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

The terrain inside the Nanling Mountains was more complex than he had imagined. Layer upon layer of valleys and dense forests were interspersed, and mountain paths wound through vines and ancient trees. The silver light net overhead continued to emit the lingering resonance of detection waves, like a silent tide constantly washing over the entire area.

In this area, it is impossible to fly; one can only walk.

Li Hanshan walked along a path covered with fallen leaves for about half a day, avoiding three key areas heavily covered by array runes. The density of those runes was higher than any restriction he had ever seen, and any abnormal fluctuations in spiritual energy would be captured and reported in an instant.

As he rounded a valley surrounded by silver runes, he sensed a fluctuation of spiritual energy emanating from a bend in the stone path ahead—someone was moving towards him at an extremely fast speed. The aura of that person was around the late Nascent Soul stage, but it wasn't a lone individual; three Golden Core stage auras followed behind, clearly indicating an organized action team.

Li Hanshan stopped in the shadow of the bushes at the edge of the stone path. His pure yang energy silently receded, and his Void Refinement level divine sense stretched forward like an invisible tentacle. After seeing the faces of the group, he stepped out of the bushes and headed towards the stone path.

It was a patrol team of four. Leading them was a middle-aged man in a blue robe, with a dignified face and a calm, deep aura. A silver token hung at his waist—the insignia of a patrol officer under the Immortal Alliance. Behind him followed three young disciples, their cultivation levels ranging from mid-to-late Golden Core. Each wore the Immortal Alliance's standard uniform, with a standard longsword at their waist, and their eyes warily scanned their surroundings.

The moment the leading man saw Li Hanshan emerge from the shadows of the bushes, his right hand was already on the hilt of his sword. The three Golden Core disciples behind him moved just as swiftly, their three swords flashing out almost simultaneously. The middle-aged man's gaze swept quickly over Li Hanshan, and when he sensed that Li Hanshan had deliberately concealed his cultivation level, stopping at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, his brow furrowed slightly. However, the silver token in his hand emitted a soft light—the light flickered slightly when it touched the edge of Li Hanshan's robe before returning to its calm state.

"Halt!" the middle-aged man said. "Who are you? How do you have a token from the Immortal Alliance?"

Li Hanshan stopped, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, making no move that could be mistaken for a threat. He spoke with just the right amount of caution: "My surname is Li, and I come from Seagod Island deep within the Endless Sea. I was originally a rogue cultivator, cultivating for hundreds of years before breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. I've been traveling in the Central Continent for many years. More than half a year ago, I encountered a team from the Immortal Alliance on the outskirts of the Southern Ridge Mountains. They were besieged by a demonic sect during their retreat, and I happened to be passing by and helped them. One of the female cultivators, Shen Qingyue, gave me this Guest Elder Token, saying that with it I could enter the Immortal Alliance for refuge." As he spoke, he took the pale blue token from his sleeve and held it out in his palm.

The middle-aged man took a few steps closer, his gaze lingering on the token for a moment. The patterns flowing across its surface perfectly matched the design of the Immortal Alliance's Guest Elder Token, and a faint, silvery-white spiritual energy mark remained on its edge—a personal mark left by Shen Qingyue, documented and verifiable within the Immortal Alliance. He nodded, but didn't retract his hand from the sword hilt: "You say Shen Qingyue gave it to you, then tell me, what was her cultivation level at the time?"

"Late stage of the Golden Core realm." Li Hanshan said calmly, "She was surrounded by three Yinquan Sect cultivators in a lava valley. Her left arm was injured. After I helped her break through, she gave me this token." He paused, then added, "She said that with this token, I could travel freely within the Immortal Alliance's territory, and that if I ever wanted to join the Immortal Alliance, I could go directly to her."

The middle-aged man's brow relaxed slightly, and he finally withdrew his hand from the sword hilt. He gestured to the three Golden Core disciples behind him, and three sword lights simultaneously returned to their sheaths. He sized up Li Hanshan: "Release your spiritual power; we need to examine it."

"Yes, senior."

Li Hanshan concentrated his spiritual power in his palm, and a wisp of warm golden spiritual light flowed around his fingertips, emitting a gentle aura that was completely different from that of the demonic cultivators.

The middle-aged man sensed the fluctuation of spiritual energy, and his brows relaxed slightly again. He took out a palm-sized, silver-white disc from his sleeve, its surface engraved with fine markings, and pointed the disc at Li Hanshan's direction. The pointer on the disc wobbled slightly and then stopped, remaining in the range representing "righteous/neutral spiritual energy," without shifting in the slightest towards the demonic path.

"It is indeed the fluctuation of righteous spiritual energy." The middle-aged man put the disc back into his sleeve, and the wariness on his face disappeared by more than half.

He turned to Li Hanshan, "Since you have the Guest Elder Token given to you by Shen Qingyue, then you are a guest of the Immortal Alliance. My name is Zhou Zheng, an Inspector of the Immortal Alliance. You're lucky; in three days we'll be rotating back to the major cities in the south. If you'd like, you can come south with us. Shen Qingyue is currently serving in Qingyun City; I can take you to find her."

Li Hanshan clasped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you very much, Senior Zhou."

Zhou Zheng waved his hand, signaling him to follow. The three Golden Core disciples withdrew their wary gazes and resumed their patrol formation. Zhou Zheng walked ahead, his tone more casual than before: "How long have you been traveling in the Central Continent?"

Li Hanshan remained silent for a moment before saying, "For decades. But most of those years I've been operating in remote areas, not daring to approach the territories of those major sects."

Zhou Zheng nodded: "Central Continent is indeed now the territory of the demonic path. Righteous disciples traveling outside are like walking in a tiger's den."

After the patrol continued for about half an hour, the terrain gradually opened up ahead. Several sentry posts made of bluestone were distributed along both sides of the main road, each covered with a layer of fine silver array patterns, connected to the detection runes above the Nanling Mountains. Zhou Zheng stopped at the first sentry post with Li Hanshan, explaining Li Hanshan's situation to the disciple on duty. After checking the guest elder's token, they were allowed to pass. The process at the second and third sentry posts was equally smooth; most of the disciples simply glanced at the token and nodded without asking any further questions.

As the endless silver net of light along the inner side of the Nanling Mountains was finally left behind, a vast plain unfolded in the twilight. Large fields of spirit wheat grew across the plain, undulating like golden waves in the evening breeze. In the distance, the outlines of several cities shrouded in spirit mist could be seen, their smoke mingling with the mist to create a warm, gentle hue, dyeing the twilight like melting amber. Zhou Zheng stood on a slope, pointing to the plain ahead: "That's the territory of the Immortal Alliance."