Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

The first debt collector was Qingwu Zhenjun.

Two thousand years ago, True Monarch Qingyuan was out for a stroll when he encountered a young cultivator who was still in the Qi Refining stage. He casually lent him a second-tier spiritual wood to help him establish his foundation.

The agreement was simple: if this spirit tree could advance to the fourth rank, he would return a fourth-rank spirit tree.

The spirit tree is now a mid-grade fourth-tier spirit tree, and True Monarch Qingyuan's intention is to bring back a fourth-tier spirit item.

The second one is the Azure Mist Wood from Azure Mist Immortal City, a mid-grade fourth-tier spiritual plant.

Its associated spiritual object, Qinglan Spring, can cleanse the marrow and strengthen the meridians. The tree itself is very likely a longevity-promoting spiritual object, personally guarded by a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Yan Chiheng's home is in Qinglan Immortal City, and Lin Zhao had thought about visiting it sometime in his younger days.

Qingyuan Zhenjun said that this tree was taken from the hands of the previous generations of Qingyuan Zhenjun seven thousand years ago, and with the same agreement, it is now being taken back as a fourth-order spiritual object.

The problem is that there is no IOU, no proof whatsoever, just a so-called verbal promise.

Who knows if they still acknowledge it? It's alright for Qingwu Zhenjun, at least he's still around.

The original Qinglan True Monarch's bones are probably all gone, and the current Qinglan True Monarch is unaware of or even aware of this promise.

Although thousands of years have passed and these two spirit trees are now mid-grade fourth-order spirit trees, separating a fourth-order spirit item would still be a great loss to the spirit trees themselves.

Let alone Lin Zhao, a Core Formation cultivator, even an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator might not be given the same face.

He wanted to find True Lord Qingyuan, but he couldn't even see him.

As for seeking help from a Nascent Soul cultivator in a sect—to put it bluntly, even True Monarch Beichen wouldn't dare disobey True Monarch Qingyuan's orders.

What right do others have to change the task personally assigned by True Lord Qingyuan?

Qingyuan Zhenjun really loves to stir up trouble.

Lin Zhao stood on Tianxing Peak for a while, enjoying the breeze, before making a decision.

Sending the Five Sacred Mountains clones, though the main body is stronger in combat...

However, the main body will never go out until it has completely taken control of the Luo Tian Palace.

I would rather die than go out.

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Lin Zhao decided to go find the first mission target, Qingwu Zhenjun.

Legend has it that there are four Nascent Soul True Monarchs in Qinglan Immortal City, and their internal relationships are intricate and complex. It would be extremely difficult for an outsider to obtain a fourth-tier spiritual item.

Let's try going to see Qingwu Zhenjun first.

Qingwu Zhenjun is on the edge of Yunzhou, but in reality, he has already penetrated far into the desolate region.

The Five Sacred Mountains clones arrived at a celestial city on the edge of Yunzhou via a teleportation array, and then flew deep into the desolate wilderness after leaving Yunzhou.

The Gobi Desert stretches as far as the eye can see, with endless sand dunes.

The flow of spiritual energy was completely erratic; one moment it was a scorching, burning wind, and the next it was a biting, chilling gale.

This wasn't Lin Zhao's first time in the desolate region. It was a place where ordinary cultivators could hardly survive, as spiritual energy was scarce and spiritual veins were chaotic and broken.

Fortunately, the Five Mountains Avatar had no shortage of spiritual power. He transformed into a five-colored beam of light and forcefully broke through the turbulent flow of spiritual power. The five-colored light left a straight trail in the dim yellow sand.

They encountered several ambushes along the way; this place was truly chaotic, with numerous bandits targeting cultivators.

The first time, it was three ordinary Core Formation cultivators. The Tribulation Cultivator attacked without saying a word, deploying his Dharma Domain in conjunction with his magic weapon.

One released poisonous mist, another used a flying sword, and a third used a magic needle to flank from behind.

Lin Zhao didn't even stop his escape light. With a backhand press, the Five Sacred Mountains Divine Rings burst forth, dispelling the poisonous mist, destroying the flying sword, and vanishing the demonic needle.

Wherever the Five Sacred Mountains Divine Ring passed, the domains of the three Tribulation cultivators shattered instantly.

Then three magic-breaking needles flew out, and the three tribulation cultivators instantly fell from the sky, crashing onto the sand dunes and kicking up three clouds of sand.

Later, we encountered several more groups, some of whom were wandering rogue cultivators, and others were long-established forces that had been entrenched in this area for many years.

The strongest among them was at the peak of the Core Formation stage, wielding a high-grade third-tier curved sword magic weapon whose blade light carried a strange corrosive power.

The true form of the hundred-zhang-tall Heavenly Dragon materialized from the five-colored spiritual light, and the Five Prisons Domain spread out, causing the sand dunes within a radius of dozens of miles to sink under the pressure of the Five Elements power.

The cultivator's expression changed drastically, and he turned to run, but unfortunately, he couldn't escape at all. With the Five Prisons Suppression and the Five Elements Extinction Divine Arrow unleashed, even a peak Core Formation cultivator would instantly turn to ashes.

Although the Five Sacred Mountains clones don't have as many magical treasures as the Azure Lotus clones, their combat power is still considerable.

Lin Zhao was able to unleash all the supernatural abilities he had previously comprehended. With the added power of the Five Prisons Suppressing World Heavenly Dragon, his combat strength was in no way inferior to a fourth-tier magic weapon, and the explosive power of the Five Elements Extinction Divine Arrow was even more terrifying.

He also possessed a near-fourth-tier magic weapon, the Fire Spirit Shield.

With the combined power of several powerful supernatural abilities and magical treasures, along with the continuous spiritual energy support from the Gathering Yuan Pearl, few below the Nascent Soul stage could do anything to him.

Unfortunately, he now has to face a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Lin Zhao was still a little apprehensive.

They killed several groups of cultivators along the way, and also searched their storage bags, obtaining a lot of information about the surrounding area.

This desolate area is wider than I imagined. Hundreds of thousands of miles to the west, there is no sign of human habitation, only scattered oases and abandoned mines.

As they approached their destination, Lin Zhao mingled with a caravan of several hundred people.

The caravan consisted mostly of ordinary people, with more than a dozen Qi Refining cultivators and three Foundation Establishment cultivators providing escort.

Although the desolate region is dangerous, there are actually quite a few ordinary people living in it, surviving in the cracks.

They had no choice. Mortals couldn't leave this vast, desolate area. Not to mention mortals, even low-level cultivators like those at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages would find it difficult to get out.

As for Yunzhou, all they knew was that it was a remote paradise, a place where they had heard of endless green mountains and rivers that never ran dry.

But it's too far; they could never get there in several lifetimes.

The average lifespan of ordinary people here is also very short; living to forty is considered a long life.

They were clearly very experienced in navigating the desert.

They can predict sandstorms by observing changes in wind direction and find hidden water sources in identical sand dunes.

Although the route they took was winding and circuitous, it avoided most of the areas where natural disasters and monsters roamed.

This knowledge was acquired by them at the cost of generations of lives in extremely harsh environments.

After avoiding a dangerous spot today, the group found a sheltered boulder and set up camp ahead of time.

A campfire was lit, and everyone sat together around it.

People started talking about the place they were going to next—Qingwu Prefecture.

Qingwu Prefecture is a desert oasis covering thousands of miles.

Two thousand years ago, this place was a barren desert, but because it was located at the intersection of several important roads, it was teeming with bandits and robbers, and human life was worthless.

Later, a True Monarch named Qingwu emerged. He advanced to the Core Formation stage at a young age and single-handedly slaughtered all the cultivators within a radius of tens of thousands of miles. He was a living legend.

Such stories are not uncommon in the vast wilderness. Every few hundred years, a ruthless person will emerge, carve out a niche for themselves, and then either perish or go far away.