Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

What he didn't know was that Xuan Chen Valley was already in complete chaos.

The Heavenly Fire Dynasty is indeed related to them—to be precise, it was arranged by them on behalf of the Taixu Pavilion, but they will not act now; they have at least several decades to prepare.

According to the original plan, before taking action, they would try to get the Nanli Dynasty to annex the Tianhuo Dynasty and relocate countless mortals from the core area.

Then so many people wouldn't have died, and there wouldn't have been such a huge commotion.

Now look what's happened, the whole plan is in chaos.

Those below were at a loss and could only report the matter up the chain of command, eventually reaching the Taixu Pavilion.

Lin Zhao was unaware of these circumstances; all he knew was that there were many more people waiting.

Lin Zhao handed over the first batch of over ten thousand ordinary people he rescued to Elder He, replenished some supplies, and then led his men inside.

This time, they were lucky. After half a day of searching, they had captured most of the mortals. At that moment, a surge of spiritual energy came from ahead.

A dozen or so beams of light appeared, one chasing and the other fleeing. The one in front was a couple, both at the tenth level of Qi Refining, piloting a small flying boat. On the boat were five or six children, the oldest no more than ten years old, and the youngest still being held in their arms.

The flying boat wobbled precariously, its protective shield flickering on and off, seemingly on the verge of collapsing. The dozen or so people chasing behind were clearly not locals; they wore identical black robes and carried complete sets of magical artifacts.

Lin Zhao knew what was going on without even thinking.

The Core Formation cultivator of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty has perished, leaving the dynasty leaderless. Some of the outside cultivators came to rescue people, while others took advantage of the chaos.

He did not hesitate.

The Golden Phoenix Bow appeared in his hand. Its entire body was gilded, shining brightly in the hazy sky. The bowstring was pulled, and a golden stream of light shot out.

Golden light exploded in the air, transforming into hundreds of small golden arrows, like a golden rainstorm, enveloping the dozen or so pursuers.

The distance of more than ten miles was covered in just a few breaths. The pursuers didn't even have time to react. After a few screams, only a dozen or so clouds of blood mist remained in the air.

Lin Zhao didn't care where they came from. If they dared to make a move at this time, even if they were Core Formation cultivators, Lin Zhao would make them die here.

A dozen miles away, the couple's flying boat came to a stop.

They saw the flag of Cangyun Mountain and the figure standing at the bow of the ship.

Having spent most of their lives in the Heavenly Fire Dynasty, they naturally knew about the nearby Cangyun Mountain Market.

As the flying boat approached, the man clasped his hands in a fist salute and bowed deeply to Lin Zhao.

Thank you.

Lin Zhao nodded: "Bring the child up."

The man glanced back at the children on the boat, then at his wife, who bit her lip, and tears finally fell.

She picked up the children one by one and handed them to the Cangyun Mountain cultivators who flew over. The youngest one was still asleep, drool hanging from the corner of his mouth, unaware of anything.

"And you?" Lin Zhao asked.

The man and his wife exchanged a glance. "We need to go back," the man said calmly. "There are still many people who haven't come out yet."

He didn't say much, just bowed again, then turned the flying boat around and flew deeper into the Heavenly Fire Dynasty. The woman stood at the stern, looking back at the children until they were no longer visible.

Clearly, although the Heavenly Fire Dynasty was destroyed, the surviving cultivators of the dynasty did not completely abandon their responsibilities. They did not rely entirely on outsiders and continued to save themselves.

Luo Yu stepped forward and led the children to Yan Lie's spirit boat, finding them seats and providing them with water and dry rations. The children reminded him of his own past.

Ye Xiaoxiao and Lin You also joined in. Lin You squatted down in front of a little girl and helped her wipe the dust off her face, while Ye Xiaoxiao handed her water bottle to a boy with chapped lips.

Half a day later, the fleet was fully loaded again, with tens of thousands of people crammed onto the airships, flying towards the border camp and arriving safely and smoothly.

This is Lin Zhao's third day here.

Finally, good news arrived: the major powers had finally made contact with the cultivators in the heart of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty.

Of the dynasty's more than 70 million people, preliminary estimates suggest that 30 million have died or been injured.

In the past few days, with the help of cultivators, tens of millions of mortals who were near the border have been safely evacuated.

There are still 30 million people scattered around the outer perimeter of the dynasty. With the strength of the more than 100,000 cultivators gathered now, rescue should not be a problem.

The real problem lies in the most critical area.

The volcanic cluster is concentrated there, and for thousands of miles around, there is a sea of ​​flowing lava and fire.

The fire elemental energy in the air was so dense that mortals simply could not survive without the protection of cultivators.

If a Qi Refining cultivator enters, they will be eroded by the spiritual energy in less than half an hour.

The mortals who originally lived there numbered over 30 million, but now only about 10 million remain—the remaining Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty, with the help of various spiritual land formations and the power of cultivators, have managed to create safe zones in that infernal sea of ​​fire.

They managed to protect the remaining tens of millions of people, but they can't hold out for much longer.

Currently, first-tier airships cannot fly in at all; only second-tier airships can travel back and forth.

Lin Zhao handed over the remaining first-tier flying boats to Elder He to direct the rescue of the cultivators on the periphery, while he himself took four second-tier spirit boats and more than ten second-tier flying boats and flew deep into the heart of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty.

The further in you fly, the more violent the spiritual energy becomes.

Lin Zhao had no choice but to activate the spirit boat's spiritual energy shield to its maximum. The Azure Scales glowed brightly, like a blue star. The spirit boats behind it followed suit, their shields lighting up one after another, forming a band of light against the dark red sky.

Their goal is a market town.

The remaining Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty were guarding there, protecting hundreds of thousands of mortals. This was the largest group of people Lin Zhao could currently rescue.

The fleet flew for two whole days.

It's less like flying and more like paving the way.

Flames were everywhere, and Foundation Establishment cultivators had to take turns clearing the way.

Using the powerful spiritual energy of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they forcefully blasted away the flames, creating a safe passage to protect the second-tier flying boat behind them.

Every step felt like wading through a swamp—slow and incredibly draining of mana.

Lin Zhao tried to use his own domain, but to maintain a normal domain in this fire domain was equivalent to using one person's strength to fight against the spiritual power of the entire world. Even with the Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool, he couldn't last more than a few days.

On the third day, ahead lay a vast sea of ​​fire, formed from countless flames that seemed almost tangible.

Even if more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators joined forces, they could not open a safe passage. In fact, several Foundation Establishment Tribulation cultivators were swallowed up by the terrifying sea of ​​fire because they rushed too close.

Lin Zhao disregarded the issue of mana depletion and used the power of his domain to lead the fleet through the flames and forcefully pass through the sea of ​​fire.

His magical power was depleted several times, and he only managed to reach the market safely after being replenished by the Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool.

The market's defensive formation had been holding out for several days and was on the verge of collapse. When the person in charge saw the rescue flag from Cangyun Mountain, he almost burst into tears.