Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Fortunately, the core area was relatively well preserved, and the market formation was taken over by the Lin family at the last moment, so the number of Qi Refining cultivators killed or injured was not large.

This is the result of a little over a day of battle at the Foundation Establishment stage. If the two sides fight for a few more days, they could demolish the entire market town.

He met the clan leader and several others in the cave dwelling of the workshop owner.

Clan Chief Lin Shanhe sat in the main seat, his face pale, with a faint smell of blood emanating from under his clothes on his left shoulder, and his aura was three points weaker than usual.

Grandfather sat at the lower end of the table, but his expression remained relatively calm.

Lin Zhengfeng, who had just reached the Foundation Establishment stage, stood to the side. The sharp, bloodthirsty aura around him had faded considerably, and he looked tired, but his back was ramrod straight.

Po Jun Shen Qianfeng and Qin Jia Foundation Establishment cultivators were also present, each bearing injuries.

Seven cultivators at the early stage of Foundation Establishment were also seated in the hall. They were men and women, and their clothing and auras were different. They were originally neutral forces in the market.

All eyes were now on Lin Zhao, who had just entered the room, with a mixture of wariness and a barely perceptible relaxation—the Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Lin family, who had remained hidden for so long, had finally arrived.

"How bad is the damage?" Lin Zhao asked first.

"Nearly 20% of the market buildings were destroyed, mainly concentrated in the area where the fighting took place in the eastern district." Lin Shanhe's voice was somewhat hoarse. "A total of four Foundation Establishment cultivators died. The Yun family couple fought very fiercely."

Lin Zhao frowned slightly: "It's been dragged on until the third day because of them?"

"That's right." Lin Shanhe twitched the corner of his mouth, whether it was mockery or sighing, "It is said that the Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator who married into the family and the Cloud Pavilion Master had a bad relationship and had been separated for many years."

Hey, at the last minute, they started putting on a show of fighting to the death. One burned his life essence to forcibly boost his cultivation, the other sacrificed his natal magic weapon for protection... We were all scrambling to keep up.

He paused, his eyes darting around, then looked up at Lin Zhao: "Your second-tier talisman, the Netherworld Needle, is indeed very useful. Three of them were enough to send them on their way—speaking of which, do you have any spare second-tier talismans of this quality? The market has just been stabilized, and there might be more trouble later..."

Standing to the side, Lin Zhengfeng couldn't help but roll his eyes. He had clearly only used two, and he obviously hadn't gotten used to the clan leader's style yet, so he could only turn his face away.

The grandfather stroked his beard, chuckled softly, and transmitted his voice to Lin Zhengfeng, saying, "Just watch, you should learn a thing or two from the clan chief's opportunistic and ruthless nature."

Lin Zhao pretended not to hear, his gaze sweeping over the seven Foundation Establishment cultivators in the hall: "Who are these people?"

"The old acquaintances of the market have remained neutral this time and have not become our enemies," Lin Shanhe said solemnly. "From now on, as we jointly manage this market, Lin Zhao, you will need to... make more contact with them."

The meaning behind these words is clear: demonstrate strength and reassure the public.

Lin Zhao nodded in understanding and said no more.

The Lin family still has a lot to do: comfort the injured cultivators, clear out the market resources, and repair the formation.

The main forces of the alliance are already on their way.

Taking over a market town is not easy; it requires at least a thousand direct disciples.

Over the next two weeks, Lin Zhao met with the seven Foundation Establishment cultivators one by one. Sometimes they would drink tea and discuss the Dao, and sometimes he would show off his skills—he didn't need to go all out; he only needed to display the aura of the Nine Luminaries Heavenly Dragon, which was comparable to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

The early Foundation Establishment cultivators in the market are all of low-grade Dao Foundation, and basically have no chance of advancing to the middle stage. Faced with Lin Zhao, who is comparable to the late Foundation Establishment stage, they dare not make any other small moves.

Meanwhile, envoys dispatched by the Lin family traveled to various markets and towns in the Yunxia Mountains.

Tianyun Market was the first to respond, acknowledging the Lin family's takeover of Yinwu Market—which was part of the deal between Lin Zhao and the Zhong family.

The Black Fiend Pavilion, one of the three major sects, has also acknowledged the Lin family's status. This is clearly due to the Lin family's hidden lineage, and now it should be said that the Lin family is the fourth lineage.

Following closely behind, several markets that had long-standing ties with the Lin family, such as Qingfeng, Guiyun, and Jinsha, responded one after another.

Seeing that some other neutral markets had recognized the Lin family's position as market lords, the other neutral markets followed suit. With more than half of the markets acknowledging the Lin family, their fate was sealed.

Even if there are opposing neighborhoods, it is not possible to contact too many neighborhoods to join forces in a short period of time.

Of the four strongest forces in the Yunxia Mountains, Tianyun Market supported them, Heisha Pavilion expressed its stance, Baicao Sect remained neutral, and Qianhuang Sect, after several days of silence, finally delivered a letter with bland wording.

There were no congratulations, just the words "Understood," but that was enough.

Three months later, the market was initially restored to order, and the clan head renamed it "Shaoyang Market".

The implication of this name corresponding to Lin Zhao is self-evident.

When Lin Zhao learned of this name, he couldn't help but roll his eyes, though he only did so in front of his family.

Before his departure, clan chief Lin Shanhe and his grandfather saw him off outside the market.

"The land reclamation war is scheduled for six months from now." Lin Shanhe gazed at the figures. "The initial clearing of the Tier 1 resource points will take about six months; the real challenge will be the latter half, with those seven Tier 2 spirit lands and mineral veins. You... will you be coming then?"

"I will come then," Lin Zhao said, "but I won't interfere too much. The Lin family can't always rely on me alone."

He is, after all, a cultivator from a sect, and cannot remain in the family forever; the family needs to work hard on its own.

"Understood." Lin Shanhe nodded, but added, "However, you should refine more of those fire-attribute magical artifacts... the more the better. Fire-attribute magical artifacts are the most useful for clearing wastelands, exorcising miasma, and dealing with hordes of demonic beasts."

Lin Zhao glanced at him: "Make sure you have enough fire-attribute materials and enough spirit stones."

"Of course, of course," the patriarch laughed without a care. The Lin family, having become the market lords, had acquired a large quantity of low-grade spirit stones, as well as various refining materials; they had no shortage of resources for the Qi Refining stage.

Outside the market, clan leader Lin Shanhe stood side by side with his grandfather, watching the blue rainbow disappear completely into the clouds.

Clan Chief Lin Shanhe withdrew his gaze, turned to his grandfather beside him, and said in a low voice, "See? Heaven is where he should go."

He paused, a complex emotion flashing across his eyes. "The Lin family's pond can't support a true dragon. From now on... we'll have to rely on our own efforts."

Grandfather didn't reply, but just looked at the market in the distance and nodded.

The two walked back into the city in silence. As they climbed to the top of the still-unrepaired eastern district, the setting sun was painting the clouds a fiery gold.

Below, the outline of most of the market town was spread out before my eyes—busy figures moved between ruins and intact streets. Further away, the verdant ridge of the Yunxia Mountains undulated in the twilight, like the back of a sleeping giant.

"Six months," Lin Shanhe suddenly said, his fingers unconsciously tapping the scorch marks on the railing. "The posts about the pioneering war need to be sent to all sixteen markets and the three major sects."

How many people can come? How many Foundation Establishment cultivators are willing to come? And if they do, will they follow orders? How will the captured resources be distributed?

With each question he asked, his voice grew deeper. There were no immediate answers to these questions.