Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

After leaving the core area of ​​Zhenhai Cliff and piloting the Qinglin to the sea, the relaxed smile on Lin Zhao's face faded.

He didn't think that a Core Formation cultivator, especially a veteran cultivator who had guarded Zhenhai Cliff for over a hundred years, would be led by the nose by his petty squabbles.

Over the past six months, five missions, tens of thousands of contribution points, and a bunch of cultivation resources have yielded seemingly fruitful results. However, not a single truly top-tier spiritual item, or one that is of great use to Foundation Establishment cultivators in their advancement, has been found.

Giving benefits is more like a way of appeasing people by saying, "You've been fed, so stop making a fuss."

In the heart of the area, in a quiet room overlooking the sea.

Master Canglang slowly opened his eyes, his gaze seemingly swirling with deep-sea currents before returning to a calm, still state.

Although he did not leave the meditation room, he had almost complete control over every inch of the area within the Zhenhai Cliff, from top to bottom.

In that deep trench a thousand miles to the southeast, the Core Formation cultivator who thought he was in hiding—the one in charge sent by the Enforcement Hall—was as clear as a lighthouse in the dark in Zhenhai Cliff's intelligence system.

"Master Qianqiu's disciple..." he murmured, his voice barely audible in the empty, quiet room, "His temperament is quite different from his master's."

He recognized Master Qianqiu. Back when he was only in the early stage of Core Formation, the other party was already a renowned Core Formation cultivator in the sect, with formidable combat power.

Even if I advance to the later stages of the game, I have absolutely no confidence in directly confronting that "evil star".

This is the fundamental reason why he was willing to consistently show "goodwill" towards Lin Zhao and tolerate her somewhat flamboyant behavior.

But while he can remain firmly in control, those below him may not be so.

Over the years, he has been confident that he has managed Zhenhai Cliff well and that his accounts are flawless.

Why was the Enforcement Hall able to pinpoint him so accurately? It's simply because there was a treacherous element within their ranks—a colleague in the early stages of Core Formation had already secretly colluded with the Enforcement Hall, hoping to take the opportunity to overthrow him and seize the position of guardian himself.

"Fool." A cold glint flashed in Canglang Zhenren's eyes.

That guy has been away from the sect for too long, and he's been blinded by power. He has no sense of awe and dares to do anything.

Completely unaware of what Master Qianqiu meant, they actually tried to use the suppression of Lin Zhao to attract Master Qianqiu to exert pressure, which was utterly ignorant of their own limitations.

He had already identified who it was, but remained inactive.

Because the grand plan he was secretly preparing had reached its final stage.

With the help of the scheme quietly laid out by the spiritual veins, ten of the twelve third-tier spiritual waters related to his breakthrough opportunity, the Azure Jade Spiritual Water, have been successfully generated and recycled.

The last two streams are hidden deep within more than ten scattered second-tier spiritual veins. Each complete third-tier spiritual water is formed by the convergence of hundreds of drops of spiritual water, awaiting final recycling.

When the time comes, once twelve streams of Azure Jade Spirit Water are gathered, a secret technique can be used to synthesize a high-grade third-tier Azure Origin Spirit Water, which will help him break through to the late stage of Core Formation.

Almost there, just one last step.

-----

Meanwhile, in another spiritually vibrant cave at Zhenhai Cliff, a completely different scene unfolded.

"Bang! Crash—!"

The sound of shattering objects echoed incessantly. A late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with a sinister expression was smashing everything in sight to pieces. His chest heaved violently, and his eyes were bloodshot.

It was the same person whose desired missions had been "snatched" by Lin Zhao several times before.

After the Black Shuttle Island mission was stolen last time, he could only send people to keep a close eye on Lin Zhao's movements and report immediately if there was any sign of his return.

I thought Lin Zhao wouldn't finish the mission so quickly; he'd go into seclusion for a while, and I'd settle accounts with him when he returned.

Unexpectedly, when Lin Zhao emerged from seclusion, he had not only already returned but had also completed five missions!

He was almost furious at the time, but he managed to stay calm and not rush to the mission hall to cause trouble. Although his master was a Core Formation cultivator, he had clearly warned him not to provoke Canglang Zhenren directly.

But this time, his subordinates were a step too late in reporting! He could only watch helplessly as Lin Zhao easily took away the three tasks that he had long coveted.

He was breathing heavily, gradually calming down, but his eyes grew even colder: "...Someone is blocking my information."

One time could be a coincidence, but missing each time could only mean someone is interfering, and someone with considerable influence at that.

He took a deep breath, turned around and went out to see his master.

Upon meeting the refined-looking, profound-sounding master, he dared not conceal anything and recounted the entire story. He concluded indignantly, "Master, that Lin Zhao is clearly bullying us because of his connections! Please, Master, do justice!"

Upon hearing this, Master Liu remained calm and simply waved his hand, saying, "I understand. Go directly to your Senior Brother Yang Yu and tell him to carefully consider this new fellow disciple, lest he tarnish the prestige of our lineage."

"Yes! Thank you, Master!" The sinister cultivator was overjoyed and bowed as he withdrew.

After he left, the cave returned to silence.

The Master Liu's eyes were unfathomable. He was the one secretly colluding with the Enforcement Hall.

They originally intended to use the power of the Enforcement Hall to overthrow Canglang and seize the position of garrison commander in one fell swoop, but unexpectedly, the person sent by the Enforcement Hall turned out to be a mediocre person, resulting in the current stalemate.

Old Ghost Canglang must already be investigating in secret; my time is running out.

His fingertips tapped unconsciously on the armrest of the jade throne, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

"If all else fails... it's not uncommon for a Core Formation disciple to die during a mission if something goes wrong," he muttered to himself.

As long as one's hands and feet are clean, what can the law enforcement court do without solid evidence?

Over the years, quite a few sect disciples have died in the sea; adding Lin Zhao one more won't make a difference.

-----

At sea, inside the Qinglin.

Lin Zhao suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

He stopped the shuttle, stood at the bow, and gazed at the vast sea and sky.

His intuition told him that this phase of his mission should be over.

The storms that needed to be stirred up have been stirred up, and the benefits that needed to be taken have been taken. There is no need to continue.

It's time to break free, meet up with Fang Yue, and take care of our own business.

He changed course and prepared to sail out to sea.

However, just as they reached the sea surface, a towering column of water suddenly exploded in front of them! Several figures blocked their path.

The leader was a shirtless man with bulging muscles like cast iron. His skin was dark and shiny, as if he had been tempered by strong winds and waves for many years. His cultivation level was clearly at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, close to the peak of Foundation Establishment. His aura was deep and domineering.

Behind him were four Foundation Establishment cultivators, one of whom was the guy with a gloomy face and eyes full of resentment.

A towering man stood atop the waves, his voice like muffled thunder: "My name is Yang Yu! I've heard it's you who's repeatedly humiliated my junior brother and stolen the missions I coveted? Enough nonsense, take my punch!"

Before he could finish speaking, he had already thrown a punch from a distance!

It was not a simple fist imprint of spiritual energy, but an extremely condensed dark light carrying a heavy, piercing shriek!

Where the force of the fist passed, a deep trench hundreds of feet long was pressed into the sea below, and the seawater on both sides roared up walls of waves several feet high!

Lin Zhao's eyes narrowed, and the azure scale shuttle beneath his feet surged with spiritual light as he retreated rapidly. At the same time, he waved his hand to put away the spirit boat and landed lightly on the waves.

He originally planned to leave quietly, but since the other party had come to his door, it seemed that a fight was inevitable.

"Very well." Lin Zhao felt no fear, but rather a surge of fighting spirit. "Now that my cultivation has broken through, I'm just looking for a worthy opponent. Let's test our skills."