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

After daybreak, the low howling outside the cave finally ceased completely. Ye Shuanghua listened intently for a while, then extended a wisp of her divine sense to sense the danger outside for a moment before removing the concealment barrier from the cave entrance.

The two emerged from the stone cave. A thin layer of mist shrouded the medicinal garden in the early morning. Sunlight filtered through the pale golden natural barrier, scattering dewdrops into tiny specks of light. The aroma of medicinal herbs in the air, having settled overnight, had become even richer and more mellow; a single breath brought a gentle warmth to the meridians.

Li Hanshan glanced at the still-flowing pale golden light barrier in the distance—the array barrier was still operating, but its rate of contraction had slowed significantly compared to last night, seemingly stabilizing. According to Ye Shuanghua, in another day or two, passable gaps should reappear in the barrier.

The two didn't rush towards the exit, but continued gathering herbs in the medicinal field. Ye Shuanghua led the way, with Li Hanshan following behind, collecting all the spiritual herbs and medicines they encountered along the way into a jade box. The atmosphere was slightly more relaxed than when they arrived; although they didn't talk much, the tense wariness had noticeably lessened.

After gathering a few medicinal herbs, Li Hanshan straightened up, glanced at Ye Shuanghua's retreating figure, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Senior Sister, have you ever heard of the Yaoguang Sect?"

Ye Shuanghua was squatting not far away picking a spiritual herb when she heard this, her fingers paused slightly. She didn't turn around, her voice coming from the morning mist ahead: "The Yaoguang Sect? A major righteous sect from ancient times, said to have perished eight thousand years ago. Why are you asking about this?"

"I heard some rumors about the Yao Guang Sect when I was in the Northern Wilderness, saying that the He Huan Sect was built on the site of the Yao Guang Sect." Li Hanshan walked over, squatted down next to her, casually brushed aside a clump of weeds, his tone casual yet serious, "I want to know more, but I haven't been able to find complete records in many places."

Ye Shuanghua put the Concentration Fruit into the jade box, stood up, and patted the dirt off her hands. She glanced at him, a thoughtful look in her clear, cold eyes: "Records of the Yaoguang Sect are indeed scarce. When I was cultivating outside, I saw fragmentary mentions in some ancient ruins and fragments, but most were vague, only saying that it was once extremely prosperous and then turned into ruins overnight."

She paused, her tone calm yet carrying a serious promise: "If you really want to investigate, I can help you look through the forbidden book section of the sect's library. Although most of it is controlled by the elders, some of the files in the side halls are outside their jurisdiction."

Li Hanshan was secretly delighted, but remained outwardly composed: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior Sister."

Ye Shuanghua nodded, not lingering on the topic. She glanced around the medicinal garden, her gaze settling on the pale golden array barrier, then suddenly changed the subject: "By the way, there's something you need to be aware of." Li Hanshan asked, "Senior Sister, what is it?"

Ye Shuanghua said, "Be careful of the Elders' Council disciples; they might target you."

Li Hanshan thought to himself, "Is it a little too late to remind myself now?"

Chang Sheng has already come looking for trouble.

Ye Shuanghua continued, "They haven't been making any moves lately because they've all been preparing for the sect competition."

Ye Shuanghua's voice was calm, yet carried a subtle hint of solemnity. "The Hehuan Sect's grand competition, held every ten years, is less than a year away. The elders' disciples are currently in seclusion, diligently cultivating to secure a good ranking and a higher allocation of resources. Therefore, they don't have time to bother you for the time being."

She turned to Li Hanshan, her gaze lingering on his face: "But things will be different after the competition ends. They'll have more free time, and in order to curry favor with the elders, they might suppress us."

Li Hanshan was silent for a moment, then nodded: "I understand."

"Therefore, I don't recommend you go out alone before the competition ends." Ye Shuanghua's tone was a bit more serious than before. "There's a protective array within the main peak area, so the elders won't dare to go too far. But once you leave the Hehuan Sect, it's hard to say. You're only at the third level of the Nascent Soul stage, below the Deity Transformation stage. If you encounter someone who truly wants to kill you, it will be very difficult to escape."

Li Hanshan listened without refuting. He knew Ye Shuanghua was right. With his current cultivation level, he was indeed inadequate in a place like Zhongzhou. A third-level Nascent Soul cultivator could roam freely in the Northern Wilderness, but in the Hehuan Sect, he wouldn't even be considered a mid-level inner disciple, let alone a Nascent Soul cultivator.

"I suggest you participate in the Grand Competition as well," Ye Shuanghua continued, her tone regaining its usual coolness. "With your current cultivation level, it will be difficult to achieve a high ranking, but at least you can make an appearance and let the elders know that the sect leader's lineage has gained another member. This will also benefit your efforts to secure cultivation resources later on. Besides, there are some secret realm trials in the Grand Competition; you might encounter some fortuitous opportunities."

Let the elders know that the sect leader's lineage has gained another member?

Li Hanshan really wanted to say that this wasn't about telling others to focus their attacks on him.

But after thinking about it, he nodded: "Okay, I'll participate."

The fog gradually dissipated, and the sunlight became brighter. Just when Li Hanshan thought that today's conversation was over, he suddenly felt an unusual vibration coming from the ground beneath his feet—not the kind of vibration that a demonic beast would make when it was running, but an extremely weak, almost regular pulsation, as if something was slowly breathing deep underground.

He stopped and looked down at the ground. The soil beneath his feet was covered with a thick layer of moss and humus, showing no signs of anything unusual, but the pulsating sensation was definitely there, one after another, evenly spaced, like the aftershocks of some ancient formation.

"Senior sister," he called out.

Ye Shuanghua also stopped, and after sensing for a moment, her brows furrowed slightly. She also sensed the unusual pulse, which was clearer than what Li Hanshan had sensed—it was the spiritual energy fluctuation of some kind of array base. Although it was mostly covered by the soil and vegetation, the residual aura was still discernible.

"There's something underground." She crouched down, placed her hand on the ground, and slowly let her Nascent Soul level spiritual power seep into the soil. After a moment, she withdrew her hand, her gaze slightly narrowed. "It's a remnant array. It's very old, at least several thousand years old."

A thought struck Li Hanshan, and he crouched down, probing the ground with his divine sense along the pulsating energy. After a moment, he sensed a fragment of an extremely ancient array pattern. Although most of it was broken and weathered, the runes at its core still maintained a faint flow of spiritual energy.

"This rune..."

Li Hanshan suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

These runes are extremely similar to those that Luo Li once drew in her dream.

Could this place be related to the Yaoguang Sect?

He looked up at Ye Shuanghua: "I can try to break this formation."

Ye Shuanghua glanced at him but didn't ask how he managed to break the spell. She simply nodded: "Be careful. Although the remnant formation is ancient, it's possible that some defensive restrictions still remain."

Li Hanshan remained silent, condensing his divine sense into fine, hair-like tendrils, and slowly probed into the ground along the direction of the pulsation. The patterns of the ancient formation gradually became clearer in his perception; although most of it was broken, the core rune structure remained intact. Following the method taught by Luo Li, he adjusted his spiritual power to the same frequency as the formation's base, penetrating it at an extremely slow pace.

The ground beneath my feet emitted an extremely faint hum, and the moss and soil covering the surface were brushed aside as if by an invisible hand, revealing a stone slab the size of a palm. Several lines of blurry runes were engraved on the surface of the stone slab, most of which had been worn away, with only the rune in the very center still retaining its complete outline.

Ye Shuanghua's gaze fell on the rune, and after examining it for a moment, she shook her head: "This symbol is not in the records of the Hehuan Sect. I don't recognize it either."

Li Hanshan stared at the rune, his heart churning with indescribable emotions. He had seen this rune before—in Luo Li's dream, on those array diagrams spanning thousands of years. It was a variant of the "Seal" technique, specifically used to seal earth vein fissures or hide entrances.

There must be something hidden down there.