Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Once activated, this liquid mana will multiply its power, whether used to cast spells or drive magical artifacts!

Lin Zhao chose a quiet room and activated the restriction.

Three months passed quietly. Inside the quiet room, Lin Zhao slowly opened her eyes.

In the center of his dantian, a drop of white liquid magic power was quietly suspended.

The second stage of the Yunling Three Transformations Secret Technique has been completed.

Just as he was carefully comprehending the subtlety of this drop of liquid magic.

"clang--!!!"

A bell tolling, its grandeur and antiquity defying description, struck without warning, yet seemed to resonate from the depths of the soul.

In an instant, the news spread throughout the entire Purple Sun Immortal City, and even spread far and wide!

The bell's sound wasn't harsh, yet it clearly conveyed a message:

The once-in-a-decade "Initiation Ceremony" of the Yunhai Cangming Sect is about to begin!

The bell tolled nine times, its sound resounding through the heavens and cleansing the soul.

Inside the immortal city, countless cultivators stopped what they were doing and looked up in the direction from which the bell sounded. The streets instantly became even more bustling, and countless people began to fly out of the city.

Lin Zhao walked out of the training room and exchanged a glance with Zao Xuchuan. They both saw the solemnity and expectation in each other's eyes.

The two left the courtyard and followed the flow of people out of the city.

As soon as he stepped out of the city gate, the sight before him made Lin Zhao gasp in shock!

The sky was completely filled with flying magical artifacts and spirit boats that blotted out the sun! The flying magical artifacts formed a torrent,

They are all heading in the same direction! Their numbers are far more than tens of thousands.

Lin Zhao and his companion also piloted their respective flying magical artifacts, merging into the torrent. After flying for about an hour, the scenery ahead changed drastically once again.

Ahead lay a majestic mountain range that stretched as far as the eye could see, shrouded in endless clouds and mist!

The clouds and mist were formed by the combination of countless pure and refined spiritual energies of heaven and earth with some kind of formation.

It presents a dreamlike interplay of pale gold and milky white, flowing slowly and exuding a vast and breathtaking undulation.

A pale silver barrier, visible to the naked eye and as thin as a cicada's wing, completely isolated this mountain range, spanning tens of thousands of miles, from the outside world!

Above the barrier, countless intricate cloud patterns and Dao marks flickered, faintly resonating with the heavens and earth.

This is the protective formation of the Zhen Shi Sheng Zong sect.

Beyond the barrier, the most conspicuous sight was a colossal cloud gate, tens of thousands of feet high!

The Cloud Gate is not a physical entity, but is entirely formed from the purest spiritual clouds. The two ancient characters "Cangming" are faintly visible at the very top of the Cloud Gate.

Every stroke seemed to contain profound truths, making it difficult to look at for long. Around the cloud gate, endless spiritual mist churned and surged.

Meanwhile, outside Cloud Gate, the "Reception Plaza" was already packed with people!

Lin Zhao glanced at it briefly, and was already deeply shocked.

The number of cultivators gathered here probably exceeds one million!

The vast majority of them were young cultivators like him, waiting for their assessment.

The number of elders who escorted them and cultivators from various places who came to observe the ceremony was even greater.

Above this vast sea of ​​people, countless powerful Core Formation stage auras emanated without any concealment.

A rough sense revealed dozens of paths! And there were tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators scattered across the plaza.

The scale of the scene far exceeded Lin Zhao's previous imagination! This was the true grandeur of a sect that ruled a continent, had a history of seventy thousand years, and was the Holy Sect that pacified the world.

He and Xu Chuan landed at the edge of the square and waited quietly.

Finally, on the third day, as the sun rose, its golden light bathed the towering cloud gate and the sect's misty clouds.

"Buzz—!"

The enormous cloud gate suddenly shone brightly. Five figures stepped out from behind the gate, moving unhurriedly.

The leader was a middle-aged Taoist priest with a thin face and gentle eyes, followed by three men and one woman, all of whom had an extraordinary temperament.

All five were dressed in simple, moon-white Taoist robes.

Faint cloud patterns adorn the cuffs and hem—this is the emblem of the Cloud Sea Azure Sea Sect!

The five individuals appeared without deliberately releasing any pressure, yet within a few breaths, the previously bustling gathering place of a million cultivators quickly quieted down.

The slender Taoist priest at the head of the group calmly swept his gaze across the sea of ​​people below. His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"I am Mingjing, a steward of the Dao Inquiry Hall of the Yunhai Cangming Sect. By order of the Sect Master and the elders, I am presiding over this year's Initiation Ceremony."

"The ceremony officially begins."

His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority: "All those who hold my sect's assessment tokens, immediately move forward and enter the ten-mile radius in front of the Cloud Gate."

Those without a token shall retreat ten miles away. Those who do not arrive within one hundred breaths shall be deemed to have forfeited their qualification.

As soon as the words were spoken, the previously mixed crowd immediately parted like a tide. The hundreds of thousands of cultivators transformed into streaks of light and quickly retreated to the rear.

Lin Zhao gripped the token in his hand and, together with Xu Chuan, stepped into the area where the remaining cultivators within the ten-mile radius numbered an astonishing 500,000!

Once the crowd had settled, the Taoist Master Mingjing in the sky gently flicked his sleeve.

"Buzz!"

The cloud-patterned token in Lin Zhao's hand glowed with a white light! Immediately afterward, he felt a cool power connect to his soul through the token!

At the same time, an incredibly clear message appeared directly in his mind.

He became aware of the information about himself that had been recorded.

His name is Lin Zhao. He comes from Qingxi Mountain in Yunxia Domain, which is under Yunzhou. He is 22 years old and currently has the cultivation level of Qi Refining Level 9. He was recommended by Wu Mingxuan of Feixue Peak and was assigned to the 23rd batch for assessment.

Immediately afterwards, the content of the first stage of the assessment also appeared in his mind.

He needs to cross this "illusory sea of ​​clouds" to reach the "gateway to guide the clouds".

More specific rules and clauses, one after another, were logically imprinted in his soul:

Firstly, the clouds and mist in the sea of ​​clouds will transform into "cloud beasts." Defeating them will grant you a "cloud spirit mark."

Secondly, the strength of the cloud beasts varies greatly; how to deal with them is up to you to consider. You cannot join forces.

Thirdly, the final assessment score will take into account the time he arrived at Cloud Gate, as well as the quantity and quality of Cloud Spirit Marks he acquired.

Fourth, it is strictly forbidden for examinees to compete for the marks; those who violate this prohibition will be executed.

Fifth, there is only 15 minutes to cross the sea of ​​clouds. Those who exceed the time limit will be eliminated.

"This...this is..." Lin Zhao's pupils shrank sharply, his mind reeling.

This directly reflects a clear way of presenting information in the mind.

"Information technology"

In an instant, memories of his past life flooded back to him.

Is this really a sect that cultivates immortality?

The Zhen Shi Sheng Zong, with a lineage spanning seventy thousand years...

What a huge "surprise"!

Fortunately, he had been through a lot and managed to suppress his turbulent emotions and countless questions.

Now is not the time for exploration; passing the assessment is the only thing that matters!

He composed himself, and the first batch of ten thousand examinees rushed into the clouds in front of the Cloud Gate!

In an instant, countless cloud beasts of various shapes and sizes emerged from the clouds!

They are composed entirely of pure clouds and array spiritual energy.

These cloud beasts possessed a weak aura, only at the first or second level of Qi Refining.

The pressure was so strong that even Lin Zhao, who was far away, felt his scalp tighten – it was definitely the pressure of the Foundation Establishment level!