Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

"They were carefully nurtured, two of them." Lan Jingchi held up two fingers, then put them back one at a time. "They both died at the Nascent Soul stage."

One was struck down by a heavenly tribulation, and the other went through a tribulation of inner demons, eventually falling into a state of demonic possession.

Although he still accepts disciples, no more promising Nascent Soul cultivators have emerged, leaving the Void Heaven Pavilion facing a shortage of capable successors in the current generation of Core Formation cultivators.

Lin Zhao understood.

The current situation in Tongming Domain is delicate precisely because of this.

On one side is the Tongming lineage, young and vigorous, with a well-established lineage.

On one side is the True Lord Taixu, whose strength remains but could be depleted at any moment.

On the surface, both sides remained calm, but neither dared to make any rash moves.

Those Core Formation factions dared not take sides—if they bet on the wrong side, their entire families would be wiped out.

"So all the Core Formation forces are now hiding?" Lin Zhao asked.

"They're holding back tightly." Lan Jingchi picked up his teacup. "Those who have thoughts should just endure it and wait, let's see who can't hold out first."

Lin Zhao remained silent.

He had the intelligence and the situation was clear, but his problem was still unsolved—how to get resources?

He needs a lot of resources to form a high-grade Golden Core.

They need to acquire a large amount of cultivation resources and third-tier spiritual items in a short period of time, without attracting attention.

The two discussed for a long time, from the dark market to gray commissions, from secret realm ruins to the private treasury of a Core Formation cultivator.

In the end, it was discovered that all paths led to the same two words: Core Formation.

Without the protection of a Core Formation cultivator and without a sufficiently strong background, one cannot even see a third-tier spiritual object.

Lan Jingchi paused at the door before leaving.

"Fellow Daoist Lin," he turned around, "consider this jade slip a gift from me. If you become successful in the future, don't forget today."

Lin Zhao nodded: "I've got it."

The door closed, and the restriction was lifted. Lin Zhao sat in his original position, staring blankly at the river outside the window.

Core Formation...

He recalled how his family had risked their lives to achieve foundation building back in the Yunxia Mountains.

Now that I'm in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, looking back, Core Formation is like an even higher mountain, pressing down in front of me and blocking my way.

This world is too big, too ancient.

With lineages spanning thousands of years, all cultivation resources are monopolized by large and small factions.

For an ordinary person to get ahead? It's as difficult as climbing to the sky.

Fortunately, he is not an ordinary person.

Yunhai Cangming Sect, a disciple of the Huashen Sect.

He at least has a chance.

Many people don't even have the qualifications to touch the threshold of Core Formation.

Lin Zhao stood up, pushed open the door, and went out.

As I walked across the covered bridge, a group of people came towards me.

In front were two female Foundation Establishment cultivators, followed by more than a dozen young disciples in the Qi Refining stage, all wearing uniform gray-blue robes. They were probably a group outing from a certain sect.

Lin Zhao had only glanced at it casually, but his gaze suddenly stopped.

That female cultivator in the early stages of Foundation Establishment—

Dressed in pure white, untouched by the world. Her long, flowing black hair was loosely tied up with a single white jade hairpin, with a few strands falling beside her cheeks.

She wore no unnecessary accessories, yet possessed a natural, ethereal quality.

Su Qianxue.

Fellow villagers from Yunxia Mountain Range and Qingfeng Market, we were on the same Tier 3 spirit boat back then. Our group left Yunxia Mountain Range in pursuit of immortality.

That year, she was at the tenth level of Qi Refining. Later, Lin Zhao joined the Yunhai Cangming Sect. It is said that she joined the Xuanchen Valley of the Nanli Dynasty, a Core Formation sect, which was ranked among the top in the twenty-six Core Formation sects in the Tongming Domain.

It's been over twenty years since we last met.

She has also reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Their eyes met briefly in mid-air.

A faint hint of surprise flashed in Su Qianxue's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure.

She nodded slightly to Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao nodded, then stepped aside and continued walking forward.

Firstly, Lin Zhao wasn't actually familiar with her, and secondly, after so long apart, no one knew if her temperament had changed.

After he left, a female cultivator's voice came from beside Su Qianxue. It was another Foundation Establishment cultivator asking:

"Junior sister, is this your first time in the Immortal City? Do you know that person from earlier?"

Su Qianxue's voice was clear and pleasant: "We're not that familiar with each other; we've met three times in total."

Not counting fellow villagers, there was also the so-called "junior brother" identity, which only happened three times: the first time at the market talisman gathering, the second time during the beast tide, and the third time on the spirit boat.

Lin Zhao returned to her small courtyard in the inner city, opened the window, and saw the river flowing gurgling by. Time really flies.

The days of hunting demons and gathering resources in the Yunxia Mountains seem like they were just yesterday.

More than thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Lin Zhao is already preparing for Core Formation.

He stood by the window for a long time, then turned around, went inside, and closed the window.

------

Standing at the Sky Patrol Guard's post, Lin Zhao looked at the bustling crowd below and roughly understood why they had come.

The annual auction in Immortal City is about to begin.

Su Qianxue's cultivation level is at the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage. She is stuck at this point, most likely because she came to find pills to break through to the middle stage.

But it has little to do with him.

Aside from the extremely distant relationship of being from the same hometown, the only other thing between him and Su Qianxue was their "plastic senior-junior relationship" from that day.

More than 30 years ago, in Qingfengfang Market.

They listened to Master Mochen's lecture on talismans for a whole day.

According to the rules, those days are considered to be the same as those days, and once the meeting ends, the relationship is dissolved.

Later, she brought this up, and Lin Zhao, out of consideration for her status as a Foundation Establishment descendant, readily admitted it.

But that's all.

Master Mochen was caught up in Master Qingming's scheme and had already "voluntarily" passed away. That little bit of incense offering was like foam on the river, easily broken.

Lin Zhao withdrew his gaze.

The auction is an annual grand event in the Immortal City, but the real excitement will come more than a decade later at the once-in-a-century grand auction.

At that time, a large number of third-tier spiritual objects will appear, and there have even been precedents in history of Nascent Soul True Monarchs descending.

This time, the Celestial City Auction House mobilized most of the Sky Patrol Guards just to maintain order.

With more people, there will be more disputes.

The Immortal City Law Enforcement Hall has so few people; they can manage regular Qi cultivation and brawls, but when they encounter someone with a powerful background, they won't dare utter a single word.

This is when the Sky Patrol comes in handy.

Although fighting is forbidden in the Immortal City, there is a special arena for resolving disputes.

Lin Zhao had heard of a ruthless figure from a sect in the neighboring area, who possessed peak Foundation Establishment cultivation and had challenged every Foundation Establishment cultivator in the area.

He defeated these Foundation Establishment cultivators one by one on the challenge stage, and then declared: "No need to cause trouble. I can't resolve disputes, but I can take care of you."

Thanks to his neighbor, his area is now very peaceful; even arguments are rare.

-----

After half a month of turmoil, the auction arrived as scheduled.

That evening, just after he finished his shift, he sensed the presence of a communication talisman.

He probed with his spiritual power and found only one line of text: "Listening to the Rain Pavilion in the Inner City, Su Qianxue awaits Senior Brother Lin."

Lin Zhao stared at the words "Senior Brother" and remained silent for a few moments.

To go or not to go?

Fellow villagers, it won't hurt to keep in touch.

Having lived in the Tongming Domain for over twenty years, she must have some sect information that he was unaware of.

Besides... the incense offerings made that day back then, others acknowledged them, but he didn't, which doesn't make sense.

He changed his clothes and went out.

Tingyuxuan is a five-story building located in the southern part of the inner city, built along the river.

When Lin Zhao arrived, Su Qianxue was already waiting in a private room on the third floor.