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

Although the canopy is gone, the ruins have become a natural prison.

Qin Muyue was bound by the restrictions and unable to move. Her eyes were wide open, staring at the gray sky over the ancestral land of the Yinming Sect. The coldness and hatred on her face had never disappeared from the beginning.

She bit her lip until it bled.

The taste of blood filled her mouth, but she made no sound. Qin Muyue knew this was retribution. She had drained the life force of so many men, turning them into dried-up corpses; now it was finally her turn to be drained.

However, having cultivated for many years, this wasn't her first experience with matters between men and women, so she wasn't particularly inexperienced. It was just that being pinned down by an old man she considered prey, an ant, drove her almost insane with the humiliation.

Li Hanshan didn't care what she thought.

Qin Muyue's spiritual energy was terrifyingly pure, possessing the foundation of a Golden Core cultivator. Even though it was sealed, that immense power still caused Li Hanshan's Pure Yang Meridian to tremble violently. The Pure Yang Qi and her spiritual energy merged and fused under the operation of the Yang Scripture technique, transforming into streams of extremely pure energy that surged into his dantian. At the same time, the Yin patterns on her abdomen were deepening at a visible rate. Within the Yang pattern space on Li Hanshan's abdomen, a fourth flower quietly appeared.

Qin Muyue could clearly feel all of this. Her cultivation foundation was being eroded bit by bit, while Li Hanshan's aura was steadily rising. This feeling of one rising while the other fell was more unbearable than any torture. Yet, she was powerless to do anything. The restrictions sealed her spiritual power, and the Netherworld Chains bound her limbs. She could only watch helplessly as this old man used her as a furnace, rapidly advancing his cultivation.

Li Hanshan ignored her silence and instead placed more restrictions on her body.

This continued for more than ten days.

The foundation has eight layers.

Golden light shone brightly in the Pure Yang Meridian, and the spiritual energy in the dantian surged. But this was not enough. Qin Muyue was a Golden Core cultivator, and her spiritual energy was a great tonic for Foundation Establishment cultivators. One or two rounds of extraction could not completely deplete it.

Qin Muyue raised her head and glanced at him. Those captivating eyes held no tears, only icy coldness. After several days and nights, she seemed to have become numb.

"Old man, you're really greedy."

Deep within the ancestral land of the Yinming Sect, Qin Muyue's voice was icy cold.

Li Hanshan was not satisfied. After breaking through the eighth level of Foundation Establishment, he continued to strive for the ninth level. Qin Muyue's Golden Core foundation was too vast; even absorbing only a small portion would be enough to allow a Foundation Establishment cultivator to advance by leaps and bounds.

He wanted to take this opportunity to break through to the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, or even the tenth level.

As Qin Muyue felt the spiritual energy continuously draining from her body, she finally spoke: "Once you've absorbed enough, we'll talk." Her voice was surprisingly calm.

Li Hanshan didn't answer, but responded with action. Qin Muyue's purple dress, which had been mostly repaired, was reduced to ashes by spiritual power.

Ten days later.

The foundation has been built into nine layers.

A deep rumble resounded from Li Hanshan's body, and the spiritual energy in his dantian surged once more. The ninth level of Foundation Establishment was already the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, only one step away from the tenth level. But that step suddenly seemed impossible to achieve in the short term.

First, he had to return to Huanzong, and he didn't have enough time.

Secondly, Li Hanshan sensed a bottleneck, not due to insufficient spiritual energy, but rather because his understanding of the Golden Core's power was still inadequate. Continuing to absorb its power would be pointless and would only damage Qin Muyue's foundation. To Li Hanshan, a living Golden Core captive was far more valuable than a crippled one.

Most importantly, he didn't have enough control over Qin Muyue yet and didn't want to over-extract from her, lest she fight to the death. Even if a Golden Core cultivator was under a restriction, they might still have ways to fight to the death. He didn't want to be caught off guard and lose at the last moment.

Several more days passed in this way.

Li Hanshan finally stopped. He stood up, put on his robe, and his gaze fell on Qin Muyue.

Qin Muyue, draped in a tattered purple dress, was even paler than before. The continuous replenishment over the past half-month had caused a subtle decline in her cultivation. Yet, her gaze remained sharp as she coldly met Li Hanshan's eyes.

Li Hanshan's consciousness sank into the Yangwen space. There, the flower that belonged to Qin Muyue had already opened three petals.

A flower with three petals can sever a slave's life.

With a thought, the petals of the flower in the Yang Pattern Space trembled slightly. Qin Muyue clutched her lower abdomen, her expression changing drastically. She felt an invisible force rising from the Yin Pattern on her abdomen, like an iron clamp tightly strangling her life. If Li Hanshan made another thought, her heart would stop beating, and her life would come to an abrupt end.

"What is this?" Qin Muyue's voice finally trembled slightly.

Li Hanshan didn't answer. He raised his hand and released the Netherworld Chains and restrictions binding her. Qin Muyue flexed her wrists, staring coldly at him, but didn't make a move. She knew that it was pointless to act now. The force choking her life was more deadly than any restriction.

"From this day forward, your life or death is in my hands." Li Hanshan's voice was calm.

Qin Muyue remained silent for a long time before slowly standing up. Her purple dress was mostly torn; she casually tore off a piece of fabric and tied it around her waist, barely covering her exposed skin. Her alluring face had regained its composure, at least outwardly.

"Speak," she said calmly, "What do you want?"

Li Hanshan didn't answer, but instead asked, "Do you think I have the right to make you obey?"

Qin Muyue stared at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled. The smile was no longer languid, but rather carried a hint of self-mockery and a touch of coldness.

"Old man, you are indeed ruthless. This saintess has schemed her whole life, but I never expected to fall into your hands in the end."

She paused, a resolute glint in her eyes: "I can promise you I won't reveal your secrets. I can cover up the deaths of Wu Zhanlong and Wu Tianxiong for you. I can even pretend I don't know anything about your martial arts techniques or that little beast."

Li Hanshan looked at her, knowing there was more to come.

"However," Qin Muyue's voice suddenly turned cold as she stated her condition, "you cannot treat me like you would any other vessel, freely absorbing my essence. I am not your plaything."

"You have no right to negotiate," Li Hanshan said calmly.

"Is that so?" Qin Muyue's voice carried a hint of amusement. "Then you'd better pray that I never have the courage to fight to the death."

Li Hanshan fell silent. He didn't know Qin Muyue very well, but it was impossible for him to turn her into a slave in such a short time. This demoness was, after all, a Golden Core cultivator, and not a kind person. If he pushed her too far, she might really risk self-destructing her Golden Core to take him down with her.

Moreover, keeping her around is useful. The deaths of Wu Zhanlong and Wu Tianxiong require a reasonable explanation, and the Hehuan Sect also needs someone to cover for them. Qin Muyue is a quasi-saintess; with her cooperation, a lot of trouble can be avoided.

"Once every ten days." Finally, Li Hanshan spoke.

"Don't even think about it!"

"Twenty days. That's my bottom line," Li Hanshan bargained.

Qin Muyue still refused, but she finally stated her price: "Once a month. This is my bottom line. If you don't agree, you can kill me right now."

"Deal," Li Hanshan said calmly, then added, "But there's one condition: if I ever find out you're with another man, don't blame me for turning against you."

Qin Muyue's face regained its lazy smile: "What's wrong, old man? Are you jealous?"

"I find it dirty," Li Hanshan uttered.

Qin Muyue's smile froze instantly. She stared at Li Hanshan for a long while, the anger in her eyes almost burning through her internal organs, but she eventually suppressed it.

"Don't worry," she said coldly, "this saintess isn't that despicable."

She said this aloud, but inwardly she sneered. Ultimately, she was still too inexperienced. Once a month was a bit frequent, but it was enough for her to recover her cultivation and continue progressing. Once she broke through to the mid-Golden Core stage, she might be able to unravel these Yin patterns.

Seeing the fleeting calculation in Qin Muyue's eyes, Li Hanshan sneered inwardly. He knew all too well that the monthly agreement was merely a delaying tactic. But it didn't matter. Once the Yang Mark had expanded to six petals, Qin Muyue's soul would be under his control. Then, whether it was once a month or ten times a month, would it be up to her to decide?

Both were lost in their own thoughts, and neither spoke.

Just then, a violent surge of soul power emanated from the depths of the Yinming Sect's ancestral land. The surge was like a flash flood or a tsunami, with Yin energy from dozens of miles around frantically converging in that direction, forming a massive vortex of Yin energy.

A pressure of Golden Core level spread out from the center of the vortex. Although it was different from the pressure of a cultivator when forming their Golden Core, it was cold and pure, yet equally terrifying.

Qin Muyue's expression changed slightly, and she abruptly turned her head to look in that direction: "Golden Core? No, it's a Yin Soul breaking through to the Golden Core stage... It's that Yin Soul? How did she do that?"

Li Hanshan did not answer, but looked in the direction of the vortex of yin energy, a sincere smile appearing on his lips.

Xiao An has broken through. The Netherworld Record is indeed a supreme method. In this ancestral land of Yin and Yang, she finally crossed that threshold and achieved the Golden Core level Yin Soul.

From this day forward, he will have another Golden Core warrior by his side.