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

Five hundred li east of Hehuan Sect, there is an unnamed solitary peak.

The solitary peak was half-hidden in the clouds, with only a few crooked old pines growing on its summit. It was a place rarely visited by people, and Li Hanshan and Ye Shuanghua appeared here.

Ye Shuanghua and Zhang Qingxuan left first.

Before leaving, Ye Shuanghua glanced at the sect leader, then at Li Hanshan. A faint, complex emotion, perhaps imperceptible even to herself, flickered in her clear, cold eyes. But she asked nothing, only leaving behind the words, "Hanshan, you can take Master to break through with peace of mind. I'll take care of them."

Then the two streaks of light disappeared into the night, one after the other, and returned to Frostflower Cave.

Only the master and his apprentice remained atop the mountain.

The sect leader raised his hand and set up a soundproof barrier. Milky white spiritual light rippled out like water, enveloping the entire peak.

"Now, you can speak."

She sat down on a blue stone under the old pine tree, her white dress fluttering gently in the night breeze. Her watery eyes fell on Li Hanshan's face. "What is this treasure?"

Li Hanshan stopped opposite her.

The night breeze was still.

He didn't answer immediately, but instead asked, "Master, do you still remember what I said to the elders inside the barrier?"

Which sentence?

"After destroying the Heavenly Demon Sect, the Immortal Alliance rewarded those who contributed, and I received a supreme treasure," Li Hanshan said frankly. "That last sentence was fabricated."

The sect leader raised an eyebrow slightly.

He fooled the seven elders, he fooled Nie Hongyuan, and he fooled thousands of eyes present—this disciple lied without batting an eye.

Therefore, the ultimate treasure does not exist at all.

"No, it exists."

Li Hanshan took a deep breath and uttered a sentence that left the sect leader of the Joyful Union Sect, who had ruled for a thousand years, stunned on the spot—

"Master."

"The most precious treasure is me."

The sect leader was taken aback.

For the first time, an almost blank, bewildered look appeared in those watery eyes. She had been in charge of the Hehuan Sect for a thousand years, witnessed countless storms, and heard countless words, but she never imagined that these four words would come from the mouth of her own closed-door disciple.

"……you?"

"Yes, it's me," Li Hanshan said earnestly. "Master, I have broken through to the Void Refinement stage. With my Pure Yang Sacred Body now at the Void Refinement stage, the abundance of pure Yang energy within me is more than ten times greater than that of ordinary Void Refinement cultivators—you should have already sensed this when you patted my shoulder on the desolate mountain earlier."

The sect leader remained silent.

She truly felt it. The pure yang energy dormant within him was astonishingly rich and intense—compared to it, her centuries-old icy pool seemed like shallow water about to be dried up.

"The Pure Yang Sacred Body is a naturally born and nurtured body of supreme Yang," Li Hanshan said, enunciating each word clearly. "But Master cultivates the Pure Yin path. The balance of Yin and Yang is the oldest and most effective method for breaking through realms in the world."

"Master has been stuck at the peak of the Void Refinement stage for hundreds of years. What he lacks is not accumulation or comprehension, but that final spark of opportunity—the transformation from pure Yang to pure Yin, like water flowing into a dry field."

"My master and I cultivated together, using our refined Yang energy to help him break through that barrier."

"I am absolutely certain."

Li Hanshan assured him. In truth, he wasn't entirely certain, but to convince the sect leader, he could only speak with certainty.

100%.

The sect leader repeated those two words in her mind, suddenly feeling somewhat dazed. Over the years, she had tried seclusion, searching for ancient sites, trying elixirs, and trying every method she could think of. Throughout the entire sect, no one dared to tell her "perfect"—not even herself.

The sect leader looked at him and remained silent for a long time.

Then, very slowly, a thin layer of red rose in those watery eyes.

She blushed.

For hundreds of years, she had been in charge of the Hehuan Sect, decisive in killing and ruthless, never showing her emotions. Even when the elders were overwhelming her, she remained unmoved. But tonight, when her own disciple uttered the words "dual cultivation" to her face, her heart, which had been dormant for hundreds of years, was thrown into turmoil without warning.

"You…" She looked away, a crack appearing in her usually steady voice for the first time, "This is the method you were talking about?"

"Yes," Li Hanshan answered readily.

Immediately, seeing the sect leader's reaction, his heart skipped a beat, and he quickly explained:

"Master, I swear to Heaven—I say this not to take advantage of you!"

"This disciple truly wishes to help Master!"

"I have witnessed Master's predicament all these years. The Elder Council has suppressed the Sect Leader's lineage for so many years. Master may have swallowed what Elder Nie Hongyuan said today, but I cannot."

"Once Master breaks through to the Dao Integration Realm—the world of the Joyful Union Sect will change."

The sect leader didn't look at him.

She gazed at the surging sea of ​​clouds below the peak for a long, long time before finally speaking softly:

"Hanshan, do you know that I have never engaged in dual cultivation with anyone!"

Have you never practiced dual cultivation with someone?

Li Hanshan was stunned and subconsciously looked at the sect leader. Was she really the sect leader of the Hehuan Sect?

However, considering that the sect leader's lineage of techniques must have been passed down from the maid, Li Hanshan vaguely understood.

Like Ye Shuanghua, she has never practiced dual cultivation with anyone.

The sect leader then asked, "Do you know why?"

Li Hanshan shook his head.

"The sect leader's lineage's cultivation method requires that the primordial yin be preserved to maintain the purity of spiritual energy." Her voice was soft, as if she were recounting an old story unrelated to herself. "On the day I entered the sect, my grandmaster said—the primordial yin is the sect leader's lineage's last trump card. Only those who can guard it have a chance to touch the threshold of the Dao Integration stage; those who cannot guard it will remain ordinary Void Refining cultivators for life."

"I have guarded it for eighteen hundred years."

Eighteen hundred years!

Li Hanshan's heart skipped a beat.

He suddenly realized something, and his divine sense swept over her body very lightly and quickly—then his pupils contracted slightly.

Flawless.

His master, who had been in charge of the Hehuan Sect for hundreds of years, had a clear aura like fresh snow in the deep mountains, his primordial yin energy still intact, as if it had never been depleted.

This is truly the first time.

Li Hanshan withdrew his divine sense without uttering a single word.

"So Master is afraid," he said softly, "afraid that if his primordial yin is depleted, his 1,800 years of perseverance will be in vain; afraid that if he fails to break through, he will lose even his last trump card."

The sect leader's eyelashes trembled slightly.

Li Hanshan was right.

"But has Master considered this—" Li Hanshan stepped forward, "Eighteen hundred years have passed. Holding onto this trump card, has Master even touched the threshold of the Dao Integration Realm?"

"The threshold is right there, as thin as a cicada's wing. What Master lacks isn't a trump card, but the hand that can push open that threshold."

"The balance of Yin and Yang is not about depletion, but about harmony."

"My pure Yang energy enters Master's body, complementing Master's 1,800 years of pure Yin energy—not only will the primordial Yin not be harmed, but it will become the sharpest edge when Master attempts to break through to the Dao Integration Realm. Is it a matter of one diminishing while the other gains? No, it's a win-win situation."

"During my years in the Immortal Alliance, I used the same method to help a sect leader whose spiritual power was extremely strong and fierce, and who had been stuck at a bottleneck for hundreds of years, successfully break through to a higher realm. Her breakthrough was only more difficult than an ordinary breakthrough."

"If Master still doesn't believe me—"

Li Hanshan raised his hand, pointing to the sky, his voice resolute:

"This disciple hereby makes a solemn oath to Heaven: if I harbor even the slightest blasphemous or disrespectful thought, or if I have even the slightest disloyal intention towards my Master, may my Dao heart be shattered, my primordial spirit destroyed, and may I be condemned by Heaven and Earth, never to be reborn."

The night wind suddenly stopped.

The sect leader suddenly turned around to look at him.

In those watery eyes, the faint redness hadn't faded, and there surged something extremely complex—tremor, hesitation, and a deep-seated, hidden tremor that even she herself dared not recognize.

"What if it doesn't work?" she asked again.

"If it fails, my pure Yang energy will remain within Master's body to protect your foundation. In the worst-case scenario, Master will regress to the peak of the Void Refinement stage, unharmed," Li Hanshan said calmly. "And I can afford that loss."

The sect leader gave him a deep look.

"And your title?" she suddenly asked, her voice so low it was almost inaudible. "I am your master."

"Master is in charge of the Hehuan Sect," Li Hanshan said, looking at her. "Master knows better than I what the foundation of the Hehuan Sect is."

"Furthermore—" He paused, then decided to finish his sentence, "Senior Sister is also Master's disciple."

The sect leader glared at him.

That look held none of the sect leader's authority; it was more like that of a young girl whose secrets had been exposed in public. In all her years, this was the first time she had ever been rendered speechless by someone's words.

"You...how dare you!"

The night wind whistled through the pines. She turned her face away, the faint blush on her earlobe burning all the way down to her neck.

"This disciple has been presumptuous." Li Hanshan readily bowed, then raised his head, his gaze as clear and open as a pool of water. "But this disciple will only say one last thing."

"For over a thousand years, Master has lived for others—for the lineage of the sect leader, for the Hehuan Sect, and for the rules of our ancestors."

"This time, I'll live for myself."

"Let your disciple help you push open that door."

After Li Hanshan finished speaking, he remained silent.

He's said everything he needed to say. All that's left is to wait.

Atop the summit, a long silence reigned.

Inside the soundproof barrier, you can't even hear the wind.

The sect leader stared at him for a very long time. So long that Li Hanshan thought there would be no answer tonight, she slowly closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, the struggle in them had gradually subsided, leaving only a calm of resignation.

"...Where is the place for your breakthrough?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. "The elders have ordered that I am not allowed to bring you into the sect. If you break through outside, and it is detected, the Immortal Alliance's Dao Integration members will definitely stop you."

Li Hanshan smiled.

"Master, rest assured," he said. "I have a place where, in all the world, there is no place safer."

"Tomorrow, this disciple will take Master there."

The sect leader stared at him for a moment, and finally, almost imperceptibly, nodded slightly.