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

On the shore of the Endless Sea, six figures sat or lay down, each bearing injuries.

The sect leader sat cross-legged on a rock, her black dress torn in several places, revealing the white lining underneath.

Her left arm was wrapped in bandages, which were soaked with blood and still oozing dark red blood.

Her face was veiled in black, obscuring her expression, but her deep eyes held a rare hint of weariness.

The elder leaned against a boulder, his face as pale as paper.

His left arm hung limply at his side, with thick bandages wrapped around his forearm and below, the bandages stained dark red with blood.

A large hole was torn in his robe at the chest, revealing a shocking wound underneath. The edges of the wound were blackened, clearly caused by the corrosive influence of Yin energy. His aura was extremely weak, and even breathing seemed difficult.

The Second Elder sat on the beach, her red robes disheveled, her hair cascading over her shoulders. She looked less alluring than usual, and more disheveled.

Her right leg was wrapped in bandages, from her knee down to her ankle, and blood was still seeping out. A trace of blood clung to the corner of her mouth, and her face was pale, but her beautiful eyes still held a faint smile, as if this injury meant nothing to her.

The leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect leaned against a crooked tree, a deep wound on his chest that exposed bone, from which black blood was seeping out.

His two elders fared even worse; one's left arm was severed at the root, blood still seeping from the cut; the other's right eye had been gouged out by something, the eye socket empty, the blood already congealed into black.

Li Hanshan landed beside the reef and was shocked by what he saw.

"Master, what's going on here...?"

The sect leader raised his head, glanced at him, and said calmly, "We chased that demon for a month and fought seven battles, but we still couldn't capture him."

The elder snorted coldly, his tone full of resentment: "That old bastard is too cunning. Every time we're about to catch up with him, he releases his ghostly spirits to cover our retreat. Once he's far away, those ghostly spirits self-destruct, blasting us into a mess."

The Second Elder leaned against the beach and picked up the conversation, his tone still languid: "He self-destructed five Nascent Soul Yin Souls, including one at the mid-Nascent Soul stage. That demon was truly ruthless."

Li Hanshan gasped. The power of five Nascent Soul Yin Souls exploding was unimaginable. No wonder the sect leader and the other six were all injured; it was a miracle they survived such an explosion.

No wonder.

Along the way, they encountered a large amount of soul power.

The biggest beneficiary of the self-destruction of these Nascent Soul Yin Spirits was actually Xiao An.

"And then?" Li Hanshan asked.

The sect leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect leaned against a tree and said in a deep voice, "Later, that demon escaped into the Endless Sea. We chased after him, but ended up falling into his trap."

"trap?"

"He had set up a large array in the Endless Sea beforehand." The Heavenly Demon Sect Master's face was so gloomy it could drip water. "When we chased after him, the array activated, trapping us from all directions. Then he lured in a monster from the Endless Sea—a giant deep-sea beast that was half a step into the Nascent Soul stage."

Half-step into the Divine Transformation Realm!

Li Hanshan's heart skipped a beat. A half-step Nascent Soul cultivator was someone between the peak of the Nascent Soul stage and the Nascent Soul stage, whose strength far surpassed that of an ordinary peak Nascent Soul cultivator. Although the sect leader was also at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, he was still a step below a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator when facing a demonic beast.

"How big was that beast?" he asked.

The second elder gestured with his hand, exaggerating, "It's huge, ridiculously huge. Its eyes alone are as big as millstones, and its mouth can swallow a flying boat. The six of us combined wouldn't even be enough to fill its teeth."

The First Elder snorted coldly, "Second Elder, would it kill you to stop making sarcastic remarks?"

The second elder pursed his lips and didn't reply.

The sect leader continued, "We were entangled by that giant beast, and the demon took the opportunity to escape. We fought with all our might to break free from the beast's jaws, but we paid a heavy price."

She glanced at the Grand Elder and the two elders of the Heavenly Demon Sect. Although she didn't say it explicitly, her meaning was clear. The Grand Elder's left arm, the Heavenly Demon Sect elder's severed arm and blindness were all the work of that half-step Nascent Soul beast.

Li Hanshan was silent for a moment, then asked, "What about that demon? Is he dead?"

The sect leader shook his head: "I don't know. The endless sea is constantly stormy, and our divine senses are severely interfered with, so we can't sense his presence at all. He may have escaped, he may have died in the storm, or he may have been eaten by that giant beast."

She paused, her tone becoming serious: "But whether he's dead or alive, we can't let our guard down. If he's still alive, given his nature, he'll come back sooner or later."

The Heavenly Demon Sect Master nodded: "The Sect Master is right. The most urgent task is to recover our strength as soon as possible. Although that demon is seriously injured, we are not in much better shape. If he takes advantage of our weakness to attack again, the consequences will be unimaginable."

The elder leaned against the boulder and said weakly, "Recover? How can we recover? Some of us are injured, some are crippled, and it will take at least a year or two to fully recover."

The Heavenly Demon Sect Master glanced at him and said calmly, "Therefore, we need to find a way to speed up the recovery process."

The sect leader looked at Li Hanshan, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly said, "Li Hanshan, come and help me heal my injuries."

Upon hearing this, a cold smile appeared on the First Elder's lips. He leaned against the boulder, arms crossed, looking like he was about to watch a good show.

The Second Elder leaned against the beach, still looking languid, but a meaningful glint flashed in her beautiful eyes. She didn't speak, but simply watched the scene with great interest.

The Heavenly Demon Sect Master and his two elders also looked over, their eyes filled with a mixture of curiosity and scrutiny.

Li Hanshan's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm, clasping his hands in a fist and saying, "Master, my cultivation is too low; how can I possibly heal you?"

The sect leader said calmly, "You have a pure Yang body, and the pure Yang energy within your body has a remarkable effect on injuries. Our sect was corrupted by that demon's Yin energy, and there are many remnants in our meridians. Your pure Yang energy can dispel that Yin energy and help our sect recover."

She spoke as if it were a matter of course, as if she were simply stating a fact.

Li Hanshan was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Disciple obeys."