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

After the news of becoming the sect leader's personal disciple spread, Li Hanshan's status in the Hehuan Sect underwent a dramatic change.

The first to arrive was Deacon Lu. This outer sect deacon, who had once tried to use him as cannon fodder in the Underworld and made things difficult for him in the Outer Affairs Hall, now stood at the entrance of the cave, bowing lower than anyone else. His face was plastered with a fawning smile, he held a storage bag in his hands, and his voice trembled.

"Senior Brother Li... I was blind and ignorant before, and I have offended you greatly. Please forgive me and spare my life." As he spoke, his knees buckled and he knelt down. "These spirit stones are a small token of my appreciation. Please accept them, Senior Brother Li."

Li Hanshan sat on the stone couch, looking down at the once arrogant outer sect steward. Steward Lu's cultivation was still at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, showing no progress in the past few years. Li Hanshan, on the other hand, was already a Golden Core cultivator and the sect leader's personal disciple. This reversal of status was more convincing than any words.

"No need for spirit stones," Li Hanshan said calmly. "I won't pursue what you did in the past. But from now on, if you dare to harbor any wicked thoughts again—"

"I wouldn't dare!" Deacon Lu kowtowed repeatedly. "I'll never dare to do it again!"

Li Hanshan waved his hand, and Deacon Lu, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon, scrambled out of the cave.

The second to arrive was Zhao Yuan. This former outer sect steward, Sun Ze's backer, was now in an even more sorry state than Steward Lu. He stood at the entrance of the cave, his face deathly pale, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.

"Brother Li... I deserve to die." Zhao Yuan's voice was as dry as sandpaper. "I don't ask for your forgiveness, I only ask that you give me a chance to live."

As he spoke, he suddenly drew his sword from his waist and severed his left arm with a single stroke.

Blood gushed out, and Zhao Yuan groaned, his face growing even paler, but he stubbornly refused to utter a sound. He gritted his teeth, threw the severed arm on the ground, and looked up at Li Hanshan, his eyes filled with pleading.

"I have crippled my own arm, please spare my life, Senior Brother Li."

Li Hanshan stared at the severed arm on the ground, feeling no emotion whatsoever. Zhao Yuan had once intended to kill him personally outside Heyang County. If Hua Nongying hadn't arrived in time, he would have been dead at the hands of this outer sect steward. An arm for a life—that was too good for him.

"Get lost," he said indifferently.

Zhao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, clutching his severed arm, and staggered out of the cave.

Hua Nongying came out from the inner room, looked in the direction Zhao Yuan had disappeared, and snorted, "He got off easy. He was trying to kill you back then."

Li Hanshan shook his head: "Killing him is easy, but unnecessary. A mere Foundation Establishment stage cultivator is no match for me. Sparing his life would only make me appear magnanimous."

Hua Nongying pursed her lips and said nothing more.

In the days that followed, Li Hanshan devoted all his energy to cultivation.

Every few days, the sect leader would summon him to the main hall to personally guide his cultivation. Although the sect leader wouldn't directly ask him about the secrets of the cultivation method, he imparted his insights on Golden Core cultivation and his understanding of the laws of heaven without reservation. This guidance, coupled with the wonders of the Yang Ce cultivation method, caused his cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds.

During the day, he cultivated the techniques taught by the sect leader, refining his immortal-grade golden core and consolidating his foundation. At night, he practiced dual cultivation with Hua Nongying and Yun Shuyue, harmonizing yin and yang, and increasing his spiritual power daily. Every few days, he would go to Qin Muyue or Leng Yue to absorb their essence, using their golden core essence to break through bottlenecks.

Besides his cultivation, he also refined pills. In the alchemy room on Jade Peak, he refined batch after batch of high-quality pills, including Qi-Nourishing Pills, Qi-Condensing Pills, and Barrier-Breaking Pills. Jiang Nianwei would occasionally come to the alchemy room to ask about ancient alchemy methods, and the two communicated more and more, their relationship growing closer.

Time flows like water, passing by silently.

A year later, Li Hanshan's cultivation level had risen from the fourth level of the Golden Core stage to the peak of the fifth level.

Two years have passed, and he has reached the sixth level of the Golden Core stage.

Three years have passed, and he has reached the peak of the sixth level of the Golden Core stage, just one step away from the seventh level.

The higher one progresses in the Golden Core stage, the greater the difficulty. The transition from the early to the middle stage is one hurdle, and the transition from the middle to the late stage is another. For an ordinary Golden Core cultivator, it takes at least twenty to thirty years to advance from the fourth to the sixth level. Even those with exceptional talent take eight to ten years. But Li Hanshan only took three years.

Such speed, in the Northern Wilderness cultivation world, is nothing short of groundbreaking.

Hua Nongying and Yun Shuyue's cultivation levels also advanced rapidly over the past three years. Nourished by Li Hanshan's pure Yang energy, Hua Nongying progressed from the eighth level of Foundation Establishment to the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, just one step away from the Golden Core stage. Yun Shuyue also broke through from the sixth level of Foundation Establishment to the ninth level, with a solid foundation and unlimited potential.

Li Hanshan visited Liu Ruoxue every two weeks. The ice-cold Liu Ruoxue remained aloof, always keeping everyone at arm's length, but her cultivation level was undeniable. In three years, she had advanced from the eighth level of Foundation Establishment to the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, on par with Hua Nongying. The extremely yin and cold energy within her body had become much more docile under the harmonization of Li Hanshan's pure yang energy, no longer as difficult to suppress as before.

Qin Muyue and Leng Yue both made remarkable progress.

Qin Muyue had been stuck at the second level of the Golden Core stage for many years, but after cultivating with Li Hanshan, her cultivation bottleneck loosened. In three years, she broke through two realms, advancing from the second to the fourth level of the Golden Core stage. Her alluring face gained a confident radiance, and her every move became increasingly captivating. She visited Li Hanshan more and more frequently, from once a month to once every two weeks, and sometimes even once every ten days.

Leng Yue made even greater progress. She was already at the third level of the Golden Core stage, possessing unpredictable and mysterious spatial techniques. After cultivating with Li Hanshan, her spatial power was tempered by pure Yang energy, greatly increasing its strength. Within three years, she broke through to the fifth level of the Golden Core stage, surpassing Qin Muyue. However, her personality remained as aloof and cold as the moon; each time she came, she would expressionlessly undress, cultivate, dress, and leave, without uttering a single word.

On Yun Shuyue's side, although her cultivation level was not as high as Qin Muyue's and Leng Yue's, her Xuan Shui Technique complemented Li Hanshan's pure Yang energy perfectly. In three years, she broke through from the sixth level of Foundation Establishment to the ninth level, her foundation becoming incredibly solid. She was aloof and never asked for anything, but whenever Li Hanshan gave her pills or cultivation techniques, she would diligently practice them without ever slacking off.