Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

After exiting the pass, Lin Zhao glanced at his identity token, which was filled with Xu Chuan's messages, the gist of which was:

Hey guys, don't worry about me. I'm going into seclusion to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. It might take a while, so please don't disturb me!

Lin Zhao smiled knowingly. In their little circle, Yan Chiheng and Fang Yue had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and now, including himself, only Xu Chuan was still struggling in the Qi Refining stage.

It seems that kid is really under pressure.

He didn't disturb them and took care of his business first.

The identity token has been updated, changing from a pure white outer disciple token to a deeper blue inner disciple token.

This marks the official entry into the Foundation Establishment stage, with increased privileges.

Then, following the rules, he prepared to pay his respects to Instructor He and receive the main cultivation method after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

Previously, during the Qi Refining stage, we practiced foundational first-tier techniques; now is the time to choose core techniques.

Three days later, Lin Zhao returned to Instructor He's secluded villa.

Instructor He was already waiting. When he saw Lin Zhao enter, his gaze lingered on him for a moment, then he smiled sincerely.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Lin Zhao. You've achieved a superior-grade Dao Foundation and the Five Sacred Mountains Spiritual Body..."

Even among this year's most outstanding disciples, you are more than qualified to be among the top 100.

Lin Zhao quickly offered a few words of humility.

Senior Brother He waved his hand, his tone serious: "I'm not exaggerating. Of those who have already established their foundations, less than a third have truly forged a superior-grade Dao foundation."

You are the 89th person to achieve a superior Dao foundation. And only 53 people can forge a superior Dao foundation and a spiritual body together during the foundation building process.

Some fellow disciples, in pursuit of perfection, even deliberately interrupted their Foundation Establishment process, intending to try again later. You've already surpassed many others in this Foundation Establishment stage.

Lin Zhao was slightly shocked upon hearing this. He had originally thought that those geniuses who had established their foundations early on all had a high-grade foundation, but he hadn't expected that high-grade foundation builders were so rare.

Senior Brother He's expression turned serious: "Enough with the small talk, let's get down to business. After Foundation Establishment, you will be separated from the Qi Refining disciples for the next five years of the Dao Inquiry Hall course."

There is only one major course per month, the content of which is suitable for the foundation building stage, but participation is not mandatory and depends entirely on self-discipline.

Sects are much more lenient in their discipline of Foundation Establishment disciples, relying more on their self-planning.

He paused, then moved on to the most crucial part: "As a newly promoted Foundation Establishment disciple, you can choose one cultivation technique from the sect's inheritance for free."

This is the greatest benefit of Foundation Establishment, bar none.

For a low-grade Dao Foundation, one can choose a second-tier Foundation Establishment level cultivation technique; for a mid-grade Dao Foundation, one can choose a third-tier Core Formation level cultivation technique.

At this point, Senior Brother He looked at Lin Zhao and said, "As for a high-grade Dao Foundation cultivation technique, you can choose a fourth-tier Nascent Soul level technique!"

Even though Lin Zhao was prepared, her breath caught in her throat.

A fourth-tier Nascent Soul cultivation technique! This is a supreme inheritance that would cause major sects to engage in bloody battles and fight to the death!

The sect actually opened it up to Foundation Establishment disciples to choose from? This is quite a move...

"Do you think the sect is too generous?"

Senior Brother He seemed to see through his thoughts and smiled, "First of all, what I'm giving you is only the Foundation Establishment chapter. You'll need to reach the corresponding realms to obtain the subsequent Core Formation and Nascent Soul chapters."

Secondly, the fourth-order cultivation method is extremely profound and requires extremely high standards in terms of foundation, physique, and even comprehension.

Even if you give it to a disciple with a low or mid-grade Dao Foundation, they simply won't be able to practice it. Forcing them to cultivate will only lead to them going into qi deviation.

Only those of you who have forged a superior foundation in the Dao are qualified to cultivate.

He raised his hand and cast a spell, and Lin Zhao's blue token immediately lit up:

"Prepare yourself; the token will guide you into the Hall of Inquiry. Choose carefully and cautiously, for it concerns your future path."

Lin Zhao nodded solemnly, suppressing his excitement, and activated the token.

As the light and shadow shifted, he found himself in a magnificent palace that defied description.

This place seems to be a world unto itself.

Looking around, countless orbs of light, some bright, some dim, and all different in color and shape, float in the distance. Each orb represents a legacy and exudes an ancient aura.

The sheer number of them is like the sands of the Ganges, stretching as far as the eye can see!

"Is this the true treasure trove of the sect's heritage...?" Lin Zhao was deeply shocked.

The moment he had that thought, a hundred exceptionally bright and dazzling orbs of light automatically appeared in front of him, slowly rotating around him.

Clearly, this was the Daoist Temple selecting the most suitable cultivation method for him based on his characteristics.

Lin Zhao took a deep breath and probed the nearest ball of light with his divine sense.

Information flooded his mind: the name of the cultivation method, its core concepts, cultivation requirements, potential power, and even comments from some predecessors after practicing it...

He looked at them one by one, and the more he looked, the more alarmed he became.

These fourth-tier cultivation techniques are all profound methods that directly lead to the Nascent Soul stage, possessing astonishing power and promising prospects.

However, the cultivation conditions are correspondingly astonishingly demanding.

Some require specific rare spiritual entities, while others require the assistance of extremely precious celestial artifacts.

Some require special talent, while others must be combined with certain secret techniques...

Lin Zhao discovered that although he possessed a superior-grade Dao Foundation and the Five Sacred Mountains Spiritual Body, among these one hundred top-tier cultivation techniques, only a few could barely meet the cultivation threshold.

He didn't even qualify for ten of the other ninety-odd courses!

"No wonder Instructor He said that even if we gave it to them, they wouldn't be able to train..." Lin Zhao smiled bitterly.

Fourth-tier techniques are not something you can just learn whenever you want.

Among the remaining options, he compared them repeatedly, and finally, he focused on a technique called "The True Technique of the Five Elements Returning to the Void".

This cultivation technique has ten levels: levels one to three are Foundation Establishment, levels four to six are Core Formation, and levels seven to nine are Nascent Soul.

The tenth level, Nascent Soul, only has a design concept, without a specific cultivation process. It needs to be created by oneself.

Its core concept is domineering and mysterious: "Gather the five elements, return to the ashes, refine heaven and earth as a furnace, and transform oneself into a boundary."

It takes an unconventional approach, drawing in and controlling the spiritual energy of the five elements to construct a "Return to the Void Furnace" within its dantian!

The ultimate goal of refining all energy in this furnace is to transform the cultivator into a continuously growing "Return to the Void Realm," with the ultimate aim of reaching the highest Nascent Soul realm!

This technique has extremely high potential power, but the fundamental contradiction lies in the fact that the human body is inherently fragile. How can it withstand the conflict of five kinds of spiritual energy at the same time, as well as the technique's characteristic of annihilating all things?

Therefore, it requires cultivators to possess an extremely powerful physical body to withstand conflict.

His terrifying divine sense controlled and harmonized the five elements, and he commanded the Void.

"Physical body: I ​​possess the Five Sacred Mountains Spirit Body to suppress the Five Elements; Divine consciousness: I am naturally endowed with powerful divine consciousness, and having just begun to comprehend sword intent, my control far surpasses that of others of the same level... I happen to possess both of these qualities!"

The light in Lin Zhao's eyes grew brighter and brighter. This cultivation technique seemed tailor-made for him!

If he can master it, his path to enlightenment will be limitless!

"That's it!" Lin Zhao said without hesitation, sending a confirmation.

The ball of light burst forth with endless radiance and instantly entered his brow!

In an instant, a vast amount of profound scriptures, visualization diagrams, and practice routes were deeply engraved into the depths of his soul, like a brand.