Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

When the group arrived at the main hall of the garrison, Master Qianqiu was already there.

He sat in the main seat, his black feather robe spread out on the chair, and the teacup in front of him was steaming, obviously Old Master He had already served tea.

Lin Zhao stepped into the stone hall, quickly stepped forward, and bowed respectfully: "Master."

Master Qianqiu put down his teacup, glanced at him, and gave him a faint smile.

"Get up," said Master Qianqiu.

Lin Zhao straightened up, stepped aside, and introduced them one by one. Yan Chiheng stepped forward and bowed, and Master Qianqiu nodded.

Zhu Yan stepped forward and bowed. Master Qianqiu glanced at him, nodded, and said nothing more.

When Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao were called to the front, Qianqiu Zhenren's gaze softened.

He took out two jade talismans from his sleeve and handed one to each of them. They were second-tier high-grade protective talismans, warm to the touch, with their spiritual light contained within.

Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance and bowed in unison: "Thank you, Grandmaster."

Master Qianqiu didn't look at them again, and picked up his teacup to continue drinking.

He has never been good with words, and Lin Zhao has long been used to it.

Zhu Yan stood to the side, secretly observing the Holy Sect's Core Formation cultivator.

Although the Thousand Autumns True Man before them was only in the late stage of Core Formation, the powerful sense of oppression he exuded was no weaker than that of Yang Qingxuan, the peak Core Formation cultivator they had met before.

Zhu Yan clenched his fist. If he had such strength, would the tragedy of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty have been avoided?

Master Qianqiu picked up his teacup, his gaze casually sweeping over and glancing at him.

That glance was very faint.

But Zhu Yan felt as if he had been seen through in that instant—all his thoughts, all his ideas, all his anger and resentment were clearly seen.

Master Qianqiu withdrew his gaze and continued drinking tea. After exchanging pleasantries, Lin Zhao steered the conversation back to business.

"Does Master intend to participate in the campaign against that Dharma Body?"

Master Qianqiu nodded. Lin Zhao hesitated for a moment, about to speak, when Master Qianqiu raised his hand to interrupt him.

"I know what you're trying to say." Master Qianqiu's voice wasn't loud, but everyone heard it clearly. "The difference between the Nascent Soul stage and the Core Formation stage is enormous, I'm very aware of that. But do you know exactly where that difference lies?"

Lin Zhao shook her head.

He had heard of the power of the Nascent Soul stage—the ability to summon wind and rain, move mountains and fill seas, and possess boundless magical power.

But these terms are too abstract; he has never actually witnessed the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Master Qianqiu put down his teacup and glanced at everyone present.

Yan Chiheng sat up straight, Zhu Yan raised his head, Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao held their breath, and even Luo Yu and He An pricked up their ears.

"The Qi Refining stage," Master Qianqiu said, "is about absorbing and using spiritual energy, but having weak magical power and very limited destructive force."

He paused, then tapped his finger lightly on the table.

"During the Foundation Establishment stage, one's attack power is greatly enhanced by drawing upon external spiritual energy through the foundation of one's Dao. However, one is highly dependent on the external environment and can be easily restrained or trapped by formations. As long as one is prepared, it is not difficult to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator by refining one's Qi."

He looked at Zhu Yan. "The Core Formation stage is about controlling and manipulating external spiritual energy. The Dharma Domain is the manifestation of your path to strength. The Golden Core, on the other hand, is entirely composed of energy. Even without relying on external spiritual energy, the Golden Core can continuously generate magical power."

Lin Zhao blurted out, "A perpetual motion machine?"

Master Qianqiu glanced at him, neither refuting nor agreeing.

"Although it's not the right place, it's not far either. Core Formation cultivators don't need food or pills to sustain themselves for over a hundred years."

To mortals, this is certainly akin to being a demigod; the saying, "Swallow a golden elixir, and my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens," refers to a True Immortal who has achieved the Golden Elixir.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and put it down. "The environment no longer has much of an impact on the formation of the Golden Core. A Golden Core can withstand most of the forces and methods in the world."

That's why the sect says—only by forming the Core can one truly enter the ranks of cultivators; Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment are merely for disciples.

Master Qianqiu paused for a moment, then his voice deepened.

"As for the Nascent Soul."

The two words are like two stones thrown into water, creating ripples.

"Breaking through the core to form the nascent soul, the nascent soul is the purest energy body, with magical power more than a hundred times that of the core, and divine consciousness taking form, with control more than a hundred times that of the core. I don't need to elaborate on these."

He lightly drew a circle on the table with his finger.

"Most importantly, they have already grasped the transformation between matter and spiritual energy. Each Nascent Soul cultivator, due to differences in personality, cultivation method, and attributes, can complete various different transformations."

Turning stone into gold, transforming flames into form—that Jade Yang Fiery Body was formed from pure fire-attribute spiritual energy. Once fully completed, it will shrink to the size of a normal person, and will no longer be an energy body, but a true body of flesh and blood.

Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with confusion. These words were too distant from them, like listening to gibberish.

Master Qianqiu saw through it, so he changed his approach.

"Your cultivation level is still low, so you may not be able to comprehend the terror of the Nascent Soul stage. Let me give you an example."

He looked at Zhu Yan and said, "Your domain is fire-attribute. A Nascent Soul True Monarch can transform your domain into water-attribute with a single thought. Can you still control it?"

Zhu Yan's fingers trembled slightly.

"In an instant," Master Qianqiu said, "your domain will be taken away, your divine sense and magical power will be severely damaged, and if things get even worse—your body is 70% water, and a Nascent Soul True Monarch can transform water into metal or fire in the blink of an eye, and your body will be destroyed. How will you survive then?"

The temperature inside the naval base seemed to have dropped several degrees.

"There are many similar examples. To destroy a mountain, you don't need to break it. The soil will turn into water and it will collapse naturally. These special methods, combined with the magical power of a Nascent Soul cultivator being a hundred times that of a Core Formation cultivator, can move mountains and overturn seas, and summon wind and rain with ease."

He raised his head and glanced at everyone: "When a Nascent Soul cultivator goes all out, they can cover an area of ​​hundreds of miles. That space is called the 'Dharma Realm'."

The meaning of "Dharma Form" is—to change the form and attributes of all things in heaven and earth according to one's own will. In essence, it is still a kind of domain. Core Formation is controlling the domain, while Nascent Soul is changing the domain.

The stone hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The three little ones were completely dumbfounded, their mouths agape, not knowing what to say.

Lin Zhao, on the contrary, understood some of it.

Based on my knowledge from my previous life, I understand that forming the Golden Core is like nuclear fission, relying on a Golden Core continuously releasing energy.

The Nascent Soul is like nuclear fusion, capable of freely transforming the size, form, and properties of energy, exhibiting a higher level of control, destructive power, and creativity.

The difference isn't just big, it's worlds apart.

He raised his head and looked at Master Qianqiu. "Master, since the Nascent Soul stage is so powerful, why bother getting involved in this mess?"

Master Qianqiu glanced at him but did not answer immediately.

"Although the Nascent Soul is powerful," he said slowly, "it is not invincible. The Deity Transformation stage is even more powerful, but I won't go into that for now. Instead, I'll talk about the Nascent Soul's weaknesses."

All eyes turned back to them.