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

Li Hanshan looked at the young man brought before him and was certain he had never seen him before. He understood—this man could be a spy planted within the Immortal Alliance by the Hehuan Sect, or he could be a righteous disciple with vested interests in the Hehuan Sect.

The Elders' Council's reach is indeed quite extensive.

Shen Yun also recognized Zhao Yuan's identity. Her voice was cold: "Zhao Yuan, you don't know Li Hanshan at all. Why did you report him as a spy for the Demonic Sect?" Her voice was not loud, but it carried a sense of pressure that made Zhao Yuan's back tense slightly.

Zhao Yuan subconsciously took a half step back, then, as if remembering something, abruptly stopped. He looked up at Li Hanshan: "I just think it's too suspicious that he's hiding his cultivation level. According to the rules of the Immortal Alliance, anyone with an unknown identity and abnormal cultivation level should be reported to the Enforcement Hall."

His words sounded reasonable enough, but Li Hanshan noticed that he never made eye contact with anyone while he was speaking, and his hands were slightly clenched and unclenched in his sleeves, as if he were reciting a prepared speech.

Duan Hong frowned even more deeply: "Even if he's concealing his cultivation level, you can't conclude he's a spy for the Demonic Sect based on that alone. Besides, he saved us; why don't you mention these facts?"

Zhao Yuan said coldly, "So what if I saved you? Who says disciples of the Demonic Sect can't save people?"

The deacon of the Enforcement Hall said in a deep voice, "That's right. There have been similar incidents in the past where disciples of the Demonic Sect rescued people, but this cannot be used as evidence to prove that he is not a spy."

Their words were met with approval from many of the disciples.

Seeing this, Shen Yun said loudly, "Ordinary demonic sect disciples can indeed gain trust by saving people, but Elder Li's spiritual power is upright and honest. Even when tested with a Dao artifact, there is no trace of the demonic sect. If you don't believe me, you can have the Enforcement Hall test it."

Zhao Yuan had been waiting for these words. He shouted, "Fine, since Fellow Daoist Li claims to be innocent, then dare you publicly display your cultivation foundation? Let the seniors of the Enforcement Hall personally examine your spiritual power to see if there are any traces of demonic sect techniques. If not, I, Zhao Yuan, will admit my mistake on the spot. If so—then don't blame me for showing no mercy."

These words caused another stir among the surrounding cultivators. Some whispered, "That's a good idea," while others simply watched Li Hanshan, waiting for his response.

Standing in the morning light, Li Hanshan's faint smile finally blossomed into a full expression. These were the words he wanted to hear. Zhao Yuan thought proposing to test his cultivation level would expose him, but he didn't know—Li Hanshan had been prepared from the very beginning.

"What is there to be afraid of?" he asked, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, clearly reaching the ears of everyone present.

He took a step forward, his pure Yang energy surging through his meridians like a tidal wave, then completely dispelling the spiritual energy restraints that had been suppressed for years. The pressure of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator erupted from the depths of his dantian like a golden volcano unleashed from its seal, warm yet profound, carrying the unique clarity of a pure Yang primordial spirit. Wherever that pressure passed, the fallen leaves on the main bluestone path were pressed tightly to the ground, and the air seemed to freeze for a brief moment.

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Duan Hong's gaze lingered for a moment on the oppressive aura, then his brow relaxed, for he had indeed sensed only pure Yang-attribute spiritual energy, devoid of any of the chilling or corrosive aura characteristic of demonic sect techniques. Liu Qing also sensed the fluctuations in spiritual energy; her expression shifted from tense to relieved, clearly confirming the purity of that energy.

Zhao Yuan's expression turned extremely ugly at that moment.

He could sense the almost transparent clarity in the spiritual energy emanating from Li Hanshan—a gentle, pure Yang energy that no demonic sect technique could fake. He opened his mouth, as if wanting to say something to salvage the situation, but under Li Hanshan's gaze, he found his voice dry, as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper.

But he gritted his teeth and forced out a sentence: "Peak Nascent Soul stage... You really have been hiding your cultivation level all along. According to the rules of the Immortal Alliance, if an outer sect cultivator conceals their true cultivation level after joining, it is considered fraud, punishable by expulsion at best, and imprisonment at worst. What else do you have to say?"

Before he finished speaking, Li Hanshan had already raised his right hand and taken out the silver-white token from his sleeve. The character "阵" on the surface of the token shimmered with fine silver light in the morning light, drawing a warm arc of light in the morning air.

He held the token to his chest, his gaze calmly sweeping over Zhao Yuan's face, which was slightly distorted with shock.

"Who said I'm an outsider cultivator?" His voice reverberated through the crowd. "I am a steward of the Immortal Alliance's Array Hall, personally appointed by Elder Gong. You, a disciple of the Cloud Hidden Pavilion, dare to bypass the Array Hall to report a steward of the Array Hall—Fellow Daoist Zhao? Do you think that's reasonable?"