Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

On the day of the competition, when Lin Zhao came out of his cave, it was morning. The sea of ​​clouds above Qianqiu Peak was dyed pale gold by the morning light, and spiritual light occasionally flashed in the distance—the Foundation Establishment cultivators set off from their respective spiritual peaks and converged in the same direction.

The training ground is located to the east of the sect. It is a giant circular building called Qinggang Hall.

It was about a hundred feet tall. The walls were covered with forbidden patterns, and spiritual light flowed from bottom to top like a waterfall flowing backwards, then turned into light spots and scattered, starting all over again. The entire training ground was covered by a layer of light in a pale golden light shield.

Lin Zhao found Xu Chuan and the others under a stone pillar on the left side of the entrance.

Yan Chiheng leaned against a stone pillar with his eyes closed, and lightning flashed around him. Xu Chuan was looking down at a jade slip, probably memorizing information about his opponent. Fang Yue was the last to arrive, wearing a brand-new dark blue robe.

"Here you are." Xu Chuan looked up at him and put away the jade slip.

The four stood together without speaking, but walked towards the center of the training ground in tacit agreement.

On the viewing platform, the Core Formation cultivators took their seats in turn. Some closed their eyes to regulate their breathing and calm their minds, some chatted in twos and threes, and some held jade slips, silently recording the matters.

At that very moment—

Above the training ground, a beam of light suddenly exploded without warning, bursting out abruptly into the air.

That was the teleportation ability of a Nascent Soul True Monarch. Without any warning, a deep rift opened in the void, and brilliant spiritual light surged down from the crack.

The aura spread outwards in a ring, like a boulder falling into still water, with layers of spatial ripples pushing outwards from the center.

As the ripples swept across the training ground, everyone present felt as if an invisible giant hand had gently pressed down on their heads, causing their scalps to tingle and their minds to tighten.

At the very center of the ring of spiritual light, a figure slowly descended from the void.

The old man had snow-white hair, wore a simple gray robe, and had a gaunt face. But his eyes were like two bottomless ancient wells, calm and still, with no end in sight.

He landed on the highest viewing platform in the martial arts arena. The moment he landed, all the restrictive array patterns in the entire arena dimmed for a moment, as if a divine mountain had fallen from the sky.

The tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been making a ruckus just moments before were suddenly silenced as if by a giant hand.

The training ground was completely silent.

The old man stood on the viewing platform, his gaze slowly sweeping around, without deliberately releasing any pressure or even activating a sliver of his divine sense.

But even with just a casual glance, every cultivator whose gaze swept over him felt as if they had been doused with ice water, a chill running from his spine to his tailbone, leaving his whole body stiff.

This is an unparalleled cultivator in the late Nascent Soul stage.

Beichen Zhenjun.

He is a powerful figure in charge of the Cangming Palace, one of the three publicly known late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators in the sect. The other two are True Lord Xuanyang and True Lord Yushu.

The three people take turns managing the Cangming Palace, with a change every three hundred years.

It can be said that, apart from the Nascent Soul Heavenly Lords of the sects, they are the ones who hold real power and whose word is law.

No one dared to speak.

Beichen Zhenjun spoke slowly. His voice was not loud, and even a little hoarse, but every word fell into everyone's ears with crystal clarity, as if someone were whispering in their ear, with an absolute certainty that left no room for argument.

"The competition begins."

Just these four words.

After speaking, he sat down on his own, closed his eyes to rest, and made no further moves.

From beginning to end, he never introduced himself, never read out the rules, and never boosted morale.

Because there's absolutely no need for it.

His very presence is a rule.

A Core Formation cultivator on the viewing platform stood up, took over the conversation, and spoke in a voice much louder than that of True Monarch Beichen, which resounded throughout the entire hall:

"In the first phase, we will enter the secret realm in batches. Each batch will have a time limit of one day, starting from the moment they step into the secret realm."

The points system has been entered into your sect token.

Killing a Tier 1 monster earns no points; killing a Tier 2 low-grade monster earns one point; killing a Tier 2 mid-grade monster earns three points; and killing a Tier 2 high-grade monster earns ten points.

A second-tier peak-level demon beast king accumulates 100 points. One day later, the exit of the secret realm reopens. The top 3,000 players advance.

He paused.

"Within the secret realm, life and death are irrelevant."

The last four words echoed for a moment in the air above the training ground before being swallowed up by the buzzing of the spirit array.

Some people swallowed hard. Some gripped their ritual implements tightly. Some turned pale, while others' eyes shone brightly.

The batches have been distributed. Lin Zhao is in the first batch. Fang Yue is on the third day. Xu Chuan is on the fourth day. Yan Chiheng is on the sixth day.

Lin Zhao glanced at the three of them, said nothing, and turned to walk towards the portal. The light of the secret realm swallowed his figure.

The moment he stepped inside, a surge of violent spiritual energy rushed towards him.

The sky over the secret realm was dark red, like a piece of iron that had been burned for a long time.

The air was filled with free spiritual energy, extremely concentrated but also extremely violent, like countless fine needles pricking the skin.

With Lin Zhao's cultivation level, he would need to refine even a wisp of it within his body for a while before he could suppress it.

No wonder the monsters here lack intelligence—

In the distance, the outline of mountains, illuminated by the dark red light of the sky, resembled a crouching giant beast.

Surrounded by countless demonic beasts, it's safe to say that the sect's decision to open up a secret realm was truly a grand undertaking.

Lin Zhao did not hold back.

He stood suspended in mid-air. Crimson feathers and golden robes adorned his body, and the spiritual light of his third-tier magic weapon remained stable even amidst the raging air.

Five-colored spiritual light exploded from his body—the phantom images of the Five Sacred Mountains appeared out of thin air, and the Four Elements and Five Sacred Mountains Dharma Domain, covering an area of ​​twenty miles, was completely enveloped.

Then comes the spiritual body.

The Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool lit up in his dantian, and spiritual energy surged from it.

Finally, three enormous figures materialized in front of him.

Stegosaurus. Its body is forty feet long, and every scale is formed from sword energy.

Yinglong. Four-colored wings unfolded, with earth, water, fire, and wind surging across their surfaces.

Nine Luminaries Heavenly Dragon. Its body is semi-transparent, and lightning can be seen flashing inside.

The three spirits roared in unison. The dragon's roar shook the ground, sending spiritual dust flying several feet high, and low-level demonic beasts in the distant mountains and forests immediately prostrated themselves on the ground.

Not finished yet.

Lin Zhao clasped his hands together, and four beams of light of different colors flew out from the sky above the Dharma Domain—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.

This is the core of the Four Spirits Returning to Origin Formation. He retrieved it before leaving the Cangyun Mountain Market and it is now integrated into the formation of the Dharma Domain. Like the three spirits, Lin Zhao can summon it at any time.

The four spirits floated around him, each occupying a position.

The Azure Dragon meanders and coils, the White Tiger is poised to pounce, the Vermilion Bird spreads its wings and cries out, and the Black Tortoise is coiled like a small mountain.

The Four Spirits returned to their places.

Seven enormous creatures hovered above the monster, completely obscuring the sky.

The Azure Dragon is in the east, the White Tiger in the west, the Vermilion Bird in the south, and the Black Tortoise in the north. The Sword Dragon, the Ying Dragon, and the Nine Luminaries Heavenly Dragon are in the center, intertwining and circling with the Four Symbols.

The seven spirits roared together—the dragon's cry, the tiger's howl, the phoenix's cry, and the tortoise's roar, along with the three-headed spirit dragon's hiss—creating a deafening sound wave that shook the monsters below, causing them to stagger and fall.

The seven spirits cried out in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

Lin Zhao hovered in the very center of the seven spiritual bodies. His crimson-gold feather robes shone like a burning flame under the spiritual light, and five-colored spiritual light spread out behind him, like a huge five-colored divine wheel.

He looked down at the densely packed monstrous beasts below.

Then, he waved his hand.

"kill."

The seven spiritual bodies exerted their power simultaneously.