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

Before the light from the spirit-testing stone had completely faded, the air in the square had already become scorching. More and more female cultivators who had flown in from various peaks gathered, some landing on the steps, some leaning against the stone railings, and some simply floating in mid-air, looking down at Li Hanshan standing in the center of the square.

His gaze was like that of a pack of wolves that hadn't eaten for three days seeing a piece of freshly cooked fatty meat, so sticky it seemed to want to devour him whole.

"Little old man, don't be afraid~" The woman in red who came over first had already stretched out her hand, her slender white fingertips almost touching Li Hanshan's chin. "I cultivate the authentic fire-based techniques of the Hehuan lineage, which are most compatible with your Pure Yang Holy Body. If you come with me, I guarantee you'll be comfortable every day~"

As she spoke, her fingertips touched Li Hanshan's skin. A warm spiritual energy seeped into her fingertips, like a tentative little snake trying to burrow into his meridians.

Li Hanshan took a half step back without making a sound, avoiding her touch. His pure yang energy circulated quietly within his body, repelling the probing spiritual power.

A hint of surprise flashed in the woman's eyes, then her smile deepened: "Oh, you're quite wary, aren't you? But I like wary old men like you~"

"Senior Sister Lin, that's not very kind of you." Another woman in a light purple dress floated down from mid-air, landing gently beside the woman in red. Her tone was slightly reproachful. "We agreed to share it, why are you trying to take it all for yourself?"

She turned to Li Hanshan, her charming face displaying a pitiful expression, "Little brother, look at me, I'm young and beautiful, and my cultivation isn't bad either, will you choose me?"

"Pah! You, a mere early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, dare to speak?" Another voice rang out from the crowd. A woman in a sizzling green miniskirt strode out, radiating the aura of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator. Her gaze swept over the competitors like a knife. "This man possesses a Pure Yang Sacred Body, with top-grade spiritual energy purity. How could you possibly handle him? He should at least cultivate with a senior sister in the Deity Transformation stage to make the most of his talent!"

Upon hearing this, the Nascent Soul and Golden Core female cultivators, though unwilling, had no choice but to take a few steps back. With their senior sister at the Deity Transformation stage speaking, they indeed had no right to compete. However, the Nascent Soul peak female cultivators did not back down; instead, they stepped forward one after another, releasing their oppressive auras, creating an invisible force of confrontation in the arena.

Chen Tong stood beside Li Hanshan, his brows furrowed. He glanced at the restless female cultivators, gritted his teeth, and stepped forward, blocking Li Hanshan's path. He called out loudly, "Senior sisters! This person has just joined the main sect and hasn't been registered yet. According to the rules, he should first go to the External Affairs Hall to complete the formalities—"

"Get out of my way." The woman in red didn't even lift her eyelids, casually waving her hand. A powerful spiritual force, like an invisible giant hand, directly slammed into Chen Tong's chest. Although Chen Tong was in the late Nascent Soul stage, he was utterly insignificant in front of a Deity Transformation cultivator. He was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the bluestone ground several feet away, looking utterly disheveled.

"Manager Chen!" Several low-ranking disciples from the External Affairs Hall exclaimed in surprise and rushed over to help him up. Chen Tong clutched his chest, his face ashen, but he couldn't utter a single word of protest. In the Joyful Union Sect, the status of a Nascent Soul cultivator was far higher than that of a manager like him in the External Affairs Hall. Even if the other party had hit him in public, he had no way to seek justice.

The woman in red withdrew her hand, as if she had merely brushed a speck of dust from her sleeve. She looked at Li Hanshan again, her smile softening, but her eyes held an undeniable authority: "Old man, now no one will bother us. Come on, I'll take you to a nice place~"

She reached out again, this time grabbing Li Hanshan's wrist. The pressure of the Nascent Soul stage was like an invisible mountain pressing down, sluggishly suppressing his spiritual energy. Li Hanshan frantically circulated his Pure Yang Meridian, trying to break free from the restraint, but the gap between the second level of the Nascent Soul stage and the Nascent Soul stage was like an insurmountable chasm; his struggles were insignificant in the face of that power.

Just as the woman in red was about to grasp his wrist, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the edge of the square. Several figures emerged from behind the crowd, the one in the lead wearing a black dress as black as ink and a black veil covering her face. Her aura was calm and composed; she was none other than Shen Ruoxi, the sect leader of the Northern Wilderness Joyful Union Sect branch.

Behind her followed Qin Muyue, Leng Yue, and Chu Mengyao. All four were wearing the new blue inner disciple robes issued by the main sect. Shen Ruoxi, whose cultivation was the highest, was only at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, and she appeared particularly inconspicuous in front of the Nascent Soul demoness.

"Please, senior, show mercy!" Shen Ruoxi strode to the center of the plaza, bowed to the woman in red, and though her voice was respectful, it carried an undeniable calmness. "This Li Hanshan is a disciple I brought from the Northern Wilderness branch. According to the rules, he should first be registered in the roster and allocated a cave dwelling and cultivation resources. If you take him away directly, it would be against the sect's procedures."

The woman in red raised an eyebrow and glanced at her, her gaze sweeping over the girl's blue inner disciple robes. A disdainful smile appeared on her lips: "Oh, who do we have here? So it's a newcomer from the Northern Wilderness branch sect. A mere inner disciple who just rose through the ranks from the branch sect dares to interfere with my affairs?"

She sized Shen Ruoxi up and down, her tone growing increasingly sharp: "You were the sect leader of a branch sect before, but now you're just an inner disciple in the main sect. A peak Nascent Soul cultivation might make you a local tyrant in the Northern Wilderness, but in the main sect, you're not even a core disciple. What makes you think you can talk to me about rules?"

Shen Ruoxi's expression remained unchanged, but the fingers gripping her sleeve tightened slightly. Qin Muyue stood behind her, her face pale with anger, yet she stubbornly held back from speaking. Leng Yue remained expressionless, only a hint of coldness flashing in her silver-gray eyes. Chu Mengyao lowered her head, the emerald beads in her hand trembling slightly from her grip.

"Senior, I don't mean to stop you," Shen Ruoxi's voice remained calm. "It's just that according to sect rules, a newcomer cannot be taken away at will before being registered in the roster. If you insist on taking him, at least wait until I've registered him in the roster—"

"Don't try to intimidate me with rules," the woman in red interrupted impatiently. "You people from branch sects just don't understand the rules of the main sect. In the main sect, strength is the most important rule. What qualifications do you, a mere Nascent Soul peak inner disciple, have to make me wait to register you?"

As she spoke, she reached out to Li Hanshan again, this time skipping even the perfunctory explanation and directly trying to take him away.

Qin Muyue finally couldn't hold back any longer and took a step forward to speak, but Shen Ruoxi grabbed her arm.

Shen Ruoxi shook her head slightly, her deep eyes filled with a helpless sadness—she really had no say. In the main sect, the cultivation of a peak Nascent Soul cultivator was nothing to worry about. If a Nascent Soul cultivator really wanted to snatch someone away, she didn't even have the right to stop them.

The woman in red had already gripped Li Hanshan's wrist, her Nascent Soul stage spiritual power acting like a cold iron clamp, sealing his pure Yang energy tightly. Li Hanshan gritted his teeth, his divine infant frantically circulating in his dantian, but he still couldn't break through the suppression. Some of the female cultivators watching around were gloating, some were unwilling but helpless, and a few were secretly plotting how to get a share after the woman in red had used him.

Just as the woman in red pulled him around to leave, a silver-white sword light suddenly fell from the sky, striking the ground in front of her with precision. The sword light wasn't particularly sharp, but it carried an undeniable warning, leaving a deep sword mark on the jade-like ground, sparks flying everywhere.

The woman in red froze abruptly. She looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, and followed the direction of the sword light.

Above the plaza, a white figure slowly emerged from the clouds. Her long hair cascaded down her back, her white dress was as white as snow, and her aura was as deep and unfathomable as an abyss. In her hand, she held a long sword that shone with crystal clarity. With each step she took, the temperature in the air dropped a little, and the originally noisy discussions seemed to be choked, falling silent layer by layer.

Night Frost Splendor.

The expressions of the female cultivators in the square all changed. The woman in red, who had been so arrogant just moments before, seemed to have been doused with cold water, and her grip on Li Hanshan's hand loosened involuntarily.

Several female cultivators at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage subconsciously took a half step back, lowering their heads and not daring to look directly at the white figure. Even the lower-level disciples who were watching the commotion from a distance fell silent. The entire square went from being noisy to being so quiet that you could hear a pin drop in just a few breaths.

Ye Shuanghua landed in the center of the square, the hem of her white dress gently brushing against the bluestone ground. Her gaze swept over the hand of the woman in red that was gripping Li Hanshan's wrist, paused for two breaths, and then slowly raised her eyes to meet the woman's gaze. There was no anger or fierceness in those clear, cold eyes, only a calm scrutiny that sent chills down one's spine.

"Junior Sister Lin," Ye Shuanghua spoke, her voice soft yet clear to everyone present, "Is your hand...placed in the wrong place?"

The woman in red—Senior Sister Lin—had her face turn pale and then flushed.

She released Li Hanshan's wrist, took two awkward steps back, and forced a smile: "Senior Sister Ye, this... isn't this the newly arrived Pure Yang Holy Body? I was thinking of taking him to familiarize himself with the surroundings..."

"Familiarizing yourself with the environment requires your personal involvement?" Ye Shuanghua's tone remained calm. "How come I didn't know that the duties of the External Affairs Hall had become the responsibility of a Nascent Soul cultivator?"

Senior Sister Lin's smile completely vanished. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something in her defense, but under Ye Shuanghua's calm, almost indifferent gaze, all the words stuck in her throat.

Both being Nascent Soul cultivators, she was only at the first level of Nascent Soul, while Ye Shuanghua was at the fourth level of Nascent Soul and also possessed the name of the Amazing Swan Sword. Few people in the entire Joyful Union Sect dared to act presumptuously in front of her.

"Senior Sister Ye is right... Junior Sister was inconsiderate." Senior Sister Lin lowered her head, her voice growing softer and softer, "Then, then I'll be going now..." With that, she transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the sky above the plaza without looking back. Seeing this, the others also made excuses to disperse. Some said their alchemy furnaces were still burning, others said they hadn't finished their cultivation yet. In just a short while, the once bustling plaza was left with only a few scattered figures.

Ye Shuanghua turned to look at Li Hanshan, her gaze lingering on his pale face. She paused slightly and asked, "Your injuries haven't fully healed yet?"

"Fairy Ye, my spiritual power has not yet fully recovered," Li Hanshan said, bowing with clasped hands. "However, I am now mostly recovered."

Ye Shuanghua nodded, not pressing further. Her gaze passed over Li Hanshan, landing on Shen Ruoxi and the others, lingering for a moment on Shen Ruoxi's veiled face: "You're from the Northern Wilderness branch?"

Shen Ruoxi stepped forward and bowed, saying, "This junior, Shen Ruoxi, is the sect leader of the Northern Wilderness Branch. These are Qin Muyue, Leng Yue, and Chu Mengyao, all holy sons and daughters of the Northern Wilderness Branch."