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

Night fell. In a secluded cave in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, Li Hanshan set up several protective barriers, sat against the wall, and closed his eyes. The pulling force grew clearer and clearer, like a beam of light in the darkness, guiding his consciousness in a certain direction.

He did not resist, allowing his consciousness to be drawn into the depths.

After an unknown amount of time, the familiar sound of flowing water rang in my ears.

Li Hanshan opened his eyes and found himself standing once again by the river in his dream. The river water was crystal clear, the blue stones on the bank were still there, and the distant horizon was shrouded in a thin layer of mist.

But this time, things are different.

He looked down at his hands—not with a vague, indistinct sense of his own existence, but with the lines on his palms clearly visible, and the coolness of the river breeze on his skin. He then looked up and around; the veins of every leaf, the movement of every wisp of mist, were unbelievably clear.

This dream had never felt so real before, so real that it was as if he had actually arrived in another dimension, rather than dreaming.

This change should be related to his breakthrough to the Golden Core stage. The Golden Core level of divine sense greatly enhanced his perception in dreams, but the sense of reality he was experiencing was clearly beyond the scope of enhanced divine sense; it was more like the dream itself was undergoing some kind of transformation.

He recalled Luo Li's words—"This dream of yours is quite mysterious." Perhaps this dream was not an ordinary dream in the first place, but his cultivation level was too low in the past to touch its essence.

Li Hanshan didn't delve into it further. He sat down on the bluestone and waited for Luo Li. While waiting, a thought suddenly popped into his mind.

Since the dreams have become more real, and since he can clearly perceive his own body in the dreams, is it possible to actively prolong the time of the dreams, just like in those movies before time travel?

With this in mind, Li Hanshan decided to give it a try.

He closed his eyes, concentrated his consciousness, and tried to "grasp" the dream. At first, it was ineffective; the dream continued to flow at its original rhythm, and his consciousness, passing through the edge of the dream, sank like a stone into the sea. But after he continuously adjusted the frequency of his consciousness and poured his Golden Core level willpower into it, he suddenly felt a slight loosening—the edge of the dream was no longer an invisible void, but a very faint membrane had appeared, and his consciousness was firmly embedded in that membrane, slowing down its dissolution.

Yes, it's possible.

He continued to urge his divine sense, pouring in even more willpower.

The boundaries of the dream gradually became clearer, and the sense of instability, which felt like it could disappear at any moment, gradually diminished.

Maintaining this state was not easy; his spiritual sense was being consumed at an extremely rapid pace. Fortunately, after breaking through to the Golden Core stage, his spiritual sense was no longer what it used to be, and he could withstand this consumption for the time being.

"uncle!"

A clear, crisp call interrupted his concentration.

Li Hanshan opened his eyes and saw Luo Li emerge from the mist. She was still dressed in white, her bare feet touching the grass, a familiar, radiant smile on her face. She sat down beside him, tilted her head, and studied him for a moment before her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Sir, you've broken through to the Golden Core stage?"

"Hmm." Li Hanshan nodded. "A Celestial-grade Golden Elixir. He just completed his tribulation today."

"A Celestial-grade Golden Core?" Luo Li's smile widened, her eyes filled with excitement. "Grandpa is amazing! A Celestial-grade Golden Core is the best quality among Golden Cores. Ordinary cultivators find it as difficult as ascending to heaven to form an Earth-grade Golden Core, but Grandpa actually formed a Celestial-grade one! If our Yao Guang Sect's leader knew about this, he would definitely be scrambling to take you as his disciple."

"We'll have to find your Yaoguang Sect first," Li Hanshan said with a smile.

The two chatted for a while longer, and Luo Li asked about the details of this breakthrough, which Li Hanshan explained in detail.

When she heard that he had undergone his tribulation alone in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, and had casually killed three third-tier monster beasts after striking the tribulation lightning, Luo Li couldn't help but clap and cheer. When she heard that the little beast had swallowed three third-tier inner cores in one go, she laughed so hard she almost fell over, saying that the little thing's appetite was getting bigger and bigger.

As they were chatting, Luo Li suddenly realized something, looked up and glanced around, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

"Sir, don't you think this dream seems a little different?"

She reached out and touched the bluestone by the river, then looked down at the grass at her feet, her voice tinged with surprise and doubt. "It's so much more real than before. Before, these things felt intangible to the touch, but now they feel substantial. And the boundaries of the dream seem more stable than usual; normally, the dream should have already started to blur by this time."

"It's definitely different now." Li Hanshan recounted his earlier attempt to stabilize the dream. "After breaking through to the Golden Core stage, it seems I can vaguely control this dream. I tried it just now, and I could barely make the dream dissipate a little slower."

"Great, I can spend more time with the old man now."

Luo Li was pleased, and then she took out a roll of animal hide.

"Grandpa, I'm studying formations."

She pointed to the dense array patterns on the animal skin scroll, her tone unusually serious, "Recently, many fragments of ancient arrays have been unearthed in the ancient ruins. These ancient arrays are extremely powerful, but they are too difficult to comprehend. I have been looking at them for several days, but I still haven't completely figured them out."

Li Hanshan looked in the direction she was pointing. The animal skin scroll was covered with a complex array diagram, with several strange runes marked at the array's core. The direction of the array patterns was also completely different from the arrays used in the current cultivation world.

He suddenly remembered that when he was undergoing his tribulation in the Monster Mountain Range, the Four Symbols Locking Spirit Array shattered during the seventh tribulation lightning. Although that array was just an introductory array that Luo Li had taught him, it was normal that it couldn't withstand the tribulation lightning. However, if he had set up a more powerful array in advance, he wouldn't have been in such a sorry state during the tribulation.

"Could you teach me?" he asked. "I know nothing about ancient formations, so I'll start learning from scratch."

"Of course you can."

Luo Li's eyes lit up, and she moved closer to him, spreading the animal skin scroll between them. "Grandpa, look, this rune is pronounced 'Zhen,' and it's the most commonly used basic rune in ancient formations, specifically used to lock the formation's core and prevent its power from leaking out. This one is 'Ju,' used to gather spiritual energy. This one is 'Yu,' used to defend against attacks. These three are the foundation of ancient formations; almost all ancient formations rely on them."

Her fingers traced the runes on the animal skin scroll, patiently explaining as she pointed. When Li Hanshan didn't understand something, she stopped and explained it repeatedly until he nodded in agreement.

The two sat by the river, studying the animal skin scroll for almost half a month. The benefits of a stable dream were obvious; usually, when they met, the dream would shatter after they could only teach each other one or two things. Now, however, they could calm down and systematically learn a complete system of knowledge.

Li Hanshan learned very quickly. This was related to the surge in his spiritual sense after breaking through to the Golden Core stage, and also to Luo Li's excellent teaching. For profound things like formations, without guidance, one could spend ten years studying incomplete texts and still not grasp the basics. But Luo Li always managed to break down complex concepts into simple and easy-to-understand explanations. In just over half a month, he had thoroughly mastered the three basic runes and could even draw several simple formation diagrams on his own.

But this dream couldn't last forever. Just a month later, the surrounding scenery began to blur, the distant mountains and rivers gradually turned into nothingness, and Luo Li's figure also began to fade.

"Grandpa, the dream is coming to an end." Luo Li stood up, her face showing a hint of lingering satisfaction, but even more so, contentment. "See you in my dreams next time."

"Hmm." Li Hanshan opened his eyes.

After exiting the dream, the surroundings were still a dark cave, with the faint howls of monsters echoing from outside.

"Three days have passed, and it seems the dream has lasted ten times longer."

Li Hanshan whispered.

Only three days had passed, but a month had passed in the dream, which means he extended the time in the dream by ten times!

It's ten times now. As your cultivation level increases, can it be extended further?

If that's the case, that would be great. It would mean that Li Hanshan could have more time to communicate and cultivate with the girl in his dreams.

Just imagine, if every month or two he could cultivate with the girl in his dreams for months or even years, wouldn't Li Hanshan have gained so much more time out of thin air?

Although it seems impossible to directly improve one's cultivation level in a dream.

However, it can enhance spiritual awareness and other abilities.

As for cultivation, Li Hanshan has already increased very quickly through the Yang Book and the help of several women; what he lacks is other methods.

Li Hanshan temporarily put the matter of the dream aside.

Over the next few days, he tested the full changes after breaking through to the Golden Core stage in the Monster Beast Mountain Range.

"My current combat strength should be no less than that of a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, and I could even fight against a late-stage Golden Core cultivator."

Standing atop the mountain, Li Hanshan felt the slowly rotating purple-gold elixir in his dantian, and the immense power within his body that was completely different from that of the Foundation Establishment stage.

The spiritual power of a Golden Core cultivator far surpasses that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his is far superior to that of an ordinary Golden Core cultivator.

The same technique, when used by him, becomes at least five times more powerful. If he were to unleash the full power of the Pure Yang Fire and the Flowing Light Sword Technique, even a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator would be unable to escape, and he could even put up a fight in the late stage.

It's important to understand that once you reach the Golden Core stage, the difference between each level is enormous, and Li Hanshan is now, in a sense, invincible among those in the same realm.