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

Under Li Hanshan's arrangement, the affairs on Poseidon Island were quickly settled. The women packed their belongings, including the spiritual herbs, pills, and magical artifacts they had accumulated over the years living on the island. Uncle Liu and A-Ling, along with the divine generals, saw them off on the shore. A-Yan stood at the front of the crowd, her eyes red, but she tried her best to straighten her back and hold back her tears.

"Grandpa Li, I'll come to Central Continent to find you someday!" The boy waved to the flying boat, his voice carrying the stubbornness unique to youth. "Once I've mastered the third stage of the Nine Revolutions Golden Body Technique, I'll come find you!"

Li Hanshan stood at the bow of the boat and smiled at him: "I'll be waiting."

The airship took off, changed direction, and flew towards Central Continent. Poseidon Island grew smaller and smaller behind, eventually becoming a blurry black dot, disappearing into the twilight where the sea and sky met. Hua Nongying stood on the ship's railing, gazing in that direction in silence for a long time.

The flying boat sailed on the sea for three days. The little beast remained curled up in Li Hanshan's arms, fast asleep. Its snow-white belly rose and fell, and the golden halo on its fur grew increasingly intense, as if it were wrapped in a thin layer of molten gold. Li Hanshan could feel the energy of the demon core within its body being absorbed and digested in an extremely stable manner, without the slightest disturbance.

Late on the third night, the little beast woke up. It first yawned widely with its eyes half-closed, then slowly stood up from Li Hanshan's lap and shook its fur. A layer of fine golden powder fell from its fur, resembling miniature stars in the light of the luminous pearl.

"Ee!" Its voice was much clearer than before, with a hint of power in it.

"Wow, he's broken through!"

The little beast has actually broken through to the Nascent Soul stage.

This little guy is indeed special; he broke through silently without making a sound.

Li Hanshan sensed its aura—early stage of Nascent Soul. Although it was only at the early stage of Nascent Soul, its pressure was different from any other Nascent Soul demon beast he had ever seen. It seemed to contain some kind of growing power within its body, like a seed quietly taking root and stretching underground. Although it had not yet broken through the soil, its presence could already be sensed.

The little beast rubbed against his palm twice, then suddenly jumped off the stone bed, pointed its little paws at the storage bag in the corner of the cabin, and barked twice at him. Li Hanshan understood, opened the storage bag, and the little beast poked its head into it. After a moment, it pulled out something the size of a fist and placed it in front of him. It was a piece of dark gold ore, its surface pitted and uneven, yet it reflected an extremely warm luster in the light of the luminous pearl. It was heavy and had a cool, pure touch. The metallic spiritual energy contained within it was so concentrated that it was almost tangible, like a concentrated form of iron essence.

"This is..." Li Hanshan picked up the ore, probed it with his divine sense, and after a moment, his brows furrowed slightly. This was underwater gold, an extremely rare material for refining weapons. It was said that it could only be mined from ancient veins in the deepest part of the Endless Sea, and ordinary cultivators could not find it at all. Only under extremely rare circumstances could they pick up a small piece from the tides. And the piece in front of him was as big as a fist.

The little beast cried out twice more and then burrowed back into the storage bag. This time, it brought out a deep blue underwater spirit herb with thick, jade-like leaves and fine silver patterns flowing across its surface; next was a palm-sized dark seashell with a complex array of patterns naturally growing on its surface, like a fragment of some ancient restriction; then came a black stone polished smooth as a mirror by the seawater, emitting extremely subtle spatial fluctuations.

One item after another, the little beast, like a tireless treasure-hunting squirrel, carried out the things it had collected from the seabed over the years from its storage bag and neatly arranged them in front of Li Hanshan. Spirit ores, spirit herbs, monster remains, fragments of ancient magical artifacts, and even a few jade slips exuding an ancient aura—although most were incomplete, the information they contained still made Li Hanshan's heart tremble.

Hua Nongying appeared at some point, her beautiful eyes filled with amazement as she looked at the pile of glittering treasures on the ground: "How many years have these little things been searching the seabed?"

Li Hanshan crouched down and picked up the piece of gold from the seabed. He suddenly remembered something—the Endless Sea was so vast, the resources it contained probably far exceeded those on land, especially the ancient ruins and natural mineral veins, all buried deep beneath the earth's crust, beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators. The little beast, however, was small, fast, and possessed an innate sensitivity to these rare treasures; collecting these materials from the seabed would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.

He looked down at the small beast crouching at his feet, swishing its tail triumphantly: "Did you find all of these at the bottom of the sea?"

"Ee!" The little beast nodded vigorously, pointed its little paw at the sea gold in Li Hanshan's hand, and then puffed out its chest, looking like it was saying, "I'm pretty awesome, aren't I?"

Li Hanshan smiled, then took out another Nascent Soul Demon Core from his storage ring, squatted down, and handed it to the little beast: "This demon core is for you too. Help me collect as many good things as possible from the seabed; I'll need them later." He placed the demon core in front of the little beast, "Find as many as you can, no rush, safety first."

The little beast lowered its head and sniffed the demon core, its dark eyes lighting up. It didn't eat it immediately, but instead ran over and rubbed its little head against Li Hanshan's palm before turning back to pick up the demon core and swallowing it in a few gulps. After finishing, it patted its round belly, looked up at Li Hanshan, and solemnly uttered a "ee," as if saying, "Leave it to me."

After speaking, it transformed into a white blur and leaped over the ship's railing, disappearing into the deep blue sea in the blink of an eye without even splashing a drop of water. Li Hanshan stood at the ship's railing, gazing in the direction where the white figure had vanished, a sense of reassurance welling up within him. With this little creature gathering resources for him in the Endless Sea, the Endless Sea would truly be a treasure trove in the future.

"Gold from the seabed, spirit herbs, jade slip fragments..." He withdrew his gaze, looking at the pile of glittering treasures on the deck, thinking to himself, "When I return to Central Continent, I should learn weapon crafting from that girl."