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

Li Hanshan landed a few steps to her side, his pure Yang energy flowing smoothly through his meridians. That last throw had almost exhausted all the spiritual power of his seventh-level Nascent Soul stage, and the light of his pure Yang primordial spirit in his dantian was slightly dimmer than before. But he didn't rush to regulate his breathing. Instead, he squatted down and took the demon core of the armored giant whale from the wreckage. The dark demon core gleamed with a warm luster in his palm, like deep-sea ice compressed to its limit.

Shen Yun's gaze fell on his movements, a hint of suppressed thought flashing in her slightly weary almond-shaped eyes, which were tinged with exhaustion from the depletion of spiritual energy. She could sense that the angle and timing of that throw were almost perfect—not a coincidence, but a judgment based on a comprehensive understanding of the entire battle situation. How could a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator achieve such a feat? But she didn't ask him immediately. Instead, she withdrew her probing gaze and spoke in a more composed voice: "Clean up the remnants of the beast tide first. With these three Void Refinement demonic beasts killed, no other sea beasts of the same level should approach for a while." She didn't say more, turning and walking towards the tower. Although her pace was slower than usual, she still maintained the composure befitting a sect leader.

In the days that followed, Li Hanshan meticulously processed the remains of the three Void Refinement demonic beasts, carefully categorizing and storing their demonic cores, scales, bones, and essence blood into his storage ring. The value of these materials far exceeded any of his previous acquisitions; the three Void Refinement demonic cores alone were enough to support him in refining several batches of sixth-grade pills, far superior to the Spirit Condensation Pill. And as Shen Yun had predicted, after slaying two Void Refinement demonic beasts, the seas surrounding the island returned to relative calm.

Although the beast tide continued, its scale had shrunk considerably. The low-level sea beasts, having lost their high-level leaders, charged aimlessly at the defensive array like headless flies, easily suppressed by the disciples of the Purple Thunder Pavilion using talismans and spells. Shen Yun spent her days meditating at the top of the tower, further solidifying her still-unstable foundation after breaking through to the Void Refinement stage. Her spiritual energy quality steadily improved through this continuous practical training, making her like a sword that had been repeatedly honed—its sharpness restrained yet its solidity reliable.

Occasionally, during breaks from patrolling the coast, Li Hanshan would glance towards the core of the distant sea shrouded in thick fog. There, two auras at the Dao Integration level continued to clash, each exchange causing the entire sea to tremble. Dark golden cracks, like repeatedly torn wounds, flickered uncertainly on the twilight horizon. He could feel the oppressive force of those two auras gradually weakening, like two slowly consuming furnaces; though the fires remained blazing, they were no longer as scorching as they had initially been. He stood there, gazing at the sky woven from spiritual mist and lightning, his thoughts churning like water stirred by the wind.

Above the Void Refinement realm lies the Dao Integration realm. The tribulation Shen Yun encountered when breaking through to the Void Refinement realm had already given him a glimpse of the power at that level, but the aftershocks of a battle at the Dao Integration level could shake his divine sense even from thousands of miles away. When would he reach that stage? A hundred years? Two hundred years? Or even longer?

Three months later, on a clear morning, the thick fog over the sea finally dissipated considerably. The aftershocks of the beast tide had completely receded, even the scattered debris had been washed away by ocean currents to more distant waters. The sky above the island, shattered by the battle at the Dao Integration level, had also returned to calm, the dark golden cracks slowly healing, closing inch by inch like a stitched wound. Shen Yun stood on the edge of the tower, squinting slightly as she gazed at the silver-white light rising on the distant horizon.

When the silvery-white light landed on the stone platform in the center of the island, the light dissipated, revealing a familiar figure—it was the same Void Refinement cultivator from three months ago, dressed in a silver-white outfit. Today, she wore a more formal silver-gray robe, with the token engraved with the words "Jade Capital" hanging at her waist. Her gaze swept over the island's defenses and the traces of array repairs, pausing slightly when it landed on Shen Yun, before a clear look of surprise appeared on her face: "Sect Leader Shen, you've broken through to the Void Refinement realm?"

Shen Yun flew down from the tower and stopped in front of her, clasping her hands in a salute: "Senior, you've come at just the right time. Three months ago, during the beast tide, I managed to break through my bottleneck at a critical moment and repelled the attack of three demonic beasts of the same level with my Void Refinement cultivation, thus protecting this array base island." Her voice was calm, without any hint of taking credit, simply stating the facts.

The woman in the silver-white outfit lingered for a moment on the now completely concealed yet still discernible pressure emanating from her, then nodded. "The Immortal Alliance has gained another Void Refinement cultivator; this is an unexpected delight. With your current cultivation and battle achievements, you are already eligible to apply for an elder's seat." She didn't dwell on this topic further, instead taking out a silver-white jade slip from her sleeve and unfolding it. "I'll tally the battle achievements. How did the Purple Thunder Pavilion perform in this beast tide?"

Shen Yun took the jade slip, channeled her spiritual energy into it, and recorded the battle's achievements one by one. The woman in the silver-white outfit glanced over the records, her expression calm at first, then her brows furrowed slightly: "You killed two Void Refinement Beasts? And another one collapsed on its own after being severely injured?" She looked up at Shen Yun, "With the Purple Thunder Pavilion's previous strength, could you have achieved this?"

Shen Yun's expression remained unchanged: "That battle mainly relied on the cooperation of the newly promoted elder, Li Hanshan. At a crucial moment, he accurately struck the weakness of that Void Refinement Beast's demonic power with a sixth-tier purple lightning talisman, creating an opportunity for me to kill it. Without his assistance, I could only have repelled one of them at most, and would not have been able to kill both at the same time."

The woman in the silver-white outfit turned her gaze to the direction where Li Hanshan was. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the Nascent Soul stage spiritual energy fluctuations flowing around him, and then a clear look of thought appeared on her face: "Mid-Nascent Soul stage? A Nascent Soul cultivator, able to create an opportunity to kill in a battle at the Void Refinement level?" Her tone was filled with undisguised doubt.

Shen Yun met that gaze: "Senior can examine the quality of the sixth-order purple lightning talisman he drew. If the precision of the sixth-order purple lightning talisman is sufficient, after a Void Refinement cultivator infuses it with spiritual power, it can indeed inflict a fatal blow on a Void Refinement demon beast at a specific time. His talent in talismanic arts far exceeds ordinary people's expectations, which is one of the reasons why I promoted him to elder."

The woman in the silver-white outfit remained silent for a moment, as if weighing Shen Yun's words over in her mind. Finally, she nodded slightly: "I will report the battle merits truthfully. A disciple who can play a key role in a Void Refinement level battle with Nascent Soul cultivation is indeed worth recording." She put away the jade slip, glanced at Shen Yun again, "I will submit your application for an elder's seat at the same time. Someone will notify you when it is approved." After she finished speaking, she transformed into the silver-white light and soared into the sky, quickly disappearing at the horizon where twilight and sea mist intertwined.

Shen Yun stood on the stone platform, watching the departing light, then turned to Li Hanshan. Her gaze fell on his face, and after a moment of silence, she spoke, her voice a few decibels lower than when she had spoken to the senior members of the Immortal Alliance: "You heard her last sentence. A disciple in the mid-Nascent Soul stage who can play a crucial role in a Void Refinement level battle is extremely rare in the Immortal Alliance's records. Although she didn't say she would give you any additional rewards, since she said 'report truthfully,' your treatment should be much better than expected." Shen Yun looked at him, "Your performance this time truly exceeded everyone's expectations. Even ordinary Nascent Soul stage cultivators would find it difficult to make such accurate judgments as you." After saying this, she withdrew her gaze, turned, and walked towards the tower, her deep purple robes brushing the ground as she walked with her steady steps.