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

The ancestral land of the Yinming Sect.

The dilapidated palaces lay prostrate in the depths of the black mist, like giant beasts that were dead but not stiff.

Amidst the ruins, the former scale of the Yinming Sect can still be vaguely discerned. Nine wide, white bone paths converge from all directions, leading directly to a half-collapsed altar in the center. Around the altar, twelve massive bronze pillars, engraved with hideous ghost faces, stand crookedly in the scorched earth, half of them broken, thick black liquid still oozing from their fractures.

The air was thick with a malevolent aura, almost solidified, and every breath felt like countless ice needles piercing the lungs. The ground was barren, devoid of even moss; a thick layer of grayish-white powder covered every inch of the land.

"These are ashes." Xiao An's voice was eerily calm. "The cultivators who died here back then had their remains corroded by Yin energy for hundreds of years, turning into ashes."

Li Hanshan's gaze swept over the gray-white ground beneath his feet, but he remained silent. His divine sense had already spread out, and his Golden Core level divine sense was like a beacon in the darkness of this ghostly realm, allowing him to perceive everything within a radius of several miles.

This ancestral land is far more dangerous than the outside world. He sensed no fewer than ten Golden Core stage Yin spirits. Most of them lay dormant deep within the ruins, as if in deep slumber, or perhaps waiting for something.

Beside her, Han Yan was also surveying the ancestral land of the Yinming Sect.

For her, this place was far too dangerous.

Within the Heavenly Demon Sect, she was undoubtedly a peerless genius, but a genius is still just a genius, far from being fully developed. Her current cultivation level was indeed far inferior to Li Hanshan's.

"Senior, be careful." Xiao An suddenly stopped in his tracks, his soul tensing up.

Dozens of feet ahead, on the steps of the altar, a tall, slender black figure was slowly taking shape. It was a man dressed in a tattered black robe, his face pale and sinister, his long hair cascading over his shoulders, and the black aura swirling around him as thick as water. Unlike other ghostly spirits, his eyes were not eerie green, but rather a strange, deep purple.

"Golden Core..."

Li Hanshan scanned the area with his divine sense and immediately determined the strength of the Yin spirit.

This is a Yin spirit at the Golden Core stage.

To be precise, it's right at the threshold of the Golden Core stage, not yet a formal Golden Core level, but much more powerful than a fake Golden Core.

Yin spirits are different from cultivators. Even if they reach the Golden Core level, they will not have the Golden Core within their bodies.

"Living... cultivator..." the ghost murmured hoarsely, its deep purple eyes slowly turning and locking onto Li Hanshan. An extremely cold killing intent surged forth like a tide, and the air itself seemed to freeze at that moment.

Without a second thought, Li Hanshan unleashed a divine sense attack. His Golden Core level divine sense transformed into an invisible sharp cone, piercing fiercely into the head of the Yin spirit.

However, the ghost only experienced a violent tremor in its soul before recovering, letting out a deafening shriek as its entire soul transformed into a streak of black light and shot towards Li Hanshan. Its speed was unbelievable; almost the instant the shriek sounded, it had already pounced on Li Hanshan, its swollen claws viciously clawing towards his heart.

Li Hanshan retreated rapidly, his Pure Yang Meridian surging, and golden light blazing in his dantian. A fireball the size of a head condensed at his fingertips, carrying an intense heat capable of incinerating everything, and hurled it towards the Yin spirit.

boom!

Golden flames exploded, evaporating all the black mist within a radius of dozens of feet. However, the Golden Core Yin Soul was only forced back a few feet, and the wounds on its soul body caused by the burns were quickly filled and healed by the surrounding Yin energy.

As expected of a Golden Core level Yin Spirit, Li Hanshan's attacks were like tickling him.

"Be careful, senior! It's absorbing the Yin energy here!" Xiao An shouted, forming hand seals, and three Netherworld Spears shot out.

The ghost let out a low, cold laugh, and in a flash appeared behind Xiao An, slapping down with its claw.

Xiao An's soul was violently shaken by the impact, and she was sent flying, crashing into a pile of rubble. Her aura suddenly dropped by half.

If it weren't for the fact that she had been frantically devouring Yin spirits over the past month and her soul body had become extremely solidified, this claw would have been enough to kill her.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Hanshan approached the Yin spirit. His body shone with golden light, and pure Yang energy erupted like a volcano, directly colliding with it without dodging. The pure Yang energy and Yin energy clashed violently, producing a hissing, burning sound. He gripped the Yin spirit's shoulders tightly with both hands, frantically channeling his pure Yang energy into the spirit's body through his palms.

This is Li Hanshan's killer move.

If Li Hanshan were a Golden Core cultivator, doing this would be tantamount to courting death.

But this is a yin spirit, and Li Hanshan's pure yang energy is its natural enemy.

The ghostly spirit let out a painful howl, its deep purple eyes flashing wildly. Its sharp claws slammed repeatedly into Li Hanshan's chest, leaving deep, bone-revealing wounds that splattered blood. But Li Hanshan wouldn't let go, pouring his pure yang energy into it without restraint.

"Xiao An!!!"

Xiao An burst forth from the ruins, his hands forming the most complex hand seal in the Netherworld Record. His body surged with Yin energy, and a Netherworld Spear, nearly ten times thicker than before, slowly took shape. The spear was entirely black, its surface inscribed with dense Netherworld runes, and its oppressive aura caused even Golden Core Yin Souls to take notice.

The golden core spirit sensed something was wrong and tried to struggle, but it was too late. Li Hanshan launched another divine sense attack, which made the creature tremble.

"Netherworld Soul-Destroying Spear, go!"

The spear shot out, piercing the head of the Golden Core Yin Soul. The Yin Soul let out a final, piercing scream, its entire soul body trembled violently, and then exploded, transforming into a sky full of pure soul power.

Xiao An flashed, absorbing all the overwhelming soul power into her body. The next moment, her aura surged dramatically, and her soul body became more solidified at a visible speed. Foundation Establishment Level 10, breakthrough.

A Golden Core level Yin spirit would naturally gain more than this, but Xiao An could only digest this much in a short time.

Once fully digested, her strength will increase even further.

"That's amazing!"

Han Yan's beautiful eyes were filled with shock.

Although she couldn't accurately determine the strength of this ghost, in her perception it was probably already at the Golden Core level.

Li Hanshan actually joined forces with his soul slave to kill the Golden Core level Yin Soul!

This made her incredibly curious about Li Hanshan. Who exactly was this old man, and why had his strength increased so rapidly?

A year ago, in the secret realm, Li Hanshan was clearly not even at the Foundation Establishment stage!

Li Hanshan, disregarding his injuries, quickly took out healing pills and swallowed them, his gaze fixed intently on Xiao An. Xiao An's aura had changed after breaking through to the tenth level of Foundation Establishment; she now faintly resembled a Golden Core stage Yin Soul. She turned around, her eyes gleaming with an unprecedented light.

"Senior, the array core beneath the altar is still functioning." Her voice carried a hint of barely suppressed excitement. "I can feel... those remaining restrictions, I can control them."

Before Li Hanshan could reply, three powerful auras rapidly approached from afar. His divine sense was now at the Golden Core level, allowing him to perceive the identities of those approaching from a great distance.

Qin Muyue, Wu Zhanlong, and Wu Tianxiong.

Qin Muyue remained as languid as ever, her purple dress standing out starkly against the black mist. Wu Zhanlong's golden robes fluttered, his Golden Core stage aura undisguised. Wu Tianxiong followed behind them, a gloating sneer on his face.

"You old bastard!" Wu Tianxiong shouted from afar, "You think you can hide here and get away with it? Even if the King of Heaven himself came today, he couldn't save you!"