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

Li Hanshan held the broken sword horizontally in front of him, sensing the change in her aura after the disguise was cut through—her cultivation was still at the second level of the Nascent Soul stage, but the details of her spiritual power circulation were clearly different from before, and her dark purple eyes carried a sense of shame and gloom after being exposed.

He said, "Granny Yin, your face is much more pleasing to the eye than that old hag. What's going on? Do even Nascent Soul female cultivators in the Yin Spring Sect have to disguise themselves as old women to go out now?"

Yin Lingyue—she no longer concealed her identity—stared coldly at him, a chilling smile playing on her lips: "Enough nonsense. Even if you've seen my true face, it doesn't change the fact that you're trapped in this formation. I've already seen through your tricks."

As she spoke, she took out a jet-black talisman with fine blood-like patterns flowing across its surface from her sleeve and crushed it violently.

An extremely violent surge of Yin energy erupted from the talisman and poured into the silver corpse.

The silver corpse's aura surged dramatically in that instant, the rune core on its chest glowing with a blinding black light, like a volcano ignited, lunging towards Li Hanshan with speed and power far exceeding its previous intensity. The force of that lunge carved two deep trenches into the ground, sending shards of rock flying like rain.

Li Hanshan blocked with his broken sword, and a fire shield condensed in front of him, but it was cracked by the silver corpse's claw. He was shaken back several steps, and a more obvious stinging pain came from the meridians in his left arm.

Yin Lingyue gave him no chance to catch his breath, and the second spell followed immediately. Gray Yin Sha chains shot out from her palm and wrapped around his ankle.

He blocked several attacks in succession, and his spiritual energy consumption increased rapidly.

Although the Divine Soul Sword is sharp, its power diminishes with repeated use, making it a negligible threat to someone like Yin Lingyue who has reached the Nascent Soul stage.

Yin Lingyue clearly noticed this as well—her attacks became increasingly fierce, constantly compressing his space and forcing him to continuously defend himself with pure yang fire.

"How much longer can you hold out?" Her voice carried an barely suppressed chill, her dark purple eyes brimming with unwavering confidence. "Your sword of divine sense is indeed terrifying, but I'm already prepared. Once your spiritual power is exhausted, let's see what you'll use to block it!"

As she spoke, she once again urged the silver corpse to launch a fierce attack. Claws, spells, and Yin Sha chains were used in turn, forcing Li Hanshan to retreat repeatedly. She herself was also constantly launching attacks.

This is how terrifying the cultivators of the Yinquan Sect are.

They are not one person, but a group of corpses.

Like Yin Lingyue, she has a Nascent Soul level silver corpse and a large number of Nascent Soul level half-step silver corpses.

These half-step silver corpses are difficult for cultivators at the first or second level of the Nascent Soul stage to destroy directly without sufficiently powerful magic weapons. Once their numbers increase, they become extremely troublesome.

Only because Li Hanshan possessed that sharp broken sword, coupled with the restraint of the pure yang fire, could Yin Lingyue's group attack tactics be rendered ineffective.

Now, even with the broken sword, Li Hanshan is about to give up after a long battle.

His aura continued to decline, and the light of his pure yang fire began to flicker slightly—a sign that his spiritual energy was nearing depletion. But each time he was driven to the brink of despair, he would take out a Rejuvenation Pill from his sleeve and swallow it, replenishing his dwindling spiritual energy.

Seeing his still composed demeanor, Yin Lingyue was so angry that she laughed instead, and her attack became even more ferocious.

She formed hand seals, and the silver corpse's movements suddenly increased by three times. Its sharp claws, imbued with Yin energy, tore through the air, aiming straight for Li Hanshan's throat.

At the same time, she moved, her gray robe fluttering in the night wind. Her withered fingers formed an even more intricate hand seal, and Yin Sha chains shot out from her palms, like two living snakes coiling towards Li Hanshan's ankles and waist.

Li Hanshan dodged the silver corpse's frontal attack, but was caught in the chain that came from the side, which entangled his left leg. The Yin energy seeped into his meridians along the chain, chilling him to the bone, causing his spiritual energy to stagnate for a moment. He bit his tongue; the sharp pain restored his clarity, and he slashed down with his broken sword, severing the chain in two. But the silver corpse's attack followed immediately—a claw struck his right shoulder, sending him staggering several steps to the side, his feet carving two deep furrows into the ground.

"puff--"

A mouthful of blood spurted from Li Hanshan's mouth, the dark red drops falling into the dark red light of the array wall, spreading into a dark, damp patch. His right arm trembled slightly, his tiger's mouth split open, blood dripping down the hilt of his sword to the ground with a soft sound. The light of the Pure Yang Fire flickered uncertainly, like a candle in the wind, as if it might be extinguished at any moment.

Seeing his swaying figure, Yin Lingyue's dark purple eyes flashed with a hint of pleasure. She summoned her silver corpse, letting it retreat to her side to gather its strength, while she slowly stepped forward, looking down at the old man who had forced her into such a sorry state. A cold smile appeared on her lips: "What? Finally unable to hold on?"

Li Hanshan remained silent. Leaning on his broken sword, he barely managed to steady himself, his chest heaving violently, each breath accompanied by a tearing pain. The pure Yang energy in his dantian was nearly depleted, and the golden light on the surface of his divine infant had dimmed as if covered by a layer of dust. He was indeed on the verge of collapse; the waves of emptiness emanating from his meridians made even his sword-wielding hand tremble slightly.

But those eyes showed no sign of backing down.

Seeing his expression, Yin Lingyue's smile deepened. She raised her hand, her fingers slightly spread, and a gray sphere of Yin energy condensed in her palm, radiating a chilling aura. "This strike," she spoke slowly, as if announcing an impending fact, "will send you on your way."

The gray orb of light shot out, carrying the full force of a second-level Nascent Soul cultivator's attack, hurtling towards Li Hanshan's chest. Wherever the orb passed, the air froze into fine ice crystals, shimmering with a cold light amidst the dark red array of light.

Li Hanshan watched the approaching gray orb of light, gritted his teeth, and poured the last bit of pure Yang energy into the broken sword. He knew he couldn't withstand this attack, but at least he couldn't fall too miserably.

Just as the gray orb was about to touch his chest, the eerie blue figure within the formation, which had been enveloped in layers of Yin energy, suddenly lit up.

A dazzling, ghostly blue light erupted from Xiao An's soul. Like the moon rising from the deep sea, the light pierced through the array walls and the Yin energy, illuminating the entire valley in a ghostly blue glow. At that moment, her aura crossed the long-standing threshold, like a repeatedly tempered blade finally being sharpened, its overwhelming pressure causing the entire dark red array to tremble violently.

Yin Lingyue's movements froze abruptly. The second sphere of light in her palm had not yet fully condensed when it was shaken by the sudden pressure, causing tiny cracks to appear. She turned her head sharply, and for the first time, genuine horror appeared in her dark purple eyes.

Xiao An slowly opened her eyes. Her dark green eyes reflected the aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator, clear and deep, like an ancient soul awakening from a long slumber. She stood up, the Yin energy surrounding her deep and still as water. With each step she took, the invisible waves of energy pushed aside the pebbles on the ground, making a rustling sound.

She glanced at the bloodstains on Li Hanshan's chest, then at the shattering gray sphere of light, before turning to Yin Lingyue. Her voice was calm, yet carried a sharp edge: "Senior, leave the rest to me."