Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

She gave Lin Zhao a detailed introduction to the situation at Zhenhai Cliff.

"Zhenhai Cliff is an important gateway to the sea and a transshipment hub in the eastern part of Yunzhou."

Su Qing's voice was clear: "Most cultivators who wish to explore, trade, or carry out missions in the 'Endless Demon Sea' set off from here."

The core industry here is shipbuilding—especially ocean-going vessels.

Unlike flying boats and spirit boats that fly in the air, seagoing ships sail on the sea and are more concerned with carrying capacity, defense, and endurance.

First-tier sea ships are tens of feet long, second-tier ones can reach a hundred feet, and third-tier sea ships can be three hundred feet or even nearly a thousand feet long. Although their speed and agility are not as good as flying boats and spirit boats of the same tier, they are still impressive.

However, due to its larger size, it can carry more supplies for cultivators and is better able to withstand sea storms and attacks from demonic beasts, making it a guarantee for long voyages.

She pointed northeast: "The real center of trade and exchange nearby is 'Wanghai Immortal City', which is 100,000 miles upstream. That is where countless cultivators and merchants gather."

Zhenhai Cliff was more like a forward base and shipyard.

When the "Endless Demon Sea" was mentioned, awe flashed in Su Qing's eyes: "It is a truly vast and dangerous place."

The monsters are endless, and the deeper you go, the more terrifying they become. Legend has it that some people have even seen colossal beasts, some as powerful as Nascent Soul Heavenly Lords.

The sea is not only fraught with natural dangers such as storms, fog, and undercurrents, but also with the allure of eerie mirages that can bewitch the mind.

But danger also brings opportunity. Undersea minerals, ancient coral chalcedony, and even the ruins of ancient sunken sects attract countless desperados.

That place is an adventurer's paradise, but also a graveyard for the vast majority.

As they talked, the outline of Zhenhai Cliff appeared on the horizon.

----

It was an extremely peculiar giant cliff, as if someone had used immense power to carve out a sheer cliff from the side of a thousand-foot-high peak overlooking the sea!

The platform at the top of the cliff, spanning several miles in circumference, is the core and most important area of ​​Zhenhai Cliff, where spiritual light faintly shines and the array formation is solemn.

Only disciples of the Yunhai Cangming Sect or cultivators at the Foundation Establishment level or above who possess special tokens are allowed to enter.

Beneath the cliffs, a bustling area stretching for hundreds of miles along the coastline unfolds.

The most striking feature is the endless row of shipyards, which occupy almost half of the area.

The massive ship's hull reflected the luster of metal or spirit wood in the sunlight, and the sounds of hammering, the hum of arrays, and shouts could be faintly heard.

The other half consists of dense markets, inns, warehouses, and shops of various related industries.

Millions of ordinary people bustle about among them, moving goods, repairing ships, and handling materials...

Most of these people came from those mortal dynasties thousands of miles away, with a population of over 100 million. They came here seeking a livelihood or that elusive destiny to become immortals.

After bidding farewell to Su Qing and the caravan, Lin Zhao piloted the Azure Scale directly to the top of the thousand-foot cliff.

After his sect token was verified at the entrance, he was led into a side hall by a Foundation Establishment deacon with a cold and businesslike expression.

"Inner disciple Lin Zhao has come to perform his duties as ordered." Lin Zhao handed over the token.

The steward verified the contents and handed over a mission jade slip and a palm-sized, compass-shaped magical artifact: "The mission is here: wipe out the pirates of 'Black Shuttle Island'."

The location information and details about the pirates are recorded in the jade slip. This "tracking device" can sense the location of mission markers within a general area, with a time limit of one year.

According to common sense, when disciples of a sect first arrive at an important place, they should first pay their respects to the Core Formation cultivator stationed there.

The Zhenhai Cliff sect has a total of four Core Formation cultivators: three in the early stage and one in the middle stage.

The "Canglang Zhenren" who is in the mid-stage of Core Formation is the highest guardian of this place, and has been stationed here for more than a hundred years.

Lin Zhao vaguely felt that her mission this time might be related to those real people.

"May I ask, sir, if I may pay my respects to Master Canglang or any of the other masters?" Lin Zhao inquired.

"The masters are all in seclusion and have no time to meet with me."

The deacon's voice was flat and devoid of any emotion, "The mission is urgent, junior brother, you'd better go quickly."

After saying that, he made a gesture as if to see the guests off.

Lin Zhao said no more, took the jade slip and the tracking disk, and turned to leave.

But he knew in his heart that the mission was suspicious and the handover was cold and perfunctory. It seemed that there was more to this "anti-pirate" operation than met the eye.

Since the other party is using the task as an obstacle, let's complete the task first and then observe how things develop.

---

At the heart of the cliff, in a quiet room overlooking the vast ocean.

A middle-aged cultivator, dressed in a dark blue robe, with an ancient and unassuming face and an aura as deep as the ocean, slowly opened his eyes. He was none other than Master Canglang.

"Another one... Is the sect finding me too comfortable here?"

He muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on the direction Lin Zhao had left, showing little emotion. "Fine, since it's just routine, let's offer some incentives and drag it out a bit."

The group on Blacksuo Island just finished a lucrative deal, enough to keep this newbie busy for a while, and save me the trouble of disturbing my peace and quiet.

He closed his eyes again, his body enveloped in a misty haze, seemingly merging with the sea and sky outside the window.

Meanwhile, in another cave at Zhenhai Cliff, a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a gloomy face crushed the jade cup in his hand to pieces after learning that the "Black Shuttle Island" mission had been accepted!

"Damn it! I've been eyeing that fat sheep for months! Who dares to steal it?!" he roared in a low voice.

Without the precise location and tracking device provided by the mission, searching for a deliberately hidden pirate stronghold on the vast ocean is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

His eyes flashed with a cold light as he made a deep impression on this "fellow disciple" he had never met.

---

Several days later, on the edge of the Endless Demon Sea, in a sea area with many islands.

Lin Zhao stood at the bow of the Qinglin ship, his brows slightly furrowed.

Sailing at sea is completely different from sailing on land. All you can see in all directions is the vast ocean, where the water and sky blend into one, with no significant landmarks.

Sea breezes, water currents, and even the spiritual energy in the air can interfere with direction and spiritual perception.

In the past few days, following the general directions of the tracking device, he has already passed over a hundred islands of varying sizes.

Islands and reefs that are about ten miles apart are considered small, those that are a hundred miles apart are considered medium-sized, and large islands that are over a thousand miles apart and the legendary giant islands that are thousands of miles apart are quite rare in the sea.

The fluctuations of the tracking pointer are becoming increasingly clear.

Finally, in what seemed like an ordinary stretch of sea, the pointer steadily pointed to a small, lush island less than ten miles in circumference.

Lin Zhao cast a net with her divine sense, carefully probing.

Sure enough, beneath the island's dense vegetation and ordinary rocks, an extremely well-hidden array fluctuation was discovered. It was of a high grade, at least second-tier high-grade, and was faintly connected to the island's earth energy, possessing excellent concealment and defensive capabilities.

The pirates on the island had obviously also discovered the uninvited spirit ship.

The formation quietly activated, and several concealed but hostile divine senses swept towards the Azure Scale.

"You're quite alert." Lin Zhao no longer concealed his presence; with a thought, his aura suddenly changed!

[The Dharma Realm of the Four Elements and Five Sacred Mountains], open!