Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Fifteen years.

He suddenly felt a pang of guilt towards his parents.

Lin You noticed his mood and said softly, "Uncle, don't be like this. We're fine."

Before leaving, my grandparents gave us all the spirit stone resources that our fifth branch of the Lin family had accumulated over the years, telling us to try our luck in the Immortal City.

Lin Zhao looked at her and asked, "How many spirit stones do you have?"

Lin You hesitated for a moment: "It should be... enough to buy one Foundation Establishment Pill."

Lin Zhao remained silent.

That's enough to buy one Foundation Building Pill.

The two of them.

He recalled what Lin You had just said, "We are still young, and we will have more opportunities in the future."

That's easy for you to say.

Having traveled tens of thousands of miles from the Yunxia Mountains to this place, they encountered a third-tier demonic beast along the way and almost got into trouble.

Is this what you call "pretty good"?

Lin You seemed to see through his thoughts and smiled, "Uncle, it's really good. Although we haven't reached Foundation Establishment yet, we've been in the Cloud Mist Mountains for so many years..."

Having survived numerous beast tides, he has accumulated considerable combat experience. However, he remains unable to overcome the Divine Barrier, hindering the formation of a high-grade Dao Foundation.

She paused, then her eyes lit up: "We were thinking, should we try joining the Holy Sect?"

"Follow the path you took back then. If you can enter a sect and use its resources to build your foundation, you'll have a chance at achieving a high-grade Dao foundation."

Lin Zhao looked at her and suddenly smiled.

That smile held a mixture of satisfaction and pride. "Good, that's ambitious. I support you."

---

Half a day later, the topic turned to Luo Yu.

Luo Yu had been sitting quietly to the side, listening to their conversation. He looked up when he heard this.

Lin Zhao looked at him: "And how did you two meet?"

Luo Yu scratched his head, a rare look of embarrassment on his face.

"Immortal City is going to hold an auction, so to warm up for it, they've set up a tournament."

Luo Yu continued, "The outer city is divided into forty-eight districts. The top performer in the Qi Refining stage of each district will receive a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Then the winners from the forty-eight districts, along with the sixteen spots from the inner city, totaling sixty-four people, will compete in the finals. The winners will receive even more Foundation Establishment items and resources.

Lin Zhao nodded, signaling him to continue.

Luo Yu said, "I just wanted to gain some experience, so I signed up. In the third match, my opponent was her."

He pointed at Ye Xiaoxiao.

Luo Yu said, "She immediately released a Crimson Sun Dragon, which knocked me down."

He paused for a moment, a complex look flashing in his eyes.

"That dragon looks a bit like the one you used to guard the town."

Lin Zhao raised an eyebrow.

The Crimson Sun Dragon was indeed a spell that Lin Zhao tailored specifically for Ye Xiaoxiao.

Luo Yu continued, "I thought to myself, 'This spell looks familiar.' After I finished, I went up and asked, and when I asked..."

She said she was from Tianyun Market, and I said I was from Cangyun Mountain. Both are areas under the jurisdiction of sects. Upon further inquiry...

Lin Zhao smiled.

"So you brought him here?"

Luo Yu nodded: "I found the Zhou family. Senior Zhou Jun personally escorted us here. We heard you went out and haven't returned yet, so we've been waiting for a few days."

After listening, Lin Zhao picked up his teacup and took a sip.

He looked at Ye Xiaoxiao, then at Lin You, and finally at Luo Yu.

In the courtyard, the sun shone brightly, and the aroma of tea wafted from the stone table. Three people sat together opposite each other.

Lin Zhao suddenly realized that this trip to Immortal City might be much more interesting than he had imagined.

---

A few days later, Lin Zhao took three juniors to the Bihai Chamber of Commerce.

Two Foundation Establishment Pills are really nothing to him now.

But since Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao planned to earn Foundation Establishment Pills through the arena competition, he was naturally happy to help them.

What you earn yourself is completely different from what others give you.

Lin Zhao also wanted to see just how much skill they had acquired over the years.

However, arena battles and fighting monsters are two different things.

Monsters rely on physique, while cultivators rely on wisdom—the combination of spells, the use of magical artifacts to counter each other, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances are all extremely important.

Lin Zhao planned to take them to the Chamber of Commerce to buy some things and also to ask Lan Jingchi for some information.

He heard about a major event at the sect.

Near the Tongming Domain, a new Nascent Soul True Monarch has been born.

Such a major event was being discussed by no one in the Immortal City; the silence was somewhat unusual.

Lan Jingchi is a core member of the Bihai Chamber of Commerce, backed by a Core Formation Realm expert, so he should know some inside information.

----

The 25th District of Immortal City—one of the most prosperous areas in Immortal City.

The three main streets are side by side and are occupied by three major chambers of commerce: Bihai Chamber of Commerce, Jiuding Chamber of Commerce, and Jinyu Chamber of Commerce.

Bihai, Jiuding, and Jinyu are the three strongest merchant guilds in Tongming Domain, each with about ten Core Formation Real Persons.

The fact that these three companies are all squeezed together is said to be an arrangement by the Immortal City, because competition is what keeps things dynamic.

Lin Zhao walked down the street, with shops lining both sides, their lights gleaming.

The shops selling elixirs exuded a fragrant aroma, while the shops selling magical artifacts displayed various knives and magical weapons. Occasionally, one or two top-grade magical artifacts would attract the attention of passersby.

Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao followed behind Lin Zhao, their eyes darting around as fast as they could.

Luo Yu was alright, having seen some of the world before at Cangyun Mountain, but even he couldn't help but look around curiously.

"Uncle, what's that?" Lin You pointed to a silver flying shuttle hanging in front of a shop.

"A mid-grade second-tier magic weapon, the Cloud-Breaking Shuttle, used for flight, with decent speed."

Lin Zhao casually replied, "But stop looking, let's go to the Bihai Chamber of Commerce."

The headquarters of the Bihai Chamber of Commerce is a nine-story building that covers several miles and stands out among the surrounding buildings.

The building is light blue with subtle ripples on its surface, resembling a huge piece of jade carved from a single piece.

It's currently auction season, and it's very lively, with people coming and going at the entrance to the attic.

Lin Zhao scanned the area with his divine sense and found that there were over a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators alone.

He led Lin You and the other two inside.

Several Qi Refining stage maids stood at the entrance, all dressed in light blue dresses with jade pendants tied around their waists.

One of them stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over Lin Zhao—he couldn't see through him.

But the three young men following behind were two at the tenth level of Qi Refining and one at the ninth level.

The maid's face immediately became more respectful: "Seniors, is there anything you need?"

Lin Zhao said, "Just letting you know, I'm looking for Lan Jingchi."

The maid was taken aback.

Lan Jingchi holds a fairly high position within the Chamber of Commerce.

He is a direct descendant of the Lan family, a core family of the Bihai Chamber of Commerce, a junior of a Core Formation True Person, and a genius of the High-Grade Foundation Establishment stage. It would be difficult for ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators to even meet him.

She dared not delay and immediately reported it to her superiors.

Not long after, a figure walked out of the building.

Lan Jingchi had a smile on his face.

He strode up to Lin Zhao, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Brother Lin, it is an honor to have you here. I am so sorry for not welcoming you sooner."

The surrounding cultivators all turned their heads to look.

The person Lan Jingchi personally greeted? Who is this person?

Lin Zhao smiled and said, "Brother Lan, you're too kind."

The two walked in side by side, with Lin You and the other two following behind.

---

The seventh floor.

This is an elegant tea room with a view overlooking the entire 25th arrondissement.

The interior was simply furnished, with a bronze incense burner burning incense on the table and a small, flowering herb in the corner.

Lan Jingchi personally poured the tea.