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

When Yan Gang returned to his residence, he rolled up his sleeves and looked at the blood-red lines on his arm, feeling a sense of relief.

"Senior brother, still the same senior brother from back then."

"I, Yan Gang, have finally reached the Foundation Establishment stage."

The jade pendant at his waist flashed, and a message came through it.

"Junior Brother Yan, has Senior Brother Chen agreed?"

Yan Gang chuckled; it was a message from Zhu Yuehan.

Some smart people can clearly tell that they are stepping on a landmine.

It is a well-known fact in the world of independent cultivators that they do not hold power. If an independent cultivator wants to become a leader, he must first be recognized by the sect.

Before Zhu Yuehan is officially recognized, any power she wields is a challenge to the current rulers.

Some narrow-minded monks might try to ostracize her.

Chen An may not have it, but others will think he does. Just one such signal would be enough to ensure Zhu Yuehan's demise on the battlefield.

Zhu Yuehan was a rogue cultivator who had followed a demon-hunting team to hunt demons and had also fought in other legions, where she had killed countless enemies and achieved many victories, but she had never been able to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Just as she was preparing to use her life force to try to establish her foundation, her good-for-nothing younger brother produced a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Zhu Yuehan wasn't prepared to take a Foundation Establishment Pill for free, because she knew that any resource came at a price. She wanted to become Chen An's Daoist partner, and she felt that she was qualified to be Chen An's Daoist partner.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and Chen An went into seclusion.

Zhu Yuehan couldn't see Chen An at all, so she could only work hard to earn resources and demonstrate her own value so that the leaders of the Demon Wolf Squad would think she was valuable.

Zhu Yuehan worked very hard and was indeed very valuable, but she accidentally stepped into another pitfall. She was too strong and saved many lower-level disciples, which led to the lower-level Qi Refining disciples starting to support her.

After a mission that seemed certain to end her life, Zhu Yuehan sought out Yan Gang, not to assassinate him for revenge, but to lay everything out in the open; she wanted to live.

If Zhu Yuehan didn't have a younger brother, she would have chosen to run away. But her brother, Zhu Fan, is also in the Demon Wolf Squad, and his life is in the hands of the Demon Wolf Squad's higher-ups.

If she ran away, her brother would definitely die; all she could do was compromise.

So Zhu Yuehan sought help from Yan Gang, who acted as a go-between. She wanted to become Chen An's concubine, as this was the only way she could acquire more resources.

Yan Gang casually replied, "No, wait a bit longer."

Zhu Yuehan gritted her teeth upon seeing Yan Gang's response, inwardly wishing him a thousand cuts, but outwardly she had to lower her stance and show her determination.

"Junior Brother Yan, I truly love Senior Brother Chen. If I become Senior Brother Chen's concubine, I'll consider it a favor I owe you."

Upon seeing Zhu Yuehan's reply, Yan Gang was immediately startled and said, "Senior Sister Zhu, don't try to harm me. Senior Brother said to wait a little longer."

"How could I threaten my senior brother's concubine? Don't worry, Senior Sister Zhu."

"If all else fails, since Senior Sister Zhu doesn't trust me, you can have your younger brother go to Senior Brother Chen."

"Fellow Daoist Zhu Fan is also a very important person in the Demon Wolf Battle Group. If Fellow Daoist Zhu Fan speaks up for you on this matter, Senior Brother Chen will definitely give him priority consideration."

Zhu Yuehan tossed the communication jade token onto the table, her eyes flickering, but she did not contact Zhu Fan.

Her younger brother Zhu Fan's personality wasn't suited for this task, and besides, Zhu Yuehan also cared about her reputation; she couldn't just force herself on Chen An, as it wasn't like she was unwanted.

"Ugh, so annoying..."

Inside the quiet room, Chen An also held a jade pendant in his hand. He was chatting with someone hundreds of thousands of miles away. This was a special jade pendant belonging to his master.

They could contact the base of Xuan Yangzong of Jin in Qian State through various transit stations.

Shi Ying is already able to refine mid-grade pills at the mid-stage of the second-tier Foundation Establishment realm.

Two years ago, Lu Nian returned to the sect's base, bringing back a complete guide to alchemy, which he passed on to Shi Ying.

On the battlefield, Lu Nian used his Heaven-Burning Cauldron to single-handedly suppress a well-known peak Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Demonic Path.

Yu Peiyao's aunt, Yu Lanhua, also achieved many victories on the battlefield, but her record against the Netherworld Sect was not particularly eye-catching.

However, she once fought against a prodigy from the Heavenly Demon Sect, one of the three major sects of Jin Kingdom. It was only through the intervention of a Golden Core elder from the Heavenly Demon Sect that the prodigy was spared from disaster.

In short, Yu Lanhua and Lu Nian achieved considerable success on the front lines of the battlefield, but at the same time, almost all of their men were killed or wounded, requiring them to personally withdraw to the base for retraining and replenishment.

Originally, the Demon Wolf Hunting Team had more than 20,000 members, and most of the survivors were in Chen An's team. Now, there are less than 500 left.

Chen An's Demon Wolf Squad has the highest survival rate among all the demon-hunting teams.

Wang Qian's cultivation has broken through to the eleventh level of Qi Refining. She has entered a critical moment of seclusion, and the side effects of the Yin Refining Manual on her body are almost completely eliminated.

The effect of that longevity pill was even better than I had imagined.

As Chen An's status rose, both the Yu family and the Shangguan family sent Foundation Establishment cultivators to help diagnose Wang Qian's problems and offer their own suggestions.

Wang Qian's spiritual practice has officially entered the right track.

Shi Ying said, "Senior brother, I missed you. I'm being very well-behaved now thanks to Sister Qian'er's guidance."

Chen An: "Discipline?"

Shi Ying said, "Yes, Sister Qian'er said that I'm too carefree and easily deceived, so she disciplines me whenever she has time."

"Sister Qian'er said that you used to discipline her often, senior brother."

"But, senior brother, you never disciplined me before. If I could be disciplined, I would definitely be smarter than Sister Qian'er."

Chen An held the jade pendant above his head, carefully recalling his past life with Wang Qian. He didn't seem to have disciplined anyone. The only possibility was that Wang Qian had misunderstood the meaning of "discipline."

Forget it, it doesn't matter.

Anyway, nobody in this world knows what "training" really means.

The literal meaning is correct.

Chen An said, "Focus on refining pills and cultivating diligently. Shi Ying, you little girl, you need to reach Foundation Establishment as soon as possible."

"Your sister Qian'er is almost at the peak of Qi Refining for the second time."

"You'd better hurry up, girl."

"If you want to refine high-grade pills, you need strong divine sense to control them."

Shi Ying replied, "That's what Master Lu said too. I will try my best to catch up with you and Sister Qian'er."

"When the time comes, don't forget about that matter, senior brother."

Chen An asked, "What is it?"

Shi Ying said, "My father said that I am going to be my senior brother's concubine. If my senior brother keeps waiting, I will become an old maid."

"Otherwise, my father won't even get to see me get married before he dies."

Chen An said, "Okay, once you've established your foundation, you'll become my concubine."

Shi Ying said, "Great!"

Chen An then sought out some familiar Foundation Establishment cultivators for casual conversation, inquiring about what was happening at the base and the development trend of the war between the righteous and demonic paths.

until the next day.

Chen An returned the jade pendant to Yu Mochou.

Long-distance communication is a privilege reserved for Golden Core cultivators.

(It's the third update! Please praise the author! I only make ten yuan a day, purely out of love for the work. I'm asking for donations from any passing readers, and I'm also asking for free support. I'm hoping the book reviewer can release the rating soon.)

(The more enthusiastic the readers, the harder the author works! Let's go!)