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

When that wisp of essence entered his body, the sect leader's first feeling was not that it was a great tonic.

It hurts.

The primordial energy flowed into her Dao foundation along the connecting energy channels. Wherever it passed, the crack that had troubled her for nearly two thousand years felt as if it had been branded with a red-hot iron—the pain was so intense that her very soul convulsed. She gritted her teeth and didn't utter a sound.

Because she "saw" it at the same time.

The cracks, filled by the source, gradually healed, mended, and disappeared, like a riverbed that had been dry for a thousand years being flooded again. Her body, this foundation of the Dao, was rebuilt inch by inch from its very roots.

"Hanshan..." she whispered in her heart, but didn't say it aloud.

Behind him, the pure Yang energy had clearly weakened.

How can one not weaken oneself by breaking off one's own essence to feed others? That bastard, he was just stubbornly saying "it doesn't matter."

The sect leader pressed this pain, this affection, and every bit of the original power into the deepest part of his Dao foundation.

Then, she looked up and "looked" at the door.

-

That night, the spiritual light above Yuheng Palace was as bright as day.

Li Hanshan poured out the remaining pure yang energy in his body without reservation, and the sect leader's energy rose higher and higher under his support—finally, at an indescribable moment, she crashed into that door.

This time, the door didn't bounce her back.

The door opened.

The sect leader "saw" what was behind the door.

That is the law.

It is the supreme order and law that has been running ceaselessly since the beginning of time in this world. The rising and setting of the sun and moon is the law, the changes of mountains and rivers are the law, the waxing and waning of yin and yang, the cycle of life and death, the mutual generation and restraint of the five elements... everything, at its deepest level, is engraved with the patterns of the law.

She had cultivated this technique for nearly two thousand years, and looking back now, she realized that every word and every incantation was actually a shadow cast down by the laws of nature. She thought she was controlling the technique, but in reality, the laws of nature were using her to operate within this physical body.

People follow the earth, the earth follows the sky, the heaven follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature.

In the past, she read this sentence literally. Today, standing at the door, she reads it as the heavens.

In harmony with the Way, in harmony with the Way.

The so-called harmony with the Dao is never simply about accumulating power. It is about comprehending the laws of heaven and earth, and merging a strand of those laws into one's own being—from then on, I am heaven and earth.

Heaven and earth are me!

Every gesture he makes carries the power of heaven and earth and the might of the Great Dao.

The sect leader paused for a moment before the wide-open door, and then took that crucial step.

-

The heavens and earth trembled.

It wasn't the faint, muffled rumble that had been felt from afar, separated by a secret realm. This time, all the cultivators in the Central Continent clearly "heard" the roar—as if the gates of the Heavenly Dao had been pushed open from the inside, the sound of the hinges turning echoing across mountains and rivers.

Ordinary cultivators felt a tremor in their hearts and inexplicably knelt down facing south; while the experts above the Refinement Void Realm all changed their expressions—they "saw" that the illusory and magnificent gate on the southern horizon was slowly and irresistibly opening.

The light shining through the door wasn't dazzling, but it silenced the entire world.

"Someone...someone pushed open the door!"

Who is it?!

-

The Immortal Alliance army, flying boats at the front lines.

The three Daoists appeared at the bow of the ship almost simultaneously.

"The gate of Taoism... has been opened a crack." Su Qingyun's gaze was more solemn than ever before. "Someone has taken that step."

"Interference from a distance!" Without a second thought, Jiang Daoxuan's aura exploded. "Taking advantage of her just entering and before she's even settled in, I'll strike her from millions of miles away—"

The energy condensed and was unleashed with a roar.

However, that attack, powerful enough to shatter mountains and split seas, disappeared into the sky, only to vanish like a punch into quicksand. The auras of the three peak Void Refinement cultivators intertwined in the world, each containing elements of the other. In the pulsating resonance of the Heavenly Dao, it was impossible to distinguish which strand belonged to the one who pushed open the door.

"Damn it!" Jiang Daoxuan's face turned ashen. "The simultaneous attack of the three has completely disrupted the heavenly order!"

"It wasn't about causing trouble." Su Qingyun slowly shook her head, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes. "It was about providing cover. The three of us rushed in together, our auras mutually concealing each other—whoever pushed open the gate, whoever he is, he chose the moment when we had the least opportunity to attack."

"Then let's storm their door!" Jiang Daoxuan roared. "What's the use of just standing here staring blankly?!"

"What if they come knocking on our door? What will we do with the army?" Silver Bell suddenly asked.

Looking down at the thousands of flying boats and tens of thousands of cultivators, she said softly, "Fellow Daoists, have you considered this—if the three of us all leave, what will become of this army of tens of thousands on this Demonic Sect's territory?"

Jiang Daoxuan choked.

"They're easy prey," Yinling said for him. "The Grand Elder of the Hehuan Sect and the Sect Master of the Yinquan Sect are both Dao Integration Realm cultivators. The moment we leave, they'll pounce and chew these tens of thousands of troops to pieces, bones and all."

"Therefore, before we leave, we must first fortify the army's defenses." Su Qingyun made a decisive decision. "Send a message to Elder Gong—the entire army must retreat, set up camp on the spot, and deploy the 'Thousand Mountains Locking Formation'! The three of us will be there and back immediately. If anything happens to the army during this time, he will be held responsible!"

"Yes!"

The military order was relayed down like lightning.

A moment later, three streaks of light rose from the flying boat, tearing through the sky and rushing towards the Myriad Spirits Secret Realm.

On the flying boat, Yin Yue watched the three streaks of light disappear into the horizon, and slowly tightened her grip on the sword at her waist.

She knew that from this moment on, the game had entered its most dangerous phase. All three sides were working together, each employing unexpected tactics; whoever revealed all their cards first would be eliminated.

And she, unfortunately, was the piece on the chessboard that saw things most clearly, yet was also the most powerless to do anything about them.