"If you want revenge, you must first have the strength to back it up. This is the Foundation Establishment Pill Ninth Sister risked her life to bring back for you don't let her sacrifice be in vain."
Song Luzhou handed a blood-stained jade bottle to Song Changsheng, his voice low and solemn.
Changsheng took it in a daze, the bloodstains glaringly red, the small jade bottle in his hand feeling impossibly heavy.
The setup was real, and it had been for his sake everything Song Luoyao had done, she did because of him.
This debt of gratitude… was so heavy, he didn't even know how to repay it.
"Sigh… let Luoyao rest now. Luzhou, stay and look after her. I'll go request Big Brother to come out of seclusion," Song Xianyun said with a deep sigh before leaving the Hall of a Hundred Arts.
Song Luhuai had also been gravely injured in the battle and needed to enter seclusion to recover immediately. Otherwise, he might follow in Song Xianming's footsteps. After clearing the crowd outside, Song Lutong also returned to his quarters. Having just broken through to Foundation Establishment, the intense battle had shaken his foundation. He needed to stabilize his cultivation or risk regressing.
In the blink of an eye, only Song Changsheng, Song Luzhou, and the unconscious Song Luoyao remained in the hall.
"Take good care of your Ninth Aunt. I'll go refine a batch of healing pills for her," Song Luzhou muttered before entering the alchemy room.
Now alone, Song Changsheng looked at the pale, barely breathing Luoyao and could no longer contain his emotions. Tears quietly welled up in the corners of his eyes.
He had thought he was numb to life and death but he was wrong. When it came to his own family lying broken before him, the feeling… was beyond words.
He knelt before the soft couch, silently keeping watch over her. The day turned to night, and night to day. Time passed in a blur.
At dawn, a broad, steady hand rested gently on Changsheng's shoulder, accompanied by a calm voice:
"When Luoyao made this decision, she had already prepared for the worst. To survive at all is already a blessing from the heavens.
Don't drown in sorrow. What you need to do now is adjust your mindset and prepare to form your foundation. Don't waste Luoyao's painstaking efforts."
"When Aunt wakes up, I'll enter seclusion," Changsheng said softly. Determination burned in his eyes. He would establish his foundation and make those enemies pay the price.
Song Xianming didn't reply. He simply turned and walked out of the hall.
Outside, Song Lutong greeted him respectfully.
Xianming looked him up and down before sighing. "You've become the family's seventh Foundation Establishment cultivator. By custom, we should hold a grand celebration for your advancement… but given the current situation, it will have to be postponed. I hope you won't mind."
"You flatter me, Uncle," Lutong replied. "Ceremonies are nothing. With Ninth Sister injured like this, how could I have the heart to celebrate? The only thing I want now is to tear off the heads of those bastards from Earthfire Sect and Lieyang Sect!"
Seeing the fire in Lutong's eyes, Xianming murmured, "They will pay. Boy, do you dare take a walk with me?"
Lutong's lips curled into a grin. "I dare."
"Then come."
With a few swift steps, Song Xianming raised a formation flag and flew down the mountain. Lutong seemed to guess what his uncle was planning and followed eagerly…
Shortly after, a great tremor shook all of Lingzhou. Whether rogue cultivators or clan cultivators, everyone was talking about one thing:
"Hey, did you hear? Earthfire Sect colluded with Lieyang Sect and ambushed a Song Clan elder. In response, the Song Clan's patriarch flew into a rage and set up a Tier 3 grand formation at the base of Fire Cauldron Mountain. Now, except for the Foundation Establishment cultivators, no one from the Earthfire Sect can leave the mountain!"
"I heard their sect master tried to break the formation with his men, but not only did they fail, they suffered heavy casualties. Earthfire Sect's reputation is in ruins now!" whispered a shifty-eyed cultivator in a tavern.
"The Song patriarch went all in this time. Blocking their gate with a formation? He's the only Tier 3 formation master in all of Lingzhou! And he set it up himself? Damn…"
"Exactly. I heard the lower-level disciples of Earthfire Sect don't even dare leave anymore. The moment they step off the mountain, they get lost in a mist and can't find their way out!"
"Earthfire Sect has completely lost face now."
...
Liuyun Mountains – Fire Cauldron Mountain
Chang Wudao's expression was grim as he smashed his favorite jade bottle, glaring at the array of masters of his sect. He roared, "I don't care what it takes you will break this damned formation, or I'll send you all to the mines!"
The array masters didn't even dare to breathe too loudly and scrambled to find a way to crack the formation.
After they left, Chang Wudao slammed his palm down, shattering a rosewood table. He gritted his teeth, "Song Xianming… you've gone too far!"
"Sect Master," Li Tiancheng said respectfully, "since our alliance with Lieyang Sect has already been exposed, shall we proceed with closer cooperation?"
"…Yes. Send someone to contact them. Our priority is breaking that damned formation!"
"As you command."
....
After Song Luzhou gave Song Luoyao the healing pill he had refined, her condition improved noticeably within just a few days. She could already open her eyes and speak.
She showed little reaction upon learning that her legs were permanently crippled, facing the reality with surprising calm. Without hesitation, she resumed her duties at the Hall of Enforcement and began investigating the traitor within the clan.
Seeing that Luoyao was out of danger, Song Changsheng finally felt a weight lifted from his heart. After leaving letters for his mother and grandfather, he entered the secluded cultivation chamber previously used by Song Lutong ready to attempt the Foundation Establishment.
Inside the chamber, Changsheng looked at the Foundation Establishment Pill in his hand. Then, as if he had made up his mind, he carefully sealed it back up and set it aside. Instead, he took out a different pill.
It was a Vein-Guarding Pill a low-grade Tier Two auxiliary pill meant to assist with Foundation Establishment. Taking it during the breakthrough could increase the success rate by 5%.
But compared to the 30% increase offered by a proper Foundation Establishment Pill, that 5% was practically nothing.
Still, Song Changsheng had deliberately sought this pill out before entering seclusion. He had already made his decision: he would not rely on the Foundation Establishment Pill he would forge his foundation the ancient way.
This wasn't a rash display of overconfidence. On the contrary, it was a carefully thought-out choice.
As the saying goes, "You gain something, you lose something." The Foundation Establishment Pill helps cultivators pass the Three Tribulations of Foundation Establishment more easily, but at its core, it's a shortcut. It robs the cultivators of the chance to temper themselves through true hardship.
As a consequence, those who use the pill often end up with slightly inferior cultivation be it in spiritual energy, physical body, or soul compared to those who succeed without it.
This difference becomes particularly apparent in real combat. That's why the elite disciples of the major sects typically refuse to use the Foundation Establishment Pill.
Song Changsheng had once vowed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those elite prodigies. So he made this bold choice to emulate the path of ancient cultivators, who established their foundation without any pills.
It was a perilous path. According to historical records, fewer than one in ten ancient cultivators survived the attempt.
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