After refining the Celestial Fragrance Immortal Herb into a pink pill about the size of a dragon's eye, glowing with a soft pink aura and appearing crystal clear, Lin Yu lifted it with his True Qi and handed it to Ye Lingling.
Following her mother's instructions, Ye Lingling took the pill and swallowed it in one gulp. She then sat cross-legged in the hall, closed her eyes, and began the process of absorbing and refining the pill.
For a time, radiant pink light surrounded her, as countless pink streams of energy surged around her body.
Simultaneously, her Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul, a beautiful flower with pink and white petals, manifested behind her. The pink light coursed through both her body and her martial soul, reshaping and enhancing it.
Time passed quickly.
The Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul behind Ye Lingling had been completely transformed by the essence of the Celestial Fragrance Immortal Herb. While the appearance hadn't changed much, all the petals now seemed as though they were carved from pink crystal, radiating a soft pink glow.
Suddenly, Ye Lingling's eyes shot open.
"Lingling, how do you feel?"
Her mother, Ye Zhixin, who had been anxiously waiting by her side, asked with anticipation.
Beside her, Su Kuang also looked over expectantly.
"My cultivation has broken through to the thirtieth level, and the evolved martial soul no longer has the same limiting feeling as before. I think it's safe to say the flaw of only allowing two Nine Heart Begonia Spirit Masters per generation has been removed."
Ye Lingling replied thoughtfully after taking a moment to sense her new powers.
"That's wonderful! Truly wonderful!"
Ye Zhixin sighed in relief, gently patting her chest, her beautiful face filled with visible relaxation.
The flaw of the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul, which restricted each generation to only two spirit masters, had long felt like a curse. Each generation's spirit masters could sense an inexplicable pressure deep within their martial soul.
However, according to Ye Lingling, this sensation disappeared after the martial soul's evolution.
It seemed the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul had indeed shed its flaw, allowing for more than two spirit masters per generation.
"Thank you, Young Master, for the gift of this pill. As per our agreement, since you have successfully evolved Lingling's martial soul, our Nine Heart Begonia Clan will now pledge our allegiance to you."
"From now on, you will be our master, Young Master. If you ever need anything from us, just say the word, and our Nine Heart Begonia Clan will do everything in our power to carry it out!"
After seeing her daughter successfully evolve her martial soul, Ye Zhixin turned to Lin Yu, her expression filled with respect. She knelt halfway before him and humbly cupped her hands.
Following Ye Zhixin's lead, Su Kuang and Ye Lingling also stood up and knelt before Lin Yu, bowing their heads and saying in unison:
"Greetings, Young Master!"
"Haha, no need to be so formal. I imagine I will indeed have many tasks for the Nine Heart Begonia Clan in the future. Let's work together and help each other grow."
Seeing Ye Zhixin and the others kneeling before him, Lin Yu smiled, stood up, and personally helped each of them to their feet.
From that moment on, Lin Yu decided to split his time between living at Dugu Mansion and the Nine Heart Begonia Clan rather than staying exclusively at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
After showcasing his strength and driving away the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and successfully subduing the Nine Heart Begonia Clan, Lin Yu could finally focus on his other plans.
His primary goal now was to dive deep into the Mysterious Alchemy Scripture that he had received as the top prize in the livestream.
The Mysterious Alchemy Scripture was an ancient, thick alchemical tome filled with detailed recipes and instructions for crafting various pills. It exuded a rich, historical aura, its pages holding immense knowledge.
Now that Lin Yu had subdued both the Nine Heart Begonia Clan and the Jade Phosphor Serpent Clan, forming a sect was easily within his reach.
However, establishing a sect was only one aspect of his plan.
Ensuring the sect's smooth operation and sustainable growth was an entirely different challenge.
The key to success? Money.
Whether it was constructing the sect's buildings, creating Martial Soul Mimicry Training Grounds, recruiting spirit masters, or training disciples, all of it required vast amounts of gold soul coins.
Without money, nothing could happen.
Lin Yu realized that conventional methods of making money, such as opening restaurants, were far too slow. A more lucrative path would be selling medicinal pills.
The pill trade was a monopoly, with Lin Yu controlling both the supply and the pricing. Even if the prices were sky-high, as long as they were within the range of major powers, spirit masters would still flock to buy them.
After all, the wealthiest class on the continent was the spirit master class, and the major spirit master clans and factions had plenty of financial power.
With his decision made, Lin Yu began studying the art of pill refinement from the Mysterious Alchemy Scripture. He also tasked both the Jade Phosphor Serpent Clan and the Nine Heart Begonia Clan with collecting various medicinal herbs and seeds.
The herbs were for immediate use in alchemy, while the seeds were to be planted around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. With the unique environment of the well, it wouldn't take long for these seeds to grow into century-old herbs.
In addition to this, Lin Yu asked the Nine Heart Begonia Clan to help him gather information on the Defense Clan and the Breaking Clan.
Regarding the Four Major Clans that once served under the Clear Sky Sect, Lin Yu was eager to recruit them.
Each of the Four Major Clans had unique skills: the Strength Clan specialized in forging, the Breaking Clan in alchemy and poison crafting, the Agility Clan in intelligence gathering, and the Defense Clan in construction and architecture.
However, Lin Yu wasn't interested in recruiting the Agility Clan, due to their deep ties to the Clear Sky Sect.
As for the Strength Clan, with Titan still loyal to the Clear Sky Sect, Lin Yu had no immediate plans to recruit them either.
But the Defense Clan and the Breaking Clan, both of which harbored deep grudges against the Clear Sky Sect and Tang Hao, were perfect candidates for Lin Yu's recruitment.
The only issue was that the locations of these two clans were currently unknown. If Lin Yu could find them, he was certain he could win them over.
Unfortunately, after being heavily attacked by the Spirit Hall, the Four Major Clans had suffered severe losses and scattered across the continent, hiding in various locations.
While the Strength Clan was known to be in the Heaven Dou Imperial City, the other three clans remained elusive. Even with the Nine Heart Begonia Clan's connections, they hadn't been able to uncover their whereabouts in a short time.
However, they did receive some good news after more than half a month of searching.
The Nine Heart Begonia Clan informed Lin Yu that the Four Major Clans were due to meet for their biannual gathering soon. This year, the meeting was to be held at the Strength Clan's headquarters, meaning Lin Yu didn't need to rush—he would have the perfect opportunity to find and recruit the other clans at the gathering.