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

After breaking through the horde of ghosts, the three stopped in a relatively calm valley.

Xiao An spread her divine sense to survey the surroundings. Li Hanshan put Han Yan down and let her sit against a boulder. Han Yan's face was even paler than before, and her forehead was covered in fine beads of cold sweat, but her eyes remained sharp.

"Why did you save me?" she asked Li Hanshan directly, staring at him.

Li Hanshan was checking his spiritual power when he heard this. He looked up at her and asked, "Why did you think I would abandon you?"

The cold mist lingered for a moment.

"You used me in the secret realm. You used me in Heyang County too," she said, biting her lip. "There isn't a single good person among you from the Hehuan Sect."

"Then you're right."

Li Hanshan said calmly, "We members of the Hehuan Sect like to carry a medicine pouch with us, so we can use it to replenish our energy in critical moments."

At this point, Li Hanshan looked at her, a hint of mockery in his eyes: "Now you know why I saved you, right?"

When he said that, Han Yan neither got angry nor despaired.

She was a core disciple of the Heavenly Demon Sect. As a member of the Demon Sect, the Heavenly Demon Sect disciples were even more ruthless than the Joyful Union Sect disciples.

In her view, Li Hanshan's actions were the normal course of action.

So, Han Yan stopped talking and silently began to regulate her breathing.

She wanted to regain her strength as soon as possible.

Even if she regained her strength, she saw no hope of defeating Li Hanshan.

More than a year has passed, and her cultivation has broken through to the peak of the second level of Foundation Establishment, while Li Hanshan has already reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

This made Li Hanshan even more of a ruthless old devil in her mind, someone who had killed countless furnaces.

Otherwise, how could they have grown so fast?

Seeing this, Li Hanshan stopped talking. It was true that when talking to a witch, one could only use the witch's logic.

In the days that followed, Li Hanshan devoted most of his energy to Xiao An. In this ghostly realm, low-level spirits were like walking elixirs to Xiao An; the more the better. He actively led Xiao An to places where spirits gathered, allowing her to devour them freely.

"Senior, I can't take it anymore."

This rapid absorption is not without its risks.

The body of a wandering spirit is filled with immense resentment and numerous impurities.

Fortunately, the girl taught Li Hanshan a method: Li Hanshan could use pure yang fire to burn away the yin energy in Xiao An's body and remove the impurities.

This process was naturally somewhat painful, but fortunately, the two cooperated better and better, and Xiao An was able to introduce the pure yang fire to avoid harming her.

thus,

Xiao An's strength was increasing at a visible rate. Peak of Foundation Establishment Level 7, Foundation Establishment Level 8, Peak of Foundation Establishment Level 8, Foundation Establishment Level 9...

In just one month, her soul body solidified to its peak, the Yin energy surrounding her was as dense as water, and the pressure she exuded was no weaker than that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Grand Perfection cultivator. She was only one step away from the tenth level of Foundation Establishment.

But the pursuers behind them never let up.

Qin Muyue and Wu Zhanlong were hot on their heels. The two Golden Core cultivators, working together, were practically invincible in this ghostly realm. Every time Li Hanshan thought he had shaken them off, their suffocating aura would reappear behind him within a few days.

If it weren't for Xiao An, he would have been caught long ago.

More than a month later.

In a mountain cave, Li Hanshan sat cross-legged and swallowed the last temporary antidote pill.

For this mission, he was naturally required to take a poison pill. This poison pill lasts for a maximum of one month, and with two temporary antidotes, it can last for three months. So he can only last for a month at most.

He must return to the Hehuan Sect within this month.

Han Yan sat opposite him. For over a month, she had been trying to break the seal of the Spirit-Locking Pill, with little success. But at least, she was no longer as unsteady as she had been at the beginning.

"We must break out of here," Li Hanshan said.

"No," Xiao An rarely objected. "Senior, I can still use the Yin energy to deal with them inside. If we rush out and face two Golden Core cultivators outside, we will have no chance of escape."

Li Hanshan remained silent.

He knew Xiao An was right. The reason they had been able to escape repeatedly over the past month was entirely due to the endless Yin energy and complex environment of this ghostly realm. If they broke through the sealing formation and were outside, without the protection of Yin spirits, two Golden Core cultivators could kill them in the blink of an eye.

Then we can only keep going in.

That night, Han Yan had already fallen asleep against the cave wall, while Xiao An stood guard outside the cave.

Li Hanshan sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. His consciousness sank into darkness, and when he opened them again, he heard the familiar sound of flowing water.

The riverbank, the blue stones remain unchanged. Luo Li sits on a stone, dressed in white, her bare feet dangling lightly. Seeing him enter, a radiant smile blooms on her face.

"uncle!"

Li Hanshan sat down beside her and briefly recounted his experiences over the past month. Upon hearing this, Luo Li's smile vanished, replaced by a solemn expression.

"Two Golden Core cultivators are chasing you?"

She bit her lip, pondered for a moment, and then her eyes suddenly lit up: "Grandpa, you have been practicing the Spirit Refining Technique for a long time, and your foundation is solid enough. I can now help you raise your spiritual sense to the Golden Core level."

Golden Core level?

Li Hanshan was shocked.

"With your Foundation Establishment level seven cultivation, if you could raise your divine sense to the Golden Core level, your chances of survival would be much greater. At the very least, you would be able to sense the movements of those Golden Core cultivators in advance."

Luo Li reached out and gently grasped Li Hanshan's hand. Their souls merged once more, and Luo Li's soul power, like a hot spring, gently yet firmly flowed into his sea of ​​consciousness.

This time, the refinement of the spirit was longer than any before. Li Hanshan could feel his divine sense growing wildly, reaching the eighth, ninth, and tenth levels of Foundation Establishment... Then, the barrier between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core gradually cracked open under the impact of Luo Li's soul power.

I don't know how much time passed.

boom!

Li Hanshan felt something explode in his sea of ​​consciousness. His divine sense, like a wild horse, expanded wildly in all directions. The divine sense that could originally only cover a few hundred feet had now increased several times over. He could even clearly "see" the ghosts wandering in the darkness dozens of miles away, and see the flow of every trace of yin energy in their souls.

Golden Core level divine sense.

It became.

Luo Li withdrew her hand, her face somewhat pale, but she smiled happily.

"Grandpa, it's done."

Looking at her exhausted appearance, Li Hanshan felt a surge of indescribable emotions. This girl always helped him when he needed her most.

"Girl..."

"Stop talking about it." Luo Li waved her hand, her tone light. "Grandpa, you must survive. When you really come looking for me someday, I'll settle this score with you properly."

The dream shattered like glass.

Li Hanshan opened his eyes, and what he saw was still the cave wall shrouded in black mist. But his senses were completely different now.

Han Yan was awakened by the fluctuations in his consciousness. She opened her eyes and looked at him, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

"Your consciousness..."

Li Hanshan didn't explain. He stood up, about to call Xiao An in, but Xiao An flew in first.

"Senior," Xiao An's voice was somewhat solemn, "I have a suggestion."

"explain."

"The ancestral land of the Yinming Sect," Xiao An said. "This ghost realm was originally the location of the Yinming Sect's mountain gate. Their ancestral land is located in the deepest part of the ghost realm. I saw some fragments in the memories of that fake core demon—the ancestral land of the Yinming Sect has the remains of a sect-protecting array. Although it has been mostly destroyed, the restrictions in the core area may still be in operation."

She paused, a resolute glint in her eyes: "If we can use those remaining restrictions, we might be able to trap those two Golden Core cultivators and buy ourselves a chance to escape."

Li Hanshan remained silent for a long time.

The ancestral land of the Yinming Sect. It is the most central and dangerous place in this ghost realm, and the final battlefield of the great battle between cultivators. The Yin spirits inside now are probably at the Golden Core level. But as Xiao An said, it is also the only place where one has a chance to escape.

He stood up, took the still-sleeping little beast from his spirit beast pouch, and tucked it into his arms. The little thing had been sleeping for over a month and showed no signs of waking up.

"Walk."