Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, it's been a long time." Zhu Yan spoke, his voice lower and more composed than before.

"Brother Zhu, please accept my condolences," Lin Zhao said.

There's nothing to comfort you with, nothing to be polite about. Four words are enough.

Zhu Yan nodded. Some things didn't need to be mentioned. Lin Zhao had led people to save many mortals from the Heavenly Fire Dynasty, and Zhu Yan remembered this. It was precisely because of this foundation that he was standing here today.

Lin Zhao took out the Crimson Flame Demon Blade from his storage ring.

Zhu Yan held his breath, staring intently at the knife.

He was preparing to form his core, but he hadn't found a natal magic weapon yet. If he were lucky enough to succeed, he would immediately obtain a third-tier natal magic weapon. This sword was tailor-made for him.

He took out the piece of bright, dark gold from his storage bag. It was the size of a human head, entirely silver-white, but with fine golden patterns on its surface.

Lin Zhao glanced at it.

Bright and mysterious gold, a third-tier main material, is enough to make a complete robe.

Crimson Flame Demon Blade, a second-tier top-grade item with five attributes, has the potential for advancement.

In terms of value, the Bright Light Profound Gold is higher. Defensive magic treasures are inherently more valuable than offensive ones, let alone magic robes.

However, the Crimson Flame Demon Blade was crucial for Zhu Yan's Core Formation, but for Lin Zhao it was merely a useless magical artifact.

"Take it," Lin Zhao said.

Zhu Yan then reached out and picked up the Crimson Flame Demon Blade. He gripped the hilt, feeling the powerful force within the blade.

He carefully put the knife into his storage bag, then took out another storage bag from his pocket and handed it to Lin Zhao.

"These are some general auxiliary materials for refining third-tier magic weapons," he said. "I don't need them, so I'll leave them to you."

Lin Zhao didn't reach out, but looked at him and said, "Brother Zhu, what does this mean?"

Zhu Yan gave a bitter smile, a smile that looked particularly desolate on his thin face. His lips twitched, but his eyes remained motionless.

"I'm not good at crafting artifacts, so these things are useless to me for the time being." He paused, his voice lowering, "If our plan to produce Core Formation cultivators fails, I hope Fellow Daoist Lin will consider our friendship today and protect some of the surviving dynasty cultivators."

He raised his head, looked into Lin Zhao's eyes, and said, "I'm just... leaving them a way out."

Lin Zhao remained silent for a long time, so long that Zhu Yan thought he wouldn't agree.

He took out a blank jade talisman from his storage ring, left a divine imprint on it, and handed the talisman over.

"Bring this jade talisman, and I will protect some people within my capabilities."

Zhu Yan took the jade talisman and put it into his storage bag. He bowed to Lin Zhao and then turned to walk into the depths of the dense forest.

Lin Zhao stood there for a while, then put away the materials and turned to leave.

---

Back at the garrison headquarters, Lin Zhao sat in his study and took out the Bright Light Profound Gold again for a look.

It was a piece the size of a human head, shimmering with a silvery-white halo under the light, yet its surface was covered with fine golden patterns.

He suddenly sighed. It's not easy to give birth to a Core Formation True Person, not to mention the previous preparations—spiritual objects, pills, cultivation methods, and secret techniques.

Take the final tribulation lightning for example. Of the three of them, it would be lucky if even one of them survived. Moreover, they had to successfully form their core in such a short time. Zhu Yan had risked his life.

Lin Zhao leaned back in her chair and suddenly thought of the Lin family of the past.

That was over a hundred years ago. Back then, the Lin family also fell from a Foundation Establishment family to a Qi Refining family because of the death of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. The family members shrank their power and retreated to Qingxi Mountain, where they survived by relying on those few second-tier formations.

It took seventy years and the efforts of generations to see Foundation Establishment cultivators reappear. What was the difference between the Lin family ancestors of that time and Zhu Yan of the current Heavenly Fire Dynasty?

In his later years, the second-generation patriarch of the Lin family secretly sent a group of people into the Black Fiend Pavilion in order to leave a way out for the family. Those people lived up to expectations and gained a foothold in the sect. One of them even became a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Later, the Black Fiend Pavilion lineage played a significant role in enabling the clan leader to successfully establish his foundation. It was only after Lin Zhao rose to prominence that the Lin family achieved its current prosperity.

He shook his head, pulling his thoughts back. As long as he was still alive, the Lin family wouldn't face any major crisis. If he successfully formed his core, it was hard to say who would be in charge of the Yunxia Mountain Range in the future.

In the world of cultivation, all power resides in one person. The rise and fall of families, dynasties, sects, and all forces depend on the strongest individual.

Strength is everything. Lin Zhao looked down at his hands, clenched his fist, and then relaxed it.

The Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool can provide spiritual power support, the Golden Phoenix Bow is responsible for long-range suppression, and the Mysterious Yin Ghost Hand can launch close-range sneak attacks—if he were to add a Crimson Feather Robe, with four magic treasures on his person, he would be virtually invincible against an ordinary Core Formation cultivator.

However, he didn't intend to have his robes made by outsiders; his forte was crafting fire-attribute magical artifacts. His crafting skills had already reached the highest level of the second tier.

If he could break through to the third rank during the process of forging the Crimson Feather Robe, it would be of great help to him. A third-rank weapon forging master would be an honored guest in any outside power.

Lin Zhao put the Bright Light Profound Gold into his storage ring. Crafting magic weapons is not something that can be done overnight. He had the main material, but even with the auxiliary materials given by Zhu Yan and those he had accumulated over the years, he only had half of the materials. He would have to find and exchange the remaining materials slowly.

Even if you have all the materials, it won't be a matter of a few years to forge a third-tier magic weapon.

He will need at least ten years.

ten years.

Let's focus on breaking through to the Core Formation stage first.

A divine sense at the Core Formation level not only expands one's domain and increases one's strength, but also enhances one's control over magical artifacts, and will be of great use in assisting with artifact refining in the future.

He turned and went back to the quiet room, closing the door behind him.

As he sat down, he suddenly thought of Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao.

The four of them had been in the secret realm for several months. He didn't really want them to go on adventures, but there were some things he couldn't do.

If they don't break through the Divine Barrier, it will be difficult for them to enter the sect. And the Divine Barrier is something they can't break through through hard work alone; they can only rely on pressure and the life-or-death struggle.

He was forced to break through when he was cornered by a second-tier demonic beast. Lin Zhao also provided him with many means of survival, including jade talismans, pills, and magic artifacts. This configuration is much better than what he had back then.

Lin Zhao closed his eyes, preparing to begin his cultivation.

Deep within the Heavenly Fire Secret Realm, Lin You, Ye Xiaoxiao, Luo Yu, and He An are hunting monsters.

The air was filled with fire-attribute spiritual energy, and the fire mist formed by this energy blanketed the sky, as if it were underwater. Within the fire mist, a colossal beast over ten zhang long was letting out a deep roar.

The second-tier, low-grade Fire Cloud Rhinoceros has dark red skin covered with dark red patterns, and its single horn on its head is over ten feet long. Its entire body is crimson.