Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

A single rotation consumes almost no spiritual energy.

Three advancements require... five advancements require... seven advancements...

Lin Zhao silently withdrew his divine sense, deciding to put it aside for the time being.

He doesn't even have enough spiritual energy to use right now, so where would he get extra spiritual energy to give to another spirit tree?

We're still poor.

He spent three months nourishing the seed with the spiritual power of his Five Sacred Mountains clones, successfully completing five cycles of growth and decay, and it became a third-tier Azure Sun Jade Tree Spirit Tree.

He moved the original third-tier Azure Jade Tree outside the cave to the left and planted the newly born third-tier Azure Sun Jade Tree on the right.

The two spiritual trees stood side by side. The one on the left was the Azure Jade Tree, a spiritual plant of the sect, whose main function was to condense and regulate spiritual energy.

The newly planted Qingyang Jade Tree on the right can absorb and condense the spiritual energy of the five elements, transforming it into wood-attribute energy with healing properties, and then condensing it into fruit.

Lin Zhao raised his hand and gently touched the Qingyang Jade Tree.

Countless spiritual energies gathered in the tree canopy, with five-colored halos flowing around, eventually forming a fist-sized fruit on a branch.

The peel is green with a hint of gold and emits a faint fragrance.

The third-tier Qingyang Fruit—the fruit that grows after the Qingyang Jade Tree has undergone five transformations—combines the effects of healing injuries, treating the soul, and cleansing the marrow and meridians.

The first level uses Qingyang Fruit to heal injuries, the second level uses it to cleanse the marrow and purify the meridians, and the third level uses it to treat injuries to the spirit and soul.

As for the fourth-tier Azure Sun Fruit, which has the effect of prolonging life, it can only be produced after the Azure Sun Jade Tree has undergone seven transformations.

Alternatively, he could personally use the Azure Sun Rejuvenation Technique to condense a special Azure Sun Fruit, which would allow him to bypass the limitations of the Azure Sun Jade Tree.

After all, he created this thing, and he set the rules. As long as he has enough spiritual power, he can skip many prerequisites.

Lin Zhao can now condense a fifth-tier, third-stage Azure Sun Jade Tree, a special third-stage spiritual object suitable for Core Formation cultivators.

The Qingyang Rejuvenating Fruit is used for treatment; the Qingyang Concentrating Fruit is used to temper and enhance spiritual consciousness; and the Qingyang Gathering Yuan Fruit can absorb and purify external spiritual energy to improve cultivation.

It can even be effective for those who have reached the Core Formation stage, extending their lifespan to eight hundred years, such as the Qingyang Longevity Fruit.

As for the future, a seventh-level, fourth-tier Azure Sun Jade Tree can be completed by adding a fourth-tier spiritual vein.

The eighth level of cultivation can extend the lifespan of a Nascent Soul to the limit of three thousand years, enough to drain the spiritual veins of the entire Boundless Mountain Range.

Lin Zhao has no plans to produce this special spiritual fruit for the time being; there's no need to be overly sensitive about it.

Longevity-extending items will attract a lot of unnecessary trouble.

This is the terrifying aspect of comprehending the power of rules.

It's not about the power of a single technique or method, but rather about mastering the operating principles of a certain force.

Within the limits permitted by the rules, one can directly obtain various spiritual items, and even mass-produce them.

Ordinary cultivators need to find spiritual objects and wait for opportunities.

Those who have grasped the rules can create them themselves simply by consuming spiritual energy. This is not a difference in strength, but a difference in dimension.

If he can comprehend the rules of wood more deeply in the future, it is not impossible for the Azure Sun Jade Tree to reach the ninth level or even higher.

But that's for later.

The two sacred trees stood side by side on the platform, their leaves rustling softly in the mountain breeze.

The two sounds are slightly different—the former is crisper, like jade striking each other; the latter is softer, like water flowing over stones.

Lin Zhao stood under the tree for a while and carefully calculated.

Nearly six years have passed since he embarked on this mission, and including his previous cultivation time, he is almost 110 years old.

Before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, a hundred years seemed like a very long time, but once you actually live past a hundred, you don't really feel the passage of time anymore.

Cultivators have a different concept of time than mortals.

He snapped out of his thoughts, turned around, and went into the cave.

The deduction of the Dharma realm is not yet complete, and we have only just begun to understand the basics of the Five Elements rules. There is still a lot to be done.

-----

Not long after Lin Zhao returned to the sect, he met with Pei Yue, Yan Feng, Qin Tianjun, and Xia Jin at Wanfa Peak.

Pei Yue's cave dwelling is located on the east side of Wanfa Peak, carved out against an 800-zhang-high cliff.

The main hall of the cave was extremely spacious, with its four walls inlaid with solid pieces of obsidian, the surfaces of which were covered with dense array patterns.

In the center of the hall was a long blue stone table, on which was spread a map of the Tongming region.

The map is marked with extremely detailed information about mountains, rivers, celestial cities, markets, and the direction of spiritual veins.

The map contains hundreds of red dots, each representing a Core Formation stage faction. The areas with the highest concentration of red dots are labeled with several names.

They are Tongming Immortal City, Taixu Pavilion, and the ancient kingdom of Loulan.

In the past few years, Pei Yue has done nothing but thoroughly investigate the intelligence of Tongming Domain.

Five people sat around a table.

Pei Yue spent almost half an hour explaining his plan to hunt down Nascent Soul cultivators from beginning to end.

Location, personnel, methods, and backup plans—each item was accompanied by intelligence sources and risk assessments.

The plan is roughly in place, with five people at the core, and more than thirty Core Formation disciples to assist them.

Besides those five fourth-tier magic treasures, Pei Yue would also try to borrow some war magic treasures from the sect to ensure the success of the plan.

But there are still two problems.

Firstly, Pei Yue suggested bringing in Tongming Zhenjun. The King of Loulan and Taixu Zhenjun are allies; hunting down the King of Loulan could very well bring Taixu Zhenjun along as well.

With the True Lord Tongming restraining the True Lord Taixu, the Taixu had been entrenched in the Tongming Domain for many years. For the True Lord Tongming, this thorn in his side had been there for quite some time.

Bringing him into the game requires no cost, only a suitable intermediary.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Zhao recommended Lan Jingchi of the Bihai Chamber of Commerce to Pei Yue.

The Azure Sea Chamber of Commerce was originally a force under the Hundred Arts Immortal Alliance, and there was a certain tacit understanding between it and the disciples of the sect.

In addition, the Bihai Chamber of Commerce has a certain status in Tongming Immortal City, and Lan Jingchi himself is a very capable and shrewd person, so it is most appropriate for him to act as the matchmaker.

If this matter is handled well, it will be a great opportunity for Lan Jingchi—his cultivation has reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, and the significance of this mission is enough for him to exchange for resources to reach Core Formation.

This can be considered as Lin Zhao's way of repaying him for the help he has given her over the years.

Pei Yue noted down Lan Jingchi's contact information and nodded, saying that was enough.

The second problem is more tricky.

Qin Tianjun and Xia Jin do not yet possess fourth-tier magic weapons.

Both of them submitted applications to their respective families, but neither was approved. In other words, fourth-tier magic treasures were more valuable than they had anticipated.

For Lin Zhao and his companions to obtain a fourth-tier magic weapon during their Foundation Establishment stage was essentially a stroke of luck.

Not every Core Formation cultivator has the opportunity to emerge unscathed from a Nascent Soul level secret realm and even obtain a fourth-tier magic weapon.

Not to mention there were several items, and they didn't even need to be handed over to the Nascent Soul True Monarch or the sect.

Normally, it is very difficult for a Core Formation cultivator to obtain a fourth-tier magic weapon. Either they have an extraordinary stroke of luck or they have made great contributions.

Aside from the ten years spent in the Dao Inquiry Hall, the Cangming Sect mostly allowed its disciples to grow up freely.

The rules aren't actually that strict; try switching to another faction.

The Qin family behind Qin Tianjun is in a better position.

Sword cultivator families don't have so many complicated rules; if it works, it works; if it doesn't, it doesn't.

The Qin family offered Qin Tianjun a condition: he could obtain a fourth-tier magic weapon by completing several difficult tasks assigned by the family.

Those tasks were almost impossible for Qin Tianjun to complete with his abilities, but with the help of Pei Yue and the others, there was still a chance.