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

Forming a demon-hunting team is definitely for the purpose of hunting demons.

Otherwise, many disciples would become suspicious; the fewer people who know about the war, the better.

I heard that Chen An is about to go to the Monster Mountain Range to hunt monsters.

Two Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, Lu Nian and Yu Lanhua, also wanted to travel together.

Although Lu Nian was a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had devoted his entire life to alchemy and had never had any experience fighting with others.

If they really got into a fight, they probably wouldn't be too bad.

Yu Lanhua is slightly more powerful than Lu Nian, but they are about the same. She is a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, a woman from a Golden Core family, and backed by a top-tier Nascent Soul sect like Xuan Yang Sect. She has lived for over 170 years, and the number of times she has actually made a move can be counted on one hand.

Yu Lanhua's life was simple. After successfully establishing her foundation at the age of thirty-two, she married Shangguan Longhui, a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Shangguan family, a family of alchemists. Twenty years later, her husband failed to break through to the Golden Core realm, and she became a widow.

Since she had no connections in the Shangguan family, she simply took some of Shangguan Longhui's belongings and returned to the Yu family, where she devoted herself to cultivation from then on.

The relics left behind by Shangguan Longhui paved the way for Yu Lanhua's cultivation, allowing her to smoothly enter the late Foundation Establishment stage and giving her a glimmer of hope to form a Golden Core.

Chen An had no reason to refuse; adding two Foundation Establishment warriors would increase his ability to withstand risks.

In the Monster Mountain Range, if you encounter a powerful second-tier monster, having Lu Nian and Yu Lanhua there to protect you can help you avoid a lot of trouble.

Finally, Yu Peiyao arrived as well.

She decided to hide among the demon hunters to find out the true thoughts of the lower-level demon hunters, and at the same time, she wanted to be on the front line of the battlefield to truly feel the power of the demon beasts.

"Senior Brother Chen, I believe you won't let me die, right?" Yu Peiyao seemed a little nervous at this moment, completely unlike her usual strong self.

"Junior Sister Yu, don't worry, I'm counting on you to make a fortune in the future."

Chen An could understand these people. They had lived in their comfort zone for too long, and even if they had the most powerful weapons in their hands, they would still feel nervous and fearful when facing danger.

Chen An is a time traveler who once lived in a more civilized society.

Yu Peiyao's fear was similar to Chen An's feeling when he first went out to gain experience.

Chen An has no one to back him up; if he dies, he's truly dead.

As for Yu Peiyao, Chen An was there to cover for her.

Lu Nian and Yu Lanhua have reached the mid-to-late stage of Foundation Establishment, and they have used the first half of their lives to cover for each other.

The Monster Mountain Range is tens of thousands of miles away from the sect.

Even with Chen An's Foundation Establishment cultivation, it would still take him several months to travel at full speed.

To facilitate their disciples' demon hunting, the sect established a flying boat route between the Demon Beast Mountain Range and the sect.

It only takes three days to reach the destination.

Because the airship consumes a lot of resources, it only makes one round trip per month, and tickets need to be purchased in advance at a fixed location.

On the flying boat.

Chen An assigned tasks to the several vice-captains of the demon-hunting team.

Lu Nian and Yu Lanhua are Foundation Establishment cultivators, seniors, and cannot be neglected.

All it takes is a few clever errand runners to provide them with the pomp and emotional value they need.

In the future, if they encounter great danger in the mountains, the two elders will be willing to step in and fight back.

Otherwise, once they enter the mountains, it's not impossible for Lu Nian and Yu Lanhua to leave all the Qi Refining stage disciples behind and venture into the mountains alone for training.

This is Chen An's loss.

The stronger the team, the stronger the prey they can capture.

Chen An can also get a share of the profits.

However, given the large number of Qi Refining disciples, Chen An might as well venture into the deep mountains alone to train.

Lu Nian and Yu Lanhua are both well-off in terms of resources.

Chen An was different; he also had to support two maids in his household, so he needed more resources.

Arrive at the Xuan Yang Sect's stronghold in the Crimson Dragon Mountains.

Everyone began to prepare.

Looking at his disciples, Lu Nian patted Chen An on the shoulder with a look of satisfaction in his eyes.

"Junior Brother Chen, you're really something. Not only did you get a pair of beautiful and loyal maids, but you also managed to recruit over two hundred Qi Refining disciples to work for you in just one month."

"If I had been as smart as you back then, I would definitely have broken through to the peak of Foundation Establishment by now. At the very least, I would be a demon core cultivator, taking advantage of the current favorable conditions."

Chen An replied casually, "Senior brother is indeed capable. I just happened to be born at a good time. In previous years, the sect did not purchase monster materials on such a large scale."

"Ten years ago, even if I had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, I wouldn't have been able to gather so many people."

Lu Nian nodded, gazing at the distant empty mountains, and sighed softly, "This is the best of times, and the worst of times."

"After the war, we don't know how many people will survive, and we don't know how many people will be able to successfully establish their foundation or form their core through this war."

Yu Lanhua said from the side, "The three clans of Jin have had occasional friction over the thousands of years, but have never had a major conflict. I heard from the elders that this war is likely to break out on land outside of Jin."

Chen An continued to inquire about news of the war.

Yu Lanhua shook her head and remained silent. The Yu family was certain that war would break out, but they could not be sure exactly where or in what form it would occur.

A barrier was set up around the three people.

The other disciples could not hear the conversation inside.

Of all the disciples, only Yu Peiyao stood under the sun, looking utterly miserable from the heat.

She now understands that ordinary Qi Refining disciples lead truly miserable lives.

When Foundation Establishment cultivators are talking, the Qi Refining disciples have different rules about where to stand.

In particular, Vice Captain Yan Gang, seeing her beauty on the flying boat, asked her to serve Chen An tea and water, deliver spiritual fruits, and even stand guard.

Yu Peiyao was utterly speechless. Even in a Golden Core family, there didn't seem to be so many restrictions.

Joining the demon-hunting team is about selling physical strength; now they're even selling their bodies.

As a result, Yu Peiyao was ostracized by the other disciples after refusing the benefits offered by the vice-captain Yan Gang.

Beside Chen An, a slightly less experienced junior sister, who was less skilled than Yu Peiyao, took over the task of serving tea and water.

Yu Peiyao lost. She thought she could endure everything, but unfortunately she couldn't. If another female disciple were in Yu Peiyao's position...

The journey to hunt monsters is already fraught with peril.

For Yu Peiyao, Chen An, the King of Hell, was easy to deal with, but Yan Gang, the little devil, was a bit more troublesome.

Without contacting Chen An, Yu Peiyao may have to endure this difficult situation for a long time.

Chen An was speechless when he learned of the situation.

Yu Peiyao, who prided herself on being exceptionally intelligent, was stumped by a mere Qi Refining cultivator.

Chen An summoned Yan Gang, informed him of Yu Peiyao's identity, and instructed him to protect her as much as possible during the upcoming demon-hunting operation.

Yan Gang frowned.

Chen An comforted him, "Junior Brother Yan, don't worry. Junior Sister Yu is just going through a training period and won't hold a grudge. Besides, you're one of my people. Just don't continue targeting her."

Yan Gang bowed and returned to the team, immediately apologizing to Yu Peiyao, saying that all members of the demon-hunting team were equal and that he had been in the wrong just now.

Yu Peiyao breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Yu Lanhua also noticed Yu Peiyao in the group, but she did not expose her. She simply asked Chen An about Yu Peiyao's situation.