The sunlight poured down endlessly from the heavens, continuously surging into Han's body.

  Ordinary cultivators would typically take several days, or even a month, to slowly refine the sun and complete the breakthrough process, eventually achieving the ability to wander in the daylight.

  But for Han, this process was continually shortening, even faster than he had anticipated.

  It was exhilarating, a feeling so intense that it almost felt like flying.

  However, during this process of refining the sun, Han didn't slacken for even a moment, remaining vigilant for the possible appearance of the Sun Demon at any time.

  “Hahaha...”

  A strange, eerie laughter suddenly echoed in Han's ears. The sound seemed to come from everywhere, echoing in every corner of the world.

  Then, it felt as though invisible beings were entering his body.

  It was hot—unbearably hot!

  His soul, once in a warm state, suddenly soared in temperature, and the space around him began to burn with heat, distorting in the process.

  His soul was boiling, and the air around him seemed to bubble as though he were submerged in an oil vat.

  Intense pain surged through every corner of his body, as though he were being roasted on an open flame, thrown into a furnace for refining.

  What was even more terrifying was that flames shot out from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, his soul exhaling hot steam.

  Han even felt as though his soul might soon be squeezed out like oil.

  This was a torment on the soul. Han's heart grew restless, as all kinds of desires surged forth, disrupting his calm and making it impossible for him to focus on his cultivation. It felt like he was about to explode.

  Among these desires, one was especially dominant.

  The Sun Demon, born from the power of the sun, was the essence of yang.

  In this moment, it was clear which desire would be the strongest.

  Han began chanting the Golden Light Incantation and other spells to suppress the demon.

  He opened his eyes and looked toward Lu Qingmo, only to freeze for a moment.

  The purple-clad figure, tightly wrapped by the hot wind, had an enchanting figure, with curves that were breathtakingly alluring and an impossibly perfect silhouette, which immediately caused his desires to surge even further.

  His eyes were now gleaming, almost with an "eat someone" intensity, and his face flushed unnaturally.

  Han silently cursed: I’ve been ruined by both beauty and the demon, how did I end up in this state? This is embarrassing.

  From now on, I’ll have nothing to do with demons!

  Han shook his head gently at Lu Qingmo, signaling her not to act.

  The Sun Demon was vicious, and the intense power of the sun could trigger one’s own yang. If Lu Qingmo got too close, it might backfire.

  Although Han had always wanted to have a deeper conversation with Aunt Mo, he wasn’t the kind of person who would take advantage of an opportunity like this.

  The last two times were unexpected; there was no choice.

  The small Golden Light Incantation was indeed powerful. With Han’s current strength, it directly suppressed the Sun Demon.

  The golden light shone brilliantly—bright yet not hot—and suppressed the Sun Demon’s fiery domain. The demon seemed to wail in agony, unable to resist the assault of the Golden Light Incantation.

  At this moment, the space around Han shifted again, and the Yuan Qi Demon and the Moon Demon arrived.

  With Han’s increasing strength, the two demons’ power also grew.

  Demons had a notorious reputation even among high-level cultivators. Naturally, they were not limited to only the Out-of-Body or Night-Wandering levels.

  With three demons residing inside Han’s body, they began to interact with each other, even showing signs of fusing into one.

  To be honest, Han was somewhat curious. He wondered what kind of new demon would emerge if the three—Sun, Moon, and Yuan Qi—merged into one.

  But Han would never indulge his curiosity and give the demons a chance to merge and grow stronger.

  The Moon God Mark faintly glowed, and the Moon Demon immediately turned on the others, while the Yuan Qi Demon remained oblivious to the situation, still attempting to attack Han.

  But what was the Yuan Qi Demon? Did it have the ability to do anything?

  Of course not.

  What was strange, though, was that the Moon God Mark, while not able to concentrate the sun's power or force the Sun Demon into submission, shone brighter than usual in the face of the Sun Demon’s rampage.

  An even more overwhelming power surged forth as though the Moon God Mark was angry.

  A mere Sun Demon dared to cause trouble?

  It immediately suppressed the Sun Demon.

  A cool and tranquil feeling emanated from the Moon God Mark on Han's forehead, spreading throughout his body, quelling the intense heat and desires brought on by the Sun Demon.

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  As the power of the Moon God Mark continued to grow, the Sun Demon was completely subdued, unable to resist. It could only submit as Han used the Golden Light Incantation to extract the essence of the sun.

  Han gained a sudden insight into the situation.

  Although the Moon and Sun were different, in a certain sense, they were connected.

  It was perfectly normal—and not difficult at all—for a mark from the Moon God to suppress a being that was an offshoot of the sun.

  This was a fundamental difference, a crushing gap in status.

  The Moon Demon turned traitor, the Sun Demon was subdued, and the only remaining trouble came from the Yuan Qi Demon.

  But this one demon was no match for Han.

  The calamity caused by the three demons was easily resolved.

  Han breathed a sigh of relief. Even without the Moon God Mark’s sudden burst of power, he was confident he could handle the Sun Demon and Yuan Qi Demon, especially with his secret trump card yet to be used.

  But now, it was even better that the problem was solved so easily.

  Demons, demons, why bother provoking me for no reason?

  Nearby, Lu Qingmo, who had been standing by and ready to assist, also relaxed.

  It was best if Han could solve the problem on his own. If she had to step in, she really didn’t know how to deal with Han’s earlier gaze.

  Han’s cultivation was far from over. As long as the three demons remained, they would keep coming from the void, entering his body to add to the feast.

  Ah, it must be so satisfying for cultivators to encounter demons.

  In the Moon God’s core space, deep within the Moon, the Moon God frowned before relaxing.

  “Annoying sun…”

  After reaching the peak of his cultivation, Han no longer absorbed sunlight.

  “I’ve made it!”

  Han said to Lu Qingmo.

  “Indeed, you’ve made it.” Lu Qingmo nodded, examining Han’s state.

  “The sun's power you’ve refined this time is substantial. One or two more sessions, and your soul will fully transform, truly advancing to the level of Sun Walking.”

  “Your soul’s endurance is impressive, and your recovery is swift. You should break through today.”

  Han’s heart surged with excitement. His soul had already undergone some transformation, and he could feel a massive change.

  He visited the martial arts hall, finished his training for the day, and then returned to the peach forest.

  With renewed determination, today would be the day he broke through completely!

  The temperature in the peach forest had risen significantly by that evening.

  However, with the presence of certain Taoist techniques, no one outside would notice.

  At one moment, the sunlight here became intensely bright.

  Han’s soul trembled as his power peaked, momentarily halting, then surpassing that peak!

  “Huff!”

  A hot wave of air spread out, bending the peach trees.

  The light dimmed, but Han’s soul began to resemble a real body, glowing with a bright radiance.

  Around the edges of his soul, faint glimmers of sunlight also began to emerge.

  This marked Han's breakthrough, firmly establishing him in the Day-Travel Realm.

  At this moment, Han's soul exuded a sense of grandeur, no longer resembling a mere shadowy entity—at least, that’s how it appeared on the surface.

  Feeling the immense surge of power and the essence of his transformation, Han couldn't help but feel a desire to laugh out loud.

  He felt invincible—he could wield a Taoist technique, but then again, maybe not.

  "From your expression, it seems you've experienced quite a significant improvement," remarked Lu Qingmo.

  "It’s not just significant; it’s enormous," Han replied with a grin.

  The Day-Travel Realm truly marked a qualitative shift—he had really changed.

  To be precise, ever since entering the Day-Travel Realm, the increase in power with each soul realm advancement had been tremendous.

  What had once felt distant, almost impossible, for martial artists, was now catching up, closing the gap, and even surpassing them.

  Without explosive, leap-forward growth at each level, how could one possibly match or outpace martial artists whose strength grew exponentially with each breakthrough?

  That’s why Han’s previous soul opponents had been shocked when they realized he could fight beyond his realm, jumping from Night-Travel to Day-Travel.

  Such a feat was far rarer than any martial arts advancement.

  "With your soul foundation, you have few rivals among the Day-Travel cultivators across several nearby counties," Lu Qingmo said with a smile.

  "Even within the County Ghost-Imperial Division, with your strength, you could likely vie for the position of Deputy Governor."

  In the County Ghost-Imperial Division, the position of Deputy Governor usually corresponded to the Day-Travel Realm.

  Han shook his head with a smile. "I prefer the freedom of being a Ghost-Imperial Wanderer."

  "Speaking of which," Lu Qingmo continued, "you can now be promoted."

  "Your accumulated work in the Ghost-Imperial Division, plus your discovery of the Soul Demon’s divided soul in Yinhua County—this is no small achievement."

  "Not to mention your disruption of the Impermanent Yama Domain and the killing of two Impermanent Hall cultivators—this is a great contribution."

  "All these accomplishments combined, you’ve earned a promotion to a higher position. You could be promoted to a Seventh-Rank Ghost-Imperial Wanderer."

  In this world, a county governor or a head of the two divisions was a Seventh-Rank official.

  If Han were promoted, he would be on equal footing with them. With the unique nature of the Ghost-Imperial Wanderer position, his status would actually be higher than that of the county governor or the head of the county.

  In other counties, it would be hard to say who’s truly in charge.

  "I’ll report my promotion to the Provincial Ghost-Imperial Division soon. There shouldn’t be any obstacles," Han said.

  "You can directly contact the Provincial Ghost-Imperial Division?" he asked.

  "I can contact the Xuan Du Sect directly," Lu Qingmo answered.

  "Thanks for that," Han said, appreciative.

  After his promotion, his salary would naturally increase, and Han was more than happy about that.

  The salary for a Ghost-Imperial Wanderer was always generous—while not enough to make one incredibly wealthy, it ensured that one wouldn’t face financial troubles.

  Of course, if he needed something especially rare or expensive, that would be another matter.

  As the sun set and the moon rose, Han continued familiarizing himself with the power of the Day-Travel Realm.

  He soon realized an issue: with the Day-Travel Realm, most of the Taoist techniques in his possession, like the Illusion Dream Technique or the Vital Barrier, had become obsolete.

  The Vital Barrier, for instance, had been dropped by Tree Brother.

  At the time, Han’s realm was still low, and it wasn’t a reward from any special bonus period. Based on Tree Brother's characteristics, even the drops had their limits.

  Now, Han had reached a point where many combat-oriented Taoist techniques and martial arts were no longer effective.

  Auxiliary Taoist techniques like the Undressing Curse had no such issue—because they were simply unnecessary anymore.

  And then there were Divine Curses. Divine Curses were entirely dependent on the individual’s cultivation—mastery brought great power, but poor practice rendered them almost useless.

  With their extremely high potential, but a very low floor, mastering Divine Curses was incredibly difficult—few could truly achieve the highest level.

  It was no surprise that Tree Brother frequently dropped such items. Though their potential was high, if one couldn't cultivate them, that potential was meaningless.

  Unlike the Hao Ran Great Palm or similar Taoist arts, which had a high floor and a similarly high ceiling, the Divine Curses were very different.

  For someone like Han, with a strong foundation, higher-level Taoist techniques were the key to unlocking his true potential.

  In terms of combat, techniques like the Earth Fire Seal and Golden Light Curse would remain useful for the long term. However, Han still felt that his Taoist techniques lacked diversity.

  Had he come from a major sect, with his natural talent, they would have delivered techniques more suited to him.

  Unfortunately, he was just a wild boy from the mountains.

  As for the three now-dead Impermanent Hall cultivators, Han hadn't gained much from them.

  They had come to assassinate Zuo Tianzheng and were only souls in motion, lightly equipped, with only the necessary battle treasures.

  Their mission demanded a one-hit kill—no retreat, no second chance. Whoever was foolish enough to bring Taoist manuals wasn't there to offer treasures.

  The second volume of the Hao Ran Great Palm, a supreme Taoist technique.

  Han set a new goal in his heart.

  That night, after his breakthrough, the Voice Snail suddenly rang.

  "Wait a minute," he thought. "How am I still receiving 'calls' in the middle of the night after all this time in this world?"