Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Ten Foundation Establishment disciples stood in a row in front of True Monarch Beichen.

Once everyone had arrived, Yan Feng began explaining the situation and rules of the secret realm. His voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear.

This secret realm originated from a sect that possessed a fifth-tier spiritual treasure ten thousand years ago. When the sect was destroyed, its last Nascent Soul True Monarch sealed away the spiritual treasure and the sect's entire foundation, banishing them into the void. Only recently has the sect detected traces of it, and it is about to reappear in the world.

No one knows the details inside the secret realm. Exiled in the void for ten thousand years, they will be the first group of cultivators to step into it.

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned. Unknown secret realms always meant unknown dangers.

Yan Feng added that the sect's Nascent Soul True Monarchs had already conducted preliminary tests in the outside world.

The secret realm stretches for thousands of miles, bearing traces of human habitation and even exhibiting an order resembling a dynasty, and is generally safe.

Upon hearing this, many people secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your mission after you go in," Yan Feng paused, then said calmly, "is to cause trouble, the bigger the better."

Lin Zhao noticed that as he said this, his gaze slowly swept over everyone, lingering briefly on each face.

Finally, Yan Feng announced that he would also enter the secret realm.

Upon hearing this, most of the disciples glanced at him out of the corner of their eyes, their gazes filled with suspicion and disdain.

Yan Feng did not participate in the Centennial Grand Competition, so why did he get a spot in the Secret Realm for no reason?

Xia Jin could hear the hint of self-importance in his tone, and he curled his lips in disdain, though he didn't say anything.

But inwardly he sneered, thinking, "This little impoverished person really thinks he's someone important?"

Unlike the other disciples, he knew nothing about Yan Feng's background. If it weren't for True Monarch Beichen being there, he would have immediately provoked him.

He glanced sideways at Lin Zhao beside him—this guy was more like it.

Lin Zhao stood quietly throughout; with True Lord Beichen before her, maintaining reverence was fundamental.

At the same time, he also had a question in his mind: was the True Lord Beichen in front of him the real body or the Dharma body? He was wearing a gray robe when he was in the martial arts arena, but now he was wearing a blue robe. Lin Zhao did not think it was as simple as just changing clothes.

Beichen Zhenjun's attention was not on these disciples.

He is waiting.

Half a day later, True Lord Qingyuan arrived.

He came slowly and left even slower than ordinary people.

He was wearing a light blue robe, his hair was casually tied up, he looked like a young man with a handsome face and a lazy look in his eyes, appearing to be in his early twenties.

He landed on the plaza, yawned, and nodded to True Lord Beichen.

Everyone bowed. This was also the first time Lin Zhao had met the renowned Qingyuan Zhenjun from the sect.

Qingyuan Zhenjun glanced at him. Lin Zhao quickly lowered his head. Qingyuan Zhenjun smiled and withdrew his gaze.

----

With a wave of his hand, Beichen Zhenjun swept everyone into Beichen Palace.

The palace interior was much larger than it appeared from the outside. The dome was inlaid with countless star-shaped stones, shimmering like the night sky. The floor was made of a single piece of jade, smooth and warm to the touch.

The Beichen Palace ascended into the sky, passed through the sect's teleportation array, and arrived at a directly affiliated immortal city in Yunzhou—the Desolate Sea Immortal City.

The immortal city resembled a pass, stretching for thousands of miles, with towering walls covered in dense array patterns. Outside the city lay an endless wasteland, the gray-yellow earth extending to the horizon, seemingly guarding against something unknown.

They did not linger at Beichen Palace.

After leaving the Immortal City, Beichen Palace tore through space and teleported away instantly.

Lin Zhao stood in the small square outside Beichen Palace. All ten people were there. Lin Zhao could not feel the tearing of space. The restrictions of Beichen Palace blocked all external forces from the outside.

But he could see the outside: space was like a torn piece of cloth, with distorted light at the edges of the crack, and outside the crack was a void of darkness, nothing at all.

Ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators could never achieve this level of teleportation.

A distance of thousands of miles can be easily crossed.

Yan Feng stood next to Lin Zhao, looking at the void outside. As if he knew what Lin Zhao was thinking, he suddenly said, "It's nothing, you'll get used to it."

His tone was casual, as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.

Xia Jin chimed in from the side, "Those who know will understand that this Beichen Palace is the magic weapon of True Lord Beichen; those who don't might think it's yours."

Yan Feng's face instantly darkened.

"Junior Brother Xia is joking." Yan Feng's voice was still steady, but the smile on his face could no longer be maintained.

"Was I joking?" Xia Jin tilted his head to look at him. "The tone you used just now didn't sound like you were introducing Beichen Palace; it sounded like you were introducing your own things."

Yan Feng's lips twitched.

The two started exchanging sarcastic remarks. Xia Jin's mouth was much faster than his, one sentence after another, each different.

Yan Feng was speechless, his face turning red and white in turns.

Lin Zhao watched from the sidelines, somewhat surprised. Xia Jin was not talkative on the stage, but she didn't expect him to be so sharp-tongued in private.

Finally, the two of them looked at Lin Zhao at the same time.

"Junior Brother Lin, what do you think?" Yan Feng asked.

Xia Jin looked at him, a smile playing on his lips.

Lin Zhao remained silent for a few moments, then looked up at the sky.

"The weather is nice today."

The square fell silent for a moment.

This godforsaken place! Where does the weather come from? It's just empty space outside, and even the light comes from the North Star Palace itself.

Yan Feng was stunned for a moment, then turned and left.

Xia Jin burst into laughter, bending over with mirth. He straightened up after a long while, patted Lin Zhao on the shoulder, and said, "You're an interesting person."

Lin Zhao didn't reply, but shook her head as she watched Yan Feng walk away.

Yan Feng, even in the Qi Refining stage, is still quite admirable. He was implanted with a body-snatching mark by a Nascent Soul cultivator and fled from an outer continent to Yunzhou, traversing millions of miles.

Unfortunately, while joining a sect provided protection and allowed him to survive, it also made him more sensitive. Faced with the pressure of reaching the Nascent Soul stage, he dared not venture out for extended periods and could only rely on the sect. His spirit was largely worn down, and he was no longer the same as before.

Pei Yue walked over and stood next to Lin Zhao.

He looked into the void and said in a low voice, "Temporary hardship can best temper a person. But prolonged hardship will distort a person's mind and will."

Lin Zhao nodded in agreement, saying that dwelling on suffering would only drag oneself down with it.

He thought of Zhu Yan. In the face of national ruin and family destruction, he transformed hardship into strength, using a demonic blade to force his way to the Core Formation stage. Such a person deserves respect.

Lin Zhao then recalled another saying—"As long as you are willing to endure hardship, there will be endless hardship."

Lin Zhao didn't know if he would experience these things in the future, but he knew that as long as he had the strength, he could overcome all hardships.

If Yan Feng had the strength of True Monarch Beichen, why would he care about these things?

----

half a month later.

The Beichen Palace hovered above a huge lake.

The lake stretches for thousands of miles, its edge invisible. The water is a deep blue, like a giant sapphire embedded in the earth.

There were no waves on the lake, but there were undercurrents beneath the water, and occasionally a huge shadow could be seen sweeping across the bottom—I didn't know what it was.

Two forces were already waiting above the lake.