Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

The disagreements among the group were minor, and each had their own goals.

Senior Sister Nianwei's main purpose was to travel, and the Yan family was just a side trip.

Master Chulan wants to give an explanation, Zhong Tiangu wants resources, and Zhao Kun wants to investigate illegal activities, but promises to investigate after the battle is over.

Everyone quickly laid out their bottom lines, and the discussion proceeded swiftly, with the solution for dealing with the Yan family being quickly agreed upon by these individuals.

Of course, the talks went smoothly because they all recognized that Lin Zhao had the combat power to dominate the battlefield.

Lin Zhao's reputation in the sect was greater than he had imagined. He rejected the sect's Nascent Soul True Monarch but was noticed by True Monarch Qingyuan.

He was the only one who always thought he was being quite low-key.

-----

The Lingzhou fleet sailed through the clouds.

A month later, the group arrived at the area where the expeditionary force was located.

This is a corner of a vast, desolate area.

Below are rolling yellow hills, desert, and sea of ​​sand.

The flow of spiritual energy was completely erratic; one moment it was a scorching, burning wind, and the next it was a biting, chilling gale.

The desolate area is so vast that even the entire Nine Provinces combined cannot compare to a portion of it. To survive here long-term is both a form of tempering and a form of torture.

Spiritual veins are not fixed; a third-order spiritual vein might emerge today, only to be swept away by a gale tomorrow.

However, this uncertainty can actually lead to the acquisition of many rare spiritual materials that cannot be found outside the region.

The area where the expeditionary force was located was an anomaly in this desolate region.

About a hundred years ago, the spiritual veins in this area suddenly began to flow and converge, eventually settling in the Crimson Nether Mountains.

The Chiyou Mountains cover an area of ​​over a thousand miles and contain hundreds of peaks.

Originally just a barren mountain, it became a top-grade third-tier spiritual vein after the spiritual veins converged.

The Tribulation Cultivator Alliance was founded on this spiritual vein—spiritual energy gathered cultivators, who banded together to form a powerful force, gradually creating a massive Tribulation Cultivator Alliance, which then occupied the entire Crimson Nether Mountain Range.

In recent decades, that top-grade third-tier spiritual vein has shown signs of advancing to the fourth-tier spiritual vein.

Some people even sensed the unique spiritual energy fluctuations of a fourth-tier treasure deep within the mountains.

It was after receiving this news that the Yan family led their expeditionary force to this place.

The two sides fought for more than 20 years, and neither the Yan family nor the Jie Xiu family backed down for the fourth-tier treasure.

When the five spirit boats arrived at the outer edge of the Crimson Nether Mountains, Lin Zhao stood at the bow of the boat, looking down.

The outline of the mountains appeared and disappeared in the heat wave, and the hundreds of peaks were almost devoid of vegetation, with only some low-lying, grayish grasses.

Large areas of the hillside still bear numerous scorch marks from magical bombardments, cracks from sword strikes, and bloodstains that have seeped into the rock strata.

Before even reaching the camp, they encountered a battle.

Two cultivators at the early stage of Core Formation were fighting on a rocky beach.

Two domains unfolded simultaneously: one was a crimson flame domain, which, according to intelligence, belonged to a cultivator from the expeditionary force; the other was an earthen-yellow sandstorm domain, naturally belonging to the Tribulation Cultivator Alliance.

The collision of the two major domains created a visible distortion, and the exploding spiritual light splashed in all directions.

Between the two was a third-tier spiritual herb growing from a crack in the rubble, its leaves dark purple, swaying violently in the impact of spiritual energy.

Lin Zhao glanced at Zhao Kun, who nodded in understanding.

Zhao Kun's figure vanished from the spot, transforming into a pale golden sword rainbow that cut straight into the battlefield.

Before the people even arrived, the kendo field had already begun.

The Sandstorm Domain of the Tribulation Cultivator Alliance, which had reached the Core Formation stage, was like paper in front of him, torn apart in the middle by the powerful sword energy, along with his protective spiritual light.

The man only had time to turn around before the sword pierced his chest, but a life-saving talisman appeared on his body, taking the brunt of the powerful blow.

He quickly crushed a teleportation talisman, but the moment the talisman lit up, Zhao Kun's sword arrived first.

A pale golden sword light slashed into the back of his neck and exited through his throat.

Ultimately, he was just an ordinary Core Formation cultivator, lacking even defensive magic treasures.

The battle ended instantly.

A body fell from the sky and landed on the gravel beach with a dull thud.

Zhao Kun hovered in mid-air, taking the storage bag and the third-tier spiritual herb into his hands. He put the storage bag away.

The spiritual herbs were given to the Core Formation cultivators who belonged to the expeditionary force.

The man caught the herb, paused for a moment, and then repeatedly cupped his hands in respect.

Lin Zhao withdrew her gaze.

Zhao Kun's combat strength is comparable to that of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator; killing an early-stage Core Formation cultivator wouldn't require much effort.

The rule of the Enforcement Hall is that spoils belong to the victor, but he does not take the spiritual herbs.

As they approached the camp, several streaks of light came to meet them.

He is a Core Formation True Person sent by the sect to the expeditionary force.

The leader was a Core Formation cultivator from the Yan family, dressed in a fiery red robe.

Behind him were several Foundation Establishment core cultivators, among whom was a young man with thick eyebrows and red hair, whom Lin Zhao recognized at a glance.

Yan Ning.

The sect's prodigies who were in the same cohort as them back then.

Lin Zhao still remembered Yan Ning's appearance in the Dao Asking Hall; he always spoke with the arrogance typical of scions of noble families.

But at this moment, Yan Ning's red hair was blown about by the wind, and the pride that he used to have as a scion of a noble family was now completely gone.

His cultivation had reached the late Foundation Establishment stage, which was not bad among his peers, but standing in front of a group of Core Formation cultivators, he didn't even have the right to speak.

Lin Zhao's gaze lingered on him for a moment before shifting away.

One is still at the Foundation Establishment stage, while the other is already a true disciple of the sect, with combat power comparable to the late Core Formation stage.

What were once considered equal entities are now on a completely different level.

Lin Zhao no longer even considered ordinary Core Formation cultivators a threat, let alone Yan Ning.

Yan Ning was clearly aware of this as well—Lin Zhao glanced at him, and he quickly buried his head.

----

The expeditionary force's camp was set up between three nearby mountain peaks.

Each of the three mountain peaks has a third-tier spiritual vein, arranged in a triangular pattern.

The highest peak was occupied by seven Core Formation cultivators from the Yan family, while the remaining two peaks belonged to eight Core Formation cultivators from different sects.

Seventeen Core Formation cultivators from the expeditionary force's affiliated forces and independent cultivators.

The expeditionary force now has thirty-two Core Formation cultivators.

Below the mountainside are the cave dwellings of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Of the three thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators who set out, less than two thousand remain.

Between the three mountain peaks lies a vast forest of chaotic rocks, stretching for dozens of miles. Most of the rocks have been hollowed out, and over 100,000 Qi Refining cultivators reside there.

In the past twenty years, the Yan family, a Qi Refining Cultivator family, has added several batches of cultivators, far exceeding 200,000, all of whom are cannon fodder.

Thirty-two have reached the Core Formation stage, two thousand have reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and over one hundred thousand have reached the Qi Refining stage.

A third-tier array was set up between the three peaks and the chaotic rock forest; any ordinary Core Formation cultivator who entered would surely die.

At its peak, the expeditionary force had fifty Core Formation cultivators, twenty of whom were from sects, led by four peak Core Formation cultivators. Unfortunately, one of them had already died in battle.

Not long ago, the expeditionary force suffered a major defeat and its morale was low.

The opposing Tribulation Cultivation Alliance is no pushover either; they currently have over fifty Core Formation cultivators, and at their peak, both sides had over a hundred Core Formation cultivators fighting each other in the Crimson Nether Mountains.