Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

There is also the Cloud Sea Cangming Sect.

As the rulers of Yunzhou, the sects have the ability to monitor any unusual activity in the spiritual veins within the continent, and their intelligence network is even more powerful.

The Heavenly Capital Spirit Sect's insane plan has lasted for at least a thousand years. Could the sect really be completely unaware of it?

If you knew this earlier, why did you hesitate for so long?

They only made their move when the Thousand Glory Sect was almost completely wiped out and the calamity had already swept through the Cloud and Mist Mountains.

Lin Zhao's gaze fell on the last record about the Tiandu Yuling Sect's mountain gate—Tianling Mountain.

This is the current location of Tianyun Market, a third-order spiritual vein.

A thousand years ago, that place was a fourth-order spiritual vein, and also the place where Nascent Soul cultivators from the Cloud Sea Cangming Sect descended.

After the war, the fourth-order spiritual vein fell to the third order, and this mountain gate, which once belonged to the Tiandu Yuling Sect, is now called "Tianyun Market".

Lin Zhao stood quietly beneath the altar.

Those battles from a thousand years ago have long since vanished into the past.

But some things remained, such as this fallen spiritual vein, the mountain gate that has been transformed into a market town, the current status of the Thousand Radiance Sect, and the bloody confrontation between humans and demons in the Cloud Mist Mountains that has lasted for thousands of years.

And beneath the surface, there are unspoken yet chilling things—deals, compromises, or even colder calculations.

He knew he had only seen the tip of the iceberg.

What role did Qianhuangzong play back then?

In this entire catastrophe, was the Cangming Sect the belated savior, the opportunist, or the mastermind behind it all...?

Lin Zhao gently shook his head, suppressing those turbulent thoughts.

Even though he had been a member of the sect for ten years, he still couldn't see through this dominant sect.

The more you know, the faster you sometimes die.

The Thousand Glory Sect was once incredibly powerful, yet only one of its twelve Tier 3 spirit boats remains, and countless Core Formation cultivators have perished.

His Foundation Establishment cultivation level was as insignificant as dust in the face of these millennia-old secrets and sectarian power struggles.

It's pointless to delve into these things now.

Lin Zhao withdrew his gaze, no longer dwelling on it, and instead began to examine the secret realm itself.

The space was indeed slowly collapsing, with the gray fog at the edges constantly eroding inward.

His use of the Five Emperors Seal to shake the earth's veins just now probably accelerated this process.

At this rate, the secret realm will be completely destroyed within a year at most.

Valuable items have basically disappeared from the world.

Those broken magical artifacts have lost all their spiritual power and are no different from scrap metal.

However, the twelve black stone pillars surrounding the altar...

Lin Zhao approached the three still intact stone pillars.

The pillar was cold to the touch, and its surface was neither metal nor stone, covered with various runes.

Upon probing with one's divine sense, one could sense a "sealing" force.

"Spirit Sealing Pillar".

This set of twelve pillars was originally a third-tier magic weapon used to stabilize the secret realm space.

Now only three remain, their grade has dropped to the second-tier high-grade magic weapon, and their power is gone.

Even so, these three pillars are made of extraordinary materials. If we take them back and refine them again, we might be able to forge a decent second-tier formation.

Without further hesitation, he began to collect the money.

Just as Lin Zhao was about to sever the connection between the three spirit-sealing pillars and the secret realm—

"Buzz..."

The entire secret realm trembled violently! Beneath the altar, a certain "node" that had been suppressed by the Spirit-Sealing Pillar lost its restraints and cracked open!

The pure, almost liquefied spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged forth! The energy was a mixture of pale gold and milky white.

Lin Zhao was surprised to find such a benefit, and then he returned to the outside world.

-----

Back on the ground.

Lin Shanhe had been waiting outside, and when he saw him come out, he visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"How is it?" the clan chief asked briefly.

"The secret realm will collapse in a year or even less."

Lin Zhao said calmly, "After the collapse, the poisonous fog will lose its support and gradually dissipate. The Lin family can now safely mine this spirit stone mine."

He didn't mention the Heavenly Capital Spirit Sect.

Some secrets are better known to as few people as possible.

The chieftain said, "Thank you for your hard work," and after a pause, added, "I will personally arrange reliable people to handle the mining, proceeding slowly and deliberately, without drawing any attention."

"That would be best." Lin Zhao nodded. "I need to go into seclusion inside for a while."

Lin Shanhe gave him a deep look, but didn't ask for any more details, and just nodded.

When Lin Zhao returned to the secret realm, spiritual energy had already covered the entire altar.

Lin Zhao quickly sat down cross-legged and activated the Five Elements Return to the Void True Technique at full power! Deep within his dantian, the phantom of the "Return to the Void Furnace" suddenly appeared, its mouth wide open, generating an incomparably domineering suction force!

The spiritual energy, like rivers flowing into the sea, was forcibly drawn in, absorbed, and thrown into the furnace.

The furnace slowly rotated, compressing and storing this enormous spiritual energy.

The furnace body shimmered with light, and at a speed visible to the naked eye, it solidified somewhat.

But there's too much spiritual energy.

The Ruins Furnace alone cannot absorb them all.

Lin Zhao's mind raced, and with a flick of her right hand, the Azure Lotus Sword appeared in her grasp.

He ran his left hand along the blade with his fingers together.

"Clang—"

As the clear sword rang out, seventy-two jade lotus leaves fell from the scabbard at the same time! They danced in the air, their spiritual light intertwining, and transformed into a large blue lotus flower, several meters in size.

The nurturing formation of the Azure Lotus Sword

Lin Zhao gently placed the Azure Lotus Sword into the center of the lotus flower, and the lotus closed up, completely enveloping the sword.

On the surface of the petals, countless cyan runes lit up, forming a cycle that began to actively absorb the surging spiritual energy around them, transforming it into pure spiritual power to slowly nurture and temper the sword.

The lotus flower's radiance flickers, pulsating like breath.

The Azure Lotus Sword trembled slightly within, emitting a pleasant, clear sound. The radiance of the sword's blade gradually became more restrained and profound at a slow but firm pace.

After doing all this, Lin Zhao closed his eyes and focused his mind, immersing himself in his body and guiding the "spiritual energy" he had unexpectedly gained.

March onwards

When Lin Zhao opened his eyes again, the secret realm had shrunk considerably.

He slowly exhaled a long breath, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light.

Within his body, the Ruins Furnace was completely "full," and the spiritual energy stored within was pure and abundant, more than enough for him to break through the bottleneck of the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

The nurturing of the Azure Lotus Sword has also come to an end.

With a thought, a blue lotus flower bloomed, and the sword flew out on its own, landing in his hand.

As the sword light flowed, a layer of jade-like radiance faintly shone through—it had already stepped into the middle grade of the second tier! It only needed time to nurture itself before it could be promoted to the upper grade of the second tier magic weapon.

Even the seventy-two lotus leaves, having absorbed ample spiritual energy, were now radiant and more resilient.

The "node" that once spewed forth spiritual energy has now dried up.

The speed at which the secret realm collapsed seemed to have increased even further.

"It's time to go."

Lin Zhao stood up and took one last look at this desolate graveyard that was about to disappear completely.

Those cultivators buried here will soon return to nothingness along with this space.

He carefully put away the three spirit-sealing pillars, and with a flicker of his body, he transformed into a stream of azure light, and fled upwards along the passage he had come from.

In three months, the toxic fog has been completely eliminated by the family.

Lin Zhao walked out of the canyon.

The morning light pierced through the thin mist in the mountains and fell on my face, bringing with it the refreshing coolness of early autumn.

He gripped the Azure Lotus Sword, feeling its smooth, warm texture.

In any case, improving one's strength is never a bad thing.