Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

For example, he had used his special privileges as a gatekeeper to issue several sect missions, and the extra 30,000 contribution points on his and Yan Chiheng's sect tokens...

And those rare resources that were used, although they have been made up for in recent years, still don't look very good.

In short, he and Old He worked for a month just to barely get the job done. As for how useful the ledger was, only heaven knows…

When Master Qianqiu was around, Lin Zhao had secretly asked him about it. Master Qianqiu rarely smiled and jokingly told Lin Zhao to figure out a solution himself.

Lin Zhao had no choice but to consult with Elder He. After all, Elder He had been in the market for over a hundred years and had served under several governors. He was very experienced, and the accounts he produced showed no obvious flaws on the surface.

Moreover, as the head steward of the market, this old man has earned quite a bit over the years. Recently, he has been inquiring about information about the Longevity Pill. Lin Zhao didn't say anything. He has been with him for ten years, and even if he hasn't made any great contributions, he has certainly put in a lot of hard work.

Lin Zhao shook his head; he had made mistakes in minor matters, but his integrity was unblemished.

He didn't touch a single resource produced by the spirit stone mine below; he also didn't shortchange the resources that the market was supposed to hand over.

Some things are tacitly agreed upon by the sect—if the garrison commander doesn't even have this little bit of profit, who would be willing to do the job?

The second thing is that Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao are going to participate in the sect's initiation ceremony.

Lin Zhao granted them the status of nominal disciples and prepared to take them back to Ziyang Immortal City. Lin Zhao borrowed Xu Chuan's small courtyard and waited for the sect's assessment in a few months. The rest was up to them.

The third thing is that group of cultivators who have undergone tribulations. Over the years, Yan Chiheng has controlled sixteen Foundation Establishment cultivators and over a thousand Qi Refining cultivators under the control of the Forbidden God Disc.

These people have sensitive identities and definitely cannot stay in the market. After discussing it, Lin Zhao and Yan Chiheng decided to hand them over to Luo Yu to deal with.

Luo Yu successfully established his foundation a few days ago. He gained a lot from that beast tide, obtaining a considerable amount of demon beast essence blood, and with Yan Lie's help, his cultivation went very smoothly.

With the help of the Hundred Beast Spirit Body Secret Technique passed down by Lin Zhao, he transformed and sublimated into a mid-grade Dao Foundation.

He's still a long way from achieving a high-grade Dao Foundation; it will take him at least a decade to complete. Adding in the cultivation of the Foundation Establishment stage, Lin Zhao estimates that it will take him at least another hundred years to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment.

Those Tribulation Cultivators were just right for Luo Yu. He had been plundered by these Tribulation Cultivators in his early years, and his parents had died. It was most appropriate for him to take care of these people.

After Lin Zhao left, Luo Yu and Yan Lie planned to join the Heavenly Fire Alliance newly established by Zhu Yan.

The Heavenly Fire Alliance had only been established a short time ago and was in dire need of manpower. Zhu Yan warmly welcomed Luo Yu and Yan Lie, who brought this group of people to join.

With Zhu Yan, a Core Formation True Person, keeping them in check, this group of people can't cause any trouble.

Furthermore, Luo Yu had helped Zhu Yan a great deal when Zhu Yan was in trouble, and the two had a good relationship. With a Core Formation cultivator looking after him, Luo Yu's future prospects were bright.

As for the Heavenly Fire Alliance's future plan to rebuild the Heavenly Fire Dynasty in Dingfeng Plain, conflicts with the Zixuan Dynasty and the Nanli Dynasty are inevitable—this is the only way for the cultivation world to move up and obtain resources, no matter where they go.

These are things that Luo Yu needs to work on himself.

There were also the Four Spirits statues that had been used to set up the Four Spirits Returning to Origin Formation. He had incorporated them into the formation of the market back then, but he took them all back before leaving the Cangyun Mountain market.

He planned to integrate the four statues into his Four Spirit Orbs, which would allow him to directly summon seven spiritual bodies within his domain, further increasing his combat power.

The arrangements for Cangyun Mountain were mostly complete, with only Su Qianxue remaining. Before leaving, Lin Zhao planned to treat her to a meal as a way of repaying her for her previous help, but she sent a message saying that she was preparing for seclusion, so Lin Zhao didn't do anything more.

Despite her fondness for spirit stones, this senior sister is actually a true ascetic. Fortunately, we are all Foundation Establishment cultivators with long lifespans, so we still have a chance to meet.

Lin Zhao, along with Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao, boarded the Qinglin and left Cangyun Mountain.

The Azure Scale took off, changed direction, and flew towards the Tongming Immortal City. Lin Zhao stood at the bow and glanced back.

As Cangyun Mountain grew smaller and smaller in his field of vision, the lights of the market gradually blurred, eventually becoming a tiny dot on the horizon. He turned around and never looked back.

----

At this moment, in the Xuan Chen Valley of the Nanli Dynasty.

Su Qianxue was on her way to pay her respects to her master. Xuan Chen Valley had been suspected of being related to the disaster of the Tianhuo Dynasty and had been investigated several times. In the end, the investigation results came out and Xuan Chen Valley passed the test smoothly.

Su Qianxue returned as a result—the subsequent content and core formation resources of the third-tier cultivation technique she was practicing were still in the hands of the sect.

But she regretted it after she came back.

Xuan Chen Valley appeared normal on the surface, but something felt off. It was hard to pinpoint exactly what it was; the atmosphere was off, even the air felt uneasy. Those Core Formation cultivators, while not exactly friendly before, at least acted like humans. Now…

She went to pay her respects to her master. Her master's expression and tone of voice were normal, but she still felt something was wrong.

What she couldn't see was that there was another person standing next to her master.

No, it was a phantom, a young man in his early twenties with overly handsome features, the demonic soul of the Heavenly Demon True Lord.

He had lost his usual relaxed smile; his face was full of helplessness, and he seemed on the verge of tears.

He had secretly taken control of Xuanchen Valley and planned to swallow the last Core Formation cultivator and then make a quick getaway.

Only after he finished swallowing did he realize—this was a serious matter.

He essentially gained another disciple, Su Qianxue.

According to the rumors he carefully gathered, Su Qianxue and Lin Zhao were probably, possibly, or perhaps, Daoist partners.

Su Qianxue and Lin Zhao

Daoist partner—I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense...

The Heavenly Demon Lord's demonic soul instantly felt like the sky had collapsed. He tried every means to avoid Lin Zhao, but while eating hot pot... well, while eating divine souls and singing songs, he fell into a huge pit.

As for it being just a coincidence—nobody would believe that.

He arrived in Yunzhou and entered Lin Zhao's sea of ​​consciousness for the first time, only to be severely injured. The second time, he planned to launch the Heavenly Demon Sacred Banquet, but upon seeing Lin Zhao's portrait, he had no choice but to cancel. Now, just as he was about to leave, he inexplicably gained a disciple.

He's been pretending to be a ghost too much, and now he's being haunted by a real one.

Clinging to his last shred of hope, he sent a message to the Nascent Soul Peak Main Body, millions of miles away, explaining the situation in detail and hoping to get help, or at least be told that it was just a coincidence.

When the original body found out, it ordered him to stay in Yunzhou and not to come back, and then entered the "read but not reply" mode.

The demonic soul was completely disheartened.

There was no luck involved—he was outmaneuvered by some old man.

He recalled those eyes, so merciless as if they belonged to the heavens, an image that lingered in his memory.

Even though he had completely shattered that memory through some secret technique, it still existed, as if it were branded deep in his soul and could not be erased.

It seems he has no choice but to accept this disciple, whether he wants to or not.