Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Two weeks later, the auction was held as scheduled.

Because of Lin Zhao's victory in that battle, all the cultivators who came to participate in the auction behaved themselves very well.

No one dared to cause trouble, and even arguments became less frequent—who knew if that Warden Lin would suddenly appear and set up another target to establish his authority?

As a result, even more people came.

On the day of the auction, there were more than 30,000 monks in the market.

Those above the Foundation Establishment stage, plus those from the market itself, number more than fifty.

Mr. He's voice was hoarse from presiding over the auction on stage, but he couldn't stop smiling afterward.

Five Hundred Beast Foundation Building Pills were auctioned off for the price of three genuine Foundation Building Pills—there were too many competitors, and the price couldn't be driven down.

"The garrison," Old He said, beaming as he held the account book, "this time, our Cangyun Mountain has truly made a name for itself."

Lin Zhao nodded, took the ledger, and flipped through it.

The resources that the market acquired in this year were equivalent to those of the previous ten years.

Moreover, having resources makes things easier.

Yan Lie, a second-tier high-grade alchemist, even volunteered to refine these resources into batches of second-tier high-grade pills and deliver them directly to Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao's cultivation progress accelerated rapidly.

At this rate, the time from the mid-stage to the late stage of Foundation Establishment can be shortened by several years.

At next year's auction, the market will release three more Hundred Beast Foundation Building Pills.

After the news was released, many people came to inquire about it in advance.

But Lin Zhao handed all these matters over to Old He.

He and Yan Chiheng had more important things to do.

---

Dingfeng Plain.

Three months ago, Yan Chiheng transferred a group of people from the market to investigate the situation there.

Old He's grandson volunteered—he was the young man who had taken the Hundred Beasts Foundation Building Pill. He had only recently achieved Foundation Building and was looking for an opportunity to make a name for himself.

The intelligence has been relayed back.

The situation at Dingfeng Plain is more complicated than expected.

Tens of thousands of cultivators huddled inside, divided into hundreds of large and small gangs. They usually fought each other, but when they encountered outsiders, they banded together.

But it's not a monolithic entity either.

Yan Chiheng had already taken the second-tier magic artifact "Forbidden God Disc" with him.

His mission was twofold: first, to find out the details of those bandit groups, who had grudges against whom, and who was allied with whom;

Secondly, find opportunities to plant spies; plant restrictions if possible, and win over those who can be won over first.

When the time is right, we'll call on Lin Zhao and take him down in one fell swoop.

Lin Zhao wasn't afraid of fighting hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators head-on—his Four Elements Five Mountains Domain wasn't afraid of group battles, but it was always good to save some energy.

Before leaving, Yan Chiheng patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, wait for my message."

Lin Zhao didn't say anything, but simply handed him the Forbidden God Disc.

Yan Chiheng should be over there by now.

Lin Zhao was doing something else inside the garrison headquarters.

---

He was working out a complete set of exercises.

This story begins with the Hundred Beasts Foundation Building Pill.

That pill was made by him using those secret techniques and a second-tier demon core. Combined with the Hundred Beasts True Technique, it could help Qi Refining cultivators establish their foundation.

The price is that one can only build a low-grade Dao foundation, and there is a risk of being devoured by bestiality a hundred years after the foundation is built.

The elixirs have been sold, and the cultivation techniques have been disseminated.

Lin Zhao created this technique to solve this problem, but there was also a deeper reason: he wanted to take this opportunity to explore his own path to Core Formation.

Before he formed his Golden Core, Master Qianqiu created the Taihe Yangyuan Technique to deduce his own path to Golden Core formation.

Lin Zhao has now reached this stage as well.

He needs a system of his own.

To break through the Foundation Establishment stage, one must harmonize one's essence, energy, and spirit.

To advance from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation, one must perfectly integrate and transform essence, energy, and spirit.

He's currently at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, cultivating the fourth-tier technique, "The True Technique of the Five Elements Returning to Nothingness." Although it's slow, he's only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

However, if one cultivates steadily and reaches the peak of Foundation Establishment, it will be enough to challenge the Core Formation realm.

The first barrier to the gods is the Divine Soul Sword Tower.

My spiritual sense has been increasing over the years. At this rate, I should be able to reach the threshold of Core Formation within twenty years.

The only hurdle is the physical body, which is a difficult problem.

His Five Sacred Mountains Spirit Body was originally sublimated by refining the second-tier magic artifact, the Spirit Sealing Pillar.

The Spirit Sealing Pillar is a magical artifact, and even the most powerful magical artifacts lack a certain vitality—something that only living things possess.

The formation of the elixir requires the fusion and transformation of essence, energy, and spirit.

If one's foundation in the physical body is insufficient, problems will arise when forming the elixir.

So he was going to conduct an experiment.

Using the True Techniques of a Hundred Beasts as a guide, we can deduce a matching cultivation method and see if we can find a way to elevate our spiritual body.

A month later, the technique was complete.

He named it the Heavenly Heart Mantra.

There are five floors in total.

The first step is to calm the mind. Gather your scattered thoughts.

The second level is concentration. Calm your mind and don't let your animalistic instincts take over.

The third level is Beast Taming. It's not about suppression, but about mastery, making the essence of the demonic beasts within your body obey your commands.

The fourth level is the transformation into a beast. The essence and blood are still there, but the beastly nature has disappeared. Like a tamed wild beast, it will no longer turn against its master.

The fifth level, Heavenly Heart. Upon reaching this level, one's mind becomes clear and one's comprehension improves, allowing one to cultivate techniques and comprehend spells much faster than others.

But there is a price to pay—those who reach the fifth level of cultivation tend to become too rational and lose some of their humanity.

The Hundred Beasts True Technique and the Heavenly Heart Technique together form a complete set of cultivation methods.

One is responsible for cultivating the foundation, and the other is responsible for controlling the power.

But this is not enough.

What Lin Zhao wanted was a complete system.

The True Secrets of a Hundred Beasts - Foundation Building Technique

Heavenly Heart Technique - Auxiliary Exercise.

We need to add one more skill—a secret technique.

Lin Zhao named it the Spirit Body of a Hundred Beasts.

The principle is not complicated: extract all the essence blood of the demon beasts refined in the body during the foundation building stage and condense it into a spiritual body that can leave the body.

Just like when he condensed the Four Elements Sword Dragon and the Four Elements Sword Tower.

Once this spiritual body leaves the body, it is no longer a part of the cultivator, but an independent innate spell.

It's similar to the martial spirit in novels from my previous life.

Bestiality? Gone.

The effect of demonic beast essence blood on the Dao foundation? That's gone too.

If a cultivator wishes to continue improving, they can retrieve their spiritual body and reintegrate it into themselves.

When it merges, the essence of the demon beasts accumulated in the spiritual body will nourish the Dao foundation, make up for the foundation, and may even allow the low-grade Dao foundation to advance a little bit to the middle grade.

Then refine the essence and blood of new demonic beasts to re-condense the spiritual body.

This cycle repeats itself endlessly, each time a new beginning, each time a chance to mend the foundation of one's path.

If you can persist in practicing, your low-grade Dao Foundation may transform into a mid-grade Dao Foundation.

With a mid-grade Dao Foundation, one has the opportunity to cultivate to the peak of Foundation Establishment, or even touch the threshold of Core Formation.

If all three cultivation techniques can be perfected, and after being reshaped a hundred times, there is even a slight chance of transforming and building a superior Dao foundation.

It was sublimated into a true spiritual entity, the "Spirit of a Hundred Beasts".

Of course, this is difficult—

It was no less difficult than the Taihe Yangyuan Technique he had once practiced.

Such an existence would be considered a prodigy in any faction, and is expected to achieve the Core Formation stage.

After Lin Zhao finished his own deductions, he shook his head.

He didn't think anyone in Cangyun Market could master these three martial arts techniques.