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

After being severely injured by Li Hanshan, the Grand Elder dared not make another move.

The Nascent Soul cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Sect, who had been itching to act, all restrained themselves.

Li Hanshan's performance just now was truly astonishing. They couldn't figure out Li Hanshan's true strength, so they naturally didn't dare to make a move rashly.

Thus, Li Hanshan's tribulation was undisturbed.

The ninth bolt of tribulation lightning struck.

The purple-gold lightning, like a divine sword of punishment descending from the sky, carrying the last and strongest power of the Heavenly Dao in the entire thundercloud, struck Li Hanshan fiercely.

The entire reef was blasted to pieces, the waves were pushed back dozens of feet, and even the Heavenly Demon Sect members watching from afar were forced to retreat several steps by the shockwave.

Li Hanshan's figure was completely engulfed by the lightning.

The sect leader's heart sank.

She tried to turn around to look, but the demon seized the opportunity to attack, its massive, malevolent claws tearing a gash in her back, blood splattering everywhere. She groaned, enduring the excruciating pain, and forced the demon back with a single palm strike, shouting sharply, "Li Hanshan!"

The lightning slowly dissipated.

At the center of the formation, a golden figure sat cross-legged. His body was charred black, his robes torn, and his flesh torn and rolled up, a truly gruesome sight. But he did not fall. He sat there, his back straight, like an iron spear repeatedly forged by heavenly lightning, growing stronger with each tempering.

Within his dantian, a golden nascent soul, barely an inch tall, sat cross-legged in the void, its hands forming a mudra, its face identical to Li Hanshan's. The nascent soul was enveloped in a purple-gold light, its divine soul perfectly fused with the nascent soul, emanating a vast and profound aura—the unique aura of a divine infant, like a newly born star, small yet containing boundless vitality and potential.

The divine infant was formed.

The thunderclouds in the sky began to slowly dissipate, and the eerie purple cloud layer seemed to have been wiped away by an invisible hand, revealing a clear sky once again.

Sunlight streamed down, illuminating the scarred rocks and Li Hanshan's charred body, giving him a golden sheen.

The demon's face turned extremely ugly upon seeing this. He stared at the golden figure in the formation and sensed an aura completely different from that of an ordinary Nascent Soul—a Divine Infant, and a fully formed one at that.

A hint of resentment flashed in his eyes, but he ultimately chose to retreat. His injuries were far from healed, and the fight with the sect leader had consumed a lot of his energy. If he waited for Li Hanshan to recover, he might not be able to gain the upper hand.

"Young man, you're lucky." The demon glanced coldly at Li Hanshan. "But remember this, I will come looking for you sooner or later." With that, he transformed into a streak of black light and plunged into the endless sea, disappearing into the sea mist in an instant.

The sect leader did not pursue them.

She stood on the rocks, clutching the wound on her back, her face pale and her breathing erratic.

She was already injured in the previous battle, and then she forcibly took the demon's attack, which aggravated her injuries.

Within the formation, Li Hanshan slowly opened his eyes.

His body was still weak; his divine infant had just taken shape, and only a small portion of the seventy-two-hour period of weakness had passed. He looked up in the direction of the Grand Elder, his gaze as cold as a knife.

"Elder," his voice was hoarse, yet carried the imposing aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator, "you attacked me while I was undergoing my tribulation, intending to kill me?"

The elder had just crawled out of the pile of rubble, his face covered in blood, his chest caved in, and his breath extremely weak.

His face turned ashen, and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but the cold stare of Li Hanshan made his back go cold.

He subconsciously sensed Li Hanshan's aura—early Nascent Soul stage—but the pressure was more terrifying than any early Nascent Soul stage cultivator he had ever seen, especially the vast, ocean-like divine sense power, which was clearly at the Divine Transformation level.

The Heavenly Demon Sect Master and his two elders also approached, standing at a distance that was neither too close nor too far, their gazes sweeping over Li Hanshan. The Heavenly Demon Sect Master's expression was not good. He had chosen to stand by and watch earlier, neither intervening to stop the demon from the sect leader nor preventing the Grand Elder from ambushing Li Hanshan. Now, seeing Li Hanshan successfully break through, a faint unease rose in his heart.

"Fellow Daoist Li," the Heavenly Demon Sect Master spoke first, his voice deliberately softened, "The situation was critical just now, and I was unable to intervene in time, for which I am truly ashamed. However, I was also injured and powerless to help; I hope Fellow Daoist Li will understand."

As he spoke, he took out a bottle of pills from his storage bag and presented it with both hands, saying, "This is a bottle of Grade 5 healing pills that I have treasured. Consider it an apology."

Li Hanshan glanced at him but didn't take it.

Since the Heavenly Demon Sect Master has taken this stance, it shows he doesn't want to escalate things too quickly. The situation in the Northern Wilderness is already chaotic enough, with a Nascent Soul demon still lurking in the Endless Sea. If the Joyful Union Sect and the Heavenly Demon Sect were to fight again, it would only benefit that demon.

Moreover, he still has more than two days left in his weakened state, so turning against him now would not be a wise move.

"I appreciate the Heavenly Demon Sect Master's kindness," Li Hanshan said calmly. "However, there's no need for the healing pills; I have my own methods."

He turned to the Grand Elder: "Grand Elder, and what about you?"

The Grand Elder gritted his teeth, his face flushed red. He, the dignified Grand Elder of the Joyful Union Sect, a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, was actually about to bow down to a junior who had just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage.

However, his sneak attack with that sword strike had indeed angered everyone. Although the sect leader didn't react on the spot, his cold gaze said it all. If he didn't show enough sincerity, he probably wouldn't get away with it today.

He took out a storage bag from his own and tossed it in front of Li Hanshan. The bag was heavy, filled with spirit stones, pills, and cultivation technique jade slips, worth at least hundreds of thousands of spirit stones. "This is a small token of my appreciation. Consider it... consider it a misunderstanding from earlier."

Li Hanshan carefully put away his storage bag, then turned his gaze away from the Grand Elder and towards the Sect Master, clasping his hands in a fist salute. "Master," he said, "that Nascent Soul demon is indeed still nearby. He exposed his whereabouts today, clearly indicating his injuries haven't fully healed; otherwise, he wouldn't have retreated at the first sign of trouble. Master must heal his wounds as soon as possible to eliminate this threat in one fell swoop."

The sect leader glanced at him and nodded slightly.