Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

If the remaining disciples of the sects heard this, they could only chuckle. True Monarch Qingyuan sometimes had nothing to do with the word "easygoing," especially when he was teaching others.

At night, Lin Zhao returned to his cave and sat cross-legged on the jade platform.

Close your eyes and look inward.

Within the dantian, the Five Qi Gathering Golden Elixir, the size of a fist, hangs in the center, its surface shimmering with five-colored light, warm yet substantial.

He reviewed the entire process of forming the Golden Core from the beginning, and it went very smoothly, as if it were a natural progression.

At this moment, his magical power is ten times that of a cultivator at the early stage of Core Formation.

The essence of life has undergone a complete sublimation through the tempering of the Golden Elixir, and its lifespan has reached the limit of the Golden Elixir Formation—eight hundred years.

The lifespan limit for Foundation Establishment cultivators is no more than three hundred years, while Core Formation cultivators can extend their lifespan to eight hundred years. This is a genuine leap in life level.

The normal lifespan of Core Formation cultivators in the outside world is around five hundred years, while Core Formation cultivators in sects have various life-extending secret techniques and spiritual items, and can generally live to around six hundred to seven hundred years.

There are very few Core Formation cultivators who can truly reach the eight-hundred-year limit, and Lin Zhao is one of them at this moment.

Lin Zhao is only seventy years old this year, which means he has more than seven hundred years to pursue the path of Nascent Soul.

Countless Core Formation cultivators in the world spend their entire lives trying to reach the Nascent Soul stage, but Lin Zhao has no such worries.

His Heavenly Heart Dharma Wheel can directly exempt him from inner demons, which means that he doesn't have to waste a lot of time and energy on inner demon tribulations like other Core Formation cultivators. He has already crossed the biggest hurdle in Nascent Soul formation.

Furthermore, he possesses three fourth-tier Nascent Soul magic treasures for protection, making ordinary Core Formation cultivators no longer a threat to him.

Lin Zhao roughly assessed his own combat strength in his mind.

A typical sect prodigy can leap two minor realms during the Foundation Establishment stage—the combat power of an early Foundation Establishment cultivator is comparable to that of a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Lin Zhao was at this level before.

But things are different once you reach the Core Formation stage. The higher you go in the cultivation realm, the greater the gap between each level becomes. There aren't many useless people who can form a Core, so it's much harder to challenge those who are higher level than you.

Generally, a sect disciple who successfully achieves a high-grade Golden Core can at most cross one small realm in the early stage of Core Formation, barely able to contend with a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, which is already considered quite impressive.

Even top geniuses like Qin Tianjun and Xia Jin,

Lin Zhao estimated that their combat strength after reaching the Core Formation stage would be comparable to the peak of the mid-stage Core Formation, and they would probably not be able to reach the threshold of the late-stage Core Formation stage, let alone reach the late-stage Core Formation stage.

This is even after Qin Tianjun's natal magic weapon has been upgraded—the nine swords combined into a third-grade high-quality magic weapon. If he wants to truly possess the combat power of the late Core Formation stage, he will need to reach at least the mid-Core Formation stage.

Lin Zhao himself, having comprehended the power of rules, possessed basic combat strength comparable to the late-stage Core Formation realm.

With the addition of the Divine Power Heavenly Heart Dharma Wheel, he is capable of contending with someone at the peak of the Core Formation stage.

Of course, the peak Core Formation level is also very complex. Some are similar to the late Core Formation level, while others can take on ten opponents at once. Lin Zhao is not sure where he is now.

However, he still possesses the fourth-tier sword magic weapon, the Starry Sky Rift Sword, which he can now barely activate thanks to the Heavenly Heart Dharma Wheel.

Even if he encounters a cultivator at the peak of the Core Formation stage, he can't be guaranteed a win, but he won't lose either. Even the top cultivators at the peak of the Core Formation stage would have to think twice before trying to take him down.

At this moment, Lin Zhao is still some distance away from Qianqiu Zhenren, who has already reached the peak of the Core Formation stage.

But they're already considered to be at the same combat power level.

Thinking of this, Lin Zhao couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

After a trip to the secret realm, he awakened an unparalleled divine power, obtained three fourth-tier magic treasures, and successfully formed his core. His strength increased dozens of times compared to before entering the secret realm.

And this is not even his limit.

The Luo Tian Palace has begun to absorb spiritual energy to recover on its own. As long as one of the Spirit Gathering Pools resumes operation, he will have a method that can threaten Nascent Soul cultivators. The Golden Divine Thunder Strike is comparable in power to an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator's attack.

If he succeeds, he'll be able to do whatever he wants in the entire Core Formation realm.

He shook his head, suppressing these thoughts. The world of cultivation was vast, and the methods and secret techniques were countless.

He was able to awaken supreme divine powers and obtain fourth-tier magic treasures; others might be able to as well.

Yan Feng, who entered the secret realm together, obtained the fourth-tier array magic treasure, the Nine Dragons Burning Heaven Seal. Pei Yue gained the appreciation of True Monarch Qingyuan and obtained the fourth-tier magic treasure, the Luohuang Cauldron.

Never underestimate anyone.

Moreover, restoring the Luo Tian Palace would be time-consuming and laborious. One Spirit Gathering Pool would probably not be enough; at least two would be needed—one to maintain the basic operation of the palace, and one to gather divine lightning.

Even with a third-grade high-quality spiritual vein providing spiritual power, it would take at least a hundred years to recover.

More importantly, he dared not use it casually. It was alright within the sect, as the Nascent Soul True Monarchs were bound by sect rules and dared not openly take action.

If this were outside, these Nascent Soul cultivators would have already started to snatch it.

Qingyuan Zhenjun cannot protect him forever.

Since True Lord Beichen didn't make a move against him outside the secret realm, he probably won't cause any trouble.

Although the Nascent Soul cultivators of the sect were unaware of the specific details of the Luo Tian Palace.

But Lin Zhao didn't believe this secret could be kept hidden forever. Don't underestimate the abilities of Nascent Soul cultivators; they have all sorts of methods and means.

Ultimately, it comes down to insufficient self-cultivation.

If one is strong enough, it is only natural to possess a great treasure; if one is weak, possessing a great treasure is a crime.

To improve one's strength, one must focus on the cultivation techniques one practices. The Five Elements Return to Nothingness True Technique.

This is a top-tier fourth-order cultivation technique, consisting of ten levels.

Levels one through three correspond to Foundation Establishment, levels four through six correspond to Core Formation, levels seven through nine correspond to Nascent Soul, and the tenth level leads directly to the Deity Transformation realm.

The core of the cultivation method is to absorb the five elements, return to the void, refine heaven and earth as a furnace, and transform oneself into a boundary, with the ultimate goal of cultivating to the Great Dao of Divine Transformation. Unfortunately, the tenth level needs to be created by oneself.

Lin Zhao has now formed his core, and his cultivation technique has also progressed to the fourth level.

After being promoted to a true disciple of the sect, all the subsequent supernatural powers and secret techniques of this cultivation method were unlocked to him. In the Core Formation stage, he gained five more exclusive supernatural powers, some of which were useful to him, while others were not very useful.

The first beam is the Five Elements Extinction Divine Light.

An upgraded version of the Five Emperors Seal—wherever it shines, the structure of the Five Elements collapses. Lin Zhao had already mastered this divine power, and even went a step further, transforming the Emperor Seal into an arrow, becoming the Five Elements Annihilation Divine Arrow.

The second technique is the Return to the Void Devouring Heaven Technique.

It manifested a Void Furnace, which then shattered, briefly transforming into a black hole that devoured magic domains, magical artifacts, spells, and even small spiritual veins. It was incomparably domineering.

The third path is the incarnation of the Five Spirits.

He expended his own magical power to condense five elemental clones, each possessing a portion of his cultivation and combat strength. Their power was comparable to that of an ordinary Core Formation cultivator.

This supernatural ability sparked an idea in Lin Zhao's mind, and he vaguely began to have other plans, but he had not yet fully conceived them.

The fourth method is the Return to Emptiness Escape Technique.

The essence of stealth techniques is to break the sound barrier of speed.

Some escape techniques are impressive, some are silent, some are fast but short-lived, and some are slow but long-lasting.

The Return to Emptiness Escape Technique allows him to transform into a stream of ethereal light and instantly disappear a hundred miles away without any sound or spiritual light leaking out. The drawback is that it consumes a great deal of magical power.

Lin Zhao usually uses the Five Elements Escape Technique, which is quiet and slow, but consumes very little mana, so he can use it almost continuously.