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

The airship soared through the sky, while the mountains and rivers below rushed past.

Standing at the stern, Li Hanshan gazed at the approaching Demon Beast Mountain Range, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart. The remnants of the Blood Fiend Sect were hiding deep within the Demon Beast Mountain Range. He had been there several times before; the terrain was complex, teeming with demonic beasts—truly a good hiding place. But the question was, how had the Grand Elder discovered them? Even if a Nascent Soul cultivator was injured, a cultivator in the early stages of cultivation wouldn't be so easily tracked.

Unless... this is a trap.

But the thought only flashed through his mind before he dismissed it. With the Grand Elder and the Sect Master, both at the Nascent Soul stage, even if the remnants of the Blood Fiend Sect set a trap, it would be futile. The strength of a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator and a peak Nascent Soul cultivator was not something one or two early-Nascent Soul cultivators could contend with.

The flying boat traveled for two days and one night, arriving deep into the Monster Mountain Range on the morning of the third day.

The Grand Elder pointed to a valley shrouded in thick fog and said in a low voice, "Sect Master, it's over there. The entrance to the valley is concealed by an array; if you didn't know beforehand, you wouldn't be able to see it from the outside at all."

The sect leader nodded, extending her divine sense to scan the valley. After a moment, she withdrew her divine sense and said calmly, "One early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, thirteen Golden Core cultivators, and over a hundred below Foundation Establishment. The formation is third-tier; it shouldn't be difficult to break."

The Grand Elder clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Sect Master, shall I go and break the formation first?"

The sect leader shook his head: "No need. Li Hanshan, you stay outside and guard the valley exit. If any escape, leave no one alive."

Li Hanshan clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Disciple understands."

The sect leader and the first elder leaped off the flying boat, transforming into two streaks of light and flying towards the valley. Li Hanshan remained on the flying boat, unleashing his full divine sense to envelop the entire valley.

A mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator's divine sense has an extremely wide range, taking in everything within a hundred miles. He could clearly see the scene in the valley—a cluster of low wooden houses scattered throughout the valley, with several blood-robed cultivators patrolling in front of the houses; their cultivation levels were not high, only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Deep in the valley, there was a slightly larger stone hall, its walls covered with array patterns, from which a faint blood-red light flowed.

The sect leader and the Grand Elder landed at the entrance of the valley. The Grand Elder raised his hand and shattered the concealing formation with a single palm strike. With a loud boom, the thick fog dispersed, revealing the true face of the valley to the sunlight.

"Enemy attack!"

Chaos erupted in the valley. Blood-robed cultivators rushed out of the wooden huts, some wielding magical artifacts, others casting spells, creating utter chaos. But their reaction was too slow; the sect leader and the Grand Elder had already plunged into the depths of the valley.

A blood-red figure burst forth from the stone hall, his body surging with crimson light and his aura raging. It was an old man with a withered face, none other than the Nascent Soul Elder of the Blood Fiend Sect. His face was pale, and his breathing was unstable, clearly indicating that his injuries had not yet healed.

"Hehuan Sect!" The old man's expression changed drastically when he saw the sect leader and the first elder, and he turned and fled.

But how could the sect leader let him escape? She raised her hand and unleashed a black palm print carrying a world-destroying force, striking the old man. In his haste, the old man summoned a blood shield to defend himself, but it was slapped away, shattering and causing him to cough up blood.

The Grand Elder attacked from the side, his cyan sword light as sharp as lightning, aiming straight for the old man's throat. The old man desperately dodged the fatal blow, but the sword light severed his left arm, and blood gushed out.

Two Nascent Soul cultivators fighting one, and two of them at a higher level—the outcome of this battle was never in doubt from the start.

Li Hanshan withdrew his divine sense and focused his attention on the valley exit.

As expected, the Blood Fiend Sect disciples, seeing their Nascent Soul elder suppressed, began to flee. Some rushed towards the valley exit, some tried to scale the cliffs, and others tried to burrow underground. But Li Hanshan's divine sense covered the entire valley, and no one could escape his eyes.

The first one to rush out was a cultivator in the early stage of the Golden Core realm. He had a young face and his eyes were filled with terror. As soon as he rushed out of the valley, he saw a purple-gold sword light flying towards him. Before he could even react, his head was pierced through.

The second one was at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, hiding in the shadows, hoping to sneak away when Li Hanshan was distracted. But Li Hanshan's divine sense had already locked onto his location, and a fireball accurately struck behind the boulder where he was hiding, blasting him into a fireball.

The third, the fourth, the fifth.

In less than an hour, Li Hanshan had killed seven Golden Core cultivators and more than twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators. Those who rushed out died one by one; none of them could escape his grasp.

Just when he thought no one else would rush out, a streak of blood-red light flew out from the depths of the valley at an astonishing speed.

Li Hanshan's gaze sharpened, and he probed with his divine sense, discovering that it was a female cultivator, dressed in a blood-red robe, with a bewitching face and surging crimson light around her. Her aura was clearly at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm—though unstable, it was indeed that of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

A Nascent Soul female cultivator from the Blood Fiend Sect!

She had clearly been injured by the sect leader and the Grand Elder; there was a deep, bone-revealing wound on her left shoulder, still oozing blood, and her breathing was erratic, even her flight path was unpredictable. But she was, after all, a Nascent Soul cultivator, and her speed was still ridiculously fast, reaching the valley exit in the blink of an eye.

Li Hanshan gritted his teeth, his Pure Yang Meridian surged into operation, and his Immortal-grade Golden Core erupted with a dazzling purple-gold light. He raised his hand, and a fireball three times larger than usual condensed in his palm, which he then blasted towards the female cultivator.

The fireball, carrying the momentum to incinerate everything, drew a purple-gold trajectory in the air.

The female cultivator snorted coldly, raised her hand, and struck out with a palm, the blood-red palm print colliding with the fireball. With a deafening boom, the fireball was shattered, but the female cultivator was also jolted, a trace of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Her injuries were too severe; even an attack from a peak Golden Core cultivator had exacerbated her wounds.

"You're courting death!" The female cultivator's eyes flashed with killing intent, and she raised her hand to strike Li Hanshan with another palm.

Li Hanshan's expression changed, and he was about to dodge when a black palm print descended from the sky, striking the blood-red palm print precisely. With a loud bang, the blood-red palm print shattered, while the black palm print, still possessing considerable force, struck the female cultivator's chest, sending her flying backward and crashing heavily into the mountain wall.

The sect leader flew out of the valley, her black dress fluttering and her face veiled. She looked down at the female cultivator, raised her hand and struck her again, causing her to cough up blood and her breath to weaken to the extreme.

"Li Hanshan, capture her." The sect leader's voice was calm, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

Li Hanshan leaped off the flying boat and landed in front of the female cultivator. He raised his hand and placed more than a dozen restrictions on her lower abdomen, sealing her dantian. The female cultivator struggled a few times, but then became unable to move, and could only stare at him with eyes full of hatred.

The sect leader landed beside him, his gaze sweeping over the female cultivator, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

"Well done." She turned to Li Hanshan, her tone tinged with admiration. "To be able to stop a Nascent Soul cultivator at the peak of the Golden Core stage, even though she was seriously injured, is something to be proud of."

Li Hanshan clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Master, you flatter me."

The Grand Elder also flew out of the valley and landed beside the two. He glanced at the female cultivator who was being restrained by Li Hanshan, frowned, and said in a deep voice, "Sect Master, give this Nascent Soul to me. I happen to be lacking a Nascent Soul furnace to use for breaking through to the late Nascent Soul stage."

His tone was matter-of-fact, as if the female cultivator was already his for the taking.

Li Hanshan's heart sank. A Nascent Soul furnace is a great tonic for Golden Core cultivators, and the same is true for Nascent Soul cultivators. A furnace at the early Nascent Soul stage is enough to greatly increase the cultivation of a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator like the Grand Elder, and even break through the bottleneck.

But Li Hanshan wanted it too.

A Nascent Soul stage early-stage furnace is more useful to him than ten Golden Core stage late-stage furnaces. He's currently stuck at the peak of the Golden Core stage, only one step away from the Nascent Soul stage. If he could have a Nascent Soul furnace to assist him, his chances of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage would greatly increase.

"Elder," Li Hanshan spoke, his voice calm, "this Nascent Soul cultivator was captured by this disciple. According to sect rules, whoever captures the spoils of war owns them."

The Grand Elder's face darkened: "What use is a Nascent Soul furnace to someone like you who only reaches the Golden Core stage?"

"This disciple is stuck at the peak of the Golden Core stage and is in dire need of a Nascent Soul furnace to break through the bottleneck." Li Hanshan said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "The Grand Elder is already at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, so we don't need to make a difference."

"Insolence!" the Grand Elder roared. "I have served the sect for hundreds of years, and you, a junior who has been in the sect for less than twenty years, dare to try and steal my spoils?"