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

Li Hanshan stood there, Xu Deacon's words like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up a tidal wave in his heart.

With a single sword strike, a corner of the Tianyuan Continent was cleaved off.

What kind of power is that? Can a Nascent Soul cultivator do it? Obviously not. Not to mention Nascent Soul cultivators, even those above Nascent Soul, such as Void Refinement cultivators, might not be able to do it.

"Immortal..." Li Hanshan murmured, his voice so low that only he could hear it.

Could it be that...

Was that supposedly slain by an immortal?

"May I ask, senior?" Li Hanshan, regaining his senses and suppressing his shock, clasped his hands and asked, "Is that great being who cleaved the Northern Wilderness still alive?"

Deacon Xu glanced at him, his gaze carrying a profound meaning: "I don't know. Beings at that level are beyond our comprehension. Even if he's still alive, he's no longer in this world."

Li Hanshan didn't press the matter further. He knew that some questions were not his place to ask now, and asking too many would only make him seem ignorant.

Deacon Xu withdrew his gaze, put his hands behind his back, and looked into the distance. He slowly said, "After that sword strike, an invisible barrier was created between the Northern Wilderness and the Tianyuan Continent. That barrier is neither an array nor a restriction, but a natural chasm formed by the remnants of sword intent and the laws of heaven and earth. Ordinary flying boats cannot pass through that barrier at all. Only the spirit boats specially made by the main sect can barely pass through, but each voyage consumes a large amount of spirit stones and array bases, and the spirit boats themselves are also severely worn."

He paused, his tone becoming more serious: "Therefore, the main sect strictly controls the number of people each time they are guided across. Cultivators below the Golden Core stage cannot even make it to the other side under the pressure of that insurmountable force when crossing the Endless Sea. Those above the Nascent Soul stage can barely survive, but if there are too many people, the spirit boat's array foundation will be overloaded and shatter."

Li Hanshan's heart stirred, and he asked, "What about the Holy Maiden and Holy Son? In the past, it was always the Golden Core stage Holy Maidens and Holy Sons who were received. How did they get there?"

"They will need to cross the sea within the protective array of the spirit boat," said Deacon Xu. "The protective array of the main sect's spirit boat can protect Golden Core cultivators from the erosion of the chasm's power. However, the array's capacity is limited and cannot accommodate too many people."

Li Hanshan understood the underlying meaning in his words: "Senior Xu, since we're already within the protective formation, can't we add a few more people?"

Deacon Xu glanced at him, his tone somewhat cold: "The number of people has already been decided. If you want to bring others, you'll have to find a way yourself. To cross the Endless Sea, you either need to rely on the main sect's spirit boat or rely on yourself. As far as I know, no one in this Northern Wilderness has ever successfully crossed it on their own during the Nascent Soul stage."

"Can't you take any of them?" Li Hanshan pressed. He still held a sliver of hope—even if he couldn't take all of Hua Nongying and the others, taking one or two would be fine.

Deacon Xu's expression darkened slightly, and his tone carried a hint of displeasure: "Are you assigning me tasks?"

Li Hanshan's heart skipped a beat, and he clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This disciple wouldn't dare. This disciple simply..."

"But what?" Deacon Xu interrupted him, his voice still calm, yet carrying an undeniable authority. "Every year, countless people from the Northern Wilderness want to go to the Central Continent, but only a handful actually make it. You being chosen is already an immense stroke of luck. If you are still greedy, you will even lose your own opportunity."

Li Hanshan lowered his head and said no more. He knew that this Nascent Soul cultivator had already given him enough face, and continuing to argue would only backfire.

The sect leader spoke at the opportune moment, his tone respectful and composed: "Senior Xu, please calm your anger. Li Hanshan is young and impetuous, and doesn't understand the rules. I will teach him properly when I return. May I ask, Senior, how should we arrange the follow-up affairs of our Hehuan Sect branch?"

Deacon Xu's expression softened slightly. He pointed to the man and woman behind him: "This is Su Yuan, late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. This is Liu Ying, also late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. From today onwards, the Hehuan Sect branch will be taken over by these two. You, the sect leader, can step down. Pack your things and depart in three days."

The sect leader's gaze swept over the man and woman, his expression unchanged, and he simply bowed slightly: "This junior understands."

Su Yuan was a man with a square face. He cupped his hands to the sect leader and said in a polite tone, "Sect leader, you are too kind. We are newcomers and not yet familiar with the situation in the Northern Wilderness. We will have to ask you for your guidance."

Liu Yuanze was a woman with a beautiful appearance. She simply nodded slightly and did not speak, but her eyes swept back and forth between the sect leader and Li Hanshan twice with a scrutinizing look.

Deacon Xu turned and walked towards the flying boat, but stopped after a couple of steps. Without turning back, he said, "Prepare yourselves well. We will depart on time in three days. Also, bring all the holy sons and daughters you have accumulated over the past few decades. Not one can be missing." After saying this, he boarded the flying boat. The boat door closed silently, and the array patterns on the surface of the flying boat lit up again. It rose several feet high and hovered above the sect square.

The sect leader watched the flying boat ascend into the sky before turning to Su Liu: "Please come with me, I will have someone arrange accommodations for you."

Su Yuan waved his hand: "No need to trouble yourself, we can just look around on our own. Sect Master, you should go and attend to your business first. We're setting off in three days, and I'm sure you have a lot to take care of."

The sect leader didn't stand on ceremony, nodded, and led Li Hanshan away from the plaza. The two walked through the crowd and returned to the side hall behind the main hall. The stone door closed, and the sect leader turned around, looking at Li Hanshan with a rare gentleness and seriousness in his eyes.

"I know you're worried about Hua Nongying and the others."

Li Hanshan did not deny it and nodded.

The sect leader was silent for a moment, seemingly considering his words, before slowly saying, "Although they are polite on the surface, I have seen that kind of look in their eyes far too many times in my hundreds of years in the Joyful Union Sect. They look at those disciples as if they were furnaces."

Li Hanshan's face darkened.

If he leaves, and his women are chosen by them for sexual exploitation, that would be disastrous.

"Therefore, I have a suggestion." The sect leader looked into his eyes and said, word by word, "Let them leave the Joyful Union Sect."

Li Hanshan frowned: "Leave? Where to?"

"Seagod Island." The sect leader's voice was calm. "The giant tortoise is still alive. The people on the island are all mortals or body cultivators, and they have almost no contact with the outside world. They went there, and the main sect members can't find them. They're safe."

Li Hanshan remained silent for a moment. The suggestion was indeed bold, but also feasible. Seagod Island was guarded by giant turtles, preventing even peak Nascent Soul sea beasts from entering. Even if the man and woman had ulterior motives, they couldn't possibly venture into the depths of the Endless Sea to chase after someone. However, there was one problem—disciples of the Joyful Union Sect needed to take poison pills when they went out. What if Hua Nongying and the others were away from the sect for too long and the poison pills took effect?

"Disciples need to take Heart-Eating Pills when they go out," he said, expressing his concern.

The sect leader glanced at him, a faint smile playing on his lips: "Whether or not we eat while we're out is entirely up to me."

Li Hanshan was taken aback.

Yes.

Since he broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, he has basically stopped taking Heart-Devouring Pills when he goes out.

Whether or not to eat is entirely up to the sect leader.

The sect leader said, "Go and prepare quickly; we will be setting off in three days. You have two or three days to arrange everything."

She paused, then added, "If they want to leave, let them take the secret passage behind Jade Peak. That path leads directly out of the mountain, and there are no arrays monitoring it, so no one will notice. Jiang Nianwei knows where it is."

Did Jiang Nianwei know?

Li Hanshan gave her a deep look, then clasped his hands in a respectful bow: "Thank you, Master."

Without saying anything more, he turned and strode out of the side hall.