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

Two streaks of light, one after the other, crossed the main peak, passed through the clouds and mist, and flew towards the deepest part of the back mountain of the Hehuan Sect.

Li Hanshan followed behind the Second Elder, watching the mountains rushing past beneath his feet, a vague sense of foreboding creeping into his heart. The places the Second Elder led him to became increasingly remote and desolate, even the spiritual energy seemed to thin out. This place was outside the usual activity area of ​​the Hehuan Sect; disciples rarely came here under normal circumstances.

After flying for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the Second Elder stopped in front of a canyon.

The canyon was nestled between two steep peaks, its entrance narrow enough for only one person to pass at a time. A layer of hazy mist shrouded the canyon, impenetrable even to divine sense. Without a word, the Second Elder flew straight in, Li Hanshan following closely behind.

After passing through the narrow entrance, the view suddenly opened up.

The canyon was dozens of times wider inside than at the entrance, surrounded by sheer cliffs, barren of any vegetation. The ground was covered with a layer of grayish-white powder, soft and crunchy underfoot. An indescribable odor permeated the air—not the stench of decay, nor the smell of blood, but a more pungent, unpleasant odor, like charred bones.

Li Hanshan glanced down at the grayish-white powder at his feet, his gaze sharpening slightly.

That wasn't sand or dust.

Those are ashes.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the entire canyon, his pupils suddenly contracting.

The canyon floor was densely covered with bones. Some were human, some were those of demonic beasts, piled up layer upon layer, like mountains. Some bones had weathered into powder, while others retained their complete shapes—skulls, ribs, leg bones—scattered everywhere, a horrifying sight. Deeper into the canyon, the bones piled up even higher, almost reaching halfway up the cliff face, like small white hills.

Li Hanshan roughly estimated that there were at least a million skeletons here.

"This is..." His voice was a little hoarse.

"The number of furnace cauldrons drained by the Hehuan Sect over the years," the Second Elder said, standing beside him with his hands behind his back, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather. "How many do you think are here?"

Li Hanshan was silent for a moment, then said, "No less than a million."

"That's right." The Second Elder nodded. "Over a million. And that's just what's left of the bones. There are many more that were completely desecrated, leaving not even bones behind."

Li Hanshan remained silent, gazing at the sea of ​​bones. He had witnessed the massacre of tens of thousands of people in Heyang County, and the ghostly realm of millions of spirits in the Underworld, but none of those sights had as profound an impact as this one. For every skeleton here had once been a living person, a disciple of the Hehuan Sect.

They were used as furnaces by their own sects, and were killed by their own masters through sexual exploitation. After their deaths, they didn't even have tombstones; they were simply abandoned in this canyon, surrounded by bones and desolate mountains.

"How much of this do you think was done by the sect leader?" the Second Elder suddenly asked.

Li Hanshan's heart skipped a beat, and he turned to look at the Second Elder. She still stood with her hands behind her back, her face calm and expressionless. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on the white bones deep in the canyon, and he wondered what she was thinking.

"The sect leader is already at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. After so many years of cultivation, he must have consumed quite a few furnaces." Li Hanshan carefully chose his words. "At least... over a thousand, I suppose."

The second elder turned his head, glanced at him, and suddenly smiled.

The smile was strange; it wasn't mocking or mischievous, but rather had an indescribable meaning, like looking at an innocent child.

"Thousands?" She shook her head. "You underestimate the sect leader."

Li Hanshan frowned.

"The number of furnaces consumed by the sect leader is in the tens of thousands." The Second Elder's voice was very soft, but it was like a hammer that hit Li Hanshan's heart hard.

Thousands.

Li Hanshan gasped. Tens of thousands of lives, tens of thousands of skeletons—and that was just from those killed by the sect leader alone through his cultivation. Adding the other elders and disciples, the number of skeletons in this canyon was probably well over a million.

"How is that possible?" He suppressed his shock and frowned. "The number of disciples who fail each year in the sect is not that many. Even if you add the furnace vessels captured from outside, it wouldn't amount to tens of thousands."

The Second Elder seemed to have anticipated his question and explained calmly, "Once you reach the Nascent Soul stage, ordinary furnaces are completely useless. To a Nascent Soul cultivator, a Foundation Establishment cultivator is like a cup of water poured into the ocean—it won't even make a splash. A Golden Core cultivator might be somewhat useful, but only in large quantities."

She paused, her gaze returning to the pile of white bones: "Why do you think the sect leader wants to wage war against the Blood Fiend Sect?"

Li Hanshan's heart skipped a beat.

The war against the Blood Fiend Sect. In the great battle a few years ago, the Joyful Union Sect and the Heavenly Demon Sect joined forces to breach the Blood Fiend Sect's gates and capture thousands of people. He hadn't deliberately inquired about the fate of those prisoners, but he had vaguely heard some things—most of them were used as furnaces and distributed among the Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators of the two sects.

"Those prisoners..." he began slowly.

"That's right." The Second Elder nodded. "The disciples of the Blood Fiend Sect have a special physique. The blood fiend energy in their bodies is a great tonic for Nascent Soul cultivators. The sect leader launched that war ostensibly to punish the Blood Fiend Sect's incursions, but secretly, it was to capture a group of Blood Fiend Sect disciples to use as cultivation vessels."

She turned around and looked at Li Hanshan, the smile on her lips completely vanishing, replaced by a rare seriousness.

"Li Hanshan, do you know why this elder is telling you all this?"

Li Hanshan shook his head.

The Second Elder remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Because I don't want to see you die."

Li Hanshan felt a chill run down his spine.

"The sect leader may not have accepted you as a disciple because of your military achievements." The Second Elder's voice was very low, so low that only Li Hanshan could hear it. "Your Pure Yang Holy Body, your Immortal-grade Golden Core, your cultivation speed—these things are more attractive to the sect leader than you imagine."

She paused, then said, slowly and deliberately, "This elder is only warning you to be careful of the sect leader."

Li Hanshan fell silent.

He recalled the sect leader's deep eyes, the subtle scrutiny he received whenever he looked at him, and the gentleness with which the sect leader gave him pills, cultivation techniques, and guidance. Was that gentleness real, or feigned?

"Why is the Second Elder helping me?" he asked.

The Second Elder looked at him, a complex light flashing in her beautiful eyes.

"Because I think it's more meaningful for you to be alive than dead." She smiled, turned and walked towards the edge of the canyon. "Let's go, this isn't the place to talk. You can digest this 'gift' I've given you at your own pace."

Li Hanshan watched her retreating figure, then glanced at the shocking white bones in the canyon, his mind churning with countless thoughts.

He followed the Second Elder out of the canyon.

The grayish-white ashes made a soft rustling sound underfoot, like the whispers of countless departed souls, lingering in the wind for a long time.