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

The day before the Flowing Light Array was shut down, the stone platform and wooden frame in Cave No. 9 were already mostly empty.

The jade slips containing talismans, which had been repeatedly examined over the past fifteen years, were carefully stored in a storage bag. The last talisman brush on the talisman-making platform was also washed with water and placed in its brush box by Shen Qingyue. Fine mist still rose from the surface of the spirit spring pool, but those figures who had once sat side by side by the water had now each packed their belongings.

Li Hanshan stood by the stone platform, his fingertips gently stroking the silver-white deacon token. The character "阵" (array) on the token's surface shimmered with a fine silver light in the glow of the luminous pearl, like a tamed stream flowing quietly in a narrow riverbed. He put the token away, turned around, and his gaze fell on Shen Yun, who was checking the seal on her storage bag.

"Sect Master, after we leave the Flowing Light Array, I'd like to see Elder Gong and tell him about my cultivation level." His voice wasn't loud, but it made Shen Yun stop tidying up her storage bag.

She looked up, surprise in her almond-shaped eyes, and repeated Li Hanshan's words: "You want to tell him about your cultivation level?"

Li Hanshan nodded. Shen Yun put down the storage bag in her hand, remained silent for a moment before speaking, her tone filled with worry: "When you came to the Immortal Alliance, you said you were at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, but later during the beast tide, your cultivation was revealed to be at the fifth level of the Divine Transformation stage, and only I knew that. Now you've been in the Flowing Light Array for fifteen years. If Elder Gong finds out you're already at the peak of the Divine Transformation stage—do you think he won't be suspicious? A rogue cultivator, rising from the mid-Nascent Soul stage to the peak of the Divine Transformation stage in less than twenty years—that speed is incomprehensible in any sect within the Immortal Alliance. What will he think?"

Her voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet cave, creating a silent ripple on the surface of the spirit spring pool.

Lin Qingyin leaned against the stone wall by the spirit spring pool, and straightened up slightly when she heard her words, her clear eyes also filled with contemplation. Shen Qingyue stood at the door of the meditation room, her pen box still in her hand, her gaze falling on Li Hanshan with concern.

Li Hanshan walked to the stone platform and sat down, picking up the cup of now-cold spiritual tea and taking a sip. He could feel the gazes of the three people simultaneously falling on him, their attention naturally tense because of his impending words, like a taut thread in the mist of the spiritual spring.

He put down his teacup, his gaze meeting Shen Yun's worried almond-shaped eyes. "As a late-stage Void Refinement cultivator and the elder in charge of the Flowing Light Array, he has had numerous encounters with me over the years. If he couldn't discern my true strength at all, then it would prove that my concealment technique is indeed so advanced that even he couldn't detect it. But in reality, he probably already saw through it, but simply didn't point it out."

Shen Yun frowned slightly: "You mean, he's always known you're hiding it, and was just waiting for you to bring it up?"

"The range of a late-stage Void Refinement cultivator's spiritual sense far exceeds that of a Nascent Soul cultivator. He observed me around those array flags so many times; if he truly couldn't sense anything, that wouldn't make sense." Li Hanshan stood up and fastened the silver-white deacon token back to his waist. "So rather than waiting for him to ask, it's better to take the initiative and tell him. As for whether he believes it or not—we'll only know after trying."

Lin Qingyin walked over from the Spirit Spring Pool and stopped in front of him, her gaze level with his: "I'll go with you. If Elder Gong really wants to investigate your concealment of your cultivation level, I am, after all, from the Biluo Sect and a newly promoted Void Refinement cultivator, so I can at least say a few words for you."

Shen Yun looked at her, sighed, and the worry in her voice had not completely dissipated: "Fine, if you really want to go, I'll go with you. Elder Gong is always fair, as long as you can give him a reason that he can accept, he shouldn't make things difficult for you."

Shen Qingyue raised her hand: "Husband, I'll go too!"

The next morning, as the four passed through the pale golden barrier at the entrance of Cave No. 9, which was slowly closing in, the spiritual mist was thinner than usual, and the vines and leaves covering the mountain stone steps curled slightly at the edges due to the loss of the continuous nourishment from the array's spiritual energy.

They walked along the familiar bluestone path toward the central mountain range of the island. Along the way, they could see the restrictions on other caves gradually being lifted, and cultivators carrying their packs emerged from their respective caves. Their gazes lingered on Shen Yun and Lin Qingyin for a few moments. Some recognized the identity of the Purple Thunder Pavilion Sect Master, while others noticed the steady and powerful aura emanating from Lin Qingyin, a newly promoted Void Refinement cultivator, and exchanged a few whispered words.

As the three passed through the three stone gates, Li Hanshan could sense that the spiritual energy atmosphere inside the last gate was slightly different from usual—the subtle turbulence caused by the shifting array flags had disappeared, and the entire rock chamber was like a carefully calibrated clock, with every gear meshing perfectly.

Elder Gong stood amidst the twelve silver-white array flags, his long silver robe gleaming coldly in the light of the luminous pearl. His back to the stone gate was to the door, a scroll of array diagrams being turned in his hand. Sensing footsteps behind him, he didn't turn around, only his voice drifting over: "Deacon Li, you've come at the perfect time."

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the four people in turn, pausing for a moment on Li Hanshan, then on Shen Yun and Lin Qingyin respectively. After a moment, he put down the array diagram in his hand, walked to the stone platform, and gestured for the three to sit down.

Li Hanshan did not sit down on the stone bench. He stood two steps in front of the stone platform, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke: "Elder Gong, I have come today to confess something to you."

Elder Gong's gaze fell on his face, tightening slightly as if a string had been pulled to its limit. He picked up the teacup on the stone table, took a sip, and said in a calm tone, "Speak."

"My cultivation level is not the Nascent Soul stage I've always displayed." Li Hanshan raised his head, meeting Elder Gong's piercing eyes. His cultivation was actually at the peak of the Deity Transformation stage.

Elder Gong's hand, holding the teacup, stopped in mid-air, and a subtle ripple spread around him from the originally steady spiritual energy fluctuations.

He set down his teacup, his gaze lingering on Li Hanshan for several moments, as if re-examining this young cultivator who had stood before him for so many years. After a pause, he spoke, his voice softening as if a certain suspicion had been confirmed: "You came specifically to tell this elder about this; aren't you afraid I'll hold you accountable for concealing your cultivation level?"

"Of course I'm afraid," Li Hanshan said, not avoiding his gaze. "But I'm even more afraid of pretending nothing's wrong when I've already been seen through. Over the years, I've been repairing the array flags in the Flowing Light Array, and Elder Gong's trust in me has grown day by day. If I continue to hide it, it will be even harder to explain when Elder Gong discovers it himself. That's why I've chosen to speak up today."

Shen Yun stood up and bowed slightly to Elder Gong: "Elder Gong, I also bear responsibility for this matter. When he first entered the Purple Thunder Pavilion, it was because of my invitation, Qingyue. He was originally a rogue cultivator who had wandered the Central Continent for many years and was used to the abuse of power. He concealed his cultivation level only to protect himself. It was I who asked him to settle down in the Purple Thunder Pavilion first and gradually reveal it when the time was right. If Elder Gong wishes to pursue this matter, I am willing to bear joint responsibility."

Elder Gong's gaze shifted to Shen Yun, then to Lin Qingyin. Lin Qingyin also stepped forward: "This disciple is also willing to vouch for Li Hanshan. He has saved my life more than once. If it weren't for his intervention, I would have already died from a qi deviation. A cultivator willing to risk exposure to save someone, even if he conceals his cultivation level, is trustworthy."

Elder Gong did not respond immediately. He stood up and stopped in front of Li Hanshan. His eyes, sharp as lightning, measured every inch of Li Hanshan's spiritual energy fluctuations with the precision of two invisible rulers.

A moment later, he raised his right hand, and a silvery-white spiritual light surged from his palm, forming a thin light curtain three feet around Li Hanshan, enveloping him like a drawn curtain. When the spiritual light touched the edge of his meridians, it did not rush to penetrate, but instead circled around him like a fish testing the water temperature, before slowly seeping into his dantian.

Li Hanshan could feel that the spiritual light was perceiving the state of his spiritual energy circulation in an extremely precise way. He did not resist and let the spiritual light travel through his meridians.

He could sense that when Elder Gong's spiritual power touched the surface of the pure Yang primordial spirit in his dantian, it seemed to perceive the layer of silver-purple lightning patterns, paused for a moment, and then retreated along the same path, calmly withdrawing from his meridians like a tide.

As Elder Gong withdrew his hand, the silvery-white light barrier surrounding Li Hanshan also dissipated. His gaze lingered on Li Hanshan's face for a moment, then he sat back down on the stone bench beside the platform, picked up the now-cold spiritual tea, and took another sip: "Peak Nascent Soul stage, solid foundation, pure Yang energy mixed with a trace of lightning attribute patterns, truly superior quality. You certainly didn't waste those fifteen years in the Flowing Light Array."

Elder Gong put down his teacup and turned his gaze back to Li Hanshan: "Since you have already confessed, I will not make things difficult for you. While concealing your cultivation level is indeed against the rules of the Immortal Alliance, considering that you have indeed contributed a lot to the Flowing Light Array over the years and have saved people on several occasions—this matter will end here. I will not pursue the matter further, nor will I record it."