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

The Blood Fiend Sect's mountain gate stands majestically amidst the mountains.

It was a colossal peak, entirely crimson, its summit perpetually shrouded in blood-red clouds, resembling a crimson sword piercing the sky from afar. Around the mountain gate, nine crimson waterfalls cascaded down from the peak. The water in these waterfalls was not real water, but rather formed from an extremely dense concentration of bloodthirsty energy, plunging from a thousand-foot-high cliff with a deafening roar.

The Blood Fiend Sect's protective formation is the Blood Fiend Heavenly Net Formation, resembling an inverted, blood-red giant bowl that completely envelops the entire mountain. Dense, blood-red runes flow across the formation's walls, each rune slowly writhing as if alive. Occasionally, a few birds crash into the formation's walls, instantly being corroded into a cloud of blood mist by the blood-fiend energy, leaving not a single feather behind.

The allied forces' hundreds of flying ships stopped thirty miles away from the Blood Fiend Sect's mountain gate, hovering in mid-air like a dark cloud.

The Hehuan Sect Master flew out of the flagship, her black dress fluttering and her face veiled. The Heavenly Demon Sect Master followed closely behind; he was a burly middle-aged man with a resolute face, his body surging with dark demonic energy. Behind him were six Nascent Soul cultivators: the Hehuan Sect's First Elder and Second Elder, and two Nascent Soul elders from the Heavenly Demon Sect.

The six Nascent Soul cultivators stood in a row, their auras spreading out overwhelmingly, tearing the clouds within a hundred miles to shreds, and filling the air with a suffocating pressure.

"Let's do it."

At the command of the Hehuan Sect Master, six earth-shattering attacks simultaneously slammed into the Blood Fiend Heavenly Net Formation.

The sect leader of the Hehuan Sect raised his hand and unleashed a black palm print. The palm print swelled in the wind and grew to a hundred feet in size in the blink of an eye, slamming into the array wall with an aura of destruction.

The sect leader of the Heavenly Demon Sect then summoned a long, jet-black sword. With a single slash, the world lost its color, and a black blade of light pierced the sky, striking the spot next to the palm print.

The First Elder's cyan sword light was as sharp as lightning, the Second Elder's crimson palm print was as violent as fire, and the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Heavenly Demon Sect also used various methods, spells, magic weapons, and supernatural powers. The six attacks landed on the array wall almost at the same moment.

Rumble!

The entire Blood Fiend Peak trembled violently, rocks collapsed, and the crimson waterfall flowed backward. The walls of the Blood Fiend Heavenly Net Formation erupted with blinding crimson light, countless runes flashing wildly, blocking all nine attacks. After a brief, violent tremor, the formation returned to calm, without even a crack remaining.

The sect leader of the Hehuan Sect frowned.

"This formation is as sturdy as a tortoise shell."

The Heavenly Demon Sect Master's face was grim as he said in a deep voice, "The Blood Fiend Sect has been established for over a thousand years, and successive sect masters have been reinforcing this great formation. A direct assault would likely be difficult to break through."

"Then we'll keep attacking until it's broken."

The sect leader of the Hehuan Sect raised his hand again, and a second black palm print slammed down.

Six Nascent Soul cultivators took turns attacking without stopping. Their spells poured down on the array walls like a torrential rain, each impact causing the entire mountain to tremble. However, the Blood Fiend Heavenly Net Array remained as solid as an impregnable fortress, its runes flashing incessantly despite the relentless bombardment from the outside.

One hour.

Two hours.

one day.

Two days.

Three days.

The nine Nascent Soul cultivators had expended a great deal of spiritual energy and had to take turns attacking to allow time for recovery. However, the Blood Fiend Heavenly Net Formation remained completely unmoved, and even the blood color on the formation walls did not fade in the slightest.

"This can't go on." The Heavenly Demon Sect Master sheathed his sword, his face ashen. "Our combined spiritual power is limited, but this great formation is connected to the underground spiritual veins, providing a continuous supply of spiritual power. If we keep pushing forward, we'll be the first to give out."

The sect leader of the Hehuan Sect remained silent, his gaze fixed on the blood-red giant peak.

"All disciples, heed my command!" The Third Elder's voice boomed from the flagship. "Attack the formation!"

The array patterns on hundreds of flying boats lit up simultaneously, and tens of thousands of disciples attacked in unison. Spells, sword energy, and arrows—countless attacks poured down on the Blood Fiend Heavenly Net Array like a torrential rain.

Fireballs, ice blades, lightning, and wind blades—multicolored lights exploded on the array walls, illuminating the entire mountain as if it were daytime. The attacks of the Foundation Establishment disciples were like tickling a Nascent Soul-level protective array, but the simultaneous attacks of tens of thousands of disciples caused a qualitative change, and the runes on the array walls began to flash intensely, even more frequently than before.

Standing on the flying boat, Li Hanshan condensed pure yang fire in his palm, transforming it into a fist-sized fireball, which he then blasted towards the array wall.

boom!

The fireballs exploded against the array wall, the purplish-gold flames clashing violently with the crimson runes, producing a muffled boom. The runes on the array wall flickered a few times before returning to stillness.

"The effect is not significant."

Li Hanshan frowned. Although his pure yang fire could restrain the yin energy, the Blood Fiend Heavenly Net Formation was made of blood energy, which was of the same origin but different nature from the yin energy, so the restraining effect of the pure yang fire was greatly reduced.

Hua Nongying stood beside him, her pipe long since put away, replaced by a red flying sword. Her face was somewhat pale; three consecutive days of attacks had significantly depleted her spiritual energy.

"Han Lang, this formation is too formidable. How long are we going to fight like this?"

Li Hanshan shook his head and remained silent. His gaze fell upon Blood Fiend Peak in the distance, a vague sense of unease creeping into his heart. The Blood Fiend Sect, fully aware of the allied forces' attack, had relied solely on its defensive formation, offering no semblance of a counterattack. This was not normal.

Unless, they're waiting for something.

tenth day.

The frequency and power of the attacks from the several Nascent Soul cultivators were significantly reduced. Furthermore, the tens of thousands of disciples were severely depleted of their spiritual energy.

The Blood Fiend Heavenly Net Formation remained as stable as a rock.

Just then, the Hehuan Sect Master's expression suddenly changed, and he took out a communication jade talisman from his sleeve. The talisman was glowing intensely, and an urgent voice came from it: "Sect Master, something terrible has happened! The Yinming Sect has launched a surprise attack on our sect's gate!"

The sect leader's pupils contracted sharply.

Almost simultaneously, the Heavenly Demon Sect Master also received the message. His expression was even more unpleasant than that of the Joyful Union Sect Master, and he nearly crushed the communication jade talisman in his hand.

"The Yinming Sect has launched a sneak attack on our sect's gate!"

The two voices rang out almost simultaneously, and the atmosphere in the tent instantly plummeted to freezing point.

"Damn it!" The Heavenly Demon Sect Master slammed his fist on the table in front of him, shattering it. He gritted his teeth. "We've mobilized all our forces, leaving our rear vulnerable. The Yinming Sect is trying to cut off our supply lines!"

The sect leader of the Hehuan Sect remained silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Withdraw the troops? If we withdraw now, all our previous efforts will be in vain. If we don't withdraw, our rear will be insecure."

The Grand Elder stood up, his aged face filled with solemnity: "Sect Master, since the Yinming Sect dared to launch a sneak attack on our sect's gate, they must have come prepared. If we do not send reinforcements, I'm afraid we will not be able to defend our gate."

The Second Elder nodded in agreement: "The First Elder is right. Our sect is our foundation, and we cannot afford to lose it."

The Third Elder sneered, "Return to reinforce? We've attacked for ten days and still haven't been able to break through the Blood Fiend Sect's formation. If we retreat now, wouldn't we just be making a fool of ourselves in front of the Blood Fiend Sect?"

"Then what do you suggest we do?" The elder looked at him coldly.

The Third Elder opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a complete sentence. He knew the importance of the mountain gate, of course, but he was unwilling to withdraw his troops just like that.

A stalemate has been reached in the tent.

Just then, a Nascent Soul elder from the Heavenly Demon Sect suddenly spoke up: "I have a plan."

All eyes were on him.

The elder pointed to the map on the table and slowly said, "The Blood Fiend Heavenly Net Formation is so sturdy because it is connected to the earth's spiritual veins. The earth's spiritual veins provide the formation with a continuous source of spiritual power. As long as the spiritual veins remain unbroken, it will be very difficult for us to break the formation."

He paused, then drew a circle on the map with his finger: "But the earth's spiritual veins are not unbreakable. The Blood Fiend Sect has three main earth spiritual veins, converging from the east, west, and north directions to the area below the mountain gate. If two of them can be severed, the defensive power of the great formation will be greatly weakened. If all three can be severed, the great formation will collapse on its own once their stored spirit stones are exhausted."

The Grand Elder frowned: "Severing the earth's spiritual veins? That's easier said than done. The earth's spiritual veins are hidden deep underground and protected by the Blood Fiend Sect; it's difficult to even get close to them."

The elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect shook his head: "There's no need to approach the spiritual vein itself. Every earth spiritual vein has a 'qi hole' on the ground, which is the node where the spiritual energy of the vein leaks out. As long as the qi hole is destroyed, the spiritual vein will be temporarily interrupted. It will take the Blood Fiend Sect at least several months to repair it."

The Hehuan Sect Master's eyes flashed: "Where is the Qi Acupoint?" The Heavenly Demon Sect Elder pointed to three areas on the map and slowly said: "According to our sect's intelligence, the Blood Fiend Sect's earth spiritual veins have three main veins, converging from the east, west, and north directions to the area below the mountain gate. Each main vein has a 'Qi Acupoint' on the ground, which is the node where the spiritual energy of the vein leaks out. As long as the Qi Acupoint is destroyed, the spiritual vein will be temporarily interrupted."

He paused, then drew three circles on the map with his finger: "But the Blood Fiend Sect has kept the exact location of the Qi Acupoints extremely well hidden. Currently, we only know that they are roughly located in these three areas, each spanning a thousand miles. To pinpoint their exact location, we need to send people to search for them."

The Grand Elder frowned: "A thousand miles in radius? How can we find such a large area? Moreover, the Blood Fiend Sect and the Yinming Sect will definitely send people to guard these energy points. Once our people get close, we will probably encounter them."

The elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect said in a deep voice, "Therefore, we can only send out small teams to search separately. Our sect will also send three teams to accompany your sect to these three areas."

The sect leader of the Hehuan Sect remained silent for a moment, then raised his head and swept his gaze over the people in the tent.

"Pass down the order: each peak and hall will select its elite forces to form three teams, which will head to the east, west, and north regions. Each team will be led by a Golden Core cultivator and will consist of no more than ten people."

She paused, her gaze falling on Li Hanshan: "Li Hanshan, you lead a team to the northern region."

Li Hanshan clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Disciple obeys."

The sect leader of the Hehuan Sect then looked at the three quasi-saintesses: "Qin Muyue, Leng Yue, and Chu Mengyao, the three of you form a team."

"Yes," the three replied in unison.

On the side of the Quasi-Holy Sons, Song Qingyun and Ouyang Ming were also assigned together. The Third Elder was left in the allied forces camp to direct the feint attack from the front and distract the Blood Fiend Sect.

"Remember," the Hehuan Sect Master's voice grew more serious, "This journey is perilous. The Blood Fiend Sect and the Yinming Sect will undoubtedly have deployed heavy forces around the Qi Cave. Your primary task is to locate the Qi Cave, and if you find an opportunity, destroy it. If it becomes impossible, retreat immediately and do not linger in battle."

"yes!"

The people in the tent responded in unison.