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

The sky didn't darken little by little.

The entire sky was like a curtain that had been smeared with ink from above; within a few breaths, it became so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Dark purple tribulation clouds surged wildly from the void, piling up layer upon layer centered above Seagod Island, instantly covering an area of ​​thousands of miles. The clouds were so thick that their tops were invisible, pressing down on the surface of the endless sea, causing it to sink three feet. Deep within the clouds, streaks of purplish-black lightning rolled and weaved like billions of dragons, intertwining, devouring, and growing stronger with each other, producing a roar that could no longer be called a sound—it was a shockwave directly striking the soul.

On Poseidon Island, A-Ling tightly covered A-Yan's ears, and the two of them were forced to their knees by the invisible shock.

Beneath the island, the Void Refining Giant Turtle let out an unprecedented low growl, a mixture of fear and wariness. For the first time in thousands of years, it voluntarily retracted its head and limbs completely into its shell.

Thousands of demonic beasts guarding the perimeter wailed, burying their heads deep beneath the sea.

Poseidon Island.

Ye Feiyan tilted her head back, remaining motionless.

She had read about the Dao Integration Tribulation in the secret archives of the Heavenly Demon Sect—a world-destroying power capable of burning mountains and boiling seas, causing devastation to thousands of miles of land. And now, this tribulation cloud hanging above her head, though far smaller in scale, possessed an ancient and boundless sense of destruction emanating from its depths, which was of the same origin as the Dao Integration Tribulation recorded in the secret archives.

"What... what kind of monster is undergoing tribulation...?"

She murmured, her voice trembling uncontrollably.

She herself had experienced the breakthrough from Nascent Soul to Void Refinement. Compared to this scene before her, the tribulation she faced that day was nothing more than a ripple.

Then, something occurred to her, and a crazy, hopeful light suddenly shone in her peach blossom eyes.

"Yes, yes..." She almost laughed out loud, "Strike him to death. The more terrifying the heavenly tribulation, the better. Strike that bitch to death, strike him to death, preferably until his soul is scattered and his body is completely destroyed—"

"boom!!!"

The first bolt of lightning struck.

The purplish-black lightning bolt, as thick as a mountain, pierced down from the sky thousands of miles away. The light that burst forth in that instant turned the entire Black Sea into a ghastly white daytime.

And directly below the lightning pillar—

A figure in black robes leaped from the flying boat, soaring into the sky against the lightning!

It is Li Hanshan.

Instead of dodging or avoiding, he threw a punch at the world-destroying pillar of lightning!

"Come!!"

The instant the lightning pillar collided with the fist, the Pure Yang True Flame exploded with a deafening roar. The purplish-gold flames, like a small sun, burst forth at the base of the lightning pillar. The lightning pillar was forcefully deflected by the punch, the remaining lightning grazing its side and plunging into the sea, stirring up a thousand-foot-high column of water.

First step, passed.

Li Hanshan, suspended in mid-air, shook his numb arm and grinned.

"this one?"

In the lower deck, Ye Feiyan's smile froze.

"Boom! Boom!"

The second and third came one after another.

Each bolt was thicker and more ferocious than the last. By the fifth bolt, the lightning pillar had grown to a thousand feet thick. Li Hanshan no longer tried to withstand it head-on. He drew his Divine Soul Sword and cleaved through the lightning with a single strike. His figure moved like a fish through the gaps in the lightning, actually splitting the world-destroying lightning pillar in two in mid-air.

In the lower deck, Ye Feiyan's fingernails dug deeply into her palms.

"Why isn't he dead yet..." She gritted her teeth, staring intently at the figure tumbling through the lightning. "The fifth one... Normally, those undergoing the Void Refinement Tribulation reach their limit after three steps, why isn't he dead yet!"

When the sixth bolt of lightning struck, Li Hanshan was finally injured.

A bolt of lightning grazed his left shoulder, instantly charring his entire arm, the flesh peeling back. He groaned, but during his descent, he abruptly twisted his body, and the purplish-gold Void Divine Seed deep within his dantian suddenly leaped—

The void was distorted.

The trajectory of the seventh lightning bolt was gently "bent" by an invisible force, and it entered the sea just three miles away from him, the splashing water wetting the hem of his clothes.

"The power of the void..." Ye Feiyan's pupils shrank to pinpoints. "He...he even moved the Heavenly Tribulation aside?!"

"boom!!!"

The eighth one.

This bolt of lightning was black. Pure black.

It fell slowly, not fast at all. But where it passed, space collapsed, light vanished, and even sound was swallowed up completely.

For the first time, Li Hanshan's expression changed.

He no longer concealed his abilities. The Divine Soul Sword hovered above his head, pure Yang True Flame enveloped his body, the Void Divine Seed spun wildly, and even the wisp of Void Origin he had just tamed was drawn out and used entirely to block in front of him—

Black lightning bolts fell.

The world fell silent for a moment.

Then, a dark purple mushroom cloud rose from the sea.

"Hahahaha—" In the lower deck, Ye Feiyan laughed loudly, tears streaming down her face. "Dead! Dead! Even a peak-stage Void Refinement cultivator couldn't withstand that attack! You bitch, you're dead, you're all dead—"

Deep within the mushroom cloud.

A charred hand slowly emerged, parting the swirling smoke and thunder.

Li Hanshan remained suspended in place, his clothes long since turned to ashes, his exposed body covered with fine cracks, beneath which purple-gold flames flickered, like a piece of porcelain about to break and then being repeatedly glued back together.

He is not dead.

He was even laughing.

"There's one more."

He raised his head, looked at the still churning storm clouds, and slowly clenched his fist.

The ninth tribulation lightning had been brewing deep within the clouds for the entire incense stick's time.

When it fell, all the colors in the world faded.

That was no longer a bolt of lightning.

It was a pillar of pure destruction, supporting the entire world. It crashed down with unstoppable force, shattering the void in its wake to reveal the pitch-black chaos beneath—

Li Hanshan looked up at the approaching pillar of destruction and suddenly smiled.

He opened his arms and withdrew all his defenses.

"Come."

boom--------

The lightning bolt completely engulfed him.

……

I don't know how much time passed.

The clouds of calamity began to dissipate.

The starlight began to fall again, the sea level slowly rose, and the wind began to blow again.

A figure stood silently suspended in mid-air.

He was naked, and the charred dead skin peeled away inch by inch like a spider web, revealing the new skin underneath—skin as smooth as jade, with a faint sheen like glass, and beneath each line, it seemed as if purple-gold flames were slowly flowing.

The ninth bolt of lightning did not kill him.

The destructive power of that final blow was completely absorbed into his body by him, using the Void God Seed as a furnace and the Pure Yang True Flame as fire. Inch by inch, it was forged into his primordial spirit, his flesh and blood, and his bones.

At this moment, his physical body was as translucent as glass, and his primordial spirit as pure as an infant's.

Refining emptiness, accomplished.

Moreover, it was forged in a way that was unprecedented.

Li Hanshan slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath. The breath lingered in the void, swirling like a dragon, before finally dissipating.

Just then—

His movements suddenly stopped.

An indescribable chill crept up his neck without any apparent reason.

He suddenly looked up and gazed beyond the sky.

The starry sky was silent, the clouds of calamity had dispersed, and there was nothing there.

But just a moment ago, he clearly felt a gaze that came from beyond the heavens, from the depths of the boundless chaos, piercing through endless worlds and void, and landed on him.

There was no murderous intent, nor any kindness, in that gaze.

It just watched.

Like a giant on a journey, looking down at a new sprout that has just broken through the soil at its feet.

Li Hanshan remained suspended in place, silently confronting that unseen gaze for several breaths, before suddenly smiling.

He straightened his non-existent collar and bowed to the void in the distance.

"Have you seen enough?"

"If you've seen enough, please excuse me."

Whether it was because she heard Li Hanshan's voice or because the time had come, that gaze slowly withdrew, like the tide receding from the beach, leaving no trace.

Li Hanshan pursed his lips, his body sank, and he landed on the flying boat.

The deck was already packed with people. The little beast was the first to pounce, burying its head in his arms and rubbing against him; Ayan tilted his head back, mouth agape, and after a long pause, managed to utter, "Senior Hanshan... are you even human?"

Uncle Liu, this old general, bowed solemnly.

At the cabin door, Yin Yue, draped in a silver-white robe, stood quietly, leaning against the doorframe. Her cultivation had dropped two levels, and her face was still somewhat pale, but when her clear, cold eyes fell upon him, they shone with an astonishing brightness.

Li Hanshan, holding the small beast, walked up to her and whispered:

"I remember what I owe you."

Yin Yue looked at him for a long time, then softly hummed in agreement.

The night wind blows across the sea, and the starlight shines like a ribbon.

No one knows what was happening just moments ago, something in the outer reaches of this world, looking down at the sky.