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

Three days later.

Jade Peak, at the mountain gate.

Li Hanshan handed Xu Lingxi a storage bag containing auxiliary materials, including Blood Jade Ginseng, Dragon Bone Grass, Red Sun Flower, and Hundred-Year-Old Essence, which he and Hua Nongying had collected over the past few days.

Li Hanshan spent almost all the spirit stones he obtained in the secret realm to acquire these auxiliary materials.

"Don't worry, Grandpa Li, just come back in three days to collect the pill!"

Xu Lingxi took the storage bag and patted her chest confidently.

Li Hanshan nodded and gave her a few more instructions, mainly asking her to thank Elder Jiang on his behalf. Then he summoned his flying sword and returned to the main peak.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

When Li Hanshan arrived at Jade Peak again, Xu Lingxi was already waiting at the mountain gate. She was holding an exquisite jade bottle in her hands. When she saw Li Hanshan from afar, she ran up to him and presented the jade bottle with both hands as if it were a treasure.

"Grandpa Li, it's done! Master said this batch of pills turned out quite well; it produced five Blood Jade Body Tempering Pills!"

Li Hanshan opened the bottle, and an extremely rich medicinal fragrance wafted out. Inside the bottle lay five thumb-sized, crimson pills, each with flowing blood-red patterns on its surface, radiating a warm aura. Just smelling the fragrance made one feel their blood and energy flow more smoothly.

"Lingxi, please thank Elder Jiang properly for me."

"Okay! Grandpa Li, go back to your cultivation now, I need to do my homework too!"

Xu Lingxi waved her hand, turned around and ran up the mountain.

Li Hanshan watched her figure disappear into the pale green mist before putting the jade bottle into his storage bag and summoning his flying sword to return to Hua Nongying's cave.

After becoming an inner disciple, he was assigned to a small courtyard, the same courtyard that Hua Nongying had lived in before. However, he spent most of his time staying at Hua Nongying's place.

Without delay, he immediately took out a Blood Jade Body Tempering Pill and swallowed it to begin tempering his body, while Hua Nongying protected him from the side.

The Blood Jade Body Tempering Pill was indeed much more potent than the medicinal soup made by soaking Ganoderma lucidum directly. Each time he refined it, his muscles, bones and flesh underwent a thorough tempering.

Li Hanshan used one of the five pills every five or six days. During the day, he refined the medicinal power to temper his body, and at night, he used Hua Nongying's cultivation to fully absorb the medicinal power.

A month passed like this.

That night, the spiritual energy within Li Hanshan surged like boiling magma, breaking through a certain barrier.

"boom"

Nine levels of Qi Refining!

He broke through!

The breakthrough was actually secondary, because the focus for this month was on physical training.

Li Hanshan opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of foul air. The foul air was grayish-black and extremely stenchy, the impurities and death energy accumulated deep within his hundred-year-old, crippled body. After exhaling the foul air, he felt completely refreshed, as if a heavy shackle had been removed.

He looked down at his hands; most of the age spots on them had faded, and although his skin still had wrinkles, it had regained its luster and elasticity. His once gray beard and hair had also turned mostly black, making him look much younger. He was no longer the centenarian who looked like he could be blown away by the wind, but rather a middle-aged man in his fifties with plenty of energy.

Hua Nongying leaned softly against him, her beautiful eyes sparkling: "Congratulations, Master, you've become so much younger all of a sudden. At this rate, it won't be long before you're 20 again."

Just as Li Hanshan was about to speak, a violent tremor suddenly came from the top of the main peak.

Boom~~

Immediately afterwards, a powerful surge of spiritual energy swept across the area like a tsunami, even causing the stone walls of the cave to shatter and shed dust.

Hua Nongying's expression changed drastically. She suddenly sat up in bed, put on her coat, and rushed to the cave entrance.

An invisible force tore through the clouds atop the main peak, sending golden light soaring into the sky and dyeing half the sky gold. Within that golden light, faint sounds of dragons roaring and tigers howling could be heard, and spiritual energy from dozens of miles around converged wildly in that direction, forming a massive vortex of spiritual energy.

"This commotion... someone has broken through to the Golden Core stage!"

Hua Nongying was shocked.

Li Hanshan stared at the golden light, utterly shocked. Was this the power of a Golden Core cultivator? The mere fluctuations of spiritual energy emanating from the breakthrough made even a Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivator like himself feel breathless. Compared to that, a Foundation Establishment breakthrough seemed like child's play.

The golden light lasted for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before gradually dissipating, and the main peak returned to calm. However, the faint pressure still enveloped the entire mountain, reminding everyone that from this moment on, the Hehuan Sect had gained another Golden Core cultivator.

Li Hanshan gazed at the direction where the golden light dissipated, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes. A Golden Core cultivator possessed a lifespan of five hundred years, capable of anything from traversing heaven and earth, their mere gestures causing mountains and rivers to change color. When would he ever reach that level?

"Why isn't there a lightning tribulation?"

He was somewhat puzzled, as there was no tribulation after breaking through to the Golden Core stage.

"Hanlang, you go in first, I'll go and ask around."

Hua Nongying flew outwards in a streak of red light, while Li Hanshan re-entered the cave.

About half an hour later, Hua Nongying returned.

Her face was grim, and as soon as she entered, she uttered three words: "This is troublesome."

Li Hanshan asked, "What's wrong?"

Hua Nongying said solemnly, "The one who broke through to the Golden Core stage was Wu Tianxiong's father, Wu Zhanlong."

Wu Tianxiong's father?

Li Hanshan frowned slightly.

He ruined Wu Tianxiong's plans in the secret realm, and the latter already harbored deep resentment towards him. In the sect square, Wu Tianxiong was humiliated in front of everyone, and he certainly wouldn't forget that. Now that his father has broken through to the Golden Core stage, Wu Tianxiong's status in the sect will inevitably rise, and they will have even more ways to deal with him, an inner disciple.

Hua Nongying said, "Master, you don't need to worry too much. I am now a core disciple, and you are an inner disciple. As a newly promoted Golden Core cultivator, Wu Zhanlong won't directly target us on the surface."

Li Hanshan nodded, but didn't relax much. He couldn't act openly, but he had plenty of ways to deal with things behind the scenes. However, Hua Nongying was right; at least in the short term, Wu Zhanlong had just broken through to the Golden Core stage and his foundation wasn't stable, so he probably wouldn't go to great lengths for his son's personal grudge.

"Never mind him for now, cultivation is the priority."

Li Hanshan put the matter aside for the time being and continued his cultivation with Hua Nongying.

During a subsequent cultivation session, he unintentionally activated the Yang runes on his abdomen, and as a result, the Yin runes on Hua Nongying's abdomen lit up simultaneously. The two runes echoed each other, forming a complete cycle. The Yang runes drew spiritual energy from the Yin runes, which, after being refined by Li Hanshan's pure Yang energy, was then returned to the Yin runes, thus repeating endlessly.

"This is what dual cultivation should be like."

This discovery delighted both of them. What was originally a one-sided benefit from Hua Nongying, under Li Hanshan's control, had now become a mutually beneficial relationship. Within this great cycle, both of their spiritual power was increasing at an astonishing rate, their cultivation efficiency several times higher than before. Hua Nongying's newly broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage had also been stabilized, and she even showed a faint tendency to advance towards the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

"Hanlang..."

After experiencing the wonders of the Yang Ce technique, Hua Nongying's resentment was further diminished, and her gaze towards Li Hanshan began to carry a hint of affection.

I just don't know if it's an act or if it's real.

After cultivating for more than half a month, Li Hanshan's cultivation level soared to the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Such a cultivation speed at the late stage of Qi Refining is extremely rare even in the Hehuan Sect.

This demonstrates the wondrous nature of the Yangce Gongfa (a type of exercise).

"That's strange, why haven't I been having that dream lately?"

However, Li Hanshan hadn't had that incredibly realistic dream for over two months, so it seemed like this time it would be a bit longer.

One evening, Li Hanshan was practicing the Flowing Light Sword Technique on a stone platform outside his cave when a communication talisman suddenly flew over and hovered in front of him.

The talisman burned, and an old yet majestic voice rang out from it: "Inner disciple Li Hanshan, proceed immediately to the Outer Affairs Hall."

Foreign Affairs Hall?

Li Hanshan frowned, sheathed his flying sword, and went to find Hua Nongying to ask about the situation.

Hua Nongying frowned and said, "The External Affairs Hall is responsible for external affairs and usually doesn't contact inner disciples. The sudden message suggests that something has happened."

"Go and see for yourself."

"I'll go with you." Hua Nongying flew with him toward the Outer Affairs Hall on the mountainside of the main peak.

The Hall of External Affairs was situated on a cliff face on the west side of the main peak. When the two arrived, a group of disciples had already gathered in front of the hall, each looking somewhat surprised and uncertain. Clearly, being suddenly summoned to the Hall of External Affairs meant no good news for them.

Li Hanshan's gaze swept across the crowd and he saw a familiar figure: Wu Tianxiong.

Wu Tianxiong also saw him and gave a cold smile.

"Everyone is here."

An aged voice rang out. The doors of the Foreign Affairs Hall opened, and an elderly man in a gray robe stepped out.

"My surname is Lu, and I am a steward of the Foreign Affairs Hall."

The gray-robed elder cut to the chase, his tone grave: "I summoned you here because of a mission. The Yinming Sect has reappeared."

These words immediately sparked a murmur among the crowd.

"The Yinming Sect? Wasn't it wiped out long ago?"

"Why are you popping up again?"

Deacon Lu raised his hand to silence the murmurs and continued, "Three days ago, in the territory of Zhao State under our sect, the entire population of Heyang County was massacred, with no one, young or old, male or female, spared. An investigation revealed that it was the work of remnants of the Yinming Sect."

An uproar immediately erupted in front of the hall.

"An entire county? That's tens of thousands of lives!"

"Have the people from the Yinming Sect gone mad?"

Li Hanshan asked Hua Nongying beside him in a low voice, "What is the background of the Yinming Sect?"

Hua Nongying lowered her voice and spoke quickly: "The Yinming Sect was originally the fifth largest sect alongside us, and its strength was not weak. However, the methods they cultivated were too evil. They used living beings to refine the Myriad Soul Banner. For a single banner, they would slaughter cities and destroy countries without hesitation. Compared to us, they were the true demonic sect. Hundreds of years ago, the four major sects joined forces to destroy them, but they had too many remnants, and they could not be killed off completely. Every few decades, they would emerge to cause trouble."

How can a banner be made from countless living beings?

Li Hanshan thought to himself, "Good heavens! They wiped out an entire county in one fell swoop, killing tens of thousands of lives without a second thought. They have no concept of sustainable development at all. If they kill everyone, where will they find living beings in the future? No wonder even the four major demonic sects couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to join forces to destroy them."

This isn't about good versus evil; it's simply that these lunatics have broken the rules of the game.

Deacon Lu continued, "The sect has decided to send a team to investigate the Yinming Sect, to find out their background and the location of their strongholds. The disciples who return from the mission will receive generous rewards from the sect, including spirit stones, pills, and merit points."

He unfolded a jade scroll and began to read out the names.

The disciples whose names were called all looked rather unpleasant.

The infamous reputation of the Yinming Sect was known to most of those present. If they were captured by them, they would become brothers in the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, with no chance of reincarnation.

"Zhou Yuan, Wang Che, Zhao Qingling..."

As the names were read out one by one, the faces of those whose names were called turned ashen.

"...Li Hanshan."

Deacon Lu read out the last name.

Li Hanshan's heart sank.