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

"Who can blame me for being so alluring, Senior Sister?" Li Hanshan said softly, looking at Ye Shuanghua without fear.

A subtle ripple flickered in Ye Shuanghua's usually aloof eyes, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.

After that, she stopped resisting.

Li Hanshan moved closer to her and put his arm around her waist. Ye Shuanghua's body would still tense up slightly for a moment, but she would relax much faster than before.

Her forehead rested against his shoulder, her breathing deliberately even. He didn't rush to circulate his cultivation technique, nor did he indulge in any more pleasure. Instead, he placed his palm on her lower back, allowing pure yang energy to slowly seep into her meridians, sensing the state of her spiritual power.

Ye Shuanghua's spiritual energy was more stable than he had expected, indicating that she had been recuperating on her own for the past few months and her injuries had almost fully healed. However, there were still a few minor, hidden injuries in her meridians that had not fully healed; these were old injuries that had accumulated over a long period of time and were difficult to treat with ordinary elixirs.

"Your senior sister has several old injuries in her meridians," he said in a low voice. "Would you like me to help you heal them as well?"

"Hmm," Ye Shuanghua replied with only one word.

Li Hanshan probed the hidden injuries with pure Yang energy, gently smoothing them with extremely gentle force.

Ye Shuanghua's body relaxed slightly, and her breathing became much longer than before, clearly indicating that those old injuries had indeed troubled her for a long time. As he combed through her body, he slowly activated the circulation of the Yang Scripture technique. Pure Yang energy and her spiritual power formed a slow and stable cycle between the two of them, like a river flowing back and forth through their meridians.

This time, he didn't deliberately touch the core of her primordial spirit in her dantian, nor did he rush to deepen the Yin pattern seed. He simply maintained the cycle quietly, allowing the pure Yang energy to gradually permeate her meridians, softening and repairing those old wounds little by little. Ye Shuanghua's breathing became more and more steady, and the weight on his shoulder became lighter and lighter, as if her whole body had relaxed.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Hanshan felt that the circulation of spiritual energy within her body was nearing perfection, and the hidden injuries had been mostly healed. Just as he was about to conclude his practice, Ye Shuanghua suddenly spoke in a low voice, "Why...why weren't you in a hurry to cultivate today?"

Her voice carried a rare hint of languor, with a slight upward inflection at the end, as if she were asking casually, yet it didn't seem like she was completely indifferent to the answer.

Li Hanshan said, "Senior Sister's old injury has been going on for many years. Taking care of this first is more important than rushing to break through."

Ye Shuanghua paused for a moment, saying nothing, but the fingers on his shoulder tightened slightly. She closed her eyes again, neither urging him to continue nor suggesting stopping. The cave remained quiet for a long time, only the sound of the spirit spring water echoing in the empty space.

Li Hanshan let her have her way, and the pure yang energy flowed slowly through her meridians. The spiritual energy circulation between the two was like a stream warmed by the sun, flowing calmly and steadily.

Immediately afterwards, Ye Shuanghua gradually got into the zone and began to cooperate with Li Hanshan.

Several hours later, after two separate gasps and growls, Ye Shuanghua collapsed to the ground like a lump of mud.

Li Hanshan embraced her and noticed a faint blush on the tips of her ears.

Ye Shuanghua's gaze fell on his face, and her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Wait." She stared at his face for a few moments. "Your face..."

Li Hanshan was taken aback: "What's wrong?"

Ye Shuanghua raised her hand, her fingertips gently brushing along the edge of his jaw: "Your wrinkles... have faded a lot."

Li Hanshan's heart stirred, and with a flick of his finger, a large number of water droplets formed a mirror in the air.

The light from the luminous pearl reflected a clear face on the mirror—he did look much younger than before. His once deep nasolabial folds had faded, and the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes were almost invisible. His entire face looked as if time had reversed several decades, making him appear like a robust man in his thirties or forties.

"Now that you've figured it out, I'm not going to be strong anymore."

As he spoke, he stood up. Pure Yang energy circulated within his body, and he deliberately restrained the effects of his Breath Concealment Technique—the moment he released his breath, his face, like ice touched by a spring breeze, saw the remaining wrinkles fade away at a visible speed.

The nasolabial folds have completely disappeared, the marks at the corners of the eyes have been completely smoothed out, the skin has regained a healthy glow, the jawline is well-defined, and even the originally gray hair has turned jet black.

Ye Shuanghua was taken aback.

"You've actually... become so young!" Ye Shuanghua found it unbelievable.

"When did this happen?" she asked.

Li Hanshan raised his head and thought for a moment: "It must have been when Shen Ruoxi broke through, when the influx of the Nascent Soul Origin allowed me to break through three levels in a row... The pure Yang Qi was thoroughly cleansed at that time, and my physical body was probably tempered as well."

"Pure Yang Qi has a nourishing effect on the body," Ye Shuanghua said calmly, her gaze unwavering. "Logically, after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, the physical body should gradually regain its youth. Your Pure Yang Qi is much purer than that of ordinary cultivators, and after being refined by the Divine Transformation Origin, this effect will be even more pronounced. However—"

She paused for a moment, then asked, "Why do you always look like an old man?"

Li Hanshan was silent for a moment. The much younger face on the water's surface looked particularly unfamiliar in the light of the luminous pearl, and even he himself felt a little uncomfortable. He reached up and touched his cheek, smiling bitterly, "I guess I'm used to it. Back in the Northern Wilderness, I wished I were as old as possible. The older I was, the less likely I was to be targeted, and the less willing anyone would want to take advantage of me. Back then, I had just joined the Joyful Union Sect, and all I could think about was how to survive. How could I dare to make myself young?"

Ye Shuanghua's gaze lingered on his now completely youthful face for quite some time, a faint hint of amazement flashing in his clear, cold eyes.

She looked away, her voice still flat: "It looks much better now."

Li Hanshan smiled and said, "Is Senior Sister praising me?"

"I'm just saying that walking around with that old face of yours only draws attention. Now, while you're still not exactly outstanding, at least you won't be remembered at first glance." She paused. "Besides, you've been in the Joyful Union Sect for so long, those who were going to keep an eye on you have already done so. Whether you hide your face or not makes little difference."

Li Hanshan understood the subtext of her words—since he couldn't hide it, he might as well be frank. He dispelled his concealment technique, allowing the pure yang energy to flow through his body, completely restoring himself to his youthful state. The face in the mirror appeared both unfamiliar and fresh in the light of the luminous pearl, but as he looked at it, he gradually got used to it.

"Senior sister is right." He said, his voice a little lighter than before. "However, I've been in the Northern Wilderness for a hundred years and I'm used to being called an old man. Suddenly becoming young is really a bit of a shock."

Ye Shuanghua glanced at him: "Then let's leave it as is. We'll talk about it again once you've gotten used to it."

Her tone remained calm, but Li Hanshan noticed that after she finished speaking, the corners of her mouth seemed to slightly curve upwards. The curve was extremely faint and fleeting; if his Nascent Soul level divine sense hadn't caught that moment, he would have almost thought he was seeing things.

She put on her clothes, turned and walked towards the cave entrance, then stopped after a few steps: "The dual cultivation just now was quite effective. If you want to continue tomorrow, I'll wait for you in the cave."

After saying that, she left the cave without looking back. The stone door closed behind her with a deep, steady thud. Li Hanshan looked at his much younger face in the mirror, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

For the next few days, he went to Ye Shuanghua's cave every day. Ye Shuanghua didn't say anything, but every time he knocked on the stone door, she would open it and let him in within a few breaths, never making him wait too long. The dual cultivation process became smoother and smoother. She was no longer as tense as she had been at the beginning, and occasionally she would even let out a very soft sigh when the circulation was extremely comfortable.

On the fourth day, when Li Hanshan knocked on her stone door again, there was silence inside for a long time before Ye Shuanghua's voice, tinged with helplessness, came through: "Come again tomorrow."

Li Hanshan: "Is it inconvenient for you today, Senior Sister?"

Ye Shuanghua did not answer, but a slightly annoyed snort came from inside the stone gate: "You old man... how come you have so much energy? You haven't rested for days."

Her voice was half an octave lower than usual, carrying a hint of softness that she had deliberately suppressed. Li Hanshan stood outside the stone door, and upon hearing those words, the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up slightly. He didn't knock again, only saying, "Then I'll come tomorrow," before turning and leaving.

A very soft "hmm" came from behind me, as if squeezed out of a throat, and was almost ignored if you didn't listen carefully.

Back in his cave, Li Hanshan sat on the stone bed, repeatedly reminiscing about the past few days. Although Ye Shuanghua spoke coldly, her physical reactions during their dual cultivation sessions never lied—she didn't resist; in fact, she was even more engaged than he had imagined. It was just that she was used to using that aloof exterior to protect herself, hiding her most vulnerable side deep inside.

"Take it slow," he murmured to himself, then closed his eyes and began circulating his spiritual energy to consolidate the gains of the past few days. Although the dual cultivation over the past few days had mainly focused on healing her old injuries, each cycle of spiritual energy had slightly tempered his nascent soul. Although he was still a step away from the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage, he could feel that threshold becoming thinner and thinner.