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

Speechless all the way.

Li Hanshan and Liu Ruoxue rode their flying swords, traversing through the clouds. The setting sun dyed the sea of ​​clouds a golden-red hue, a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

"Are you thinking about that ghost?"

Liu Ruoxue suddenly spoke.

Li Hanshan turned to look at her.

It's quite unusual for this enchantress to speak first.

"Why do you think I'm thinking about him? He's not a woman." Li Hanshan was baffled.

"It's useless to even think about it." Liu Ruoxue's voice remained icy. "He was personally killed by Wu Zhanlong. What right do you, a disciple who has just established your foundation, have to seek justice for him?"

Although Li Hanshan felt that Liu Ruoxue was a bit illogical, he had to admit it.

She's right.

The gap between the Golden Core stage and the Foundation Establishment stage is like an insurmountable chasm. For Wu Zhanlong, killing him was merely a matter of a single thought. If Jiang Nianwei hadn't been present, today's events would never have ended so easily.

"I know," Li Hanshan said calmly, "but I've remembered this debt."

Liu Ruoxue glanced at him but didn't say anything more.

The two continued flying.

The gates of the Hehuan Sect drew ever closer, and the five towering peaks, like giant pillars, came into view in the distance. From the clouds atop the highest peak, the outlines of palaces and pavilions were faintly visible, their edges gilded by the setting sun.

"Don't think I won't kill you."

Liu Ruoxue spoke again, her gaze icy, "Once I'm stronger, I'll still seek revenge on you."

Li Hanshan smiled.

"I'll be waiting."

He said lightly.

Liu Ruoxue snorted coldly, increased her speed, and flew towards the mountain gate first.

As Li Hanshan watched her retreating figure, the smile on his lips gradually faded.

This vixen, though she claims she'll kill him, has countless opportunities on her way back. Even if she can't defeat him, surely she'll have a chance to ambush him?

But she didn't.

Li Hanshan thought of the town that the Yinming Sect had targeted, and the strange look that flashed in Liu Ruoxue's eyes when he decided to help.

This demoness might be somewhat different from other demonesses in the Hehuan Sect.

He shook his head and quickened his pace to catch up.

The two passed through the protective array one after the other and landed in front of the Outer Affairs Hall on the mountainside of the main peak.

The palace doors were wide open, and the interior was brightly lit.

A gray-robed steward was sorting through jade slips. When he saw the two enter, he looked up, his gaze sweeping over Li Hanshan, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"Foundation Establishment?"

"Yes." Li Hanshan clasped his hands in greeting. "Junior Li Hanshan has come to receive the antidote."

The gray-robed steward nodded, took two jade bottles from the medicine shelf behind him, and handed them to Li Hanshan and Liu Ruoxue respectively.

"Take it."

Li Hanshan took the jade bottle, uncorked it, and a cool, medicinal fragrance wafted out. He drank the liquid inside in one gulp, feeling a warm current rise from his abdomen, travel along his meridians, and finally gather in his dantian. The gray mist that had been dormant for so long was swept away by this warm current and vanished completely, like snow melting in hot water.

The poison has been neutralized.

Liu Ruoxue also took the antidote, and the paleness on her face faded slightly.

"Where are Deacon Lu and the others?" the gray-robed deacon asked.

"It's still to come." Li Hanshan didn't say more. "This junior will take his leave now."

The gray-robed deacon waved his hand, and the two withdrew from the Outer Affairs Hall.

Outside the palace, darkness had completely fallen. The night sky was dotted with stars, and lights on and off the main peak lit up one after another, like strings of pearls inlaid on the mountainside.

Liu Ruoxue didn't say goodbye to Li Hanshan; she directly summoned her flying sword and left.

Li Hanshan watched her figure disappear into the night sky before summoning his flying sword and heading towards Hua Nongying's cave.

The stone door to the cave was tightly closed.

He took out the token, gave it a gentle shake, and the stone door opened with a bang.

The door had barely opened a crack when a red figure rushed out like a swallow returning to its nest, crashing straight into his arms.

"Hanlang!"

Hua Nongying's voice trembled as she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and buried her face in his chest, as if afraid he would run away.

Li Hanshan was stunned for a moment.

He subconsciously sensed the Yang pattern—Hua Nongying's flower had already bloomed to its fourth petal, and through the emotions conveyed by the petals, he could clearly feel her current mood.

Excitement, joy, lingering fear, and a sense of relief...

A mix of emotions, so real it couldn't be more real.

This vixen is actually genuinely worried about him?

"I thought you weren't coming back..."

Hua Nongying raised her head, her captivating eyes brimming with tears that glistened in the moonlight. Her voice trembled with sobs, yet carried a sense of relief at surviving a calamity: "I worried about you every day, afraid that you..."

She didn't continue speaking, but buried her face back into his chest, pulling her arms even tighter.

Li Hanshan was silent for a moment, then reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'm back now, aren't I?"

His voice was unusually gentle.

Hua Nongying snuggled against him like a spoiled kitten. After a while, she finally let go and pulled him into the cave.

The stone gate slammed shut behind them.

As the candlelight was lit, Hua Nongying pulled him to sit down by the stone couch, her beautiful eyes scanning him up and down, growing more and more surprised with each look.

"Hanlang, you...you've become younger?"

She reached out and gently stroked his face. Most of the wrinkles on his once-crisp face had disappeared, his skin was firm and elastic, and his hair and beard had turned completely black. If it weren't for his still calm and deep eyes, she would have thought he was a completely different person.

"No... your aura..."

Hua Nongying's eyes widened suddenly, and she could clearly feel the pressure from Li Hanshan, who was at the Foundation Establishment stage.

"You've reached the Foundation Establishment stage?!"

"Mm." Li Hanshan nodded.

"How is that possible!"

Hua Nongying suddenly stood up, circled Li Hanshan, her eyes filled with disbelief: "You were only at the tenth level of Qi Refining when you left, and it's only been a few days? How did you reach Foundation Establishment? And your aura... it feels stronger than mine?"

Li Hanshan did not hide anything and briefly recounted his experiences along the way—from being ambushed by Deacon Lu, to breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage of the Heavenly Dao through dual cultivation with Liu Ruoxue, to killing two Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Yinming Sect, and finally encountering Wu Zhanlong and Jiang Nianwei.

He spoke calmly, but Hua Nongying was terrified.

When she heard that Deacon Lu actually wanted to use Liu Ruoxue to replenish his essence and even forced Li Hanshan to "tread the minefield," she gritted her teeth in anger; when she heard that Li Hanshan used Liu Ruoxue to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, her beautiful eyes sparkled with excitement; when she heard that Li Hanshan killed two Foundation Establishment cultivators in a fight, she was so excited that her pretty face turned red.

"Hanlang, you're amazing!"

Hua Nongying threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck, her eyes filled with admiration: "That's the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment! In the hundreds of years since the Hehuan Sect was founded, very few people have achieved that! You actually did it! And those two Foundation Establishment cultivators, you killed them right after your breakthrough! Such strength will surely shock the entire sect if word gets out!"

She paused, a sly glint in her eyes, and said, "But... you slept with that bitch Liu Ruoxue?"

Li Hanshan nodded.

Hua Nongying was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter, laughing so hard that her body trembled.

"Good heavens! Hanlang, you actually slept with that ice block! Hahaha! I'm dying of laughter!"

She laughed until tears almost streamed down her face: "You have no idea, that bitch hates men to the core. She won't even touch a man's hand. All the senior and junior brothers in the sect who wanted to make a move on her were frozen solid by her. And you, you just slept with her!"

Li Hanshan was speechless at her gloating expression.

"Aren't you and her mortal enemies? It sounds like..."

"A mortal enemy is a mortal enemy." Hua Nongying's smile faded, a complex look flashing in her eyes. "But I understand her. She may say she wants to kill you, but she might not really be able to do it. Otherwise, given her personality, even if she couldn't beat you, she would risk self-destruction to take you down with her."

Li Hanshan remained silent.

Hua Nongying is right.

Although Liu Ruoxue kept saying she wanted to kill him, she would have had plenty of opportunities on the way back if she really wanted to. The fact that she didn't say anything said about that.

"By the way, what exactly is your grudge against her?"

Li Hanshan asked.

The smile on Hua Nongying's face slowly disappeared.

She remained silent for a long while before sighing and speaking softly.

"When Liu Ruoxue was a child, her whole family was killed."

Li Hanshan frowned.

"The person who killed her entire family was a cultivator from the Hehuan Sect." Hua Nongying's voice lowered. "What's even more outrageous is that, right in front of her, that person... used his sexual energy to kill her mother."

Li Hanshan's pupils contracted slightly.

In front of a little girl, he sexually assaulted her mother, causing her death?

What kind of beast is this!

"So, she joined the Hehuan Sect actually to seek revenge?" he asked.

"Yes." Hua Nongying nodded. "She wanted to kill that beast. But that person's cultivation was too high, so she could only endure it, climb up step by step, and wait until she had enough strength before making her move."

Li Hanshan remained silent.

He suddenly understood Liu Ruoxue a little.

Witnessing her mother being drained of her life force is a trauma that can change a person's entire life. She hated men, hated the Hehuan Sect, hated the world—and now she understood why.

"But what does her revenge have to do with you?" Li Hanshan asked. "How did you two become mortal enemies?"

Hua Nongying fell silent again.

This time, she remained silent for even longer.

"She and I used to be very good friends."

Her voice was very soft, as soft as a breeze.

"When we first joined the sect, we were assigned to the same courtyard. She was even colder back then than she is now, so cold that she wouldn't talk to anyone. I don't know what got into me, but I went up to her every day to talk to her, brought her food, and helped her chase away the male disciples who were harassing her."

"Gradually, she started talking to me. Although she was still cold, I knew she considered me a friend."

A look of reminiscence appeared in Hua Nongying's eyes, and a bitter smile appeared on her lips.

"She told me about her past and her desire for revenge. I promised to help her, and we cultivated together and grew together. At that time, we were the best of sisters."

"And then?" Li Hanshan asked.

"later......"

Hua Nongying lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly: "Later, in order to cultivate the technique left by the founder, I chose another path. That technique requires absorbing the pure yang energy of the furnace, so I could only... I could only go and absorb the essence of those men."

She looked up, her eyes filled with bitterness: "After Liu Ruoxue found out, she had a huge fight with me. She said I had become the kind of person she hated the most, and that I was no different from those beasts who fertilized her mother."

"She turned against me after that."

After hearing this, Li Hanshan frowned even more deeply.

"You've absorbed energy from so many furnaces, why is your first time still intact?" He asked this question that had puzzled him for a long time.