Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Old He stood outside the meditation room, his face extremely grim.

"What's wrong?"

Old He opened his mouth and handed over a stack of communication talismans.

Lin Zhao checked them one by one: Yan Chiheng's, Su Qianxue's, Lin You's, Ye Xiaoxiao's, Luo Yu's, He An's...

There were over a hundred questions, each more urgent than the last. The more he looked at them, the more grim his expression became.

He's only been in seclusion for a few months, yet more things have happened than in the previous ten years.

After reading the last transmission talisman, Lin Zhao remained silent for a long time.

"In other words, they are now being blocked by a Core Formation cultivator on the border of the Zixuan Dynasty, hundreds of miles away."

Old He nodded.

Lin Zhao put down the communication talisman, took a deep breath, and as the sect's guardian, he knew far more information than Zhu Yan.

He knew very well that the source of this storm was definitely the two Nascent Soul True Monarchs from Tongming Immortal City and Taixu Pavilion.

The downfall of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty must have been orchestrated by one person: one who wanted to cover up the truth, and another who wanted to uncover it but did not intend to formally start a war.

Zhu Yan's successful formation of his core disrupted the balance, bringing this contest from the shadows into the open.

Now, this game needs an audience.

Cangyun Mountain, Lin Zhao—a prodigy of the Holy Sect, who once directly confronted a core disciple of the sect who had reached the Core Formation stage—is the best audience member and the most suitable person to bring the curtain down.

"Don't give me a chance," Lin Zhao said through gritted teeth. "Otherwise, none of them will escape, and they will all pay the price."

He said no more and turned to walk out.

"Hold the line!" Old He shouted urgently from behind.

Lin Zhao did not turn around. The Azure Scale flew out of his storage ring, and he leaped onto it, pouring in his spiritual power. The spirit boat soared into the sky and sped westward.

The spirit boat swept through the market, a strong wind rushing in from the bow, causing the robes to flutter loudly.

-----

An hour later, he stood at the bow of the spirit boat, gazing at the distant sky, which had been plunged into darkness by the battle for Core Formation.

The entire battlefield was completely destroyed beyond recognition.

The land within a radius of dozens of miles looked as if it had been plowed, with scorched earth turned upside down, ravines crisscrossing the landscape, and scars everywhere.

In mid-air, a figure in a gray robe erected a white glass barrier, trapping Zhu Yan tightly in the center. The transparent cage was airtight, leaving not a single gap.

On the ground, the Crimson Flame Demon Blade in Zhu Yan's hand had shattered several times, its blade covered with dense cracks, barely maintaining its form only thanks to the indestructible nature of magical artifacts.

Even so, the dark red aura surrounding him remained resilient—though it had shrunk to only a few miles in size, it remained steadfast.

The gray-robed Core Formation cultivator should have already completely defeated Zhu Yan, but he dared not push too hard—Zhu Yan was, after all, a ruthless character who had personally killed a Core Formation cultivator. He was wary of the opponent's desperate counterattack and mutual destruction, so he planned to gradually exhaust the opponent's spiritual power and will.

Just as the spirit boat hovered at the edge of the battlefield, the two opposing domains trembled slightly at the same time.

Without uttering a word, Lin Zhao suddenly unleashed his own domain of power, directly blocking Zhu Yan's path.

The Dharma Domain of the Four Elements and Five Sacred Mountains suddenly expanded!

Five majestic mountain phantoms appeared in mid-air, and the four elements' immense power intertwined to form a net, instantly covering an area of ​​fifteen miles in radius!

Five-colored spiritual light spread out beneath their feet like a tide, and the pebbles on the ground were all pressed down an inch by the invisible spiritual pressure.

The gray-robed man's white barrier crashed in with a deafening roar. The two immense forces collided head-on in mid-air, and the air exploded with a series of thunderous bangs.

Zhu Yan, who was in the center of the battlefield, instantly felt the pressure ease.

He glanced at Lin Zhao, then silently sheathed his sword and retreated, leaving a trail of afterimages on the battlefield. In an instant, he withdrew from the domain and arrived at the spirit boat outside.

"Come on up!"

Yan Chiheng reached out and pulled him onto the spirit boat.

Zhu Yan leaned against the wall of the spirit boat, panting heavily. Blood kept gushing from the wound on his left shoulder, staining the deck a dark red.

Yan Chiheng quickly handed over a healing pill, which Zhu Yan took, put in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed. However, his gaze never left the battlefield below.

On the deck of the spirit boat, the three little ones huddled together on the edge of the boat, barely daring to breathe, their eyes fixed intently on the duel.

On the battlefield at this moment, light and shadow intertwine.

Lin Zhao's Four Elements and Five Sacred Mountains Dharma Domain exhibits a five-color rotation pattern, with the five elements of blue, white, red, black, and yellow flowing in and out, and the four-colored halos at the edges interwoven like a net, enveloping the heavens and earth.

The gray-robed man's white magical domain was like a thousand layers of glass, reflecting the light of the sky, its shimmering colors revealing an eerie tranquility.

At the core of the collision between the two forces, the ground was ripped open with deep, bottomless cracks, and the rubble was crushed into dust under the spiritual pressure.

The sky, spanning dozens of miles, was forcibly torn open by two streams of spiritual energy, allowing bright sunlight to stream down and illuminate the battlefield.

Lin Zhao stood still, motionless.

He faced off against his opponent's twenty-mile domain with a fifteen-mile domain, yet he showed no signs of weakness. Fifteen miles was within his normal control; he could reach twenty miles under his maximum potential, but there was no need for that.

Lin Zhao had his own judgment—on the way here, Yan Chiheng had already transmitted detailed information about the other party through the sect token.

His conclusion was clear: this gray-robed Core Formation cultivator was nothing more than an ordinary person, even slightly inferior to the Zheng family patriarch.

Despite being called a sword cultivator, he hadn't even grasped the essence of swordsmanship, relying entirely on the third-tier magic weapon in his hand to maintain appearances.

His domain of power was somewhat interesting, but that was about it. If Zhu Yan hadn't been injured, he might not have been unable to defeat him. It makes sense, since a truly powerful Core Formation cultivator wouldn't personally get involved in this mess.

The Heavenly Fire Dynasty is a very complicated affair; anyone with eyes can see it's best to avoid it.

Lin Zhao's gaze carefully examined the gray-robed Core Formation cultivator from top to bottom.

The gray-robed man with the Golden Core stage instantly turned grim.

A junior in the late Foundation Establishment stage stood before him, yet there was not a trace of awe in his eyes. He knew all too well what such a gaze meant—it meant that the junior did not take him seriously at all.

This gray-robed Core Formation cultivator was originally a rogue cultivator who had suffered countless scornful looks from so-called "prodigies of the sect" in his early years. He hated these kinds of geniuses the most in his life, and he was usually happiest to see those so-called "prodigies" showing a desperate and begging look in front of him.

"Young man, have you seen enough?"

His voice, cold and piercing, echoed through the air, "Get out of here. This is none of your business. If you don't leave today, you're staying here!"

How strong can a junior in the late Foundation Establishment stage really be?

It was already a miracle that Zhu Yan was able to escape from a Core Formation cultivator with only Foundation Establishment cultivation. That was thanks to the Core Formation foundation left by the Heavenly Fire Dynasty and that demonic blade.

He didn't believe any of the rumors about Lin Zhao "defeating Core Formation cultivators".

The Zheng family patriarch was a slippery eel; he was only pretending to be powerful with Lin Zhao because he was wary of the Holy Sect's background.

The patriarch of the Zheng family?

You have a really good eye for people...