Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

This story begins on the day the Zheng family patriarch left.

After that day, the situation in the Zixuan Dynasty began to change.

The Zheng family patriarch killed Princess Blood Phoenix and sent her head to Cangyun Mountain, which can be considered as delivering a letter of reconciliation.

Then he began to make arrangements for his affairs after his death—his plan to cultivate the core of his lineage had failed, and he could only hand over the dynasty to True Man Chongguang.

The Zheng family patriarch gave Xuan Guangzi a signal, instructing him to notify True Man Chongguang to return and take over the dynasty.

At the same time, he began to secretly arrange for the people from the Prince of Qin's mansion to leave.

The King of Qin is a descendant of his lineage and has the potential to achieve the Golden Core stage.

Master Chongguang is here; he will not be kept alive.

Therefore, the King of Qin had to leave.

The Zheng family patriarch contacted the Core Formation cultivators of Xuanchen Valley, and they agreed to accept him.

Dozens of core members of the Qin Prince's Mansion quickly left the Zi Xuan Dynasty under the cover of night.

Everything is arranged.

But the problem arose halfway through the journey.

Not long after Lingzhou left the dynasty, it was targeted by someone.

The final result was that the spirit boat was destroyed.

Knowing he couldn't escape, the King of Qin stayed behind to cover the rear.

This caused the people of the Qin Prince's mansion to scatter and flee.

Zheng Yuanshan then took the brother and sister with him.

They fled all the way, pursued relentlessly.

Halfway through their escape, Zheng Yuanshan abandoned the brother and sister.

It ran away on its own.

Qin Yu risked his life to block the pursuers in order to protect his sister, and was killed on the spot.

Qin Yao was seriously injured and escaped with her life on the line. She stumbled and fell all the way and finally landed near the Cangyun Mountain Market.

The pursuers stopped at the edge of Cangyun Mountain.

The relationship between the dynasty and Cangyun Mountain is now very delicate, and they dare not enter easily.

Qin Yao was so lucky to escape with her life.

---

Lin Zhao looked at Luo Yu, speechless. What kind of novel plot was this? A beauty falls from the sky, and a hero saves the beauty.

"And then?" Lin Zhao asked.

Luo Yu stiffened slightly under Lin Zhao's somewhat strange gaze, but continued recounting the events.

He went to do a mission outside the market that day and found Qin Yao unconscious by a stream.

I didn't know who she was at the time.

With the intention of saving her, Luo Yu carried her back to his lodging outside the market.

I treated her wounds, fed her medicine, and stayed by her side for two days.

At first, Luo Yu only thought he had saved someone.

When Qin Yao woke up, she was very alert.

Luo Yu asked her who she was, but she wouldn't say.

Luo Yu didn't press further, thinking that it was enough that the person had been revived.

The turning point came on the third day.

Luo Yu casually mentioned that he was from Cangyun Mountain Market.

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Yao's expression changed drastically.

She immediately put down her chopsticks and eagerly inquired about Lin Zhao.

Without much thought, Luo Yu recounted the rumors circulating in the market—how Master Lin, with his Foundation Establishment cultivation, repelled a Core Formation cultivator, how powerful he was, and how he protected the cultivators in the market.

Qin Yao listened quietly, remaining silent for a long time before her aura suddenly turned cold and violent.

The next second, she suddenly opened her mouth and began to curse, every word of which was directed at Lin Zhao.

"He's a scourge! A jinx!"

"He's the one who ruined my family; it's all his fault!"

Qin Yao became increasingly agitated as she cursed, completely losing control of her emotions, and unleashing all the resentment she had been holding back for so long:

The Qin Prince's Mansion was forced to break away from the dynasty, and the whole family fled; they were ambushed on the way, her elder brother died protecting her, and her father's fate was unknown.

The once prestigious royal palace has fallen to its current state of disarray and barely surviving.

"It's all because of him!" Qin Yao's eyes were bloodshot, tears mingling with hatred streaming down her face. "If he hadn't appeared, how could Master Chongguang have taken over the dynasty? My father could have successfully formed his core! Our family wouldn't have had to flee in such a panic, and my brother wouldn't have died!"

Luo Yu sat to the side, remaining silent, but his brows furrowed more and more deeply.

Only now did he realize that the person in front of him was actually from the Qin Prince's Mansion of the Dynasty.

In his view, the conflict between the Zixuan Dynasty and Cangyun Mountain Market had little to do with ordinary cultivators, especially since the two sides had recently reconciled.

None of that matters, but she shouldn't have insulted Lin Zhao.

After venting her resentment, Qin Yao looked at Luo Yu, who was silent to the side, and her expression suddenly changed to a conciliatory smile.

She began to deliberately befriend Luo Yu, relying on her status as a Foundation Establishment cultivator and her background in the Qin Prince's Mansion, promising him endless cultivation resources.

She tried to get Luo Yu to pass on information about the market to her, promising a generous reward afterward, and constantly slandered Lin Zhao, saying he was not worthy of her loyalty.

In an attempt to win over Luo Yu, she immediately took out a large amount of spirit stones and several bottles of cultivation pills, pushing them all in front of him.

If it were an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator, they would probably have readily agreed, as it was just a matter of passing on some insignificant information, which was not a difficult task at all.

Luo Yu was no ordinary cultivator.

Yan Lie is a second-tier high-grade alchemist, whose wealth far exceeds that of Qin Yao, and he has no shortage of spirit stones and pills.

Furthermore, Luo Yu was born in Dingfeng Plain, a place that was formed because the three great dynasties were inactive and allowed chaos to spread. From the bottom of his heart, he had little goodwill towards the royal families of the three great dynasties.

What he found most intolerable was that Qin Yao, without distinguishing right from wrong, shifted all the blame onto Lin Zhao and subjected him to wanton insults.

In Luo Yu's heart, Lin Zhao was a god who saved him from Dingfeng Plain, someone he absolutely respected, and this was something he could never tolerate.

---

Lin Zhao rubbed his temples and sighed. What was all this about? Something just didn't feel right.

After a long silence, Lin Zhao said, "Does anything she said actually make any sense?"

Luo Yu was startled and looked up at Lin Zhao, his face full of confusion.

Lin Zhao continued, "She hates me, and there are indeed some reasons for it. The fate of the Qin Prince's mansion, when traced back to its origins, is indeed related to me. If it weren't for me, the Qin Prince might have truly achieved the Core Formation, and his entire family wouldn't have had to die."

Luo Yu opened his mouth, as if to say something.

Lin Zhao raised her hand to interrupt him.

"But that's my business, not yours."

He looked into Luo Yu's eyes: "Do you know why she hates me, but dares not hate the Zheng family patriarch, dares not hate True Man Chongguang, dares not hate the pursuers who killed her entire family?"

Luo Yu thought for a moment: "Because... she can't beat these people?"

"She's a bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong." Lin Zhao said indifferently, revealing the truth in one sentence. "The Zheng family patriarch and True Person Chongguang are both Core Formation True Persons. She is afraid in her heart and doesn't even dare to hate them."

Only I, being at the same Foundation Establishment stage as her and the closest to her, made her feel that I was the one she could hold grudges against and blame for everything.

He paused, then added, "With this kind of person, even if you save her life, she won't be grateful; she'll think it's what you should do."

You give her a way out, and she turns around and tries to take advantage of you.

Luo Yu raised his eyes: "I knew, that's why I killed her."

Lin Zhao raised an eyebrow: "How did you do it?"

Luo Yu raised his head, his eyes calm.

"I poisoned her."

Lin Zhao looked at him but didn't say anything.

Luo Yu continued, "She is, after all, a Foundation Establishment cultivator; I can't defeat her. I can only wait for an opportunity."

The opportunity will come on the third night.

That evening, Qin Yao, completely unsuspecting, accepted the medicinal soup that Luo Yu had "kindly" prepared and drank it all in one gulp as usual.

The medicine took effect instantly, and she was unable to mobilize her spiritual power for a short period of time.

Luo Yu immediately took action, taking out a top-grade first-tier magic weapon. With a swift movement, the blade fell, decapitating the victim. The entire action was completed in one smooth motion, without the slightest hesitation.

Looking at the cold corpse and head on the ground, Luo Yu belatedly realized that he, a Qi Refining cultivator, had actually killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

But he really didn't know how to handle the aftermath.

Qin Yao is no ordinary rogue cultivator; she is a core Foundation Establishment member of the royal family, with the King of Qin, a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, behind her.

Luo Yu had no choice but to seek out Yan Lie and tell him everything.

Upon hearing this, Yan Lie also became solemn, knowing full well the importance of the matter.

He didn't care about Qin Yao, who was just an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, but King Qin was a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, a powerful figure who was only half a step away from Core Formation.

After much deliberation, Yan Lie, carrying Luo Yu and Qin Yao's head, hurriedly went to the garrison headquarters to leave the decision to Lin Zhao.

In the entire market town, only Lin Zhao is capable of handling this matter.