Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

At night, Lin Zhao lay on his long-unused bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

He unusually refrained from meditation, letting his thoughts wander: Wind Spirit Canyon, the wilderness, the wolf king's ferocious fangs, the final burial site, and the faces of his teammates.

Before he knew it, he had drifted off to sleep.

A faint spiritual light gradually emanated from his body, rising and falling gently with his breath.

Lin Zhao did not enter the state of "unity of heaven and man" again during cultivation.

The spiritual energy within the body circulated on its own, beginning to heal the damage to the body.

In the morning, Lin Zhao woke up feeling refreshed, all the fatigue from the days of battle gone.

To his even greater surprise, ripples spread across his sea of ​​consciousness, and the range of his divine sense perception doubled compared to before, indicating that he had broken through the eighth level of Qi Refining.

As Lin Zhao stepped into the familiar private room on the third floor of the Tea House, all eyes immediately fell on him. "I knew it, he'd be the last one again!"

Cheng Jin slapped the table with a smile. He was wearing a moon-white long robe today, which made him look neat and tidy.

Lin Zhao touched his nose sheepishly and sat down next to Chu Xin.

Today, she wore her hair in a high ponytail, a rare sight for her. The Ice Soul Sword was held horizontally in front of her knees, and the cold mist condensing on the scabbard was lighter than usual.

Lin Zhao glanced at everyone present and noticed that one person was missing, so he asked, "Isn't Pharmacist Chen here?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Jin put down his teacup and explained, "Aside from hunting demons, Pharmacist Chen basically doesn't attend any gatherings."

He paused, a hint of emotion on his face. "She is a disciple of the Hundred Herbs Sect. The captain went to great lengths to invite her here."

"The Hundred Herbs Sect?" Lin Zhao was startled.

Although there are disciples from sects in Qingfeng Market, those people are always arrogant and look down on others. They are from a completely different world and rarely have any interaction with them.

He couldn't help but wonder how the captain had managed to invite him over.

"Same as always." Gao Yuan opened the storage bag and placed it on the rosewood table. The bag was slightly tilted, and spirit stones rolled out, reflecting a dazzling light in the morning light.

"A total of six hundred and forty spirit stones." Gao Yuan's fingertips shimmered with spiritual light, and the spirit stones automatically split into seven piles. "Ninety stones for each person. There are also some broken wolf pelts, wolf teeth, and spirit plants left over, all of which are low-grade first-tier items. Their value is too low, and the inner workshop shops will not accept them."

The only way is to set up a stall to exchange spirit fragments and sell them slowly. A spirit fragment can be exchanged for about twenty spirit stones. The brother in charge of setting up the stall gets half, and the rest goes towards the team's expenses.

Gao Yuan looked at everyone and saw that no one spoke. Everyone knew that setting up a stall was a time-consuming and laborious job.

"Li Hao will still be in charge," Li Hao nodded emphatically in response.

Besides his strength, Li Hao had no other skills to make a living. Although setting up a stall was time-consuming, it was a stable source of spirit stones for him.

After the spirit stones were distributed, the atmosphere immediately became lively.

Lin Zhao remembered a question that had been bothering him for a long time and asked, "Brother Gao, I read in the book before that there are beings in Qi Refining that surpass the ninth level of Qi Refining. You mentioned before that Commander-level demonic beasts are also like that. Could you explain in more detail, Brother Gao?"

"Not bad." Gao Yuan nodded, his expression becoming more serious. "The ninth level of Qi Refining is not the end of the Qi Refining stage. For ordinary cultivators, the ninth level of Qi Refining is the limit, but the success rate of using it to build a foundation is less than one in a hundred."

Therefore, the great predecessors deduced that the tenth level of Qi Refining was specifically a foundation for Foundation Building.

"If one cannot reach the tenth level of Qi Refining, even with Foundation Establishment Pills, it is almost impossible to successfully establish one's foundation."

Seeing that everyone was holding their breath, Gao Yuan pondered for a moment and then said, "Let me put it more bluntly."

Assuming you have reached the first level of Qi cultivation, the amount of magical power in your Qi Sea is 'one strand'.

After that, with each advancement to the next level, the total amount of magical power doubles.

So, reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining would require 256 strands of magical power. Sounds like a lot, right?

He abruptly changed the subject, extending a finger and scanning the astonished faces of the crowd: "But do you know how much magical power is needed to establish a foundation?"

He paused deliberately before slowly uttering three words: "Ten thousand paths."

A collective gasp filled the room.

"A difference of nearly forty times!" Gao Yuan's voice suddenly rose. "This is not just the accumulation of power from cultivation techniques!"

More importantly, how do you, on your own, precisely control forty times your own magical power to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm?

The slightest mistake could result in a backlash of magical power, leading to death and the destruction of one's soul! That's why the tenth level of Qi Refining exists.

He sighed: "As for how to enter this realm, only those forces that have produced Foundation Establishment cultivators have the information, and it's all top secret."

These individuals are firmly controlled by the clan heads, and precisely because of this, their strength far surpasses that of ordinary cultivators.

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent, with only heavy breathing remaining.

The difficulty of foundation building weighs heavily on everyone's hearts like a tangible mountain.

"Alright, knowing too much about some things can only cloud one's mind." Gao Yuan waved his hand, dispelling some of the gloom. "Right now, the most important thing is to be down-to-earth and raise our cultivation to the ninth level of Qi Refining."

The team will then take a month off.

"At the beginning of next month, we'll meet at the same place, the Po Jun garrison, to discuss the next operation."

Everyone nodded in agreement. After fighting continuously in the mountains, their minds were constantly on edge, and they definitely needed time to digest what they had gained and calm their minds.

It was nearly noon when we left the Tea House.

Lin Zhao walked alone through the bustling streets of the market, feeling the noise around him, a stark contrast to the days of fighting in the mountains.

Half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Zhao went out with the demon-hunting team three more times, including one time when they encountered a raid on their cultivators. The team members successfully killed the raiders.

He also accumulated combat experience with cultivators, and his cultivation level improved to the mid-stage of the sixth level of Qi Refining.

Since returning from his first demon hunt, he has entered the "unity of heaven and man" state more and more often. The drug resistance side effects he had previously experienced from taking pills have gradually disappeared in the "unity of heaven and man" state, allowing him to take the Gathering Yuan Pill again, and his cultivation speed has increased once more.

Lin Zhao was still exploring what secrets this state held.

He feels that his cultivation level is now not far from the late stage of the sixth level of Qi Refining.

His divine sense had reached the peak of the eighth level of Qi Refining, capable of covering an area of ​​over two hundred meters in radius.

I feel like I'm just one step away from mastering Kendo.

During their time resting in the market, Lin Zhao would sometimes come over to help Li Hao.

He learned a little about the Dayun Dynasty and was quite interested in this secular dynasty.

That day, Lin Zhao was arranging goods in front of his stall.

"Brother Lin, is Brother Li Hao not here today?"

A timid voice came from the side. Lin Zhao turned his head and saw three boys, about ten years old, standing next to his stall. Their clothes were not of bad quality, but they were obviously old adult clothes that had been altered to fit smaller sizes. The cuffs and trouser legs were rolled up several times, making them look rather mismatched.

Lin Zhao had met them a few times, but he was just beginning to master swordsmanship, and the invisible, sharp sword energy around him was not yet fully contained, so they never dared to get too close to him.

If I hadn't been in a hurry to find Li Hao, I probably wouldn't have mustered up the courage to go up and talk to him.