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

As Li Hanshan followed Yin Yue up the giant tree, his feet treaded on the branches that shimmered with a silvery-white phosphorescence, each step feeling like walking on a solidified surface of moonlight.

The giant tree's branches extended in all directions from the main trunk, forming a natural platform in the center of the canopy. Yinling stood at the edge of the platform, her silver-white dress shimmering in the moonlight. Her silver-gray eyes first fell on Yinyue, paused for a moment, and then moved to Li Hanshan.

"Is the teleportation array already connected?" she asked, her voice as gentle and calm as a clear spring falling into a deep pool.

Yin Yue stood before her and nodded slightly: "Senior, it's connected. All twelve array artifacts are in place, the coordinates at both ends are locked, and the passage has been stably established. Only the final step remains to open it."

Yinling's gaze shifted from her face to Li Hanshan, a faint scrutiny appearing in her eyes, like the edge of a sharp blade slightly unsheathed in the moonlight, not dazzling, yet making one's back involuntarily tense for a moment.

She tilted her head slightly, her long, silvery-white hair slipping down her shoulder: "Really?"

Li Hanshan stood half a step to Yin Yue's side and nodded: "It's true. The array artifact was cast according to the array diagram, and the passage has been established."

Yinling stared at him for two breaths. Then she raised her right hand, and silvery-white spiritual energy condensed into an extremely fine wisp of light at her fingertips. The wisp of light shot out from her fingertips and landed precisely on Li Hanshan's brow.

The moment the light touched his brow, Li Hanshan felt an extremely warm spiritual energy seep into the edge of his sea of ​​consciousness from the point of contact, like a thread soaked in moonlight, slowly traveling along the outermost lines of his divine sense.

The spiritual energy was extremely gentle, neither invading the core of his consciousness nor touching his pure Yang primordial spirit. It simply circled the edge of his consciousness quietly, like a thin veil lifted by the wind, gently brushing across the water's surface, leaving extremely faint traces without disturbing a single fish underwater.

A moment later, the light faded, and Silver Bell nodded slightly. Her gaze returned to Hidden Moon's face, a faint smile appearing on her lips, a smile that seemed particularly delicate in the moonlight: "Good. You did better than I expected."

It seems that the simple spell just now was enough to confirm the truth or falsehood of Li Hanshan's words; this must be the ability of the sea race.

She turned and walked to the highest point of the platform in the center of the giant tree, her silvery-white skirt brushing against the phosphorescent branches and leaves. Her voice came from ahead: "When will it activate?"

Yin Yue took two steps forward: "The sooner the better. There's a situation in the sect. Ye Feiyan has already gone to the Elder Hall. If we delay too long, things might change."

Yinling turned her head slightly to the side, her silvery-white hair gleaming warmly in the moonlight. She paused for a moment, then turned around, her silvery-gray eyes lingering between Yinyue and Li Hanshan for a fleeting instant, the faint smile on her lips deepening slightly.

"I didn't expect you to actually succeed." Her voice was a little softer than before. "Now that we've come this far, I'll go back and persuade them."

She took out a dark silver conch shell from her sleeve, held it in her palm, and looked at Yin Yue's face: "After I return, I will discuss this with those three Dao-Merging experts. I will use this conch shell to send you the result of the discussion. Three sounds mean that the discussion is successful. One sound means that it has not been successful."

Yin Yue stood silent for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Alright, thank you, senior."

"No need to thank me. If things go well, I should be the one thanking you."

Yinling tucked the conch shell into her sleeve, stepped off the platform, and stopped as she passed Li Hanshan. She turned half her face, her silver-gray eyes falling on him, the moonlight casting a clear, cold glow on her eyelashes: "You're more interesting than I imagined."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yinling's figure began to become translucent. The silvery-white light slowly spread out from her body, like frost melting in the moonlight and slowly dissipating. In that instant, the silvery-white vegetation, giant trees, beaches, and sea surface on the entire island began to ripple with fine waves.

Li Hanshan felt the sensation under his feet rapidly fading away. The solid feeling of stepping on the frozen moonlight was being pulled away from his feet by some force, and everything in his vision began to become blurry and distant, like a painting soaked in water slowly spreading out.

The last thing he saw was Silver Bell standing atop the canopy of that giant silver-white tree, her form transformed into a faint silver light, merging into the clear hues between the moonlight and the sea. At that moment, the entire island began to collapse inward; the silver-white sand, vegetation, and tree branches, like fallen leaves sucked into a vortex, swirled and converged towards the center, ultimately transforming into a tiny silver-white speck of light that dissipated into the endless moonlight.

My field of vision suddenly shifted.

When Li Hanshan regained his sense of solidity, the first thing he touched was the cool texture of the dark blue-green rock floor in the cave chamber. The cool light of the luminous pearl flowed across the stone walls, the sound of the spirit spring water was exceptionally clear in the quiet space, and the air was filled with a faint aroma of spirit wood and medicinal pills. Everything was exactly the same as before the illusion dissipated.

He opened his eyes and saw Yin Yue standing by the stone platform. Her silver-white veil shimmered with a cool light in the glow of the night-shining pearl, and her calm eyes were fixed on the twelve array artifacts in the center of the stone chamber. The surfaces of the array artifacts still retained the faint silver-white luster of when the teleportation array was completed, quietly settling into the dark blue stone surface.

Yin Yue turned around, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment, before walking to the stone platform and sitting down again. She picked up the cup of spiritual tea, which had been refilled with hot water, took a sip, and set it down, her voice regaining its clear and steady tone: "Wait."

Li Hanshan sat down opposite the stone platform, his pure Yang energy slowly circulating through his meridians. Leaning against the stone wall, his gaze fell on Yin Yue's face, which was mostly veiled by a silver veil. After a moment of silence, he spoke, "When will Ye Feiyan arrive?"

Yin Yue's fingers, holding the teacup, paused slightly. She remained silent for a moment before speaking, "I'm not sure. The elders aren't always in the Elder Hall. If the elders Ye Feiyan is looking for are in seclusion, it will probably take some time. But recently, the Demon Sect is preparing for war, and most of the elders from various sects are not in seclusion; they should be on duty in the Elder Hall. If Ye Feiyan goes to invite them, it will take a day or two if things go smoothly, and three to five days if things go slowly."

She set down her teacup, her fingertips tracing the rim lightly. "But if the elders who come aren't of high enough status, they won't easily touch me. My position as Saintess was personally bestowed by the sect leader; ordinary elders aren't qualified to investigate my cave dwelling. What Ye Feiyan is looking for are at least some of the higher-ranking elders in the Elder Hall. But those elders are all busy preparing for war recently and may not have the time to concern themselves with such personal grudges."

After she finished speaking, she didn't say anything more. She just sat quietly by the stone platform, her gaze fixed on the burning spirit lamp in the corner of the stone chamber, as if waiting for something. Li Hanshan didn't ask any further questions. He just leaned against the stone wall and went through the formula for the Fusion God Pill in his mind again.

The cave remained quiet for a long time. The sound of the spiritual spring water flowed between the two of them, and the light of the luminous pearl flickered silently on the stone wall.

He turned his head and looked at Yin Yue's face, which was mostly covered by a silver veil. The cool light of the luminous pearl outlined a very faint contour on her profile. There was a fine crease on the edge of her silver collar, left from repeated rubbing, a mark left when she had been holding the hem of her dress.

"You seem very nervous," he said calmly.

Yin Yue paused slightly. She still didn't look at him, but instead turned her gaze from the spirit lamp to the intricate patterns of the restrictions on the stone platform. After a moment of silence, she spoke, her voice a few decibels lower than before: "A little."

She paused, tapping her finger lightly on the edge of the stone platform, as if confirming the weight of her words. "If Yinling fails, all our efforts will be in vain. Not only will the teleportation array be useless, but you and I may not even be able to leave the Heavenly Demon Sect safely. Ye Feiyan has already set her sights on you. If Yinling cannot persuade the higher-ups of the Immortal Alliance, and the Immortal Alliance's army does not come, it will only become more and more dangerous for us to stay here."

Li Hanshan looked at Yin Yue's slightly tense shoulders and could sense the worry in her voice as she spoke. Although she had been infiltrating the Immortal Alliance for so many years and was used to walking on the edge of a knife, this time she had staked everything on, leaving no way out.

He said, "How about we do something to ease the tension?"

Yin Yue paused. She turned to look at him, a hint of surprise flashing in her calm eyes beneath the silver veil: "What are you doing?"

Li Hanshan stood up from the stone platform, walked to her, squatted down, and met her gaze. He could see that she tensed up slightly for a moment as he approached, but quickly relaxed again, though her gaze unconsciously drifted away, landing on the side passage leading to the back chamber.

"It's getting dark," he said. "Perfect, perfect for using up the night you owe me, how about it..."

"You!!!" Yin Yue was both angry and helpless. Even at this point, Li Hanshan was still thinking about this.

"I can't help it, you're too beautiful." Li Hanshan moved closer to her and took her small hand. "I just want your body."