Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Li Xuandu, a Foundation Establishment peak cultivator of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty, stood at the edge of the camp, gazing at the dark red sky in the distance.

"Senior Brother Li," a woman's voice came from behind, "Su Qianxue has agreed to the transaction tonight, but she wants four high-grade spirit stones."

Li Xuandu did not turn around.

He remained silent for a long time, so long that the woman thought he wouldn't answer.

"Four," he finally spoke, his voice soft. "That's fine, as long as the information she provides is accurate."

What he didn't say was that even if there were problems, he still had to buy it; Su Qianxue was the strongest intelligence provider in the vicinity.

He is one of the Seven Sons of Heavenly Fire.

The so-called Seven Sons of Heavenly Fire are seven Foundation Establishment Peak cultivators who survived the Heavenly Fire Dynasty.

The seven of them had the highest cultivation levels, inherited the most wealth, and were also the most likely to achieve Core Formation.

Everyone was watching them, watching what they were holding, and watching how long they could hold out.

He turned and walked deeper into the camp. As he passed a tent, he heard a child crying inside.

But soon, as if something was blocking her throat, she let out intermittent, suppressed sobs.

People whose country is destroyed and whose homes are destroyed dare not even cry out loud.

Li Xuandu paused for a moment.

He didn't stop, he just walked a little faster.

----

Nighttime, on the outskirts of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty, in ruins.

A deep, bottomless crack appeared in the ground, and Li Xuandu leaped down, flying hundreds of feet before landing at the entrance of a hidden cave. The entrance was blocked by a huge rock, on which were carved simple array patterns, with a faint spiritual light emanating from it.

He raised his hand and cast a spell, and the boulder silently slid away, revealing the passage inside.

The cave was small, and five people had already arrived, sitting around a stone table. Several luminous beads were placed on the table, and the dim yellow light made each person's face appear to be indistinct.

These small-scale trades are common around the Secret Realm, but tonight's event is considered to be of a higher caliber.

Two Foundation Establishment Peak cultivators, two Foundation Establishment Late-Stage cultivators, plus Su Qianxue, who is at the Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage, yet no one dares to underestimate her—the ability to obtain so much information is a testament to her strength.

After several rounds of transactions, everything that needed to be exchanged was exchanged, and everyone got what they wanted. Three people left, leaving only Li Xuandu and Su Qianxue in the cave.

Li Xuandu took out four pale gold high-grade spirit stones from his sleeve, flicked them with his fingertips, and the spirit stones flew steadily to Su Qianxue, hovering in mid-air, their spiritual light restrained, indicating their excellent quality.

Su Qianxue reached out and caught it, weighed it in her hand, and put it into her storage bag. Her movements were very natural.

"Great," she said.

She took out a jade slip from her storage bag and flicked it. The jade slip drew an arc in the air and flew to Li Xuandu's front.

Li Xuandu took the jade slip, placed it on his forehead, and probed it with his divine sense. The cave immediately fell silent.

When Li Xuandu finished reading, his brows furrowed tightly.

"This intelligence..." His voice was a little dry, "Four Core Formation factions?"

Su Qianxue was looking down at the spirit stones in her hand. All four were of good quality, all of high grade. She ran her finger over one of the spirit stones, feeling the powerful spiritual energy within it, and without looking up, said, "When did I ever give false information?"

Li Xuandu paused for a moment. Everyone knew that Su Qianxue charged high fees, but her reputation and methods were also well-known in the nearby Foundation Establishment cultivator circle.

As far as he knew, she had made at least twenty deals with the remaining Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty, and the intelligence was always accurate, without any mishaps.

But this time is different. Even if the dynasty were at its peak and all the Core Formation experts were alive, they would not be able to withstand being targeted by all four at the same time.

Moreover, now that the True Person has perished, the dynasty has collapsed, the remaining cultivators are being chased everywhere, and intelligence is leaking everywhere, even if the Core Formation True Person doesn't take action personally, but only sends his subordinate forces to test the waters, it will still be enough to give the so-called Seven Sons of Heavenly Fire a hard time.

Fortunately, they had a backup plan.

The Seven Sons of Heavenly Fire consist of four visible and three hidden individuals, some genuine and some fake. The four visible ones are decoys, created to attract attention, and Li Xuandu is one of them.

The three people secretly in the background are the ones who are really going to try to reach the Core Formation stage. After all, they don't have many resources left, and they can't support so many people preparing to reach the Core Formation stage at the same time.

Three resources, three cultivators, and a gamble on one of them achieving Core Formation—this is the result of scraping together resources by selling everything they own.

Li Xuandu put away the jade slip, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I heard that Fairy Su has some connection with Lin Zhao, the garrison commander of Cangyun Mountain. I wonder... if you have any information about him?"

Su Qianxue suddenly stopped moving, and then she slowly raised her head to look at Li Xuandu. The temperature in the cave seemed to drop a few degrees suddenly, and the hairs on the back of Li Xuandu's neck involuntarily stood up.

"Is it for Lin Zhao," Su Qianxue said slowly, enunciating each word clearly, "or for the Crimson Flame Demon Blade in his hand? Or perhaps—for Zhu Yan?"

Li Xuandu's expression froze for a moment, his eyes narrowed slightly, and then he smiled bitterly.

"Fairy Su, your reputation is well-deserved." He cupped his hands in greeting. "Zhu Yan...you also know him."

Su Qianxue didn't speak; of course she knew.

Of the Seven Sons of Heavenly Fire, four are bright and three are dark, and Zhu Yan is one of the three.

When Lin Zhao forged the Crimson Flame Demon Blade, it was she who helped him trade the materials. Later, when the demon blade was completed, Lin Zhao even took it out to show off to her.

She shared the same sentiment as Lin Zhao at the time: if she didn't need a sword, she would also like to get one.

Zhu Yan is preparing to form his core, but he has no idea where to find his natal magic weapon.

The second-tier top-grade Crimson Flame Demon Blade possesses five characteristics: Slash, Crimson Fire, Immortality, Domination, and Blood Fiend. In particular, the "Blood Fiend" allows it to devour the life essence of opponents after slaying them, thereby increasing the weapon's grade.

If he kills enough, he can even upgrade his magic weapon. The current situation is that Zhu Yan is about to form his core, which inevitably involves killing. If he is lucky enough to successfully form his core, he will immediately obtain a third-tier natal magic weapon. This magic weapon is simply tailor-made for him.

"Lin Zhao's intelligence," Su Qianxue's voice turned cold, "I cannot sell it, nor do I dare to sell it."

She pronounced the word "dare not" very clearly.

"If you really want to know what kind of person he is, why don't you just ask Zhu Yan?" She stood up and dusted off non-existent dust from her clothes. "Zhu Yan has been in contact with him, so he might know something."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Goodbye." In a flash of inspiration, she had already reached the exit.

Li Xuandu stood there, watching her figure disappear above the crack.

He remained silent for a long time. Su Qianxue didn't say anything, but she ordered everything that needed to be ordered.

If Lin Zhao really couldn't make a deal, she would have pointed it out directly, so making a deal with Lin Zhao should be possible.

That person wouldn't particularly covet the Core Formation resources of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty.

Perhaps, maybe, we can cooperate.

He pondered for a long time before sending a message to Zhu Yan, using the most discreet method to ensure that only he could receive it.

Then he stood up and took one last look at the cave.