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

In the days that followed, Li Hanshan shifted his focus away from external affairs and turned to cultivation within his cave.

With abundant spirit stones, a calm mind, and several women taking turns assisting him, his cultivation speed remained as fast as ever. Qin Muyue, Leng Yue, and Chu Mengyao visited his cave more frequently than before, sometimes coming together in groups of two or three, and sometimes taking turns, circulating the Yang Ce cultivation technique like a waterwheel that kept turning smoother and smoother.

The first to break through was Leng Yue. Her aloof nature was actually the most uninhibited during dual cultivation. Occasionally, a very faint ripple would flash in her silver-gray eyes. Her cultivation level jumped from the peak of the Golden Core stage to the early stage of the Nascent Soul stage. Her aura was like the melting of an ice river, and her whole body exuded a clear and refreshing spiritual energy.

Qin Muyue followed closely behind Leng Yue. Her alluring face was filled with an undisguised smile. On the very night she broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, she ran to Li Hanshan's cave and pestered him for a full night of dual cultivation, ostensibly to "consolidate her foundation," but in reality, she was celebrating.

Yun Shuyue followed silently behind the two. Her moist spiritual energy was refined into a purer form through the circulation of the Yang Ce technique. When she broke through, she was even more stable than Qin Muyue. Her solid foundation made Li Hanshan nod in approval.

After the women broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, the effects of dual cultivation significantly improved.

Although the spiritual energy of the early Nascent Soul stage cultivator was still not as pure as that of the Divine Transformation stage cultivator, it had the advantage of being abundant and well-coordinated. Each cycle brought considerable tempering to Li Hanshan's Divine Infant. Coupled with an ample supply of spirit stones, his cultivation level steadily increased at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.

He didn't neglect Ye Shuanghua's side either.

Every few days, he would go to Ye Shuanghua's cave.

The two became increasingly in sync during their dual cultivation. Although Ye Shuanghua still maintained her aloof demeanor, her body had become accustomed to his rhythm. Initially, she needed his guidance, but now she could actively cooperate with his spiritual energy circulation.

Shen Ruoxi, on the other hand, comes once a month.

She was quiet and reserved, never saying much during her visits. She would simply cultivate with him quietly, and leave after tidying her robes. Li Hanshan could sense that she would glance at him one last time before leaving, and the warmth in her gaze was indeed a few degrees greater than at the beginning.

Even with his senior sister Zhang Qingxuan, Li Hanshan didn't have the chance to enter the palace a second time.

A year passed quietly in the alternation of cultivation and dual cultivation.

Li Hanshan felt that the spiritual energy accumulated in his body was about to reach a certain critical point. The foundation of the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage had been repeatedly tempered countless times, like a pebble polished by flowing water for thousands of years, smooth and solid.

He needs a breakthrough opportunity, but now is not the time.

That night, as usual, he sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing. As soon as he closed his eyes, a familiar yet piercing pull came from the depths of his consciousness—unlike the gentle and soothing sensations that usually lulled him into sleep, this pull carried a sharp, cutting edge, as if he were being dragged down in a certain direction by an invisible blade. He did not resist, allowing his consciousness to be pulled into the depths by that force.

The grayish-white void reappeared before their eyes. The mist churned, and the pale blue figure emerged from it once more, her hair held back with a wooden hairpin, her face as cold as frost, and the three-foot-long sword in her hand already unsheathed.

"Heavenly Demon." She spoke, only those two words, and then the sword light slashed down.

Li Hanshan was prepared. The sword of his soul condensed in his sea of ​​consciousness and met the sharp sword light.

The moment the two swords clashed, he once again felt the pure sharpness within that ancient sword intent, clearer and more ferocious than before. He didn't withstand it for long; as the third sword fell, he deliberately withdrew and exited the dream, bringing those few wisps of sword intent back to reality, sinking them into his sea of ​​consciousness to slowly comprehend them.

Although he was still cleaved out of the dream, the patterns of that ancient sword intent were clearer than before.

He repeatedly refined those remaining strands of sharpness, integrating them into the edge of the Divine Soul Sword. Although the progress was not significant, each time he made the layer of silver-gray aura thicker.

Two years have passed quietly, like flowing water.

One year later, late one night, Li Hanshan felt that the spiritual energy accumulated in his body had finally reached a certain critical point.

He sat cross-legged on the stone bed, circulating the Yang Scripture to its fullest extent. Pure Yang energy surged through his meridians like a rushing river, converging towards the divine infant in his dantian. The golden light on the surface of the divine infant grew brighter and brighter, until finally—the barrier between the seventh and eighth levels of the Nascent Soul stage cracked open, like ice being pierced by a red-hot iron rod.

Boom! A muffled rumble came from the dantian, and the light on the surface of the divine infant suddenly shone brightly. The cultivation of the eighth level of the nascent soul surged through the meridians like spring water breaking through the ice.

He opened his eyes, a flash of purple-gold light appearing briefly before he exhaled a long breath.

Eighth level of Nascent Soul. Only a few years have passed since he arrived in Central Continent. This speed is still astonishing among Nascent Soul disciples of the Joyful Union Sect.

He finished his practice, stood up, walked to the entrance of the cave, pushed open the stone door, and the night breeze carrying the scent of grass and trees rushed towards him.

He gazed at the lights faintly visible amidst the sea of ​​clouds on the distant main peak, a tender expectation softening the tranquility in his heart. He closed his eyes, once again sinking his consciousness into the depths of his mind.

This time, the pull was gentle and warm, like a hand reaching out from a spring stream, softly grasping his consciousness.

He opened his eyes and heard the familiar sound of flowing water. The clear river water shimmered with silvery light under the moonlight, the blue stones on the bank remained unchanged, and the distant horizon was shrouded in a thin layer of mist. He stood by the long-lost river and saw a figure in white robes sitting on the blue stone, barefoot and with long hair flowing like a waterfall, tilting her head to look at him.

Her clear eyes widened in disbelief for a moment, then curved into two crescent moons, her smile as radiant as a flower.

"Grandpa!" Luo Li jumped down from the bluestone, ran to him in a few steps, looked up at him, her voice filled with barely suppressed joy, "You've finally come! I've been waiting for so long!"

Looking at that familiar face, Li Hanshan felt an indescribable sense of peace welling up inside him, like a ship that had been adrift for a long time finally reaching shore. He spoke, his voice softer than he had expected: "Girl, it's been a long time."