Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

He looked at the somewhat reserved disciple in front of him. This was no disciple; she was clearly a young lady.

If Su Qianxue and Lin Zhao had some other relationship, it would be much easier to handle. The most troublesome thing is that they are Daoist partners.

The Heavenly Demon lineage finds it easiest to manipulate inner demons through emotions, but emotions are also the most troublesome—emotions are fickle and too easy to backfire.

What if—he said what if—he painstakingly nurtured Su Qianxue, only to have her and Lin Zhao end up as a pair of bitter enemies? In that case, they would both turn on him, and he would be caught in the middle.

Those who manipulate people's hearts understand the complexity of human nature best.

He glanced at Su Qianxue again.

Su Qianxue felt a chill run down her spine and her back felt a little cold.

She made up her mind—she was going to escape from here. This place was too eerie. She would leave as soon as she got the third-tier cultivation technique, abandoning the resources for Core Formation. Even if it meant betraying her sect, she was determined to leave.

The demon soul sighed.

This disciple does indeed possess some talent, making him suitable for the Heavenly Demon lineage. Could it be that the Nine Nether Demon Sect is about to gain another branch? Or perhaps another Holy Maiden?

"Holy Maiden and Holy Son" are beings that only domineering powers possess.

Of course, there are those who don't follow these rules—the Yunhai Cangming Sect, where Lin Zhao is located, is the counterpart to the so-called "secret disciples," but they are all the same kind of existence.

Simply put, he is someone who has a sliver of hope of becoming a Celestial Lord in the future.

Demon Soul gritted his teeth. No, he couldn't just sit and wait to die.

He made his decision—he would train Su Qianxue to become a Core Formation True Person, leave the Core Formation sect, Xuanchen Valley, to her, and then fake his death and leave.

No one can stop a demon's yearning for freedom.

He imagined the scene of leaving in the future and couldn't help but smile. The Core Formation cultivator he controlled also smiled, and Su Qianxue could only smile wryly.

This master and disciple had two opposing goals: one planned to train their disciple to become a Core Formation True Person, while the other planned to flee immediately.

In the future, scenes of "filial piety and parental love" among the demonic sects will likely be staged here from time to time.

On the Azure Scale, Lin Zhao stood at the bow, the wind blowing from ahead, making his robes flutter. Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao sat in the cabin, talking in hushed tones.

Lin Zhao glanced back at them, then turned back. He suddenly smiled, for no particular reason, he just felt good.

Everyone has a bright future ahead of them, congratulations!

-----

Lin Zhao has been back in the sect for a month.

During this month, he was busy handing over the garrison duties. The steward of Qiankun Palace dug out his accounts from the past ten years and checked them page by page, which made Lin Zhao feel a chill down his spine.

His previous preparations, as expected, couldn't be hidden from the sect. Every time the steward turned a page and discovered a problem, he would glance up at Lin Zhao and point it out, demanding an explanation…

Five days later, Lin Zhao managed to get through this ordeal.

Finally, the Core Formation Master personally stepped forward and gave him a "profound lesson." He didn't say much, but every word hit the nail on the head, and he spoke for a full hour.

Lin Zhao could only listen obediently, a layer of fine sweat seeping from his forehead.

The final punishment was a deduction of several thousand contribution points.

It was a case of much ado about nothing; Lin Zhao understood that the sect was making a big show of it but then letting it go.

He was largely unharmed; he didn't lose a single penny of the spirit stone mine or the resources he was supposed to hand over. He might have been slightly wrong, but those illicit incomes were already tacitly approved by the sect.

In addition, he is a prodigy of the sect and has even killed a Core Formation cultivator—the sect would not take serious action against him for such a small matter.

Give him a small lesson to teach him some manners, and that's it.

Lin Zhao paid his contribution points, came out of the Qiankun Hall, and let out a long breath.

When we returned to Qianqiu Peak, we could see from afar that the clouds and mist on the summit were less dense than usual—the peak master's other two disciples had returned.

Qianqiu Peak is not large among the sect's 365 spiritual peaks, but it is rich in spiritual energy and its spiritual veins are at the peak of the third tier. Usually, there is only one Core Formation True Person, Qianqiu Zhenren.

When Lin Zhao entered his master's cave, his senior brother He Yuan was talking to True Person Qianqiu.

The great cultivator He Yuan was a burly man with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He was tall and stood there like a wall.

He saw Lin Zhao come in, laughed heartily, and said in a booming voice, "Junior Brother! I'm so glad to see you!" He slapped Lin Zhao on the shoulder, making him feel a jolt.

Lin Zhao clasped his hands in greeting.

He Yuan's personality is just like his appearance: forthright, straightforward, and without any ulterior motives.

He had been traveling around for years, and his return this time was for two reasons: first, to reminisce about old times, and second, because he had broken through to the mid-stage of Core Formation.

Master Qianqiu rarely showed a smile. He sat in the main seat, looking at the disciples in front of him. His gaze swept over them one by one, and finally landed on Lin Zhao.

He didn't say anything, but he smiled much more than usual.

After everyone was seated and tea was served several times, Master Qianqiu vaguely revealed that his path to Nascent Soul was still not complete.

However, his cultivation level is expected to break through to the peak of Core Formation within a few years, and everyone offered their congratulations.

The third senior brother was a big fat man, which is not how a cultivator should look—but the third senior brother was fat and round.

He made many small movements, constantly twirling his teacup with his fingers and scanning everyone's faces with his eyes.

Fifth Senior Brother transmitted his voice to Lin Zhao and said, "Third Senior Brother was also a genius back then. He tried to break through to the Core Formation Realm, but unfortunately he couldn't withstand the Heavenly Tribulation. Master found a way to save his life and used a lot of resources to exchange for a third-order diluted Heavenly True Water from the Qiankun Palace to help him rebuild his cultivation."

But he was ultimately terrified by the heavenly lightning, his Dao heart shattered, and although his cultivation recovered, he dared not attempt to break through to the Core Formation stage again. He could only go out and establish a family and descendants.

Lin Zhao did not respond to that.

He Yuan talked about things that happened outside.

I went to the endless sands in the south and fought with a third-tier sand worm king for more than half a year. In the end, I found a piece of spiritual marrow in the sand worm king's nest and exchanged it for a decent magic weapon.

He also saw the remains of a so-called Nascent Soul cultivator in a ruined ice palace. He didn't dare to get involved and ran away immediately. Master Qianqiu said he did the right thing.

Secondly, besides catching up, He Yuan had another reason for returning this time.

He wanted to take on a sect mission and conquer a spiritual peak on his own.

The sect's rules are as follows: the master of a peak must either achieve a high-grade Golden Core, which the sect will directly bestow upon them, or complete a special sect mission and exchange their merits for a Spirit Peak.

The sect has over a thousand Core Formation cultivators, but only three hundred and sixty-five spiritual peaks are reserved exclusively for them. With so many cultivators and so few peaks, the competition is fierce.

Some spiritual peaks have more than ten Core Formation cultivators crammed together, and the spiritual energy is distributed among them, barely enough to sustain cultivation.

Some spiritual peaks have peak masters with extremely high cultivation levels. They may monopolize them or allow only a handful of people to share them. The spiritual energy is so rich that it can reach the peak of the third rank. Whether one can enter the peak to cultivate depends entirely on the peak master's will.

He Yuan has always been under the command of Master Qianqiu and has been cultivating on Qianqiu Peak. Now that his cultivation has broken through, he wants to go out and take charge on his own.

Master Qianqiu was very pleased.

However, the Spirit Peak is not inherited. That's the rule of the sect—as long as you are alive, the Spirit Peak is yours to use; if you die, the Spirit Peak will be taken back and sealed away by the sect.

There is no such thing as father passing down to son or master passing down to apprentice.

Even if there are Core Formation cultivators living under someone else's roof within the sect, the sect would rather leave the Spirit Peak empty than grant it to them casually. If you want it, you have to fight for it yourself.

He Yuan planned to do the mission on his own, but he was a little unsure, so he asked his master for help and asked to borrow some magical artifacts.