Yunmeng Immortal Clan

The year after Song Daoxuan successfully refined the Zengyuan Pill, and then another eight years passed, Song Daoxuan was forty-five years old.

Over the years, Song Daoxuan, relying on his status as the family's law enforcement elder and also the number one alchemist of the Song family on Qinglian Island, has driven family cultivators to collect the medicinal materials for refining the Zengyuan Pill.

Song Daoxuan did not need to leave his clan; he relied on the medicinal herbs collected by the clan's cultivators to refine the Zengyuan Pill, a pill that could help Foundation Establishment cultivators improve their cultivation.

With the aid of the Enhancing Essence Pill, he consumed a large amount of spirit stones to barely raise the spiritual energy content in his dantian to 40%.

"There's no way around it. Even with the aid of the Qi-Boosting Pill, the influx of spirit stones, and the cultivation aptitude of three spiritual roots, the speed at which I convert spiritual energy is still too slow. I've only reached the ninth level of the Five Elements Reincarnation Technique. I only reached the pinnacle of the technique during the Qi Refining stage. Without cultivation techniques to assist cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage, I don't know how many years it would take to reach the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage!"

Upon realizing this, Song Daoxuan withdrew from his cultivation.

A few days later, on Qing Sui Peak, a cultivator of about the same age as Song Daoxuan reached the Great Perfection of the tenth level of the Qi Refining stage. This person was none other than Song Daoxu.

With the help of some pills from Song Daoxuan back then, and relying on his pseudo-spiritual root aptitude, Song Daoxu has only now managed to barely reach the Great Perfection of the tenth level of Qi Refining.

If a Qi Refining cultivator reaches the tenth level of Qi Refining but does not immediately establish their foundation, their cultivation will regress to the ninth level over time. The reason why the barrier between the ninth and tenth levels is considered a separate cultivation realm in the cultivation world is that the time required to break through to this realm is longer than that required for other minor realms.

As soon as Song Daoxu came out of the pass, Song Daoxuan met with him.

Inside the cave, Song Daoxu looked at his childhood friend with an utterly incredulous gaze.

"It's been so many years since I last saw you. I never imagined that you, Dao Xuan, would already be a Foundation Establishment cultivator, while I'm still only at the Great Perfection of the Tenth Level of Qi Refining, my cultivation speed is so slow..."

Song Daoxuan possessed the art of alchemy and, with the help of the Qi-gathering gourd, was able to reverse the disadvantages of his spiritual roots and reach his current position.

When Song Daoxuan met Song Daoxu, he first handed him a pill.

This pill is not any other pill that can improve one's cultivation level, but a Foundation Establishment Pill that Song Daoxuan refined at that time.

It wasn't that Song Daoxuan was stingy. He had consumed most of the Foundation Establishment pills refined from the Xuanbing Flower, and later his father, Song Honghu, had to consume these three Foundation Establishment pills to barely achieve Foundation Establishment.

For other family cultivators, having even one Foundation Establishment Pill would be considered extremely lucky. For someone like Song Daoxuan to consume so many Foundation Establishment Pills to achieve foundation establishment is something that would be unthinkable in the entire Great Li cultivation world or any other cultivation world.

Moreover, being able to refine Foundation Establishment Pills is one thing, but the Xuanbing Flower and its seeds are extremely rare to encounter without a certain amount of good fortune.

When Song Daoxu received the pill, his expression immediately changed.

"Brother Xuan, could this pill be...?"

"That's right, a Foundation Establishment Pill. Now that you've reached the Great Perfection of the Tenth Level of Qi Refining, this Foundation Establishment Pill is rightfully yours! However, you should wait a few more years. If there are more Foundation Establishment Pills available, your foundation establishment will be more secure."

In Song Daoxuan's view, since there was no way to obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill in the short term, Song Daoxu should wait until he was absolutely certain of establishing his foundation.

"Is this really for me? Brother Xuan, you really treat me like a brother!" After receiving the Foundation Establishment Pill, Song Daoxu was still a little stunned. In Song Daoxu's understanding, even with his status in the cultivation family, he probably wouldn't be able to obtain a single Foundation Establishment Pill even if he spent his entire life earning spirit stones as contributions.

Previously, when Song Daoxuan gave him those pills that could improve his cultivation to the first level, Song Daoxu was reluctant. After all, cultivating and attaining the Dao is one's own business. If he relied entirely on pills given by others to improve his cultivation, it would not help to consolidate his Dao heart.

But now, he had no reason to refuse the Foundation Establishment Pill in front of him.

He feared that if he refused, he would never have another Foundation Establishment Pill in his life, and he would hardly have the chance to enter the Foundation Establishment stage again.

After all, he was already over forty years old this year. The Qi Refining stage was not considered a very high level of cultivation for a cultivator. The cultivation of the Qi Refining stage did not significantly increase the lifespan of a cultivator. He was just a little more robust than an ordinary mortal, without any worries about diseases.

"No, even if I only have a pseudo-spiritual root, I still dream of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. I appreciate your kindness, Dao Xuan. We cultivators spend our lives fighting against the heavens. I don't want to wait any longer. I'm about to go into seclusion. Whether I succeed or not is up to fate!" Song Daoxu said with a determined expression.

Upon seeing this, Song Daoxuan knew that Song Daoxu was determined to go into seclusion, and he knew that he could no longer persuade him.

He noticed that Song Daoxu had entered middle age, with strands of silver hair. Upon seeing this, Song Daoxuan handed Song Daoxu another youth-preserving pill that he had refined.

However, Song Daoxu did not accept the Youth Preservation Pill.

"Brother Xuan, I didn't expect you to have such a pill. But I'll pass on this one. Giving me a Foundation Establishment Pill is already a huge favor. Besides, I already have a family and don't care much about my appearance..."

"Brother Xuan, you're already forty years old. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you can have any decent cultivation partner you want within the family with just a word."

"Okay, I know. You don't need to worry about my affairs!"

With the Qingpin Foundation Establishment Pill in hand, Song Daoxu returned to his cultivation cave on Qingsui Peak and began preparing for Foundation Establishment.

Three months later, a heart-wrenching roar echoed from inside Song Daoxu's cave.

Upon hearing this sound outside the cave, a young man and a beautiful woman immediately pushed open the door to Song Daoxu's cultivation room and went inside.

On a prayer mat sat a middle-aged man with a weathered face, his clothes tattered and covered in blood.

"Husband, how are you?"

"Father, are you alright...?"

The young man before them was Song Lintong, son of Song Daoxu, and the beautiful woman was Xu Yan'er, Song Daoxu's wife.

Song Daoxu and his wife Xu Yan'er were extremely loving. Even after so many years, Song Daoxu never thought of taking a second wife or even a concubine.

Faced with their concern, Song Daoxu, his hair disheveled and his eyes seemingly vacant, remained silent for a long time.

A while later.

Song Daoxu then stammered out these words:

"What the clan elders said is true. For us pseudo-spiritual roots to want to establish a foundation is simply a pipe dream. Without the affinity for immortality, there is no affinity. It's a pity I wasted Xuan-ge'er's foundation-establishment pill!"