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

The ruins of Yaoguang, inside the Yuheng Palace.

Within the Land of Laws, Li Hanshan's consciousness drifted in the chaos for several more days.

It's strange, really. The sect leader had said that this Sea of ​​Laws had been barren for countless years, and it was incredibly difficult to pluck even a wisp of law. She had waited for several days before finally managing to pluck a single wisp. Yet, as Li Hanshan drifted within it, he always felt that the sea was very "polite" to him—those tiny, invisible fragments of law would occasionally drift leisurely towards him from the depths of chaos, as if they recognized him.

Later he figured it out.

Perhaps it was because his soul was too special—a primordial spirit tempered by lightning patterns and fused with the origin of the void, that in this barren sea, it shone like an exceptionally bright lamp. The fragments of the laws had no intelligence, yet they followed the aura of the same origin—his soul contained the scent of the void, and the void was the "home" of this sea.

On the fourth day, he obtained the second strand of the power of the law.

The sixth day, the third wisp.

He channeled both strands of the power of the laws into the Yang Pattern Space, where they safely merged into the two dewdrops. Above the puddle, three dewdrops shimmered, their interiors shimmering with silver light, resembling three miniature stars.

If the sect leaders outside knew about this, they would probably lose their composure on the spot—so many people spend their entire lives trying to grasp even a wisp of the law, yet he manages to get three wisps in six days, as if picking up beans.

This harvest is exceptionally large.

However, Li Hanshan knew in his heart that it wasn't because he was powerful, but because the "origin" of his soul was too special. This was something that only Heaven, Earth, and he knew.

Li Hanshan was satisfied and was preparing to continue "fishing"—

Three dewdrops hung above the puddle in the Yangwen space, rising and falling gently with his divine breath. He had a vague feeling that this small space seemed to have changed since the first wisp of law power was placed inside. He couldn't quite put his finger on what was different, but it was like a fresh breeze suddenly blowing into an old house that had been lived in for a long time.

He decided to go back and think about it slowly.

boom.

An irresistible force suddenly acted upon his divine sense.

The wide-open gate was slowly closing.

"Time's up." The sect leader's thoughts echoed, tinged with weariness and relief. "The Daoist gate has opened, but its time is limited. Hanshan, seize me, let's go back."

Two thoughts retreated swiftly through the closed door crack.

Inside the Jade Balance Palace, Li Hanshan suddenly opened his eyes, his soul returning to its place, and the long-lost physical senses surged back. He looked down; the sect leader was still sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, but the law patterns between her brows had already spread to her neck—her fusion had progressed to a deeper stage.

"Master, how are you?"

"It's alright." The sect leader's voice was weak, yet it carried an barely suppressed excitement. "My wisp of law has already fused with seventy percent. It's just that the Dao Gate is closed, and I can no longer enter the Land of Laws... The remaining thirty percent will have to be cultivated by myself."

She paused, then suddenly asked, "You've been inside for several days... have you gained anything?"

"I just watched the show," Li Hanshan said calmly, without revealing anything about the power of the laws. "The Sea of ​​Laws is very barren; this disciple is dull and gained nothing."

"It's better to have gained nothing." The sect leader breathed a sigh of relief, without any doubt. "Staying there even a moment longer would be dangerous."

"I'm going to continue the fusion. The remaining 30% will be the most painful—if you can't bear it, step back."

Li Hanshan smiled.

"Master, please merge."

"This disciple will not go anywhere."

The sect leader said no more.

The next moment, that wisp of silvery-white law power sank heavily towards the final stage of her Dao foundation—

"Ugh—!!"

The sect leader's body arched abruptly, and a muffled groan, suppressed to the extreme, squeezed out from between her teeth. The pain of merging with the laws was magnified tenfold, a hundredfold at this moment—her meridians were repeatedly shattered and reassembled under the crushing power of the laws, and her soul was as if it were being roasted inch by inch over a raging fire.

Because their bodies and souls are closely connected...

That pain, flowing along the connected meridians, truly burned into Li Hanshan's body.

pain.

Those who haven't experienced it can never imagine that kind of pain.

The power of the laws coursed through the sect leader's foundation, burning through a meridian and crushing a segment of her soul with each step forward. She was taut like a bow about to snap, her fingernails digging deep into Li Hanshan's wrist, drawing blood, yet she remained oblivious.

Li Hanshan endured it without uttering a sound.

For every bit of pain she felt, he felt the same pain through their interconnected energy channels. When she burned through one of his meridians, his meridians also convulsed. After three days, he was not much better off than her; his face was as pale as paper, but his hands, pressed against her back, remained as steady as a rock.

Even so, the fusion process still slowed down.

On the seventh day, Li Hanshan keenly sensed that something was wrong.

When the power of the laws within the sect leader's body reached the last 30%, it was as if she had sunk into a quagmire—each wisp of it required several times the effort of the previous ones, and her soul was already showing signs of disintegration.

"Master's constitution... has flaws." His mind raced.

The Xuan Yin Body is one in ten thousand, yet hers seemed to be flawed. The wear and tear of a thousand years, and the hidden injuries left by her first failed attempt, all transformed into insurmountable obstacles. The power of the laws flowed into those obstacles, but could neither fill them nor overflow; it could only slowly deplete them.

If this continues, her soul will be the first to give out.

Li Hanshan's gaze slowly fell into the depths of his own consciousness.

Within that Yang-patterned space, three dewdrops floated silently, each containing a complete wisp of the power of law.

The power of the laws merged into the dewdrop, remaining stable and unmoving, neither dissipating nor escaping.

What if we say it the other way around?

If the power of the law were to emerge from the dewdrop, pass through his body, and use the dewdrop as a "bridge" to slowly enter his master's body... wouldn't it be less difficult to integrate?

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

"Master," he transmitted his thoughts, "this disciple would like to try a method; please do not resist."

Before the sect leader could respond, he had a thought—a drop of dew that had not yet been fused with the power of the laws flew out from the Yang Pattern Space, following his divine thought, and sank into the space between the two connected by their auras.

Then, slowly, it flowed into the sect leader's body.

Something amazing happened.

The moment that drop of dew flowed into the sect leader's meridians—the originally raging and destructive power of law, which left nothing but barren land in its wake, suddenly became docile, like a wild horse that had been tamed. As the dew seeped in, it permeated, and merged with the meridians, instead of scorching them, it nourished them and gave them a jade-like luster.

The speed of integration is more than ten times faster!

What surprised Li Hanshan even more was that the commotion was minimal.

Previously, when the sect leader merged with the laws, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged, and the aura soared to the sky. Even through the boundary barrier, the progress could be sensed by Dao-merging experts. But now, the power of the laws is nourished by the dew, silently and quietly, like spring rain entering the soil, without leaking out in the slightest.

This is much quieter, and quieter means that the progress won't be so easily detected by the Dao Integration experts guarding the outside.

"This is…" The sect leader was both surprised and delighted. The excruciating pain in his soul vanished, replaced by a long-lost sense of comfort, like soaking in a hot spring. "Hanshan, what kind of technique is this?!"

"Master, don't ask yet," Li Hanshan said with a smile. "Focus on the fusion—your disciple will pave the way for you."

The sect leader took a deep breath.

She opened her eyes and, for the first time in the pain of the past few days, truly and deeply looked at him.

Then, this woman, who had been cold for 1,800 years and had not even moved the Demon Sect of Breaking Heaven, suddenly leaned over and gently kissed his lips.

Dragonflies skimming the water.