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

Inside the cave, the light from the luminous pearl cast a warm glow on the stone walls.

Li Hanshan sat cross-legged on the stone couch, having just finished his dual cultivation with Ye Shuanghua.

The pure Yang energy flowed slowly through his meridians, drawing the remaining pure spiritual power after the refinement of his Nascent Soul essence into his dantian. When he opened his eyes, Ye Shuanghua was leaning against the edge of the couch, tidying her robes. Her long, silvery-white hair fell to her shoulders, shimmering softly in the pearly light.

She wasn't in a hurry to leave today. After fastening her clothes, she paused for a moment before saying, "The centennial competition is less than seven years away."

Li Hanshan nodded: "I know. Time really flies."

Ye Shuanghua turned around, her usually cold eyes now filled with an unusual seriousness: "This year's Centennial Tournament is of a higher standard than ever before. The winner will not only receive top-tier resources from within the sect, but will also gain entry into the Myriad Spirits Secret Realm. That secret realm is said to open only once every five hundred years."

"Five hundred years?" Li Hanshan raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Hmm." Ye Shuanghua placed the Jinghong Sword horizontally on her lap, her fingertips slowly tracing the edge of the scabbard. "The Myriad Spirits Secret Realm is said to be a blessed land left over from ancient times, with a spiritual energy concentration dozens of times higher than the outside world. Spiritual herbs, mineral veins, demonic beasts, fragments of cultivation manuals... it is rumored to also contain rare and precious materials that can help people break through the bottleneck of the Void Refinement stage. Every century-long competition, each sect sends its most outstanding disciples to participate in the competition. Without exception, those who survive all make great progress in their cultivation."

She paused, her gaze falling on Li Hanshan's face: "This time, it's not just the Hehuan Sect. The Tianmo Sect, the Yinquan Sect, and several other first-rate sects will also send people in. Once inside, there will be no rule against fellow disciples killing each other; it will be a true life-or-death struggle."

Li Hanshan listened calmly, showing little surprise. There was hardly any warmth or affection between sects in the Central Continent; in a place like the Myriad Spirits Secret Realm, where profit and death were intertwined, it was perfectly normal. He asked, "How many people can you bring in?"

"The number of spots is limited." Ye Shuanghua shook her head. "Each sect can get about ten to fifteen spots. Most are for Nascent Soul stage cultivators, with a maximum of two or three for Core Formation stage cultivators. Whether you can get a spot depends entirely on your ranking in the Centennial Grand Competition. So—" She looked at him, her tone carrying a rare seriousness, "You'd better be able to break through to at least the peak of the Core Formation stage in the next few years."

Li Hanshan did not answer immediately. He sensed the state of the divine infant in his dantian—the foundation of the eighth level of the Nascent Soul stage was completely solid, and the pure Yang Qi was flowing smoothly in the meridians. Although there was still some distance to the threshold of the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage, he could feel that with the current cultivation speed, it was not impossible to reach the peak of the Nascent Soul stage before the Centennial Grand Competition.

"I will do my best." He said, reaching out to hold Ye Shuanghua's hand. "Don't worry, Senior Sister, I will accompany you to the Myriad Spirits Secret Realm."

Ye Shuanghua's fingers stiffened slightly, but she didn't pull them back. She looked away, her voice returning to its usual coldness: "You should improve your cultivation first." With that, she stood up, hung the Jinghong Sword at her waist, and walked towards the cave entrance. Reaching the door, she paused, not turning back, only saying, "If you need dual cultivation again next time, let me know in advance." Then she pushed open the door and disappeared into the morning light and spiritual mist.

Li Hanshan sat on the stone couch, watching the stone door close before him, a faint smile appearing on his lips. Without lingering, he closed his eyes and began to fully circulate his Pure Yang Meridian, completely refining the last trace of spiritual energy he had tempered during their dual cultivation and sinking it into his dantian.

In the days that followed, he devoted all his energy to cultivation. The women's cooperation became increasingly seamless. Qin Muyue, Leng Yue, Yun Shuyue, and Shen Ruoxi took turns residing in his cave. The cycle of the Yang Ce cultivation technique was like a never-ending waterwheel, repeatedly intertwining and refining the pure Yang energy with each person's spiritual power. With each completion of a major cycle, his meridians were cleansed, and the golden light on the surface of his divine infant solidified a little more.

Sun rises and sets, spring goes and autumn comes.

Three years passed quietly in the alternation of cultivation and dual cultivation. Li Hanshan sat cross-legged on the stone bed, his pure Yang energy surging within him like a river. The golden light on the surface of the divine infant in his dantian grew brighter and brighter, like a gemstone that had been repeatedly polished, clear yet restrained. He closed his eyes and channeled the last strand of refined spiritual power into his dantian. The divine infant trembled violently, and a silent ripple spread outwards from the surface of the golden core.

He opened his eyes, a flash of purple-gold light appearing briefly, and a slight smile unconsciously curved his lips. Three years had passed; he had gone from the eighth to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage.

Although the accumulation required for breakthroughs increases with each subsequent breakthrough, the speed was still faster than he had anticipated.

"At this rate, I might actually be able to break through to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage before the sect's grand competition," he muttered to himself, his tone tinged with barely suppressed anticipation. Although the peak of the Nascent Soul stage and the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage are only one minor realm apart, that threshold is the watershed between the late and peak stages of the Nascent Soul realm. Once crossed, both the total amount and quality of his spiritual power will rise to a new level. At that point, his chances of victory against opponents in the early stages of the Deity Transformation stage will be much greater.

He stood up, stretched his limbs, and was about to soak in the spirit spring pool to dispel the fatigue accumulated over the past few days when a very familiar and warm aura suddenly emanated from the depths of the soul banner.

Li Hanshan was overjoyed and took the Soul Banner out of his storage ring, shaking it gently.

A streak of black light shot out from the banner, landing in front of the stone bed and slowly coalescing into a slender figure. Xiao An's soul was much more solid than when he last woke up, his features so clear that there was almost no trace of a ghost. The yin energy swirling around him was restrained like water, like the thin mist on the surface of a deep pool, calm yet carrying a profound depth that dared not be underestimated.

"Senior," Xiao An said, her voice still calm, but with a hint of barely suppressed joy, "I'm awake again." Her breath was steady and deep, much stronger than when she woke up last time.

Li Hanshan sensed her cultivation level, his pupils shrinking slightly: "Peak Nascent Soul?" Xiao An nodded: "I have completely refined the thirty percent of the Nascent Soul essence of the Deity Transformation Demon. Now my cultivation is at the peak of Nascent Soul, only one step away from Deity Transformation. But this step... I'm afraid my own accumulation alone is not enough."

She raised her eyes, a hint of pleading in her deep green pupils. "Senior, I need Yin Qi Pearls. Like the ones you had me absorb and condense from the essence of Yin meridians in that Yin cave at the Yin Spring Sect last time. If I could get enough Yin Qi Pearls, I would be confident that I could break through to the Nascent Soul stage within three years."

As Li Hanshan listened, his mind raced with calculations. If Xiao An were to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, it would be of immense help to him. The Netherworld Record technique she cultivated was inherently adept at concealment and ambush; a Nascent Soul at the Nascent Soul level could exert far greater influence in the complex environment of the Myriad Spirits Secret Realm than a Nascent Soul cultivator of the same level.

"Yin Cave..." He pondered for a moment, "There should be more than one Yin Cave on the territory of the Yin Spring Sect."

Xiao An nodded: "Last time, in that Yin Cave, I sensed that the Yin Spring Sect's influence covered several earth vein fissures, and similar Yin Caves might be built on each fissure. However, Yin Caves are usually hidden very deep, and ordinary cultivators can't find the entrance at all."

"Can you find it?" Li Hanshan asked.

Xiao An nodded firmly: "Sure. Given enough time, I can search the area under the Yin Quan Sect's influence one by one."

"Then let's go." Li Hanshan made a quick decision. "There are still a few years until the Centennial Grand Competition. We can take advantage of this time to go out and collect all the Yin Qi Pearls."

He carefully assessed his current combat strength—a ninth-level Nascent Soul cultivator, the quality of his Pure Yang Fire had improved by another level, plus the broken sword and the Divine Soul Sword.

Even if they encounter Granny Yin again, they will have the strength to fight back, unlike last time when they were completely powerless to resist.

"However, I must tell my senior sister before leaving the sect." He stood up, put away the soul banner, and walked out of the cave. When he pushed open the stone door, the morning light was just right, and the outline of the palace in the sea of ​​clouds on the distant main peak was gilded with a golden edge in the morning sun. Li Hanshan summoned his flying sword, which transformed into a purple-gold streak of light, and flew towards Ye Shuanghua's cave.