Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Lin Zhao stood up, raised his hand, and the Heavenly Dawn Golden Wheel slowly shrank until it was finally absorbed into his body.

The deduction of the rules of gold has come to a temporary end; we've now entered the door.

The most difficult step of going from zero to something has been taken, and what remains is to accumulate experience slowly.

Next is something else.

Pei Yue, that old rascal, has finally finished dealing with matters in Luo Tian Chong Di and returned to the sect.

He is also a top-grade Golden Core cultivator. He had been away from home for a while, but now that he has successfully completed the sect's true discipleship mission, he is about to hold a Golden Core formation banquet.

Many people from Lin Zhao's cohort were invited.

Coincidentally, Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao were also in the sect, so I took them with me.

The Core Formation Banquet is a good occasion to make connections with people from different sects.

Although Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao had already established themselves in the sect, this was the first time they had participated in such a large-scale event for Core Formation level cultivators.

Take them out to see the world and meet some people.

He pushed open the cave door and walked out.

Outside the cave, Lin You stood on the stone steps, holding two robes in her hands, looking left and right, unable to make up her mind.

Ye Xiaoxiao stood behind her, carefully examined her for a moment, and said that the light blue one was more suitable.

After the two finished getting ready, three beams of spiritual light rose from Tianxing Peak and headed towards the banquet.

Pei Yue's true lineage peak is named Wanfa Peak.

Wanfa Peak is much larger than Tianxing Peak, with an extremely open summit; the peak itself has been completely flattened.

It forms a bluestone platform several miles in size, with dozens of stone pillars standing along its edge.

It was extremely lively today.

Hundreds of stone tables were placed on the bluestone platform.

Quite a few people came.

Lin Zhao glanced around—there were at least several hundred people.

There were over thirty Core Formation cultivators, and the rest were mostly Foundation Establishment disciples.

There were also some younger faces in the Qi Refining stage, following behind their elders, looking around curiously.

They are all junior members of their respective families, currently cultivating in the sect as nominal disciples.

Most of the Core Formation cultivators that Lin Zhao knew had come.

Qin Tianjun sat on the east side, with a cup of untouched spirit wine in front of him, while Xia Jin chatted with him casually.

Senior Sister Nianwei, Master Chulan, and Zhong Tiangu are all present.

Jiang Wan and Dongfang Linglong stood together, talking about something. Dongfang Linglong chuckled, while Jiang Wan remained expressionless, though the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.

Even Yan Feng came over. He sat in the corner, his aura had changed, becoming deeper and more reserved.

A young girl followed behind him.

He was at the tenth level of Qi cultivation, standing there quietly with his head bowed and eyes downcast.

It seems to be a master-disciple relationship, but they are currently only nominal disciples and have not formally passed the sect's assessment.

There were many more faces that Lin Zhao couldn't name.

They are all outstanding young talents; there are no fewer than ten of their direct disciples present today alone.

Pei Yue, that old rascal, really has a wide circle of friends.

Many people in the sect give him face.

Lin Zhao's arrival also attracted a lot of attention.

Some people glanced at him while talking in hushed tones, some walked over with wine glasses and then walked around them, and some raised their glasses to him from a distance. Lin Zhao nodded.

Lin Zhao's achievements speak for themselves.

Leaving aside his previous defeat of Qin Tianjun, let's talk about his capture of the Yan family's patriarch and his leadership of the expeditionary force to defeat the Jiexiu Alliance.

It is impossible for anyone to ignore.

At this moment, Lin Zhao was already vaguely worthy of the title of the sect's Core Formation cultivator and the number one among the younger generation.

The sect has produced many prodigies in this generation, each of whom is expected to reach the Nascent Soul stage, making it a golden age that is rare in a thousand years.

Lin Zhao was the most prominent among this generation.

However, he had been in seclusion for many years and was not very clear about these things.

He did not go to the places where Core Formation cultivators were concentrated.

His gaze swept across the banquet table, and he found the person he was looking for.

Xu Chuan, Fang Yue, and Yan Chiheng sat on the west side of the bluestone platform.

A stone table, four stone chairs, and two jars of spirit wine already opened on the table.

Lin Zhao walked over and sat down.

To be honest, after he formed his core, he did have less contact with these people.

It wasn't that he didn't want to contact them; the difference in cultivation level was like an invisible threshold that he simply couldn't cross.

Fang Yue and Yan Chiheng's cultivation has reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, but Core Formation is not an easy step to cross.

Xu Chuan is still in the late stage of Foundation Establishment, a little short of the peak. It will take even longer for him to reach Core Formation.

Although they are all geniuses of the same generation, Core Formation is a huge hurdle.

Although Lin Zhao didn't care, they did, so they proactively reduced their contact with him.

But after all, they were friends of many years, and they had once traveled a long distance to help Lin Zhao. The four of them had also fought side by side.

Some things don't disappear just because of cultivation level.

After a few drinks and a few jokes, he quickly returned to his old self.

Lin You and Ye Xiaoxiao are not here.

The two greeted Lin Zhao and headed towards the younger generation.

It's lively over there, with lots of people, including many of my age.

Yan Chiheng watched the two girls walk away, then turned to look at Lin Zhao.

Suddenly, he slammed his wine glass on the table and said seriously, "Lin Zhao, how about we become in-laws? My son doesn't have a Daoist partner yet, and neither do your niece and disciple. Let them get to know each other."

Lin Zhao rolled her eyes at him. "We'll talk about it when your kid gets into a sect."

He picked up his wine glass and took a sip, his tone carrying an undisguised pride, "These two of my family members entered through the sect's assessment with honor and integrity."

Yan Chiheng choked for a moment, touched his nose, and remained silent.

His son is quite talented, but not yet at the level where he can secure a spot in a sect. Sects are not easy to enter.

Lin Zhao put down his wine glass and added, "Let the young people handle their own affairs. We, as elders, shouldn't interfere."

Xu Chuan leaned back in his chair, swirling the wine glass in his hand, and suddenly sighed, "Speaking of which, it seems like we haven't been in the sect for very long, right? How come we've become seniors in the blink of an eye?"

Fang Yue replied earnestly, "Only old people often reminisce about the past."

It took Xu Chuan a while to realize that this was a roundabout way of saying he was old.

He put down his wine bowl and said feigned anger, "Fang Yue, go to hell."

Before he could finish speaking, Fang Yue lunged at him and grabbed his neck, but Fang Yue's figure blurred and disappeared from the spot, reappearing on the other side of the table.

Yan Chiheng laughed so hard he slapped the table, spilling wine all over it.

The four of them playfully teasing each other attracted a lot of attention, and several Core Formation cultivators cast envious glances at them.

The friendship between fellow disciples from the same sect is the purest.

Most of the friends I made while practicing Qi cultivation couldn't keep up with my level, and they gradually drifted apart and left.

The friends I made after reaching the Core Formation stage were mixed with too many things—positions, factions, ranks, and interests.

It's truly enviable that these people can still maintain their original appearance.

But how long can it last?

Some things have changed after all. Lin Zhao has already formed his core, and their cultivation is no longer keeping up with him.

After several rounds of drinks, the topic eventually circled back to cultivation.

Lin Zhao put down his wine bowl and said casually, "What kind of help do I need to form my core? Ordinary third-tier spiritual items are no big deal to me. I can get them if needed."

All three shook their heads.

They are all geniuses of their sects, and they all possess third-tier spiritual artifacts. Their preparations for Core Formation have been completed long ago.

Forming the Golden Core wasn't particularly difficult for the three of them; the real challenge was achieving a high-grade Golden Core.