Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

"It takes a thousand days to raise an army, but only a moment to deploy it. Now, there's an important, secret mission for you all to carry out." Hou Youyuan finished handing out the prizes and began to announce the actual business. As expected, the leader had brought everyone here for other plans.

"A great war between good and evil has broken out in the southern region a million miles away from us. Except for the Yuling Sect, which has closed its mountains for a hundred years to express neutrality, the other four sects have joined the war. The righteous sects Xuantian Sect and Jiuyang Sect in the southern region are affiliated with our sect, while the demonic sects Xuanyin Sect and Moyan Sect are affiliated with the demonic giant Hehuan Sect. The Hehuan Sect wants to annex all the sects in the southern region, so it launched the great war between good and evil. Naturally, we cannot let them succeed easily. You represent the top combat power of the middle level of our sect, so we need you to go deep into the southern region to support the righteous sect in resisting the invasion of the demonic sect." Hou Youyuan introduced seriously.

The crowd below was in an uproar. They were actually being asked to participate in the war, and everyone was immediately nervous. Liu Xing was also taken aback. Born in the southern region, he was quite familiar with the sects there. He had always wanted to return to the southern region, where his beloved Dongfang Qing lived, but the distance was too great for him to return. He was now over 120 years old, and given the lifespan of a mortal, Dongfang Qing would most likely have died of old age. If he had the chance to return now, he would do it without hesitation, even if it meant just to burn a stick of incense at her grave.

"Anyone who participates in this operation will be rewarded with a bottle of Fire Condensation Fluid, Millennium Soft Gypsum, and 100,000 points upon return." Hou Youyuan deliberately gave everyone a moment to digest this explosive news before dangling a huge, irresistible bait. Sure enough, upon hearing about the essential items for Core Formation, except for the top ten, the other ninety disciples' eyes lit up, their hearts racing.

"Master, I need to discuss this with my grandfather, Elder Ge." Ge Teng remained unmoved. This was the first time he had heard this news, so he needed to discuss it with his family. The other disciples also had this idea; at least they needed to hear whether their master supported it first.

"The top ten disciples must participate. I've already spoken with your masters and elders, and they all agree. You can ask them for confirmation when you return." As if anticipating this question, Hou Youyuan was prepared. He glanced at Liu Xing, both intentionally and unintentionally, after he finished speaking. Liu Xing instantly understood that the sect leader already knew he was Elder Su's last disciple, and that his participation had already been approved by Elder Su.

The top ten disciples were all horrified. It seemed that joining the battle was a must. The other disciples were greatly encouraged to see that all the top ten masters had joined the battle. At the same time, in order to achieve Dan, most of them planned to join the battle.

"You haven't given me any compelling reasons. Everyone present must join the battle. Those who refuse due to fear will be treated as deserters and expelled from the sect." After Hou Youyuan announced the rewards, he proceeded to announce the rules of conduct. He employed both carrot and stick, demonstrating the ruthlessness of his management. The small group preparing to find excuses to get out of the situation were instantly silenced. At this moment, the disadvantages of joining a sect became apparent: facing a sect mission meant accepting the assignment and obeying orders, no matter how great the risk.

"Everyone, don't worry too much. You all have the strength to fight one against three. As long as you don't encounter a Jindan cultivator, your lives will not be in danger. The Yuanying cultivators are all restraining each other. In this war, they are not allowed to take direct action. All the materials you seize on the battlefield will belong to you personally, and those who make great contributions will receive additional rewards. For you, this is both an opportunity for actual combat training and a chance to obtain resources. Opportunities and risks coexist, and it is hard to say whether it is worth it or not." Seeing that he had calmed everyone down, Hou Youyuan calmed everyone down and made everyone understand that this was a great opportunity.

"Are you all willing to join the battle?" Sect Leader Hou asked calmly, with a murderous aura emanating from him.

"We are willing to join the war," everyone responded in unison. You're kidding! Not participating means expulsion from the sect, and expulsion carries a death sentence. Who dares to disobey? Some people were filled with regret. They envied their fellow Taoists who had retreated and skipped the competition, perfectly dodging the mission of this war. It was all destined.

"Very good. I am very pleased that you can put the overall situation first. The sect will never treat you unfairly for your contributions to the sect. Now we will divide you into groups. There will be a total of ten combat teams, ten people in each team. The top ten will be captains, each leading a team. I will give you one hour to find a captain." Sect Master Hou encouraged everyone and then began to arrange the battle sequence.

The crowd erupted in excitement. Each captain prioritized sending messages to trusted friends and those who had performed exceptionally well during the competition, hoping to strengthen their teams. Ge Teng was the most active, even bringing up his grandfather, Elder Ge. As expected, he was the fastest to organize a ten-man team. Liu Xing stood still, unmoved. Qian Botong, needless to say, stood behind him. He didn't know the others well, and didn't know who to recruit. He simply waited quietly for the others to choose their members, and his team would naturally fall to the remaining ones. As expected, the majority of those gathered around Liu Xing were those with lower combat scores. Only one young man, carrying a broadsword, was a relatively strong opponent. He had once been in the top nineteen, but he didn't belong to any peak, being an outsider disciple. Liu Xing looked at him with surprise. He seemed withdrawn and had rejected the other captains' offers, resolutely choosing Liu Xing.

"Okay, let's follow the current group assignments. Each captain collects the names of the members of his team, and come up with a team name and hand it to me." An hour later, Hou Youyuan opened his slightly narrowed eyes and continued to make arrangements.

Liu Xing of the Forbidden Division, Qian Botong of the Forbidden Division, Li Li of the Forbidden Division, Zhao Fei of the Puppet Division, Sun Yong of the Puppet Division, Zhou Tong of the Divination Division, Wu Xiuhua of the Divination Division, Dao Lang of the Outer Sect, Wang Bing of the Outer Sect, and Zheng Qiuyan of the Outer Sect—six men and four women. Except for Liu Xing, all of them were at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage. This force could easily defeat a veteran in the late Core Formation stage. Liu Xing, reminded of his mercenaries in his previous life, named his team the War Wolves. Everyone quickly submitted their team members' and captain's information.

"Your identity tokens will be immediately issued with your 100,000 sect points. You have three months to prepare your supplies for the battle. After three months, gather here and depart. Remember, this is a secret operation. No one except your master can reveal this. You must swear a heart demon oath to protect yourself," Hou Youyuan instructed. Everyone, aware of the importance of confidentiality, solemnly swore the oath. Then, they left the hall and began their separate preparations.