Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Old Chen poured himself another cup of tea.

Xie Qing popped a spirit fruit into his mouth and chewed it with a crunching sound.

Lin Zhao glanced at him: "I heard you killed a Tier 3 sea lizard during your patrol the other day?"

"Peak of the early stage of Core Formation, just a little short of the mid-stage of the third rank."

Xie Qing chewed on the fruit, speaking nonchalantly, but the corners of his mouth couldn't be suppressed as he said, "That beast's skin is really thick; it even made a hole in my magic weapon."

He pulled a long sword from his storage bag; there was a noticeable nick in the blade. "I came here today to ask Brother Feiyan for help in repairing it."

Lin Zhao took the knife and glanced at it: "The materials of your magic weapon are too poor. Repairing it won't help. You might as well just get a new one."

"No change."

Xie Qing snatched the knife back, wiped it with his sleeve, and said, "This knife is a family heirloom, passed down from my great-grandfather. I was planning to pass it on to my son."

Lin Zhao withdrew his hand and said, "Your Daoist partner is probably still in the womb of some mother-in-law."

Xie Qing was taken aback, then burst into laughter.

Old Chen also choked, coughed twice, and his beard twitched.

The three of them drank until late at night before parting ways.

Xie Qing and Old Chen walked down the mountain path.

Old Chen said something, and Xie Qing burst into laughter, the sound echoing along the mountain path for quite some time before dissipating.

Lin Zhao stood under the banyan tree and watched them walk away before turning back to his cave.

The cave dwelling is located on a stone wall halfway up the Refining Peak. The door is made of a single piece of bluestone, and after pushing it open, there is a small, quiet room inside.

The quiet room contained only a stone bed, a stone table, and a stone chair.

Lin Zhao sat down on the stone bed and pondered, thinking that his main body should be breaking through soon.

Countless miles away, at the Cloud Sea Cangming Sect, on Tianxing Peak, in the cultivation room.

Lin Zhao sat on the jade platform, the Returning Void Furnace within his body slowly rotating, its mouth emitting countless rays of spiritual light, and the spiritual energy of the spiritual veins continuously flowing into his body after being refined.

Lin Zhao looked down at a jade bottle in his palm.

The bottle contained three pills—Qingyuan Breakthrough Pills, third-tier pills specifically designed for those in the Core Formation stage to break through minor realms.

Three of these can save you three years of cultivation.

The price is also quite steep.

Thirty Cloud Sea Jade Talismans.

Over the years, the Five Mountains clones accumulated eighty tokens one by one by taking on missions within the sect. After several years, along with those they had saved up before, they finally managed to collect eighty tokens again.

Lin Zhao felt a pang of heartache at losing thirty coins at once.

This is a classic example of trading resources for time.

Many Core Formation cultivators wouldn't exchange their cultivation points like that; they couldn't afford it. They'd rather spend several years slowly breaking through.

Thirty Cloud Sea Jade Talismans would take at least several decades to obtain.

However, Lin Zhao has the Five Sacred Mountains clones, and time is more valuable than jade talismans, so this isn't a bad deal.

Without leaving the sect, he was able to push his cultivation level to the mid-stage of Core Formation.

Given sufficient resources and Lin Zhao's background, he could cultivate all the way to the late stage of Core Formation.

Of course, resources are insufficient.

The Cloud Sea Jade Talisman didn't just fall from the sky; the Five Sacred Mountains Avatars accumulated it over several years, only to have it disappear after exchanging it for a few pills.

Only Lin Zhao could withstand such a rate of money burning.

He stopped thinking about these things, poured out a Qingyuan Breakthrough Pill, tilted his head back, and swallowed it.

The pill melted instantly upon entering the mouth, and a cool medicinal power traveled down the throat, exploding suddenly in the dantian, like a bucket of cold water being poured into boiling oil.

The golden core in his dantian trembled violently, and countless golden rays emanated from his body, illuminating the entire quiet room.

Lin Zhao closed his eyes, activated the Five Elements Returning to the Void True Technique, and guided the medicinal power to converge towards the Golden Core.

One month later, the training room opened.

Lin Zhao emerged, his cultivation successfully breaking through to the mid-stage of Core Formation.

He stood on the summit and looked down. The sea of ​​clouds surged around the mountainside, occasionally revealing a corner of emerald green.

This year, Lin Zhao is ninety years old.

Originally, it was estimated that he would break through to the mid-stage of Core Formation before the age of 100, but now it has been achieved ten years earlier.

In the nearby Treasure Pavilion, Wu Yue's clone sat cross-legged. With the help of the power of the fourth-order spiritual vein within the Gathering Yuan Pearl, he broke through to the mid-stage of Core Formation in just three days.

In the endless sea of ​​demons, countless miles away, the Azure Lotus clone was a little slower.

Inside the cave of the Azure Lotus clone.

Before him were four Danqing Spirit Woods and one Qing Spirit Vine, the five spiritual objects arranged according to the five elements.

The essence of wood was extracted from the spirit creature and absorbed into his body.

The Azure Lotus Sword rested across his lap, its spiritual light flickering with his breath.

It took a full month for the Azure Lotus clone to successfully break through to the mid-stage of Core Formation.

When the Azure Lotus clone completed its breakthrough, the Azure Lotus Sword emitted a clear and melodious sword cry, and all the patterns on its blade lit up.

The sound of swords echoing in the cave lingered for a long time before dissipating.

The Azure Lotus Sword also advanced, becoming a high-grade third-tier magic weapon.

As the natal magic weapon of the Azure Lotus clone, its power in his hands is equivalent to that of a top-grade third-tier magic weapon.

It is enough to pose a huge threat to peak third-tier monsters.

Lin Zhao opened his eyes, looked down at the sword in his hand, and realized that his cultivation had broken through, and his progress in cultivating the three sword techniques was also quite fast.

I have already grasped about 70-80% of the Great Five Elements Sword Technique.

He can freely transform the Five Elements Sword Qi, and he can also use the Five Elements Returning to Origin Sword Formation and the Four Symbols Heavenly Gang Sword Formation.

With the Azure Lotus Sword and sword formation, even peak third-tier demonic beasts are no longer an insurmountable obstacle.

The Blood Fiend and Earth Fiend of the Three Fiends Sword Technique have been formed.

The power of bloodlust comes from the countless demonic beasts hunted in the endless sea of ​​demons over the years. Every demonic beast that died under the Azure Lotus Sword contributed a wisp of bloodlust energy.

The power of the Earthly Fiends was condensed using the earth veins beneath the Refining Peak, and Lin Zhao completed it in just three months.

The only thing that remains unresolved is the power of the Heavenly Fiend.

The power of Heavenly Fiend requires the simultaneous absorption of three forces: wind, thunder, and ice; none of the three can be lacking.

In the Endless Demon Sea, the simultaneous appearance of these three forces can only occur during a massive thunderstorm.

Thunderstorms raged for thousands of miles, and the world was filled with chaotic spiritual energy.

Only in such an extremely chaotic environment can an extremely powerful malevolent aura be briefly condensed, which is the power of celestial malevolence.

The Endless Demon Sea isn't immune to thunderstorms, but this one is far too massive; it disrupts the spiritual energy of the surrounding thousand miles.

If Lin Zhao were to practice this near Moonflower Immortal City, it would be like announcing to everyone that he was cultivating the Three Fiends Sword Technique.

It seems I need to find an opportunity to go out to sea.

As for the Tai Xu Yin Zhen Technique—which utilizes the power of the Heavenly Heart Dharma Wheel—he has indeed mastered this secret technique.

But the effect was indeed lackluster.

The initial enhancement of the sword energy only increased its power by less than 10%.

The Lesser Completion stage, which draws upon external spiritual energy, is not as direct as the Law Domain stage.

As for the Great Completion technique, which summons power from beyond the world, the Azure Lotus clone cannot do that.

He might be able to grasp some of the secrets by using the Heavenly Heart Dharma Wheel on his own side, but that's not something he should be considering for now.

Lin Zhao pushed open the stone door of the cave, and it was early morning outside.

The furnace on the Refining Peak began to spew forth again, enveloping the entire mountain in a dark red halo.

The sounds of cultivators changing shifts and the clanging of magical artifacts being forged could be heard from the foot of the mountain. In the distance, several streaks of light swept across the sea, probably a patrol team.

Lin Zhao stood at the cave entrance for a moment, then stepped down the mountain.

He went to find Old Chen.

I've already come up with a reason—to go out and find materials for refining weapons.

It's perfectly normal for guest elders to go out and find materials for refining weapons.