Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

No one spoke inside the garrison.

Zhu Yan looked at the painting and the four magical treasures, and felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his heart.

The gap between him and the peak of the Core Formation stage was greater than he had imagined.

The Crimson Flame Demon Blade in his hand was only a low-grade third-tier weapon, while in front of True Person Qianqiu, there were two top-grade third-tier magic weapons and three high-grade third-tier magic weapons.

Even the weakest of the Blazing Sun Pearls is more than ten times stronger than the demonic blade in his hand.

An ordinary Core Formation cultivator would be crushed to death if he simply raised his hand against a True Immortal.

Lin Zhao didn't look at the magic treasures. He looked at the layout of the Thousand Autumns Map and the attributes and aura of the four magic treasures, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Master Qianqiu noticed: "Lin Zhao, tell me, can you spot any weaknesses in my great divine power?"

Lin Zhao remained silent for a long time before saying, "Master's attribute power seems to be unbalanced."

His ability to see through things was no accident.

This was because he himself was secretly conceiving a similar supernatural power, or rather, the prototype of a great supernatural power.

In his early years, he created many forms such as the Four Elements Sword Dragon. After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, although he was focused on improving his strength, he never stopped thinking about creating new forms.

After he established his foundation, he planned to use the Five Sacred Mountains as the core and the Five Elements to create a powerful form.

Lin Zhao named it "Five Prisons Suppressing the World Heavenly Dragon".

Master Qianqiu smiled, a smile that contained both satisfaction and a rare sense of appreciation.

"That's right. My method is powerful, but it's not completely finished yet, so it's only the prototype of a great supernatural power."

With a wave of his hand, he retracted the Dharma Domain and the magic treasure, turned around and walked back to the main seat, where he slowly sat down.

"In my early years, I was just an ordinary mortal. After entering the world of cultivation, I was fortunate enough to become a disciple of a sect. During the Foundation Establishment stage, I did not become a disciple of a Core Formation sect, nor did I become a so-called core disciple."

My cultivation level improved by joining the sect's Enforcement Hall and fighting my way up step by step.

His voice was calm, as if he were talking about someone else's affairs. "In my early years, the magic weapons I used were the Luo Yu Blade and the Xuan Tian Subduing Demon Chain. It was only after I formed my core that I was accepted as a disciple by True Monarch Wuya."

Lin Zhao's heart stirred; Master Qianqiu had never mentioned his master before.

Wuya Zhenjun is a veteran mid-Nascent Soul expert within the sect, but he doesn't seem to care much about worldly affairs. There are some things that don't need to be asked—everyone understands the difference between a nominal disciple and a core disciple.

Master Qianqiu didn't say much and continued speaking.

"After forming the Golden Core, under the guidance of the sect's Dao Inquiry Hall Master, True Monarch Qingyuan, I realized that I had gone astray, and my attributes were biased towards killing and yin, making it hopeless to form the Nascent Soul."

So I used all the sect's accumulated resources to have someone forge this Thousand Autumns Diagram, and combined it with the Myriad Manifestations Pagoda I obtained during a mission, ultimately creating this great divine power.

He tapped his finger lightly on the table.

"But even this great supernatural power has problems. The Myriad Manifestations Pagoda is the core of the cycle of spring and winter, the Blazing Sun Pearl is just for show, and the remaining two magic treasures are too biased towards killing and yin. Therefore, I have two paths to the Nascent Soul stage in the future."

He held up one finger. "The first, the most orthodox path, is to govern everything with the Thousand Autumns Diagram, to harmonize all things and the cycle of the seasons. This path is the most difficult. I have been cultivating it for over a hundred years and have been stuck here."

He raised his second finger. "The second, more practical path, is to use the Myriad Manifestations Pagoda as the core, integrating the Thousand Autumns Diagram and the remaining third-tier magic treasures into it. Take a focused approach, using the Myriad Manifestations Pagoda to evolve everything."

This path seems powerful, but in reality, there's no turning back. It's too narrow. Even if one successfully forms a Nascent Soul in the future, it will be difficult to improve one's cultivation level. Most importantly—

He paused for a moment.

I don't like this road.

The last four words were spoken softly, yet carried great weight.

Master Qianqiu looked at Lin Zhao.

"I'm telling you all this today so you understand that you need to plan ahead on the path of cultivation and choose your own path to go further."

Today, he passed on almost all his cultivation insights to Lin Zhao. Others could only hear one or two layers, but Lin Zhao absorbed almost everything. This knowledge pointed him in the right direction for advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.

Lin Zhao stood up, walked to Master Qianqiu, and bowed respectfully. "This disciple will remember Master's teachings."

Master Qianqiu nodded and accepted the bow.

"I definitely can't defeat that Dharma body by myself, but since we're joining forces to fight it, there's bound to be more than just me. With my abilities, I can protect myself without any problem, so you don't need to worry about me."

Lin Zhao straightened up and looked at Master Qianqiu.

He had realized that Master Qianqiu belonged to the top tier in the Core Formation realm. He might not be invincible, but it would be almost impossible for a Core Formation cultivator to kill him.

He already has his own path to Nascent Soul, but he hasn't succeeded yet. If he can successfully form a Nascent Soul in the future, he will probably be several levels stronger than an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

Lin Zhao naturally understood some things, such as his unwillingness to simply reach the Core Formation stage.

----

Three days later, one morning

Master Qianqiu left Cangyun Mountain.

Lin Zhao didn't see him off too far. When Master Qianqiu left, he only said, "Go back."

He was heading to a gathering to jointly attack the Nascent Soul Dharma Body. He had heard that many powerful Core Formation cultivators had come from various powerful forces in the surrounding area. Some of them Lin Zhao had heard of, while others were completely unfamiliar to him.

They will bring the matter of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty to a close, but as for how they will bring it to a close, Lin Zhao doesn't know; that level of affairs is beyond his reach right now.

In the following days, considerable commotion arose from the depths of the Heavenly Fire Secret Realm. It was said that powerful Core Formation cultivators had made their move, and several more had died.

The exploration and treasure hunting in the secret realm has almost completely come to a standstill. Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators dare not go in anymore, not to mention those in the Qi Refining stage. Who knows if those Core Formation monsters will casually kill you?

That afternoon, Old He came to report: "Luo Yu has arrived. He's at the door and says he wants to pay a formal visit."

Lin Zhao put down the jade slip in his hand, glanced at Elder He, and realized that the relationship between Luo Yu and the people of the garrison had long since become public knowledge.

He can come in anytime, and he knows where the good tea is in the backyard. Lin Zhao certainly knows why he's causing this scene today.

When Luo Yu walked in, Lin Zhao glanced at him. The boy she had rescued on Dingfeng Plain was now over twenty years old.

His face was resolute, he wore a dark red robe, and he walked with a steady gait and a straight back.

But Lin Zhao didn't notice those things. He noticed Luo Yu's aura—calm and reserved.

The aura of the fifth level of the Heavenly Heart Technique. Cultivating this technique to the fifth level can improve one's comprehension slightly, making one's cultivation of techniques and understanding of spells much faster than others.

Lin Zhao's heart stirred slightly.

Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao broke through the Divine Barrier under the pressure of life and death. Luo Yu did not break through the Divine Barrier, but he pushed the Heavenly Heart Technique to the fifth level.

This technique was created by Lin Zhao, who knew better than anyone the difficulty of the fifth level—it couldn't be mastered through hard work alone; it required opportunity and a certain level of mental fortitude.