Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

"You can give it a try."

Qinglan Zhenjun looked at Xuanjing Zhenjun, who had just spoken, and said, "I remember you have a Nascent Soul old friend in Cangming Sect who is a descendant of Beichen Zhenjun."

Ask him for help and see if he can substitute it with other fourth-tier spiritual items; you can even negotiate to exchange two for one.

Xuanjing Zhenjun nodded. The Beichen Zhenjun lineage held a high position in the Cangming Sect. If they were willing to help mediate, it might be possible to persuade Qingyuan Zhenjun to agree.

Qinglan Zhenjun paused for a moment, then said, "Whether the talks can be successful is another matter."

He changed the subject and returned to the current situation, "Right now, let's decide one thing: how to deal with this secret disciple named Lin Zhao."

The atmosphere inside the hall eased somewhat.

The short, stout Nascent Soul cultivator leaned back in his chair, his tone much more relaxed: "Delay it. Anyway, the letter didn't specify a deadline. It's not like we're refusing to give it to you; we're just going through the motions. It's the rule in Immortal City that everyone has to wait in line."

"If we drag it out for a year or two, until he can't wait any longer, things will naturally change."

The gray-haired Nascent Soul added, a cryptic smile playing on his lips, "Also, find a way to get him to stay in the Nether Bone Domain for a while."

Hell bone domain.

These three words caused the air in the hall to freeze slightly.

That was a vast region near Qinglan Immortal City, spanning over 100,000 miles, and belonged to the ghost cultivators.

In order to survive, countless cultivators whose lifespans were nearing their end turned to the path of ghosts and sought ghost cultivation inheritances in the Nether Bone Domain.

Some succeeded, but many more were corrupted by Yin energy during the transformation process, turning into mindless ghosts who were forever trapped and wandering in the Netherworld.

In the core area of ​​the Nether Bone Domain, there are more than twenty Nascent Soul Ghost Kings, and even Nascent Soul True Monarchs dare not venture too far in.

"Give him a map of the core area."

The short, stout Nascent Soul cultivator understood immediately, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. "The Nether Soul Crystals produced in the Nether Bone Domain are treasures for enhancing divine sense. The Immortal City can release news recently that a third-tier alchemist is willing to use Nether Soul Crystals to refine a third-tier top-grade pill that enhances divine sense."

When a large number of cultivators flood into the Netherbone Domain, Lin Zhao will naturally be tempted.

He was a secret disciple of a sect and possessed many hidden strengths; it was unlikely he would die in the Netherbone Domain.

But a little hardship and humiliation inside will be enough. When he comes out looking disheveled, he won't have the nerve to chase us for our debts.

True Monarch Qinglan nodded slightly.

That's considered an implicit agreement.

His gaze shifted to the gray-haired, white-bearded Nascent Soul cultivator, and his tone softened: "This letter was delivered by the Wen family. I recall that the Wen family is affiliated with one of your disciples, right?"

The Nascent Soul cultivator's expression immediately turned ugly.

He could certainly understand the meaning behind Qinglan Zhenjun's words—if the Wen family hadn't been so meddlesome in delivering the letter, they could have pretended not to know about it for the time being.

Although he knew this was misplaced anger, the Wen family was unaware of the letter's contents.

But he is a Nascent Soul True Lord, so he can take his anger out on others without needing a reason.

Qinglan Zhenjun said calmly, "You handle it yourself."

The Nascent Soul cultivator nodded heavily.

After a few days,

The Wen family was completely eradicated—the charges were colluding with foreign enemies and plotting rebellion.

The Wen family was able to thrive in the Immortal City system because of their connection with that Nascent Soul disciple.

Now that the Nascent Soul cultivator is personally taking action to clean up the family's mess, the Wen family doesn't even have time to react.

All members of the clan who had reached the Core Formation or Foundation Establishment stages had their cultivation crippled, and all Qi Refining cultivators were captured and imprisoned.

The ancestral land was also seized, and the resources accumulated over a century were confiscated overnight.

That wasn't enough; several Core Formation factions that had dealings with the Wen family were also implicated and all were purged.

The news was widely publicized throughout the Immortal City, and notice boards in the market listed more than a dozen crimes committed by the Wen family, all of which were capital offenses.

It has a sense of making an example of someone to warn others.

The patriarch of the Shen family sat in his study and drank several cups of tea before he could recover.

The Wen family's actions were personally orchestrated by the very Nascent Soul True Monarch they were trying to curry favor with—this means that the letter Lin Zhao handed over not only reached True Monarch Qinglan but also caused a stir at the Nascent Soul level.

The Wen family was wiped out simply for delivering a letter. If the Shen family's role in this matter is found out, their fate will definitely not be any better than the Wen family's.

He worked through the night to erase all traces of his previous activities, but his worries were somewhat unnecessary.

Qinglan Immortal City had actually discovered clues about the Shen family's activities long ago, but out of respect for Lin Zhao, they ultimately did not take action against the Shen family.

A few days later, a top-tier third-level alchemist in the city spread the word that he could use ordinary ghost crystals to refine top-tier third-level pills that could enhance divine sense.

The news spread like wildfire throughout the Immortal City, and a large number of cultivators began to flock to the Nether Bone Domain. Some were rogue cultivators who wanted to try their luck by hunting ghost cultivators and making a fortune, some were old cultivators whose lifespans were about to end and who wanted to find the inheritance of ghost cultivators, and some were simply there to join in the fun.

That same evening, the Shen family also unexpectedly received an ancestral map of the core area of ​​the Nether Bone Domain. They didn't know who had placed it in the study.

It looks like it was passed down from our ancestors.

The next morning, the patriarch of the Shen family came to find Lin Zhao with this map in hand, his smile more like a grimace.

Having lived to this age, he dared not refuse to accept it, nor dared he fail to pass it on.

Lin Zhao took the map, unfolded it, and looked at it once.

The map was drawn with great detail, marking the distribution of ghost kings in the core area of ​​the Nether Bone Domain, safe routes, and even several locations marked as "suspected to have the inheritance of a Core Formation ghost cultivator".

Based on the information gathered earlier, Lin Zhao naturally knew who had sent the map and why.

However, Qinglan Immortal City is currently beyond our reach. It would be better to first check out the Yougu Domain, and then set aside the Immortal City for now and observe the situation.

Furthermore, he was quite interested in Ghost Crystals. If he could obtain some Ghost Crystals, he could raise his divine sense to the peak of the Core Formation stage.

He might even have the opportunity to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, where his consciousness takes form, which would be a huge boost to his strength.

Lin Zhao put away the map and set off for the Nether Bone Domain.

But the direction was chosen by himself, and it wasn't the same location marked on the map.

It's not just Qinglan Immortal City that has maps of the Nether Bone Domain; sects also have them.

As for how the sect's map came about—that's a good question.

While there's a possibility of failure for a cultivator to transform into a ghost cultivator, and the drawbacks include damage to their intelligence, drastic personality changes, and vulnerability to various magical spells and supernatural powers, the transformation into a ghost cultivator carries significant risks.

However, there is one advantage: one can obtain the maximum lifespan for each realm.

Even among cultivators of sects, not everyone can live to their maximum lifespan.

For example, there is a being called Boundless.

Therefore, the twenty-odd fourth-tier ghost kings in the Nether Bone Domain also had the shadow of Nascent Soul cultivators from sects.

However, the probability of failing to transform into a ghost cultivator is very high, and it will be difficult to advance in the future.

Moreover, once someone switches to the Ghost Path, they are implicitly sidelined by the sect and will no longer participate in the sect's operations unless there are special circumstances.

To put it bluntly, although he is still alive, he is already considered dead.

This is the real reason why the Nether Bone Domain has been able to exist.

Firstly, it provides a temporary resting place for those Nascent Soul cultivators in the outside world whose lifespans are nearing their end but who do not wish to die.

Secondly, there might be some of our own people inside.

If you've worked hard here slaying demons and monsters, only to find out in the end that the person opposite you is one of your own grandmasters—that scene of someone who respects their master would be too embarrassing.

Therefore, as long as these fourth-tier ghost kings do not leave the Nether Bone Domain, the sect will turn a blind eye.