In less than a quarter of an hour, wisps of black energy emerged from her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Song Changxue’s once ashen complexion slowly returned to normal.

Anxiety had clouded his judgment. As the Song Clan’s foremost Alchemy Master, Song Luzhou had actually failed to see that this was the work of a Heart Demon, nearly missing the best window to save her.

If the Heart Demon had been allowed to take root inside her, it wouldn’t have been long before Song Changxue would have fallen into the Demon Dao.

Just then, Song Changxue slowly stirred and woke up.

"Xue’Er, how are you feeling? Tell your uncle, do you feel unwell anywhere?" Song Luzhou asked, his voice tinged with panic.

A guilty expression appeared on Song Changxue’s face, her eyes welling with tears. "Uncle, I’m sorry. I have failed the clan’s investment in me and wasted a Foundation Establishment Pill."

"Good child, you’ve already done your best. Don’t overthink it. Just focus on recovering." Song Xianming’s face was filled with compassion. ’These children carry burdens far too heavy.’

"Luzhou, take Changxue away to rest and recuperate. Don’t hesitate to ask for anything you need."

"Thank you, Uncle." Song Luzhou’s voice was a bit hoarse. He carried Song Changxue away, his figure cutting a desolate silhouette...

Song Changxue’s failure cast a pall over everyone’s hearts. Three people were still in seclusion. Among them, Song Changxuan and Song Luyuan were both nearly sixty years old. Seeing no hope of obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill, they had chosen to make one last, desperate attempt, with their chances of breaking through being less than twenty percent.

Song Xianming was still more optimistic about Song Changxuan. Of the three who had obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill, he was the youngest and most talented, having condensed a Gold and Water Dao Foundation.

His chances of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage were as high as seventy percent.

Amid everyone’s worried gazes, five days later, Song Changxuan finally broke through successfully, entering the Foundation Establishment Stage. The Song Clan had gained another Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

As for Song Changxuan and Song Luyuan, their luck had run out. They failed their breakthroughs one after another, and their souls returned to the heavens.

Reality is soaked in blood.

The path to Foundation Establishment is a single-plank bridge. Some hesitate before it, while others muster their courage and step onto it.

Reach the other side, and you add over a hundred years to your lifespan, your future bright and limitless.

But one careless step, and you fall to your doom, your body and bones shattered.

Song Luyuan and Song Changxuan were not the first to fall on this path, nor would they be the last.

One could only pray that the Song Clan would soon be able to cultivate the three main ingredients for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill. That would at least offer them a bit more hope and a safety net...

Liuyun Mountain Range, Baiyun Peak.

The upper echelons of the Martial Spirit Sect were gathered together, each with a furrowed brow as they held the latest intelligence reports from their spies.

After the last great war, the Liu Family, led by Liu Hongye, had united with two Foundation Establishment Independent Cultivators and a large number of abducted Cultivation Families to establish the "Liuyun Sect." The Sect’s headquarters was established in the former Liuyun Marketplace, located in the center of what was now renamed the Flowing Wind Plain.

By absorbing the power of numerous Cultivation Families and widely recruiting Loose Cultivators, the Liuyun Sect’s power had swelled rapidly. It now boasted six Foundation Establishment Cultivators and nearly seven hundred disciples, occupying almost half of the Liuyun Mountain Range and the entire Flowing Wind Plain.

To counter the growing might of the "Liuyun Sect," Grand Elder Du Huating of the Earth Fire Sect seized the opportunity to propose a merger.

After multiple rounds of negotiation and compromise, the Earth Fire Sect took the lead, and the Qiu Clan and Li Clan of the Liuyun Mountain Range officially merged. With Baiyun Peak as their headquarters, they established the "Martial Spirit Sect."

Their roots were already in the Liuyun Mountain Range, so it was only natural for them to band together for survival.

However, their former ally, the Yu Clan, was headquartered in the Wutong Mountain Range and did not directly face the Liuyun Sect. Naturally, they were unwilling to be absorbed into the so-called Martial Spirit Sect.

But now, with the Song Clan, Liuyun Sect, and Martial Spirit Sect each more powerful than the last, the Yu Clan had intended to ally with the Wang Clan to turn the Wutong Mountain Range into an impenetrable fortress.

But the Wang Clan was a staunch ally of the Song Clan and ignored them completely, instead taking the opportunity to encroach upon their territory.

Forced into a corner, the Yu Clan had no choice but to agree to merge with the Martial Spirit Sect, becoming one of its subordinate branch sects.

After this series of maneuvers, the Martial Spirit Sect’s on-paper strength swelled to eleven Foundation Establishment Cultivators and nearly a thousand disciples, making it the number one power in Ling Province overnight.

By comparison, the Song Clan’s advantage had dwindled significantly. Even with their ranks now swollen to ten Foundation Establishment Cultivators, they still couldn’t surpass the Martial Spirit Sect. They had to include the Wang Clan in their count just to barely maintain their leading position.

Unfortunately, both the Liuyun Sect and the Martial Spirit Sect were like sand forced together—fine under normal circumstances, but bound to fall apart when faced with a real crisis.

Within the Liuyun Sect, the Liu Family members and the three Independent Cultivators had each formed their own faction, vying for control. The disciples’ backgrounds were even more complex; it would be impossible to forge them into a unified force without at least a hundred years.

The Martial Spirit Sect wasn’t much better off. The Yu Clan accounted for nearly a third of the sect’s total strength, but their submission was in name only.

The Li Clan had suffered devastating losses in the past. Although they later sold everything they had to cultivate Li Hengzong into a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, their Mortal Clan Members had been almost completely abducted by the Liuyun Sect, and more than half of their clan’s cultivators had died in battle.

Thoroughly marginalized within the Martial Spirit Sect, Li Siyang harbored deep resentment and was secretly conspiring with the Qiu Clan, who were in a similar predicament.

Furthermore, the disciples from the Qiu, Li, and Yu clans were all related by blood, forming their own exclusive cliques. They were like oil and water and simply couldn’t get along.

This was even more obvious when dealing with the disciples from the Earth Fire Sect. Ostracized by all three clans, they were at the center of endless conflicts, giving Du Huating a massive headache.

Even so, he gritted his teeth and persevered, cautiously maintaining the balance between the various factions.

He firmly believed this was only a temporary situation. As long as Chang Wudao successfully broke through to the Purple Mansion Stage, all these problems would be solved in an instant.

Because of all this, the overall strength of both sects had decreased rather than increased. Until they resolved their internal issues, neither dared to make a rash move, which had plunged Ling Province into a rare period of peace.

Inside the council hall, Yu Cheng Mountain, who had been promoted to one of the four executive elders of the Martial Spirit Sect’s Elder Council, slammed his hand on the table. With an air of great righteousness, he declared, "Hmph, I said from the beginning that we should concentrate our resources to purchase a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills for the sect’s overall strength! You wouldn’t listen, and now look! The Song Clan is already pulling ahead of us!

For a long time to come, it will be difficult for us to make any significant progress, but the Song Clan is a different story. Their strength has soared in recent years, and they have that monster Song Changsheng. As they wax and we wane, it won’t be more than thirty years before we’re crushed under their feet again!

Now, I propose we revive my previous suggestion: scrape together two hundred thousand Spirit Stones, send someone to the Gusu Kingdom to purchase Foundation Establishment Pills. Who agrees, and who objects?"

He glared, his eyes sweeping over the crowd.

Qiu Tianyang, another executive elder on the council, scoffed. "The Silver Moon Demon Wolves are heading north. A fierce battle could break out at any moment. This is the time to be stockpiling resources, not buying Foundation Establishment Pills."

The Executive Grand Elder, Du Huating, also shook his head and said tactfully, "Now is indeed not the right time. Let’s discuss this again in the future."

Li Siyang was even more direct—he remained silent, offering no opinion at all.

Of the four executive elders, two were opposed and one abstained. Yu Cheng Mountain’s proposal was dead on arrival.

This was actually easy to understand. After the merger, the resources of the Earth Fire Sect, the Qiu Clan, and the Li Clan were all consolidated into the Sect Treasure Vault. Aside from their most secret heirlooms, their assets were basically all shared.

Any major expenditure was paid for from the Treasure Vault.

The Yu Clan, however, had only submitted in name; they still controlled their own purse strings. To purchase Foundation Establishment Pills, the Sect Treasure Vault would naturally have to pay the lion’s share, while the branch sect would only need to contribute a token amount.

But when it came to distribution, strength was what mattered. The Yu Clan was second only to the Earth Fire Sect in power, so they would naturally receive a larger share.

Therefore, Yu Cheng Mountain was actually trying to profit his own clan.

Naturally, Du Huating and Qiu Tianyang were opposed to doing all the work just for someone else to reap the benefits.

This wasn’t the first time such a situation had occurred. Each faction had its own interests to consider, leaving the sect with immense power that it was unable to wield.

Du Huating could only pin his hopes on Chang Wudao. As long as he could break through to the Purple Mansion Stage, the Yu Clan would naturally submit obediently, and the Li and Qiu clans wouldn’t dare stir up any more trouble.

As for the Song Clan and that clownish Liuyun Sect, they would be even less of a problem.

Watching the elders devolve into a chaotic argument over how to defend against the Silver Moon Demon Wolves, Du Huating felt utterly exhausted, body and soul. He couldn’t help but murmur in his heart, ’Senior Brother, oh, Senior Brother, when will you finally come out of seclusion...?’

...