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

The dream shattered like glass.

Li Hanshan opened his eyes and saw the stone walls of the cave. The cold light of the luminous pearl cast dappled shadows on the stone walls. Hua Nongying and Yun Shuyue lay beside him, breathing heavily, fast asleep.

He didn't move, just lay there quietly, his mind churning with countless thoughts.

Luo Li was a Nascent Soul cultivator. This fact alone was shocking enough, but what puzzled him even more was another question—

Why is it so tiring for a Nascent Soul cultivator to improve their spiritual consciousness to the Nascent Soul level?

Logically, there is a whole major realm separating the Nascent Soul and the Divine Transformation stage. The spiritual power of a Nascent Soul cultivator is dozens or even hundreds of times stronger than that of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Helping a Golden Core cultivator raise their spiritual power to the Nascent Soul stage would be a simple matter. However, Luo Li's appearance clearly showed that she had consumed a large amount of her divine soul essence, and even her aura had become unstable.

This is not normal.

Unless... her cultivation level is not as high as that of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

But Luo Li wouldn't lie to him. If she said she was a Nascent Soul cultivator, then she was. If she said helping him refine his spirit would benefit her, then it truly would. But why did she look so tired?

Li Hanshan recalled a detail.

When Luo Li helped him refine his spirit, she not only transferred soul power into his sea of ​​consciousness, but also a portion of his divine soul essence. The divine soul essence is a cultivator's most fundamental element, extremely difficult to recover once damaged. Why did she do this? Was it merely to help him elevate his divine sense to the Nascent Soul stage?

No, that's not right.

If her goal was simply to help him enhance his spiritual awareness, she could have used a gentler approach, spending more time refining it little by little. But she chose the most direct and costly method, as if... she was in a hurry.

"In a hurry..."

Li Hanshan muttered to himself, when a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.

Luo Li said she sensed an opportunity for breakthrough and was going into seclusion to attempt to advance beyond the Nascent Soul realm. But if she truly was a Nascent Soul cultivator on the verge of a breakthrough, why would she risk sacrificing her own divine soul essence to help him? Wasn't she afraid of hindering her own breakthrough?

Unless... she knew that after she went into seclusion, she might never see him again.

Li Hanshan sat up abruptly, his heart pounding.

He remembered something else—the Northern Wilderness Sword Sect.

In the dream, he wanted to tell Luo Li about the ruins of the Northern Wilderness Sword Sect. He said the Northern Wilderness Sword Sect had been destroyed and turned into ruins. But Luo Li's reaction was strange; she said the Northern Wilderness Sword Sect was still there, and she had visited it recently. Then, just as he was about to explain in detail, he was pulled out of the dream by an irresistible force, accompanied by a life-or-death crisis.

Why?

Why can't he say that the Northern Wilderness Sword Sect has been destroyed?

Unless... he and Luo Li are on different timelines regarding the destruction of the Northern Wilderness Sword Sect.

Li Hanshan's breathing became rapid.

A bold, almost insane guess gradually took shape in his mind.

Luo Li... may be someone from thousands of years ago.

Her Northern Wilderness Sword Sect still existed in her era. But in his Northern Wilderness, the Northern Wilderness Sword Sect had become ruins. Their dream-based communication spanned thousands of years.

This guess is too crazy, yet it seems to explain everything.

Why would he face a life-or-death crisis if he revealed the truth about the destruction of the Northern Wilderness Sword Sect? Because if he told Luo Li, she might take action to change history. And this change in history would have a butterfly effect, impacting his present situation—it might even mean he would never have been born, never entered the Joyful Union Sect, never met Hua Nongying, or never become the sect leader's disciple.

History changes, cause and effect collapse, and his very existence will disappear.

This is the source of that life-or-death crisis.

It wasn't that someone was monitoring him, nor that some force was stopping him; rather, it was "history" itself protecting its integrity. Once he uttered something he shouldn't have, causality would erase him.

Li Hanshan's back was soaked with cold sweat.

What about Luo Li? Luo Li lived thousands of years ago, so is she still alive now...?

No, that's not right. If Luo Li were from thousands of years ago, she should have died of old age by now. Although the lifespan of a Nascent Soul cultivator is long, it's still only a few thousand years. The Joyful Union Sect has been established for three thousand years, and its founder came from the Central Continent. If Luo Li were from that era, her lifespan should have been exhausted long ago.

Unless... she also breaks through.

Beyond the Nascent Soul stage, lifespan becomes even longer. Luo Li said she wanted to break through to the Nascent Soul stage; if she succeeded, she could live even longer—until she lived into his era, until the day they could meet in reality.

"So... Luo Li is the founder of the Joyous Union Sect?"

Li Hanshan muttered to himself, his voice so low that only he could hear it.

This guess seems to be getting more and more plausible.

The portrait of the founder of the Hehuan Sect looks exactly like Luo Li. Luo Li is a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Central Continent and knows everything about the Northern Wilderness. The Yang Ce cultivation method she taught him is precisely the nemesis of the Hehuan Sect's method of absorbing malevolent energy—if she were the founder of the Hehuan Sect, she would certainly know how to restrain her own cultivation method.

But there is still one problem.

If Luo Li is the founder of the Hehuan Sect, why is she in the Yaoguang Sect? Why does she hate demonic cultivators? Why is the cultivation technique she taught him used to counteract the practice of sexual exploitation?

Unless... she founded the Hehuan Sect not for her disciples to practice cultivation through sexual exploitation.

Li Hanshan was shocked.

He recalled the sect leader's words—the Hehuan Sect wasn't always like this. The initial branch sects, while also focusing on dual cultivation, emphasized yin-yang harmony and mutual benefit, rather than one-sided exploitation and plunder. Later, as time passed, subsequent sect leaders and elders, in pursuit of faster cultivation speeds, gradually strayed onto a wicked path.

Luo Li's original intention in founding the Hehuan Sect might not have been what it became later. The Yang Ce cultivation method she taught him might have been the original orthodox cultivation method of the Hehuan Sect.

Her presence at the Yaoguang Sect—a major righteous sect—demonstrates that her true heart ultimately leans towards the righteous path.

"Girl... what exactly happened to you?"

Li Hanshan closed his eyes, and Luo Li's smiling face appeared in his mind. In his dreams, she always smiled so brightly, as if she had no worries whatsoever. But if she really was someone from thousands of years ago, if she truly communicated with him across millennia, how lonely must her heart have been?

He suddenly realized something.

The reason Luo Li went to such lengths to expend her own spiritual essence to help him enhance his divine consciousness, and the reason she tirelessly taught him things every time they met, was because she didn't know when they would meet again. The instability of the timeline and the uncontrollability of dreams meant that they could lose contact at any time.

She was helping him as quickly as possible.

"Girl...you wait here."

Li Hanshan opened his eyes, a resolute glint in them.

Whether you are the founder of the Hehuan Sect or a disciple of the Yaoguang Sect, whether you are someone from thousands of years ago or a ghost communicating with me across time and space—I will definitely go to Zhongzhou, and I will definitely find you.

When that time comes, I will definitely ask you face to face, who exactly are you?

Outside the window, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Morning light streamed through the cracks in the cave, casting golden patches on the ground. Hua Nongying turned over, mumbled something, and fell back into a deep sleep. Yun Shuyue lay quietly, her breathing long and even.

Li Hanshan rose and walked outside the cave. A mountain breeze brushed his face, bringing a touch of coolness. In the distance, the five peaks of the Hehuan Sect stood majestically in the morning light, shrouded in mist.

He took a deep breath and suppressed those chaotic thoughts.

Regardless of who Luo Li is or what era she comes from, one thing is certain—she is his greatest benefactor on his path of cultivation. Without her, he would have died long ago in Hua Nongying's belly; how could he be where he is today?

Therefore, he must become stronger. Strong enough to go to the Central Continent, strong enough to find her, strong enough to tell her in person—

Thank you.