Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

Kobayashi Yu seemed to sense the emotional fluctuations of the older sister beside her. She blinked, not quite understanding the specific meaning of those words.

But she remembered these words well. She knew that Lin Zhao had brought her here to broaden her horizons.

She simply picked up a crystal pear and gently placed it in front of Qiao Yanran.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the auction hall below reached its peak, with the faint sounds of bidding echoing through the barriers.

Lin Zhao stood up and walked to the huge light screen.

The barrier blocked the view from the outside, but it didn't prevent him from looking down from the inside.

Below, a sea of ​​people thronged, and the light of precious artifacts shimmered. The cultivators who had been practicing Qi Refining were excited, bidding against each other, and sighing over the treasures on the stage... all of this was on full display.

Master Qingming walked slowly to his side, also looking down: "What are your thoughts?"

Lin Zhao was silent for a moment, then his voice carried a hint of distant melody: "More than ten years ago, I sat on the bottom floor, looking up at the important figures in the private rooms on the second floor. Time... flies."

He paused, his tone regaining its calm, "Now, sitting here looking at the scenery below, I realize that beneath the scenery lies..."

He did not participate in the bidding because he was certain that what the Lin family could obtain from the Liu family would far exceed what was being auctioned today.

After watching for a while, Lin Zhao turned around, preparing to call Lin You to leave.

Just as he turned around, he heard Master Qingming's voice behind him, not loud, but clearly reaching his ears:

"Liu Xingyuan went to the Qianhuang Sect half a month ago. There is a member of the Liu family who successfully established his foundation there ten years ago."

He probably went there because he sensed something was wrong and wanted to find a backer, but he was destined to make a wasted trip.

As far as I know, he has left the Thousand Radiance Sect and returned alone, his return route passing through the Crimson Wind Forest.

Lin Zhao paused for a fleeting moment, almost imperceptibly.

Qianhuang Sect! The foremost of the three Core Formation sects in the Yunxia Mountains!

The Liu family has this kind of connection? We couldn't find any information about the Lin family!

As expected, those who can become clan leaders are all ruthless. If an ordinary Foundation Establishment family were to recklessly rush in, they wouldn't even know how they died.

Qingming, that old fox... he clearly planned this all along.

Let the Lin family take the lead and confront the trouble caused by the Thousand Glory Sect!

Master Qingming himself is certainly not afraid of a Foundation Establishment cultivator from an ordinary sect, but it would be best to avoid it if possible.

In their last encounter, Lin Zhao gained a slight advantage in terms of momentum thanks to the Core Formation technique given to him by his master.

In this round, Master Qingming cleverly used his local intelligence advantage to turn the tide.

Lin Zhao had his back to Qingming Shangren, his face expressionless, but a cold glint flashed deep in his eyes.

But he didn't stop or turn around; he simply gave a faint "hmm" to indicate that he had received it.

He accepted the challenge.

Although they were outmaneuvered, the Lin family's overall interests remained intact; only the risks increased, which they had no choice but to accept.

Strength reigns supreme. Master Qingming, holding the sway of the field, possesses intelligence and resources unmatched by anyone else.

The other party has too many means to achieve their goal, while Lin Zhao's Core Formation technique is more about deterrence. Using it on Qingming Shangren would be neither worthwhile nor fruitful.

Ultimately, the only real losers in this game are the head of the Liu family and his family.

--------

In the following days, the situation in Qingfeng Market changed drastically, and bloodshed ensued.

Under the will of Master Qingming, the market enforcement team began to take action, and the "Qingfu Alliance" and the "Bailian Society" were uprooted.

The entire market area was placed under martial law, with all defensive formations activated, preventing any information from being transmitted out of the market.

Several clashes even broke out between Foundation Establishment level cultivators, with a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Liu family and a notorious Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Qingfu Alliance being killed on the spot.

In addition, several Foundation Establishment cultivators, including a second-tier weapon refiner from the Liu family, were suppressed or recruited.

The Lin family, having made advance arrangements, had already quietly transferred its core personnel and important resources, leaving only an empty shell and peripheral members.

In just three days, thousands of cultivators who deserved their fate or were too deeply involved were purged, and the power structure of the entire market was completely reshuffled.

With the Liu family purged, the Lin family will gradually fade from view in Qingfeng City.

Perhaps this is one of Master Qingming's intentions: to redefine the interests and classes of the marketplace.

After this battle, Master Qingming finally regained control of the market.

The neutral Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator, Master Mo Chen, was said to be nearing the end of his life and never showed himself, seemingly tacitly approving of everything.

Meanwhile, outside the Liu family's ancestral land, Master Feiyu descended silently like the Grim Reaper.

Once the signal arrives from Chifeng Forest, an attack will be launched to wipe out the Liu family's ancestral land, along with the elderly Foundation Establishment cultivator within.

-----

Chifeng Forest is a dense, rugged mountain forest stretching for hundreds of miles, named after a type of red wind tree.

Lin Zhao had already hidden himself in the shadows of the dense forest, his presence almost blending into the surrounding Crimson Wind Trees.

He toyed with the two demon banners he had obtained from Liu Yifeng, his eyes calm.

Dealing with Liu Xingyuan, the patriarch of the Liu family, a veteran mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, requires utmost care; there can be no room for error.

He planned to first disguise himself as a cultivator, use the demon banner to harass the enemy and create chaos, and at the same time set up the Four Elements Array. Once he trapped the enemy in the array, he was confident that he could kill him quickly.

If they were allowed to escape, a resentful and experienced mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator could secretly retaliate, which would be a catastrophic disaster for the ordinary members of the Lin family.

Liu Xingyuan is currently on his way back to his family.

His brows were furrowed, and his heart was filled with restlessness and a vague unease.

He was still unaware that the market had undergone a complete upheaval, his mind still filled with the frustration of his unpleasant parting with Liu Xuansheng, the newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Qianhuang Sect.

"Ignorant brat! Ungrateful wretch! Short-sighted!"

He cursed inwardly.

The two most promising candidates for Foundation Establishment in the next generation of the Liu family, Liu Yuan and Liu Yuan, died mysteriously outside.

The Liu family had no choice but to give Liu Yuan the Foundation Establishment resources they had prepared for him.

However, after Liu Xuansheng successfully established his foundation, he demanded that the family devote all its resources to his cultivation, completely disregarding the overall situation of the family and the development of other clansmen.

If both of them can reach Foundation Establishment, the Liu family will have six Foundation Establishment cultivators, in addition to the Foundation Establishment cultivators they have recruited over the years.

Why fear the "declining master Qingming"? Why worry about not being able to seize Qingfeng Market?

That hateful brat Liu Xuansheng is short-sighted.

They actually said that Master Qingming was difficult to deal with, and that it would be better to leave the resources for him to cultivate.

As he pondered, he arrived above the Crimson Wind Forest, where the forest below was eerily quiet.

Right now!

From the dense forest below, a surge of demonic energy erupted into the sky! The two phantom demon banners swelled, growing larger in the wind, instantly transforming into several meters in size. Thick black smoke billowed into the sky like wolf smoke, from which came countless chilling ghostly wails and soul howls!

"Waaaaah—!"

Hundreds of distorted, demonic cultivator souls surged from the banner, transforming into a cloud of souls that blotted out the sun, descending upon Liu Xingyuan! The light was instantly swallowed up, and within a radius of several miles, it was as if daylight had suddenly plunged into night!

"A cultivator who has been robbed? How dare you!" Liu Xingyuan was both shocked and furious, but seeing that the demonic banner's aura was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, he felt somewhat calmer.

He reacted extremely quickly, flicking his sleeves, and a crimson flying sword and a black meteor hammer flew out simultaneously, their spiritual light bursting forth as they met the oncoming demonic souls. The crimson and black light intertwined, scattering and forcing back the first dozens of demonic souls that rushed towards them.