Qin Huaiyin did not understand why the other woman was suddenly so angry, but she still nodded in agreement.
Although Lin Xinyi had never physically harmed her and had only imprisoned her here, Qin Huaiyin always felt a sense of dread toward her master for some inexplicable reason.
Lin Xinyi used her index finger to gently tilt up the girl’s beautiful chin.
She gazed into her eyes with a cold stare, her body radiating a faint, oppressive pressure.
“You are truly becoming more and more disobedient…”
After speaking coldly, Lin Xinyi reached out and made a grasping motion toward the air.
The pool, which had been stained red by the Flood Dragon’s blood, instantly became clear and transparent.
The dragon blood, which emitted a thick spiritual aura, began to gather in her palm like a swirling vortex.
A cruel smile played at the corners of Lin Xinyi’s mouth.
As the blood condensed into a brilliant, crimson elixir in her palm, she applied slight pressure with her fingertips to pry Qin Huaiyin’s mouth open and shoved it directly inside.
“Mmph!!”
“When I tell you to cultivate, do not talk back to me. Do you understand…?”
“Mmph… Master…”
Qin Huaiyin covered her mouth as the intense metallic scent of blood spread through her oral cavity and even reached her nasal passages.
The thick, bloody aroma surged through her body, and her eyes widened in shock.
She tried to spit out the blood elixir, but her mouth was held shut tightly.
“You are not allowed to spit it out…”
Enduring the nauseating sensation, Qin Huaiyin finally swallowed the elixir.
The vast spiritual energy within it was incredibly domineering, causing her limbs to go weak instantly.
It felt as though her hands and feet were shackled, and even breathing became difficult.
“Ma… Master… it hurts…”
Qin Huaiyin felt as if tens of thousands of ants were biting her.
She could only sit powerlessly on the ground, her hand tightly gripping the hem of the other woman’s robe.
However, all she received in return was Lin Xinyi’s cold gaze.
“Once you digest this elixir condensed from Flood Dragon blood, your spiritual power should increase significantly…”
Lin Xinyi watched Qin Huaiyin coldly.
Seeing that the girl was too terrified to even think of resisting, a flicker of pleasure appeared in her eyes.
This feeling of complete dominance over another was something she would never tire of.
There were clearly easier ways to help Qin Huaiyin digest this energy, yet she chose to make her swallow the raw elixir.
The essence of an entire Flood Dragon’s blood was not something an ordinary cultivator could easily withstand, regardless of how it tasted.
“Refine it all properly. Do not waste a single bit…”
Lin Xinyi crouched down and spoke softly into her ear.
Terrified, Qin Huaiyin could only nod in response, not daring to make any other move.
The spiritual power within her grew stronger and more restless, to the point where a single drop of bloody tear began to leak from her eye, yet she still did not dare to cry out in pain.
“As expected, you are quite obedient — “
Seeing the girl’s flushed face and blurred eyes, Lin Xinyi knew her consciousness was fading.
She merely used a trace of spiritual power to protect the girl’s meridians, ensuring she would not die.
“So hot… my body feels so bloated…”
“Does it feel painful? If you cannot digest it, you will die…”
Qin Huaiyin sat helplessly in the small pavilion in the middle of the lake.
Lin Xinyi simply tossed a cultivation manual toward her, her eyes devoid of any pity.
After all, from beginning to end, the girl was nothing more than a tool to achieve her goals.
“Master… I…”
Qin Huaiyin could not finish her sentence.
She could only slowly close her eyes and begin the constant process of refining the surging spiritual energy within her while enduring the bloody taste in her mouth.
“You are truly reckless! What kind of master acts like this? Are you using your disciple as a consumable? If something goes wrong and she develops a heart demon from this torture, it will be trouble!”
Luo Qingyao had been sitting in the Cave Abode, enjoying the peace of life, but when she saw Lin Xinyi acting so outrageously, she could not help but drift over to criticize her.
Faced with the accusation, Lin Xinyi remained unfazed, even showing a satisfied expression.
“I gave her something as precious as a Flood Dragon blood elixir. Does that not prove how much I value my disciple…?”
“Your method of teaching is wrong! It is entirely wrong!”
Luo Qingyao could hardly bear to watch and wanted to reach out to help alleviate the girl’s pain, but Lin Xinyi raised a hand to stop her.
“This is how I teach my disciple. Surely the Great Immortal Exalt is not so bored that she would interfere in someone else’s family matters — “
“You!”
Although Luo Qingyao was appalled, she could do nothing against the interference.
After all, she was essentially living under another’s roof, and Bai Qianqian was also under this demon’s control.
Luo Qingyao clenched her fists.
Looking at Qin Huaiyin sitting cross-legged on the ground, a girl who looked so much like a friend from her memories and who was currently suffering such torment, she could only let out a helpless sigh of frustration.
“Heaven will punish you for this…”
“Those who die are always the ones with consciences. Only people like me live long lives — “
Hearing Luo Qingyao’s curse, Lin Xinyi did not get angry.
Instead, she smiled knowingly.
She crouched down, picked up a lock of hair near Qin Huaiyin’s ear, and lightly caught the scent of her painful fragrance before firing back arrogantly.
Luo Qingyao had no desire to keep watching and vanished into the air.
Lin Xinyi leaned closer to the girl’s ear, speaking slowly in her original, gentle voice.
“My good disciple, I hope you will have broken through to the Nascent Soul stage by the time I return…”
After saying this, Lin Xinyi swept her finger, and the many layers of seals on the Grotto-heaven were easily undone.
She walked to the entrance, glanced back at Qin Huaiyin once, and then stepped into the teleportation array without hesitation.
“Ma… Master…”
Hearing the sound of the array activating, Qin Huaiyin forced her eyes open against the pain, only to see the woman’s retreating figure.
Leaning against the wall, Qin Huaiyin slowly stood up and tried to say something, but all she saw was the exit being wrapped in layers of chains.
“Master, do not leave me here alone…!”
Seeing the figure leave, Qin Huaiyin reached out her hand as if to stop her.
Although she feared Lin Xinyi, in this painful environment, there was no one else to rely on.
At that moment, she actually hoped the woman would stay and give her more guidance.
However, Qin Huaiyin’s voice was destined not to reach her.
She was eventually overwhelmed by the surging spiritual energy and fainted in the pavilion from the pain.
Outside, Lin Xinyi placed dozens of layers of formations over the Grotto-heaven behind her.
No one could enter, and no one could leave.
“It won’t be long until we meet again. That will be the time to enjoy the fruits of my labor — “
Lin Xinyi exhaled a breath of turbid air, already looking forward to the next part of her plan.
Luo Qingyao glanced back at the sealed Grotto-heaven with a trace of pity in her eyes, then turned to look at Lin Xinyi.
“You really do not deserve any sympathy…”
Previously, Luo Qingyao felt that if Lin Xinyi had been unknowingly subjected to such things by Bai Qianqian, she was somewhat pitiable.
Now it seemed Bai Qianqian should have been even more ruthless.
“Why is the Great Immortal Exalt looking at me with that kind of gaze — “
“You have gone too far…”
Luo Qingyao’s internal turmoil was so great that she had manifested her physical form without even realizing it.
Lin Xinyi glanced back and saw the traces of resentment in Luo Qingyao’s eyes, but she did not seem to care.
After all, only the powerless used such glares against their enemies.
“Do you not think you are being too cruel…?”
“Why must the Immortal Exalt insist on meddling in other people’s family affairs…?”
“That child is being raised as a cultivation cauldron by you, isn’t she?”
“I suppose I can’t hide it from you — “
Faced with Luo Qingyao’s words, Lin Xinyi acted as though it was to be expected.
Anyone could see something was off with the purity of Qin Huaiyin’s spiritual energy, let alone the remnant soul of an Immortal Exalt.
“Since you are already going to use her, why can’t you be a little kinder to her…?”
“Am I not good to my precious disciple? She has a beautiful face, lovely skin, and pleasing clothes to wear — “
“That is only what you want…!”
Luo Qingyao could not bear the hateful speech any longer and interrupted her.
Lin Xinyi unhurriedly smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear.
“At the very least, let that child feel a bit of happiness…”
“Is that so? So the Great Immortal Exalt thinks I was wrong in that regard? To be honest, I also feel I went a bit too far — “
“As… as long as you know…”
Luo Qingyao did not expect Lin Xinyi to suddenly lower her head and admit her mistake.
The sudden change caught her off guard.
She wondered if her words had actually moved the woman, but Lin Xinyi’s next words made her realize how foolish she was to believe in her repentance.
“So, undo the formation now. Go back and take the blood elixir out of her body…”
“Eh? Why would I do that?”
“But did you not just say that you felt you went too far…?”
“Is that so? It’s precisely because it’s going too far that I want to do it — “
“You!!”