Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

That was the resentment left behind by the blood sacrifice, clinging to every rune, impossible to shake off.

It is no exaggeration to say that Princess Blood Phoenix sacrificed many people using demonic techniques in order to control this treasure.

Lin Zhao opened her eyes and sighed.

He didn't speak, but simply took out the Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool.

Lin Zhao raised his hand, and the Blood Phoenix Bow fell into the Thunder Pool.

Lightning surged in the pool!

Endless lightning power surged into the Blood Phoenix Bow, washing away the blood and evil energy, as well as the divine imprint left by the Blood Phoenix Princess.

sizzle-

The Blood Phoenix Bow trembled violently, and the crimson flames on its surface surged wildly, like a ferocious beast that had been provoked.

But the power of thunder is extremely yang and strong, making it the nemesis of these yin and evil things.

The crimson flames were suppressed, dissipated, and purified inch by inch.

The bow began to change.

The crimson lines gradually faded, replaced by a faint golden glow.

Lin Zhao watched quietly.

This cleansing process took half a month.

---

half a month later.

Lin Zhao took the Blood Phoenix Bow from the Thunder Pool.

He froze for a moment.

The bow has changed.

"This is……"

Lin Zhao examined it carefully.

The bow itself is actually made of metal.

He had always assumed it was fire-attribute—after all, the Blood Phoenix Bow, with its crimson phoenix flames, would naturally be associated with fire.

But now it seems that those crimson flames were just energy from the blood sacrifice.

Its real name should be the Golden Phoenix Bow.

The original blood-red patterns disappeared, replaced by a pure gilded luster.

The ancient runes on the bow arm now emitted a faint golden light, no longer the eerie blood-red color they had before.

The bow is entirely golden, with every pattern clearly visible, exuding a sharp aura.

The bowstring was no longer dark gold, but a pure pale gold, as if it were made from the sinews of some kind of demonic beast.

However, due to the damage from the previous blood sacrifice, and Lin Zhao's forced tempering with lightning, the bow's grade dropped.

It dropped from a third-tier magic weapon to a near-magic weapon.

Normally, recovery takes several years or even more than a decade.

But Lin Zhao possessed the Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool.

The Thunder Pool was originally the magical Spirit Gathering Pool, containing endless energy.

He placed the Golden Phoenix Bow back into the pool, where the spiritual liquid surged and completely submerged the bow.

Within the spiritual liquid, the phantom of a golden phoenix slowly emerged.

It was curled up, as if it were asleep.

It's like a rebirth.

Lin Zhao glanced at it, then turned and left.

Let it recover on its own.

---

Two months later.

Lin Zhao came to the Thunder Pool again.

In the pool, the golden phoenix had already opened its eyes.

It was no longer curled up, but spread its wings and swam slowly in the lightning liquid.

With each flap of its wings, countless golden specks of light scatter and merge into the bow.

Lin Zhao reached out her hand.

The golden phoenix let out a long cry, transformed into a stream of light, and landed in his palm.

Golden Phoenix Bow.

Third-tier magic weapon.

Lin Zhao gripped the bow tightly and probed it with his divine sense.

This time, there was no hindrance whatsoever—every rune within the bow responded to him joyfully.

His soul imprint has been completely imprinted on it.

It became.

-----

Outside the market, not far away.

Lin Zhao stood in mid-air, holding the Golden Phoenix Bow.

He took a deep breath and channeled his spiritual energy into it.

boom--

Suddenly, the bow's body lit up, and a golden light shot into the sky!

Lin Zhao did not release it, but only sensed the information transmitted from the bow.

A third-tier magic weapon, possessing two major spells and one supernatural power.

First spell, Golden Shadow Arrow.

The Golden Phoenix Bow has no physical arrows; instead, energy is directly transformed into golden arrows.

The golden arrow can split into countless smaller golden arrows—covering the sky like a torrential rain.

The second spell, Golden Rainbow Arrow.

It manifested as a huge, almost solid arrow, with extremely strong attack power.

Lin Zhao remembered that Princess Blood Phoenix used this arrow, and even the three-headed spirit dragon dared not take it head-on; the magic domain was almost pierced through.

The third divine power is the Golden Phoenix Arrow.

It manifests as a golden phoenix with a built-in locking function; it is immortal unless its energy is depleted.

Lin Zhao recalled that battle.

Princess Blood Phoenix's final arrow was the Golden Phoenix Arrow. The crimson phoenix swooped down on the Five Emperors Seal, and the two forces were evenly matched.

If he hadn't directly confronted the Five Emperor Seals at that moment, and had been chased and attacked by the phoenix, he would probably have been worn down to death by being kited from a distance.

Of course, this was impossible. Lin Zhao possessed the Five Mountains Shifting Technique, allowing him to easily leave. The Golden Phoenix Arrow couldn't catch him even from that distance.

This supernatural power is extremely powerful, but it also consumes a great deal of energy.

Princess Blood Phoenix can only use it once, even if it means risking her life.

Lin Zhao possesses the Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool, which can be used normally.

With a thought, the lightning liquid in the Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool surged wildly into his body, transforming into spiritual power that flowed into the Golden Phoenix Bow.

His body trembled.

A golden phoenix slowly took shape, its wings spread as if ready to take flight.

Lin Zhao aimed at a small hill in the distance and released her grip.

Phew——! ! !

With a long cry, the golden phoenix transformed into a streak of light and shot out!

In that instant, the world lost its color.

Wherever the golden phoenix passed, space seemed to distort slightly.

It crashed into that small hill—

boom!!!

The mountains collapsed and the earth cracked!

The entire hill was blasted to dust! Debris flew everywhere, and smoke and dust billowed into the sky! The shockwave swept outwards, uprooting all the trees within a radius of several miles!

Lin Zhao stood in the air, watching the mushroom cloud slowly rise, and remained silent for a long time.

He glanced down at the Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool.

The spiritual liquid in the pool has decreased by 30%.

One arrow consumes 30% of its energy.

But its power is comparable to the forbidden technique, the Five Emperors Seal.

Moreover, its release speed is faster than the Five Emperors Seal, its load is not as heavy, and it can be used without the support of an array.

Lin Zhao put away the Golden Phoenix Bow, a slight smile curving her lips.

This bow became his strongest means of attack.

Previously, he had withstood the Core Formation stage by relying on the support of the formation.

Now, in the wild, with the Golden Phoenix Bow in hand, I can easily hold my own against a Core Formation cultivator for several rounds.

Princess Blood Phoenix was unable to unleash the full power of this bow.

But he can.

In addition to his Five Mountains Shifting Technique...

Lin Zhao turned around, transformed into a ray of light, and flew back to the market.

Behind us, the vanished hill was still emitting smoke.

---

A few days later, another wooden box appeared in Lin Zhao's garrison.

The wooden box was opened, and inside was a human head.

The woman was young and had a fairly pretty face.

His eyes were open, his face frozen with the shock and resentment of dying.

Lin Zhao knew her.

Qin Yao.

The younger sister of the brother and sister in the Qin Prince's Mansion.

When Zheng Yuanshan visited Cangyun Mountain, the brother and sister accompanied him; both were at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Now only a head is left lying here.

Lin Zhao glanced at the person opposite him.

Yan Lie stood to the side, his expression calm.

Standing next to him was a young man named Luo Yu.

He looked to be around eighteen years old, and the childishness on his face had faded, replaced by much more defined features.

That severed head was brought by him.

Lin Zhao remained silent for a long while.

"You killed him?"

"Yes."

Luo Yu's voice was steady, without trembling or boasting; it was just a single, plain word.

Lin Zhao looked at Yan Lie.

Yan Lie gave a wry smile: "I examined the wound. Poisoned, then beheaded with a single stroke. Clean and swift."

Lin Zhao remained silent.

Eighth level of Qi Refining, killing someone in the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Even though it's a subpar Foundation Establishment stage achieved through secret techniques, it's still Foundation Establishment.

He was suddenly speechless.

He had always known that the brother and sister were weak—they were Foundation Establishment cultivators created through secret techniques.

But I never expected it to get this bad.

He was killed by someone at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Lin Zhao rubbed his temples and looked at Luo Yu: "Tell me, what happened?"

Luo Yu raised his head and began to recount the whole story.