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

When Li Hanshan put the silver token into his storage ring, he could feel the aura on its surface, which was of the same origin as Elder Gong's spiritual power imprint, slowly merging into his own spiritual power fluctuations, subtly connecting his identity with the authority of the Array Formation Division.

He clasped his hands in a salute to Elder Gong, said nothing more, and turned to walk out of the rock chamber shrouded in spiritual mist.

When Shen Yun returned to Cave No. 9, she was standing by the stone platform beside the spirit spring pool, holding a cup of spirit tea that was already half-finished. She saw his expression as he walked in from the cave entrance, and her gaze lingered for a moment on the spiritual energy fluctuations around him that had not yet been completely subdued. A questioning look appeared in her almond-shaped eyes.

Lin Qingyin was sitting on a grass mat not far from her, flipping through a jade slip containing cultivation techniques she had brought from the Biluo Sect. She looked up when she sensed his presence as he entered.

Li Hanshan sat down opposite the two, taking out the silver-white token from his sleeve and placing it on the stone table. The light from the luminous pearl fell on the character "阵" (array) on the token's surface and the fine silver patterns along its edges, reflecting a warm luster. Shen Yun's gaze fell on the token, her movements slightly paused, and the teacup she was holding stopped in mid-air. Lin Qingyin also put down the jade slip in her hand, her clear eyes surging with surprise.

"You received the deacon's token from the Array Formation Division?" Shen Yun put down her teacup, her voice betraying surprise despite her efforts to suppress it. "Did Elder Gong give it to you personally?"

Li Hanshan nodded and put the token away: "Some of the array flags of the Flowing Light Array have been repaired. Elder Gong said he needs someone to continue handling the follow-up maintenance. However, the timing of this token's arrival is quite good; at least it will make things easier for us to act in the various cities of the Immortal Alliance in the future."

He didn't mention that the battle flags had been tampered with. Elder Gong said not to make a fuss for now; he planned to keep this judgment to himself and consider his next move once the situation became clearer.

Shen Yun's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, as if trying to determine if he was hiding something he hadn't said. In the end, she didn't press him, but simply picked up her teacup again and took a sip: "Very well. The position of a steward in the Array Formation Department will certainly make things much easier within the Immortal Alliance in the future."

Lin Qingyin stood up, walked to him, and squatted down, meeting his gaze: "So, you're officially recognized now?"

Her tone was light and cheerful, but her gaze toward Li Hanshan was bright and sparkling, as if she were a young girl in love meeting her idol before Li Hanshan's transmigration.

Li Hanshan's trip resulted in him becoming a steward of the Immortal Alliance, and it was even approved by Elder Gong.

This made her like Li Hanshan even more. Women are all attracted to strength, even if she is a cultivator.

"I suppose so," Li Hanshan smiled slightly.

In the days that followed, life in Cave Dwelling No. 9 returned to the rhythm instilled by the time array. Morning light still seeped in through the cracks in the cave ceiling, refracting into tiny specks of light on the surface of the spirit spring pool; the glow of the luminous pearl remained steady during the intervals between its daily cycles, and the mist from the spirit spring flowed ceaselessly between the three people's respective rooms.

Li Hanshan continued his daily dual cultivation with Shen Qingyue, and the spiritual energy circulation between them, formed through years of cooperation, had become extremely familiar. After each dual cultivation session, he could feel the silver-purple lightning patterns on the surface of the pure Yang primordial spirit in his dantian becoming more solid, as if ancient runes, repeatedly drawn, were gleaming with a warm, cold light in the dim light.

Occasionally, after Shen Qingyue had fallen into a deep sleep, he would pass through the silver-white light barrier and walk towards the room on the left that was occupied by Shen Yun.

Shen Yun no longer needs his persuasion or guidance as she did at the beginning. When he pushed open the door, she was sometimes leaning against the stone wall by the spirit spring pool, flipping through a scroll of talisman jade slips. When she saw him come in, she put the jade slips aside, her gaze fixed on his face, and silently waited for him to approach.

The rhythm of their spiritual energy circulation had become extremely harmonious over many years of cooperation—he could sense the strength and direction of the Void Refinement Origin released by her body in each cycle, just like reading a book that had been turned countless times, with every page already memorized.

As for Lin Qingyin, Li Hanshan didn't neglect her either, often cultivating with her. This sect leader of the Immortal Alliance was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and sometimes he could be exceptionally crazy. For example, there was a period when Li Hanshan and she cultivated together over a hundred times in a month, practically living a life of revelry every night. If it weren't for Li Hanshan's physique, even an ordinary cultivator wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Two years passed quietly in this rhythm. Li Hanshan's cultivation steadily improved. Although the threshold of the peak of the Nascent Soul stage was still far away, each dual cultivation session and each cycle of spiritual energy was accumulating the foundation for the final breakthrough.

One late night in the spring of the third year, Li Hanshan and Shen Qingyue cultivated together in a quiet room until late at night. The silver-purple innate lightning power and pure yang energy circulated repeatedly in their meridians, like two rivers flowing into each other, creating an increasingly bright golden and silver-purple intertwined light at their confluence.

The innate lightning power within Shen Qingyue's body, like kindling being ignited in that cycle, continuously released extremely pure primal power, flowing into his meridians along the point where the two met, and then being tempered by his pure yang energy before being returned to her.

She could feel the long-standing barrier of her nascent soul growing thinner and thinner under the impact of the continuously flowing power. At first, it was only a very slight loosening, like the first crack appearing on ice under the warm spring sun; then those cracks spread outwards at an increasingly rapid pace, from as fine as a hair to spreading out like a spider web. Finally, when that power surged along the meridians to the edge of her dantian, the entire barrier shattered with a deafening roar.

Shen Qingyue felt an unprecedented surge of spiritual energy, like spring water that had been accumulating for too long finally breaking through the dam, rushing into her meridians.

The spiritual energy quality of the Nascent Soul stage is completely different from that of the Divine Transformation stage. It is like the surging sensation of suddenly leaping from a stream into a great river, which makes her sea of ​​consciousness tremble slightly.

When she opened her eyes, a golden luster naturally arose in her clear eyes due to the breakthrough, and her aura was more than one level higher than before.

She looked down at her hands, where a ball of silver-purple lightning condensed in her palms. She could feel that the power contained in that lightning was several times purer than it had been in the Nascent Soul stage, and each strand carried the calm and steady quality unique to a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Then she looked up at Li Hanshan opposite her, her eyes filled with surprise: "Husband... I've broken through to the Nascent Soul stage?"

Only after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage did Shen Qingyue notice the abnormality in Li Hanshan's spiritual power. Her eyes revealed deep surprise: "Husband, so you were already a Nascent Soul cultivator?"

This girl is way too slow to realize things.

She paused, her gaze lingering on him for a moment, then a serious look appeared in her clear eyes: "Your cultivation... has always been higher than you said. When I broke through just now, I sensed that the quality and amount of your spiritual energy were far beyond what an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator could possess. What exactly is your cultivation level?"

Li Hanshan was silent for a moment, then gently brushed aside a strand of hair that had fallen loose due to her breakthrough: "Ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm, could you please keep this a secret for me and not mention it to anyone?"

Ninth level of Nascent Soul!

Shen Qingyue was truly shocked.

Shen Qingyue remained stunned for a long time, staring blankly into Li Hanshan's eyes. After a long while, she nodded slightly. Without asking further questions or hesitating, she simply nestled her head into his chest: "I won't say anything. Don't worry, my husband, no matter who asks me, I won't tell."

As morning light seeped in through the cracks in the cave ceiling, Shen Yun stood at the entrance of the meditation room, watching the two figures embracing. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the Nascent Soul level spiritual energy flowing around Shen Qingyue, and a look of joy appeared on her face: "Qingyue has broken through to the Nascent Soul stage?" Her voice was filled with earnest satisfaction.

"I broke through last night." Shen Qingyue sat up from Li Hanshan's arms, straightened her robes, and gave her mother a bright smile: "Mother, I've reached the Nascent Soul stage."