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

The crowd in the square had mostly dispersed, but many eyes still lingered on Li Hanshan from afar—some curious, some scrutinizing, and others still harboring lingering desires. Ye Shuanghua stood in the center of the square, dressed in snow-white robes, like an invisible barrier, keeping all the prying eyes several feet away.

Shen Ruoxi stepped forward and bowed to Ye Shuanghua: "Thank you for helping me out, Senior Ye." Her voice was respectful and steady, neither humble nor arrogant.

Ye Shuanghua merely gave a faint "hmm," her gaze not lingering on Shen Ruoxi for even a moment, as if she were merely an insignificant passerby. She turned to Chen Tong, the head of the External Affairs Hall who had just gotten up from the ground and was still rubbing his chest, and asked, "According to the sect's rules, how should he be placed given his talent?"

Chen Tong quickly straightened his robes, stepped forward, clasped his hands, and said, "Reporting to Senior Sister Ye, Li Hanshan came from the Northern Wilderness branch sect. According to custom, he should be registered in the inner sect disciple roster and allocated a cave dwelling and monthly allowance. However, his innate pure Yang holy body, top-grade spiritual power purity... this aptitude is indeed beyond my control. According to the rules, it must be reported to the Elder Hall for the elders to decide."

As he said this, a hint of envy unconsciously crept into his tone: "With Fellow Daoist Li's talent, an elder will probably come to take you as a disciple soon. To be chosen by an elder as a personal disciple is an incredible stroke of luck."

After listening, Ye Shuanghua remained silent for a moment. She raised her hand to straighten her cuffs, her tone calm yet undeniable: "There's no need to report it."

Chen Tong was taken aback: "What does Senior Sister Ye mean—"

"I accepted him as my disciple on behalf of my master."

Upon hearing this, those who hadn't completely dispersed from the plaza stopped in their tracks, and several pairs of eyes turned towards them. Chen Tong's expression changed drastically; his mouth opened and closed as if something was choking him, and after a long while, he finally found his voice: "Senior Sister Ye, this...this isn't quite right, is it?"

"Oh?" Ye Shuanghua tilted her head slightly to look at him, a hint of scrutiny in her clear, cold eyes. "Is there anything wrong with the rules?"

A fine layer of sweat appeared on Chen Tong's forehead. He subconsciously rubbed his hands together, and spoke much faster than before: "The sect leader hasn't taken on any disciples for many years, and the sect leader's lineage... well... according to the sect's old rules, an elder's acceptance of a disciple requires approval and registration from the Elder Hall. If the sect leader were to personally accept a disciple, it would require... it would require the Grand Elder's approval..." His voice grew softer and softer, and the last few words were almost choked out.

Ye Shuanghua looked at him without speaking. The air in the square fell silent for a moment, the silence more oppressive than any words. Chen Tong's back was soaked with cold sweat; he lowered his head, unable to meet her gaze.

"Steward Chen," Ye Shuanghua finally spoke, her voice still calm, "you mean, I need the Grand Elder's approval to accept a disciple on behalf of my master?"

"No, no..." Chen Tong hurriedly waved his hands, his words tumbling out incoherently. "I was just... just following the rules... Of course, Senior Sister Ye's status is special, and it's common for her to accept disciples on behalf of the sect leader, but... but this still requires Fellow Daoist Li's consent..."

Ye Shuanghua stopped looking at him and turned to Li Hanshan: "Are you willing?"

Li Hanshan stood before her, pondered for a moment, and instead of answering immediately, asked, "May I ask, Fairy Ye, who is your master?"

"Naturally, it's the current leader of the Hehuan Sect," Ye Shuanghua said calmly.

The leader of the Hehuan Sect?

Good guy.

Li Hanshan's heart skipped a beat—Sect Leader. To be able to latch onto the Sect Leader's coattails right away—his luck was simply too good. However, Li Hanshan suddenly noticed that Shen Ruoxi's expression stiffened for a moment when Ye Shuanghua uttered the words "Sect Leader." Although she quickly regained her composure, Li Hanshan still caught that fleeting change.

A slight chill ran through him. Was there some hidden meaning he didn't know about?

Ye Shuanghua seemed to sense his hesitation and took half a step forward, suddenly closing the distance between them to less than an arm's length. She looked down at him, her cool eyes carrying an undeniable pressure: "What, you're unwilling?"

The oppressive aura of a fourth-level Nascent Soul cultivator emanated subtly, like an invisible mountain enveloping him. Li Hanshan smiled bitterly to himself—he had already slept with her and she had saved his life; if he refused her in public, he would not only offend her but also appear ungrateful. Besides, although her suggestion to take on a disciple on behalf of her master came suddenly, in the long run, it was better than being taken away by those elders of dubious origin.

"This disciple is willing," he said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

Ye Shuanghua nodded slightly, the faint chill in her expression finally fading somewhat. She took out two items from her sleeve—a silver-white token with fine patterns engraved on its surface, and a palm-sized cyan jade bottle. The token was about half the size of her palm, warm to the touch, and had an ancient character "Night" engraved on its back, emitting a faint spatial fluctuation.

"This is the secondary token of the sect leader's token. With this token, you can freely pass through the inner sect area of ​​the main peak without being hindered by the formation." She handed the token to Li Hanshan, and also gave him the jade bottle. "There are three Tribulation Substitution Pills in this bottle. If you crush them at a critical moment, they can block a full-force attack from a Nascent Soul cultivator. There are also some protective talismans. You can take them."

Li Hanshan accepted the pills, secretly astonished. A substitute pill to block a full-force attack from a Nascent Soul cultivator—such a life-saving item would be fought over by Nascent Soul cultivators in the Northern Wilderness. Ye Shuanghua casually gave him three.

As expected of the sect leader's lineage, and as expected of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

"From this day forward, you will be my junior brother." Ye Shuanghua said this in a calm tone, but there seemed to be a hint of warmth in her clear, cold eyes. "Just call me senior sister."

Li Hanshan didn't hesitate and clasped his hands in greeting, "Senior Sister."

Ye Shuanghua nodded and said, "Master is currently in seclusion, which could last for several decades or even several centuries. I will accept you on her behalf for now, and we will formally formally become disciples after Master emerges from seclusion. During this period, I will be responsible for allocating your cultivation resources, and you may come to me if there is any emergency."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the lingering crowd around the square, and raised her voice slightly: "If anyone dares to use their status to pressure you or force you to cooperate with dual cultivation, then give them my name. If they don't listen, come find me."

These words were clearly meant for those watching from the shadows. Sure enough, several pairs of eyes that had been secretly observing withdrew as if burned.

After saying this, Ye Shuanghua didn't linger. She turned and transformed into a streak of silver-white light, soaring into the sky and disappearing into the horizon in just a few breaths. She left decisively, without even glancing at Li Hanshan again, as if accepting a disciple was just a trivial matter that she had done incidentally.

After she left, the remaining people in the square finally dispersed completely. Li Hanshan noticed that the expressions on their faces as they left were completely different from what he had expected—there was no envy, no congratulations, but rather a sense of avoidance as if it were a plague. Someone muttered something under their breath as they walked by; the voice was too soft to hear clearly, but the vaguely gloating tone made Li Hanshan even more uneasy.

Shen Ruoxi walked to his side and said in a very low voice, "You shouldn't have agreed."

Li Hanshan turned to look at her, his brows furrowing slightly: "What's wrong?"

Shen Ruoxi shook her head, glanced around, and said, "Come with me first."

She summoned her flying sword and took the lead, heading towards the outer perimeter. Although Li Hanshan was full of suspicion, seeing her solemn expression, he didn't ask any further questions and followed her with his own flying sword. Qin Muyue, Leng Yue, and Chu Mengyao followed closely behind, their streaks of light arriving one after the other at a relatively secluded courtyard in the middle of a mountain.

The courtyard was small, with blue bricks and gray tiles, and a few spirit bamboos planted in front of the door, making it quite serene. This was clearly the residence assigned to Shen Ruoxi by the main sect. Shen Ruoxi pushed open the courtyard gate, gesturing for the others to enter. Qin Muyue then closed the gate and set up a simple soundproof barrier.

The room was simply furnished with a wooden table, a few chairs, and a futon in the corner. Shen Ruoxi sat down at the table, removed the black veil from her face, revealing her stunningly beautiful but somewhat weary face. She gestured for Li Hanshan to sit as well. Qin Muyue, Leng Yue, and Chu Mengyao each found a place to stand in the room, their gazes all fixed on Shen Ruoxi, clearly also eager to know the answer.

"We've heard some things since we arrived at the main sect," Shen Ruoxi said bluntly, her voice much lower than before. "The Hehuan Sect is nominally headed by the sect leader, but in reality, the power lies with the council of elders."

Li Hanshan's heart sank, and he vaguely guessed what was going on.

Shen Ruoxi continued, "The Hehuan Sect has been established for thousands of years. At its peak, the sect leader's cultivation was unparalleled in the entire sect, and his word was law. However, several hundred years ago, the situation changed. After the previous sect leader failed to transcend the tribulation and passed away, the successor sect leader, although highly skilled, was young and weak, while the elders' council grew stronger and its influence became deeply entrenched. With this shift in power, the sect leader's lineage was gradually sidelined."

She raised her head and looked directly at Li Hanshan: "In the current Hehuan Sect, the elders hold real power, and the Grand Elder Nie Hongyuan has already reached the late stage of the Dao Integration Realm, far surpassing the sect leader. The sect leader's lineage is restricted in every way within the sect, resources are withheld, disciples are ostracized, and even a genius disciple like Ye Shuanghua has to spend most of her time cultivating outside the sect and rarely returns."

Li Hanshan's expression finally changed. Ye Shuanghua was the sect leader's personal disciple, and she was cultivating outside because she couldn't stay in the sect—a fact that was more cruel than he had imagined.

"So, when I agreed to accept Ye Shuanghua as a disciple on behalf of my master, I was actually binding myself to the sect leader's lineage?" he said slowly.

Shen Ruoxi nodded, a hint of guilt flashing in her eyes: "I wanted to remind you, but with Ye Shuanghua present, I couldn't speak up."

Qin Muyue leaned against the wall and sighed, "No wonder those female cultivators all ran away as soon as they heard about the sect leader. Turns out they were afraid of getting into trouble."

Leng Yue spoke up, her voice cold and clear: "The sect leader's lineage is suppressed in every way within the sect. If you join the sect leader's sect, you probably won't get any benefits. Instead, you'll be targeted by the elders' council."

Chu Mengyao clutched the emerald bead in her hand and whispered, "No wonder Ye Shuanghua was so generous, giving away the Tribulation Substitution Pill and the protective jade talisman so easily... It turns out that there are only a few people left in the sect leader's lineage. If she didn't give it to you, who else would she give it to?"

Li Hanshan sat in his chair, silent for a long time. He recalled Ye Shuanghua's lonely figure as she left, her preference for seclusion on a deserted island at the edge of the Endless Sea rather than staying within the sect, and Chen Tong's alarmed expression when he heard about "accepting disciples on behalf of the master." Everything had an answer at this moment.

The Hehuan Sect was far more dangerous than he had imagined in the Northern Wilderness. He had hoped to find a powerful ally, but instead, he had stumbled into a quagmire.

But upon further reflection, he realized he had nothing to regret. In that situation, refusing Ye Shuanghua would have been a public humiliation, and given her aloof and arrogant nature, even if she didn't immediately turn hostile, she might seek revenge later. On the other hand, while not refusing would have drawn him into the conflict between the sect leader's faction and the elders' council, at least Ye Shuanghua had provided him with tangible life-saving items—a substitute pill, a protective talisman, and a free passage token. These items were far more useful than spirit stones within the Hehuan Sect.

Moreover, he had already slept with Ye Shuanghua. Although it was out of necessity and he had only half-heartedly agreed that time, there was no point in going back now. If he were to be targeted by the elders in the future, Ye Shuanghua would most likely not stand idly by.

Li Hanshan raised his eyes and looked at Shen Ruoxi, a self-deprecating smile appearing on his lips: "So, as the sect leader's disciple, I've become one of the least popular members in the main sect."

Shen Ruoxi looked at him, a complex emotion flashing in her deep eyes: "It may not be a bad thing. Although the sect leader's lineage is weak, the sect leader's cultivation is not low, and Ye Shuanghua is the most outstanding genius among the younger generation of the Hehuan Sect. As long as you can remain calm, you may have a chance to turn the tide. Although the elders' council is powerful, it is not a monolithic entity."

Li Hanshan nodded without replying. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and pondered for a moment. When he opened them again, his gaze had returned to calm: "Now that we're on the ship, let's take it one step at a time. The most urgent thing right now is to fully recover from my injuries and improve my cultivation. We can't worry about anything else for now."

Shen Ruoxi looked at him, remained silent for a few moments, and then nodded slightly: "It's good that you think that way."

Qin Muyue walked over from the wall and sat down on the chair next to Li Hanshan, her tone teasing: "Hanlang, your luck is unbelievable. First, you were almost snatched away by the Nascent Soul demoness, and then you were taken in by the sect leader's lineage. You can't find peace anywhere."

Li Hanshan glanced at her and said indifferently, "Unlike you back then, when you were single-mindedly trying to extract my essence."

Qin Muyue was speechless at his words. She opened her mouth, then burst out laughing: "Alright, alright, you're good with words."

Then, her gaze shifted: "Hanlang, calm down. How about I let you pick some now?"

These words were spoken.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became subtle.