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

Dragonflies skimming the water.

"This is a thank-you gift." She turned her face away, her ears burning red. "After this is all done... I will thank you properly."

Li Hanshan touched his lips and chuckled.

"Alright."

"Then this disciple must save his strength—for Master's 'proper thanks'."

"……concentrate!"

-

With the dew paving the way, the rest merged incredibly quickly.

On the first day, the power of the laws had permeated more than half of the area.

The next day, 90%...

Day 3

The sect leader's aura had risen to an unprecedented level. The wisp of law power within her was only one step away from completely merging with her. Inside the Jade Balance Palace, even the air was so heavy it seemed as if it would drip water. The aura of the Spirit Gathering Array reached its limit, and the entire palace hummed, as if cheering for the impending moment.

At this very last moment—

"Master, wait."

Li Hanshan suddenly spoke.

The sect leader was taken aback: "What's wrong?"

"Let's stop for a moment." Li Hanshan's brows furrowed slightly, for reasons he couldn't quite explain—it was just a sudden urge, an inexplicable intuition, like a fine needle gently pricking his soul. "This disciple can't explain why. I just feel... waiting a little longer would be better."

The sect leader glanced at him.

If it were anyone else, and they called for a halt at this critical juncture, she would have already struck out with her palm. But it was him—the one who paved the way for her with his very essence and protected her with his life.

"……good."

She did stop. Right before the last line, she stopped quietly, waiting.

-

Outside the Yaoguang Ruins.

"She hasn't succeeded yet?"

Jiang Daoxuan threw a punch, then turned around, frowning. "It's been so many days; there should have been a result by now!"

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Su Qingyun said calmly. "Merging with the laws takes anywhere from a few days to several months. Besides—this is her second attempt, so her foundation is already flawed. It's normal for it to be slow."

"Slower is better," Jiang Daoxuan sneered. "Slower, by the time we blast open this tortoise shell, she'll be half-melted—that'll be a truly gruesome death!"

Before the words were finished—

boom!!

Another earth-shaking roar came rolling in from the direction of the Yinquan Sect.

The same thrill he felt when the sect leader pushed open the door.

The three Daoists all changed color.

"Someone else... pushed open the door!" Silver Bell exclaimed. "It's that old monster from the Yin Spring Sect!"

The tent was deathly silent.

"What should we do?" Jiang Daoxuan looked at Su Qingyun, "If both of them merge their laws, which one should we protect?"

Su Qingyun stared intently at the south, her eyes shifting rapidly.

After a moment, he slowly exhaled.

"Ancestor Gu Yinquan."

"Why?!" Jiang Daoxuan stared wide-eyed.

"This is her second attempt." Su Qingyun was frighteningly calm. "The second time, her foundation is flawed, and the chance of successfully fusing with the laws is less than 30%. But for Ancestor Yinquan—who has sealed himself in the icy pool for a thousand years, his condition has reached its peak. This is his first, and also his best opportunity."

"It's easy to add flowers to brocade than to offer charcoal in snowy weather." He said, emphasizing each word, "It's far more important to stop someone who is destined to succeed than to kill someone who is destined to fail."

"Besides—" He glanced at the pale golden halo and sneered, "this one is hiding inside this tortoise shell; we can't get in anyway. We might as well do something we can."

"Walk!"

Three beams of light shot into the sky and sped towards the southern border.

-

Inside the Yaoguang Ruins.

"They're gone."

Li Hanshan watched the three streaks of light disappear into the distance through the restrictions that covered the entire mountain range, and said softly.

"Yes, I noticed that too," the sect leader said with his eyes closed. "Someone else has pushed open the Dao Gate—they must be going to catch up with that newly joined fellow Daoist."

She paused, then suddenly asked, "How did you know they left?"

"Intuition," Li Hanshan said without changing his expression. "Just a wild guess from your disciple."

Sect Leader: "..."

She didn't press further, only a barely perceptible twitch of her lips. This disciple's "intuition" was so accurate it could no longer be called intuition.

"Now that they're gone..." her voice trailed off, "we're not in a rush."

"These three Dao-Merging experts possess formidable hidden strengths; it's hard to guarantee they won't employ any unforeseen tactics. Now is the perfect time for me to recuperate and return to my peak condition—"

"When they were locked in a fierce battle with that fellow Daoist..."

She opened her eyes, a cold glint flashing in them.

"I will take that final step."

-

Yinquan Sect.

"Hahahaha—the Daoist sect! My Daoist sect has finally been opened!"

At the bottom of the icy pool, the Old Ancestor of Yinquan laughed heartily, his withered body bursting with unprecedented vitality. In his palm, a wisp of dark blue law power was struggling frantically—it had taken him seven whole days to finally retrieve this wisp from the sea of ​​laws.

"Next, it is time to merge with the laws and embody the Dao!"

"Five thousand years... I've waited five thousand years for this day!"

He sat down cross-legged, and the power of the laws slowly sank into his body through his brow.

However, he had only just begun the fusion—

boom!!!

The Yinquan Sect's protective array suffered its most terrifying blow since its construction. The array's light barrier trembled violently, and countless cultivators within the sect were shaken until they bled from all seven orifices.

"Report—!!" An elder scrambled into the forbidden area, shouting, "Ancestor! The Immortal Alliance! The three Great Dao Integration Realm experts from the Immortal Alliance have come to our door!!"

"They're launching a full-scale attack on the mountain's protective formation! The sect's warriors... they can't hold them off much longer!"

The Yin Quan Ancestor's fusion movement suddenly stopped.

"Su Qingyun... Jiang Daoxuan... Yinling..." He pronounced these three names slowly and deliberately, his ghostly eyes blazing with murderous intent. "Very well, very well indeed. You all arrived at the crucial moment for me to fuse with the laws."

"All elders of the sect, heed my command!" His voice resounded throughout the entire sect. "The mountain-protecting formation, hold it for me to the death! Even if it costs you your lives, hold it for a month!"

"Once I take that step, I will personally settle accounts with them!"