Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

It has three layers.

The first level is where Lin Zhao stood, the Hundred-Mile Square. A ring of three thousand jade pillars stands around the edge of the square.

Each pillar is tens of feet tall, and its body is covered with densely packed runes. The runes move slowly across the surface, and each pillar casts a beam of light down into the plaza below.

The second level, located in the center of the plaza and extending for ten miles, is a cluster of palaces. Each one appears to have been carved directly from a single piece of jade, with sharp edges and no gaps between the bricks.

The third level was only about a mile in size, located at the highest point and shrouded in a faint halo. Lin Zhao squinted for a moment, only vaguely discerning that it was an altar, but he couldn't make out any more specific outline.

Lin Zhao withdrew her gaze.

There were still people in the square, about two hundred Core Formation cultivators.

They walked together in twos and threes, some talking in hushed tones, and some sitting cross-legged alone at the edge of the square, cultivating themselves.

Upon seeing Qingyuan Zhenjun, many people stopped and bowed slightly.

"Greetings, True Lord."

"True Lord Qingyuan".

"What brings you to the Immortal City today, True Lord?"

Qingyuan Zhenjun nodded to each of them, occasionally humming in agreement, and led Lin Zhao across the plaza to the outermost edge.

He stopped at the edge of the square and gestured for Lin Zhao to look down.

Lin Zhao lowered her head, and then her breath hitched for a beat.

Beneath the Cangming Immortal City lies a vast vortex of spiritual energy.

The vortex spanned tens of thousands of miles and was composed of concentric rings of almost completely liquefied spiritual energy. The vortex propelled this liquid spiritual energy to rotate slowly in the void.

Hundreds of arc-shaped spiritual rings extend out from the center of the vortex, each hundreds of miles long, and countless spiritual energy channels connect the rings.

The spiritual energy flowed slowly in the vortex, flowing from the vortex to the spiritual ring through the spiritual energy channel, and then being flung back to the center of the vortex from the spiritual ring, forming an endless cycle.

Liquefied spiritual energy spanning tens of thousands of miles. What does that even mean?

Even if all the spiritual energy produced by the Yunzhou spiritual vein in a year were poured into it, it still wouldn't be enough to fill one of the spiritual rings.

Lin Zhao took a deep breath, suppressing the shock within her.

He stood on the edge of the immortal city, looking down into the distance. Beneath his feet lay the approximate outline of Yunzhou, its million-mile territory stretching out before him.

Mountains and rivers shrank to the lines in the palm of your hand. Mountain ranges were like dark marks, rivers were like thin lines, and the scattered spiritual veins shimmered with spiritual light, some strong and some weak.

He saw the 138 domains of Yunzhou, the boundaries between domains, and even further—the outlines of the other eight continents.

The nine continents are like nine giant ice floes, floating in the vast world.

Between the continents lie vast, desolate areas, shrouded in a gray haze, with sparse spiritual light like dying embers or charred scars.

Lin Zhao even vaguely saw the flow of spiritual veins; these veins, like rivers, flowed underground from one area to another.

The spiritual energy fluctuated, as if something was regulating the flow of spiritual energy.

Lin Zhao had never seen the Cangyuan cultivation world from this height before. At this moment, the Cangyuan world resembled a vast scroll that had been unfurled.

Normally, it would be impossible to see that far.

It's too far, so far that it exceeds the limits of sight, the limits of divine sense, and the limits of any means of perception.

"We are inside the world barrier," Qingyuan Zhenjun's voice came from the side. "The location here is special; it's neither inside nor outside the world. Looking out through this world barrier, we can see the general outline of the Cangyuan Immortal Cultivation World."

He pointed to the vortex of spiritual energy beneath his feet.

"And this is also available."

"Cangming Immortal City controls the spiritual energy vortex below through the three thousand jade pillars on the outer perimeter, and then adjusts the direction of the spiritual veins within a million miles of Yunzhou. The spiritual vein network of Yunzhou is in the hands of the sect."

If a sect doesn't want too many cultivators to emerge in a certain region, it can naturally turn that region into a barren land, completely drying up the spiritual veins for tens of thousands of miles.

"The sect controls this vortex of spiritual energy. Within this world barrier, let alone a Nascent Soul cultivator, even a legendary Void Returning cultivator would be crushed to death by Cangming Immortal City if they dared to come here."

The Cangming Immortal City is a sixth-order spiritual treasure that surpasses the Nascent Soul stage. It only operates within the world barrier, but its spiritual power can be projected downwards.

Within the million-mile territory of Yunzhou, no one is a match for the sect. Even if a Nascent Soul Celestial Lord came, he would still die.

Even outside of Yunzhou, Cangming Immortal City can connect to Yunhai Immortal City below as an anchor point to transmit spiritual energy remotely.

Qingyuan Zhenjun withdrew his hand and stood with his hands behind his back.

"This is the true foundation of a sect. The Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators are just the visible forces; they are enough for our needs."

Lin Zhao remained silent for a long time.

What Qingyuan Zhenjun spoke of before was realm and knowledge, but what he is seeing now is real power.

He had considered the sect's true strength, but when that power was revealed to him, the feeling was completely different.

What is a hegemonic power? This is a hegemonic power, which is completely different from a Nascent Soul power.

"Alright, alright, you'll have plenty to see later."

Qingyuan Zhenjun's tone became more relaxed.

"Although our sect is powerful, we are not the only ones in the Cangyuan Realm. Other overlords also have similar entities, all suspended within the world barrier."

Lin Zhao took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in her heart. "How did they do that?"

His voice was somewhat dry. "You previously said that the world has the will of heaven and earth, and the Cangyuan Immortal Cultivation World is an enormous world spanning billions of miles."

The will of Heaven and Earth is incredibly powerful. Cangming Immortal City clearly surpasses the Nascent Soul level; under normal circumstances, it would definitely be expelled from the world.

Qingyuan Zhenjun snapped his fingers.

"You've hit the nail on the head. It's very simple: these dominant forces joined forces to forcibly shatter the world will of the Cangyuan Immortal Cultivation World."

Then, through a sixth-tier magic weapon similar to the Cangming Immortal City, it replaced a portion of the authority of the will of heaven and earth.

Lin Zhao's pupils contracted slightly.

"Is this really possible?"

True Monarch Qingyuan shook his head.

"Normally, that's impossible."

He said, "But what about special times? Like—when the world is destroyed?"

He didn't wait for Lin Zhao to ask further questions and continued speaking.

"Every world has a day of destruction. The lifespan of a world is limited to 129,600 years."

The number one, when its time comes, the world crumbles, space collapses, and billions of mortals and cultivators are buried in nothingness.

Lin Zhao asked softly.

"The Cangyuan cultivation world... has also experienced these things?"

Qingyuan Zhenjun nodded.

"The Cangyuan cultivation world has only existed for 50,000 years, while the sects have existed for 70,000 years. The sects have come from the previous era."

His tone was full of turmoil. "In the last era, the world came to an end and should have been destroyed, but those powerful cultivators refused. Why should they have to die when their time came?"

So they launched a self-rescue operation, which can be described as a magnificent chapter in history.

Ultimately, the numerous powerful figures of the sect successfully brought the Cangyuan cultivation world back to life from the brink of death. After its initial annihilation, it forcibly reversed its course and was reborn, thus entering the current new era.