Yunmeng Immortal Clan

On the Qinglian Islands, atop Tian Shu Peak, a large group of cultivators gathered. These family cultivators looked at each other in bewilderment. Although these family cultivators were different from Song Daoxuan, and their families were their everything, they still did not want to be the ones drawn in this life-or-death lottery.

After all, in the world of cultivation, every step of cultivation is extremely difficult. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators dare not say they can survive the Cloud Ridge Beast Tide. Cultivators are, after all, cultivators who seek immortality. Even the Foundation Establishment cultivators, who are considered the strongest in the eyes of the Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan, can still be easily killed by high-level cultivators in the world of cultivation.

Before him, Song Zhichu took out a bamboo tube for drawing lots. Each lot had the name of a cultivator from a family engraved on it.

This bamboo tube is obviously incredibly mysterious. It was deliberately crafted by Song Zhichu, the head of the Song family on Qinglian Island. It can shield cultivators below the Core Formation stage from interference with their magical power, thus ensuring the fairness and impartiality of the lottery. All the clan cultivators are well aware of this.

As time passed, under the witness of clan chief Song Zhichu, everyone personally shook the bamboo slips to draw their names for this recruitment.

Thirty percent of these bamboo sticks bear the character "war," while the rest bear the character "no." Cultivators who draw the character "war" must participate in this great battle, while those who draw the character "no" need not participate and can simply remain in their original positions.

Some of the clan cultivators looked slightly pale after drawing lots, but they quickly became relieved, revealing an attitude of taking life and death lightly.

Some clan cultivators, after drawing lots, showed a hint of extreme joy and relief on their faces.

After the Qi Refining cultivators in the family had drawn their lots, the lottery for the Foundation Establishment cultivators to participate in the battle began.

Of the seven family cultivators present, only the second uncle, Song Hongdong, was in seclusion. The family head, Song Zhichu, was also busy with family affairs and naturally did not participate in the lottery for the Foundation Establishment cultivators who were leading the group.

Therefore, the remaining five Foundation Establishment cultivators from the family—Song Zhiming, Song Hongshu, Song Zhiya, Song Daoxuan, and Song Honghu—had to participate in the lottery.

As assigned by the Zhuxi Sect, the Song Clan of Qinglian Island must select three Foundation Establishment cultivators from these five to lead their clan's cultivators into battle.

Song Zhiming stepped forward first, but the result was the word "not"; Song Hongshu stepped forward, but the result was the word "war".

When Song Zhiya drew lots, the result was the word "war".

After Song Zhiya finished drawing lots, a man dressed in a blue Taoist robe stepped forward from the crowd, looking radiant, and casually drew a bamboo slip.

To these family cultivators, Song Daoxuan appeared calm and indifferent to the outcome of the jade slip.

But Song Daoxuan was extremely nervous inside.

"Heh! I was steadily cultivating to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, but unfortunately, war has come. It's said that Qi Refining cultivators are merely expendable resources in wars of this scale, while we Foundation Establishment cultivators are the main force on the battlefield, and the possibility of our demise is extremely high..."

However, Song Daoxuan quickly came to terms with it. After all, he was the third Foundation Establishment cultivator from the entire cultivation family to participate in the battle. If he had drawn the "no" character, the third Foundation Establishment cultivator would not have been him, but his father, Song Honghu.

Both of them can be considered newly promoted Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. Song Daoxuan's cultivation level is considered to be initially stable, but he is still slightly inferior to those early Foundation Establishment cultivators with abundant spiritual energy in their bodies. Song Honghu, on the other hand, has not even stabilized his early Foundation Establishment cultivation level.

Once the war begins, with Song Daoxuan's cultivation level and some of his skills, he might be able to survive the battle.

However, the situation is different for Song Honghu. If Song Daoxuan's father were to participate in this massive war, there is a high probability that he would perish in the battle.

After Song Daoxuan drew his lot, Song Honghu drew a bamboo slip with the character "否" (no) on it without even thinking.

After Song Honghu drew the lot in the presence of Song Zhichu, his face showed no joy, but rather an extremely gloomy expression.

Without a second thought, Song Honghu cupped his hands towards the patriarch, Song Zhichu, and said, "Patriarch! Can I, Song Honghu, represent my son Daoxuan in this battle? The outcome of this great war is truly unpredictable. I am a second-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, while my son is a first-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. In terms of potential, my son has greater potential. If there is any calamity in this battle, I should bear it for my son!"

Song Honghu is actually right. In the cultivation world, anyone who achieves Foundation Establishment in one go is called a perfect Foundation Establishment. Those who achieve Foundation Establishment a second time by sheer luck are considered to have a secondary Foundation Establishment. The potential of a secondary Foundation Establishment is indeed not as great as that of a perfect Foundation Establishment.

However, this is just one perspective in the cultivation world. After all, there are quite a few cases of second-level Foundation Establishment cultivators eventually forming Golden Cores and becoming Core Formation cultivators. However, compared to the proportion of cultivators who form Golden Cores after first-level Foundation Establishment, the number is negligible.

After a moment's thought, Song Zhichu was about to nod in agreement to Song Honghu's request.

But at that moment, Song Daoxuan, dressed in a blue Taoist robe, spoke up, his voice unusually loud:

"I must refuse. The so-called battle bamboo slips were drawn by me, Patriarch. This is a promise, and since we have chosen to select the participants by drawing bamboo slips, it cannot be changed. If you set a precedent by breaking this promise today, what will become of your prestige within the family?"

Upon hearing Song Daoxuan's words, Song Zhichu nodded.

"That makes sense!"

"What a load of nonsense! My lineage, Song Honghu, only has Daoxuan as its son. I never thought he could reach the Foundation Establishment stage. I just wanted to live a peaceful life. But I never expected this kid to be so promising. He actually achieved a perfect Foundation Establishment and is much more successful than his father. If he dies, my lineage will be completely cut off..." Song Honghu retorted, his face turning red instantly.

Song Honghu originally came from a demon-hunting team, and his temper was not very good, often earning him a reputation for being vulgar.

Upon hearing this, Song Zhichu's expression immediately turned sour. No matter what, according to seniority, he should be Song Honghu's elder, but Song Honghu's vulgar words showed no respect for him, an elder in the clan.

However, Song Zhichu immediately remembered that this boy's bad temper had already spread throughout the entire Qinglian Island, so he suppressed his anger.

"The war is urgent and cannot be delayed. I'm not going to interfere anymore. You and your father need to discuss this and send one of you to participate in this great battle. I'm only giving you one hour to discuss it. If you can't come up with a plan, then you're disobeying the orders of the upper sect, and the consequences are something our Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan cannot afford!"