Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Subsequently, Master Qianqiu provided Lin Zhao with meticulous guidance for several hours on his cultivation and the critical points of refining spiritual power in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Each instruction hit the nail on the head, giving Lin Zhao a sense of clarity and enlightenment.

After bidding farewell to his master, Lin Zhao arrived at his cave dwelling, located on the upper part of Qianqiu Peak, a natural boulder platform that juts outward more than three hundred feet.

The platform's edge was shrouded in mist, with an endless sea of ​​clouds rolling below, creating a magnificent scene.

He sat alone at the stone table, slowly sipping spiritual tea for half a day, watching the clouds roll and unroll, letting the turmoil of the past ten years, his master's teachings, and the perils ahead settle in his heart.

Ultimately, all distractions converge on one point: improving one's cultivation is the fundamental solution.

He entered the cave and activated the protective and spirit-gathering array. The spiritual energy inside the cave quickly became denser, faintly resonating with the spiritual veins of the cloud sea below.

Lin Zhao sat cross-legged in the quiet room and took out a pill from his storage bag. It was the size of a longan, red like agate, with faint dark patterns as fine as hair running across its surface—it was the Foundation Establishment Pill he obtained from Wan Heling.

He stared at it for a moment, then swallowed it.

The pill entered the stomach, initially feeling only warm, like a sip of warm wine sliding down the digestive tract. The next moment, that warmth suddenly exploded!

The violent spiritual energy, like a ferocious beast that had been imprisoned for a long time, rushed into the meridians with a roar! The heat surged along the entire body, and wherever it passed, the meridians swelled slightly, but were quickly soothed, gathered, and refined by an even greater power—that was the power of the "Five Elements Return to the Void True Technique"!

The trace of demonic beast energy contained within the elixir, which had just revealed its ferocious nature within the meridians, was instantly suppressed, decomposed, and reduced to nothingness by the five-colored spiritual light. What remained was pure and boundless medicinal essence!

One incense stick, two incense sticks...

Lin Zhao sat upright with his eyes closed, his body surrounded by a slowly flowing, flickering spiritual light. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, only to be evaporated by his spiritual energy.

His breathing was sometimes long and deep, and sometimes rapid and forceful.

finally--

He opened his eyes.

Feeling the spiritual energy in his meridians was more abundant than before, he realized that it was indeed a pill taken in the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

With his current cultivation foundation, the improvement from this one pill would be quite significant.

Refining all these pills will surely allow me to break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Lin Zhao did not waste her ten years of guarding the city.

After the Lin family took control of Shaoyang Market, most of the rare second-tier resources they collected were prioritized for supplying to him.

The Five Elements Return to the Void True Technique was fully activated, and the Azure Lotus Dao Foundation within the dantian slowly rotated, absorbing and exhaling a massive amount of spiritual energy.

The Four Elements Array Diagram hangs around the cave, harmonizing earth, fire, water, and wind to aid in the tempering of spiritual energy.

Time passed in silence.

one year later.

Inside the cave, the originally stable spiritual energy suddenly fluctuated violently, as if stirred by an invisible hand, forming a vortex centered on Lin Zhao.

His aura rose steadily, and a muffled sound like a surging river came from within his body, with five-colored spiritual light flowing beneath his skin.

At a certain moment, as if some kind of barrier had been broken through by an immense force, his body trembled slightly, and his eyes suddenly opened, their light shining brightly, even more profound and refined than before.

Mid-stage Foundation Building, Success!

Upon careful sensing, the total amount of spiritual energy in the dantian was several times greater than when it was in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, and it was also more refined and condensed, making it easy to control.

Lin Zhao successfully established his foundation at the age of twenty-eight. Now, at the age of forty-four, he has spent sixteen years entering the mid-stage of foundation establishment. However, he does not feel much joy, but rather a greater sense of urgency.

The higher one's cultivation level, the longer it takes to advance each time. Based on this speed, Lin Zhao might reach the late Foundation Establishment stage at around eighty years old, and reach the Foundation Establishment Perfection stage or even prepare to form the Core Formation stage at around one hundred and thirty years old.

Although he has a lifespan of nearly three hundred years, he still has more than one hundred and fifty years left to pursue the path of the Golden Elixir.

but!

"Too slow," he whispered.

His goal is to form a Golden Core before he turns one hundred years old, and to achieve a top-grade Golden Core! Only in this way can he be considered a true disciple of the sect.

Once you become a true disciple, you will have a hundred years to receive personal instruction from the Lord of the Dao Inquiry Hall, "True Lord Qingyuan".

That person is the oldest Nascent Soul True Monarch in the sect, with an extraordinary status. More than half of the Nascent Soul cultivators would have to show him the respect due to a disciple.

No one knows the sect's vast array of fourth-tier cultivation techniques and its secret fifth-tier Nascent Soul inheritance better than him.

This is the direct and supreme shortcut to the Great Dao!

Not long after he left the pass, a message talisman flew into the cave; it was from Xu Chuan.

Lin Zhao arrived at the spiritual land area assigned by the sect as promised.

This sacred land is located beside a tranquil lake, and several Foundation Establishment cultivators have already established their cave dwellings here.

Xu Chuan's cave dwelling was next to Lin Zhao's, and it was also a secluded courtyard by the water.

When Lin Zhao arrived, Xu Chuan was waiting at the door with several younger Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Senior Brother Lin!" "Greetings, Senior Brother Lin!" Upon seeing Lin Zhao, the cultivators immediately bowed respectfully, their eyes filled with curiosity and undisguised envy.

They entered the sect one year later than Lin Zhao, and had just finished their training at the Dao Asking Hall before being assigned here.

Although he was only one year behind, Lin Zhao had already quietly broken through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, and his aura was far more profound than usual. Clearly, he was not only a top-grade Foundation Establishment cultivator, but also one of the best among them.

Among them, most are of low or mid-grade Dao foundation, which means they started from a different point.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the sensible junior brothers took their leave.

Inside the waterside pavilion, only Lin Zhao and Xu Chuan remained. The two lounged on deck chairs, completely unconcerned about their appearance, gazing at the shimmering lake and enjoying a long-lost sense of tranquility.

Lin Zhao sized up Xu Chuan. This guy looked lazy and his cultivation was stuck at the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage. However, he had seven or eight small magical artifacts hanging on his body to assist in cultivation. Each one had a faint spiritual light and was a second-grade low-level artifact.

"Why are you still stuck in the early stages?" Lin Zhao raised an eyebrow.

Xu Chuan rolled his eyes: "You think everyone is like you, monster! My spiritual strength is only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. How can my resource refining speed compare to your late-stage spiritual strength freak? I reckon it'll take another four or five years to grind it out."

Lin Zhao chuckled; that was indeed the truth. Over the past ten years, he had had a constant supply of resources, and thanks to his powerful divine sense, his refining efficiency was extremely high.

Although Xu Chuan had no shortage of resources in the sect's Dao Asking Hall, the lack of life-and-death experiences and urgency made his cultivation speed slower, which was normal.

"What about Fang Yue and Yan Chiheng? Any news?" Lin Zhao asked.

Mentioning Yan Chiheng, Xu Chuan revealed a strange and gloating smile: "That guy has broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. He got married, his Daoist partner is the eldest daughter of a Core Formation family, and they even had twins, a boy and a girl. It should be a wonderful thing."

But his temper... he got into a fight with several Foundation Establishment cultivators from the woman's family, and he beat up dozens of them one by one! He really did fight. His partner was so angry that she reportedly almost divorced him.

The two exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Serves them right!" After saying that, they both laughed, showing a tacit resentment shared by fellow "single cultivators".

After laughing, Lin Zhao said, "It's a happy occasion after all. I've gained some experience in weapon crafting over the years, so I'll make two protective jade pendants for him. Please take them to him as a congratulatory gift."

"Where is Fang Yue?" Lin Zhao's smile faded.

Xu Chuan paused for a moment, then sighed: "The path he took... you know, dealing with those shady things in the shadows of the sect, it's extremely dangerous."

Although we're both in the same sect, we rarely see each other. I heard that he was seriously injured a while ago and almost didn't make it back. It was only thanks to the 'Azure Jade Lotus Seed' bestowed upon him by the sect when he was establishing his foundation that his life and foundation were saved.

He declined to elaborate on the specifics, stating that his cultivation was currently stuck at the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage.

The pavilion was quiet for a moment, with only the faint sound of the wind blowing across the lake.

They all knew that it was Fang Yue's own choice, and no one else could comment; they could only offer their blessings.

The setting sun gilded the lake with gold, and the two old friends lay there, chatting casually, slowly smoothing out the estrangement of ten years.

After a long silence in the pavilion, Lin Zhao broke it and said to Xu Chuan, "You work in the Qiankun Hall, so you know more about the resources in the sect's treasury that nourish and temper the soul than I do. Help me exchange for a few things, and I'll use 20,000 contribution points first."

Even Xu Chuan was taken aback by the number and sat up a little straighter: "Twenty thousand? Are you sure?"