Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

The smile on Qinglan Zhenjun's lips remained frozen for a while before he managed to recover.

"Of course...of course, Fellow Daoist Lin is doing things for True Lord Qingyuan, so we should do our part in gratitude."

Left with no other choice, the four of them took out a jade slip from their storage bags, containing a total of four wood-attribute Nascent Soul inheritances.

Each path encompasses everything—cultivation techniques, secret arts, supernatural powers, weapon crafting, and pill formulas—providing a complete inheritance that allows one to cultivate from Qi Refining all the way to the Nascent Soul stage.

These things, if placed in a celestial city outside, would be worth at least several fourth-tier spiritual items.

In other words, Qinglan Immortal City has a deep enough financial foundation.

It took thousands of years of accumulation, plus the fact that cultivators would offer their inheritance as payment when seeking medical treatment and medicine, to be able to afford it.

While it won't cause serious injury, it's definitely not an easy task either.

There's no way around it; when you make a mistake, you always have to pay the price.

Lin Zhao carefully put away the four jade slips one by one, his expression remaining unchanged.

He had originally planned to settle the matter with a fourth-tier inheritance, but upon returning this time, he saw the Immortal City so prosperous, with the once-in-a-century auction in full swing.

He was genuinely happy for the Immortal City, so he asked for a few more inheritances.

----

Half an hour later, he walked out of the city lord's mansion.

The auction was still going on, with lanterns and colorful banners adorning the city, making it as lively as ever. However, the mindset of the city's leaders was probably quite different from what it had been a few days ago.

Lin Zhao stood under the tree and looked up at the ancient Qinglan tree above him.

This mission was truly full of twists and turns—Qingwu Zhenjun was decisive; although there were some minor hiccups, he didn't make things difficult for him regarding the fourth-tier spiritual item, and gave it to him without hesitation.

Upon arriving in Qinglan Immortal City, having grown accustomed to being asked for favors, they assumed they had a lot of influence and connections and thought they could negotiate a lower price.

Two years have passed, and we've lost both our wife and our army—we couldn't keep the fourth-tier spiritual artifact, and we even had to give up four Nascent Soul inheritances. I heard we also had to give up a Nether Moon Spirit Pearl to appease the Nether Bone Domain.

Lin Zhao herself also reaped considerable benefits.

A third-tier top-grade Heavenly Treasure Jade Talisman, one hundred third-tier Nether Soul Crystals, and four complete Nascent Soul level inheritances.

The combined value of these items is equivalent to several fourth-tier treasures.

Of course, he knew perfectly well that he hadn't obtained these things through his own abilities, but rather by leveraging the influence of True Monarch Qingyuan and the power of the sect.

It was only obtained through a joint coup by sixteen Nascent Soul level beings from the Nether Bone Domain.

In the outside world, getting any of these items would require countless bloodshed and fierce competition.

-----

Lin Zhao did not linger in the Immortal City. After all, he carried four Nascent Soul inheritances and a piece of Azure Mist Wood. Even in the Immortal City, there was no guarantee that no one would try to harm him.

His mission was complete, and there was no need for him to stay here any longer.

The white light of the teleportation array engulfed his figure. Lin Zhao returned to Ziyang Immortal City through the teleportation array of Qinglan Immortal City, and then he returned to his sect.

When the Five Sacred Mountains clones returned to Tianxing Peak, it was morning.

From afar, one could see the three-tiered jade tree with green patterns above the cave entrance, gleaming with a warm glow in the morning light.

He raised his hand and took out two fourth-tier spiritual items from his storage bag.

The Azure Wood given by True Monarch Qingwu, the Azure Mist Wood of Azure Mist Immortal City, two fourth-order spiritual objects floated side by side in front of me, their azure spiritual light reflecting off each other, dyeing the area outside the cave a warm and gentle azure color.

The two spiritual trees had extremely similar auras, and even their spiritual power had a subtle resonance, as if they were in harmony.

Lin Zhao had previously planned to keep the two spiritual items in his possession for a few years to study them before handing them over to the mission.

But he gained too many benefits from this mission, and every single one of these gains was thanks to the prestige of True Lord Qingyuan.

He had roughly memorized those four inheritances. With these inheritances as a foundation, there was no major obstacle to creating the Azure Sun Reversal Technique; all that was lacking was time.

He took out his sect token, preparing to send a message to True Monarch Qingyuan, requesting a meeting.

Before the message could be sent, a voice suddenly came from the side.

"It's rare that you have this kind thought."

Lin Zhao suddenly turned her head. Qingyuan Zhenjun had been standing not far away at some point.

Dressed in an ordinary blue robe, standing casually with his hands tucked into his sleeves, he was looking up at the blue-patterned jade tree on the rock wall. No one knew how he got there.

Lin Zhao quickly put away the token and bowed in greeting.

Qingyuan Zhenjun waved his hand, turned around, and his gaze fell on the two spiritual woods in Lin Zhao's hand.

Lin Zhao understood and took out four fourth-tier inheritance jade slips, along with Qingwu Wood and Qinglan Wood, and presented them with both hands.

Qingyuan Zhenjun didn't even glance at the few jade slips of inheritance; he simply waved them casually.

The Azure Wood and Azure Mist flew up from their hands, hovering side by side in the air, their azure-green spiritual light shining brightly, reflecting each other in the morning light.

With great interest, he asked, "Tell me, what are your thoughts on these two fourth-tier spiritual items?"

If you answer correctly, you can have it; if you answer incorrectly, you can lose it.

Lin Zhao glanced at the two spirit trees; he had already guessed this before returning to the sect.

He spoke calmly, "True Lord, if I'm not mistaken, these two spiritual trees share the same origin—they both originated from the sect's Azure Jade Tree."

A hint of regret appeared on Qingyuan Zhenjun's face. He sighed and said, "I was originally looking forward to seeing your expression when you completed the mission but received no reward."

What a pity.

Lin Zhao was both amused and exasperated.

Qingyuan Zhenjun has this kind of personality; his cultivation is unfathomable, yet he enjoys teasing these juniors.

Qingyuan Zhenjun raised his hand and clenched it.

The Azure Wood and Azure Mist Wood simultaneously emitted a blue light, and the two beams of light intertwined and merged in the air.

The whole process was quiet and orderly, and soon a brand-new piece of ancient jade wood floated in the air.

A fourth-tier spiritual object, made of azure-patterned jade wood.

Its texture is exactly the same as that of the third-tier green jade tree outside the cave, only more complex and profound - each texture is like a naturally formed array pattern, spreading outward from the core of the wood, and you can vaguely see traces of some kind of rule.

Within the sect, second- and third-tier Azure Jade Trees are not uncommon.

But Lin Zhao had never seen a fourth-tier one.

As soon as the Azure Jade Wood appeared, the spiritual energy within a radius of hundreds of miles began to circulate on its own.

Without the guidance of an array or the control of a cultivator, the spiritual energy is stirred as if by an invisible hand, slowly rotating around the azure jade wood, forming a natural spiritual energy cycle.

The ground trembled slightly, and the spiritual energy flowing in the spiritual vein changed direction, converging towards the Azure Jade Wood.

Lin Zhao's eyes narrowed slightly.

It requires no cultivators to command it, nor any formations to assist it; a spiritual object can form its own dojo.

This thing is beyond his understanding of fourth-tier spiritual objects.

"Once this Azure Jade Wood is planted, it will grow into a fourth-tier Azure Jade Tree."

This training ground can also cleanse the marrow and prolong life. With this piece of azure jade wood, condensing spiritual veins, establishing a sect, or even building a celestial city would be a piece of cake.