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

The Immortal Alliance army, central command tent.

The three Dao-merging beings opened their eyes simultaneously.

"Someone is attempting to break through to the Dao Integration Realm." Jiang Daoxuan abruptly stood up, his killing intent surging. "Location... Southern Frontier! It's most likely that old woman from the Joyful Union Sect! I'll go now, before her pass opens—"

"Sit down," Su Qingyun said calmly.

"Brother Su?"

"The Myriad Spirits Secret Realm? You think you can even get in?" Su Qingyun didn't even lift her eyelids. "The boundary is sealed shut; even a Dao-Merging cultivator couldn't tear it open. If you rush there now, you'll only be left outside the secret realm, exposed to the wind."

"So we're just going to watch?!"

"What's the rush?" Su Qingyun slowly sipped her tea. "If breaking through to the Dao Integration Realm were so easy, the three of us wouldn't have been stuck at this stage for so many years. Let's wait—until he reaches the most crucial step, when the Heavenly Dao's movements are at their greatest. Even if we're separated by a secret realm, we can still strike him from afar. Whether he succeeds or not, we'll see then."

Jiang Daoxuan sat back heavily in his chair, his gaze fixed on the south with a gloomy expression.

In a corner of the tent, Yin Yue remained silent.

She gazed in the direction from which the tremor came, her brows furrowing slightly. Who could it be? The sect leader of the Joyful Union Sect had been in seclusion for hundreds of years; why would he choose this moment to attempt to break through to the Dao Integration Realm? Moreover… that direction clearly led deep into the Myriad Spirits Secret Realm.

She suddenly remembered someone else.

Li Hanshan.

After the battle in the desolate mountains, that man disappeared along with the sect leader. Where did he go? Is he involved in tonight's events?

Once that thought popped into my head, I couldn't suppress it anymore.

Upon closer examination, there are suspicious points everywhere. The sect leader had been in seclusion for over a hundred years, yet he chose to attempt the Dao Integration Realm right after her return; and the place he chose for the attempt was the Myriad Spirits Secret Realm, a place no one could find—why would the sect leader choose this place without an inside accomplice or someone familiar with the area to guide him? And then there was the battle in the desolate mountains, the broken sword of unknown origin, and that young Void Refinement cultivator whom even she couldn't see through…

"Fellow Daoist Su," she suddenly spoke, "if the person who made the attack was deep within the Myriad Spirits Secret Realm... is it possible that someone found an ancient Daoist temple for her?"

"The Ruins of Yaoguang," Yinyue said slowly. "It appears only once every few hundred years. Last time it appeared, the various sects only managed to reach the outer perimeter. If someone were to obtain the Yaoguang Sect's inheritance..."

"Impossible." Su Qingyun interrupted her. "Even I couldn't break through the outer defenses of the Yao Guang Ruins. A mere Void Refinement cultivator? Ha."

Yinyue lowered her eyes and remained silent.

Rationally, she also felt it was impossible.

But for some reason, whenever she thought of that young man who had been lurking in the Immortal Alliance for many years and had deceived everyone, the word "impossible" just wouldn't settle in her mind.

The more Yin Yue thought about it, the heavier her heart became.

This wait lasted for several days.

Over the next few days, the tremor of the Heavenly Dao rose and fell, each time stronger and closer than the last. Throughout the Central Continent, countless old monsters in seclusion awoke with a start, opening their windows to look south, their expressions shifting—some envious, some wary, and many more gloating. Five thousand years have passed, and countless people have fallen before this threshold; one more wouldn't make a difference.

By the fifth day, the entire sky above Central Continent was faintly shrouded in an unusual hue—low-hanging clouds, restless spiritual energy, and uneasy beasts. It was as if the gates of Heaven had truly been knocked on.

The three Dao-merging members of the Immortal Alliance have each gathered their energy, waiting for that final and most crucial moment.

Then--

On the morning of the sixth day, that throbbing disappeared without warning.

Clean and tidy, like the receding tide.

The tent was deathly silent.

"See?" Su Qingyun put down her teacup and said calmly, "I wasn't wrong, was I?"

Jiang Daoxuan stared at the south for a long time, then slowly nodded, his tone indescribably complex: "...The breakthrough to the Dao Integration Realm is not so easy."

Hidden Moon in the corner lowered her eyes, her fingertips gently caressing her sleeve.

Failed.

She didn't know why, but she quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Pass down the order." Su Qingyun stood up, dusted off his sleeves, and said, "The army will advance as planned. The Hehuan Sect has lost a potential Dao Integration Realm cultivator; this battle should be brought to a close."

"Yes!"

The bugle sounded heavily, and the Immortal Alliance army broke camp and continued its northward advance.

-

Inside the Jade Balance Palace.

The vortex of spiritual energy dissipated, leaving the area around the jade platform in a state of chaos.

The sect leader sat cross-legged on the jade platform, his face pale, with a faint trace of blood at the corner of his lips—not from an injury, but from the blood that rushed out when he forcibly ended his cultivation.

She opened her eyes, stared blankly ahead, and after a long while, sighed softly.

"As expected... it won't work."

She touched the door, and even pushed it open a crack. But what lay behind it seemed like an entire ocean—she could see it, but couldn't reach it. At the height of the impact, her soul was almost swallowed up by that ocean; if she hadn't retreated decisively, her foundation would have been completely destroyed.

"Master!" Li Hanshan stepped forward quickly.

"It's alright." The sect leader waved his hand, his voice somewhat weary. "I retreated in time, so my foundation wasn't damaged... However, breaking through to the Dao Integration Realm is more difficult than I imagined."

She raised her head and looked at Li Hanshan.

Those watery eyes struggled for a moment, then finally returned to calm.

"Hanshan."

"Disciple is here."

"The Pure Yang Qi Transfer has reached its limit." She paused, then said in an extremely soft but clear voice, "It seems—we can only use your method."

The hall fell silent.