I'll make you the furnace and the cauldron, so you can refine Yin and Yang and prove the Great

The next morning, with the thin mist still lingering on the sea and the first rays of sunlight just crossing the horizon, the sect leader summoned everyone.

When Li Hanshan stepped out of the golden light barrier, he noticed that the sect leader's complexion had improved considerably.

Although his face was still veiled in black, there were no longer any bloodshot veins in his deep eyes, and his steps were much more steady than yesterday. The pressure of his peak Nascent Soul stage aura had become as solid as a mountain once again.

The Second Elder leaned against the reef with his arms crossed. When he saw Li Hanshan approaching, he raised an eyebrow, glanced at him, and a playful smile appeared on his lips, but he did not ask any further questions.

The Heavenly Demon Sect Master, accompanied by two elders, approached from a distance, his expression showing a newfound respect.

The Grand Elder lagged behind, his injuries not yet fully healed, his face still pale, and he kept his head down without saying a word.

The sect leader stood before the crowd, his gaze sweeping across the entire scene, and said, "That demon's whereabouts were exposed yesterday. Although he escaped into the Endless Sea, his injuries have not yet healed, so he certainly cannot have gone far. Our sect has decided to strike while he is weakened and finish him off today, pursuing him into the Endless Sea and eliminating him completely."

The Heavenly Demon Sect Master nodded slightly: "I agree. As long as that demon lives, the Northern Wilderness will never be at peace. However, the Endless Sea is too vast. Although we have divine sense to search, the seawater can weaken divine sense, so finding him will not be easy."

The sect leader remained silent, only glancing at Li Hanshan. Li Hanshan remained unmoved and did not respond. He did indeed have a way to find that demon, but now was not the time to reveal it. At least until the relationship between the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Joyful Union Sect was clear, he needed to keep this trump card.

"Our sect has its own methods," the sect leader said calmly. "Let's set off."

The small flying boat took off again, carrying the three Nascent Soul cultivators from the Joyful Union Sect and the three from the Heavenly Demon Sect towards the depths of the Endless Sea. Li Hanshan stood at the stern, gazing at the increasingly deep waters below, his mind churning with thoughts.

The seawater changed color from light blue to dark blue, and then from dark blue to inky black. After the flying boat had been flying for an hour, there was no trace of land in sight, not even a single seabird could be seen on the surface of the sea, only the boundless seawater churning beneath their feet. The concentration of spiritual energy in the air began to decrease, replaced by a faint, salty smell, mixed with some indescribable sense of danger.

The sect leader stood at the bow of the ship, releasing his divine sense to its fullest extent, covering the sea surface for hundreds of miles around.

The Heavenly Demon Sect Master and two elders also released their divine senses, and the group searched in tandem, like an invisible net slowly advancing across this vast sea.

An hour passed. Two hours passed. Half a day passed.

Nothing was found.

The demon disappeared without a trace, like a drop of water merging into the ocean.

The expressions on the faces of those on the flying boat gradually turned serious. The Grand Elder, unable to contain himself, spoke first: "Sect Master, has that demon already escaped far away? How long will this search last?"

The sect leader didn't even turn his head: "Continue the search."

The Grand Elder opened his mouth, but ultimately dared not say anything more. He glanced at Li Hanshan subconsciously, a complex look flashing in his eyes, his thoughts unreadable.

Li Hanshan ignored him, his gaze fixed on the sea, but he was secretly communicating with Xiao An.

"Xiao An, can you sense his presence?"

Xiao An's voice came from his sea of ​​consciousness: "Senior, that demon's aura is extremely weak, as if it was deliberately suppressed to the extreme. But in the deeper waters, there is a trace of residual Yin energy, pointing northeast, at least three hundred miles away."

Three hundred li.

This distance is beyond the normal search range of a Nascent Soul cultivator on the endless sea.

A thought flashed through Li Hanshan's mind, but he remained outwardly calm, continuing to subtly extend his Nascent Soul level divine sense. That divine sense, like invisible tentacles, pierced through the seawater and extended northeastward.

A moment later, his pupils contracted slightly.

At the edge of divine consciousness, deep in a trench at the bottom of the ocean, there was indeed an extremely faint aura lurking, like a hibernating venomous snake, completely shrouded in its shell.

If Xiao An hadn't used his Pursuit Technique to pinpoint the approximate location beforehand, even with his divine sense at the Nascent Soul stage, he would have had difficulty distinguishing it from the chaotic aura of the seabed.

Li Hanshan withdrew his divine sense, walked to the bow of the ship, and said in a low voice, "Master, there is a trench on the seabed three hundred miles to the northeast. That demon is very likely hiding in it."

The sect leader turned and glanced at him, but said nothing. He had already raised his hand to adjust the direction of the flying boat and headed northeast.

She didn't ask Li Hanshan how he discovered it, just as she never asked him why he was able to track down the Demon Lord of the Godhood.

The Heavenly Demon Sect Master noticed the flying boat changing direction and frowned slightly: "Sect Master, have you found the way?"

"Hmm," the sect leader replied with only one word.

The Heavenly Demon Sect Master glanced at Li Hanshan, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes, but he did not ask any further questions.

He also noticed that it was always this old man who stepped forward to provide direction.

The airship sped off in a northeast direction.

The further you fly in that direction, the deeper the color of the sea becomes, changing from jet black to an almost deep purple hue.

The dangerous aura in the air grew stronger, and even the array patterns on the flying boat began to flicker slightly, as if they were being disturbed by some invisible force.

Xiao An kept adjusting the direction in Li Hanshan's sea of ​​consciousness. The demon's aura became clearer as it got closer, but it was still faint and indistinct, as if it would disappear at any moment.

"We're getting closer," Li Hanshan said in a low voice.

The sect leader raised her hand, signaling the flying boat to slow down. She stood at the bow, her gaze fixed intently on the sea ahead, her divine sense extending with all its might, like an invisible sharp cone piercing into the seawater.

Just then, a violent tremor suddenly came from the depths of the sea.

The dormant aura suddenly surged, and the figure of the Nascent Soul Demon burst forth from the trench. Yin energy, swirling with seawater, soared into the sky, unleashing a deafening roar: "You lingering spirit!"

"Finally, you've come out." The sect leader snorted coldly, and a black palm print carrying the full power of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator was unleashed.

The demon hastily raised his hand to defend himself, but was struck by a palm and forced to retreat dozens of feet, a trickle of black blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

His injuries were clearly not yet healed, and he was also tracked down by Li Hanshan's Nascent Soul level divine sense, forcing him to launch a preemptive attack. He glanced at the people on the flying boat, his gaze sweeping over the sect leader and Li Hanshan, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes, but he did not linger in battle. He turned and transformed into a streak of black light, disappearing deeper into the distance.

"Chase!" the sect leader ordered.

The airship accelerated again, giving chase. The demon was fleeing incredibly fast, but his injuries hadn't healed, and he couldn't increase his speed. The distance between them was gradually closing. The color of the sea ahead grew deeper and more eerie, the clouds thickened, and the sky changed from azure to gray-white, then to leaden gray. The dangerous aura in the air was so thick it was almost tangible.

Standing at the bow of the ship, Li Hanshan gazed at the increasingly eerie sky ahead, a sudden, intense unease rising within him. His Nascent Soul level divine sense instinctively detected something brewing ahead. It was a power he had never felt before—vast, surging, and irresistible, like an entire ocean awakening.

"Master, something's not right," he said.

The sect leader also noticed the anomaly. She raised her head, gazing at the leaden sky, her brow furrowed. A wind began to rise on the sea, initially a gentle breeze, but quickly turning into a gale, causing the array patterns on the flying boat to flicker violently. The seawater began to churn, the waves rising higher and higher, from several feet to tens of feet, then to hundreds of feet, like moving water mountains crashing down on the flying boat.

"Not good!" The Heavenly Demon Sect Master's expression changed drastically. "This is a storm from the Endless Sea! Retreat immediately!"

But it was too late. The leaden-gray cloud suddenly split open, and a black cyclone as thick as a pillar of heaven emerged from the cloud, plunging straight into the sea.

The seawater was whipped up by the cyclone, forming a towering waterspout that churned up the surrounding hundreds of miles of sea. The flying boat rocked violently in the storm, its array patterns flashing wildly, and several of its bases began to crumble.

The demon was also trapped by the storm. He stood on the edge of a waterspout, enveloped in malevolent energy, yet he was unable to break free from the invisible pull. He glanced back at the crowd trapped by the storm, a crazed smile appearing on his face.

"Hahahaha! This is the gale-force winds and storms of the Endless Sea! You think only I am going to suffer? You can't escape either! This storm will last for at least three months. Once a Nascent Soul cultivator goes in, don't even think about coming out alive!" He laughed hoarsely, his voice torn apart by the gale.

The sect leader's face was ashen, and he unleashed a series of black palm prints, attempting to tear a gap in the storm.

But the waterspout was too enormous; her palm print struck it like a mud ox sinking into the sea, not even causing a ripple.

The First Elder, the Second Elder, and the members of the Heavenly Demon Sect also cast spells in an attempt to stabilize the flying boat, but in the face of that overwhelming power of heaven and earth, the strength of the Nascent Soul cultivators seemed so insignificant.

"Hold on tight!" Li Hanshan only managed to shout these two words before a storm suddenly struck, tearing the airship apart.