Immortality and cultivation begin at age forty, starting with Foundation Establishment.

It is difficult for independent practitioners in the spiritual cultivation world.

Even cultivators without a powerful background within a sect face significant challenges.

Vice Captain Yan Gang wasn't cowardly; he was acting from the heart. He had personally witnessed a senior brother at the peak of Qi Refining offend a useless Qi Refining cultivator from a Golden Core family. As a result, his heart and eyes were ripped out, his bones were turned into a puppet, and his primordial spirit was refined into an oil lamp.

That senior brother was in a terrible state back then, yet he didn't cause a single disturbance in the sect.

His death served as a wake-up call for cultivators without a powerful background within their sects.

People who court death really will die.

Moreover, Yu Peiyao's elders were in the group.

Yan Gang had no reason not to back down. Even if he succeeded in establishing his foundation in the future and became Yu Peiyao's senior brother, he would still have to show respect to Yu Peiyao as she was now.

Yu Peiyao and Chen An are collaborators.

Ordinary cultivators at the bottom might not know who Chen An is, but Yan Gang, as the person chosen by Chen An as the deputy captain, certainly does.

Chen An was a fierce person even during the Qi Refining stage.

Everyone in the Hundred Refinement Peak lineage knows that following Wang Rulong on missions earns a lot of spirit stones, but the missions are extremely dangerous, and many powerful disciples have died while following Wang Rulong on missions.

Chen An is unique; when he and Wang Rulong go on missions, he is fine, but Wang Rulong might be seriously injured.

Yan Gang knew that Chen An was a man destined for great things, and that working with Chen An on missions would surely make him a lot of money.

The fact that Chen Aneng and Yu Peiyao are collaborating shows that Yu Peiyao must have something unique about her.

If Yan Gang really treated her as an ordinary Qi Refining disciple, that would be truly foolish.

Along the way, Yan Gang reported to Yu Peiyao on the specific arrangements of the trip, the various plans for the demon-hunting operation, including the intelligence gathering on Ye Hongyi in Qingyang Market.

Yu Peiyao's mood gradually calmed down, and her initial embarrassment and anger faded.

The airship stopped after traveling two thousand miles into the deepest part of the world.

Chen An casually put away the flying boat.

Vice Captain Liu Feng led his disciples to begin the guard duty, while simultaneously flying high into the sky on their swords to find a suitable location for a stronghold.

Zhu Zizai then led a group of people to explore the surrounding mountains and forests.

Chen An, Lu Nian, and Yu Lanhua, three Foundation Establishment cultivators, moved in three different directions, releasing their divine senses to explore and eliminate some ordinary demonic beasts along the way.

This demon hunt will be a long process, possibly lasting half a month, or even several months. If the harvest is particularly good, a transit station will be established here to recruit more disciples for long-term, continuous demon hunts.

With a proper management system in place, the monster-hunting operation can continue in an orderly manner even after Chen An leaves the Monster Mountain Range.

The existence of the flying boat means that only one Foundation Establishment cultivator is needed to carry people between the Monster Mountain Range and Qingyang Market.

There are many demon-hunting teams stationed year-round in the Demon Beast Mountain Range. While these teams take risks, they also reap great rewards.

Some even successfully exchanged a large amount of monster resources for Foundation Establishment Pills, setting an example for others and attracting more people to the Monster Mountain Range.

After the base was established.

Yan Gang came to Chen An's side and reported on Yu Peiyao's situation. Yan Gang guaranteed with his own life that Yu Peiyao would be in no danger during the demon-hunting operation.

Opportunity always favors the prepared mind.

Yan Gang is someone who knows how to seize opportunities.

Yu Peiyao's appearance made him feel both danger and opportunity.

Among the original members of the demon-hunting team were Liu Hao and Wang Rulong. After Chen An met the two, they both went into seclusion to attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Why did they dare to go into seclusion? It could only be because they obtained an opportunity from Chen An.

After Yan Gang confirmed Yu Peiyao's identity with Chen An, he vaguely felt that Yu Peiyao also had a similar destiny.

Whether it was a Foundation Establishment Pill or something else, Yan Gang didn't know.

But this did not stop Yan Gang from trying to please Yu Peiyao.

If Yu Peiyao is weak, then arrange for her to have some strong teammates to protect her secretly.

Yan Gang himself was not the strongest in the team. He was able to take the position of vice captain only because he was closer to Chen An and happened to know a lot about hunting demons.

The Monster Mountain Range is rich in monsters and spiritual herbs.

Yan Gang only needs to get others to take more risks in order to capture rare monsters or collect rare medicinal herbs.

Yan Gang believes that once Yu Peiyao has achieved something, he will see her potential.

Perhaps the next person to go into seclusion to build a foundation will be Yan Gang.

The monster hunt begins.

Some members of the demon-hunting team dispersed according to the arrangements of their respective vice-captains.

Chen An was seated in the center.

Lu Nian and Yu Lanhua, looking excited, each joined a team of veteran members to continue their exploration deeper into the Monster Mountain Range.

As for danger? I believe Lu Nian and Yu Lanhua are both smart people, and they won't actually go to dangerous areas.

The veteran demon hunter Zhou Wen, having exhausted too much energy with his lofty ambitions along the way, did not join the first group of demon hunters.

Zhou Wen was getting old, and his body was no longer as robust as it had been in his youth.

Zhou Wen came to see Chen An with something on his mind.

"Greetings, Uncle-Master Chen." Zhou Wen bowed respectfully. In the cultivation world, age doesn't mean much. Except for cultivators from the same clan, everyone follows the principle of cultivation above all else.

When Chen An saw Zhou Wen arrive, he quickly invited him to sit down and talk.

Zhou Wen asked, "When we left the market, some people in the group inquired about Ye Hongyi. What happened?"

"This Fellow Daoist Ye is a junior of my friend. If he has offended me in any way, I am willing to mediate between us."

Chen An was somewhat surprised that Ye Hongyi's ancestors had a past connection with the disciples of the Xuan Yang Sect. Logically speaking, given Ye Hongyi's situation, she should have joined the Xuan Yang Sect, so how could she have ended up as a rogue cultivator?

"Senior Brother Zhou, don't worry. Fellow Daoist Ye has now successfully established her foundation. She and I were old acquaintances. She was only asking for information because Fellow Daoist Ye wanted to join the demon-hunting team. We were just being cautious and had no ill intentions."

Zhou Wen was taken aback, and said in a trembling voice, "That girl in red has reached the Foundation Establishment stage."

Chen An nodded and said, "Fellow Daoist Ye is quite capable. He discovered Fellow Daoist Yu's hiding place at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Senior Brother Zhou can rest assured."

Zhou Wen nodded and cupped his hands, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Chen. That girl was very precious to her family when she was young, and I only saw her once from afar."

"Years ago, the Ye family members all perished while hunting demons, leaving Ye girl all alone and destitute, wandering among the ranks of rogue cultivators."

"It's a pity that I wasn't able to bring her into the sect when she was young."

Zhou Wen is old and a little confused. When he starts talking, he goes on and on about his own affairs and the Ye family's affairs.

He expressed his satisfaction that his old friend's descendant was able to achieve the Foundation Establishment stage.

With nothing else to do, Chen An sat down and listened.

Most people in the Qi Refining stage who have no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage will stop cultivating and use their cultivation resources to enjoy life or work hard to complete tasks to leave a legacy for their descendants.

Zhou Wen was special. He did not enjoy life, nor did he prepare resources for his descendants. He gambled all his resources on himself.

He thought that by desperately hunting demons and completing quests, he could hope to achieve Foundation Establishment.

Unfortunately not.

Just like the Blood Refining Scripture, some techniques and secret arts for breaking through realms can damage the body.

Qi-refining cultivators, especially those with longevity, can live for over 150 years.

Zhou Wen, who was over 120 years old, began to show signs of aging similar to that of an ordinary person, and his condition was clearly abnormal.

When Chen An, who had been listening in, was getting a little annoyed.

Zhou Wen took out a black stone from his storage bag.

"In my early years, I found a black stone that emitted pure spiritual energy, and that's when I began my cultivation journey."

"Beside the black stone is a stele that records that the black stone is in two halves, one half yin and the other half yang. The combination of yin and yang opens the gate to the cave."

"I thought I was destined to be the chosen one. With this black stone, I would be invincible and become a great cultivator."

"But unfortunately, I am a cultivator with five spiritual roots. I joined the Xuan Yang Sect by virtue of my Ascension Token."

"I participated in the Trial Grounds twice and obtained three Foundation Establishment Pills."

"I became a peak Qi Refining cultivator thanks to the Black Stone, but unfortunately I really couldn't establish my foundation with three Foundation Establishment Pills."

"I've used up all my resources."

As Zhou Wen spoke, he burst into tears. He regretted not going to the mortal world to enjoy life, and he regretted not giving the Foundation Establishment Pill to his friend.

He regretted not having entered the demonic path and slaughtered living beings in the mortal world.