somehow already cleaned the pill cauldron spotless and neatly arranged another twenty sets of medicinal herbs beside it.

This batch was for Blood Coagulation Pills.

Seeing him return, she pointed toward the prepared herbs.

"Father, these herbs should be enough to refine twenty batches of Grade Two Blood Coagulation Pills."

In the meantime, somewhere far away from Azure Willow City, a young girl slowly opened her eyes.

Confusion flashed across her face as she realized every wound on her body had completely healed.

"Oh, you’re finally awake."

A soft, feminine voice drifted through the room making the young girl turned toward the speaker and froze.

The woman before her possessed breathtaking beauty.

Every smile and every movement carried an irresistible charm, so captivating that she resembled a fox spirit who had stepped straight out of ancient legends.