Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Lin Zhao saw the school of fish underwater. He reached into the water and scooped up a three-foot-long fish from the lake.

The fish swung its tail in his hand, its scales shimmering silver-red in the sunlight.

He threw the fish back into the water.

At the end of the lake is a huge canyon waterfall.

The river water plunges down from the cliff hundreds of feet high, and the water mist rises dozens of feet high, condensing into a rainbow that spans the canyon under the sunlight.

The waterfall roared deafeningly, and the waves crashed against the boulders at the bottom of the valley, splashing up white foam.

He didn't go around it, but flew straight into the waterfall on his sword.

Water cascaded down from above, icy cold, completely obscuring my vision with its white spray.

The sword light darted around the rocks and dense forest at the bottom of the canyon, each sharp turn kicking up a splash of water.

The canyon has a complex terrain with jagged rocks and ancient trees growing diagonally from the rock walls, their branches twisted and gnarled.

The sword light weaved through the narrow canyon, grazing the rocks. The branches rustled as the sword wind swept through the trees, and a few leaves clung to the sword light and flew a long way before being shaken off.

He waded through the water, then burst out from the other side.

He exclaimed how exhilarating it was, his voice echoing through the canyon for several rounds.

Lin Zhao, who was far away in the cultivation room on Tianxing Peak of the sect, opened his eyes and shook his head helplessly.

Inside the Treasure Pavilion, the Five Sacred Mountains Dharma Body, who was fiddling with metal-attribute spiritual objects, also stopped what it was doing and sighed.

Their consciousness is completely shared.

They could feel every sharp turn, every dive of the Azure Lotus clone, the coolness of the water splashing on their faces, and the sensation of the wind blowing into their sleeves.

Even though I'm the same person, I don't know why, but I always feel a little uneasy.

The Azure Lotus clone didn't care about any of that. After passing through the canyon waterfall, he raised his sword light and charged back into the clouds.

His robes were mostly soaked, and his hair was wet, sticking to his face.

He didn't bother with it and just left it to air dry naturally.

The exhilarating feeling of soaring freely and traveling thousands of miles in an instant filled Qinglian's clone with an indescribable sense of joy.

He doesn't need to suppress himself, doesn't need to scheme, and doesn't need to carry any burdens.

The world is vast, and he can go wherever he wants.

This is probably the most original form of cultivating immortality.

He flew away for three whole months.

Flying over mountains and rivers, countless ordinary towns and villages

Flying over thunderstorm clouds late at night and sea of ​​fog in the early morning.

Sometimes when they get tired, they stop on the mountain to meditate for a night, and then continue flying when it gets light.

----

Three months later, the Azure Lotus clone finally approached the area where the Nine Spirits Immortal City was located.

The concentration of spiritual energy in the vicinity began to rise significantly.

He concealed the gleam of his sword and slowed his speed.

The Nine Spirits Mountain Range covers tens of thousands of miles. Legend has it that tens of thousands of years ago, this place was a fifth-order spiritual vein, where a Nascent Soul Heavenly Lord was born.

After the Nascent Soul cultivator perished, the fifth-order spiritual vein also collapsed, transforming into nine fourth-order spiritual veins and thousands of third-order spiritual veins.

The highest point in the very center of the Nine Spirits Mountains is the Nine Spirits Immortal City.

Lin Zhao looked down from the clouds.

The mountain peaks are arranged like a chessboard, with mist swirling between them, occasionally dispersed by the wind.

The stone path winding up the mountain and various caves carved into the cliff face were revealed below. Spiritual light emanated from the cave's protective barriers, scattered like stars throughout the mountain.

Cultivators are everywhere.

There are Qi Refining disciples who ride spirit beasts and wield magical artifacts.

There are also Foundation Establishment cultivators who fly alone.

Occasionally, a streak of light would flash across the sky, indicating that the person was at least at the Core Formation level.

The Jiuling Mountains have thousands of spiritual peaks that are close together, making them very prosperous.

Sects and factions were as numerous as hairs on a cow, and cultivation caves were located one after another, leading to fierce competition among them.

But they rarely engage in deadly battles; most fights end in a skirmish.

It is said that millions of cultivators have gathered here, including over 100,000 Foundation Establishment cultivators, over 1,000 Core Formation cultivators, and seven Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

Four of them were Nascent Soul True Monarchs from their respective sects, and three were guest elders from the Immortal City.

Many cultivators in the sect also like to settle here—each immortal city has a teleportation array, making it convenient to return to the sect.

Lin Zhao suppressed his cultivation to the late Foundation Establishment stage and is now called Qingfeng Daoren, which is his Foundation Establishment identity.

Flying Swallow True Man or Underworld Daoist are the identities he prepared for Core Formation; having multiple identities won't hurt.

He had several storage bags hanging from his waist, making him look like a true rogue cultivator.

Then they blended into this bustling immortal city.

The streets of the immortal city are wide, lined with shops on both sides, selling all kinds of things—elixirs, magical artifacts, talismans, array plates, spirit beasts, and spirit plants.

They even sell third-tier spiritual items, though the prices are high, there aren't many restrictions.

However, ordinary third-tier spirit items are not very helpful to him now; they are only useful if there are many of them.

However, obtaining that number of third-tier spiritual items is not easy, and Lin Zhao does not believe that he currently has the ability to shake the structure of the Immortal City.

He watched several matches between Foundation Establishment prodigies near the Immortal City.

The arena was set up on a suspended stone platform between two spiritual peaks. With the spiritual light shield erected, the surrounding hillsides were crowded with spectators.

The two fighters were ruthless, their magic clashing and causing the protective barrier to buzz, while cheers erupted from all around.

Lin Zhao mingled in the crowd, joining in the cheers and applause, watching with great interest.

Later, they encountered a battle at the Core Formation level, supposedly to win the favor of a Nascent Soul woman.

Both of them were top-grade Golden Core cultivators who had formed their cores within a century, comparable to true disciples of a sect, and considered geniuses that were rare to find even once in a century in Nine Spirits Immortal City.

The fight was indeed spectacular.

Clashes of magical domains, exchanges of magical artifacts, bombardments of spells, and close-quarters combat—one thing after another.

This even includes various verbal battles.

They fought for a full hour without a clear winner.

He was watching the show from below, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Although there was an element of acting involved, the two of them still possess considerable talent.

From the perspective of the Azure Lotus clone, it is estimated that it can withstand about ten of his moves.

Later, he also attended the birthday banquet of a 500-year-old veteran who had reached the Core Formation stage, under the identity of Qingfeng Daoren.

Speaking of the old man Qingfeng Fangzhu, his methods are quite extraordinary. Without joining a major power, he was able to reach the lifespan limit of three hundred years of Foundation Establishment.

From his current perspective, even sect disciples would have to put in a lot of effort to reach this limit of lifespan.

I don't know if he has formed his core yet. He probably hasn't, since the resources for forming cores in the Yunxia Mountains are monopolized by the three major resources.

The banquet for the veteran Core Formation cultivator was extremely lively, with various factions coming to offer their congratulations. The hall was filled with clinking glasses and guests.

But Lin Zhao could still see an unconcealable sorrow in the old Core Formation cultivator's occasional pauses in his smile.

He doesn't have much time left to live.

This birthday banquet was probably the last thing he could do for his sect—to hand over his connections, resources, and spiritual peaks to a young Core Formation cultivator.

The changing of the guard has always been the same.

Lin Zhao picked up his wine glass, stepped forward, and clinked glasses with the old Core Formation cultivator.

He swallowed the wine, said nothing, simply lowered his head slightly, and turned to leave.

He traveled for three months and covered most of the Nine Spirits Mountain Range.

He was thinking that if he hadn't joined the sect back then, he might have chosen to cultivate and settle down here.

This place is indeed comfortable for cultivating immortality, provided you have enough strength. Without strength, it's the same anywhere.