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

Deacon Lu steadied himself, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked up at the dark cloud in the sky.

Within the dark clouds, the figure grew clearer and clearer. It was an old man dressed in a black robe, with a withered face, sunken eyes, and surrounded by an impenetrable black aura.

"The Golden Core Demon!"

Wu Tianxiong's voice changed tone.

The two core disciples looked extremely grim. The gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators was too vast; they were simply not on the same level. For a Golden Core cultivator to kill them was merely a matter of a single thought.

The Golden Core elder stood with his hands behind his back atop the black clouds, looking down at everyone. When his gaze swept over Deacon Lu, a mocking smile appeared on his face: "Peak Foundation Establishment? Not bad. After refining you, my Myriad Soul Banner will have one more main soul."

Deacon Lu said in a deep voice, "Don't be intimidated by him; he's just a fake cultivator."

Fake pills?

Li Hanshan's heart stirred. This was a transitional state between the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment and the Golden Core stage, not a true Golden Core. Even so, the strength of a pseudo-Golden Core expert still surpassed that of a Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, and was far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"good."

The old demon readily admitted it, his voice filled with arrogance, "Even if I am a fake Core Formation cultivator, killing you is more than enough. After refining a few of you Foundation Establishment cultivators and devouring these living souls, I can use this opportunity to break through to the true Golden Core stage."

Deacon Lu sneered, "A fake core is a fake core. I only ask you, do you dare to fight me?"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The old demon threw his head back and laughed loudly, "I certainly wouldn't dare, but have you forgotten what our Yinming Sect is most powerful about?"

With a flick of his sleeve, a jet-black banner flew out, swelling in the wind until it reached a size of tens of feet, blotting out the sky. On the banner's surface, countless distorted faces appeared and disappeared, emitting mournful howls, while billowing black mist dyed half the sky black.

Soul flag!

Moreover, it is a soul banner of a much higher grade than the previous ones!

In a sense, this is the true Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

"go!"

At the old demon's command, countless Yin spirits surged forth from the Soul Banner, numbering well over ten thousand. These Yin spirits swept down like a black torrent, rushing towards the crowd. Among them were seven or eight exceptionally large main souls, each possessing an aura comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"not good!"

"Defend now!"

The members of the Hehuan Sect paled and hastily unleashed their magical treasures to defend themselves. However, the number of Yin spirits was simply too great; one wave was killed only to be followed by another, making them impossible to exterminate. Moreover, the old demon continued to activate the Myriad Soul Banner, releasing even more Yin spirits.

Deacon Lu's face was gloomy, and he suddenly took out a golden bead from his pocket.

"This is......"

Wu Tianxiong's eyes lit up.

Without wasting any words, Deacon Lu tossed the golden bead forward.

boom!

The bead exploded, transforming into a dazzling golden beam of light that shot forward. Wherever the golden beam passed, the vengeful spirits crumbled instantly, and even the main spirits were severely injured. The blockade set up by the old demon was actually blasted open!

"Walk!"

Deacon Lu shouted and was the first to rush out of the gap.

Liu Ruoxue followed closely behind, and Wu Tianxiong and the other two core disciples also hurriedly caught up.

Li Hanshan naturally wouldn't lag behind, riding his flying sword and following closely behind Deacon Lu.

"Trying to run away?"

The old demon snorted coldly and urged the Myriad Soul Banner to give chase. However, his speed was slowed by the golden pillar of light, and by the time he bypassed the pillar, the group had already broken out of the encirclement.

"Split up and escape!"

At Deacon Lu's command, the five flew off in different directions.

This is the wisest choice. If they escape separately, the old demon can only chase one of them, giving the others a chance to escape.

Li Hanshan chose a direction and pushed his flying sword to its limit, increasing its speed to the maximum. The wind whistled in his ears, and the mountains and rivers beneath his feet rushed past him; he dared not stop for a moment.

The faint sounds of battle could be heard behind him, as if the old demon had caught up with someone. But Li Hanshan didn't turn around; turning around would waste too much time.

I'm just a nobody, so the old demon probably won't come after me, right?

He prayed silently in his heart.

After flying for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Li Hanshan looked back. There was nothing behind him; no ghosts, no black-robed cultivators, and no trace of the old demon.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems the old demon went after Deacon Lu and the others; after all, those people were Foundation Establishment cultivators, their souls were of higher quality, and they were more attractive to the old demon. He was just a small fry in the Qi Refining stage, and the old demon didn't even bother with him.

However, just to be on the safe side, he took a long detour to make sure he had completely shaken off the Yinming Sect before changing direction and flying towards the Hehuan Sect.

"What a pity about that crane."

Li Hanshan sighed as he flew. Without the Flying Crane Talisman, he would have to fly back on his own. From here to the Hehuan Sect, at his sword-riding speed, it would take at least ten days to half a month.

After all, he can't fly indefinitely; he needs to stop and recharge.

Fortunately, the poison pills have a maximum shelf life of one month, so there should be enough time.

"There's a ghost!"

After flying intermittently for most of the day, Li Hanshan's divine sense detected a ghost.

The ghost flew close to the ground, and after discovering him, it hid even deeper, but it had already been discovered, so how could it possibly hide?

Li Hanshan aimed his divine sense at it and blasted it into dust.

"We've been discovered; we need to change direction."

He changed direction and continued flying. As he flew, he encountered the pursuing ghosts, which meant that these ghosts were probably searching everywhere.

After flying intermittently for a day or two, they still didn't know how far they were from the Hehuan Sect.

"Let's replenish our energy first." After a long flight and battle, Li Hanshan was exhausted and decided to replenish his energy before setting off again.

He found a hidden cave in a mountain stream, went inside, sat cross-legged, took out a Qi-replenishing pill, and began to recover his spiritual power.

The cave wasn't large, only about two zhang deep. It was dry and well-ventilated, making it suitable for temporary shelter. He scanned the surroundings with his divine sense to confirm that there were no demonic beasts or dangers before closing his eyes and focusing on his recovery.

This recovery took most of the day.

into the night.

Suddenly, a noise came from the mountain stream.

Li Hanshan suddenly opened his eyes, placed his right hand on the storage bag, and probed the outside of the cave with his divine sense.

Two figures fell from the night sky, stumbling and falling into the mountain stream. One of them was tall and imposing, none other than Deacon Lu; the other was as cold as ice, none other than Liu Ruoxue.

Both men were injured. Deacon Lu's robes were torn in several places, and there was a shocking wound on his chest that was still bleeding. Liu Ruoxue's face was also paler than usual, and a piece of her left sleeve was torn off, revealing a black claw mark, as if she had been injured by a ghost.

Li Hanshan hesitated for a moment, but still came out of the cave.

"Senior Lu, Senior Sister Liu."

Both of them were taken aback when they saw him. A hint of surprise flashed in Deacon Lu's eyes, and he nodded; Liu Ruoxue remained expressionless, but her gaze lingered on him for a moment before shifting away.

"You do have some skill, managing to escape alive." Deacon Lu's voice was somewhat weak.

Li Hanshan asked, "Senior Lu, what's going on here...? Where is that old demon?"

Deacon Lu coughed twice and said, "I used my trump card to injure him, which is how I escaped."

So that's how it is. It seems that even though Deacon Lu is at the peak of Foundation Establishment, the gap between him and someone at the Pseudo-Core Formation stage isn't that big, but he's still no match for his opponent.

"Senior, your injury..."

"It's nothing." Deacon Lu waved his hand, but then coughed violently again, his face turning even paler.

The three entered the cave. Deacon Lu sat cross-legged, swallowed several pills, and began to heal his injuries. Liu Ruoxue leaned against the cave wall, closing her eyes to regulate her breathing. Li Hanshan sat at the cave entrance, keeping watch while recovering his spiritual energy.

About half an hour later, Deacon Lu suddenly spoke up: "Li Hanshan, your mission is complete. You can return the Xuan Guang Zhao Ying Mirror to me now."

Li Hanshan took down the Mystic Light Reflecting Mirror, handed it over, and asked, "Senior, how is the situation?"

Deacon Lu pressed his finger on the Xuan Guang Zhao Ying Mirror, which then dimmed. He sighed and said, "This is troublesome. They have set up multiple ambushes along the way back, laying a net that can't be opened, trying to capture us all and use our souls to refine the Soul Banner, helping that old demon break through to the true Golden Core stage."

Is the road back to the clan blocked?

Li Hanshan frowned: "Are there that many of them?"

Deacon Lu's voice was low. "There aren't that many people, but they have enough ghosts. Some of these ghosts have tracking abilities and can determine our approximate location, allowing them to track and surround us."

Thinking of the ghostly figures that had been appearing in the vicinity these past few days, Li Hanshan frowned and asked, "Senior, didn't you send a message to the sect?"

Deacon Lu said, "Of course it was sent, but there has been no response yet. It may have been intercepted. Some of the Yinming Sect's spirits are particularly adept at intercepting communication stones."

Good grief, messages can be intercepted?

This is bad.

Fortunately, Li Hanshan encountered them; otherwise, if he had flown back like that, he might have been captured by the Yinming Sect.

Li Hanshan asked, "Senior, what should we do?"

"Let's try taking a detour first," Deacon Lu said. "Going around the edge of the Monster Mountain Range to the north will take more time, but at least it'll be safer."

Li Hanshan nodded. As long as he could get back alive, spending a little more time didn't matter.

"Senior, when do we set off?"

"bright......"

Deacon Lu had barely uttered a single word when his expression suddenly changed, and he coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

The black blood fell to the ground and made a hissing sound, corroding several small pits into the rocks.

"senior!"

Li Hanshan's expression changed.

"It's nothing... It's just that old demon's malevolent energy invading my meridians." Deacon Lu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his face as pale as paper. "I need time to expel this malevolent energy, otherwise..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was already quite clear.

Li Hanshan was silent for a moment, then said, "What kind of pills does Senior need? I have some here..."

"The pills are useless." Deacon Lu shook his head, his gaze suddenly turning to Liu Ruoxue, who was leaning against the cave wall with her eyes closed, meditating. A strange light flashed in his eyes. "However, there is another way."

Liu Ruoxue seemed to sense something, opened her eyes, and looked coldly at Deacon Lu.

next second.

Deacon Lu suddenly moved.

He moved with lightning speed, appearing instantly in front of Liu Ruoxue and striking her shoulder with a palm. Liu Ruoxue grunted, wanting to retaliate, but her cultivation was inferior to Deacon Lu's, and she was injured; how could she be a match for him?

Deacon Lu pointed his fingers at her repeatedly, sealing her meridians. Liu Ruoxue's body immediately went limp and she could not move.

"Senior Lu! What are you doing!"

Li Hanshan suddenly stood up, his face full of astonishment.

Deacon Lu turned around, a sinister smile on his face. He wiped the black blood from the corner of his mouth and said, "What for? To heal, of course. As long as I take her, I can not only expel the Yin energy, but I might also be able to break through to the Golden Core stage."

Li Hanshan's face darkened.

He never expected that this seemingly fair and composed Deacon Lu would actually attack Liu Ruoxue. No wonder he wanted to take back the Mystic Light Reflection Mirror as soon as he arrived; he was afraid of leaving evidence.

I thought you were a good person.

Li Hanshan looked disappointed.

"A good person?"

Deacon Lu seemed to have heard a joke, and he threw his head back and burst into laughter. His laughter echoed through the cave, extremely jarring.

He stopped laughing after a while, then looked coldly at Li Hanshan: "There are no good people in the Hehuan Sect. Do you think I became a steward of the External Affairs Hall? By being fair and impartial?"

He walked step by step toward Li Hanshan, his peak Foundation Establishment stage aura crushing down on him: "Boy, you're too naive. Do you know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Even if I kill her, I can pin the blame on the Yinming Sect!"

Li Hanshan was struggling to breathe under the oppressive force, but he stubbornly refused to back down and said in a deep voice, "Since you intend to harm Senior Sister Liu, why are you keeping me alive?"

Deacon Lu gave a meaningful smile: "Because I need you to go first."

Li Hanshan was stunned: "What?"

Deacon Lu laughed, "Don't you understand? I want you to sleep with her first!"