Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Another hour passed.

Lin Zhao discovered a pattern.

The energy cycle of the formation will have a slight trough period every once in a while.

At that time, the spiritual energy surging from the ground will be briefly delayed, the formation will dim for a moment, and the defense of a certain energy node at the edge will be weakened by 30%.

That node was thirty feet to his left front.

Lin Zhao did not act immediately.

He continued to observe and waited for two more cycles to confirm that there was no error.

Then, he moved.

The domain suddenly contracted, shrinking from several miles to a range of a hundred feet. Spiritual energy gathered wildly, condensing into a ten-foot-long sword dragon in front of him—its scales were distinct, and its silver-white body exuded a sharp sword aura.

Lin Zhao did not rush to make a move, but waited quietly.

The thirty-fifth cycle...

The moment the formation's energy once again reached its lowest point—

"go!"

The sword dragon roared out, its silver-white body imbued with sword energy, and precisely crashed into the node thirty feet to its left!

boom!!!

At the moment of impact, the void in front of the mountain wall twisted violently.

Where the sword dragon collided with the array's light barrier, a blinding light burst forth, and a shockwave swept out, clearing away the mist within a radius of hundreds of feet. A three-foot-deep mud wave was stirred up on the surface of the swamp, and countless withered trees turned to dust.

A tiny crack appeared in the light curtain at that node.

Only as thick as a finger, fleeting in an instant.

But at this moment, Lin Zhao's eyes shone brightly with silver light, and his Sword Eye of Illusion was fully activated, capturing the gap.

This is the moment he wants.

At the same time, a strange power surged forth from the domain—the power of space.

This was just a smattering of his understanding of Fang Yue's spatial supernatural abilities, gleaned through arduous practice.

Normally, it can only be used to slightly distort one's own position to assist in dodging.

However, with the blessing of the Law Domain, this trace of spatial power was amplified several times over.

"open!"

Lin Zhao gave a low shout, and an invisible, twisting force surged from his domain, precisely targeting the crevice.

The gap was forcibly torn apart by the domain of law, expanding to the size of a person, and spatial fluctuations spread out like ripples at the edge.

The formation sensed the intrusion, its light blazed brightly, and countless streams of spiritual energy surged forth to repair the breach.

But Lin Zhao was faster.

Five-colored light emanated from his body; this was the innate magic of the Five Sacred Mountains Spirit Body, the Five Sacred Mountains Teleportation Technique.

Lin Zhao transformed into a streak of light and passed through the gap at the last moment before it closed!

Behind them, the array flashed and the gap completely closed.

Calm returned to the mountainside, and the mist gathered again, obscuring all traces.

Inside the cave.

Lin Zhao stood firmly on the ground. He looked back at the solid mountain wall behind him, where the array light barrier had disappeared, as if nothing had ever happened.

He took a deep breath and suppressed the surging spiritual energy within his body.

He had been using his Dharma Domain to continuously resist the formation for nearly several hours... and his spiritual energy had been greatly depleted.

The "state of heaven" in the sea of ​​consciousness also receded automatically, the indifferent perspective of the heavenly way disappeared, and the weariness that belonged to man surged back.

Lin Zhao did not rush to act. Instead, he sat down cross-legged, took out a pill, swallowed it, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Zhou Yuan and Cui Jun, who are outside, should have already embarked on their journey back to the Immortal City.

At their speed, it would take them at least several days to bring people back.

It won't take several days; Lin Zhao only needs one day.

He opened his eyes, his gaze returning to calm, and a powerful divine sense surged forth like a tide, instantly engulfing the underground cave.

The area spans thousands of feet and contains hundreds of stone chambers with crisscrossing passages, resembling an upside-down beehive buried underground.

The stone wall still bears traces of life: lamp stands, futons, stone beds, and even a few dried-up springs.

But when his divine sense swept over each stone chamber, they were all empty.

There were no elixirs, no magical artifacts, and no resources.

Lin Zhao withdrew his divine sense, understanding dawning on him.

This cave dwelling was originally the foundation left to future generations by the ancient immortal. Three hundred years have passed, and the descendants of the ancient family are getting worse and worse, living off the inheritance.

Those cultivators were right; all the valuables in the cave had long been squandered.

But the cave itself is still valuable.

His gaze passed over the stone chamber and landed on the core of the cave—where four faint glimmers of light floated in the darkness.

Lin Zhao strode over.

After passing through a passageway several tens of meters long, the view suddenly opened up before us.

This is a huge stone hall, hundreds of feet high, with a dome tens of feet high, inlaid with starlight stones, simulating a dim starry sky.

At each of the four corners of the stone hall stands a simple, ancient statue, several meters tall.

In the east, the Azure Dragon. The azure stone statue coils and twists, its scales layered upon each other, its head raised, and misty clouds swirling in its eyes.

In the west, there is a white tiger. The white stone statue is pouncing, with its fangs exposed, its eyes wide open, exuding a fierce and menacing aura.

In the south, the Vermilion Bird. A crimson stone statue spreads its wings as if about to take flight, its feathers detailed in every detail, as red as blood, with faint flickering flames.

In the north, there is the Black Tortoise. A black stone snake coils around the tortoise's body, the patterns on its shell perfectly formed, dark and deep, exuding a heavy chill.

Each of the four statues emanated the aura of a second-tier top-grade magic artifact.

When they are arranged according to the four cardinal directions, their spiritual energy intertwines, forming a complete third-order formation—the Four Spirits Returning to Origin Formation.

Lin Zhao walked around the stone hall, a silver glint flashing in his eyes, and his Insightful Sword Eyes quietly activated.

He could see that the array patterns on the four statues were somewhat worn, and their luster was not as bright as it had been in their prime.

Even so, this formation is still quite valuable.

If it can be repaired, it can manifest the Four Symbols Spiritual Body for combat, and its power has reached the threshold of Core Formation.

His gaze turned to the center of the stone hall.

There was a black pool, about three zhang square.

The pool was carved from a single piece of black jade, with densely packed spirit-gathering runes engraved along its edges.

The pool was empty, with only a thin layer of spiritual liquid at the bottom.

However, the pool itself exuded a powerful spiritual energy fluctuation—that was the aura of a magical artifact.

Lin Zhao approached, squatted down, and gently touched the Spirit Gathering Pool. It felt warm to the touch, and spiritual energy flowed faintly within it.

He could sense that this Spirit Gathering Pool must have been a genuine Tier 3 magic treasure three hundred years ago, capable of gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to generate spiritual liquid to nourish the entire cave.

But three hundred years have passed, and without the replenishment of spiritual veins, and with the need to continuously support the operation of the formation, its grade has long since fallen.

It is now barely maintaining the level of a quasi-magic weapon, and fine cracks have appeared in the core array patterns.

"What a pity."

Lin Zhao stood up, looked at the two items, and a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.

The Four Spirit Statues are all top-grade Tier 2 artifacts, spirit-gathering pools, and quasi-magic treasures.

These two items together are worth no less than a third-tier spiritual item.

If it can be repaired, it will likely be even higher.

But taking it away won't be that easy.

His consciousness descended to the depths of the earth.

The cave dwelling was built inside the mountain, and the formation had been in operation for three hundred years, so it had long since become one with the earth's veins.

The Four Spirits Array draws on the earth's energy to maintain its operation, while the Spirit Gathering Pool absorbs the energy dissipated from the spiritual veins deep underground.

If it is forcibly taken away, the entire mountain will collapse without the support of the formation.

The collapse of the cave will also trigger a rupture of the earth's veins and chaos of spiritual energy.