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

Night, a side hall on the main peak.

Before nightfall, the maids were ordered to prepare fragrant bathwater and newly made nightgowns. Ruan Mianmian soaked in the bathtub, the steam rising around her, her heart pounding more wildly than the ripples on the water's surface. She went through in her mind the stories about furnaces she had heard over the past sixteen years, each one enough to send chills down her spine.

When Li Hanshan came in, he wasn't carrying chains, but a pot of hot tea.

"Have you eaten?" That was the first thing he asked.

Ruan Mianmian shook her head blankly.

"That's perfect." Li Hanshan poured her a cup of spiritual tea. "Let's talk while we eat."

He then proceeded to discuss serious matters with her first—how the Yang Ce cultivation method operated, what the Yin-Yang Great Cycle was all about, where her foundation was deficient, and what it would feel like tonight when her meridians were being combed. His tone was unhurried, as if he were explaining a perfectly ordinary lesson.

"This is the last time I'll say it." He put down his teacup, looked into her eyes, and said, "With me, there's no such thing as 'forcing.' If you feel uncomfortable at any time, just say so, and we'll stop."

Holding her teacup, Ruan Mianmian asked softly, "Elder... why are you so kind to me?"

"Because you're mine now," Li Hanshan replied matter-of-factly. "My people should naturally be treated with respect. From now on, no one in Zhongzhou will dare to bully you."

Ruan Mianmian lowered her head, her eyes a little hot.

The candlelight flickered. Her fingertips were cold with nervousness, and she trembled slightly when he held them.

"Don't be afraid," Li Hanshan's voice was steady. "Follow my energy flow."

Her body was like warm jade emitting smoke. In the moment of pure yang and pure yin mingling, the breath was soft and dense, warm and lingering, even more comfortable than he had expected. He did not rush to replenish his energy, but instead activated the Yang Book technique to first sort out her meridians—this girl's foundation had been ruined and wasted if he did not straighten it out first.

It took two whole hours to sort things out.

The pure yang energy entered her body, neither fierce nor dry, like spring rain falling on a parched field. The hidden injuries she had sustained from years of reckless, haphazard practice were gently smoothed away by that warmth; the inferior pills she had swallowed years ago to break through the barriers, the toxic residue accumulated in her meridians, were gradually washed away, turning into wisps of gray energy that dissipated from her body.

So this is what spiritual practice can be like.

Ruan Mianmian suddenly remembered the past two years—she was munching on the cheapest fasting pills, gritting her teeth and practicing the flawed cultivation method. Every time she broke through a barrier, her meridians would be damaged. Her mother would apply medicine to her with red eyes and say, "Mianmian, let's accept our fate."

Her nose tingled, and she almost cried halfway through the breathing exercise, but she quickly calmed herself down.

Li Hanshan noticed it, but didn't say anything. He simply slowed down the flow of pure yang energy, making it more gentle.

The great cycle of Yin and Yang goes round and round.

The water clock dripped late into the night. The candles burned tirelessly, casting gently swaying shadows on the curtains. The wonders of Wen Yu's physique gradually became apparent—the pure Yin energy did not surge like a river, but rather flowed like a hot spring from the earth, continuous and gentle, a rare and nourishing tonic for him. This physique truly lived up to its reputation.

As night deepened, the hall became quiet, with only two breaths, one light and one heavy, remaining.

After an unknown amount of time, a soft sound suddenly came from Ruan Mianmian's body—the barrier that had been blocking her for two whole years shattered in response!

The spiritual energy flowed into his body like rivers flowing into the sea, and his cultivation level rose steadily, unstoppable. He broke through the insurmountable barrier between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment in one go, and entered Foundation Establishment!

A sudden gust of wind arose within the hall. The candlelight on all sides lowered simultaneously, and spiritual energy surged in from all directions, condensing into a small vortex above her head. She "saw" her dantian expand and widen in the spiritual tide, becoming more than ten times larger than before; her divine sense, like newly sprouted tentacles, tentatively reached out from her body for the first time—the heartbeat of the night watchwoman outside the wall, the soft ringing of the copper bells on the eaves, the sound of the wind as the night patrol disciples swept past three miles away, all became clearly visible.

A whole new world slowly opened a door before her.

Moreover, it has a solid foundation and is not superficial in the slightest.

She suddenly opened her eyes, looked inward at herself, and was completely stunned.

"I...I've reached Foundation Establishment?" Her voice trembled, and tears welled up unexpectedly. "I've been stuck at the ninth level of Qi Refining for two whole years..."

Once she started crying, she couldn't stop.

Two years' worth of things piled up—those marriage proposals stacked half a foot high, those greedy eyes glued to her, those sighs echoing through the night—all burst forth with her tears. She cried without restraint, her shoulders heaving, soaking Li Hanshan's clothes.

Li Hanshan didn't stop her, letting her cry as she did, only patting her back intermittently.

After she had finished crying, he raised his hand and flicked her forehead.

"Why are you crying?" Li Hanshan's voice carried a hint of laughter. "You'll be surprised later."

Ruan Mianmian covered her forehead, looking at him with teary eyes. In the candlelight, the man had handsome features, and her tears still clung to his clothes, but his expression was one of serenity she had never seen in any other pair of eyes—no greed, no scheming, no treating her as an object to be valued.

She suddenly bent down and kowtowed earnestly.

"Throughout this life, we will be together in life and death."

"Alright, alright." Li Hanshan chuckled, scooped the person up, and tucked them back into the quilt. "Go to sleep."

He tucked her in and added, "Starting tomorrow, you'll learn martial arts from Hua Nongying during the day to solidify your foundation. We'll continue in three days."

"Mmm!" A small head peeked out from under the covers, its eyes sparkling, and it nodded vigorously.

The candle went out.

In the darkness, Li Hanshan rested his head on his arm and examined his internal body—the Wen Yu Body had nourished him overnight, and his cultivation at the fifth level of the Void Refinement stage had subtly advanced a little further.

He closed his eyes with satisfaction.

He just hadn't expected that such a small matter concerning the Red Phoenix Sect couldn't be covered up at all.