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

Deacon Lu's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

He took the ten inner cores and examined them carefully, one by one. He probed them with his divine sense and found that each one emitted the unique demonic energy fluctuations of a late-stage second-tier demon beast. They were genuine, and none of them were fake.

"It is indeed late-stage Tier 2." He squeezed out these words through gritted teeth.

Wu Tianxiong's face darkened further. He stared intently at the inner cores, then suddenly sneered, "So what if the inner cores are real? Li Hanshan, how could an old codger like you, who just broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, possibly hunt ten late-stage second-tier demonic beasts in half a month? Elder Jiang clearly helped you!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nianwei's gaze suddenly turned cold.

"Wu Tianxiong." Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling edge. "Are you accusing me of favoritism and corruption?"

Wu Tianxiong felt a chill run down his spine as she swept her gaze over him, but since he had already spoken, he could only bite the bullet and say, "This junior just feels that this matter is too strange..."

"presumptuous."

Jiang Nianwei uttered only two words, and the pressure of a Golden Core cultivator swept over him like a tidal wave. Wu Tianxiong groaned, his face turning deathly pale, and he staggered back several steps before regaining his footing.

"Elder Jiang, please calm down." Deacon Lu quickly stepped forward to smooth things over. "Nephew Wu is young and impetuous, and speaks without thinking. He didn't mean to offend you." He turned to Wu Tianxiong and said sternly, "Apologize to Elder Jiang now!"

Wu Tianxiong gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with resentment, but he had no choice but to lower his head: "This junior has misspoke, please forgive me, Elder Jiang."

Jiang Nianwei withdrew her oppressive aura and said coldly, "Li Hanshan completed the assessment through his own abilities. If you have any objections, you may report to the sect leader. If not, then step aside."

Deacon Lu's expression changed, but he ultimately stepped aside to make way for him.

Li Hanshan took in their expressions and sneered inwardly. He carefully put away his inner core and flew towards the Hehuan Sect with Jiang Nianwei on their flying swords.

Half a day later, the gate of the Hehuan Sect appeared at the edge of the horizon.

Jiang Nianwei stopped her sword flashing before Jade Peak, and Li Hanshan once again clasped his hands in thanks. Jiang Nianwei waved her hand, turned around, and flew into the pale green mist of Jade Peak.

Li Hanshan returned to his cave on the main peak, riding on a flying sword.

As soon as the stone door of the cave opened, a red figure rushed out.

"Hanlang!"

Hua Nongying wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, buried her face in his chest, and her voice trembled slightly.

Li Hanshan looked down at her and smiled helplessly, "You always do the same thing, don't you get tired of it?"

"Not at all." Hua Nongying looked up, her eyes slightly red, but her lips curved into a smile. "Do you know how worried I've been every day since you left? Those two bastards, Deacon Lu and Wu Tianxiong, assigned you this kind of suicide mission. I was afraid you..."

She didn't continue speaking, but simply buried her face back into his chest.

Li Hanshan reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, carrying her into the cave. The stone door slammed shut behind them, candlelight flickered on, and Hua Nongying pulled him to sit down on the stone couch, her beautiful eyes scanning him up and down.

"Hanlang, you really finished? Ten late-stage second-tier inner cores?"

Li Hanshan briefly recounted the process of the assessment, including his encounter with the fake alchemist demon and his clash with the saintess.

Hua Nongying's expression changed after hearing this.

"You encountered a saint? Which saint?"

"Qin Muyue".

Hua Nongying's expression turned even uglier.

"Which saintess gave you the secret technique?" Li Hanshan asked.

"It's not her," Hua Nongying said.

This is consistent with Li Hanshan's prediction; it shouldn't be this Qin Muyue.

"The one who gave me the sect's secret techniques was Chu Mengyao. Like Qin Muyue, she is a quasi-saintess."

Hua Nongying continued to explain: "Of the three quasi-saintesses, only one can become a saintess, so the three of them have been fighting openly and secretly for many years, and none of them are willing to submit to the other. Qin Muyue cultivates the 'Heavenly Demon Charm Scripture,' and the number of furnaces that have died at her hands is at least eight hundred to a thousand."

Li Hanshan felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this.

Fortunately, they met Jiang Caiwei; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Even with the Yang Book, he was somewhat powerless against a Golden Core cultivator.

"Chirp chirp~"

At this moment, the little beast crawled out of Li Hanshan's pocket. The little thing looked like it hadn't woken up yet, and its eyes weren't even open.

"What is this? It's so cute!"

She reached out to hug it, but the little beast suddenly opened its eyes, stared at her with its dark, round eyes for a moment, then turned its head away and shrank back into Li Hanshan's arms with a look of disgust.

Hua Nongying's smile froze on her face.

"It...it dislikes me?"

Li Hanshan found it somewhat amusing. He took out a few Qi-replenishing pills and placed them in his palm. The little beast immediately perked up, swallowed all the pills with a flick of its tongue, and then looked up at him expectantly.

"Want more?"

The little beast nodded repeatedly.

Li Hanshan took out a few more. The little beast curled its tongue and swallowed them again, then tilted its head back.

"You've raised a patriarch who eats elixirs," Hua Nongying said sourly from the side.

Finally, Li Hanshan took out more than a dozen Qi-replenishing pills, and the little beast let out a satisfied burp, curled up on his lap, and closed its eyes again.

"Just what's the background of this little thing?" Hua Nongying couldn't help but ask.

Li Hanshan shook his head: "I don't know. But the fact that it can swallow a third-tier demon core and survive means it's definitely not an ordinary demon beast."

Hua Nongying didn't ask any more questions. She knew too many secrets about Li Hanshan, and this little beast was just one of them.

The days that followed went as usual.

Li Hanshan spent his days refining pills at Jade Peak and his nights cultivating with Hua Nongying. Every few days, he would go to Frostflower Peak to "trade" with Liu Ruoxue. Liu Ruoxue's attitude remained as cold as ever, but her cultivation was steadily improving.

The little beast spends most of its time sleeping, and only occasionally wakes up to eagerly ask Li Hanshan for pills to eat.

Li Hanshan, having obtained many rare and precious medicinal herbs through it, did not lack it in the production of elixirs.

As for those medicinal herbs, Li Hanshan disposed of some through Hua Nongying, and he planned to keep some for his own use.

After Jiang Nianwei finished refining the Jade Bone Flower, she disappeared without a trace. Li Hanshan then continued refining pills in her alchemy room, his skills becoming increasingly proficient.

During this period, he met Luo Li several more times in his dreams.

Luo Li taught him several more pill formulas, including the Rejuvenation Pill to restore spiritual energy, the Spirit-Clearing Pill to enhance divine sense, and the Foundation Establishment Pill, the most important pill for Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. Each formula included detailed instructions on techniques and heat control, as well as her own insights into pill refining.

"Grandpa, your alchemy skills are getting better and better." Luo Li would always praise him like this.

Li Hanshan always smiled and said it was all thanks to the girl.

This wasn't modesty. Luo Li taught him more than just pill formulas and techniques; she taught him a complete system of ancient alchemy. From fire control to purification, from fusion to pill condensation, each step had its unique aspects, quite different from the alchemy methods of the modern cultivation world.

Unbeknownst to him, Li Hanshan's alchemy skills improved rapidly, from only being able to refine low-grade pills to frequently producing mid-grade ones, and then occasionally producing one or two high-grade ones.

Three months later, he successfully refined his first batch of Foundation Establishment Pills.