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

Wu Tianxiong's voice was so loud that everyone present could hear it clearly.

A dozen pairs of eyes fell on Li Hanshan simultaneously, some scrutinizing, some suspicious, and some gloating.

The old man in the golden robe, Wu Zhan, narrowed his dragon-like eyes slightly, and the pressure of his Golden Core stage aura swept over Li Hanshan like a tidal wave.

"Deserting in the face of battle?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an awe-inspiring majesty, like the might of a celestial being.

Li Hanshan felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him, making it difficult to breathe. Although the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment stage was powerful, it was still no match for a true Golden Core cultivator.

"Senior, I did not desert my post." He said through gritted teeth.

"Still trying to argue!"

Wu Tianxiong sneered, "We were fighting tooth and nail up front, and you just turned around and ran. If you hadn't led the escape, how could the others have scattered? How could Junior Brother Zhou have died at the hands of the Yinming Sect?"

He spoke with righteous indignation, as if he were truly speaking out for his deceased fellow disciples.

Li Hanshan looked at him and sneered inwardly.

With acting skills like that, it's a shame she's not an actress.

"Is Senior Brother Wu finished speaking?" he asked calmly.

Wu Tianxiong was taken aback, then his face darkened: "What kind of attitude is this? How dare a mere inner disciple speak to me like that?"

"He has already reached the Foundation Establishment stage."

A cold, clear voice rang out.

Everyone turned around and saw that it was Liu Ruoxue who was speaking.

She stood not far behind Li Hanshan, her face still cold, as if she hadn't said those words.

Wu Tianxiong's face turned even uglier.

This old thing actually reached the Foundation Establishment stage?

How is that possible!

Just a few days ago he was at the tenth level of Qi Refining, how come he's already at the Foundation Establishment stage so quickly?

The other disciples of the Hehuan Sect were also in an uproar. When did it become so easy to establish a foundation? They worked themselves to the bone and still couldn't establish a foundation, but for Li Hanshan, this centenarian, establishing a foundation was as easy as eating and drinking tea.

This surprised them, filled them with envy, and also with deep jealousy.

"So what if I've reached the Foundation Establishment stage?"

Wu Zhanlong spoke, his voice indifferent: "Deserting in the face of battle, according to the sect's rules, should result in the loss of cultivation and demotion to a cultivation furnace."

He waved his hand: "Take it down."

Two Foundation Establishment cultivators stepped out from the crowd and approached Li Hanshan.

"Wait a minute."

Another voice rang out.

A voice descended before the crowd.

The newcomer was a woman in green, surrounded by sword energy; she was none other than Elder Jiang Nianwei of Jade Peak.

"Elder Jiang." Wu Zhanlong frowned slightly.

Jiang Nianwei glanced at Li Hanshan, then turned to Wu Zhanlong: "Elder Wu, isn't it too hasty to arrest someone before even clarifying the matter?"

Wu Zhanlong's face darkened: "Elder Jiang, what does this have to do with you?"

Jiang Nianwei said calmly, "This kid has some connection with my disciple. I promised her I would look after him."

She paused, then added, "Besides, shouldn't someone have something to say about such a serious crime as desertion?"

Wu Zhanlong remained silent for a moment, then snorted coldly, "Fine, I'd like to see what he has to say."

The oppressive aura receded like a tide.

Li Hanshan breathed a sigh of relief and clasped his hands in thanks to Jiang Nianwei, saying, "Thank you, Elder Jiang."

Jiang Nianwei waved her hand, signaling him to speak.

Li Hanshan turned to Wu Tianxiong, his gaze calm: "Senior Brother Wu says I deserted in the face of battle, then I'd like to ask Senior Brother Wu, which eye of yours saw me desert?"

Wu Tianxiong sneered, "I saw it with both eyes! You took those outer disciples, turned around, and ran away, leaving us all behind!"

"Oh?"

Li Hanshan remained calm: "Then let me ask Senior Brother Wu again, what is my mission?"

Wu Tianxiong was taken aback.

"My mission was to go to Heyang County to investigate the remnants of the Yinming Sect," Li Hanshan said, emphasizing each word. "Not only did I reach Heyang County, but I also discovered that the Yinming Sect harbored Foundation Establishment cultivators, and I even fought with them. After completing my mission, I naturally had to retreat. Is that what you call desertion?"

"you......"

"But what about Senior Brother Wu?" Li Hanshan interrupted him, "you five Foundation Establishment cultivators hid in the shadows, watching us being hunted down by the Yinming Sect, yet you hesitated to make a move. How should that be accounted for?"

Wu Tianxiong's expression changed.

He didn't expect that Li Hanshan knew they were hiding in the shadows.

How did you know...?

He abruptly shut his mouth halfway through his sentence.

Isn't this an admission of guilt without being asked?

Seeing Liu Ruoxue with Li Hanshan, Wu Tianxiong subconsciously felt that it was most likely Liu Ruoxue who told Li Hanshan.

Li Hanshan smiled.

"Senior Brother Wu, do you mean you were indeed hiding in the shadows, watching us go to our deaths?"

"I don't!"

Wu Tianxiong's face flushed red: "We did that...that was to avoid alerting the enemy!"

"What a brilliant move to avoid alerting the enemy."

Li Hanshan's voice suddenly rose, and he continued, "Since Senior Brother Wu says I deserted in the face of battle, then I'll let Senior Brother Wu meet someone."

He took out the soul banner and shook it gently.

A beam of black light flew out from the banner and transformed into the appearance of a young man.

It was Zhou Qingyun.

"Junior Brother Zhou...?!"

Wu Tianxiong's face turned deathly pale instantly, as if he had seen a ghost.

No, it was a ghost.

"Senior Brother Wu, how have you been?"

Zhou Qingyun stared at him coldly, her eyes filled with hatred.

"You...how could you...?"

"How did I get here?" Zhou Qingyun continued, "Did you think I'd been turned into a ghost by the Yinming Sect and would never come back?"

Wu Tianxiong took a step back.

"Senior Brother Wu, a few days ago, you ambushed me from behind, causing me to be captured by the Yinming Sect and turned into a Yin Soul. You should still remember that, right?"

Zhou Qingyun's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap, exploding in everyone's ears.

All eyes were on Wu Tianxiong.

"You're talking nonsense!"

Wu Tianxiong shrieked, "You've already been turned into a ghost! You can't believe your words! Who knows if this old man is controlling you and deliberately trying to frame me!"

"Yeah?"

Zhou Qingyun sneered, "Then take a look at this, what is it?"

He raised his hand, and an image appeared in his soul.

In the footage, Wu Tianxiong is fighting alongside Zhou Qingyun. Suddenly, Wu Tianxiong turns abruptly and strikes Zhou Qingyun on the back with a palm strike. Caught off guard, Zhou Qingyun coughs up blood and staggers forward. Wu Tianxiong seizes the opportunity to flee without looking back.

The video ends here.

Everyone present could see it clearly.

Wu Tianxiong's face turned completely pale.

"No...it's impossible...how could you still retain this memory...?"

"Because before I died, I used a secret technique to seal this memory deep within my soul," Zhou Qingyun said coldly, "so that one day I could expose your true colors!"

He turned to Wu Zhanlong: "Elder Wu, as a Golden Core elder, surely you can't even distinguish between the real and fake images?"

Wu Zhanlong's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

He stared at the video without saying a word.

After a long while, he suddenly raised his hand, and a golden light shot out, directly piercing through Zhou Qingyun's soul.

Zhou Qingyun let out a scream, his soul trembled violently, and his image disappeared.

"Father!" Wu Tianxiong was overjoyed.

Wu Zhanlong withdrew his hand and said calmly, "A mere ghost dares to slander my son. It deserves to die."

Li Hanshan's heart sank.

Zhou Qingyun's soul had begun to dissipate. He turned his head and glanced at Li Hanshan, his eyes filled with gratitude and resentment.

"Thank you, senior... for giving me the opportunity... to tell the truth..."

As soon as he finished speaking, his soul completely dissipated, turning into specks of light that vanished into the air.

Li Hanshan clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his palms.

He knew all along that Wu Zhanlong might protect his own.

But he never expected that the other party would kill him in front of so many people to silence him.

This is a Golden Core cultivator.

Having ability is remarkable.

Even when the facts are right in front of him, he can ignore them.

Jiang Nianwei's face also darkened: "Elder Wu, what do you mean by this?"

"It doesn't mean anything."

Wu Zhanlong said calmly, "The words of someone who has been refined into a Yin spirit are inherently unreliable. Besides, he has been corrupted by Yin energy for many years; who knows how much of his sanity he still retains?"

He glanced at Li Hanshan, his eyes carrying a warning: "Let's leave this matter at that. Our priority is to pursue the remnants of the Yinming Sect."

After saying that, he stepped on the flying boat, which accelerated and transformed into a golden light, flying away into the distance.

In the blink of an eye, only Li Hanshan, Liu Ruoxue, and Jiang Nianwei remained in the same spot.

Jiang Nianwei looked in the direction Wu Zhanlong had left, her brows furrowed.

After a long silence, she sighed and turned to Li Hanshan: "You should go back to the sect first. We'll talk about this when I get back."

Li Hanshan clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Elder Jiang."

"No need to thank me." Jiang Nian waved her hand, a hint of helplessness in her voice. "If you want to thank someone, thank Lingxi. If she hadn't begged me, would I have gone out?"

Li Hanshan was taken aback.

Lingxi?

Was it Xu Lingxi who begged Jiang Nianwei to come out?

Jiang Nianwei didn't say anything more, and transformed into a green light, chasing after the direction Wu Zhanlong had left in.

Only Li Hanshan and Liu Ruoxue remained in the same spot.

Li Hanshan stood there, watching the direction Zhou Qingyun had disappeared in, and remained silent for a long time.

"Let's go."

Finally, Liu Ruoxue spoke, her voice still icy.

Li Hanshan came to his senses and nodded.

The two summoned their flying swords and flew towards the Hehuan Sect.

Li Hanshan remained silent throughout the journey.

He was thinking of Xu Lingxi.

That silly girl, for his sake, actually went to beg Jiang Nianwei for help.

She was just Jiang Nianwei's disciple, a mere Qi Refining stage disciple. What right did she have to make a Golden Core elder stand up for her?

Jiang Nianwei's presence was probably not solely due to Xu Lingxi's request, but more so because she recognized Xu Lingxi's potential and didn't want her to harbor resentment because of Li Hanshan's matter.

Regardless, he remembered this kindness.