Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Lin Zhao noticed his master's momentary gloom. Although he didn't understand why, he didn't dare to ask. He bowed deeply again, carefully put away the two treasures, and left the cave.

Silence returned to the cave. Master Qianqiu sat alone on his cloud bed, his gaze fixed on the direction Lin Zhao had left, remaining motionless for a long time.

Another young, proud, and equally talented figure seemed to appear before his eyes—his second disciple, who was also his own son.

That child had also aspired to reach the highest level of the Golden Core stage, and he had used all his third-tier spiritual items to help him, but in the end... the heavenly tribulation triggered by the highest level of the Golden Core stage was several times more terrifying than he had imagined.

In the end, that figure vanished amidst thunder, fire, and blood, leaving behind only endless regret.

The wrath of Heaven is unpredictable!

He sighed softly, his breath resonating with the entire spiritual peak, creating a low, resonant sound.

The task assigned to Lin Zhao by the sect this time may well have been intended to accelerate his cultivation progress and test his character and potential.

Given Lin Zhao's demonstrated talent and temperament, he might indeed be able to break through to the top-grade Golden Core realm within a century and achieve the position of a true successor.

But that road was also full of thorns and bones.

In fact, with his methods and resources, if he fully supported Lin Zhao, he could help him reach the peak of Foundation Establishment within ten years. However, while providing resources might shorten the cultivation time, it could also harm Lin Zhao.

Some obstacles and insights must be overcome and understood by oneself.

Otherwise, he might have been stuck in the late stage of Core Formation for over a hundred years, just like him.

"The path of cultivation... must ultimately be walked alone." The whisper dissipated into the spiritual mist.

-----

Back in his cave, Lin Zhao activated all the restrictions before letting excitement creep onto his face.

He carefully took out the "Spirit-Nourishing Lotus Plate" and the "Blazing Sun Crystal" again, feeling the vast and pure spiritual energy within them, his heart still pounding.

One third-tier magic weapon and two third-tier spiritual items! If an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator obtained these, they would probably have gathered most of the resources needed to form a Core Formation!

If this were to get out, it would be enough to make countless cultivators green with envy.

It took Lin Zhao a whole day of meditation and breathing exercises, repeatedly reminding herself to avoid arrogance and impatience, before she could finally calm her turbulent emotions.

After calming down, the next step is to make pragmatic plans.

The spiritual vein beneath his cave dwelling is merely a branch of the main vein of Thousand Autumns Peak, at the peak of the second rank.

The deeper main branch is the third-tier superior grade.

Previously, he lacked sufficient authority to utilize the main spiritual energy, but now that he possesses the "Spirit-Nourishing Lotus Plate," he has the key.

Following his master's instructions, he arrived at a key point in the array deep within the cave, gently placed the lotus plate upon it, and then added the nine drops of Azure Essence Water to the recessed area of ​​the lotus platform. The magical artifact flashed with a faint light, slowly sank into the array, and disappeared.

Through a faint connection, Lin Zhao could sense that it was sinking along a branch of the spiritual vein towards the deeper, more spiritually abundant main vein area, beginning its thirty-year-long process of nurturing spiritual water.

As for the third-tier Blazing Sun Crystal, he suspended it on the dome of the meditation room in his cave, using multiple arrays to restrain and guide its spiritual power.

Instantly, the entire quiet room was enveloped in a warm and bright golden light, making the spiritual energy inside extremely active, which was very beneficial to cultivation.

This place is his private cave dwelling, protected by his master's array, so he is safe and sound.

Next, Lin Zhao took stock of the other gains from the trip.

The rewards from the Zhenhai Cliff mission, plus his savings over the years, along with various spirit stones, pills, and materials, would probably be enough for about ten years of intensive cultivation.

However, if he wanted to cultivate smoothly to the point of Foundation Establishment Perfection and touch the threshold of Core Formation, he roughly estimated that the resource shortage would last for at least fifty years!

This doesn't even include other auxiliary pills, spiritual items, and other resources that might be needed when forming the core, most of which are firmly controlled by sects or major powers.

"Still poor..." Lin Zhao rubbed his temples.

The third-tier spiritual item is a long-term plan; for now, we still need to earn our own cultivation resources.

------

However, before focusing on accumulating resources, there is another important matter—to conquer the fifth level of the Cloud Tower.

During his early Foundation Establishment stage, he passed the fourth level and earned 50,000 contribution points.

Passing the fifth level of the Cloud Tower will earn you 100,000 contribution points, while the sixth level will earn you 200,000 contribution points.

However, the difficulty of clearing the Sect Cloud Tower is also top-notch; it is specially prepared for the sect's prodigies.

The fifth level requires combat power comparable to the peak of Foundation Establishment, and the sixth level requires combat power approaching Core Formation to have a chance of passing through.

Now that Lin Zhao has broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and his Law Domain is in its initial stages, his strength is even greater, and he is quite confident in obtaining the 100,000 contribution points for the fifth level.

For the next six months, aside from necessary cultivation and consolidation, Lin Zhao devoted most of his energy to conquering the tower.

On the fifth floor of the Cloud Tower, the opponents are all geniuses who have left behind illustrious achievements in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage in the history of the sect. They are all cultivators comparable to the peak of Foundation Establishment, and their combat power is terrifying.

Even with Lin Zhao's advantage in the Law Domain, winning was by no means easy, and killing his opponent within a quarter of an hour was even more difficult.

He encountered sword cultivators whose sword energy was unrestrained and whose killing power was terrifying, as well as body cultivators who cultivated both magic and physical strength.

They even encountered several troublesome individuals who possessed some kind of "law domain" or supernatural power.

The battle was tough, but it was also the best whetstone.

Lin Zhao repeatedly honed and integrated the various applications of the Dharma Domain, magical artifacts, and even the spells in the "Five Spirits Returning to the Void True Technique" through repeated battles.

-----

Six months later, on the fifth floor of the Cloud Tower.

Lin Zhao's blue robe was stained with blood, his breathing was heavy, and the invisible force field of his Dharma Domain was on the verge of collapse.

Opposite him stood a body cultivator wielding twin halberds, exuding a murderous aura. Though also covered in wounds, his presence remained as wild and ferocious as a beast.

"We can't delay any longer, we have no choice but to use forbidden techniques..." A fierce glint flashed in Lin Zhao's eyes.

The complete Five Emperors Seal? That's a spell that only Golden Core cultivators can use at will.

However, forbidden techniques do not mean they cannot be used as substitutes.

Previously, he could only use the Eight Desolate Ancient Seal as a substitute, but now he has the Law Domain to control spiritual power, as well as the Divine Soul Sword Tower to suppress backlash.

I am confident that I can use the complete Five Emperors Seal.

Today, I'll test the full power of the Five Emperors Seal at the sect.

This forbidden technique has five major seals: Activation Seal, Regulation, Suppression Seal, Condensation Formation, and Final Strike.

Lin Zhao licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes flashing with a sharp light.

"Dharma Domain, open!"

In the blink of an eye, the Dharma Domain that had been barely holding on suddenly collapsed inward, condensing into a space several miles away! The pressure increased dramatically, but it also allowed him to control his spiritual power to an unprecedented degree.

Within a few miles, the illusory shadows of mountains rose and fell, and the four elements of spiritual light flowed, as if forming a world of its own.

Lin Zhao formed a hand seal with both hands, using his own domain as the core. The spiritual power within the domain was forcibly controlled and transformed into the Five Elements Converging at the Origin.

The body cultivator seemed to sense the abnormal surge of spiritual energy. He let out a low roar, no longer waiting. He crossed his twin halberds, transforming into a scarlet figure radiating murderous aura, and charged forward!