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

The dark red array walls flowed slowly above the valley, like an iron cage isolated from the world.

In the center of the formation, Li Hanshan had just completed his hundredth round of cultivation.

The pure yang energy surged continuously in his meridians, refining and settling the essence of the Nascent Soul he had just absorbed from her body, strand by strand.

Li Hanshan's foundation as a peak Nascent Soul cultivator had become even more solid during this month of intensive dual cultivation. In a few more days, he would be able to attempt to break through to the Divine Transformation stage.

Yin Lingyue lay on the ground, her gray robe scattered haphazardly beside her, revealing large expanses of her fair, jade-like skin. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow, and her dark purple eyes, hidden behind her falling hair, betrayed no emotion. In the past month, she had learned to use numbness to mask the turmoil within her. But today was different.

Li Hanshan felt a warm sensation coming from his lower abdomen.

He sent a wisp of his divine sense into the Yang Pattern Space—there, the flower belonging to Yin Lingyue had its three petals bloom simultaneously, emitting a soft silver light. The blooming of the three petals could sever a slave's life force. With a thought, the three petals of that flower trembled at the same time.

Yin Lingyue suddenly opened her eyes. Her body stiffened violently, and her face instantly turned deathly pale. She clutched her lower abdomen with one hand, her dark purple eyes filled with horror.

She felt an invisible force rising from her lower abdomen, like an iron clamp tightly strangling her life. If Li Hanshan made another thought, her heart would stop beating, and her life would come to an abrupt end.

"What...what did you do?" Her voice was hoarse and trembling, even the last syllable was shaking.

Li Hanshan reached out and brushed aside the stray hairs on her forehead, revealing her pale yet still delicate face.

His voice was calm: "Your life or death is now in my hands. That mark has already taken root and blossomed within you. Even if you regain your full strength, you will not be able to break free."

Yin Lingyue's body trembled violently.

She lowered her head and looked at her lower abdomen—the silver-gray line was slowly fading away, but the feeling of being strangled was as clear as a mark branded on her soul.

She tried to use the slowly recovering spiritual energy within her body to attack the pattern, but like a moth drawn to a flame, she was bounced back as soon as she touched it, unable to even get close.

"impossible……"

Her voice was forced out from between her teeth, hoarse and filled with despair, "I am a Nascent Soul cultivator... I have cultivated for over a thousand years... How is this possible..."

"Why is it impossible?"

Li Hanshan activated his Yin runes, and instantly, the flower bloomed within Yin Lingyue's body, firmly suppressing her life force.

The Yinling Moon trembled.

Now, her feelings were clear.

Her life was indeed in Li Hanshan's hands; her fate rested on his decision.

She suddenly raised her head, her dark purple eyes churning with anger, resentment, and humiliation, which eventually turned into a deathly silence.

She raised her hand, trying to grab Li Hanshan's collar, but her arm hung limply in mid-air, unable even to clench her fist.

Li Hanshan looked at her like this, but his heart was not stirred.

In the past month, he had already figured out her background—the spiritual power in her body was slowly recovering, and the seals were loosening little by little over time.

If given another month or two, she could very well find a weakness in the dead of night and launch a fatal attack.

But it's no longer necessary. Even if she recovers to her full glory after the flower has bloomed three petals, she still can't escape his grasp.

"You originally planned to retaliate against me after recovering your spiritual power," he began, his tone as calm as if stating something that had already happened. "The speed at which your spiritual power recovered was nearly 30% faster than that of a normally sealed cultivator. This indicates that your cultivation technique has the characteristic of operating autonomously, which even the sealing technique cannot completely suppress." He squatted down in front of her, looking into her dark purple eyes. "Am I right?"

Yin Lingyue's lips trembled slightly, but she did not deny it.

Li Hanshan gently embraced her, and pure yang energy surged into her body, gently and firmly tracing the path of the yin line.

Yin Lingyue's body trembled violently. She could feel the pure yang energy soothing the line that was choking her life. Although it could not eliminate its presence, it reduced the suffocating pressure somewhat.

"I won't kill you," Li Hanshan said calmly. "I want you to live. Live to be my furnace, live to serve me. As long as you obey, I can give you benefits."

As he spoke, he channeled a wisp of even purer Yang energy into her body, allowing it to slowly circulate along her meridians. This was a product of refining the Nascent Soul essence he had absorbed from her over the past month, its quality far surpassing ordinary Yang energy. Wherever that energy passed, Yin Lingyue's weary meridians, like a parched riverbed being soaked by rain, evoked a long-lost sense of warmth.

Yin Lingyue's body trembled slightly, and a complex emotion flashed in her dark purple eyes—surprise, resistance, and a hint of wavering that she tried to suppress but still revealed.

Having cultivated for over a thousand years, she understood better than anyone the importance of the purity of spiritual energy to one's cultivation level. The quality of that pure Yang energy far exceeded her expectations. If she could continue to receive such nourishment, breaking through to the third or even fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage would be just around the corner.

But she bit her lip and remained silent. Her dark purple eyes still held a stubborn coldness.

Li Hanshan didn't rush to force her to give an answer. He stood up, took out a clean outer robe from his storage ring, and draped it over her shoulders. The movement was casual, but his tone carried an undeniable certainty: "Think it over carefully. Will you obediently become my furnace, my woman, or let me drain you dry?"

After he finished speaking, he turned around, walked to the edge of the array wall, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Yin Lingyue, wrapped in her outer robe, sat silently on the cold stone for a long time. She could feel the Yin mark on her lower abdomen, like an iron thorn piercing her very marrow, which she could not expel no matter how hard she tried. She also knew that Li Hanshan was right; the mark had indeed taken root, and in her current state, it was impossible for her to break free.

She looked up at the figure who was meditating with his eyes closed. The light from the luminous pearl cast a soft glow around him, making his angular profile appear exceptionally young. She recalled the events of the past month, how he could have freely absorbed her spiritual energy, yet he had always kept it within limits that wouldn't harm her foundation. She bit her lip, her dark purple eyes churning with complex emotions, which finally coalesced into a very soft sigh.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked, her voice hoarse yet carrying a suppressed calm.

Li Hanshan didn't open his eyes, but a slight smile appeared on his lips: "Call me master."

"impossible!"

Yin Lingyue said subconsciously.

She's a Nascent Soul cultivator!

Make her call Li Hanshan a Nascent Soul Master!!!

She can't accept it!

Li Hanshan grabbed her and began to taste her luscious lips.

Humiliation flashed in Yin Lingyue's eyes, but in the end she offered no resistance.

"Bend over."

What made it even harder for Yin Lingyue to accept was that Li Hanshan began to abuse her in various ways.

she knows,

Li Hanshan is trampling on her dignity.

She, a dignified Nascent Soul cultivator, was begging like a female dog, being... by Li Hanshan.....

This made Yin Lingyue feel deeply humiliated.

What was even more unacceptable to her was that Li Hanshan even made her use her mouth...

"Call me master, or I have many more ways to deal with you."

Li Hanshan said coldly.

Yin Lingyue sulked for a while, and after casting several cleansing spells, she finally raised her head and glared at him hatefully.

"Aren't you going to call yet?"

"Owner."

In the end, Yin Lingyue gave in.

She didn't want to be treated in a perverted way by Li Hanshan.

=

A hint of satisfaction flickered in Li Hanshan's eyes. He knew she was far from truly subdued; that "master" was merely a stopgap measure after weighing the pros and cons. But he had plenty of time; he would take it slow.

"Give me your hand," he said.

Yin Lingyue hesitated for a moment, then extended her hand. Li Hanshan grasped her hand, channeling pure Yang energy along her palm into her meridians, this time gentler and more persistent than before. The energy circulated within her body for several cycles, replenishing much of the deficiencies left by the repeated draining of her energy over the past month. Yin Lingyue felt her body recovering at a speed she had never experienced before, a sensation that made her involuntarily curl her fingertips slightly.

"From today onwards, you will receive this nourishment every day." Li Hanshan released her hand, his tone calm yet resolute, "as long as you obey."

Yin Lingyue lowered her head, looking at her fingertips that had regained their color, and remained silent for a long time before finally nodding very slightly. She didn't speak, but that nod was enough.