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

The Fifth Elder's words were like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, creating ripples in Li Hanshan's heart. He sat opposite him at the low table, his pure Yang energy slowly circulating through his meridians, suppressing the slight agitation caused by the impact. After a few moments of silence, he spoke, his voice more composed than before: "Since Senior knew they would make a move, why did you tell me all this?"

The Fifth Elder didn't answer directly. She picked up her teacup, took another sip, and as she put it down, her fingertips lightly traced the rim, as if carefully choosing her words. The luminous pearl in the cave bathed her in a soft glow, making the fine lines between her brows appear even clearer. After a moment, she raised her head, her gaze returning to Li Hanshan's face: "Because your existence is useful to the sect leader's lineage. And what is useful to the sect leader's lineage is also useful to me."

She spoke calmly, as if stating a perfectly ordinary fact. Li Hanshan sensed a certain truth in her words—not out of goodwill, but more like a choice made after careful consideration. He suddenly recalled what Zhang Qingxuan had said before: the Fifth Elder was a neutral figure in the Elder Council, neither actively suppressing the sect leader's lineage nor openly favoring anyone. Such people usually had their own calculations in the power struggle.

He suppressed his speculations, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "This disciple understands. I will remember Senior's guidance today."

The Fifth Elder nodded slightly, took out a cyan communication talisman from his sleeve, placed it on the low table, and gently pushed it towards Li Hanshan. The talisman was about half the size of a palm, with fine silver patterns flowing across its surface, radiating a warm and stable spatial fluctuation. A tiny "five" was engraved on the edge of the talisman, the strokes slender, with a slight upward curve at the end, like a mark casually left by the writer.

"Keep this talisman." The Fifth Elder withdrew his hand, his tone remaining as calm as ever. "Once you enter the Myriad Spirits Secret Realm, if you encounter a situation you can't handle, crush it. My eldest disciple will sense the talisman's location and come to your aid."

Li Hanshan took the communication talisman. It felt slightly cool to the touch, and he could sense an extremely pure spiritual energy imprint within it, far surpassing the quality of ordinary communication talismans. He stored the talisman in his storage ring, clasped his hands in thanks, but as he was about to stand up, he asked the question that had been lingering in his mind for so long: "Senior, why did you help me?"

The Fifth Elder leaned back in her chair, her gaze passing over his shoulder and landing on a corner deep within the cave, shrouded in spiritual mist, as if looking at something very far away. After a moment, she withdrew her gaze, a faint, enigmatic smile appearing on her lips: "Why do you think I'm helping you? What if after you use this talisman, instead of helpers, people come to kill you?"

Li Hanshan's heart skipped a beat. He looked into the Fifth Elder's watery eyes, trying to discern the truth in his words, but found that the smile was like a thin layer of ice, beneath which lay a bottomless pool, where nothing could be clearly seen. He remained silent for several breaths before finally standing up and bowing to the Fifth Elder: "In any case, this disciple has learned a great deal today."

After speaking, he turned and walked steadily out of the cave, without looking back. Behind him came the Fifth Elder's unhurried voice: "Go back and prepare properly."

By the time Li Hanshan emerged from the cave, dusk had completely fallen. The lights throughout the main peak flickered in the night wind, like lanterns swaying in the breeze. Shen Ruoxi was waiting for him on the stone steps outside the archway. Upon seeing him, she straightened up from the rock wall she was leaning against, said nothing, and quietly followed behind him. The two walked back to the southern slope along the bluestone path they had come from.

Back in his cave, Li Hanshan placed the cyan communication talisman on the stone table and examined it for a moment under the light of the luminous pearl. The silver patterns on the talisman's surface shimmered with a subtle luster in the light, and the final stroke of the character "five" on the edge curved slightly upwards, possessing a unique arc characteristic of the writer. After looking at it for a while, he put the talisman back into his ring, turned around, and saw Shen Ruoxi standing at the door, holding a freshly brewed cup of spiritual tea, her gaze fixed on his face with a hesitant expression.

"What did Master... say to you?" She placed the teacup beside him and asked softly.

Li Hanshan picked up his teacup and took a sip. The tea was warm and smooth, with a refreshing herbal aroma. "She told me that the Myriad Spirits Secret Realm is very dangerous, and the Elders' Council will make a move inside." He didn't hide anything and relayed the Fifth Elder's words in general. Shen Ruoxi was silent for a moment after listening, a complex look flashing in her deep eyes. In the end, she only said in a low voice, "Since Master is willing to warn you, it at least means that she won't be on your side for the time being. As for the rest... be careful."

She was about to leave after speaking, but Li Hanshan stopped her. Shen Ruoxi paused, "What...are you going to do?"

Li Hanshan pulled her into his arms: "Master, your disciple missed you."

The word "Master" made Shen Ruoxi's face turn red instantly. Back in the Northern Wilderness, she was Li Hanshan's master, but Li Hanshan's actions now showed no respect for his master whatsoever.

However, having already submitted to Li Hanshan, she no longer resisted, allowing him to strip her bare and do whatever he wanted to her.

Half a month later, Ye Shuanghua returned. She brought back a suit of armor as black as ink, cool to the touch, its texture layered like fish scales, each scale engraved with intricate defensive runes. "The Hundred-Scale Armor. It can withstand three full-force attacks from a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator." She handed the armor to Li Hanshan. "Someone in the market was selling it, and it took me some effort to get it. Wearing it in the secret realm will give you at least three more lives."

Li Hanshan took the armor; it felt heavy in his hand. He tried it on, the scales rising and falling slightly with his breath, fitting him perfectly. He looked up at Ye Shuanghua: "Senior Sister, what about the Fifth Elder…?"

He recounted how the Fifth Elder had summoned him and the origin of the communication talisman. Ye Shuanghua frowned slightly after listening, but didn't immediately draw a conclusion. She pondered for a moment before speaking, "The Fifth Elder is always neutral; she won't actively take sides, nor will she easily offend either side. Since she gave you that talisman, it means she believes it's beneficial for her that you return alive from the Myriad Spirits Secret Realm."

Li Hanshan nodded, about to say something more, when footsteps sounded outside the cave. Zhang Qingxuan pushed open the door and entered, her blue robe still stained with bits of medicinal herbs typical of the alchemy room, clearly indicating she had just come from Jade Peak. She sat down by the stone couch, and after Li Hanshan relayed the Fifth Elder's words, her watery eyes flickered slightly. She put down her teacup, her tone carrying a carefully considered seriousness: "The Fifth Elder played this cleverly. She neither formally sided with the sect leader's lineage nor failed to maintain a connection with you. If you return alive from the secret realm, you'll owe her a favor; if you die in there, she won't lose anything. She's betting on both sides, and no matter who wins in the end, she'll have something to say." She paused, her gaze sweeping over the blue communication talisman, "However, this talisman… the eldest disciple she mentioned should be her first disciple, Zhou Qingshuang, a seventh-level Nascent Soul cultivator, quite powerful."

Li Hanshan took out the communication talisman again and examined it. The character "five" on the edge of the talisman gleamed with a cool luster in the glow of the luminous pearl. He put it away without saying a word. Zhang Qingxuan observed his expression but didn't press him further. Instead, she gently stroked the edge of the hundred-scale armor, her fingertips pausing briefly at the seam where the scales met: "This armor is good. Wearing it when you enter the secret realm will at least give you a better chance of survival."

In the days that followed, Li Hanshan devoted all his energy to the final preparations. During the day, he regulated his breathing to consolidate his nascent soul, and at night he studied the jade slips brought back by Ye Shuanghua detailing the terrain and distribution of spiritual herbs in the Myriad Spirits Secret Realm. Every other day, he would cultivate with Zhang Qingxuan, using her extreme Yin energy to further refine the edge of his nascent soul; occasionally, he would spar with Ye Shuanghua to familiarize himself with how to maximize the power of his pure Yang fire when his spiritual power was suppressed to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

Before he knew it, it was the eve of his departure. Li Hanshan sat cross-legged on the stone bed, circulating his pure Yang energy through his meridians for the final major cycle. After confirming that his physical condition was at its peak, he closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the depths of his mind. That familiar pulling force arrived as promised, gentle and steady, like a thread soaked in moonlight, guiding his consciousness through layers of darkness and landing it on a familiar riverbank.

The sound of flowing water filled the air, and the silvery moonlight spilled across the water, turning the entire river into a shimmering ribbon of light. Luo Li was already sitting on the bluestone, dressed in white, her bare feet dangling lightly. When she saw him appear, her eyes curved into two crescent moons, and she waved to him, "Grandpa, come quickly."

Li Hanshan sat down beside her and briefly recounted his experiences over the past few days—the Centennial Competition, the flag-grabbing in the secret realm, the alliance and betrayal of Xuan Yinzi and Yu Mengjia, and the Fifth Elder's summons. When he mentioned that the Fifth Elder had seen through Chongyang's nascent soul, Luo Li's brows furrowed slightly, then relaxed, as if she had weighed the matter in her mind, finally concluding: "That Fifth Elder probably won't harm you immediately. Since she chose to expose you face-to-face, it means she has her reasons. As for your communication talisman, use it if you can after entering the secret realm, but don't activate it lightly if you're unsure of its safety."

Li Hanshan nodded, putting the matter aside for the time being. He looked up at Luo Li and asked how she had been these past few days. Luo Li leaned against the bluestone, her bare feet lightly touching the water's surface, creating a small ripple. Her tone carried a restrained lightness: "I'm fine. It's just that I sometimes get distracted while cultivating, wondering how you are doing. But seeing you still able to enter the secret realm alive and well puts my mind at ease."