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

Seeing that the sect leader didn't want it, Li Hanshan didn't stand on ceremony.

He put the ring on his hand, feeling its weight, and was in a great mood.

At this moment, the little beast flew over, came into Li Hanshan's arms, rubbed its little head against his belly, and made a low "ee" with a hint of coquetry.

Li Hanshan reached out and rubbed its little head, a warm feeling welling up in his heart.

The Nascent Soul demon beasts that the little beast had temporarily summoned on the sea surface had gradually dispersed. Some dived into the deep sea, while others swam away into the distance. In just a short while, the sea area returned to calm.

Only a few remains of demonic beasts, shattered by the demon's primordial spirit, floated on the water, emitting a faint smell of blood.

"Go, little one."

Li Hanshan patted the little beast's head.

This little guy is eyeing the demon core of a monster.

The little beast leaped off Li Hanshan's shoulder and landed beside the remains of the giant shark at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

It circled the shattered corpse twice, its tiny paws tearing through the shredded flesh and scales to pull out a fist-sized, jet-black demon core.

The demon core shimmered with a dark luster and contained astonishing energy fluctuations. Even though it was taken from a shattered fragment, it still caused the surrounding air to tremble slightly.

The little animal's nose twitched twice, and its dark, bright eyes lit up.

It held the demon core between its two little paws as if it were holding some rare treasure, then with a "crunch," it bit off a small piece and chewed it with a crunching sound.

The hard demon core was crushed into powder in its mouth like a candy bean, and dense energy fluctuations emanated from its mouth, forming visible ripples in the air.

Li Hanshan was both annoyed and amused by the way it was eating with such relish.

This little thing has a growing appetite. It started by eating first-tier inner cores, then progressed to third-tier ones, and now it can even eat the demon cores of peak Nascent Soul cultivators as snacks.

He ignored it and turned to collect the remains of the monsters scattered on the sea.

Although most of the demonic beasts were blasted to pieces by the demon's primordial spirit power, many were still relatively intact and could be used to cultivate the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique.

Li Hanshan worked for almost half an hour, storing all the usable materials into his storage ring. When he put the last relatively intact sea python corpse into the ring, the little beast had already finished eating its demon core and was squatting on a reef licking its paws, its belly round and full, looking completely satisfied.

Li Hanshan walked over, squatted down, and reached out to rub its fluffy little head: "I'm going back now."

The little animal stopped licking its paws. It raised its head, its big, dark eyes looking at him, without making a sound or moving.

"And you?" Li Hanshan asked, "Come with me, or stay here?"

The little beast tilted its head and thought for a while, then jumped off the reef, rubbed its calves against the rocks, and turned to look at the distant sea shrouded in twilight. A complex light flashed in its eyes.

The tuft of golden hair on its forehead gleamed slightly, as if expressing something unspeakable.

Li Hanshan understood.

This little thing found its own territory in the Endless Sea, where it can command a group of Nascent Soul demon beasts. It's much freer than following him around the Northern Wilderness.

"Then you can stay here." Li Hanshan rubbed its head again. "I'll come back to see you after I've made it big over there."

The little beast made a "ee" sound, nudged his palm with its little head, then turned and leaped into the sea, transforming into a white shadow and disappearing into the deep blue water.

Li Hanshan stared at the direction where the white figure had disappeared for a moment before turning around. The sect leader was already waiting not far behind him, her black dress fluttering, her face veiled, her gaze calm.

"Let's go," she said.

Two streaks of light rose from the sea and flew towards Seagod Island. On the return journey, Li Hanshan felt his spiritual energy had recovered considerably. He took out a Grade 5 Rejuvenation Pill he had found in the Demon Lord's Ring and swallowed it. A warm current flowed through his meridians, and the light on the surface of his Divine Infant shone brightly again.

Several days passed before they returned to Poseidon Island.

The island's inhabitants continued their secluded and peaceful lives. A-Ling sat in front of a thatched hut mending fishing nets, while A-Yan squatted on the beach building sandcastles.

Li Hanshan didn't linger and went directly with the sect leader to the middle of Seagod Island, to the broken sword.

The broken sword still sat askew in the tortoise shell, its ancient patterns gleaming faintly in the light of the luminous pearl on the cave ceiling.

Li Hanshan stood before the sword, took a deep breath, and pushed the power of the first revolution of the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique to its limit. His bones and muscles emitted a faint grinding sound, and his blood and qi surged through his meridians as he gripped the sword hilt.

At the same time, the sect leader also made her move. She raised her hand and placed it on the sword near the tip, and the spiritual power of the peak Nascent Soul stage transformed into a black stream of light that flowed into the sword, assisting Li Hanshan in exerting force upwards from the other side.

The two exerted force at the same time.

The broken sword emitted a muffled hum, and the patterns on its surface suddenly lit up. The sword intent that had been dormant for countless years burst forth like a startled beast, displaying an extremely sharp edge.

Li Hanshan felt as if he were holding a red-hot iron in his palm, and the stinging pain shot from his tiger's mouth straight into his bone marrow, but he did not let go.

"rise--!"

With a low shout, his pure Yang energy surged into the sword.

The sect leader also intensified her efforts. Her spiritual power and Li Hanshan's pure yang energy converged and intertwined inside the sword, merging into one, and then rushed towards the point where the tortoise shell met the sword.

Click.

A faint cracking sound rang out, and the black patterns that had clung to the surface of the tortoise shell for thousands of years finally cracked open.

Then came the second and third cracks, fine cracks spreading in all directions like a spider web. The entire cave trembled slightly, and the giant tortoise's consciousness suddenly surged, like a volcano that had been dormant for thousands of years finally seeing the dawn of an eruption.

The final combined effort.

Boom!

With the combined efforts of the two, the broken sword suddenly rose a bit higher, and the stubborn black patterns at the junction of the tortoise shell and the sword finally shattered completely.

The broken sword emitted a long, drawn-out cry, like a sleeping dragon finally breaking free of its shackles, and was pulled out by Li Hanshan.

The sword was entirely black, with a smooth, flat cut. Although only half of it remained, it exuded a chilling and sharp sword intent.

The ancient patterns on the sword began to flow after detaching from the tortoise shell, like tiny rivers surging across the surface, emitting a cold, eerie blue light.

At that moment, all the luminous pearls on the cave ceiling lit up, illuminating the entire cave as if it were daytime.

The giant tortoise's divine sense surged forth like a tide, carrying an indescribable gratitude and relief—the liberation of finally being freed from the shackles of a thousand years. Its massive, island-like body trembled slightly, and the cracks on its carapace began to heal at a visible speed, as the hidden wounds accumulated over a thousand years finally found an outlet.

Li Hanshan gripped the broken sword, feeling the sharp sword intent emanating from his palm and the strange sensation of merging with the blade. The power within the sword far surpassed any magical artifact he had ever seen; its sharpness even caused a slight stinging sensation to his Nascent Soul level divine sense.

"This sword..." The sect leader walked to his side, his gaze falling on the broken sword, his tone unusually solemn, "its owner was at least a being above the Nascent Soul stage."

"Above the Nascent Soul stage?" Li Hanshan turned to look at her.

"The magical treasures in Central Continent are roughly divided into several grades."

The sect leader slowly said, "The lowest level is a treasure weapon, used for Qi refining and foundation building. Next is a magic weapon, used for Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators. Moving up the ranks are spiritual weapons, Dao weapons, and immortal weapons. Although this sword is broken, its sword intent far surpasses that of ordinary spiritual weapons; it's at least a top-grade spiritual weapon, and might even be a Dao weapon."

Li Hanshan looked down at the broken sword in his hand, and his heart trembled.

Dao artifacts are treasures that would attract fierce competition from powerful factions even in the Central Continent.

"It's a pity it broke."

The sect leader added, "If you can find suitable materials to reforge the sword, there might be a chance to restore it to its former glory."

Li Hanshan nodded and carefully put the broken sword away.

He turned to look into the depths of the cave, where the ancient and profound divine consciousness of the giant tortoise once again sent a faint message, containing only two words: Thank you.