Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

In the blink of an eye, a year has passed.

The Cangyun Mountain Market was very lively in the first half of the year.

But that excitement was nothing more than a brief calm before the storm.

Once the second half of the year arrived, the situation completely changed.

The True Man Chongguang has descended upon the Zixuan Dynasty.

This True Person, who had reached the Core Formation stage in the Chengtian Imperial Dynasty, descended upon the capital with dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and swiftly took over the entire power of the royal family.

The first thing he did was to establish "Chongguang Pavilion".

The position of Pavilion Master was given to Xuan Guangzi—the very cultivator who delivered his head to Cangyun Mountain.

After Xuan Guangzi took office, his methods were so ruthless that they were terrifying.

In just a few months, he had almost unified the power of the entire dynasty.

Lin Zhao had met him once, and at the time she felt he was very secretive. Now it seems that was indeed the case.

At this moment, the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Zi Xuan Dynasty has surged to over four hundred.

Looking back on that turmoil, the dynasty was left with only twelve markets, seven of which were in the hands of the royal family.

The remaining five wards and markets became independent.

What now?

Chongguang Pavilion opened seven new markets in one go, and with the help of various means of open and covert struggle, the royal family's power expanded rapidly.

Of the nineteen prefectures, most of the towns and markets fell under their control.

Only three independent companies remain.

First, there was Cangyun Mountain, which Lin Zhao guarded.

Secondly, there is the Wang family of Nanyang County—the foremost family of the dynasty, which has dominated Nanyang for eight hundred years. The family's cultivators have twice attempted to break through to the Core Formation stage, and although they failed, their foundation remains profound.

Thirdly, there's the market town in Xihe County where independent cultivators gather. The turmoil absorbed a large number of Foundation Establishment cultivators; there are fifty Foundation Establishment cultivators, including three at the peak of Foundation Establishment, barely managing to maintain the situation.

Meanwhile, Chongguang Pavilion controls sixteen markets and has over three hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The die is cast.

The three workshops together have no more than a hundred people and are in a precarious situation.

When Old He presented the detailed intelligence to Lin Zhao, he wore a wry smile.

"The other two wards have sent people," he said, "who want to form an alliance with you. They want you to intervene and negotiate with Master Chongguang to protect the wards."

Lin Zhao didn't respond and continued looking at the intelligence.

Mr. He continued, "Our business... has suffered a severe setback."

Chongguang Pavilion releases five genuine Foundation Establishment Pills and fifteen special Foundation Establishment Pills every year.

We only produce three Hundred Beast Foundation Establishment Pills a year, which is nothing compared to them.

He paused for a moment: "They didn't use any underhanded tricks, they just overwhelmed us with their overwhelming power."

With resources ten times greater than those in the market, we don't even bother with price wars, so our customer traffic automatically drops by half.

Lin Zhao finished reading the last line and put down the jade slip.

"No need to look," he said. "Alliance rejected."

He Lao was stunned.

Lin Zhao leaned back in her chair and looked out the window.

"The combined strength of the three workshops cannot withstand the overwhelming force," he said. "It's only a matter of time before the other two surrender."

Old He remained silent.

He knew Lin Zhao was right.

The current predicament of Cangyun Mountain is not due to a lack of fighting spirit, but rather to overwhelming superiority.

Of the Foundation Establishment cultivators in Dingfeng Plains under Yan Chiheng's command, only about twenty remain over the years.

Chongguang Pavilion organized a vast caravan, and Dingfengyuan's small force was no match for the true power of the dynasty.

Master Chongguang did nothing, yet easily thwarted all of Lin Zhao's schemes in the market.

Lin Zhao suddenly smiled.

There was a hint of emotion in that smile, and a touch of clarity.

"Strength is the foundation of cultivation."

He said, "All strategies and management are petty tricks—they are nothing but illusions in the face of absolute power."

He looked at Elder He: "Now the Zixuan Dynasty has two Core Formation Realm cultivators. I am in Cangyun Mountain, and I can use formations to fight against Core Formation Realm cultivators."

But what about outside the market? You'd be lucky to escape with your life.

Old He sighed.

Lin Zhao gazed into the distance, her eyes somewhat unfocused.

"As expected of someone from the Chengtian Imperial Dynasty."

He said softly, "I've heard that in that imperial dynasty, there are more than fifty Core Formation Realm experts, and a population of over a billion..."

He paused, then didn't continue.

---

Not long after, the Wang family surrendered.

Expected.

The Wang family ancestors failed to break through to the Core Formation stage twice in history. No one would believe that the royal family did not secretly intervene in these attempts.

The fact that they've held out for so long is quite impressive.

The Xihe County was not so lucky.

On a dark and windy night, a mysterious person suddenly entered the market town of Xihe County.

He killed more than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators in succession.

The three peak cultivators, including the sect leader, were all killed.

The market formation was forcibly broken, and the man strode away.

The next day, the people from Chongguang Pavilion moved into the market and took over everything.

The name of that mysterious person quickly spread.

He was Zheng Tu, one of the five candidates for the Golden Core stage in the dynasty.

This person is at the peak of Foundation Establishment, and his original name is unknown.

Originally the leader of the Jiexiu in Dingfengyuan, he was recruited by the Zheng family and given the surname Zheng.

He had been kept in the capital all these years, nominally as a guest minister, but in reality a servant of the Zheng family patriarch.

Some say that Zheng Tu was left to the immortal Chongguang by the ancestor of the Zheng family.

Some say that he was originally a man of Chongguang Zhenren and had been lurking in the capital.

Regardless, he made his move.

This means that the power of the Zheng family patriarch has been completely taken over by Master Chongguang.

-----

At this point, Master Chongguang had completely taken control of the entire Zixuan Dynasty.

Of the nineteen prefectures, eighteen families submitted.

Of all the great dynasties, only the Cangyun Mountain market still stands strong.

Lin Zhao was inside the garrison headquarters when he heard the news.

Yan Chiheng stood to the side, looking at him with some concern.

"What do we do?"

Lin Zhao opened her eyes, her expression calm.

"No rush."

Yan Chiheng was taken aback.

Lin Zhao stood up and walked to the window.

"I've gathered almost all the resources needed to form the Core Formation over the years."

He said, "The market is not as useful to me anymore."

This is the truth.

The contents of Princess Blood Phoenix's storage ring, along with the Blood Phoenix Bow and the wealth accumulated over the years—Lin Zhao's net worth is now comparable to that of an ordinary Core Formation cultivator.

The market town of Cangyun Mountain no longer serves his purpose as it once did.

However, his term of guarding the sect has not yet expired, and there are still several years left; otherwise, he would have already considered returning to the sect.

The sect's duty of guarding is far greater than that of the Sky Patrol Guard; it's not something that can be resigned from so easily.

That's a much heavier task than the Sky Patrol mission; it has deadlines, assessments, and responsibilities.

There are pros and cons. Guarding a town can indeed yield a lot of resources, but the responsibility of guarding a town is also heavy and cannot be easily relinquished.

Lin Zhao suddenly smiled.

"To be honest," he said, "I actually hope that Master Chongguang would dare to come and take over this Cangyun Mountain."

Yan Chiheng was taken aback: "Why?"

Lin Zhao did not answer, but looked into the distance.

He recalled some historical records from the sect.

Ten thousand years ago, in a certain region of Yunzhou, the mountains and rivers within a radius of thousands of miles were transformed in just a few months—the mountains and rivers turned into deserts, and the lakes turned into thousands of miles of ice fields.

Only a Celestial Lord capable of such destructive power could achieve this.

Rumors within the sect say that it was caused by several Nascent Soul cultivators within the sect attacking with several fifth-tier spiritual treasures, ultimately forcing a Nascent Soul Heavenly Lord to self-destruct.