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

On the day of the finals, the morning light pierced through the clouds, illuminating the dozens of spirit flags floating in the Hehuan Sect's square with dazzling colors. The disciples had already packed the square to the brim, and even the senior disciples who had been in seclusion for years had emerged, crowding the stone steps, the rooftops, and the eaves, more than twice the number of onlookers from the previous days.

On the high platform, the Ninth Elder sat in the main seat, holding a jade slip entirely gilded in gold. The Fifth Elder sat slightly to his left, his expression calm. Besides the Fifth Elder, two more figures appeared on the platform, their identities unknown. The disciples' gazes swept back and forth between the platform and the arena, whispering amongst themselves about this once-in-a-century final.

"Three people entering the secret realm at the same time? I've never seen this competition format before."

"I heard it was specially arranged by the Elders' Council for this year: eight flags, guarded by mid-stage Nascent Soul demon beasts... Just hearing about it sounds dangerous."

"Senior Brother Li has already defeated a third-level Nascent Soul cultivator; surely a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn't be able to stop him?"

"That's not necessarily true. Demonic beasts are much more resilient than human cultivators, especially one at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm..."

The deacon of the Foreign Affairs Hall stepped onto the high platform, unfurled the gilded jade slip, and infused it with spiritual power. The text on the surface of the jade slip transformed into a golden light screen projected into mid-air, clearly showing the rules and details of the finals.

"The final round will use a capture-the-flag system within a secret realm. Three contestants will enter the realm simultaneously. Within the realm are eight spirit flags, each guarded by a mid-stage Nascent Soul demon beast. Contestants must either defeat the demon beasts themselves or bypass the guards to obtain the flags. Once all eight flags are taken, three arenas will rise in the center of the realm. Each contestant will occupy one arena and plant their flag in the center. For the next incense stick's time limit, the three contestants can attack each other's arenas to seize flags. At the end of the time limit, the contestant with the most flags wins. If any flags remain unclaimed at the end of the time limit, the ranking will be based on the number of flags already collected."

The golden light flowed slowly in the morning glow, illuminating each line of rules with crystal clarity. The square was quiet for a moment, then, like a lake rippled with pebbles, waves of discussion rose and fell.

"A mid-stage Nascent Soul stage demon beast... with eight flags... and they're even fighting over them?"

"This is the real battle. All those previous arena matches were just warm-ups."

"Although Senior Brother Li is strong, Xuan Yinzi and Yu Mengjia are not to be underestimated either. With the three of them keeping each other in check, it's really hard to say who will win or lose."

Chen Jie stood in the shadows to the side of the platform, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the golden light screen, a faint smile playing on his lips. He turned to Chang Sheng beside him and whispered, "Capturing the flag in the secret realm relies not only on individual combat strength, but also on adaptability and strategy. Even if that old man can defeat the demonic beast, he might not be able to withstand an attack from two people."

Ye Shuanghua stood at the edge of the waiting area, her silver-white outfit fluttering gently in the morning breeze. Her gaze slowly returned from the golden light screen, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. Zhang Qingxuan stood beside her, also looking at the scroll of jade slips, her expression calmer than Ye Shuanghua's, but a hint of seriousness flashed in her watery eyes as well.

The two exchanged a glance, and Ye Shuanghua spoke first, her voice extremely low: "Dealing with both Xuan Yinzi and Yu Mengjia at the same time is far too difficult."

Zhang Qingxuan pondered for a moment and said, "Xuan Yinzi is always a loner and might not be willing to join forces with others. As for Yu Mengjia, although she is a member of the Elders' Council, she may not be willing to be used as a tool. The Sixth Elder's lineage has always been low-key. If she really wanted to stand out, she should have made a name for herself in the Ten-Year Grand Competition ten years ago."

Ye Shuanghua's gaze remained fixed on the golden light screen: "I hope so. But what if Xuan Yinzi approaches her first to discuss cooperation..."

As the two were talking, Li Hanshan emerged from the waiting area. His azure figure stood out in the morning light, his steps steady and his expression calm. As he passed Ye Shuanghua, he heard her say in a very low voice, "Don't rush to grab the flag after you go in. Assess the situation before you act." He didn't stop, but merely nodded almost imperceptibly before heading towards the entrance of the secret realm.

The entrance to the secret realm was located on a circular platform reinforced by an array on the back of the main peak. The ground was paved with dark blue boulders, and the array patterns shimmered with a fine silver light in the sunlight. On each of the three sides of the platform stood a stone platform about half a person's height, clearly the array's core for participants to stand and teleport.

As Li Hanshan stepped onto the stone platform on the left, Xuan Yinzi had already walked up from the right. His silver-gray robe fluttered gently in the wind, his face was delicate, and the silver line between his brows was faintly visible. He glanced at Li Hanshan, a polite yet distant smile appearing on his lips, before looking away, as if Li Hanshan were merely a passerby not worth his attention.

Yu Mengjia was the last to step onto the central stone platform. Her light blue dress shimmered softly in the sunlight, and the jade pendant at her waist shimmered with a subtle glow. She nodded slightly to Li Hanshan, a gentle smile playing on her lips, her gaze lingering on him for a moment, as if confirming something.

As the three stood still, the array patterns along the edge of the platform lit up simultaneously, and silvery-white light rose from the bottom of the stone platform, enveloping their figures. The light grew brighter and brighter, and the entire platform trembled slightly. The disciples watching in the plaza involuntarily held their breath, their eyes fixed on the three figures being swallowed by the light.

The light abruptly contracted at its peak, as if sucked into an invisible vortex, and the three figures vanished simultaneously. Only three empty stone platforms remained on the platform, the light from the array patterns gradually subsiding and returning to silence.

In the center of the plaza, a massive bronze mirror slowly rose. Its surface, smooth as water, rippled under the sunlight, then revealed a clear image—a vast, dense forest unfolded before the camera's lens, ancient trees reaching for the sky, vines like dragons, and occasionally, deep roars of beasts echoed from the depths of the forest, reverberating above the quiet plaza. The runes along the mirror's edge glowed with a subtle light, projecting every detail of the secret realm clearly onto the mirror's surface for everyone in the plaza to see in real time.

In the mirror, three figures landed one after another in different locations within the dense forest. Li Hanshan appeared on a gentle slope at a higher elevation, surrounded by sparse ancient trees and offering a wide view.

After landing, he didn't rush to move, but instead released his divine sense. The divine sense of the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage spread out silently like an invisible net, taking in all the aura within a radius of hundreds of miles.

A moment later, he opened his eyes. In his perception, about a hundred miles to the southeast, there was an extremely dense fluctuation of spiritual energy, carrying the ferocious aura unique to demonic beasts. That aura was heavy and steady, clearly belonging to the guardian of one of the flags. Meanwhile, demonic beast auras of varying strengths emanated from several other directions. The eight flags were scattered throughout the secret realm, ranging from tens to hundreds of miles apart.

Instead of rushing towards the nearest flag, he first extended a wisp of his divine sense towards Yu Mengjia and Xuan Yinzi. Neither of them acted immediately after landing; one stopped by the stream to sense the environment, while the other landed on the ridge to observe the terrain, each assessing the situation in their own way.

Li Hanshan withdrew his gaze and turned southeast. The flag wasn't far away, and the guardian beast's aura was roughly at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. He was confident he could take it down as quickly as possible. Moreover, that direction would allow him to avoid the first two possible engagements.

A burst of purple-gold flames erupted beneath his feet, and his figure transformed into a streak of light, skimming along the treetops as he sped off towards the southeast.