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

A milky-white light spread across the plaza, like a thin veil soaked in moonlight, washing over the stone steps, the mountain path, and the feet of the disciples who were holding their breath in concentration. The light was as warm as jade, carrying an aura that made people involuntarily want to relax their guard, but the moment it touched the Ninth Elder's gray spiritual power, it sliced, crushed, and dissolved it like an invisible blade.

The Ninth Elder's gray hand, which had reached for Li Hanshan's dantian, crumbled inch by inch in the white light, turning into countless gray specks of light that scattered and fell in all directions. His pupils suddenly contracted, and his body froze in place as if bound by invisible chains, making even taking a half-step back difficult. The milky-white light seemed gentle, yet it carried an irresistible suppressive force, like a bottomless abyss that swallowed up all his resistance.

A figure in a white dress approached slowly in the light. Her steps were unhurried and light, each step creating a delicate ripple of light on the ground, like waves spreading across a lake bathed in moonlight. Her long hair was unbound, cascading over her shoulders, a few strands gently swaying in the breeze at the boundary where twilight and white light intertwined. Her face appeared exceptionally soft in the milky white halo, her features delicate yet understated, her brows carrying a composure and peace honed by time, like a watercolor painting repeatedly rendered, each stroke perfectly placed, neither too much nor too little. When her gaze fell upon the Ninth Elder, it held a calm scrutiny, as still as an ancient well, revealing neither joy nor anger, yet making one instinctively want to look away.

Just as she was about to speak, a silver-white figure strode forward from the edge of the square, passing through the fading afterglow of the milky-white light, and stopped in front of her.

Ye Shuanghua clutched the still-bleeding wound on her left arm. Her silver-white outfit was stained with dust and blood, her hair was disheveled, and her face was as pale as paper, but her back remained straight. She stood before the sect leader, took a deep breath, and spoke in a weak yet unambiguous voice: "Master, this disciple has something to report."

The sect leader withdrew her gaze from Li Hanshan and landed on her disciple's face. She could see that Ye Shuanghua's condition was far from good; the wound on her left arm was still bleeding, and her face was so pale it was almost transparent, yet she still managed to stand upright. She didn't interrupt, but waited quietly, her watery eyes holding a gentleness that she only showed when facing her disciple.

Ye Shuanghua's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, yet it was clear enough for the disciples in the square, who were holding their breath, to hear clearly: "Several months ago, I encountered Li Hanshan by chance at the edge of the Demon Beast Mountain Range. At that time, he had just arrived in the Central Continent from the Northern Wilderness branch. Seeing that he had exceptional talent and a solid foundation, I took it upon myself to accept him as a disciple on behalf of Master. At the time, I thought Master was still in seclusion and didn't know when he would emerge. I thought that the sect leader's lineage couldn't remain without a successor, so I made this decision on my own. Now that Master has emerged from seclusion, I have come to report this matter and ask Master for his decision."

As she finished speaking, her fingers tightened slightly on the sword hilt. She didn't elaborate on the details in those few words, but the weight they carried was clear to those in the know—back then, no one in the Hehuan Sect had any faith in Li Hanshan, this old man from the Northern Wilderness. Even the deacons of the External Affairs Hall were secretly making things difficult for him. It was Ye Shuanghua who, as the sect leader's disciple, shielded him from all the overt and covert prying and scheming when he was most isolated and helpless. The weight of her journey was far greater than what could be contained in the simple phrase "accepting a disciple on behalf of her master."

The sect leader's gaze lingered on Ye Shuanghua for a moment, then moved past her shoulder to the figure whose pure Yang energy had not yet been fully concealed. After a brief silence, a rare tenderness flickered in her watery eyes. Her voice, though still neither loud nor soft, held a warmth and sincerity that had filled her voice before: "You did the right thing. You handled this matter very well. From this day forward, he is my disciple."

Ye Shuanghua's body relaxed slightly, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She didn't say anything, only bowed her head slightly, and retreated to Zhang Qingxuan's side. Zhang Qingxuan reached out to support her swaying arm; the unspoken understanding between them needed no further words. Li Hanshan, standing in the shadows behind Ye Shuanghua, clearly heard the sect leader's words, "From this day forward, he is my disciple." The weight that had been hanging over his heart since the conflict in the square finally lifted at that moment.

The sect leader turned around again, her gaze falling on the Ninth Elder. Her eyes had regained their usual calm, revealing neither joy nor anger, yet carrying a weight that made people instinctively want to avoid them. She spoke, her voice neither loud nor soft, yet clearly reaching the ears of everyone present: "Ninth Elder, was that palm strike you just delivered intended to cripple my disciple's cultivation?"

The Ninth Elder's body stiffened slightly. He knew, of course, that the Sect Leader was in seclusion at a crucial moment, attempting to break through to the Dao Integration stage, which was why he dared to attack Li Hanshan at this time. But he never expected her to emerge from seclusion at this critical juncture, nor did he expect her to suppress him so decisively with her first move. He took a deep breath, suppressing the surging shock and resentment in his heart, and clasped his hands, saying, "Sect Leader, this boy obtained a Dao artifact in the secret realm. With his early Nascent Soul stage cultivation, he simply cannot protect such a treasure. I am merely safeguarding it on behalf of the sect to prevent it from attracting the covetous eyes of external enemies."

"A Dao artifact?" The sect leader tilted her head slightly, her gaze passing over the Ninth Elder and landing on Li Hanshan. Her eyes brightened slightly the instant they met Li Hanshan's gaze, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating faint ripples. She examined the pure Yang energy around Li Hanshan, which hadn't yet fully subsided, and sensed the golden light cluster in his dantian that was completely different from ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators. After a moment, she withdrew her gaze and turned back to the Ninth Elder, "You say he obtained a Dao artifact, do you have any evidence?"

The Ninth Elder paused. He had indeed never seen the sword with his own eyes; all his information came from Chu Zi'an and Yan Qingsong. But Yan Qingsong was a core disciple of the Elder Council, and his information was always reliable. Moreover, the burning heat remaining in the wounds of Yan Qingsong's severed right arm and Huo Yuan's amputated legs clearly surpassed the scope of a spiritual weapon.

"Yan Qingsong and Huo Yuan are both seriously injured." The Ninth Elder's voice deepened. "Junior Brother Yan's right arm was severed by a sword, and Junior Brother Huo's legs were amputated. The residual spiritual energy fluctuations at the wounds are far beyond what ordinary spiritual artifacts could leave behind. If it weren't for Dao artifacts, how could Li Hanshan, with his cultivation at the first level of the Nascent Soul stage, possibly have injured Junior Brother Yan, who was at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage?"

The sect leader didn't answer immediately. She turned towards Yan Qingsong, her gaze lingering on his empty right sleeve, then on Huo Yuan's legs, severed at the knee. Her expression remained unchanged; she merely nodded slightly, as if confirming something, before turning back to Li Hanshan: "What do you have to say?"

"Sect Leader, I found this broken sword in an ancient ruin on the edge of the Endless Sea. It is indeed a fragment of a Dao artifact." His voice, neither loud nor soft, clearly pierced through the wind and whispers in the square, reaching the ears of everyone present. "Although this broken sword is only half a piece, its sharpness far surpasses that of ordinary spiritual weapons. It was with it that I gained the upper hand in my battle with Senior Brother Yan. I suppose Senior Brother Yan is referring to this one."

As he spoke, he held the broken sword forward, its eerie blue light swirling endlessly in the twilight, radiating a restrained and composed aura. Though sharp, it lacked the overwhelming spiritual energy fluctuations of a complete Dao artifact that would move even a Void Refinement cultivator. It was more like an ancient relic worn down by time, retaining some of its sharpness but having lost all its core power.

Yan Qingsong's face turned ashen the moment he saw the broken sword. He abruptly stepped out from the crowd, his right sleeve hanging loosely at his side, his left hand pointing at the broken sword in Li Hanshan's hand, and he cried out angrily, "Ninth Elder! He's clearly lying! I saw it with my own eyes! It was a long sword, entirely crimson, with flame patterns flowing across its blade. It severed my magical artifact, which I had nurtured with my lifeblood for over a thousand years, in one strike! It's definitely not this dark, broken sword! He must have hidden the real Dao artifact!"

His voice echoed across the square, prompting another round of hushed discussions among the disciples watching. Some exchanged glances, some stood on tiptoe to get a better look, while others simply watched silently as the dispute unfolded.

Li Hanshan didn't rush to refute. He calmly held the broken sword horizontally in front of him, and pure Yang energy surged from his palm into the blade. The dark blue light, driven by his spiritual power, suddenly surged, spreading rapidly along the sword's patterns like burning embers. The broken sword's form changed rapidly in the light—the blade turned from pitch black to crimson, and the patterns on its surface transformed from dark blue into flowing flames, as if it had been reshaped and re-encased by a layer of scorching lava, transforming into a long sword that was entirely crimson with ever-flowing flame patterns.

"Is this the one Senior Brother Yan is talking about?" Li Hanshan held the deformed broken sword forward half an inch, the firelight illuminating his calm face. "When I fight, I'm used to enveloping my weapons in pure Yang fire. This broken sword does indeed take on different forms under the influence of the flames. Senior Brother Yan is too far away; perhaps you've misjudged it."

Yan Qingsong's lips moved. He knew, of course, that it wasn't the same sword. The pressure and aura of that crimson longsword were far stronger than this broken sword; the change in form couldn't fool his divine sense. But he simply couldn't produce any evidence to prove it. He turned to the Ninth Elder, his eyes filled with urgency: "Ninth Elder, he's clearly lying! I personally sensed the aura of that sword with my divine sense; it was absolutely a complete Dao artifact, definitely not some fragment!"

The Ninth Elder's brows furrowed deeply. His gaze lingered for a long time on the broken sword in Li Hanshan's hand. His spiritual sense, like invisible tentacles, probed the blade, sensing the fluctuations of spiritual energy within. The broken sword's aura was indeed peculiar; it retained an extremely ancient fire attribute essence, its sharpness far surpassing ordinary spiritual weapons. However, most of its core power had been lost, and the remaining portion was merely naturally sealed within the broken surface—clearly a fragment of a broken Dao artifact, worlds apart from a complete one. A surge of inexplicable irritation welled up within him. He had clearly confirmed the existence of the Dao artifact from Yan Qingsong's message, yet what lay before him was merely a fragment. Though precious, it was far from worth the risk of a direct confrontation with the sect leader. Or perhaps, Li Hanshan had truly hidden the complete Dao artifact deeper within?

However, fragments of Dao artifacts are extremely rare, already a tremendous opportunity for a Nascent Soul cultivator. Li Hanshan's luck couldn't be that good; he'd just obtained a fragment, and now he'd acquired a complete Dao artifact? Thinking about it carefully, it's more likely that Yan Qingsong, in his shock and anger, misjudged the power of the fragment as that of a complete Dao artifact. The Ninth Elder slowly withdrew his divine sense, the sharpness in his gaze fading slightly, but still retaining a scrutinizing quality.

Just then, Yan Qingsong spoke again, seemingly determined to drag Li Hanshan down with him. His voice was even sharper than before: "Ninth Elder! Even putting aside the matter of the Dao artifact for now, Li Hanshan colluded with Yinquan Sect cultivators in the secret realm to kill Junior Brother Chen Jie! Junior Brother Chen Jie was your disciple; this matter must not be left unresolved!"