Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

"If I'm not mistaken," Fang Yue took a breath, his voice low, "what you just used was a 'Dharma Domain' that only a Core Formation cultivator could unleash?"

"That's right." Lin Zhao picked up his teacup, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather.

Fang Yue fell silent, his knuckles unconsciously tapping lightly on the stone table. The faint sound of waves outside the cave made the silence seem exceptionally long.

His expression was complex, but it ultimately boiled down to one question: "How did you do that?"

"The refining technique involved using the spiritual essence of the Five Sacred Mountains to refine something, then solidifying it using array formations," Lin Zhao said casually. "And that's it, isn't it?"

"Aren't you afraid of death?" Fang Yue frowned. "One wrong move and your foundation and spiritual body will be completely destroyed, which is even more thorough than going into a demonic possession."

"Cultivating immortality," Lin Zhao smiled, his eyes showing little emotion, "is never without risks. But you..."

He abruptly changed the subject, his gaze landing on Fang Yue, "Why are you still stuck in the early Foundation Establishment stage? Judging by your momentum back then, you should have reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage long ago. I heard you almost…"

"You almost didn't make it back, didn't you?" Fang Yue picked up the conversation, a smirk playing on his lips. "It wasn't that bad. It was thanks to that jade lotus seed that the sect gave out as a perk when I was at the Foundation Establishment stage that I survived."

He paused, looking at his palm. A faint, almost imperceptible ripple of space flashed by. "My spirit body wasn't born that way. It was cultivated from childhood using secret techniques. It only truly began to awaken after I reached the Foundation Establishment stage."

It takes five awakenings in total, each time allowing one to leverage a little more spatial power. Upon reaching perfection after five awakenings, one might be able to control spatial power when forming the Core.

The further you progress, the more frightening the pressure and resources required for awakening become. I'm stuck at the early stage of Foundation Establishment because I want to push myself one more time.

Lin Zhao remained silent, then nodded: "It's not easy for anyone."

"Easy?" Fang Yue scoffed, gazing at the dim seascape outside the cave. "At least we still have the right to think about the concept of Core Formation. Many people never have the chance to form their Core in their entire lives."

The two briefly exchanged their experiences since they last met.

Lin Zhao put down his cup and tapped the table with his fingertip: "Alright, enough with the pleasantries. Tell me, what's the deal with my mission to wipe out the pirates? I don't believe it's a coincidence that I ran into you here."

Before Lin Zhao set off, her master said that this mission was for the Enforcement Hall, and Fang Yue was in the Enforcement Hall, so this mission must have been intentionally arranged.

Fang Yue's expression turned serious, and the cold and stern aura he had when carrying out missions returned somewhat: "I don't know all the specific plans, but based on the information I've gathered, I can piece together a rough outline. You can listen to it for now."

He leaned forward slightly. "The core mission of our Enforcement Hall this time is to investigate the master of Zhenhai Cliff—Canglang Zhenren."

"Investigate him for what?"

"Spiritual veins," Fang Yue uttered two words. "And the Zhenhai Cliff, a mid-grade third-order spiritual vein, should have been promoted to a high-grade third-order spiritual vein within the next hundred years, according to the calculations of the sect's Heavenly Mystery Hall, but it only declined after a thousand years."

A century has passed, and not only has it not advanced, it hasn't even shown any spiritual energy fluctuations. Instead, it seemed poised to fall to the lower third rank, yet it was abruptly stabilized.

Lin Zhao tapped his fingers lightly on the table. The spiritual veins and spiritual power levels in the cultivation world are not static; they fluctuate. Sects have the ability to monitor or even control the advancement of spiritual vein levels.

The sect's Heavenly Mystery Hall is responsible for this kind of intelligence, with a Nascent Soul True Monarch in charge. Their "calculations" are almost like prophecies.

"Based on your experience in the Enforcement Hall, what is the cause of this?" he asked.

"It's like someone intercepted a portion of the spiritual energy during the advancement of the spiritual vein and is using secret techniques to nurture a high-grade third-tier spiritual object."

Fang Yue's eyes sharpened. "Master Canglang has been stuck at the peak of the mid-stage Core Formation for over a hundred years. We suspect that he is preparing to use this third-tier spiritual item to break through to the late-stage Core Formation."

"Embezzlement?" Lin Zhao concluded, then added, "With the capabilities of the Enforcement Hall, it shouldn't be difficult to handle."

"To be more precise, it's stealing." Fang Yue shook his head. "The Zhenhai Cliff spiritual vein hasn't been officially promoted yet, but he's still handing over the sect's resources according to the quota for a third-tier mid-grade spiritual vein. The sect can't find anything wrong with the process."

In recent years, he has even made Zhenhai Cliff more prosperous, with its apparent resource output increasing by 20%. However, according to calculations, Zhenhai Cliff's output should have doubled in recent years.

The problem is, without solid evidence, it's impossible to touch a deeply entrenched Core Formation cultivator, especially one who could break through to the later stages at any moment.

"Can't the calculations of the Heavenly Mystery Hall be used as evidence?"

"Not enough." Fang Yue smiled bitterly. "A simple statement that the secrets of heaven are unpredictable and that the calculations are wrong can be used to deflect criticism. To think that you can take down a Core Formation cultivator from a sect based on mere speculation is child's play. We need solid evidence, or... a flaw that he deliberately reveals."

Lin Zhao sensed the helplessness in his voice: "So, the person in charge of leading this team this time..."

"A newly promoted Core Formation cultivator." Fang Yue's tone was calm, but Lin Zhao could detect a hint of dissatisfaction. "He couldn't control the situation and was afraid that the mission failure would affect his evaluation, so he could only try to muddy the waters by sending some influential Foundation Establishment disciples over as pebbles to see if he could stir up some trouble."

"How could an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator like me alarm a Core Formation cultivator?" Lin Zhao asked with a half-smile.

Fang Yue finally rolled his eyes at him and said irritably, "You might be considered an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, but your master, True Person Qianqiu, is not."

A late-stage Core Formation cultivator who once served as the deputy head of the Enforcement Hall and even held sway over half of the Enforcement Hall, possessing combat strength comparable to a peak Core Formation cultivator, and belonging to the top tier among Core Formation cultivators in the sect.

Even if Master Canglang had broken through to the late stage of Core Formation, he would still be three points inferior to him. That Core Formation Master from the Enforcement Hall... perhaps he wanted to use this advantage to force Master Canglang to react.

Lin Zhao slowly leaned against the stone wall, the cool touch making his thoughts clearer.

He suddenly asked, "So the purpose of the Enforcement Hall is to use my master to suppress True Person Canglang until he reveals his breakthrough, but even if he succeeds, won't the sect settle accounts afterward? The sect's foundation is so powerful!"

"Purge?" Fang Yue shook his head. "Rules are rigid, but people are flexible. For ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators in a sect, the sect rules are like the heavens, and cannot be transgressed."

However, for Core Formation cultivators, especially those who are expected to break through to the late Core Formation stage, although they still cannot cross the sect's bottom line rules, there is already some room for maneuver, and the sect will leave some leeway in its handling.

If he succeeds in breaking through, he can find a way to make up for the losses later. Perhaps that would be considered an advance payment, and wouldn't even be considered a crime.

If he fails to break through... then he will be guilty of stealing sect resources and will be punished for multiple crimes.

To put it bluntly, this is a tacitly approved adventure. The sect is seeing if he has the strength and luck, and also seeing if we, the lower-level members, have the strength and skill.

The cave fell silent again, with only the faint sound of the tide.