Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

A few days later, Fang Yue's injuries were finally treated, his spiritual power could start to work, and his wounds began to heal quickly.

However, his cultivation was completely destroyed, and his golden core vanished entirely.

The only good news is that the origin is intact—although the foundation of the Dao has collapsed, the source of life is still there and can be rebuilt.

Lin Zhao withdrew her spiritual power and closed her eyes to meditate for a while.

Half a day later, Xu Chuan brought over a cup of spiritual tea.

Lin Zhao took a sip and the two chatted while waiting for Fang Yue to wake up.

People from the Heavenly Mystery Hall in the middle also came once.

The one who arrived was a Core Formation cultivator, wearing a gray robe with the Bagua pattern of the Heavenly Mystery Hall embroidered on the cuffs.

He said that Fang Yue was nominally a member of the Law Enforcement Hall, but in reality, he was a member of the Heavenly Mystery Hall, and the Heavenly Mystery Hall wanted to take him back for treatment.

Lin Zhao stood at the entrance of the cave, showing no intention of making way.

He said Fang Yue needed to rest and recuperate, so she would stay with him for the time being.

The people from the Heavenly Mystery Hall glanced at Lin Zhao, then at the cave behind him, and finally turned and left.

A month later, Fang Yue woke up.

When he came out of the quiet room, he had white hair, but his face was unchanged, still the same as before.

Although his cultivation was completely lost, his essence, energy, and spirit remained.

He sat down at the stone table, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip.

After the three sat down, Lin Zhao learned the whole story.

Fang Yue's Core Formation was somewhat sudden. He felt it coming and broke through directly, which was a risky gamble for him.

He won his gamble, and he lost it.

The gamble paid off because the superior-grade golden core was formed—it was perfectly formed before the spiritual energy was exhausted.

The loser's bet resulted in the loss of all spiritual energy, which was used to form the core, leaving no energy left to defend against the heavenly lightning.

The superior-grade Golden Core was shattered head-on by the heavenly lightning, its Dao foundation collapsed, and its spiritual body was destroyed.

But he had prepared for it beforehand, or rather, he had anticipated that it would be difficult to achieve a high-grade golden elixir.

He had prepared a third-tier Heavenly True Water as a safety net, enough to rebuild his Dao foundation.

Although rebuilding will take a considerable amount of time, by the time he truly regains his high-grade Golden Core, he will definitely be over a hundred years old.

For now, I am not destined to become a disciple of the sect. I will need to complete a mission in the future to obtain the qualification.

But he doesn't regret it.

Although there were some temporary difficulties, the most difficult hurdle has been overcome.

Having gained experience in achieving a superior-grade Golden Elixir, it will no longer be difficult for him to re-form the elixir and overcome the Heavenly Tribulation in the future.

Before leaving, he also revealed a piece of information.

His master, True Man Kongming, has already successfully formed his Nascent Soul in the outside world and should now be called True Lord Kongming.

With the return of True Lord Kongming, there is no need to worry about his future path.

After saying that, he left with the people from the Heavenly Mystery Hall.

Xu Chuan sat on the stone bench, watching Fang Yue's departing figure, and remained silent for a long while.

He was somewhat envious of them.

He comes from a Core Formation family and has several Core Formation elders, making him quite influential among Foundation Establishment cultivators.

But they can't compare to his friends.

Fang Yue failed to form his Golden Core, but this misfortune turned into a blessing in disguise. He has a good chance of forming a high-grade Golden Core, and his Nascent Soul master is about to return. His path to rebuilding his cultivation will surely be smooth sailing.

Yan Chiheng's talent was higher than his, and he was also in seclusion to form his core. Most importantly, Yan Chiheng was a lightning cultivator, so the damage from heavenly lightning to him was much less than that to ordinary cultivators.

As long as he is careful, the heavenly lightning cannot truly damage him. Although a high-grade golden core is difficult to obtain, a mid-grade one is guaranteed at the very least.

As for Lin Zhao, there's no need to say more.

He became a true disciple of the sect before even forming his core, and was in charge of a single peak. After forming his core, his strength was comparable to that of a peak Core Formation cultivator.

It's even said that many Nascent Soul True Monarchs have passed down the message that one should not offend him.

Lin Zhao holds an extremely high position in the sect and is now a truly important figure.

He himself had only just advanced to the peak of Foundation Establishment.

Of the four in the early years, he had the least talent. At first, he could keep up with the resources brought by his family background, but now he is falling further and further behind.

His master was just an ordinary Core Formation cultivator, and he was merely a nominal disciple—even the master-disciple relationship was just a transaction.

He was still trapped in the Qiankun Palace and could not easily go out.

In terms of cultivation, he has virtually no chance of obtaining a high-grade Golden Core.

Lin Zhao could see the low spirits in his heart.

He couldn't offer much help with cultivation—everyone's path and talent are different, and you can't force them to improve.

But he had some solutions for the Qiankun Palace matter.

He took out a letter and handed it to Xu Chuan; the envelope bore his divine imprint.

Xu Chuan took the letter with a puzzled look, opened it, and read...

The content was very polite and the wording was very appropriate, but the core message was the same: to get Xu Chuan out of the Qiankun Palace.

Xu Chuan was silent for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Is it feasible?"

In his memory, the Qiankun Palace was like the heavens.

My fellow disciples and elders are all circling around in the Qiankun Palace system.

Leaving the Qiankun Palace was tantamount to leaving his entire world of the past hundred years.

Lin Zhao nodded. After becoming a secret disciple, he had already belonged to the Dao Inquiry Hall.

The Hall of Inquiry and the Hall of Heaven and Earth are equal institutions within the sect.

Even the noble and prestigious Temple of the Dao, whose status was subtly superior.

Xu Chuan was, after all, only a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Given Lin Zhao's current status within the sect...

As long as you don't directly interfere in the core affairs of the Qiankun Palace's secret realm, asking them for a Foundation Establishment cultivator shouldn't be a problem.

The Qiankun Palace wouldn't embarrass him over such a trivial matter.

Lin Zhao went on to say that he had connections with both the Hall of Inquiry and the Hall of Law Enforcement.

If Xu Chuan leaves the Qiankun Palace, he can directly transfer to the Law Enforcement Hall or the Inquiry Hall.

But the two paths are different—the Enforcement Hall requires you to fight on your own, the missions are dangerous, and resources come faster;

Although the Dao Asking Hall holds a high position and has access to the most core inheritances of the sect, it does not have as many daily cultivation resources as the Qiankun Hall.

He told Xu Chuan to think it over himself.

Xu Chuan nodded. He didn't reply immediately, but simply put the letter away.

He has been in the Qiankun Palace for nearly a hundred years and has become accustomed to life there. He cannot be dismissed with just a few words.

Xu Chuan temporarily settled down at Tianxing Peak.

In the days that followed, he followed Lin Zhao in cultivation and asked him questions about advancing to the Core Formation stage.

With Lin Zhao's current knowledge and abilities, she is fully qualified to be his teacher.

If Xu Chuan can successfully achieve a high-grade Golden Core, the gap between him and Fang Yue and the others will narrow.

If he could become a true disciple of the sect, he would be free to go wherever he wanted, no longer confined to the Qiankun Palace.

Lin Zhao, however, could see clearly that Xu Chuan did not have much of a chance of achieving a high-grade Golden Core.

It's not just a lack of talent, but also a lack of temperament.

Xu Chuan has been confined to the Qiankun Palace for many years and has experienced too little. It will be very difficult for him to pass the hurdle of forming his core.

Moreover, he lacks the spiritual power control and spiritual consciousness strength required for a high-grade Golden Core.

But Lin Zhao didn't say it out loud.

Some paths you only learn by walking them yourself.

For the next period of time, Xu Chuan received Lin Zhao's guidance while repeatedly considering leaving the Qiankun Palace, but he hesitated to make a decision.

Lin Zhao didn't urge him.

When he had free time, he asked Xu Chuan to help him gather intelligence about the Tongming Domain.

As for why it was Tongming Domain, there was no other reason than the fact that the Nascent Soul cultivators there had piqued his interest.

Who told them to make such a big fuss?

They're just unlucky.