Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Over the past six months, the four of them had a clear division of labor—Lin Zhao was responsible for collecting information and evidence about the guardian.

Fang Yue used his position in the Enforcement Hall to secretly investigate and verify.

Xu Chuan was busy making connections throughout the sect, while Yan Chiheng was responsible for running errands and relaying messages...?

As a result, they all owed each other a lot of small favors, but it was worth it.

After all, it's a second-tier outpost, and one with a second-tier top-grade spirit stone mine, so the resources are plentiful.

"Oh, right," Yan Chiheng suddenly remembered something, "Did that old man Pei Yue also come up with an idea?"

Lin Zhao nodded: "He served as the tutor of three emperors in his early years, so he knows the ins and outs of mortal dynasties very well."

I planned to ask him for advice.

He told me that dynasties, after all, involve hundreds of millions of ordinary people, and it's not appropriate to act rashly.

Rules can sometimes be worthless, while regulations can sometimes be very valuable.

When you lack the strength, you should strive for legitimacy; right now, you need to secure the title first.

Yan Chiheng muttered, "Why bother with all that effort? Why not just take it directly?"

Lin Zhao rolled her eyes and ignored him.

He put away the token and jade slip, stood up, and said, "Let's go, we'll talk on the way."

After leaving the immortal city, the two soared into the sky and transformed into two streaks of light, disappearing into the horizon.

-----

More than ten days later.

The Purple Mystic Dynasty, Cangyun Mountain.

Lin Zhao and Yan Chiheng stood ten miles away, gazing into the distance.

Cangyun Mountain is not high, and its circumference is only a few dozen miles. A market town has been built on the mountain, with buildings scattered around, and cultivators can be vaguely seen coming and going.

A hundred miles down the mountain lies a county town, where smoke curls from chimneys and ordinary people live like ants.

Further on, there is a plain, crisscrossed by rivers and dotted with farmland.

"There are many mortals and cultivators..." Yan Chiheng clicked his tongue, "This place is much more lively than the Immortal City."

Lin Zhao didn't reply, his gaze fixed on the market town.

He quietly extended his divine sense, sweeping across the market—there were nearly thirty Foundation Establishment auras inside, the strongest of which were in the core area of ​​the market.

"Have the people from the Enforcement Hall arrived yet?" he asked.

Yan Chiheng took out a communication talisman and nodded after a moment: "Fang Yue said they have entered the market and are reading out the investigation results. He told us to prepare."

Lin Zhao took a deep breath and straightened his robes: "Let's go."

As soon as the two approached the market, they sensed intense fluctuations in spiritual energy within.

Yan Chiheng grinned: "They've started fighting?"

Lin Zhao shook his head: "With the Enforcement Hall here, a fight won't break out."

At the entrance of the market, two guards saw them flying in and were about to stop them, but Yan Chiheng glared at them and they shrank back.

The two drove straight in, heading straight for the core area of ​​the market—where there was a three-story stone palace, more than ten feet tall, which was the garrison headquarters.

In the square in front of the stone hall, the three groups of people were clearly separated.

On the left were twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators, most of them with calm expressions, watching the show—the neutral faction.

On the right, nearly ten people were gathered together, each with an angry expression and unfriendly eyes staring at the center—that was the Guardian faction.

In the middle, three Foundation Establishment cultivators stood with their hands behind their backs, the emblem of the Law Enforcement Hall embroidered on their chests.

The young man at the head of the group had a cold face and was holding a document in his hand; it was Fang Yue.

Opposite Fang Yue, a middle-aged late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator's face was flushed red.

Pointing his finger at Fang Yue's nose, he cursed, "If you're going to find fault, you can always find a pretext! I've guarded Cangyun Mountain for thirty years. Even if I haven't made any great contributions, I've certainly put in a lot of hard work. You, the Enforcement Hall, think you can seize my territory with just a few pieces of evidence?"

Fang Yue's expression remained unchanged: "The evidence is conclusive. You embezzled spirit stones and misappropriated spirit mine output. Allowing you to leave with dignity is already out of consideration for your father."

"Bullshit!" the cultivator roared, furious. "You're all after my territory! Where's the new guardian? Make him come out!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd automatically parted to make way for him.

Lin Zhao walked slowly into the square, with Yan Chiheng following behind, his face showing a hint of eagerness.

The cultivator stared at Lin Zhao, his gaze sweeping over the aura of the mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. He laughed angrily, "Fine! Fine! Fine! A mere mid-Foundation Establishment junior dares to try and take my place?"

He took a deep breath, and a dazzling spiritual light suddenly burst forth from his body. He made a fist with his right hand, and the entire garrison trembled violently—it was the formation he had been working on for thirty years!

Runes emerged from the ground and spread in all directions.

He raised his hand and made a grasping motion, and the runes instantly coalesced into a giant hand tens of meters long, which slammed down from the air!

"Kid, let me show you the power of the array I've cultivated for thirty years!"

The giant hand blotted out the sky and the sun, carrying the pressure of the formation, and pressed down hard on Lin Zhao.

The neutral cultivators in the square changed their expressions slightly and retreated, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.

Lin Zhao didn't dodge; he simply looked up and stared at the descending giant hand.

The Four Elements and Five Sacred Mountains Dharma Domain – Unveiled Suddenly!

An invisible force erupted from Lin Zhao's body, with the four colors of light—earth, water, fire, and wind—intertwining, and five illusory mountain peaks appeared out of thin air, instantly enveloping the entire square!

The momentum of the giant hand falling suddenly halted.

It was like slapping into an invisible swamp. The giant hand formed by the array trembled violently in mid-air, its surface runes flashing wildly, but it could not advance any further.

"What?!" The monk's eyes widened.

Lin Zhao didn't speak, but simply raised his right hand, his five fingers loosely clenched.

The Dharma Domain was operating at full power, and the illusory images of the Five Sacred Mountains suddenly solidified, transforming into a giant five-colored hand that was also tens of feet long, fiercely meeting the attack from below!

Two giant hands collided in mid-air.

There were no earth-shattering explosions.

Because Lin Zhao's domain of power was suppressing the square, it trapped all the impact in the air.

All the onlookers saw was the two beams of light silently intertwining, tearing, and devouring each other—then, the five-colored giant hand suddenly exerted its strength and crushed the rune giant hand!

click-

The runes of the formation shattered like glass, turning into countless points of light that dissipated.

The cultivator let out a muffled groan, his face instantly turning pale.

Before he could react, the five-colored giant hand descended from the sky and slammed him to the ground!

boom!

The ground cracked, and pebbles flew everywhere. The cultivator was embedded in the bluestone slab, spitting blood, his aura weakened.

The square was deathly silent.

Those Foundation Establishment cultivators from the original Guardian lineage turned deathly pale and fell silent in fear.

Those neutral Foundation Establishment cultivators revealed shock and awe in their eyes—the Law Domain! That was the mark of a sect's true prodigy!

Lin Zhao withdrew his hand, and the domain of law slowly receded.

He looked down at the cultivator struggling to get up on the ground, and said in a flat tone, "So this is all there is to thirty years of management."

The cultivator trembled and finally collapsed to the ground.

Fang Yue coughed lightly, stepped forward, unfolded the appointment document, and announced loudly: "Effective immediately, Lin Zhao will take over as the garrison commander of Cangyun Mountain. The original garrison commander shall leave his post immediately and shall not linger."

The cultivators from the original guardian faction exchanged glances, then silently helped the man up and slunk away from the plaza.

The twenty-odd Foundation Establishment cultivators from the neutral faction exchanged glances, then bowed respectfully to Lin Zhao, saying, "Greetings, Garrison Commander Lin."

Lin Zhao nodded slightly in return.

Yan Chiheng leaned closer and whispered, "That was a pretty hard hit. He slammed the guy to the ground."

Lin Zhao glanced at him: "What else? Let him keep shouting?"

Yan Chiheng chuckled and said nothing more.