"A Foundation Establishment Pill?" Lei Dong tightly gripped the exquisite jade bottle in his hand, his pupils involuntarily constricting as an uncontrollable tide of emotion surged within him. He muttered to himself, his voice somewhat hoarse and low, "Senior Sister, with what can I repay you?"

After a long pause, he let out a heavy breath, his gaze firm. He tapped the air twice with his feet, his robes fluttering, yet in the blink of an eye, he streaked away in a strange, indistinguishable afterimage, melting into the boundless night.

By the pool beneath the waterfall, beside the peach trees. A graceful figure, cloaked in long robes and barefoot, slowly materialized. She gazed from afar at the deepening blackness. Only after a considerable time did she sigh faintly, transforming into a wisp of pale, baleful mist that dissipated into the night sky with the wind.

...

The few days leading up to the Grand Competition were spent in the usual traditional rites. Lei Dong meticulously followed the sect's rules, participating genuinely in every ceremony. Yet, since that night, between Lei Dong and Ding Wanyan, it was as if nothing had ever happened. They continued to joke and laugh as before, neither mentioning the Foundation Establishment Pill.

The Grand Competition finally commenced, amidst the fear and anticipation of the core disciples.

The fear stemmed from ten years prior, as every current core disciple had survived that event. Like Lei Dong, it was their first time witnessing the sheer brutality and bloodletting of true cultivation. Although they knew they could choose to surrender if they felt outmatched, the issue was that victory or defeat often hung on a single instant. By the time one realized the danger, they might already be dead.

What fueled the excitement, however, was the reward for the Ten-Year Grand Competition—it was utterly intoxicating, far surpassing the minor contests held in the various Caves and Manors. And who among those gathered here wasn't already among the absolute elite from their respective domains? It was widely known that a pill of the Foundation Establishment caliber was not merely difficult because of rare and precious ingredients. The refinement difficulty of such heaven-defying elixirs exceeded human imagination by far.

It could be said that throughout the entirety of Kang Province, fewer than twenty cultivators could refine a Foundation Establishment Pill. Moreover, the success rate was extraordinarily low; even for an experienced refiner, if one furnace out of ten yielded success, it was considered immense fortune.

The Yin Sha Sect possessed one such alchemist qualified to attempt the refinement of the Foundation Establishment Pill. Given the Yin Sha Sect's overall strength and the maturity cycle of their ancestral medicinal gardens—spanning thousands of years—they could typically gather enough materials for about a dozen refinement batches every ten years. These materials were handed over to that alchemist for refinement. Due to the sect’s alchemist possessing extremely high skill, usually, after investing so many resources, the success of at least one pill batch was assured. If they were exceedingly lucky, two batches might succeed. But instances where three Foundation Establishment Pills were yielded in a decade were historically few and far between.

Each batch of Foundation Establishment Pills yielded between eight and twelve finished products. This meant that in an average decade, there were only enough pills for roughly ten individuals seeking to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage.

This is where the rankings of the Grand Competition became crucial. Cultivation level was ignored; only the ranking mattered. Priority for the Foundation Establishment Pills was determined strictly from highest to lowest rank, one pill per person, with absolutely no extras. That is to say, if this cycle yielded only ten pills, the disciple ranked eleventh would have no hope of receiving one from the sect. If they still sought the pill, their only recourse was to try their luck at auctions, like the one held days earlier, where one or two might occasionally appear. But those prices often skyrocketed to astronomical figures like one hundred thousand spirit stones or more, and even then, one wasn't guaranteed to encounter one.

Of course, if one possessed immense wealth, such as Ding Wanyan, one could still acquire a Foundation Establishment Pill by offering a high enough price. However, how could a mere Qi Refining stage cultivator amass such a terrifying fortune?

The true sovereign path was to rely on strength and strive for a high rank in the sect's Grand Competition.

This was also one of the primary reasons why the decennial Grand Competition, where surrender was permitted, often resulted in significant casualties. The other major reason was deep-seated grudges and friction, like that between Lei Dong and Bai Li Yun, which were finally settled in the competition, with the victor reigning supreme. The vanquished generally left behind not even a wisp of their nascent soul.

As long as one managed to secure a spot legitimately within the top eight, barring any massive surprises, a Foundation Establishment Pill was essentially guaranteed.

Beyond the Foundation Establishment Pill, the sect's other rewards were also incredibly generous. They included substantial sect contributions, awarded in descending order. The first place winner directly received one hundred thousand contribution points, more than twenty times that of a minor contest. Furthermore, the Old Ancestors of the various Caves and Manors would personally chip in, offering various magical artifacts to entice disciples to compete for honor and secure the next intake of new disciples.

The Ten-Year Grand Competition was quite the momentous occasion for the Yin Sha Sect.

The Sect Master, who had reached the Core Formation stage, along with a Nascent Soul Ancestor who had been in secluded cultivation for a long time, both attended the opening ceremony.

For low-level disciples like Lei Dong, the pressure exerted by a Core Formation cultivator was immense; even more so by a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Now, sitting upon the lofty dais was a terrifying Nascent Soul Ancestor, which rendered Lei Dong incapable of even harboring the slightest urge to look up. Standing amidst the throng of core disciples, head bowed and daring not to move, he was riddled with an irrational fear that this Nascent Soul Ancestor possessed abilities utterly beyond his comprehension.

In fact, it wasn't just Lei Dong; all the disciples participating in the competition were struck mute by fear, listening to the Core Formation Sect Master deliver his words of encouragement. The leaders of the various Caves and Manors also sat ramrod straight, their gazes fixed forward. The atmosphere was one of solemnity, tinged with an added layer of majesty.

After a long wait, the ceremony concluded, and the competition finally began.

Just like ten years ago, crowds of newly admitted disciples surrounded the small fighting stages, their faces still young and naive. It was certain that, whether today, ten years from now, or a century hence, they would vividly remember this scene.

Unlike the minor contests, which used an accumulation point system to build combat experience, this Grand Competition employed a direct elimination format. Among the thirty-nine disciples in total, the chief disciples of each Cave Manor were seeded, receiving a bye in the first round. The remaining twenty-six disciples drew lots to determine their opponents. The thirteen winners would then draw lots against the thirteen seeded disciples to determine the top thirteen. The top thirteen would draw lots against each other, with one receiving a bye, yielding the top seven. These seven would draw lots, with one receiving a bye, resulting in the final four. The top four would proceed through conventional means to determine the first, second, third, and fourth places.

In the Ten Thousand Ghosts Cave, Ding Wanyan was the chief disciple, thus automatically seeded and receiving a bye in the first round. Lei Dong and Zuo Chao, however, both had to participate in a single drawn match; only the victor would qualify for the top twenty-six bracket.

Lei Dong's draw came quickly: his first opponent was Bu Chang, the second core disciple from the neighboring Extreme Yin Cave.

This young man's cultivation was decent, at the tenth layer of the Qi Refining stage—firmly middle-of-the-pack. As Lei Dong walked onto Stage Ding with a blank expression, Bu Chang’s smug smile remained firmly affixed. Facing a bottom-tier disciple like Lei Dong in the opening match felt like a free win handed to him.

As the Foundation Establishment referee called out the start of the duel.

Lei Dong’s expression turned cold. With a slight push off his feet, his figure immediately shifted, drifting unpredictably in mid-air like a specter. With a rapid series of hand seals, his Level Ten Bloodthirsty Ghost Trooper materialized first, issuing a piercing shriek before charging violently, entirely crimson, toward Bu Chang.

"Hmph~ Ghost Shadow Evasion, Ghost Control Art." Bu Chang sneered dismissively. Although this Qi Refining Eighth Layer boy’s Ghost Shadow Evasion seemed well-practiced, his erratic movements made tracking his trajectory difficult. And that natal Ghost Servant seemed quite strong too—it was already Level Ten. Nevertheless, Bu Chang refused to take this mere Qi Refining Eighth Layer boy seriously.

"Yin Sha Palm Strike."

Bu Chang’s expression sobered, and he roared out, a surge of Yin Sha energy erupting from his body and spreading outwards. Simultaneously, without bothering to raise his Profound Yin Shield, he struck out directly with a Ghost Sha Palm. A ferocious and malevolent ghostly image lunged, claws and fangs bared, toward the Bloodthirsty Ghost Trooper.

"Boom!" The Bloodthirsty Ghost Trooper raised its shield to block head-on, its body instantly knocked backward. At the same time, an Shadow Ghost Trooper materialized silently behind him, its two sharp spikes plunging toward his back.

"Hmph, your Yin Sha Palm Strike is leagues behind Senior Sister's," Lei Dong scoffed disdainfully, thrusting his right palm forward heavily. A spectral, emerald-green hand lunged toward Bu Chang, agile and swift, aiming to seize him.

...

(A long Author's Note [P]: Thank you all for your thoughtful feedback; I truly appreciate it. Although some of the comments were quite intense, it shows your dedication to maintaining this work, because you genuinely enjoy it. This novel is a cultivation story, detailing the growth history of a great demon, chronicling his every step. However, it is not a history of a machine's growth. In a sense, a demon is also human. Since he is human, he cannot be devoid of the seven emotions and six desires. Lei Dong is not a robot, nor is he an unfeeling automaton. Despite living two lives, he is still a flesh-and-blood human being. Even with his transmigration, there has been no mention of him suffering inhuman abuse since childhood. Overall, Lei Dong was born into a normal family, an ordinary person. The only real difference is his identity as a transmigrator.

To expect him to completely discard emotion, abandon righteousness, feel no joy, and know only sorrow—where his only activities are cultivation or killing—goes against the logic of his background, and frankly, it's not a story I would write. Because I, too, am a normal person, possessing flesh and blood, joy and anger, tranquility and impulse.

Of course, this does not mean the novel will veer into romance. On the contrary, given the novel's theme, the vast majority of the focus will remain on Lei Dong's path of cultivation. Matters of the heart will, at most, be seasoning, not an unending entanglement that becomes overly childish. You can rest assured on this point; if I wanted to dwell on that, I could easily start a modern romance novel.

Furthermore, a few more words. The new disciples of the Yin Sha Sect, including Lei Dong, Ding Wanyan, Zuo Chao, and others, were all selected from commoner families. Before cultivating, they were all children from normal households. Joining the Yin Sha Sect simply means they are within the sect's territory. It’s unreasonable to write that the moment they join the Yin Sha Sect, they transform into beings who commit every evil, sucking blood and eating human flesh, right?

In my view, an evil sect merely possesses more unorthodox cultivation methods, having less hypocrisy than the orthodox paths. It is a stark, naked manifestation of 'survival of the fittest'—a bloody, jungle law. Fundamentally, everyone is human, and since they are human, they possess diverse personalities.

What is righteous, and what is evil?

In ancient India, Buddhism and Taoism held sway, so they crowned themselves the orthodox path. All other dissenting schools were branded as heretical sects and ordered to be eradicated.

In my humble opinion, the so-called 'righteousness' and 'evil' are merely simple extensions of 'the victor is king, the vanquished is bandit.' Just as with Buddhism and Taoism, if they were weak and another school held dominance, the situation would naturally be inverted.

To summarize it in two words: 'Dissent.' ) If you enjoy this novel, please vote and support it often! U