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

Elder Chang abruptly stopped, his black blade hovering in mid-air, his gaze fixed on the still-smoking corpse on the ground.

The elder's body was curled up among the rubble, the edges of the gaping hole in his chest charred and curled, but no blood flowed out—the temperature of the pure yang fire sealed off all the blood vessels the moment it pierced his heart.

His eyes remained wide open, the last crimson hue of twilight reflected in his pupils, as if he had never understood how he had lost, even in death.

Elder Zhao was also stunned.

He clutched his left rib, injured by the Second Elder's blow, his sinister expression replaced by shock. For a moment, he forgot to unleash the demonic claw to continue the attack. The low-ranking disciples of the Heavenly Demon Sect hiding behind the broken walls around the plaza were even more terrified, not daring to utter a sound.

A cultivator at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm died just like that, at the hands of an old man at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, as cleanly and neatly as cutting off a withered branch.

The Second Elder, supporting herself against a nearby stone pillar, slowly regained her balance. Though her breathing remained weak, a cold smile played on her lips. She glanced at Elder Chang, her voice hoarse yet clear: "Elder Chang, now only the two of you remain."

Elder Chang's face was ashen, his sinister eyes fixed on Li Hanshan, as if he were re-evaluating this seemingly insignificant opponent. The First Elder's death happened in an instant; the opponent's movements were too fast, too precise, and too ruthless. He had no time to intervene. What did this mean? It meant that even under that three-pronged attack, the old man still retained enough strength to kill with a single blow.

He quickly weighed the options in his mind. The First Elder was dead, and although the Second Elder of the Joyful Union Sect was seriously injured, he could still intervene to restrain him. If he forced himself to join forces with Elder Zhao to continue besieging Li Hanshan, the chances of victory remained, but the cost was unknown.

But if they were to withdraw like this, the Demon Sect's entire plan would be in vain, and the sect leader would surely be furious. Elder Chang gritted his teeth and gave Elder Zhao a meaningful look.

Elder Zhao understood, and the giant demonic claw condensed again, its dark red tip reigniting the flames that burned the soul.

Just then, Elder Chang took out a jet-black bead from his sleeve, squeezed it hard, and the bead shattered, from which a thick black mist gushed out.

The mist was thicker than ordinary demonic energy, carrying a chilling aura that sent shivers down one's spine. It instantly spread out, enveloping a space of several dozen feet in radius. Li Hanshan frowned slightly, and pure yang fire rose around him, keeping the black mist at bay.

But he could sense that the black mist was indeed strange—it was wrapped around his pure yang fire like a living thing. Although it could not break through the burning of the flames, it was consuming his spiritual power at an extremely fast speed.

The Second Elder's expression also changed: "Soul-Eating Demonic Mist? You actually brought such a thing!"

Elder Chang did not answer, his figure already vanishing into the black mist. His voice came from all directions, shifting left and right, unpredictable: "Li Hanshan, your pure Yang fire does indeed restrain Yin energy, but this is Soul-Eating Demonic Mist, not Yin energy. To burn it away, you'll need to use three times more spiritual power. I'd like to see how long you can hold out."

Within the black mist, Elder Zhao's demonic claws silently attacked from behind Li Hanshan, only to be blocked by his fire shield without making a significant sound. Clearly, the two intended to engage in a war of attrition within the black mist.

Li Hanshan closed his eyes, his Nascent Soul level divine sense spreading out like invisible ripples within the black mist. While the Soul-Eating Demonic Mist could obscure his vision and some spiritual energy fluctuations, it couldn't block his divine sense's perception. Elder Chang's figure moved swiftly within the black mist, like a fish swimming through murky water; Elder Zhao lay in wait on the other side, his demonic claws already fully charged. Their positions were as clear as day in his perception.

Li Hanshan whispered to himself, "Second Elder, can you still make a move?"

The Second Elder's voice was hoarse, yet still crisp: "Once. The last time."

Li Hanshan didn't ask any more questions. In that instant, his Nascent Soul level divine sense suddenly condensed into an invisible sharp cone, blasting towards Elder Chang's sea of ​​consciousness. Elder Chang was preparing for the next round of attacks when his sea of ​​consciousness was suddenly pierced by that sharp cone. It was as if his soul had been gripped by an invisible hand, and his whole body suddenly stiffened, even his figure in the black mist paused for half a breath.

Right now.

The Second Elder used his last bit of strength to unleash another burst of red light, which pierced through the gaps in the Soul-Eating Demonic Mist and struck Elder Zhao precisely on the left side.

Elder Zhao was preparing to launch a sneak attack on Li Hanshan from the side when he was struck by this force. The giant demonic claw veered off course, and he staggered several steps to the right. Although the opening was brief, it was enough for Li Hanshan to seize the opportunity.

His figure flashed.

A crimson-gold flame, like a meteor tearing through the night, pierced through the black mist, heading straight for Elder Zhao. Elder Zhao hastily raised his demonic claws in defense, but they couldn't withstand the longsword formed from pure Yang fire. The first sword severed his claws, the second pierced his dantian, and as the third sword fell, Elder Zhao's body burned from within, like a piece of rotten wood ignited by a raging fire. The black demonic energy hissed softly under the scorching pure Yang fire before completely dissipating.

Elder Zhao's body slowly collapsed to the ground.

His eyes were wide open, and the last trace of shock remained on his face, but he was no longer breathing.

When Elder Chang recovered from the shock that had struck his sea of ​​consciousness, he saw Elder Zhao lying on the ground. His expression changed drastically. He abruptly withdrew his black blade and transformed into a streak of light, fleeing wildly towards the mountain gate without even the courage to look back.

Li Hanshan stood in the center of the square, the pure Yang fire slowly receding into his body, his chest rising and falling slightly. Having consecutively killed two mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, his spiritual power had also been exhausted to its limit, and the golden light on the surface of his divine infant was dimmed as if covered with a layer of gray.

But he simply took a deep breath, then leaped up, transforming into a purple-gold streak of light as he chased after Elder Chang in the direction he had fled.

The Second Elder, supporting himself on a stone pillar, slowly slid down to the ground. Watching the two streaks of light disappear into the twilight one after the other, a smile appeared on his tired face.

Elder Chang fled at full speed, his black light leaving a crack in the night sky.

He fled in the direction of the Heavenly Demon Sect's mountain gate, his only hope. Although the sect leader was still seriously injured, the Heavenly Demon Sect's protective formation was still intact. As long as he could break into the formation, Li Hanshan would be unable to catch up.

He flew for a day and a night with all his might until the familiar outline of the Heavenly Demon Sect's mountain gate appeared at the edge of his vision.

The black light shield of the sect's protective formation flickered slightly in the twilight, and two figures could be faintly seen facing each other outside the formation—the Hehuan Sect Master, whose black dress fluttered, was facing the Tianmo Sect Master across the formation.

Elder Chang felt relieved and was about to accelerate into the formation's range when the purple-gold light behind him followed closely.

The Hehuan Sect Master clearly saw Elder Chang. Her gaze fell on the purple-gold light that was also rushing towards Elder Chang from behind. Although she couldn't see the person's face, she was all too familiar with that aura of pure Yang energy. The Heavenly Demon Sect Master in the formation also saw two figures at the same time—the former was an elder of his Heavenly Demon Sect, the latter was not.

The Heavenly Demon Sect Master's face had just shown a hint of joy, thinking that Elder Chang had brought back good news from the Joyful Union Sect, when he was horrified by the murderous intent on Li Hanshan's face, who was following closely behind, and his smile instantly froze on his face.

He turned sharply to look at Elder Chang and found that this trusted subordinate, who was in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, was glancing back at the purple-gold escape light behind him, his eyes filled with undisguised panic.