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

Li Hanshan squatted in front of the stone slab, his fingertips hovering three inches above the rune, not in a hurry to touch it.

He remembered clearly the variations of the "sealing" technique that Luo Li taught him.

The structure of this rune is extremely peculiar, with a serpentine stroke at its core. Ordinary array masters would never use such a stroke, as it violates the fundamental rules of all orthodox arrays. But it is precisely that strange bend that gives the rune the unique effect of sealing the ley lines in the earth.

He closed his eyes, concentrated his spiritual power at his fingertips, and slowly probed the edge of the rune according to the technique he remembered.

The moment the spiritual energy touched the surface of the rune, it felt an extremely faint response—like a sleeper unconsciously turning over in a dream. That subtle resonance made Li Hanshan's heart skip a beat.

As expected, these are runes from Luo Li's sect. The technique is exactly the same, the spiritual energy frequency is exactly the same, and even the few nearly worn-out but still stubbornly maintaining their original curvature marks at the edges are exactly the same as the patterns on the animal skin scrolls in his memory.

"This is at least eight thousand years old," Li Hanshan murmured to himself. Eight thousand years ago, when the Yaoguang Sect was destroyed, someone set up this sealing formation here. And the person who set up the formation used Luo Li's techniques.

"Could this have been orchestrated by Luo Li?"

A guess popped into Li Hanshan's mind.

He didn't rush to delve deeper, but first used his divine sense to carefully trace the edges of the runes. Although the array base was severely weathered, the core structure remained intact, like a stone bridge covered by vines for thousands of years. As long as the surface moss was cleared away, the bridge could still bear weight.

He carefully channeled his spiritual power, slowly permeating along the main veins of the runes, attempting to reopen the spiritual power channels that had been blocked by time.

The first wisp of spiritual energy passed through smoothly. The second wisp also passed smoothly. When the third wisp entered, the winding stroke at the core of the rune suddenly lit up slightly, like a sleeping snake being disturbed, raising its head slightly in the darkness.

Li Hanshan's heart skipped a beat, and he was about to withdraw his hand when he felt an extremely slight suction force coming from his fingertips.

The suction wasn't strong, but it carried an irresistible pull, as if something was gently tugging at the other end of the rune.

Something's not right.

Li Hanshan sensed something was amiss and decided to stop, waiting until he was stronger before checking what was sealed there.

But in that instant, his consciousness seemed to be pulled into a deep darkness. The surrounding scenery—the medicinal field, the morning light, and the figure of Ye Shuanghua—all faded away in an instant, replaced by a vast emptiness, as if he were standing on the edge of an endless abyss.

"...Finally, someone has arrived."

A voice drifted from the void, soft and tender, like the finest silk gliding over skin, each syllable carrying a warmth that drew one closer. The voice was neither male nor female, yet possessed a strange magnetism, like a candle flame flickering in the dark, compelling one to reach out and touch it.

Li Hanshan's soul tightened slightly. He tried to withdraw his consciousness, but found that the connection between him and the rune was like a taut string, thin but difficult to break.

"Don't be afraid," the voice continued, its tone as gentle as if soothing a frightened child to sleep. "I won't hurt you. You just activated a corner of the rune, allowing me to sense the outside world... You're an array master? Reaching this level shows your talent is quite remarkable. And your pure Yang energy... is very special."

The voice paused slightly on the words "pure yang energy," as if savoring the aftertaste of something delicious. Li Hanshan noticed the brief pause and became slightly alert, but the voice immediately resumed, carrying a perfectly appropriate concern.

"How many years have you been cultivating?" it asked. "I can sense that your soul is very young, no more than two hundred years old. To have cultivated to this level in such a short time, and to be able to understand the variations of the ancient sealing technique, you are a rare genius. It's a pity—"

It deliberately dragged out the last syllable of its sentence, as if waiting for Li Hanshan to ask further questions.

"What's a pity?" Li Hanshan asked, his voice sounding somewhat distant to himself.

"It's a pity your cultivation technique is missing the most crucial element." The voice carried a confident tone, as if it could see through every strand of spiritual energy circulating within his body. "Although your pure Yang energy is refined, there are several bottlenecks in its circulation. Especially the bottleneck between the third and fourth levels of the Nascent Soul stage—don't you always feel like something's missing? Relying solely on your own arduous cultivation, it will take at least several decades to even begin to grasp that threshold."

Li Hanshan didn't speak, but that moment of silence was enough.

The voice chuckled softly, a sound like wind chimes swaying in the night breeze: "I know how to help you. If you can break through one more layer of the outer seal, I can pass on the incantation to that technique to you. It's something I memorized before I was trapped here; no one in the world knows it anymore."

"Who exactly are you?" Li Hanshan asked.

"A person who doesn't want to see a genius die young."

The voice carried a perfectly measured hint of melancholy. "I've been trapped here for far too long. So long that I've forgotten my own name, forgotten who I once was. But I still remember the cultivation techniques, the knowledge of ancient formations. If you can help me escape, I can tell you everything I know—ancient weapon-forging techniques, lost elixir formulas, the secrets of the Yao Guang Sect's destruction… anything you desire, I can give you."

"The secret behind the destruction of the Yaoguang Sect?" Li Hanshan's heart skipped a beat.

The voice paused for a moment, then slowly spoke, each word carrying a weight of confirmation: "You've heard of the Yao Guang Sect? It seems your arrival here isn't accidental. The Yao Guang Sect was reduced to ruins overnight, and everyone is speculating about the reasons, but no one knows the truth. But I know. Because I'm right there."

Li Hanshan's breathing quickened slightly. Eight thousand years ago, when the Yaoguang Sect was destroyed, someone set up this sealing formation here. If the owner of this voice truly lived through that era, then it knows far more than he imagined. About Luo Li, about the Yaoguang Sect—all the answers he couldn't find might be hidden in the memories of this voice.

"As long as you unlock just one more seal," the voice continued, its tone softening like melting honey flowing gently into your ears, "even just the outermost lock, I can pass on the incantation to that cultivation technique to you. With it, your breakthrough to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage will be at least three times faster. The quality of your pure Yang energy will also improve by another level. Everything you want, I can give you."

When the word "everything" was uttered, the voice emphasized slightly, carrying an almost seductive force.

Involuntarily, images of himself breaking through his bottleneck and experiencing a surge in cultivation surfaced in Li Hanshan's mind, as if he could already see the shortcut that had been pointed out. He even felt a slight itch in his fingertips, wanting to press the rune again and penetrate it a little deeper.

"You're hesitating." The voice sighed softly, with a gentle understanding. "I understand your concerns. You're afraid there's a trap, afraid I'll harm you. But think about it, if I truly intended to harm you, I could have used far more ruthless methods. Why waste so much time trying to entice you? I'm telling you this because I genuinely want to help you, and I also want your help. We each get what we need, and neither of us owes the other anything."

It paused, its voice becoming even softer, like a whisper settling deep into Li Hanshan's soul: "Besides, don't you know who taught you the Sealing Technique? The method you used is exactly the same as someone I remember. If you can break one more layer of the seal, I can tell you who she is."

"Have you seen her?"

These words were like a precise arrow, striking the softest spot in Li Hanshan's heart.

His consciousness involuntarily probed into the depths of the rune, his fingertips tilting slightly forward, almost instinctively wanting to touch that curved stroke at the core once more.

Just then, he felt an extremely subtle coolness at his fingertips. The coolness spread slowly along his spiritual power, like a silent stream seeping into his meridians. He looked down and saw a wisp of very faint gray mist slowly moving where his fingertips touched the rune. The mist was so thin that it was almost invisible, but wherever it passed, the golden light of the pure Yang energy dimmed slightly.

The rune was clearly a "Sealing" incantation. A Sealing incantation shouldn't actively draw spiritual energy; its design is to seal, not devour. Unless—unless something has already eroded the inner side of the rune, breaking through the barrier of the seal from the inside.

Li Hanshan abruptly withdrew his hand. The spiritual energy receded abruptly like a kite with a broken string, and the moment his fingertip separated from the rune, a very slight "pop" sound was heard, as if a plug had been pulled out.

The suction suddenly disappeared, and his consciousness was as if he had been pulled from deep water to the surface. His vision became clear again—the morning light of the medicinal field, the pale golden barrier, the soil and moss brushed away under his feet, everything was as usual.

But he was covered in cold sweat, and a fine layer of sweat beaded on his forehead, sliding down his temples and dripping onto the edge of the rune on the stone slab that still maintained a faint glow.

My heart was pounding in my chest. The seductive feeling from that voice was fading rapidly, replaced by a deep-seated fear.