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

"What? The furnace cauldron wants to become an inner disciple?"

"Senior Sister Hua must be spoiling her cauldron rotten! She actually brought him along to register?"

"A hundred-year-old man like him would probably be no match for even the demonic beasts in the secret realm; he'd just be throwing his life away."

On the sect square, all sorts of discussions erupted, and countless gazes fell on Li Hanshan, some mocking, some curious, some questioning, and some even excited to watch the spectacle.

Zhao Yuan was stunned for a few seconds, then burst into laughter: "Inner disciple? Old man, are you dreaming?"

Perhaps finding it too hilarious, he disregarded his dignity as a Foundation Establishment senior and laughed so hard he could barely breathe. Pointing at Li Hanshan, he said to Sun Ze and the others behind him, "Did you hear that? This furnace cauldron says he wants to become an inner disciple! Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter!"

Sun Ze, clutching his injured shoulder, also laughed, his eyes filled with malice: "Senior Zhao is right. With his meager skills, he'd just be food for the monsters in the secret realm."

Li Hanshan said calmly, "Whether I can become an inner disciple is not up to you."

Zhao Yuan's smile froze, and his face darkened: "Old man, what do you mean?"

"What I mean is..."

Li Hanshan said, enunciating each word clearly: "You are not qualified."

"you!"

Zhao Yuan was furious, and the pressure of his Foundation Establishment stage cultivation was suddenly released, crushing down on Li Hanshan like Mount Tai.

Hua Nongying snorted and stood in front of Li Hanshan, using her Qi Refining Perfection cultivation to withstand Zhao Yuan's Foundation Establishment pressure.

"Since when did you, an outer sect steward, have the right to interfere in my inner sect affairs?"

At that moment, a voice that sounded calm but carried a hint of coldness rang out.

Zhao Yuan paused, then suddenly turned his head.

The crowd parted to make way for a man in a blue robe who walked in with his hands behind his back. He had a thin face, sharp eyes, and an unfathomable aura. Every step he took seemed to pound on the hearts of the crowd.

"Deacon Fu!"

Zhao Yuan's face darkened.

The visitor was Fu Jianfeng, an inner sect steward responsible for handling various inner sect affairs. Although he was also a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, only one step away from the Golden Core stage, and his status was far above Zhao Yuan's.

Fu Jianfeng walked over with a cold expression. Although Zhao Yuan was unwilling, he had no choice but to take several steps back and make way for him.

Fu Jianfeng didn't even glance at Zhao Yuan, but walked straight up to Li Hanshan. His gaze lingered for a moment on Li Hanshan's gray hair and beard and wrinkled face before he said, "Have you thought it through? The secret realm trial is extremely dangerous. Once you enter, it's a matter of life and death."

Li Hanshan nodded: "I've thought it through."

Fu Jianfeng then asked Hua Nongying, "Do you agree to his participation?"

Hua Nongying smiled sweetly and took Li Hanshan's arm: "Of course, Hanlang is no longer a furnace, but my Daoist partner!"

Daoist companion!

The moment those two words were uttered, the crowd stirred once again.

Many people looked at Li Hanshan with even more curiosity, and a gossip fire was burning in their eyes, as if they wanted to know what strengths this centenarian had that could conquer a vixen like Hua Nongying.

Fu Jianfeng was somewhat surprised, but he didn't ask any further questions. He said, "In that case, you can register by paying a thousand spirit stones as a ransom."

One thousand spirit stones!

Upon hearing this number, Zhao Yuan's expression darkened. He had been deliberately making things difficult, asking for ten thousand.

Now, the inner sect only charges a thousand, and Fu Jianfeng is clearly going against him.

"Senior, these are spirit stones."

Li Hanshan felt relieved and handed over the storage bag containing spirit stones.

Fu Jianfeng took the spirit stones, put them back in his storage bag, and then took out a jade token and handed it to Li Hanshan: "Blood recognition. This is a trial token, which can be used to count points and teleport out of the secret realm. Considering your advanced age of one hundred, I will not make things difficult for you. As long as you get one thousand points in the assessment, you can become an inner disciple."

One thousand points!

These words immediately caused a stir among the surrounding inner disciples.

"A thousand points? That's way too difficult!"

"That's right. Last time I went into the secret realm, I fought tooth and nail and only got a little over 800 points. I almost failed the test."

"A furnace cauldron can get a thousand points? Unless the sun rises in the west."

Even Zhao Yuan's expression relaxed. He knew how difficult it was to obtain a thousand points in the inner sect assessment.

Li Hanshan's expression remained unchanged as he asked, "Senior Fu, how do I acquire points?"

Fu Jianfeng said calmly, "There are demonic beasts in the secret realm, as well as other disciples of the Demonic Sect. Killing a demonic beast or a disciple of the Demonic Sect will earn you a different number of points depending on their strength."

"In addition, there are some rare and precious materials in the secret realm. If you can obtain treasures from it, you can also convert them into points after handing them in."

Li Hanshan nodded and said, "Thank you, senior. I understand."

Fu Jianfeng continued, "Remember, once you enter the secret realm, you can only use the secret realm token to leave at midnight each night. If you leave the secret realm at other times, your points will be halved!"

Li Hanshan bowed and said, "Thank you, senior."

Hua Nongying had actually told him all this information, but he wanted to confirm it again.

Fu Jianfeng nodded and waved his hand: "Alright, everyone, prepare to enter the secret realm."

In the center of the plaza, a teleportation array lit up. Seeing this, the inner disciples all headed towards the teleportation array.

Li Hanshan took a deep breath and was about to take a step when Xu Lingxi suddenly ran over breathlessly and stuffed a talisman into his hand: "Grandpa Li, take this."

Then she ran away in a hurry.

Li Hanshan was stunned for a moment, then put away the talisman.

Hua Nongying glanced at it but couldn't make out the level of the talisman. Her tone immediately became a little sour and jealous: "Han Lang, you seem to attract quite a few young girls."

Li Hanshan did not respond.

Seeing this, Hua Nongying didn't press the matter further. She reached out and took Li Hanshan's hand, their fingers intertwined, and said with a smile, "Hanlang, hold on tight, don't get separated."

Li Hanshan felt the warmth of her palm, but his heart remained calm.

This enchantress has endured until now, and even though her charms failed to work, she hasn't turned on him, which is enough to show that she hasn't used her real killer move yet.

If nothing unexpected happens, this secret realm assessment will be the time for Hua Nongying to unleash her ultimate move.

He remained calm and walked hand in hand with Hua Nongying into the teleportation array, but just as the two stepped in, a tremendous force slammed into them from the side.

"Bang!"

Li Hanshan felt his hand being suddenly ripped away, and Hua Nongying's figure became blurry in the light of the teleportation array.

"Hanlang~"

Hua Nongying's voice came from afar, tinged with anxiety.

The next second, the light engulfed everything.

Li Hanshan felt dizzy, as if his body had been thrown into a whirlpool, and his internal organs were churning.

After an unknown amount of time, his feet felt solid, and he finally stepped onto the ground.

Li Hanshan opened his eyes and found himself standing in a dense forest. Ancient trees towered all around, vines entwined, and the air was filled with the damp scent of earth.

He looked around but did not see Hua Nongying.

"Did you get separated?"

Li Hanshan frowned.

He recalled the immense force before the teleportation; it was clear that someone had deliberately bumped into them, with the aim of separating him from Hua Nongying.

"Is he one of Zhao Yuan's men? Or is he Hua Nongying's enemy?"

Li Hanshan wasn't worried. On the contrary, even if no one interfered, he wasn't prepared to go with Hua Nongying.

This vixen has a killer move waiting for him. Being around her is too passive. It's better to act alone. As long as he accumulates enough points, he can become an inner disciple.

Even if Hua Nongying reaches the Foundation Establishment stage, there won't be many good ways to deal with him by then.

Unless she reveals the secret of Li Hanshan's martial arts technique, but he's willing to bet that this vixen most likely won't tell anyone, because if she does, it won't be hers anymore. She's always wanted to claim his martial arts technique for herself!

Now, let him see just how difficult it is to get a thousand points!

Li Hanshan concealed his aura and extended his divine sense to the surrounding area.

His divine soul was comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his divine sense could cover a hundred feet. With him as the center, everything within a range of more than three hundred meters could be seen.

"It's a demonic beast, probably a first-tier one."

Upon probing ahead, he spotted a dozen or so giant wolves with blue-green fur resting in the forest about thirty feet away. These were first-tier demonic beasts, blue-backed wolves.

"Eighteen heads!"

Li Hanshan estimated that with his peak Qi Refining Level 8 cultivation, dealing with a dozen or so Tier 1 Blue-backed Wolves wouldn't be difficult, but it would require some effort, and he might even get injured.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to try the Flowing Light Sword Technique that Luo Li had taught him.

"Start by drawing in vital energy to form a sharp edge, condensing light three inches from the sword tip..."

Li Hanshan silently recited the sword incantation, and the flying sword in his hand hummed as it flew out of his hand and hovered in mid-air in front of him.

"go!"

He flicked his finger, and the flying sword shot out like a streak of light, so fast that it was almost impossible for the naked eye to catch it.

The sword flashed, like a shooting star streaking across the night sky.

There were no loud collisions, no clanging of metal against metal, only the faint sound of sword blades slicing through flesh. Many of the blue-backed wolves were pierced by the flying swords before they could even react.

After a while.

Li Hanshan stood amidst the wolf pack, surrounded by the haphazardly lying corpses of more than a dozen Ironback wolves.

The flying sword traced an arc in mid-air before landing steadily beside him, hovering motionless. The blade remained spotless, untouched by blood, as pristine as ever.

"The Flowing Light Sword Technique is indeed powerful."

Li Hanshan looked at the flying sword hovering beside him, a look of amazement flashing in his eyes.

"The girl is right, this sword technique can indeed be used to fight opponents of higher levels."

Li Hanshan felt much more at ease.

He glanced at the trial token, which showed a score of 45.

"Killing so many monsters only gets you 45 points."

Li Hanshan now understood the value of a thousand points, but with the Flowing Light Sword Technique, he had plenty of confidence.

He sheathed his flying sword and continued walking deeper into the jungle.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the secret realm.

In a valley, several cultivators dressed in black were hiding behind a pile of rocks, each with a dark emblem embroidered on their chest, indicating they were disciples of the Demonic Sect.

"Boss, we've spotted disciples of the Hehuan Sect up ahead."

A disciple with a pointed face and monkey-like features approached a tall man and whispered something.

A bloodthirsty glint flashed in the tall man's eyes: "How many people?"

"All five are at the late stage of Qi Refining."

"Five?"

The tall man grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "Enough for us to divide. Brothers, get ready!"

Several disciples of the Demonic Sect drew their weapons, their eyes filled with killing intent.

"kill!"

At the tall man's command, the crowd pounced out like hungry wolves.

The five disciples of the Hehuan Sect were fighting against the demonic beasts when they were suddenly attacked, throwing them into chaos.

"They're from the Demonic Sect!"

"Quickly, form a defensive formation!"

"what!"

A scream rang out as a disciple of the Hehuan Sect was slashed to the ground by a disciple of the Demonic Sect, blood gushing out.

The two sides were locked in a fierce battle, exchanging spells and clashing swords, until the sky darkened.

On a hill not far away, Hua Nongying stood under a large tree, coldly observing the battle below.

"A bunch of useless trash."

She scoffed and turned to leave.

She hadn't gone far when three disciples of the Demonic Sect suddenly appeared from three directions, surrounding her in a triangle formation.

The three men stared at Hua Nongying's stunningly beautiful face, their eyes gleaming with lewdness. The leader chuckled and said, "Oh, what a pretty little lady! Alone? Want us brothers to keep you company?"

Hua Nongying smiled sweetly, her slender white fingers holding the long-handled pipe, taking a lazy puff, and slowly exhaling pink smoke: "Alright~"

She walked gracefully toward the three men, her waist swaying gently, exuding charm, with wisps of smoke rising from the end of her pipe.

The three demonic sect disciples stared wide-eyed, their mouths practically watering.

next second.

Hua Nongying flicked her wrist, and the pipe spun in her palm, a flash of cold light passing from the end of the pipe.

Before the three of them could react, a thin line of blood appeared on their throats at the same time.

"you……"

The leader stared wide-eyed, wanting to say something, but found himself unable to make a sound.

"thump!"

The three bodies fell to the ground almost simultaneously, their blood staining the grass red.

Hua Nongying put away her pipe, took out a silk handkerchief to wipe it, and her gaze swept over the blood-red skull emblems on the chests of the three people, revealing an undisguised smile on her lips.

"People from the Blood Fiend Sect? I was just about to go find you."

"Three should be enough."

She crouched down, a spiritual blade materializing from her fingertips, and sliced ​​open the chests of the three men. Three still faintly beating hearts were exposed to the air, emitting a faint smell of blood.

Hua Nongying held the pipe horizontally between her lips, took a deep drag, and then formed hand seals. She used magic to draw out the blood from the hearts of the three people, which transformed into three blood lines that intertwined in the air to form countless tiny blood-red runes.

These runes multiplied and strung together, forming a long, blood-red chain!

Finally, all the blood and sweat were exhausted, and the chain was fully formed.

Hua Nongying's gaze swept over the blood-red chains, and she nodded in satisfaction: "That should be enough."

She bit her fingertip, using her own blood as a catalyst, and murmured:

"By blood, by the bond of evil, the inner demons are temporarily sealed, the oath temporarily bound. Blood and evil, lend your power to subdue me!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a blood-red chain suddenly pierced her forehead.

"boom!"

A violent, blood-red aura surged through her body like a raging torrent. Hua Nongying's face turned deathly pale, veins bulging on her forehead, yet she gripped her pipe tightly, her hands continuously forming hand seals.

She continued reading:

"Using bloodlust as a catalyst, seal my mind and spirit. Without the release of the inner demon, the vow will remain unbroken. Suppress! Suppress! Suppress!"

With each recitation of the word "town," the crimson aura emanating from her intensified. Only after all the chains had entered her body did she open her eyes, exhale a breath of stale air, and catch the pipe that had slipped from her lips.

"The Heavenly Demon Sect's secret technique is indeed effective; the inner demon oath has been temporarily suppressed."

She stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and looked into the distance with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Master, your humble servant has arrived~"

Her voice was soft, yet carried a hint of coldness.

With a flash of red, Hua Nongying disappeared from the spot.