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

The storm in the Endless Sea was more ferocious than any Li Hanshan had ever seen.

The spirit boat tossed and turned in the raging waves, each crash against its hull causing the bulkheads to creak under the strain. The silver array patterns on the hull flickered wildly, their light flashing on and off, like a colossal beast panting in the darkness. Outside the portholes were walls of water tens of meters high, surrounded by churning, dark seawater on all sides. Even the sky was swallowed up by thick, leaden clouds, making it impossible to discern the time or direction.

Li Hanshan sat cross-legged in the cabin, his hands resting on his knees. Pure Yang energy formed a thin golden shield around him, securing him to the deck. Outside the porthole, a waterspout rose from the sea, soaring to the heavens and crashing towards the side of the spirit boat.

Deacon Xu's voice came from ahead, still calm, but a bit faster than usual: "Hurry up."

The spirit boat lurched to one side, a waterspout skimming the hull and churning up a cloud of mist and spray. The force caused the entire boat to flip halfway, and several magical artifacts inside the cabin slid off their shelves, rolling onto the floor. Qin Muyue let out a short gasp, while Leng Yue gripped the edge of the porthole, her knuckles white, but her face remained largely expressionless.

The storm lasted for a full seven days.

On the seventh night, the storm finally subsided. A crack appeared in the clouds, revealing a corner of the star-studded night sky. The spirit boat was covered in fine cracks, several array bases had completely shattered, and the ship's speed had dropped by more than half, even maintaining a hover had become somewhat difficult. Deacon Xu stood at the bow, looking at the damaged array patterns, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

"We need to stop and repair it." He turned and walked into the cabin, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "The fastest repair will take at least half a month. You can move around freely inside the ship, but don't leave the cabin." He glanced at Li Hanshan. "Your pure Yang fire can help fuse the array base. If you're willing to help, it will be faster."

Li Hanshan did not refuse.

For the next two weeks, he spent every day repairing the array patterns at the bow of the ship with Deacon Xu. The silver array patterns covered the surface of the spirit boat densely, as intricate and complex as a spiderweb; each break required precise infusion of spiritual energy to mend. Under his control, pure Yang fire transformed into fine, hair-like golden threads, slowly traveling along the broken patterns, fusing the fractures back together. Deacon Xu, meanwhile, laid out new runes to reinforce the array base, occasionally offering him a brief but generous critique.

The two worked together fairly well. Deacon Xu would handle the more complex array patterns himself, while Li Hanshan was only responsible for repairing the medium-difficulty parts. Although it didn't involve core secrets, his understanding of the spirit boat's array had deepened considerably over the past half month.

"The array patterns on the main sect's spirit boat are actually a simplified version of ancient arrays," Deacon Xu suddenly spoke during a break from repairs, his tone casually explaining. "The original version was several times more complex than this; even Nascent Soul cultivators might not be able to fully understand it. But after the simplification, it can be activated as long as enough spirit stones are injected. Although the consumption is greater, the advantage is that the threshold is lower. After all, the main sect supports so many branch sects; it's impossible to equip every spirit boat with an array master."

Li Hanshan nodded without replying. He knew that Deacon Xu wasn't the type to enjoy idle chatter, and the fact that he was willing to bring these things up was itself a form of expression.

Half a month later, the spirit boat's array base was mostly repaired. Although it was not yet completely intact, it had at least restored more than 70% of its sailing capability. After inspecting the connections between the array patterns, Deacon Xu restarted the spirit boat. The ship trembled slightly and continued sailing towards the deep purple sea ahead.

The road ahead will not be peaceful.

A storm would strike every few days, sometimes lasting two or three days, sometimes as long as five or six. The spirit boat moved intermittently, much slower than expected. The color of the seawater changed from deep purple to dark red, and then from dark red to an eerie dark green. A faint smell of blood began to permeate the air, mixed with the odor of sulfur and rotten wood, making people feel very uncomfortable.

That night, Li Hanshan was meditating and regulating his breathing by the ship's side when he suddenly noticed an extremely strong smell of blood rising from the bottom of the ship.

He abruptly opened his eyes, his Nascent Soul level divine sense spreading out at full power—hundreds of feet below the spirit boat, in the deep sea, a colossal, suffocating shadow was slowly rising. The shadow was entirely black, shaped like a moving mountain range, its length alone dozens of times that of the spirit boat. Its aura was heavy and oppressive, like a volcano dormant in the deep sea for millions of years, ready to unleash a world-destroying pressure once awakened.

A demonic beast at the Nascent Soul level.

The array patterns on the spirit boat suddenly blazed brightly, the silver light like a lit lamp, drawing a dazzling trail on the dark red sea. Deacon Xu darted out of the cabin door and landed at the bow, his gaze fixed on the rapidly rising shadow, his expression slightly grim. He didn't speak, but simply placed his hand on the main array base at the bow, channeling spiritual energy into it. The spirit boat's speed more than doubled, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow.

But the shadow was faster.

The seawater burst open, and a gigantic head emerged from the depths. The head resembled an inverted black mountain, its surface covered in layers of dark scales, each larger than a millstone. Its eyes, like two blood-red full moons, emitted a chillingly fierce light. The serpentine head, or rather, the head of some kind of deep-sea serpent, opened its mouth to reveal rows of fangs that crisscrossed like sharp swords, and lunged fiercely at the stern of the spirit boat.

Deacon Xu snorted coldly and raised his hand to unleash a cyan spell. The spell condensed in mid-air into a giant sword several meters long, carrying a sharp sword intent as it slashed towards the dragon's head. The moment the giant sword collided with the fangs, a blinding light exploded, causing the entire sea surface to churn. The dragon's head was forced back several meters by the force, but within a few breaths it caught up again, its speed even greater than before.

"Reinforce the bulkheads, hold on tight." Deacon Xu's voice remained calm. He raised his hand again, and this time two giant azure swords materialized simultaneously, attacking the dragon's head from both sides. The sword intent crisscrossed, cutting several long trenches into the sea surface. Amidst the billowing mist, the dragon's head roared in pain and abruptly retreated into the deep sea. Only a slowly fading bloodstain remained on the surface, indicating that the sword strike had indeed wounded it.

Taking advantage of this brief gap, the spirit boat sped off at full speed, leaving the terrifying shadow far behind. Li Hanshan stood at the ship's railing and looked back. The blood-moon-like eye in the deep sea sank into the darkness and was eventually swallowed by the deep purple water, never to catch up again.

Although the road ahead remained treacherous, with this experience, Deacon Xu seemed to have figured out the distribution patterns of powerful demonic beasts in this sea area. He adjusted his course several times, avoiding the areas with the most terrifying auras. Occasionally, he encountered some Nascent Soul stage sea beasts, which he easily repelled with a few casual spells, the whole process swift and clean, without causing any substantial damage.

After nearly five months of sailing, with frequent stops and starts, the light on the sea ahead finally began to change. The originally dark greenish-purple seawater gradually became clear, and the pervasive smell of sulfur and blood in the air was replaced by a crisp, clean scent.

Standing at the bow of the ship, Li Hanshan gazed at the faint light on the horizon, and a strange sense of unease suddenly welled up in his heart.

The light shone from where the sea met the sky, displaying a color he had never seen before—it was neither sunlight nor moonlight, nor the spiritual light emitted by any magical artifact or formation.

The light was extremely faint and thin, like a layer of white mist blown away by the wind and suspended above the sea, yet it carried an invisible sharpness that caused his Nascent Soul level divine sense to involuntarily tense up when it touched that area.

"We've arrived," Deacon Xu's voice came from behind. "This is the natural barrier."

The spirit boat slowly came to a stop a few miles away from the white mist. The array patterns on the hull lit up again, forming an even thicker cyan protective shield. Deacon Xu walked to the bow of the boat, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at the seemingly calm but treacherous area in front of him with a rare solemnity in his eyes.

"The invisible barrier between the Northern Wilderness and the Tianyuan Continent is this chasm. It is a barrier formed by the remnants of sword intent and the laws of heaven and earth, which ordinary cultivators cannot approach at all. They can only barely pass through with the help of the spirit boat's protective array. But even so, the process of crossing the chasm will cause great damage to the spirit boat. You should stay in the cabin and not move, not release any spiritual power, and not extend your divine sense."

After speaking, he turned and walked back to the main control room. The spirit boat trembled slightly, and the array patterns on the bow lit up with a dazzling blue light. Then, the entire spirit boat slowly accelerated, heading towards the white mist. Li Hanshan stood by the porthole, his gaze fixed on the distance. The white mist grew closer and clearer, until finally, he saw its true form.

That wasn't fog at all.

Those were countless sword energies, each as thin as a hair, interwoven in the void like invisible, transparent threads, with an astonishing density.

Each wisp of sword energy exuded an extremely pure sharpness, a power he had never felt before—transcending the realm of spiritual power, transcending the realm of divine sense, purely an existence at the level of laws.

These sword energies, like raindrops frozen in time, solidified in the void, remaining as sharp as ever despite the passage of countless years. The protective array of the spirit boat emitted a piercing buzz the moment it crashed into the chasm, and fine ripples appeared on the surface of the azure light shield, like pebbles thrown into calm water.

The people inside the cabin simultaneously felt the oppressive aura. This pressure didn't come from external forces, but rather seeped in from all directions, penetrating the protective array, the cabin walls, their skin and bones, directly seeping into their meridians and sea of ​​consciousness. It was as if countless invisible needles were piercing their souls from all directions. Although weakened by the protective array, it still turned Qin Muyue's face deathly pale, made Leng Yue's brows furrow, and caused Chu Mengyao's fingers, clutching the emerald bead, to turn white.

Li Hanshan's senses were clearer than theirs. When his Nascent Soul level divine sense touched those sword energies, although it was isolated by the protective array, he could still perceive the power contained within them. It was a power that surpassed the Nascent Soul level, as if the being that emitted these sword energies could easily cleave the entire Endless Sea in two with a casual wave of its hand.

He recalled what Deacon Xu had said—in ancient times, there were powerful beings who fought in the heavens above. With a single sword strike, they cleaved off a corner of the Tianyuan Continent.

That's the power.

Even if only one ten-thousandth remains, it still soars straight to the heavens, enough to crush cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage.