Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

The pearl still shone with four colors. The cracks left by the damage had disappeared without a trace. The pearl was perfectly round and flawless, with a radiant surface and more complex runes.

Simply by hovering in the air, it spontaneously draws in the surrounding spiritual energy.

Four tiny vortexes formed, clearly indicating that the quality was even better than before the damage!

Master Mingxuan is indeed extraordinary! Lin Zhao thought with gratitude, carefully storing the magic weapon in his dantian to nurture it.

With the intact and even improved Four Directions Spirit Pearl, his confidence in completing the commission increased even more.

Without further hesitation, he took out the "Purple Qi Pill" again and put it in his mouth.

Lin Zhao fully activated the "Five Elements Rhyme Spirit Technique," guiding the powerful medicinal force to circulate throughout the body's meridians.

The spirit-gathering array within the cave was also activated, and dense spiritual energy, as if summoned, surged wildly into his body.

The combined effects of the Purple Qi Pill continuously expanded his meridians and purified the spiritual energy within his dantian.

Time slipped away quietly as I immersed myself in my practice.

Once he finished one pill, he immediately took the next one.

After an unknown amount of time, when Lin Zhao had used up half of the Purple Qi Pill,

The spiritual energy in his dantian had reached its limit, like a cloud compressed to its extreme, restless and agitated.

This is the moment!

Lin Zhao's mind stirred, his consciousness highly focused, and he fully activated his cultivation technique.

Guiding all the spiritual power within his body, like a flood bursting its banks, it surged fiercely towards that solid bottleneck!

"boom!"

A deafening roar seemed to echo in his mind! The violent impact made his body tremble slightly, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, but the bottleneck also showed cracks in response!

He didn't let up and continued to mobilize his spiritual power. Finally, after who knows how many times he attacked, the barrier completely collapsed!

In an instant, Lin Zhao felt a lightness all over his body, as if he had broken free from some invisible restraint.

The dantian and qi sea expanded suddenly, and the spiritual energy became even purer!

Qi Refining to the ninth level, done!

He did not immediately emerge from seclusion, but instead continued to stabilize his cultivation level and adapt to the surge in power.

At the same time, it is constantly nurturing and familiarizing itself with the Four Elements Beads, which are now even more powerful after being repaired, and also familiarizing itself with the Small Xuanwu Formation.

Three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, the tightly closed cave slowly opened amidst a rumbling sound.

A figure stepped out from within. He was still wearing the same blue robe, but his posture was even more upright, his aura was as solid as a mountain, and his spiritual energy was perfectly harmonious.

It was Lin Zhao, whose cultivation had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Lin Zhao looked up towards the peak. Three months had passed, and it was time to meet Master Mingxuan.

On the mountaintop where the sea of ​​clouds surged, Lin Zhao came to pay his respects to Master Mingxuan.

This time, the opening of the secret realm was led by Master Mingxuan himself. Several people were already waiting above.

Master Mingxuan, still dressed in a white robe, stood with his hands behind his back at the edge, gazing at the sea of ​​clouds. He didn't say much, but the invisible pressure he exuded kept the waiting crowd from making a sound.

Lin Zhao stood quietly to one side, silently observing her future companions.

"Hey, fellow Daoist, you look unfamiliar. Are you new to the market?" A slightly eccentric voice rang out beside me.

Lin Zhao turned his head and saw a young man dressed in an indigo blue outfit with several storage bags hanging from his waist, who was looking at him with a grin.

This person was not particularly handsome, but his eyes were extremely bright and intelligent.

"My name is Lin Zhao." Lin Zhao nodded slightly.

"My name is Xu Chuan, and everyone in the market calls me 'the gossipmonger'."

The young man leaned closer without any hesitation and lowered his voice, saying, "Brother Lin, is this your first time participating in a group activity like this? Don't be nervous, I know the rules, I'll explain the situation to you in a bit."

Lin Zhao remained noncommittal, simply listening quietly.

Xu Chuan was indeed talkative, and began to mutter in a low voice: "See that guy over there holding a sword, cold as ice? His name is Wang Li. His swordsmanship is ruthless. It is said that he once killed a commander-level demon beast. He is not to be trifled with."

And then there's the female cultivator in the pale yellow dress, Su Wan, whose wood-based magic is extremely skillful.

That big guy, Shi Meng, is a body cultivator with a powerful physique; he can withstand all kinds of magical weapon attacks...

He quickly introduced the characteristics of the cultivators who had arrived at the scene, as if he knew them by heart.

Although there was some exaggeration in his words, it did give Lin Zhao a preliminary understanding of the cultivators who would be traveling with him.

The wait lasted three days, and the group gradually arrived. Including Lin Zhao, there were ten people in Tianyun Market.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Master Mingxuan said nothing more. With a flick of his sleeve, a stream of light shot out, growing longer as it was exposed to the wind.

In an instant, it transformed into a second-tier spirit boat, over thirty feet long and radiating a pale blue spiritual light, which floated above the sea of ​​clouds.

The boat's hull has smooth lines and is engraved with intricate runes, radiating powerful spiritual energy fluctuations.

"Board the ship." Master Mingxuan spoke calmly, and was the first to transform into a beam of white light and land on the spirit ship.

No one dared to delay, and they all activated their magical artifacts and entered the spirit boat.

Lin Zhao felt that his feet were unusually stable, and if it weren't for the surrounding scenery rushing past, he would hardly have felt any movement.

The spirit boat transformed into a long azure rainbow, tearing through the clouds and heading towards the entrance of the secret realm.

After flying for about a day, the spirit boat gradually slowed down and finally hovered above a desolate mountain range.

Below was a huge valley, with jagged rocks, sparse vegetation, and a faint, pervasive ripple in the air.

"We've arrived. This is it. The entrance to the secret realm is deep within this valley."

Xu Chuan's voice rang out again. He pointed to the figures that had gathered below, "Look, most of the people from the other markets have arrived as well."

He pulled Lin Zhao closer to the ship's side and pointed to the different groups below, saying, "Look over there, those people wearing dark gray Taoist robes and exuding a chilling aura are from the 'Black Fiend Pavilion.' They have secret techniques to use Black Fiend Stones, and their magical artifacts are very famous. The leader is a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator surnamed Hu."

And over there, those in ornately dressed are from the 'Thousand Radiance Sect,' they specialize in crafting offensive and flying magical artifacts.

They were all incredibly wealthy, but only the market vendors had come; countless cultivators from the sects had also arrived, their strengths varying greatly…

"The group of people to the west, whose clothes are mostly embroidered with patterns of medicinal herbs, belong to the 'Hundred Herbs Sect'."

Xu Chuan continued, "They are renowned for their alchemy skills and usually work as a team, so their combat strength might be slightly weaker."

Most of the people who came this time were female cultivators, and they probably had more pills on them than you have ever seen.

Leading the group was Elder Mu, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator and a second-tier high-grade alchemist.

Lin Zhao's gaze fell on the face of a woman dressed in green from the Hundred Herbs Sect. She was wearing a white mask.

It's exactly the same mask as Chen Yaoshi's mask from the Po Jun Demon Hunting Team, only the color is different.

I don't know if it's related, but I remember Pharmacist Chen saying he had a cousin who was an alchemist. I don't know if it's her.