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

The airship glides through the clouds, and the mountains and rivers below recede rapidly at the edge of the field of vision, like a shattered scroll.

"Of course." Yin Yue stood at the bow of the ship, her silver veil clinging to her jawline in the wind, outlining a cool and aloof profile. "If we don't use you as bait, how can we lure them out? The spies from the Hehuan Sect have been deeply rooted in the Immortal Alliance for many years, their connections running even deeper than those of the Heavenly Demon Sect. They've been hiding very well; after their failed attempt to use Zhao Yuan last time, they haven't shown any signs of activity. If we don't use a sufficiently significant target to make them act again, we'll never uncover the real mastermind."

Li Hanshan was silent for a moment, then tapped his fingers lightly twice on the edge of the ship's gunwale: "What cultivation level do you think the spy from the Joyful Union Sect would be? Nascent Soul? Or Void Refinement?"

"Refining to the Void." Yin Yue answered crisply and decisively, without the slightest hesitation. "The Joyful Union Sect never sends mediocre people to plant their pawns in the Immortal Alliance. They take a long-term approach, planting a single pawn for hundreds or even thousands of years. Those who can be sent to the Immortal Alliance are at least at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, and they certainly carry enough resources to sustain their cultivation for hundreds of years. Once such people gain a foothold in the Immortal Alliance, reaching the Refining to Void stage is only a matter of time."

Li Hanshan went over these words in his mind, and the more he thought about them, the more reasonable they seemed. The Hehuan Sect's pawns wouldn't be changed as frequently as the Tianmo Sect's—the Tianmo Sect followed a quick and efficient approach, changing a batch of people every thirty to fifty years to gather intelligence and disrupt the situation, using a swift and decisive method.

The Hehuan Sect is different. Once their pawns are planted, they are like seeds planted in the soil, slowly taking root, sprouting, and growing into big trees, until the day they need to reap the rewards, when their true forms will be revealed.

"A pawn who has cultivated to the Void Refinement stage in the Immortal Alliance," he said, his tone thoughtful. "What's the point? After so many years in the Immortal Alliance, his cultivation has improved, and he may have even achieved a certain status. Why would he want to go back to a place like the Joyful Union Sect?"

Yin Yue tilted her head slightly, a hint of approval flashing in her calm eyes, as if confirming that he was on the same page. She continued, "This pawn has been in the Immortal Alliance for so many years; he might not be without ulterior motives. What the Joyful Union Sect can give him, he can also obtain in the Immortal Alliance, perhaps even more. His staying in the Immortal Alliance to continue climbing the ranks may no longer be entirely for the Joyful Union Sect, but rather paving the way for himself. If the Joyful Union Sect is destroyed, he can easily continue to live as an Immortal Alliance cultivator, perhaps even thriving. But—"

She paused, her voice becoming even clearer than before: "Regardless of his motives, he is ultimately a pawn of the Joyful Union Sect. He must possess some form of control left behind by the sect—perhaps some kind of poison pill, some kind of restriction, or something even more insidious. As long as the Joyful Union Sect holds this thread, he will never escape their grasp. Therefore, when we take action against the Heavenly Demon Sect, he will definitely try to send the message back. This is the only reason we must eliminate him before we take action."

Li Hanshan nodded, mentally organizing his analyses into a clear line. He then asked the most crucial question: "How do we lure him out?"

"It's simple." Yin Yue turned around, her silver-white robes brushing against the deck. Moonlight fell on the silver patterns along the edge of her veil, making the fine lines appear like frozen streams. "Go to Wanxian City for a while. Wanxian City is the largest city in the Immortal Alliance, and also the place where news travels the fastest. Make a splash there, give him opportunities, get him to notice you, and he will naturally make his move."

Li Hanshan leaned against the ship's railing, gazing up at the night sky completely obscured by clouds. The flying boat swayed gently, and occasionally, streaks of light could be seen flashing past beneath the clouds in the distance—the contrails left by other cultivators on their journeys. After a moment of silence, he spoke, "Alright. I'll go to Wanxian City."

The prosperity of Wanxian City far surpassed any other Immortal Alliance city he had ever visited before. The main street in the city was about a hundred feet wide and paved with bluish-white jade. Shops and markets on both sides stretched for dozens of miles along the street, and various spiritual lights intertwined in the night to form a flowing sea of ​​stars.

The city was bustling with cultivators. Some rode spirit beasts through the streets, some hovered in mid-air on their swords to select goods from the market, and some simply gathered in twos and threes in front of teahouses and taverns to chat.

Li Hanshan rented a small courtyard house in the city, not too remote, but not too conspicuous either, just on the borderline between bustling city and quiet. He hung a wooden sign at the gate with the words "Array Formation, Alchemy, Talismans" on it, which served as a way to establish his identity and attract business.

Over the next few months, he intentionally spread his fame in a small area of ​​Wanxian City.

Every few days, he would go to the Array Dao Hall in the city to spar with others on array formations. Most of his opponents were elders from local small sects in Wanxian City or array formation experts among independent cultivators, with cultivation levels ranging from Nascent Soul to early Void Refinement.

He never went all out in sparring, always making his opponent feel a sense of pressure that was "just a hair's breadth away," yet he always managed to learn something from his defeats. After several rounds of sparring, a rumor gradually spread in the city's array circles—there was a deacon of the Array Hall whose cultivation was only at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, but he was extremely skilled in array deduction, and even array masters at the early stage of the Void Refinement stage might not be able to defeat him reliably.

In his alchemy practice, he set up a small blue stone furnace in his courtyard, refining a batch of medium-to-high quality Foundation Strengthening Pills or Mind Concentration Pills every few days. He then entrusted a familiar pill shop nearby to sell them on his behalf. The quality of these pills was excellent, yet the price was reduced by ten percent compared to the market price, quickly making him famous among the independent cultivators of Wanxian City. Some low-level cultivators with limited funds would even make a special trip to his courtyard to wait for the new pills to be refined. Occasionally, he would refine a few extra batches and give them away, as a way of building good relationships.

Talismans were his forte. He hung several third- and fourth-tier spirit talismans he had personally hand-painted on the courtyard wall, each marked with its purpose and price, and they were all sold out in less than half a month. Later, some people asked him to make custom fifth-tier spirit talismans, and he accepted several orders. The quality of the talisman paper he drew greatly amazed those who made the orders, and after the news spread, even more people came to ask for talismans.

Over the course of a few months, the news that "a deacon named Li from the Array Hall has arrived in Wanxian City, a master of alchemy, talismans, and arrays" quietly spread throughout the city. He didn't deliberately try to befriend anyone, but more and more rogue cultivators and cultivators from small sects took the initiative to come to his door, and his name was often mentioned in teahouses and taverns.

That evening, he was organizing a stack of newly drawn talismans in the courtyard when a slow, steady knock came from outside the gate. He put down his talisman brush and opened the door, where he saw a handsome young cultivator standing on the threshold, wearing a faded gray-blue robe and a token engraved with "Qingyu Pavilion" hanging at his waist. His cultivation level was at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

The cultivator bowed slightly to him, his smile gentle and sincere: "Fellow Daoist Li, I apologize for the intrusion. I am He Yuan, an elder in charge of the Qingyu Pavilion. I have heard of your reputation in Wanxian City and have come to pay you a visit."

Li Hanshan ushered him into the courtyard and seated him at a stone table. He Yuan took a wooden box from his sleeve and placed it on the table. Inside was a piece of decent-quality grade three spirit ore, presented as a gift. Li Hanshan glanced at the ore; its quality was acceptable, but its value wasn't high. The other party was likely just testing the waters. He didn't rush to respond, but casually asked, "Fellow Daoist He, what brings you here?"

He Yuan didn't immediately explain his purpose. Instead, he chatted for a while about the market situation in Wanxian City, and then asked him what talismans he had drawn and what pills he had refined recently. His tone was natural and casual, as if he were chatting with an old friend.

Li Hanshan chatted with him for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before He Yuan steered the conversation to business: "Fellow Daoist Li, I have a map marking the location of a secret realm at sea. The spiritual herbs inside are extremely ancient, and there are also some broken magical artifacts left behind by ancient cultivators. I originally intended to lead a group to explore it myself, but there aren't many Nascent Soul cultivators in Qingyu Pavilion who can command respect, and I'm afraid I couldn't handle it alone. Considering your recent reputation in the city, I've taken the liberty of inviting you. If you're willing to go, we can split the spoils fifty-fifty, how about it?"

Li Hanshan did not answer immediately. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and his gaze fell on He Yuan's gentle face. From the moment this elder of Qingyu Pavilion entered the courtyard until now, every action and every word he uttered was just right. He was warm but not obsequious, sincere but not eager, as if he were really just an ordinary cultivator looking for someone to go on an adventure with.

But why would someone he doesn't know contact him?

If the other party is a spy from the Hehuan Sect, their method would never be to take direct action—that would be too easy to expose their true colors.

Their most likely method would be to set a trap, luring him to a sufficiently remote and secluded place, where he would die in an "accident." The name "Seaside Secret Realm" perfectly fulfills all these conditions.

But his expression remained unchanged. He simply put down his teacup, as if carefully weighing the pros and cons, before finally speaking, "May I take a look at the map?"

He Yuan took out a yellowed animal hide map from his pocket, unfolded it, and spread it on the stone table. The map showed a route starting from the eastern coast of the Immortal Alliance, with a location marked in cinnabar at the end of the route and a few blurry words written next to it.

He Yuan pointed to the circle: "This place is in the southeast of the Endless Sea, about three thousand miles from the coast. There is a sea area there that is shrouded in spiritual mist all year round, and ordinary cultivators can't find the entrance at all. My friend accidentally wandered in while hunting demonic beasts, and he remembered the location after he came out."

Li Hanshan looked at the map, his divine sense quietly probing the surface of the animal hide, sensing the residual spiritual energy on the map. There was indeed a faint spiritual energy mark remaining on the cinnabar circle, not too old, roughly matching He Yuanfang's statement that it was "discovered several years ago." He glanced at the route again—starting from the eastern coast of the Immortal Alliance, heading south, avoiding the most dangerous gray area at the border between the Immortal Alliance and the Demon Sect, taking a relatively safe route.

It certainly looks like a legitimate adventure route.

But its overly serious demeanor actually made him slightly more uneasy. If the other party really wanted to set a trap, the best course of action was to make him feel that "everything is fine." After a moment of silence, he asked, "When do we set off?"

"Three days later." He Yuan put away the map, a perfectly measured look of joy on his face. "I have a flying boat ready, and all the necessary pills and supplies for the journey are prepared. Fellow Daoist, you only need to bring your preferred magical artifact."

Li Hanshan nodded: "Okay. I'll come find you in three days."

After He Yuan left, Li Hanshan closed the courtyard gate and sat down again at the stone table. He reviewed the locations marked on the rolled-up map in his mind, then took out the dark silver communication stone, infused it with spiritual power, and briefly conveyed the ins and outs of the matter to Yin Yue.

A moment later, the communication stone warmed slightly, and Yin Yue's voice came through it, containing only two words: "Follow up."

Li Hanshan put away the communication stone, closed his eyes, and sank his consciousness into the depths of his sea of ​​consciousness. Xiao An's soul floated quietly in his sea of ​​consciousness, its body surrounded by a deep blue light like a pool bathed in moonlight. The surface appeared calm, but beneath it lay a steady power at the Void Refinement level. He could summon Xiao An with just a thought, which was one of his trump cards.