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

"It's all over now."

Inside the room, Li Hanshan breathed a sigh of relief.

As the chilling energy was drawn out, Xu Lingxi slowly returned to normal. Her face was no longer deathly pale, her lips regained their color, and the frost on her body melted away completely.

Li Hanshan looked down and saw that she was already fast asleep. He held her in his arms, his heart churning.

Because he discovered that he had gained divine sense. He could "see" every corner of the room without opening his eyes, and he could even clearly see how many ants were crawling around under the bed.

"What exactly is that extremely cold energy within her body, and how can it have such a good effect?"

Li Hanshan looked down at the sleeping Xu Lingxi and pondered to himself.

He really struck it rich this time, his cultivation level soaring to the fourth level of Qi Refining. If people knew, they'd be green with envy. It was like striking gold while burning incense, a stroke of good luck by sheer chance. He didn't expect anything in return, yet the reward came unexpectedly.

As night deepened, he placed Xu Lingxi on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and then sat cross-legged beside her to consolidate his strength.

Xu Lingxi woke up early the next day.

Li Hanshan noticed the movement, opened his eyes, and asked, "Lingxi, how are you feeling now?"

Xu Lingxi nodded, her pretty face slightly flushed: "Grandpa Li, I'm fine. Thank you so much last night!"

"That's good."

Li Hanshan took out a jade bottle, poured out a pill, and handed it to her: "This is a Qi Gathering Pill, it should be able to help you."

Xu Lingxi's eyes lit up when she saw the pill, but she immediately waved her hands, saying, "Grandpa Li, this is a precious pill! It's too valuable, I can't accept it!"

For prospective disciples, the Qi Gathering Pill is indeed extremely precious; they cannot afford even one pill with their entire fortune.

Li Hanshan forcefully shoved the Qi Gathering Pill into her hand: "Take it! Survive, and you can repay me later!"

Xu Lingxi clutched the pill, her palm heavy as if she were holding a mountain. Her eyes welled up with tears, but she bit her lip and forced them back.

"Um!"

After nodding emphatically, she swallowed the Qi Gathering Pill, closed her eyes, and focused on cultivating.

This practice lasted for two whole days.

Two days later.

Xu Lingxi suddenly opened her eyes, a sharp glint flashing in them.

"Grandpa Li! I've broken through to the Qi Refining stage!"

She jumped up excitedly, bouncing and leaping like a child, her joy impossible to hide.

"So fast?"

Li Hanshan was taken aback.

His cultivation speed was fast because he had Hua Nongying, a bewitching woman who had reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, to absorb his energy. But Xu Lingxi had only just opened her meridians, yet she broke through to the Qi Refining stage in just two days with only one Qi Gathering Pill. This speed was too outrageous.

Could she be a peerless genius?

"Grandpa Li, thank you!"

Xu Lingxi was so excited that she threw herself into Li Hanshan's arms, and tears streamed down her face again, but this time they were tears of joy.

"Alright, alright, you've already finished practicing, stop crying."

Li Hanshan patted her on the back and laughed.

Early the next morning.

The day for the candidate disciple assessment has arrived.

In the open space, dozens of prospective disciples gathered in twos and threes, some looking nervous, others confident.

As soon as Xu Lingxi stepped out, she was mocked by a candidate disciple.

"Oh? Little sister, weren't you supposed to be so high and mighty? How come you couldn't resist looking for a furnace to cook you up?"

This disciple, named Yang Xue, was originally a woman of the night. On the day she entered the sect, she rented a cultivation furnace without any psychological barriers. As a result, she became one of the fastest disciples to break through to the Qi Refining stage, and several candidate disciples gathered around her, making her the leader of the group.

Xu Lingxi did not argue with the other party, but silently stood in the crowd.

Seeing that she ignored her, Yang Xue snorted coldly, but did not dare to be too provocative.

Not far away, a group of male cultivators had gathered, pointing and commenting on the numerous candidate disciples as if selecting merchandise for sale. Sun Ze, the one who had been slapped by Li Hanshan, was among them.

At that moment, a streak of light streaked across the sky and landed above the open space.

There were three people, two men and one woman. The one in the lead was a middle-aged man dressed in a blue robe. His aura was unfathomable, and his gaze swept over the crowd with disdain.

He was an outer sect steward of the Hehuan Sect, responsible for the assessment of outer sect disciples, the distribution of resources, and other trivial matters.

"Quiet down, all of you!"

The middle-aged deacon gave a cold shout, his voice not loud, but it exploded in everyone's ears like thunder.

The candidates for disciples fell silent, too terrified to utter another sound.

"My name is Zhao Yuan, and I'm in charge of this assessment," the middle-aged deacon said calmly. "The assessment is very simple. Just release your spiritual energy fluctuations so I can see your cultivation level."

The candidates stepped forward one by one, releasing their spiritual energy fluctuations to undergo testing.

As for those whose spiritual energy fluctuations cannot be released, they haven't even broken through the Qi Refining stage, and what awaits them is the fate of becoming furnaces.

When it was Yang Xue's turn, she released a wave of spiritual energy with a triumphant air.

"pass."

Zhao Yuan said calmly.

Yang Xue was overjoyed and stood to the side with her chest puffed out.

Finally, it was Xu Lingxi's turn.

She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and released her spiritual power.

"pass."

Zhao Yuan's voice remained as calm as ever.

The moment the words left his mouth, Sun Ze and Yang Xue froze. Sun Ze, in particular, stared in disbelief: "How is this possible!"

In his view, Xu Lingxi would never be able to break through to the Qi Refining stage without renting a furnace. He was waiting here to buy Xu Lingxi later and take her back to torture her properly to avenge the slap he received from Li Hanshan.

But Xu Lingxi broke through! His plan failed.

Xu Lingxi naturally didn't notice them. She felt relieved and prepared to walk to the side.

"etc!"

Zhao Yuan sensed something, his previously nonchalant expression suddenly froze, and he stared intently at Xu Lingxi, his eyes flashing with a sharp light: "Extreme Yin Body! It's actually an Extreme Yin Body!"

His breathing quickened, and his eyes became greedy.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Zhao Yuanlian said "good" three times, strode up to Xu Lingxi, and reached out to grab her wrist: "Little girl, with a physique like yours, staying in the outer sect is a waste of your talent. Come with me, I'll personally teach you cultivation, and I guarantee you'll reach Foundation Establishment within a year!"

Xu Lingxi was startled and quickly took a step back: "Steward, I..."

"What? You don't want to?"

Zhao Yuan's face darkened: "Do you know how precious the Extreme Yin Body is? If it falls into other people's hands, it will only be used as a furnace to drain your life force. Follow me, and I can not only protect you, but also make you a person of high status!"

As he spoke, he went to grab Xu Lingxi again.

"What, an extremely Yin body?"

Inside the room, Li Hanshan, who had been watching outside through the crack in the window, was shocked. Seeing that Zhao Yuan was about to grab Xu Lingxi, he rushed out of the room.

"stop!"

Li Hanshan rushed out and shouted, "Senior, isn't it against the rules to take her away like this?"

Zhao Yuan was taken aback, then frowned: "What are you?"

"Hahaha, you old geezer, you're asking for it."

Sun Ze was overjoyed and immediately jumped out, pointing at Li Hanshan and cursing, "You broken furnace cauldron, how dare you interfere in Senior Zhao's affairs?"

"What? A furnace?"

Zhao Yuanqi laughed, flicked his finger, and a gust of wind shot out, directly blasting Li Hanshan away.

"Bang!"

Li Hanshan fell heavily to the ground, his chest aching terribly, and a mouthful of blood welled up in his throat.

"Grandpa Li!"

Xu Lingxi cried out in surprise and tried to run over, but Zhao Yuan grabbed her.

"Little girl, don't be ungrateful," Zhao Yuan said coldly. "I'm saving you."

"Let her go!"

Li Hanshan struggled to his feet, staring intently at Zhao Yuan: "She's a candidate disciple. According to sect rules, once she passes the assessment, she'll become an outer disciple. What right do you have to forcibly take her?"

"rule?"

Zhao Yuan felt as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world: "In the Joyful Union Sect, strength is the rule! Even if I forcibly take it, who dares to say a word against it?"

His gaze turned cold, and he raised his hand to cast a spell: "Old man, remember this, don't meddle in other people's business in your next life!"

Li Hanshan's expression changed, and he tried to dodge to the side, but the difference in strength was too great, and he couldn't avoid the attack!

"stop!"

A clear, crisp female voice rang out in everyone's ears.

Immediately afterwards, a sword light descended from the sky, shattering Zhao Yuan's attack.

Zhao Yuan's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly looked up.

In mid-air, a woman in green stood suspended in mid-air, her body surrounded by sword energy, like a celestial being descended from the heavens.

"Elder Jiang... Elder Jiang!"

Zhao Yuan's voice was trembling.

"Zhao Yuan, how dare you!"

The woman in green spoke coldly: "Is the sect assessment a place where you can act recklessly?"

"Elder Jiang, I... I just..."

Zhao Yuan's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He wanted to explain, but found that he couldn't utter a complete sentence in the face of the other party's terrifying pressure.

"roll!"

Jiang Nianwei uttered only one word.

"Yes, yes, I'll go and assess the male disciples first."

Zhao Yuanru was granted a general amnesty and fled in a panic.

The woman in green descended from the sky, her gaze lingering on Xu Lingxi for a moment, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

"A body with extreme Yin energy is indeed rare."

She turned to Xu Lingxi, her tone softening slightly: "Little girl, would you be willing to become my disciple?"

Xu Lingxi was stunned, staring blankly at the female cultivator in front of her, dressed in green and resembling bamboo and jade.

Li Hanshan was also somewhat stunned. The turn of events came too quickly, leaving him a little caught off guard.

"I am Jiang Nianwei, an elder of the Hehuan Sect, in charge of Jade Peak, and a Golden Core cultivator."

The woman in green said calmly, "If you become my disciple, from now on, no one will dare to bully you."

Golden Elixir!

The moment those two words were uttered, everyone present stirred and whispers arose.

Whether they were candidates or outer disciples, everyone looked at Xu Lingxi with intense envy!

They struggled to even become disciples at the Foundation Establishment stage, yet Xu Lingxi was able to directly become a disciple at the Golden Core stage!

"Damn it, why is she so lucky?" Yang Xue was almost driven mad with jealousy.

"It's over, I'm finished." Sun Ze's face was deathly pale, and he was about to collapse to the ground.

Amidst everyone's gaze, Xu Lingxi subconsciously looked towards Li Hanshan.

Li Hanshan nodded to her.

"Disciple Xu Lingxi greets Master!"

Xu Lingxi knelt down to pay her respects, her voice filled with excitement.

Perhaps it was Xu Lingxi's actions that made Jiang Nianwei turn her gaze to Li Hanshan. After lingering on him for two seconds, she said indifferently, "Pure Yang Body... what a pity."

Xu Lingxi, still kneeling, glanced at Li Hanshan again, as if she had made up her mind, and spoke once more: "Master, your disciple has a request..."

Jiang Nianwei interrupted her, her gaze sharp: "You want to help him?"

Xu Lingxi nodded: "Yes, Master. I hope you can remove Grandpa Li from his position as a furnace cauldron and spare his life."

Her words warmed Li Hanshan's heart. This girl was as kind-hearted as ever, and his efforts to help her over the past few days had not been in vain.

"I can't help him."

Jiang Nianwei's words made Xu Lingxi's heart sink, but then she changed her tone: "Never mind, considering his courage in stepping forward just now, I'll give him this talisman, which can block a Foundation Establishment attack."

After speaking, she flicked out a talisman, which landed in Li Hanshan's hand. Then she grabbed Xu Lingxi and soared into the sky, transforming into a streak of light and disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

"She's gone from a sparrow to a phoenix!"

Li Hanshan held the talisman, looked up at the disappearing light, feeling both envious and happy for Xu Lingxi.