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

Luo Li twirled in front of him, her skirt fluttering like a butterfly in the moonlight. Her clear eyes looked him up and down, growing brighter with each glance.

"Grandpa, you've broken through to the eighth level of the Nascent Soul stage?" Her voice was filled with surprise. "It hasn't been that long since we last met, and your cultivation has improved so much!"

Li Hanshan sat down on the bluestone beside her, taking in her gaze as she looked him up and down, the sense of security in his heart never fading away.

He began by briefly recounting his experiences over the past few years—from his initial encounter upon arriving in Zhongzhou, Ye Shuanghua's acceptance of disciples on behalf of her master, the internal strife within the Hehuan Sect, winning first place in the Nascent Soul group during the sect's grand competition, and slaying a Nascent Soul demon beast upon entering the secret realm.

Luo Li listened intently, sometimes frowning, sometimes letting out a sigh of relief. When she heard that he had defeated Wang Hao, she couldn't help but clap her hands and cheer softly; when she heard that he had encountered a Nascent Soul Beast in the secret realm, she nervously gripped the hem of her clothes.

After he finished speaking, she let out a long sigh of relief: "Uncle, your journey has been really difficult. Those elders were too much of a bully, deliberately arranging a second-class secret realm for you and even releasing a Nascent Soul demon beast inside... If it weren't for your broken sword, you almost wouldn't have made it back."

Li Hanshan waved his hand: "It's all in the past. My situation in the main sect is much better now than when I first arrived. At least for the time being, they won't dare to make any moves against me openly."

Luo Li nodded, then tilted her head and looked him over a few times: "Grandpa has become younger, much more handsome than before." Her tone was slightly mischievous as she said this, but her clear eyes held genuine joy.

Li Hanshan smiled and was about to ask her about her situation over the past few years, but he suddenly stopped himself from speaking.

He had so many questions to ask—what exactly was going on with the Yaoguang Sect? Who was sealed in the ancient formation beneath the Hehuan Sect? Where did the ancient sword intent in the Endless Sea come from? Every question was stuck in his throat, but every time he tried to speak, that familiar sense of life-or-death crisis would press against his soul like an invisible blade.

"Girl, aren't you in Central Continent?"

Li Hanshan tried a different approach to inquire.

The girl wasn't curious at all when he mentioned Zhongzhou.

"Zhongzhou? What kind of place is that?" Luo Li asked.

Seeing her bewildered expression, Li Hanshan understood that thousands of years ago, Zhongzhou should not have been called Zhongzhou.

"Have you heard of the Tianyuan Continent?" Li Hanshan asked again.

The place where Zhongzhou is located has another name: Tianyuan Continent.

"Of course I've heard of that, sir. Where are you? I'm coming to find you." The girl's face lit up with joy.

Just as Li Hanshan was about to speak, that life-or-death crisis surged into his mind again, as if he would disappear from the world the moment he spoke.

"I can't tell!"

Li Hanshan suddenly realized that he could not reveal that he was currently on the Tianyuan Continent.

As for the reason, he could at least guess a little.

It is now almost certain that Luo Li lived thousands of years ago.

This is similar to the grandfather paradox: if you travel back in time and kill your grandfather, will you also disappear from the world?

If Li Hanshan were to reveal the truth to Luo Li, it would likely alter history, impacting the present and ultimately leading to his own demise.

"But if that's the case, wouldn't my current communication and exchanges with her have an impact on history? Or... is it itself a part of history?"

Li Hanshan suddenly thought.

This is a terrifying question to think about.

Li Hanshan didn't think much of it.

He said, "I've only heard of the Tianyuan Continent, but I don't know where it is."

"oh."

Luo Li was somewhat disappointed.

The world is vast.

She had no idea where Li Hanshan was.

Li Hanshan thought for a moment and decided to continue probing indirectly. He asked, "Girl, are there any natural barriers formed by sword intent in the sea near the Yaoguang Sect?"

Luo Li was slightly taken aback: "Sword intent? What kind of sword intent?"

Li Hanshan thought for a moment and tried to describe the feeling: "A pure sharpness, not dependent on any magic, without any attributes, simply 'cutting' everything. It's like someone splitting the sea in two with a sword."

Luo Li tilted her head and thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Grandpa, I've never seen this sword intent before."

Li Hanshan's heart stirred slightly—Luo Li's understanding of the Endless Sea seemed to be limited to information from her own era. She was unaware of the existence of that sword energy, nor of the trench in the seawater cleaved open by a single sword strike. This meant that, in Luo Li's time, that sword energy likely did not yet exist.

Could it be that,

That sword energy appeared only after the Yao Guang Sect was destroyed.

Li Hanshan didn't press further, only saying, "I've only heard about it, I've never seen it."

Luo Li didn't suspect anything. Instead, she proactively extended her hand, palm up, and offered it to him: "Let's not talk about that anymore. Grandpa, I have time now. Let me help you temper your Divine Soul Sword again. You're encountering more and more trouble. The stronger your Divine Soul, the greater your chances of survival."

Li Hanshan did not refuse and placed his hand on her palm.

Warm soul power surged from her palm into his sea of ​​consciousness, like a warm spring current seeping into a dry riverbed, gently yet firmly guiding his soul power to operate according to the path of the Refining God Technique.

He could feel the divine soul sword hovering in the center of his sea of ​​consciousness being polished and tempered layer by layer. The golden light on the sword became more translucent, and the silver-gray halo around its edge was thicker than before. Although the improvement was not significant, its foundation was solid, and each tempering made the sword more solid.

Moonlight spilled onto the river, and the sound of flowing water echoed gently in the night breeze. In the silence between the two, there flowed a sense of peace that was deeper than words.