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

The dust in the valley had not yet completely dissipated, and the corpse of the mid-stage Nascent Soul beast lay across the shattered riverbed, its dark blue scales still bearing the scorch marks left by the pure Yang fire. Li Hanshan stood still, having finished his cultivation. The light of his pure Yang primordial spirit slowly receded between his brows, like layers of receding seawater sinking into the depths of his dantian. He could feel that after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, the efficiency of the Yang Manual had also increased significantly. The transformative change was like a river channel that had been widened several times over, and spiritual energy flowing through it felt almost without any stagnation.

Ye Shuanghua stood beside him, her silver-white outfit still stained with dust from the aftershocks of the battle, but her gaze remained fixed on the slowly dissipating golden aura surrounding Li Hanshan. Her voice carried a suppressed tremor: "Your final strike just now drew upon several times more power from heaven and earth than before your breakthrough. And..."

She paused for a moment, then said, "I can sense that your primordial spirit contains an extremely pure soul power, the kind of foundation that ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators accumulate over hundreds of years of arduous cultivation. You've only just broken through to the first level of Nascent Soul, yet you already possess the soul foundation of the mid-to-late stage of Nascent Soul."

She didn't dare to be too certain, because she wasn't sure whether Li Hanshan's soul was comparable to the mid-stage or late-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Whether in the middle or late stages, it is extremely amazing, and you have to know that Li Hanshan has only just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage!

Yin Lingyue walked over from behind, her gaze sweeping over the giant beast's corpse before landing on Li Hanshan, her face still showing lingering shock.

Li Hanshan turned to look at her. After breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, his Pure Yang Primordial Spirit allowed him to perceive the state of the Yang pattern within Yin Lingyue's body more clearly—all six petals had fully bloomed, radiating a warm, silvery light, like a flower rooted deep within her dantian, its roots extending to the edge of her primordial spirit, merging with her. He remained silent for a moment, then asked, "How long have you been stuck at the third level of the Nascent Soul stage?"

Yin Lingyue's movements stiffened slightly. She hadn't expected Li Hanshan to suddenly ask this question. After a few moments of silence, she looked away, her voice carrying a suppressed stubbornness: "Almost twenty years."

"Although the Profound Yin True Breath can accelerate your accumulation, the malevolent energy in your cultivation technique is too deep. Without enough pure Yang energy to help you refine that malevolent energy, even if you accumulate for another hundred years, you will not be able to cross the threshold of the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage."

Yin Lingyue looked up at him, a flicker of realization crossing her dark purple eyes. She opened her mouth to retort, but found that every word Li Hanshan spoke had precisely pinpointed the greatest difficulty she had faced in her years of cultivation. She bit her lip, her expression hidden beneath her withered facade, but the way her fingers clenched her sleeve betrayed her wavering.

Ye Shuanghua stood to the side, her gaze sweeping back and forth between the two. Although she hadn't completely let down her guard against Yin Lingyue, she could tell that this wasn't the time to press for answers. She simply said, "If you need time, I will protect you."

Inside the cave, the light from the luminous pearl cast a warm glow on the stone walls. Yin Lingyue had shed her withered disguise; her long, dark purple hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her face appeared exceptionally cold in the light.

She sat on the edge of the stone couch, her eyes lowered, letting Li Hanshan untie the ties of her clothes, his fingertips leaving a warm touch on her shoulder. She wasn't as stiff as before; instead, she turned her head slightly, as if to see more clearly the path through which the pure yang energy was being channeled.

Li Hanshan wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, his pure Yang energy flowing into her meridians along the point where their bodies met, like a warm current flowing over a cracked riverbed. He could sense the malevolent energy accumulated deep within Yin Lingyue's dantian—fine as a spiderweb, entangled between her spiritual power and primordial spirit, each strand carrying the corrosive properties unique to Yin Sha techniques, slowing down the circulation of her spiritual power by nearly 30%. That malevolent energy hadn't accumulated overnight, but rather was a dark sediment that had settled little by little over hundreds of years of arduous cultivation, like silt piled up at the bottom of a riverbed; if not cleared, it would thicken year by year, eventually clogging the entire meridian.

He condensed his pure Yang energy into extremely fine threads, penetrating them one by one along the lines where malevolent energy had accumulated. The moment the pure Yang energy collided with the Yin malevolent energy, it emitted an extremely subtle hissing sound, like ice cubes being thrown into a hot oil pan. Yin Lingyue's body tensed slightly, fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead—the stinging pain from the malevolent energy being burned and refined. But that stinging pain was quickly replaced by a warm, soothing sensation, like a riverbed washed clean by a clear spring, revealing its smooth surface beneath. She could feel the impurities that had accumulated deep within her dantian for many years being stripped away, refined, and expelled at an unprecedented speed. The flow of spiritual energy became increasingly smooth, like a river channel that had been dredged for hundreds of years finally receiving its first thorough dredging.

Ye Shuanghua sat at the entrance of the cave, her back to the two, the Jinghong Sword lying horizontally on her lap. She could sense the changes in the spiritual energy fluctuations within the cave—Yin Lingyue's aura was rising at a steady yet firm pace. The rhythm of that rise was different from the gradual increase during ordinary cultivation; rather, it was like a reservoir being repeatedly filled with water, each time adding a new layer of thickness to the existing foundation.

After an unknown amount of time, a very slight vibration came from within Yin Lingyue's body, like the first crack appearing on the surface of ice. The invisible barrier that stood between the third and fourth levels of the Nascent Soul realm shattered deep within her dantian, turning into countless fine fragments that were swept out of her body by the pure yang energy.

Yin Lingyue's body trembled violently, and the dark purple light on the surface of her primordial spirit suddenly more than doubled in brightness. Her aura surged like a rising tide, carrying a clarity and fullness she had never experienced before. Spiritual energy surged through her meridians, the malevolent energy was swept away, and her cultivation stabilized at the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage. She felt as if she had shed a layer of skin, and a gentle light emanated from her very marrow.

When she opened her eyes, her dark purple eyes held a clear, cleansed gleam. She remained silent for a long time, long enough for the light of the luminous pearl to circulate several times on the stone wall, before speaking softly, her voice carrying a suppressed, sincere gentleness: "Thank you." She didn't turn to look at him, but those two words, echoing in the quiet cave, were clearer than any lengthy discourse.

Li Hanshan held her close, his pure Yang energy flowing smoothly through his meridians. He could feel that in the process of helping Yin Lingyue break through, his own primordial spirit had also been further tempered. The golden mist in the Yang Pattern Space was even denser than before, and the flower that belonged to Yin Lingyue had already bloomed to the edge of its seventh petal.

Yin Lingyue did not rush to get up, but instead used her alluring body to repay Li Hanshan's help.

This time, she was exceptionally proactive, and even her physical reactions far exceeded those before.

Now, she is becoming more and more accepting and accepting of Li Hanshan.

It wasn't until a day later that she got up, straightened her robes, and walked out of the cave with lighter steps than before, her whole demeanor completely different.

"Xiao An, it's your turn."

Immediately afterwards, Li Hanshan decided to help Xiao An break through.

Xiao An had broken through to the first level of the Nascent Soul stage several years ago. After reaching the Nascent Soul stage, it was common for people to break through to the first level every few decades or even centuries, but Li Hanshan couldn't tolerate such a slow pace.

A few days later, after a period of dual cultivation of mind and soul, Xiao An successfully broke through to the second level of the Nascent Soul stage.