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

Deep within the cave, the malevolent energy, like stirred ink, was visibly converging towards the center. An invisible force drew out the gray mist lurking in the crevices of the stone walls, creating an increasingly dense vortex in mid-air that spiraled downwards, flowing into the spot where Xiao An sat cross-legged.

Li Hanshan stood in the shadows at the cave entrance, his gaze fixed on Xiao An, without uttering a sound to disturb her. He could clearly sense that the Yin vein deep underground was drying up at an alarming rate—highly pure Yin energy was gushing upwards like water from a tapped vat, being completely devoured, refined, and compressed by Xiao An's Netherworld Record technique. A layer of eerie blue light appeared on the surface of her soul, a sign that a large amount of pure Yin energy was settling within her body.

For a full day and night, the concentration of yin energy in the cave went from being so dense it was almost tangible, to becoming as thin as in an ordinary mountain field, and finally, not a trace of coldness could be seen seeping from the cracks in the stone walls. The yin vein deep underground had completely dried up, absorbed cleanly by Xiao An alone, even the remaining moisture had been evaporated.

Xiao An slowly finished her practice, opened her eyes, and a sharp glint flashed in her dark green eyes. She raised her hand, her palm open, revealing a dozen or so gray beads, each the size of a fingernail, lying there quietly, their surfaces shimmering with a soft luster. Each bead contained extremely pure Yin energy. These were Yin energy beads that she had deliberately compressed and condensed during the absorption process, condensing the essence of the entire Yin meridian.

"Senior, the Yin Meridians have been completely drained." Xiao An stood up and stored the dozen or so Yin Qi Beads deep within his soul. "These beads will be enough for me to cultivate for quite some time. If I can refine them all, I hope to break through to the eighth level of the Nascent Soul Realm."

Li Hanshan nodded, about to say something, when his expression suddenly changed. His Nascent Soul level divine sense contracted violently as if bitten by a venomous snake, a chilling sense of crisis exploding from the depths of his consciousness, making his entire body tense. In the sky outside the cave, an extremely powerful aura was approaching at an alarming speed. That aura was cold and violent, carrying a decaying oppressive feeling, like the ancient, eerie wind surging from an excavated tomb.

A Nascent Soul cultivator. Moreover, his aura was far deeper and more profound than that of Deacon Xu and the two Nascent Soul cultivators from the Heavenly Demon Sect, at least at the mid-stage of Nascent Soul, or even the late-stage. The oppressive feeling descended like a tangible tide from several miles away, causing Li Hanshan's Nascent Soul Level 2 spiritual power to stagnate briefly.

Xiao An clearly sensed it too. Her soul tensed slightly, and she turned her gaze to Li Hanshan: "Senior—"

"Don't come out." Li Hanshan interrupted her, speaking quickly. "Go, go through the Yin Meridian, circle around to the direction of the Heavenly Broken Mountains, and go to the main sect of the Joyful Union Sect for help. The sooner the better, and don't look back."

Without hesitation, Xiao An transformed into a streak of black light and plunged into the depths of the Yin Cave, quickly disappearing into the darkness. Her speed was extremely fast, and her aura was perfectly concealed, as if she had merged into the shadow itself.

Li Hanshan took a deep breath, and pure Yang fire rose around him, its purplish-gold light shining like a blazing sun breaking through the mist in the dark green cave. He turned and walked towards the cave entrance, each step firm and powerful, flames dancing at the edges of his robes, scorching the remaining Yin Sha crystals on the stone walls.

The chilling aura was already close at hand in the sky outside the cave. A moment later, a gray figure slowly descended from above the cave entrance, hovering in mid-air, looking down at Li Hanshan who was walking out of the cave.

It was an old woman, thin and hunched, wearing a gray-black robe embroidered with the same withered well runes as the previous Yin Quan Sect cultivators, only these runes were more intricate, radiating a chilling pressure. Her face was wrinkled like withered tree bark, and two cloudy gray-white eyes were set in deep-set sockets, giving her a scrutinizing look that sent shivers down one's spine. She didn't deliberately release any pressure, but simply standing there made the air within a hundred feet of her become heavy.

Behind her, twelve corpse puppets floated silently in mid-air, each gleaming with a dark silver luster. They moved without making a sound, like a row of puppets being pulled by strings.

"Such a powerful aura!"

Based on his understanding from the secret manual, Li Hanshan confirmed it almost instantly.

These corpse monsters are at least equivalent to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, or half a step into the Silver Corpse realm.

Each of them exuded an aura only slightly lower than that of the sect leader. When all twelve were combined, the oppressive feeling far exceeded that of any opponent Li Hanshan had ever encountered before.

Li Hanshan stopped in his tracks. He neither retreated nor made a move; he simply stood still, the pure yang fire of purple-gold burning quietly around him.

The old woman's cloudy gaze fell upon him, as if examining an inconspicuous object. After a moment, she grinned, revealing a set of uneven, yellow teeth: "So it was you who killed several Nascent Soul cultivators from my Yinquan Sect and released prisoners from the Immortal Alliance?"

Her voice was hoarse and shrill, like sandpaper rubbing against rust, each word carrying an undeniable chill: "Youngster, you've got some nerve. Since you've made a move, don't even think about leaving." She raised her hand, pointing at Li Hanshan with a casual gesture, as if brushing dust off her clothes. "Take him down."

The twelve silver corpses moved simultaneously. Their movements were completely unexpected, so fast that even a Nascent Soul cultivator's divine sense could not fully capture them. The twelve silver-gray afterimages approached from all directions at the same time, their claws, fists, and spells intertwining to form an impenetrable net of attacks, sealing off all of Li Hanshan's escape routes.

Li Hanshan didn't stand still and wait to die. Pure Yang fire condensed in his hand into a purple-gold flaming longsword. He took a step forward, the sword sweeping across, forcing the three nearest silver corpses back half a step. But the three silver corpses only paused for a moment before lunging forward again. The wounds on their chests healed rapidly under the replenishment of Yin energy, as if they had never been injured. At the same time, attacks from the other silver corpses landed simultaneously from the sides and rear, forcing him to divide his attention to defense. His fire shield blocked two attacks from behind, barely managing to stabilize himself.

He gritted his teeth, and the sword of his soul condensed in his sea of ​​consciousness, slashing towards the old woman's brow. The invisible golden sword shadow, like a silent lightning bolt, aimed directly at the core of her consciousness. The old woman merely narrowed her eyes slightly, raised her withered finger, and flicked it lightly. A gray stream of energy collided with the sword shadow, severing it in half, the aftershocks dissipating into the air without a trace.

Li Hanshan's heart sank. His Divine Soul Sword was easily deflected by the old woman with a casual flick of her wrist. The strength of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was far beyond what a Nascent Soul cultivator could challenge.

"Interesting." The old woman slowly withdrew her fingers, a hint of amusement appearing in her cloudy eyes. "It's rare to see a Nascent Soul cultivator who can cultivate their divine sense to this level. It's a pity that it ends here." She said no more and pressed her hand down.

The twelve silver corpses simultaneously unleashed an even stronger attack, their silvery-gray light exploding at the cave entrance, turning the area into a destructive storm. Li Hanshan was forced back by the force, his pure Yang fire armor cracking under the continuous impact. His left arm was grazed by the claws of one of the silver corpses, the flesh tearing and blood splattering.

His spiritual energy was rapidly depleting, and the flames of his pure Yang fire were visibly weakening. Meanwhile, the attacks of the twelve silver corpses remained as fierce as ever, tireless and relentless, like a swarm of enraged silver bees, relentlessly tearing at him from the center. The old woman hovered in mid-air, her hands clasped in front of her, as if watching a play whose ending she already knew.