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

Ayan's eyes widened, and his mouth gaped open. He turned to look at his older sister and whispered, "Sister, can people outside really build ships that big?"

A-Ling didn't answer her brother's question, but looked at Li Hanshan and said, "You're badly injured. Rest here for the next couple of days. Once you're better, we'll figure out how to leave."

Li Hanshan nodded, not in a hurry to ask about Poseidon Island.

He sat cross-legged under the thatched hut, closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, and sensed the condition within his body. The divine infant was still quietly dormant in his dantian; although the golden light on its surface had dimmed somewhat, it was undamaged.

The spiritual energy in my meridians is somewhat depleted, probably due to excessive consumption during the storm.

Ayan squatted down beside him, resting her chin on her hands, still staring at him curiously.

Aling was tidying up the fishing nets and baskets, her movements swift and efficient. Li Hanshan opened his eyes and asked casually, "Miss Aling, is your Sea God Island... very far from the mainland?"

A-Ling paused, shaking her head. "I don't know. I've lived on this island since I can remember, and I've never left."

She looked up at the distant sea, her gaze becoming distant. "My mother said that outside Seagod Island is an endless sea, full of storms and man-eating sea monsters. People have tried to row out to see it before, but no one has ever returned."

Ayan chimed in, "What Sister said is true! When I was little, I saw Uncle Zhao's second son secretly row out to sea in his boat, but the next day his boat was washed ashore and smashed into several pieces, and he was gone too. The village chief said he was dragged away by a sea monster, and there wasn't even a trace of his remains."

Li Hanshan's heart sank. Sure enough, this island was trapped by the storms and sea monsters of the endless sea, and the people on the island had been confined to this small area for generations, completely ignorant of the outside world.

"What about the monsters?" he asked. "Don't the monsters in the sea come ashore?"

Upon hearing this, Ayan immediately perked up, puffing out his thin chest and speaking with a hint of pride: "Of course the monsters will come ashore! But with the protection of the Sea God, ordinary monsters dare not approach Sea God Island. Even if we encounter a beast tide, we have divine generals to deal with it!"

"A divine general?" Li Hanshan raised an eyebrow.

"The divine generals are incredibly powerful!" Ayan's eyes lit up as he gestured with his hands. "They are incredibly strong; they can shatter a huge rock with a single punch! During the last beast tide, Uncle Liu—Uncle Liu is a divine general—slapped a three-zhang-tall sea beast away, sending it rolling several times on the surface of the sea before it finally stopped!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, gesturing wildly: "I want to be a god general too! My sister said that as long as I persist in cultivating every day and eat more demon beast meat, one day I can become a god general too!"

Li Hanshan looked at A Ling.

A-Ling didn't deny it, but simply said, "The generals are the messengers of the Sea God, responsible for protecting Sea God Island. They usually cultivate diligently in the Sea God Temple, only taking action when the beast tide arrives."

Ayan said excitedly, "The Sea God Temple is right in the center of the island, and the gods are all cultivating inside! Shall I take you to see it?"

"Ayan!" Aling's voice became sterner.

Ayan shrank back, not daring to speak anymore, and could only secretly wink at Li Hanshan.

Li Hanshan smiled and didn't press the matter, but his divine sense had already quietly probed out.

The divine sense of a Nascent Soul cultivator swept across Seagod Island silently, like an invisible tendril.

The layout of the island gradually became clear to him—low thatched huts were scattered along the coastline, and there was indeed a stone temple in the center of the island, not large in scale, but with a sense of the weight of time.

He cautiously probed his divine sense into the sea god temple.

There were more than a dozen people sitting in the temple, both men and women, all of them tall and strong, with bulging muscles and a heavy, mountain-like aura.

Their clothing was no different from that of the islanders, all wearing coarse linen clothes and barefoot, but their vitality far exceeded that of ordinary people.

After sensing for a moment, Li Hanshan made a judgment in his mind—these people should be tempering their bodies by devouring the flesh and blood of demonic beasts, following the path of body cultivation, and their physical strength far exceeds that of cultivators of the same level.

As for their specific cultivation levels, Li Hanshan sensed that the strongest among them was only at the Golden Core level, not even reaching the Nascent Soul level.

What concerned him even more was that the physical condition of all the residents on Poseidon Island was much stronger than that of ordinary people.

Ayan was only fourteen or fifteen years old, but his blood and energy were more vigorous than those of ordinary middle-aged people; Aling looked slender, but she contained a considerable strength within her.

These people usually feed on the flesh and blood of demonic beasts.

"Interesting," Li Hanshan thought to himself. He was about to probe deeper into the Sea God Temple with his divine sense to see what secrets it held when suddenly, an unprecedented chill rose from the depths of his divine sense.

The feeling was indescribable—it was as if some enormous creature was watching him from the darkness.

His consciousness felt as if it were being gripped by an invisible hand under this gaze, and a sharp, intense pain exploded from the depths of his mind, as if a red-hot iron needle had pierced his soul.

That power was far stronger than imagined, far more vast, more ancient, and more irresistible than the sect leader's divine sense. It was as if the entire island itself was a living entity, coldly staring at him, the outsider.

Li Hanshan abruptly withdrew his consciousness, his heart pounding wildly, and his back instantly soaked in cold sweat.

The spiritual energy in his pure Yang meridian circulated automatically, forming a protective layer around him, but the feeling of being watched still lingered, like thorns in his back.

"What's wrong?" Ah Ling noticed his unusual expression. "You look terrible."

Li Hanshan suppressed his shock and forced a smile: "It's nothing, the wound just hurts a little."

He closed his eyes and stopped speaking, but his heart was churning with turbulent emotions.

That power was at least at the Nascent Soul level, or even higher.

What terrifying entity lurks on this Poseidon Island?

This so-called sea god may be more than just a legend.

A night breeze rustled the leaves on the thatched roof.

The sound of waves crashing against the rocks could be heard in the distance, one after another, exceptionally clear in the night.

Li Hanshan composed himself and did not rashly extend his divine sense again.