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

Chen An's first stop in his search was Liu Hao.

He is the disciple of Hundred Refinements Peak who has the best chance of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage in recent years.

His reputation was even higher than that of Chen An and Wang Rulong, who were at the Qi Refining stage.

In the eyes of other disciples, Liu Hao is a role model for Qi Refining disciples and the direction that all disciples strive for.

Winning over Liu Hao means winning over many other people.

Liu Hao has helped many people. Most of the Qi Refining disciples of the Hundred Refining Peak lineage will come into contact with Liu Hao to some extent when choosing sect missions.

Because Liu Hao had farmed in the sect for more than 20 years and was a well-known master of spiritual plants in the eyes of the disciples, he only began to train outside the sect in the last ten years or so.

Many disciples were able to cultivate spirit fields and earn spirit stones better because of Liu Hao's teaching, and many disciples were grateful to Liu Hao for his kindness.

In his early years, Chen An also cultivated spiritual fields as a transitional period in his cultivation.

"Uncle-Master Chen, you're saying the sect war is about to begin?"

After listening to Chen An's account, Liu Hao became restless.

Chen An cited the changes within the sect as evidence:

"Senior Brother Liu has been in the sect long enough, he should be aware of the changes in the sect over the past ten years."

"With the three seniors reaching the Golden Core Realm, the number of tasks in the sect's mission hall has doubled, and the number of people in the trial grounds last time was several times more than in previous years."

"The frequency of recruiting disciples is increasing, while the restrictions are decreasing."

"Finally, Senior Brother Liu, haven't you noticed that there are more and more disciples in the sect stuck at the peak of Qi Refining?"

Liu Hao seemed to understand something, then said softly, "So that's how it is. I should have realized it sooner. I've been in the sect for over forty years, and I was so slow to react. I really thought it was the sect's golden age."

"Someone warned me before, but I misunderstood."

Chen An asked in a deep voice, "So, Senior Brother Liu, are you willing to gamble, to take one more Foundation Establishment Pill and risk your future?"

Liu Hao nodded with a wry smile and said, "Uncle-Master Chen, you are smarter than me and Junior Brother Wang Rulong. From now on, please don't mention the title of 'Senior Brother' again."

"If you don't like calling me 'junior brother,' just call me 'junior brother.'"

Chen An cupped his hands and said, "Good, Junior Brother Liu is very generous."

Liu Hao also cupped his hands and said, "Junior brother, I have overstepped my bounds here. Thank you, Senior Brother Chen, for informing me of this matter and for generously bestowing this opportunity upon me. Even if there are no contracts or oaths to bind us ten years from now, I, Liu, will still not forget your kindness today."

Chen An said, "It won't be long before Junior Brother Liu enters the Foundation Establishment stage. At that time, you and I will be true fellow disciples."

Liu Hao said, "Don't worry, senior brother. If I fail, I will fight for you to the death in the future."

After Chen An left.

Liu Hao clutched the contract and the Foundation Establishment Pill in his hand, his eyes slightly complicated.

When he first embarked on his cultivation journey, he found it all quite amazing. As a mortal with little experience, he thought that being able to live for over a hundred years during the Qi Refining stage was enough, and there was no need to spend years sitting in the mountains cultivating.

He never imagined that one day he would be able to reach the Foundation Establishment realm; otherwise, he wouldn't have wasted more than twenty years on the task of cultivating spiritual fields.

More than a decade ago, Liu Hao may have gotten tired of cultivating spiritual fields, so he stepped out of his comfort zone and embarked on his own cultivation journey.

Having witnessed countless injustices, he developed a burning passion within him, and the number of people he killed gradually increased. He discovered that the villains in the cultivation world were almost endless.

Until one day, he met Wang Rulong, who was also a disciple of Hundred Refinements Peak.

Wang Rulong is a real madman.

He always takes on extremely dangerous missions, and while the missions are not guaranteed to succeed, he always manages to come back alive.

After teaming up with Wang Rulong a few times, Liu Hao gave up. He couldn't run as fast as Wang Rulong, and if he continued to team up with him, he would definitely die.

Later, Liu Hao saw Chen An and Wang Rulong team up. Even though Chen An's cultivation level was slightly lower, Chen An ran faster than Wang Rulong.

Chen An's second stop was Wang Rulong.

The conversation started the same way as Liu Hao's.

Upon hearing about the war, Wang Rulong was not surprised, but he had some vague guesses.

However, he realized it a little too late.

If it were before entering the Trial Grounds, he could try to seize more herbs and obtain more Foundation Establishment Pills.

It's getting late.

One Foundation Establishment Pill is not enough for Wang Rulong to immediately enter the Foundation Establishment realm.

Two Foundation Establishment Pills were barely enough to give them a chance.

"Senior Brother Chen went to see Liu Hao, right? How did he make his choice?" Wang Rulong asked.

"Junior Brother Liu took the Foundation Establishment Pill." Chen An told him the truth. Liu Hao's realm was more stable than Wang Rulong's, and his chances of breaking through were also greater. This was why Wang Rulong hesitated even though he knew that war would break out.

It's not that Wang Rulong is weaker than Liu Hao, but Wang Rulong has been fighting for many years, and his hidden ailments need time to heal. Given time, he will definitely be able to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, there wasn't enough time.

Wang Rulong only has his own Foundation Establishment Pill, so he must not break through before the war breaks out.

After much consideration.

Wang Rulong said seriously, "Senior Brother Chen, I want to give it a try. If I don't break through, I will die. I won't leave myself a way out."

The third person is Zheng Ping, a name that Chen An and Wang Qian searched through the list for a long time before finding.

Zheng Ping is special; the cultivation technique he practices is the Demonic Blood Refining Scripture, which is also the technique Wang Qian is about to practice.

Because of his cultivation of the Blood Refining Scripture and the lack of elixirs, he developed psychological problems. Although his cultivation had broken through to the peak of Qi Refining, he became irritable and easily angered.

Zheng Ping is an honest man, and he cultivates demonic arts in order to change himself.

But in reality, he never harmed any of the sect's disciples, even when he was irritable. He would only vent his emotions on monsters in deserted mountains.

In order to buy pills to suppress his mental state, Zheng Ping hunted too many monsters in the Monster Mountain Range, so much so that he missed the trial grounds. Therefore, he did not have a single Foundation Establishment Pill on hand.

Chen An's willingness to offer the Foundation Establishment Pill made him a benefactor to Zheng Ping.

Even without war, the next trial grounds may not be until ten, twenty, or thirty years later.

Zheng Ping had no time to wait any longer. If he couldn't break through, he would become a true madman due to the backlash from the cultivation technique.

Zheng Ping's personality, once he breaks through to the Foundation Establishment realm, will make him a suitable helper. He is not as thoughtful as Wang Rulong, nor as cautious as Liu Hao.

But he never broke his promises to others.

A month later.

Wang Qian embarked on the path of cultivation again and began practicing the Blood Refining Scripture. Having read Zheng Ping's cultivation insights, she was no longer afraid of the demonic Blood Refining Scripture.

The original Blood Refining Scripture was designed to allow cultivators to quickly break through realms by consuming a small amount of cultivation resources, resulting in too many side effects.

The Blood Refining Scripture, improved by many predecessors, consumes several times more resources than normal cultivation, but avoids most of the side effects. The cultivation speed is slightly slower than the original version, but far surpasses ordinary cultivation methods.

One month.

Chen An, Liu Hao, and Wang Rulong traveled to various places to help with the demon-hunting team.

Sometimes Wang Qian would also help out.

Shi Ying remained calmly in the dojo, occasionally seeking Lu Nian's guidance on second-tier alchemy techniques.

The demon-hunting team has been formed, with two hundred members.

Chen An was appointed as the first demon-hunting captain.

Liu Feng, Yan Gang, and Zhu Zizai were appointed as deputy captains.

After the demon-hunting team was officially formed, Liu Hao and Wang Rulong went to the second-tier spiritual vein for seclusion to prepare for breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm.

Zheng Ping's personality wasn't suited for recruiting, so he went to a second-tier spiritual vein for seclusion.

The Yu family's resources arrived, and they were very generous.

In addition to a large amount of Qi Refining stage cultivation resources, there are also 250 sets of concealable standard armor and 250 sets of various magical artifacts for war.

Although their rank is low, or even non-ranked, their sheer number is enough to boost the team's overall strength several times over.

With this equipment, you can achieve great results whether you are participating in war or hunting monsters in the mountains.

Chen An also obtained a set of armor sufficient to cover his entire body. It was a complete set of mid-grade magic artifacts. Combined with the previous mid-grade defensive magic artifact token, he was armed to the teeth.