Seeking immortality begins with daily intelligence reports.

Three warships carrying five hundred demonic cultivators appeared at the edge of the Cloud Crane Mountains. They were discovered by a three-person Foundation Establishment patrol team from the Jade Sword Sect, and a conflict ensued, resulting in the complete annihilation of the three-person team.

After reading it, Li Shen frowned slightly. Recalling the giant ship he had seen outside Linlang City, his heart sank, and he murmured to himself:

"The war has begun."

The second piece of useful information came a month later.

[Li Zhuisheng, the Enforcement Elder of the Jade Sword Sect, engaged in battle with two Golden Core Elders of the Blood Soul Sect, three hundred miles south of the Cloud Crane Mountains. The battle was fierce; Li Zhuisheng fought two against one, severely wounding one before retreating unscathed.]

"One against two? And he can seriously injure one of them?"

After reading it, Li Shen secretly applauded.

Although he was not a member of the Jade Sword Sect, this intelligence demonstrated the strength of the Jade Sword Sect's top combat force, indicating that the battle situation was still even.

The third piece of intelligence related to the battle situation came half a month later.

[Yu Jian Sect, Junxiu Peak, Peak Master Yu Mingqiu emerged from seclusion, his cultivation having broken through to the late Golden Core stage. He led all the disciples of his peak in a fierce battle against the allied forces of the Demon Fire Sect, Blood Soul Sect, and Joyful Union Sect above the Fallen Soul Forest. The disciples of Junxiu Peak fought fearlessly, ultimately sacrificing about ten disciples and a magic weapon to repel the allied forces of the three demonic sects and kill a Golden Core stage elder of the Demon Fire Sect.]

"This time, it was the Jade Sword Sect that took the initiative to attack. Although there were casualties, they managed to exchange one of the enemy's Golden Core warriors. This achievement is truly remarkable."

Li Shen stroked his chin and analyzed.

During the time I've been hiding in my cave cultivating, I haven't received any new information about the beast tide.

Combined with the Jade Sword Sect's proactive attack, Li Shen guessed that the beast tide had most likely been contained.

Therefore, he had the idea of ​​going out.

But not long after, they gave up.

As soon as his divine sense probed outwards, he sensed a late-stage second-tier demonic beast passing by.

Several first and second-tier demonic beasts followed behind them.

"Let's hide a little longer."

Li Shen's lips twitched.

The fourth piece of useful intelligence will be updated one month later.

[The demonic cultivators' inside agents in Linlang City destroyed the core of the city's protective array. Master Duobao, Lu Zhengyang, was no match for them and fled severely wounded. Thousands of cultivators and mortals who were unable to escape were sacrificed in blood.]

Li Shen felt a pang of anxiety after reading it.

Linlang City ultimately failed to hold out.

Previously, with Linlang City present, the demonic forces needed to make long-distance raids to attack the Yunhe Mountains.

Now that we have captured the city closest to the Yunhe Mountains, it means we have a stable supply point and springboard.

The offensive is likely to intensify from here on out.

Li Shen pondered to himself, then his gaze fell on the last sentence of the intelligence report. A complex emotion welled up within him, and he murmured to himself:

"A city was sacrificed, and thousands died just like that."

After a moment of silence, he closed his eyes again and continued to practice his cultivation technique, with spiritual energy flowing slowly through his meridians.

The fifth intelligence report arrived twelve days later.

The Cloud Crane Sect launched a surprise attack on the Jade Sword Sect's mountain gate. Although the Jade Sword Sect immediately activated its protective formation and retaliated, it still suffered the loss of more than ten disciples.

This time, Yunhe Sect is no longer putting on an act.

Li Shen snorted lightly. He already knew about the Yunhe Sect's defection, so he wasn't surprised.

However, he was curious about the position of the Hundred Weapons Sect in this battle.

Should they defect, or rise up in resistance like the Jade Sword Sect?

No intelligence was provided, so he had no way of knowing.

Outside the cave, the pre-arranged formations had been activated by either humans or demonic beasts, so he was currently safe.

Without spending much time thinking about it, Li Shen took a Mind-Concentrating Pill and continued cultivating.

A month later, the sixth intelligence report related to the battle situation was released.

[Wu Tingyuan, the sect leader of the Jade Sword Sect, with a cultivation level at the peak of the late Golden Core stage, summoned all the sect's disciples in the plaza in front of the main hall and announced that the Cloud Crane Sect had defected to the demonic path. He then declared the Cloud Crane Sect an enemy of the sect, and two Golden Core elders from the Hundred Weapons Sect echoed his sentiments.]

When Li Shen saw the sentence "Two Golden Core elders from the Hundred Weapons Sect followed suit," his eyebrows rose slightly, and he felt somewhat relieved.

The fact that the Hundred Weapons Sect did not side with the demonic path at least shows that the righteous alliance has not completely collapsed.

However, he also knew that the so-called "following and echoing" was just a political statement. In the actual battlefield, it was still uncertain how much the Hundred Weapons Sect could contribute.

Li Shen quickly assessed the situation in his mind.

The sect leader of the Jade Sword Sect decided to publicize this matter, likely also to stabilize the morale of his disciples.

Currently, the Yunhe Mountains are beset by internal and external troubles. Although the Jade Sword Sect's top combat forces are fierce, the sect cannot afford to lose too many of its mid-level combat forces and the foundation of the sect's future in this war.

Thinking of this, Li Shen suddenly pictured Zhao Ying and Zhao Qian in his mind, and murmured to himself:

"I wonder how the two sisters are doing now. With their talent and potential, the Jade Sword Sect probably won't let them be on the front lines."

He took a deep breath, suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and continued his arduous practice.

Another half month passed, and Li Shen looked inward at himself. The Qi in his dantian was churning and was much denser than before.

Then, Li Shen took out a low-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, held it in his hand, adjusted his state to its best, looked at the Foundation Establishment Pill with a firm gaze, and swallowed it in one gulp.

The pill entered the abdomen and instantly transformed into a scalding hot current, causing the Qi in the body's dantian to churn even more violently.

Within the Qi Sea, the originally calm spiritual energy vortex suddenly accelerated, spinning wildly and greedily devouring every bit of medicinal power released by the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Li Shen was jolted and immediately began to circulate his cultivation technique, compressing his internal energy sea according to the principles of liquid transformation and foundation building.

A tearing pain shot through his meridians, as if countless fine needles were piercing from within. Li Shen clenched his teeth, veins bulged on his forehead, and the sweat was evaporated by the heat emanating from his body before it could even drip.

Li Shen gritted his teeth and desperately activated his cultivation technique, compressing all his spiritual energy into his dantian.

The vortex in the Qi Sea spun faster and faster, the density of spiritual energy increased sharply, and a faint buzzing sound came from the depths of the Dantian, as if something was about to break out of its shell.

However, at this critical moment, he suddenly felt a strange emptiness rising from the depths of his dantian.

My spiritual energy is insufficient.

The medicinal power of the Foundation Establishment Pill was mostly consumed in the impact just now, and his Qi Sea was like a bottomless pit, which still failed to complete the final qualitative change even after absorbing all the medicinal power.

Li Shen's heart sank. He wanted to take out the second Foundation Establishment Pill to stabilize the situation, but at this moment, his spiritual energy circulation had reached its limit. The spiritual energy in his meridians was like a wild horse, showing signs of getting out of control.

He dared not act rashly.

The thought of forcibly breaking through flashed through my mind, but reason quickly suppressed it.

Fine cracks have begun to appear in the meridians. If they are forcibly compressed further, at best the meridians will be severed and the cultivation will be completely ruined, and at worst the body will explode and the person will die on the spot.

Li Shen took a deep breath, slowly retracted his cultivation technique, and guided the scattered spiritual energy back into his dantian.

As the effects of the Foundation Building Pill wore off, the Qi Sea gradually calmed down, and the spiritual energy resumed its steady flow.

Failed.

He had expected this result, but when it actually happened, he still couldn't help feeling disappointed.

He stared at the stone wall, his thoughts churning, finally settling into a soft sigh. He patted his cheeks and forced a smile.

"It's just one failure; isn't that something we're already used to?"