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

The farce is over.

The seven elders arrived quickly and left quickly.

The Second Elder left behind the words, "Follow the established rules," and took the lead in ascending into the sky. Before leaving, the Third Elder gave Li Hanshan a deep look, a look that contained no hostility, only calculation, making one feel very uncomfortable. The Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh Elders walked together, whispering to each other as they departed. The Ninth Elder, his face ashen, remained silent, his escape light moving quickly and rapidly, as if afraid that if he lingered any longer, he would be challenged again.

The Fifth Elder walked at the very back.

As she passed by Li Hanshan, she paused, her red lips parted slightly as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only sighed softly, shook her head, and transformed into a streak of light, disappearing into the distance.

Soon, only a few people remained on the desolate mountain.

The wind swept through the rocks, stirring up lingering demonic energy and dust, emitting a low whimper. The desolate mountain, which had been tense just moments before, was now empty and desolate, with only the mangled body in the center and the scattered stones testifying to the life-or-death struggle that had just taken place.

The sect leader waved his hand, and the soundproof barrier dissipated.

"Hanshan." She turned around, her gaze fixed intently on Li Hanshan. "What you just said—is it true?"

"You really have a way to help your master break through to the Dao Integration Realm?"

The sect leader's voice was steady, but Li Hanshan could tell that beneath that calmness lay years of longing and torment.

She had been stuck at the peak of the Void Refinement realm for far too long. So long that each period of seclusion to break through it had become torture; so long that the words "Harmony with the Dao" had slowly transformed from a goal into a scar she dared not touch. For centuries, she had sat alone in her quiet room countless times in the dead of night, feeling that barrier, as thin as a cicada's wing yet indestructible, attempting to break through it time and time again, only to be pushed back each time. She had even resigned herself to ending her life here. But today, someone told her that the door could be opened.

So long that each retreat became torture; so long that the goal of "harmonizing with the Dao" slowly transformed into a scar that one dared not touch.

Li Hanshan met his gaze and nodded solemnly.

"Absolutely true."

"However, there are too many people around here, so I cannot go into details. Master, I will explain to you privately later."

The sect leader stared at him for a long time, then suddenly reached out and patted his shoulder heavily.

"good."

"good."

With two consecutive "good"s, a glimmer of tears welled up in the eyes of this sect leader, who had remained impassive for centuries. The tears vanished in an instant, so quickly it was almost an illusion, but Li Hanshan saw it clearly. A slight pang of sadness struck him—this master, who had led the Hehuan Sect for hundreds of years, carried too much on her shoulders. The honor and disgrace of the sect's lineage, the suppression of the elders' council, the future of the sect—all weighed heavily on her shoulders alone. And "Harmony with the Dao" was the only thing that allowed her to stand tall.

Ye Shuanghua stood aside, watching this scene with a mixture of surprise and delight.

She had thought today was a dead end—the entire Elders Council had come out in force, the Ninth Elder's framing had become public, and even the First Elder, Nie Hongyuan, had personally come out to exert pressure. But the whole situation was miraculously turned around by Li Hanshan's few words and the power of his sword!

Just how much more is this person hiding?

"Senior Sister," Li Hanshan suddenly turned to look at her, "Where are Hua Nongying and the others now?"

After news of the Heavenly Demon Sect's destruction spread, his biggest worry was the safety of these few people. The elders couldn't deal with him, but they might target his connections within the sect.

Ye Shuanghua's expression softened.

"rest assured."

"On the very first day the news spread, I moved them, along with their cave dwellings, servants, and spiritual fields, into my Frostflower Cave Heaven. No matter how far the Elders' Council's reach extends, it can't penetrate my cave."

"They are all staying peacefully in the cave now, but they think of you every day."

Upon hearing this, Li Hanshan felt a warmth in his heart and solemnly clasped his hands in thanks: "Senior Sister, thank you."

"No need to thank me." Ye Shuanghua turned her face away, her ears slightly red. "You've saved me so many times... They are your concerns, so they are also the people I must protect."

Not far away, Zhang Qingxuan also walked over quickly.

She had been in the crowd the whole time, and the lingering fear still lingered on her beautiful face. Her gaze towards Li Hanshan was extremely complex—containing worry, lingering fear, and a kind of pride that she herself couldn't quite explain.

However, seeing that Li Hanshan's cultivation level had changed so much...

She looked at him and suddenly felt that the person in front of her was both familiar and unfamiliar.

"I'm glad you're alright." She opened her mouth, but all her words, a thousand words, were reduced to just these five.

Li Hanshan smiled at her.

Just then, a streak of light returned and landed in front of them.

It is the Fifth Elder.

After landing, she first looked at the sect leader, then at Li Hanshan, and suddenly raised her hand to set up a small soundproof barrier. The smile on her face disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.

"Hanshan."

She called him by his name in a very low voice.

"I turned back, just to say one thing."

"You saw what those people in the Elder Council were thinking today. If the Sect Leader can break through to the Dao Integration Realm, everyone will be happy; but if he can't—the Joyful Union Sect's current situation will only be worse than before the Heavenly Demon Sect was destroyed. The Immortal Alliance is about to attack, and the Elder Council is still fighting amongst themselves. Once the Immortal Alliance really comes to attack…"

"The first to suffer will be the Hehuan Sect."

"The second unlucky one is you, and your sect leader's lineage."

She stared into Li Hanshan's eyes, speaking slowly and deliberately:

"So—I hope what you just said is true."

"You'd better be able to really help the sect leader."

After saying that, she gave Li Hanshan a deep look, removed the restriction, and soared into the sky in a burst of light. This time, she was truly gone.

Watching the departing light, Ye Shuanghua murmured, "Fifth Martial Aunt... has already helped us twice today."

Li Hanshan nodded.

In the stagnant pool of the Elders' Council, this Fifth Elder might be an exception.

The desolate mountain has returned to tranquility.

Li Hanshan gazed in the direction where the Fifth Elder had left, his eyes flickering slightly.

He already had a plan in mind regarding where to help the sect leader break through his limits.

Yaoguang Ruins.

The ruins of the Yaoguang Sect are shrouded in an ancient array, with layers upon layers of void restrictions. Apart from him, who possesses the Yaoguang inheritance and can freely enter and exit the ruins, even if someone who has reached the Dao realm arrives, they cannot even think of taking a step.

Leading the sect leader into the Yao Guang Ruins to break through—even the three Dao Integration cultivators from the Immortal Alliance, who sensed the aura, could only stare helplessly outside the ruins.

There is no safer place to break through than there.

Of course, these things cannot be said now.

"Master, let's find somewhere to talk." Since the Hehuan Sect's mountain gate wouldn't let Li Hanshan in, he had no choice but to find a safe place to persuade the sect leader.

-

Behind them, the turmoil within the Hehuan Sect was only just beginning.

On that day, thousands of disciples witnessed all of this in the square in front of the mountain gate.

One sword.

He only used one sword.

The Grand Elder who fought his way out of the Blood Sea of ​​the Heavenly Demon Sect, the former peak Void Refinement cultivator, died under Li Hanshan's sword.

The news spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the Five Peaks in less than an hour.

On the outer training ground, several disciples were practicing their swordsmanship when they suddenly stopped and looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Have you heard? Senior Brother Li... Uncle Li's sword strike..."

"I heard! I heard! My cousin works at the mountain gate and saw it with his own eyes! He said that when that sword was drawn, the sky fell silent!"

"My goodness, just a few years ago he was a furnace cauldron..."

"A furnace or cauldron?" A senior disciple who had been in the sect for decades sighed. "That's not a furnace or cauldron; that's a true master hiding his true abilities. Do you remember that heavenly tribulation in the square back then? I said then that this kid was no ordinary person..."

"Hindsight is 20/20!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

In the inner sect's purple bamboo forest, several female cultivators huddled together, chattering excitedly.

"You didn't see it, Senior Sister Ye stood in front of him and spat out so much blood—tsk tsk."

"I think Senior Sister Ye's feelings for him are definitely not ordinary!"

"Nonsense, who wouldn't find a man like that extraordinary?!"

Inside the courtroom, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed to drip water.

Several deacons surrounded the Ninth Elder, not daring to utter a sound. The Ninth Elder sat in the hall with a gloomy face. After a long while, he suddenly slammed his palm down and shattered the table in front of him.

"Refining the void...refining the void..."

"How could he possibly be a Void Refinement cultivator!"

No one dared to speak.

A steward below the hall mustered his courage and whispered, "Elder, what about... in the Hall of Rewards and Benevolence, is Li Hanshan's merit record still being kept according to the rules?"

"What's there to record!" The Ninth Elder slammed his hand on the table again. "Let's wait until he gets through this hurdle!"

Outside the hall, Yan Qingsong, who was passing by, stopped in his tracks.

He stood under the corridor, gazing at the sea of ​​clouds over the five peaks in the distance, and remained motionless for a long time.

The wind lifted the corner of his clothes, making them flutter loudly.

After a long while, he suddenly chuckled softly. In that chuckle, there was no longer any of the hostility he had shown before, only an indescribable, almost bewildered complexity.

"Chen Jie..."

"I can't avenge you."

"Don't blame me."

"If you have someone to blame, blame yourself for messing with someone you shouldn't have messed with at all."