Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

That old fisherman was no ordinary person.

The rulers of Xuanze City are ancient clans, and Su Huai is from the Su family.

In the past two weeks, tremendous changes have taken place in the secret realm, and the ancient tribes have sent him to guard the sacred lake.

He may not be considered a martial arts grandmaster, but he is one of the best among martial arts practitioners. In his youth, he was capable of taking on ten opponents at once.

During their conversation, he had been secretly observing the young man—he wasn't confident he could win against Lin Zhao.

The boat was moored on a small dock on the shore. It was ten zhang long and three zhang wide, and its hull was covered with runes, layer upon layer.

But the runes have already faded somewhat.

Lin Zhao reached out and touched the hull of the boat. His senior sister explained that only special spirit boats produced on this island could navigate the sacred lake.

Lin Zhao didn't pay attention to what she said.

This thing is clearly a Tier 3 spirit boat. In the outside world, a Tier 3 spirit boat is a weapon of war comparable to a Core Formation cultivator.

Unfortunately, too much time has passed, and only a fraction of Vaillant remains, with only the download function still functional, and that's only because someone is still maintaining it. Without maintenance, it would have disappeared long ago.

The difference between a third-tier and a fourth-tier magic weapon lies in its resistance to the ravages of time. If a third-tier Core Formation magic weapon is left unmaintained, its grade will drop within a few hundred years, just like the Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool in his possession.

A fourth-tier Nascent Soul magic weapon can exist independently for thousands of years even without maintenance, hence it is sometimes referred to as an ancient treasure.

Of course, the sect wouldn't recognize it. The sect has a history of 70,000 years. Which fourth-tier magic weapon dares to say it's older than the sect? It's more like a fifth-tier spiritual treasure.

Lin Zhao had originally planned to explore the secret realm for treasures. Now it seems that the Luo Tian Secret Realm's resources have been eroded by tens of thousands of years, and there's probably not much left.

The only things that can still be preserved are in ancient tribes and sacred sites; there's no need to waste time in other places.

He remembered the old man fishing earlier.

The old man was quite strong, roughly equivalent to the late Foundation Establishment stage. Of course, only his lethality was up to par; in other aspects, he was far inferior.

Nine times out of ten, they are high-ranking officials from the ancient city, sent to guard the sacred lake.

Lin Zhao hasn't been idle for the past two weeks.

He had basically mastered the rune system he had obtained from the cultivation family.

Fu Yuan Jianlong has already evolved to the Foundation Establishment stage, and he has also evolved into Fu Yuan Yinglong and Fu Yuan Jianyi, among other forms.

With his current strength, combined with his Core Formation stage divine sense, he has few rivals in the Foundation Establishment stage.

This is also why he dared to enter the ancient city. With his improved strength, he would have to deal with the people of the ancient city sooner or later. It would be good to meet them now and test the attitude of the ancient clan.

He originally wanted to keep a low profile, but unfortunately it was impossible; none of the guys in the secret realm were easy to deal with.

In just half a month, the commotion they've caused has grown bigger and bigger.

The Myriad Spirits Cult has already conquered three small cities, and its number of demons exceeds one million.

The Xia clan of Xia Jin has forcefully taken over an ancient city and is currently locked in a fierce battle with the city's ruler.

Qin Tianjun's "Heavenly Sword" challenged over a hundred so-called martial arts masters and never suffered a defeat.

Pei Yue hasn't made any moves; he's probably preparing something big.

Lin Zhao couldn't keep a low profile even if she wanted to.

Fortunately, he has some skills and Foundation Establishment level strength, so he is not afraid as long as he does not encounter someone comparable to Core Formation.

He actually had some doubts about whether the so-called grandmasters in the secret realm truly possessed the strength to form a core.

The ship has docked.

The sacred island appears larger than it does from the shore. It is littered with fragments of stone statues. Faint traces of runes remain on these fragments, their original energy long since dissipated.

These stone statues were probably vessels for some kind of trial or inheritance in the past, and they were rendered useless after being broken.

In the center of the island stood a stone pillar. It was hundreds of feet thick and thousands of feet tall, its entire body grayish-white. Runes could be vaguely seen inside, as if they had grown out of the stone itself and were an integral part of the pillar.

There were still dozens of people on the island. Some were meditating in front of the stone pillar, some were repeatedly striking the pillar surface, and some were studying the remaining runes in front of the fragments. Lin Zhao bid farewell to her senior sister and walked towards the stone pillar.

He stood before the stone pillar. Runes flowed slowly within the stone, as if the stone had a pulse.

Lin Zhao raised his hand and placed it on the surface of the stone pillar. He probed inside with his divine sense. The runic structure inside the stone pillar unfolded in his sea of ​​consciousness—more complex than any runic system he had ever seen before. Moreover, it was layer upon layer, like an onion that could never be completely peeled.

He didn't touch it. He was just here to take a look. He withdrew his hand from the stone pillar, his fingertips still warm from the stone's icy touch.

He turned and walked away, circling the island. He examined the other stone statue fragments one by one. The remaining runes shared the same style as the stone pillars, likely just a branch of the Luo Tian Sect's rune system.

As darkness fell, he took a boat back to shore.

Lin Zhao walked into the city. On the way, he went through all the discoveries he had made that day.

Luo Tian's rune system and the Rune Yuan Sword Dragon he deduced do indeed have similarities.

If you can fully understand this system, Fu Yuan Jianlong can push it to the next level.

His goal in the secret realm was clear.

First, integrate the rune system of the Luo Tian Secret Realm with your own magic domain.

The Fu Yuan Sword Dragon was just the beginning; his Four Elements and Five Mountains Law Domain had evolved from various forms.

If the Luo Tian runes can be integrated, the Dharma Domain can be re-expanded within the secret realm, essentially disguising itself as one of the secret realm's own.

A fifth-tier spiritual treasure is not a true Nascent Soul Celestial Lord; it always has flaws. This rune system has been passed down in the secret realm for tens of thousands of years, proving its feasibility over time.

Once he can use his domain, his strength will not only be fully restored, but it will be mostly recovered, enough to contend with a Core Formation True Person, let alone a martial arts grandmaster in the secret realm.

Second, the runes on the stone pillars on the island.

That was an upgraded version of the rune system, with a more complex structure and deeper levels. He had a token, so he could go to the island to study it at any time.

In fact, what Lin Zhao wanted most was the third path: to use this rune system to explore the mysteries of fifth-tier spiritual treasures, or to seek the power of the Nascent Soul realm.

The spiritual treasure has already merged with the secret realm, which is a rare opportunity. If one can glimpse a trace of the path to the Nascent Soul stage, it would be more worthwhile than a fourth-tier treasure.

Of course, he also wants fourth-tier treasures; these two goals are not mutually exclusive.

When I get back, I'll set a small goal: to acquire the rune knowledge that these cultivation families in Xuanze City possess.

He had only learned simple things before, which he could deduce on his own through gradual understanding, but having readily available knowledge could save a lot of time.

Lin Zhao roughly guessed that these cultivation families were cultivators with spiritual roots. The secret realm sealed their spiritual power, but their spiritual roots were predetermined.

They use rune systems to drive elemental power, which is essentially no different from cultivators.

Martial artists are similar to body cultivators, but they are entirely nurtured by the special environment of secret realms, and their foundation is not solid.

It's hard to say how much strength he can retain after leaving the secret realm.

As for whether these people will give it to us?

Lin Zhao is no pushover.

Lin Zhao is neither a demonic sorcerer nor a saint.