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

The sect leader's cave dwelling was nestled in a secluded valley deep within the back mountains of the main peak. As Li Hanshan passed through the archway shrouded in spiritual mist, he felt as if he had passed through an invisible membrane. The surrounding air suddenly became warm and mellow, like stepping into a greenhouse meticulously maintained for thousands of years. The concentration of spiritual energy was several times higher than outside; every breath carried a refreshing sweetness, and even the spiritual energy in his meridians, slightly fatigued from continuous battle, automatically accelerated its flow.

The scenery in the valley was even simpler than Li Hanshan had imagined. There were no magnificent palaces, no layered pavilions and towers, only a small courtyard built of bluestone, its walls covered with unknown vines, the leaves shimmering with a fine silver light in the twilight. In the courtyard was a stone table and a few stone benches, and in the corner grew a clump of purple bamboo, its leaves rustling in the night breeze. Inside the house, a lamp shone, its light warm and soft, like a glass lamp that had been repeatedly polished.

The sect leader sat down at the stone table, gesturing for Li Hanshan and Ye Shuanghua to sit as well. Zhang Qingxuan stood beside Ye Shuanghua, her gaze fixed on the still-bleeding wound on her left arm, her brows slightly furrowed. The sect leader glanced at Ye Shuanghua's arm, then raised his hand and sent a stream of milky-white spiritual light into her wound. The light, like a gentle spring stream, flowed slowly along the edges of the wound, gradually mending and healing the torn flesh and severed meridians. Ye Shuanghua's body relaxed slightly, and a trace of color returned to her pale face.

"Thank you, Master," she whispered.

The sect leader waved her hand, turning her gaze to Li Hanshan. Her watery eyes lingered on him for a moment, as if sensing the flow of his spiritual energy, or perhaps peering through his skin into the depths of his pure Yang primordial spirit. After a moment, she spoke, her voice carrying a suppressed seriousness: "When you took out that broken sword in the plaza just now, there was no hesitation in your eyes. But there was a slight delay in the flow of your spiritual energy—in the brief moment you put away the broken sword and took out the Water Mirror Technique jade slip, your divine sense probed deep into your storage ring, then withdrew. There was indeed something else hidden inside."

Li Hanshan's heart tightened suddenly. He hadn't expected the sect leader to be so perceptive. She clearly hadn't probed his storage ring, yet she had deduced that there were other items deep within it simply by observing the extremely brief change in spiritual energy flow when he sheathed his broken sword. This insight far surpassed the Ninth Elder's method of suppressing everything with mere pressure; it was like a blade sharpened to its thinnest point, concealing an unguardable edge beneath its seemingly ordinary surface.

He remained silent for a moment, then took out the crimson longsword from his storage ring. The moment the sword was drawn, the intense heat, almost igniting the air, spread once more, causing even the silvery vines in the courtyard to involuntarily curl slightly. The Crimson Sun Sword lay quietly in his palm, its flame patterns swirling endlessly in the twilight, radiating a fiery sharpness that seemed incongruous with the simple courtyard.

"This disciple did indeed obtain a sword," Li Hanshan said calmly. "I found it in the Yao Guang Ruins, in a stone hall. I don't know if it's a Dao artifact, but its power far surpasses any magical artifact I've ever seen. I dare not take it out in front of the Ninth Elder, for fear he will forcibly take it away."

Li Hanshan brought it out because if the sect leader really coveted it, he wouldn't be able to hide it at all.

He was also quite certain that the sect leader would not forcibly take the sword, because the sword had indeed recognized its master and no one else could take it away. Moreover, it was probably not suitable for the sect leader.

The sect leader's gaze fell upon the crimson longsword. She didn't rush to touch it, but quietly observed it for a while, her watery eyes reflecting the flowing flame patterns on the sword's surface, like a deep pool illuminated by firelight. After a moment, she reached out, her fingertips gently tracing the patterns on the sword's surface. The scorching heat seemed to subside slightly the instant she touched it, like a wild horse calming down temporarily upon the approach of a familiar presence.

"It's a Dao artifact." Her voice was neither loud nor soft, carrying a calm acceptance. "Moreover, it's a fire-attribute Dao artifact, perfectly compatible with your Pure Yang Holy Body. Ordinary cultivators who obtain it can only unleash two or three tenths of its power at most; if the attributes are incompatible, they might even suffer a backlash from the fire attribute essence within the sword. But for you, it can unleash power far exceeding that of ordinary spiritual weapons, essentially a weapon naturally tailor-made for you."

She withdrew her hand, nodded slightly as if confirming something, and then handed the Crimson Sun Sword back to Li Hanshan: "Keep it safe. Although the Ninth Elder has temporarily retreated, he won't give up. The desire of Void Refinement cultivators for Dao artifacts far exceeds your imagination. He didn't forcibly seize it in the square just now because my emergence from seclusion was too sudden, and he wasn't prepared. If you encounter him again next time, he won't give you any time to react."

Li Hanshan took the Crimson Sun Sword and stored it deep inside his storage ring, finally feeling a weight lifted from his heart. He had thought that even if the sect leader wouldn't forcibly seize it like the Ninth Elder, she would at least keep the Crimson Sun Sword by her side for safekeeping. After all, Dao artifacts were a great temptation for a cultivator like her, stuck at the peak of the Void Refinement stage. But she simply confirmed its grade and returned it to him, as if it were just an ordinary object.

Li Hanshan took the Crimson Sun Sword and stored it deep within his storage ring. The scorching heat subsided as the sword was sheathed, and the air in the courtyard regained its characteristic crispness of twilight. He was about to express his gratitude when the sect leader raised his hand, signaling him not to speak immediately. Those watery eyes lingered on his face for a moment, their gaze carrying a softer, more scrutinizing quality, quite different from when he had just examined the Dao artifact.

"Aren't you afraid I'll take this sword?" the sect leader asked, his voice a few decibels lower than before.

Li Hanshan was silent for a moment before answering truthfully: "I was thinking that if Master really wants it, I can't hide it. Since I can't hide it, I'll just offer it openly. If Master wants it, I will give it; if Master doesn't want it, I'll keep it safe. There's no third possibility, so there's no need to worry about it."

The sect leader's lips curled slightly upward, a faint but unmistakably genuine smile. "Composure," she repeated the word, as if savoring its weight. "In all these years since you joined the Joyful Union Sect, from the Northern Wilderness branch to where you are today, how much scheming, how much plundering, how many two-faced tactics have you witnessed? To maintain such composure in such an environment is truly rare."

She paused, her gaze falling on Li Hanshan's dantian, as if sensing the aura contained within that pure Yang primordial spirit: "When you were almost unable to stand upright under the Ninth Elder's pressure of the Void Refinement stage in the plaza, there was no fear in your eyes. The fact that you were able to attract the Heavenly Tribulation—that wasn't luck, but because your cultivation path itself had already broken through the conventional boundaries. Ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators don't even have the courage to raise their heads in front of Void Refinement cultivators, yet you were able to calmly assess the situation, take out the Water Mirror Technique jade slip, and utter those words that left the Ninth Elder speechless. This composure is even more precious than your Dao artifact."

Li Hanshan listened to her words without rushing to reply. He could sense the seriousness in the sect leader's tone; it wasn't mere politeness or reassurance, but rather a frankness born of deep thought. "This disciple simply feels," he began, "that since we can't escape, we might as well face it head-on. Standing doesn't guarantee victory, but kneeling certainly guarantees defeat."

The sect leader's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, a hint of suppressed satisfaction flashing in her watery eyes. "Standing doesn't guarantee victory, but kneeling guarantees defeat." She repeated, her voice carrying a suppressed solemnity. "That's well said. With this mindset, it's not a loss for me to take you as my disciple." She didn't say anything more, but the gaze fixed on Li Hanshan was warmer than before, like a layer of warmth rising from the surface of a deep pool bathed in moonlight.

"This disciple has a question," he began, looking directly at the sect leader. "Why doesn't Master want this Dao artifact? With Master's cultivation level, obtaining this Dao artifact should have greatly increased your chances of breaking through to the Dao Integration stage."

The sect leader glanced at him, a faint smile flickering in his watery eyes: "A Dao artifact is good, but something you're not comfortable using is just a burden. I don't cultivate fire-attribute techniques, so this sword in my hands can only unleash 30-50% of its power at most, and I'd have to expend a lot of energy suppressing the fire attribute backlash within the blade. You're different; it was forged for you. You can unleash its full power with it, making it more valuable than if it were in my hands."

She took three talismans from her sleeve and placed them on the stone table. The first was entirely silver-white, with fine spatial fluctuations flowing across its surface; the second was dark gold, with densely woven spiritual patterns along its edges; the third was entirely black, like compressed dark glass, exuding a calm and restrained aura. She pushed the three talismans in front of Li Hanshan, her tone carrying a restrained seriousness: "This is my compensation for the injustice you suffered in the square today. The first is a protective talisman, capable of blocking a full-force attack from a Void Refinement cultivator; the second is an escape talisman, which, when activated, grants speed comparable to a mid-stage Void Refinement cultivator's full-force flight; the third is an attack talisman, equivalent to a full-force attack from a Void Refinement cultivator, and it contains a sealed portion of my sword energy. Keep these three talismans; use them only when you encounter a truly insurmountable situation."

Li Hanshan accepted the three talismans. They felt slightly heavy in his hand, and he could clearly sense that the spiritual power contained within them far surpassed that of any other talisman he had ever seen. He carefully put the talismans away one by one, then solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute to the sect leader: "Thank you, Master."

The sect leader waved his hand, turning his gaze to Ye Shuanghua: "Although your injuries have been treated, your foundation has been significantly damaged. For the next month, you will stay in the back mountain to recuperate in seclusion and should not participate in sect affairs. Qingxuan, you watch over her and make sure she doesn't run around." Zhang Qingxuan responded and helped Ye Shuanghua walk towards the stone chamber on the side of the courtyard. Ye Shuanghua glanced back at Li Hanshan, her eyes filled with a calmed gentleness, before following Zhang Qingxuan and disappearing behind the stone chamber door.

Li Hanshan felt a slight warmth in his heart. In his years at the Hehuan Sect, he had seen far too many disciples who swallowed their anger to protect themselves, and far too many pitiful people who dared not resist the elders' suppression. The sect leader's words, though spoken calmly, were like a red-hot branding iron, imprinted on his heart.

"I understand," he said.

The sect leader looked at him for a moment, then stood up. The hem of her white dress brushed against the ground, and her voice carried a restrained solemnity: "You will stay on the back mountain tonight. Tomorrow morning, I will summon the elders of all the peaks to the main hall for a meeting, and formally accept you as my disciple in front of everyone." She paused, her gaze falling on his face, "Even if the Ninth Elder has any ideas, he can't cause any trouble in front of everyone."