Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

He smirked. "At most, you'll just become a Core Formation cultivator in the Qiankun Palace. You think you can even touch the Nascent Soul stage?"

Even through the cracks in the door, there's still some chance outside. If I can join the Thousand Machine Hall in the future, perhaps I'll have a chance to escape the Qiankun Palace.

Of course, even within the Thousand Machines Hall, the chance of achieving Nascent Soul is slim, but it's still a glimmer of hope. My parents and elders don't want me to remain trapped in the Qiankun Palace forever.

"But I also know that without the resources of the Qiankun Palace, how can I form my core?" His voice lowered. "There's no solution either way."

Lin Zhao didn't say anything, but simply reached out and patted his shoulder.

Every family has its own unspoken troubles.

Fang Yue remained silent.

Although he was in the Enforcement Hall, he had entered the sect's Heavenly Mystery Hall long before he even entered the main gate.

That place is even more strictly controlled than the Qiankun Palace; once you enter, it's for life.

Unless a Nascent Soul True Monarch intervenes to rescue them, trying to leave will only lead to certain death—the Heavenly Mystery Hall knows far too many secrets of the sect.

That concludes this topic.

Lin Zhao cleared his throat, bringing the atmosphere back on track: "Let's not talk about that. Anyway, it's always good to improve our cultivation level, and cultivation requires resources."

There are so many people today, and I'm only thinking about one thing—how to get my hands on the resources needed to progress from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation without getting punished by the sect's enforcement hall.

The two of them looked at Xu Chuan at the same time.

Xu Chuan sighed and resignedly got up: "If you want to obtain a large amount of resources at once, forget about the sect mission route. It's a dangerous path, and you never know which master you might step into."

He counted on his fingers: "There are only three roads outside. There are more than 500 second-tier settlements, but little profit; there are 83 third-tier important settlements, which are very profitable, but they are all occupied by Core Formation cultivators. You can't compete with them."

"Although your master is powerful, not everyone in the sect respects him—when they encounter someone with a Nascent Soul background, they have to bow down."

He withdrew his finger and raised one: "Only near the Immortal City are there Nascent Soul cultivators protecting us. Those who form Core Formation can't afford to be too unsightly. They have to be mindful of their behavior. There are many opportunities, but the waters are also murky. It's easier to fish in murky waters."

The three of them got together and explored all the immortal cities.

Yunzhou has a total of twenty-three immortal cities. First, kick out the five immortal cities directly controlled by the sects. Those are the private domains of the sects' Nascent Soul True Monarchs, and even the words of the sect's Nascent Soul Sect Master may not be effective.

Of the remaining seventeen immortal cities, most are monopolized by powerful forces, so the choice is limited to selecting from the remaining cities.

Finally, they landed in Tongming Immortal City.

First, resources.

Although the Nascent Soul sect of the Tongming Domain has a long history, it has not established a powerful force and has only a few disciples. The resources released outside the Immortal City are relatively abundant.

Second, geographical advantage.

The Tongming Domain is adjacent to the Yunxia Domain. The current guardian of Tianyun Market is Senior Brother Wu, who is one of our own. The guardian has some special privileges and can access some information about the Tongming Domain. This relationship can be used.

Thirdly, popularity.

Lan Jingchi of the Azure Sea Chamber of Commerce had tried to win over Lin Zhao back when he was still a Qi Refining cultivator. Now that the Chamber of Commerce wants to expand into the outer regions, it is lacking various kinds of intelligence from those regions.

If you want to gather intelligence about other regions from Lin Zhao, it's not unreasonable for Lin Zhao to give you a portion of the intelligence from the Tongming Domain in advance.

In a truly urgent situation, perhaps we could pay a price to ask the dozen or so Core Formation cultivators from the Merchant Guild for help.

Of course, that's the ideal situation. We might be able to find a way when it comes to a life-or-death situation, but for now, we need to get the intelligence first.

There's one last question: time.

Acquiring a large amount of second-order resources is not something that can be done overnight.

What if you've barely settled into the Immortal City when the sect sends you another forced mission?

Fang Yue was very familiar with the sect's mission process: "The sect's mandatory missions will not be issued one after another. You have already completed one mission. Now you can take on another external mission. Once the mission is completed, you can rest for twenty years."

The best job for slacking off is being a Sky Patrol Guard in the Immortal City—you can leave quickly after just one year. However, if you only do the missions for one year, your sect evaluation will be very low, and you'll only get a few thousand contribution points.

Lin Zhao currently has 120,000 contribution points in his sect account, and he really doesn't care about these contribution points.

The annual Sky Patrol Guards took the opportunity to thoroughly survey the waters near the Immortal City, and also to check for any traces of third-tier spiritual creatures.

"Oh, right." Xu Chuan suddenly remembered something, and his tone became more lively. "If you really find an opportunity, you can call Yan Chiheng."

That idiot is having a falling out with his partner; it'll be good for everyone if he goes away for a while."

He paused, his voice lowering by half an octave: "Furthermore, treasures like third-tier spiritual objects, once they reveal their presence, inevitably have to deal with Core Formation cultivators."

You might not be able to get it by yourself. It's safer to bring him along.

He continued, "If all else fails, send a message to the two of us. We can use some methods to temporarily leave the sect. With the strength of the four of us, we might be able to fight against a Core Formation Realm cultivator."

Fang Yue nodded in agreement and said succinctly, "I can ask my senior brother for help. If the four of us really face a Core Formation cultivator, it's not like we can't win."

Lin Zhao paused, her hand holding the teacup still.

He looked up and saw his two fellow disciples, who had just been worried about not having enough resources for Core Formation, now seriously discussing "how to team up against a Core Formation True Person".

He was both amused and exasperated.

"Gentlemen," he said slowly, "I just wanted to gather some Foundation Establishment cultivation resources and casually look for opportunities with third-tier spiritual objects. How did it turn into a gang-up against a Core Formation cultivator in your mouths?"

Fang Yue didn't think there was anything wrong: "Your combat strength is already at the peak of Foundation Establishment."

"With the three of us using formation techniques to restrain each other, plus the Core Formation methods given to us by our elders—finding the right opportunity to confront a Core Formation expert head-on isn't impossible."

He spoke calmly, as if stating an objective fact.

Lin Zhao did not respond.

He recalled the sect's grand examination.

Furthermore, I have personally witnessed the power of Core Formation cultivators.

More than two thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators besieged and attacked a Core Formation cultivator, resulting in the deaths and injuries of more than three hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The four of them were also among the main forces in that encirclement and killing operation.

After that battle, they gained a deep understanding of the term "Core Formation," but they couldn't feel any pure fear of it.

It's not arrogance, it's that I've seen it all, and even killed it. Perhaps this is one of the purposes of the sect's grand test?

So when Xu Chuan and Fang Yue said, "The four of us might not be unable to fight," Lin Zhao did not refute them. His current strength was more than ten times stronger than before, and he also had the means to form a Core Formation.

He remained silent for a moment, then drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.

"...We'll talk about it when it really comes to that."

He didn't say goodbye in any particular way.

The Immortal City has an inter-domain teleportation array, so returning to the sect will only take a few days.

He only needed to accept the mission from the Sky Patrol Guard and report to his master at Thousand Autumn Peak before he could set off.

Lin Zhao stepped out of the waterside pavilion and walked more than ten feet when Xu Chuan's drawn-out voice suddenly came from behind him:

"Hey—don't try to tough it out when you get there, call for help if you can't handle it."

Lin Zhao didn't turn around, but paused slightly in her steps.

He waved and continued walking.

As the sun sank behind the distant mountains, two figures remained seated by the railing in the waterside pavilion, and no one rose for a long time.