Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Although the Lingyuan Heavenly Sect was destroyed, it was still a former overlord. Even a centipede with a hundred legs does not die easily.

It is said that they still have a few trump cards that they brought out from the Lingyuan Heavenly Sect back then, which they haven't used up, and even ordinary Nascent Soul Heavenly Lords can't do anything to them.

Even though the current Mitian Alliance doesn't have a Nascent Soul Heavenly Lord in charge, the seven overlords won't allow it; if they do appear, it's a certain death situation.

But for various "special" reasons, they ultimately managed to pass it down.

They also occasionally cause trouble for the Heavenly Law Divine Sect.

Investigating matters like the Mysterious Heaven Alliance, sending ordinary Core Formation cultivators, or even Nascent Soul cultivators, is likely to result in backlash.

The Mystic Alliance controls many special inheritances that can allow people to quickly advance to the Core Formation stage or even the Nascent Soul stage, but at the cost of huge side effects and the possibility of being controlled by the Mystic Alliance.

Only those secret disciples who have the potential to advance to the Nascent Soul stage will not be tempted by these inheritances. With the inheritance of the overlord in hand, they naturally will not care about those incomplete and unorthodox methods.

Moreover, as secret disciples, they are natural enemies of the Mystic Alliance, and even if they surrender, the Mystic Alliance would not dare to accept them.

It's not surprising that Tianhao is so concerned about the Mitian Alliance.

The destruction of the Lingyuan Heavenly Sect was spearheaded by the Tianlu Divine Sect. This cause and effect is the reason why the Tianlu Divine Sect pays the most attention to any movement of the Mitian Alliance.

As for Lin Zhao himself, the Yunhai Cangming Sect was naturally involved in the siege of the Lingyuan Heavenly Sect back then, and now this karma has fallen on him, which he cannot avoid.

It's a pity about the Taixu Lingyuan Heavenly Boat, the strongest foundation of a regional overlord. I wonder if the Heavenly Law Token can be found.

It's probably impossible. Lin Zhao guesses that this secret technique must borrow the power of heaven and earth, and it can probably only be used in this realm. Otherwise, they would have gone to find it long ago.

If only we had a supernatural power that could truly trace back to the past, that would be the strongest foundation of a hegemon, far superior to an ordinary sixth-tier spiritual treasure.

As for the Mysterious Heaven Alliance, Lin Zhao thought about it carefully and realized that he must have come into contact with the Mysterious Heaven Alliance over the years.

The ruins of the Heavenly Wrath more than a decade ago were a trap, when facing that gray-robed Nascent Soul Dharma Body.

He almost lost his Azure Lotus clone there. Although he eventually escaped, he paid a heavy price, his physical body was severely injured.

He took several years to recover after escaping, and although he has recovered now, he still remembers the incident vividly.

From Qi Refining to Core Formation, he had never suffered such a great loss before.

The Misty Heaven Alliance spreads so-called ancient relics everywhere, and that gray-robed Nascent Soul Dharma Body is most likely a member of the Misty Heaven Alliance.

Now that he has the chance to take revenge, he naturally won't let it go.

-----

But Lin Zhao still has one problem.

The Mystic Alliance is no ordinary force; they risk being discovered by the overlord to wreak havoc in the Endless Demon Sea.

What's the point?

Once exposed, facing the purge by the seven overlords is no joke; they wouldn't risk it so much without a significant benefit.

Lin Zhao looked at Tian Hao. Since Tian Hao possessed the secret technique of the Heavenly Law Decree, he should know something.

Tianhao's profile was half-lit and half-shadowed in the dappled light from the coconut palms, and he did not answer immediately.

The sea breeze suddenly stopped for a moment, and even the sound of the waves subsided.

Tianhao slowly said, "Fellow Daoist Lin, this matter may be a bit troublesome. Have you heard of it—"

He paused.

"Hou".

The sea breeze seemed to stop for a moment, and Lin Zhao got up directly from the recliner.

"Excuse me, farewell, don't bother seeing me out."

What a joke.

What is a Hou? — A fierce and ominous creature in mythology, said to have evolved from a drought demon and is the ultimate form of zombie.

It feeds on dragons and is capable of fighting against true immortals.

The "Hou" of the Cangyuan cultivation world

It naturally lacked the world-destroying power of the legends, but it was still extremely terrifying, at least at the level of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

What is his cultivation level now? Mid-stage Core Formation. He must be out of his mind to go looking for trouble with such a being.

Lin Zhao turned and left.

Tianhao quickly grabbed his sleeve and was dragged forward several steps by Lin Zhao.

Tianhao tried his best to persuade him, changing the way he addressed him as "Brother Lin," "Fellow Daoist Lin," and "Brother Qingfeng" several times.

Lin Zhao stopped walking, crossed her arms, and looked at him expressionlessly.

"explain."

Tianhao straightened his disheveled clothes and took a deep breath: "It's not a fully grown Hou. It's just a juvenile, third-tier, equivalent to the peak of Core Formation, and hasn't advanced to Nascent Soul yet."

He quickened his pace to explain, "Although Hou is not tolerated by heaven and earth, it can still be considered a kind of living being. As long as it is a living being, it cannot escape the tribulation of heaven when it advances."

That young Hou had not yet passed the fourth-order Heavenly Tribulation; its cultivation level was still at the third order.

Lin Zhao's posture remained unchanged, as did the expression on her face.

The Hou in this cultivation world is essentially a type of zombie. Extreme yin gives rise to yang, so it is both favored and abandoned by heaven.

He is somewhat similar to Han Wujiu, existing in a state of being neither dead nor alive.

A Hou is not something that just anyone can transform into.

Only those chosen by Heaven and Earth during their lifetime, and not just any chosen ones in the ordinary sense,

Only true secret disciples like Lin Zhao and Tian Hao are qualified to become the predecessors of Hou.

Moreover, having a destiny alone is not enough.

Only when such a chosen one dies amidst deep resentment and anger, and is then favored by Heaven again after death, experiencing the rebirth of Yin and the transformation into the terrifying beast Hou, can one be reborn.

In a past life, this would definitely be a script for the Dragon King's rebirth.

The probability of being favored by fate twice, and by the same person, is extremely low. It requires the right timing, the right place, and the right people; all three are indispensable.

The ferocious beasts conceived under such conditions are truly terrifying.

Even a young Hou has enough fighting power to fight against a Nascent Soul cultivator; an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator might not even be its match.

It is equivalent to a part of the will of Heaven—or rather, an embodiment of the will of Heaven.

Lin Zhao nodded; that was indeed the case.

But it's one thing for the sect, and another for the individual. To him, Hou was still a terrifying existence.

Tianhao noticed his concerns and then offered an explanation.

"The Heavenly Law Divine Sect has dealt with these ferocious beasts countless times over the past tens of thousands of years."

"This thing is essentially the will of heaven's counterattack against the seven overlords—the so-called chosen one is essentially a blade of heaven and earth, specifically designed to overthrow the overlords' power."

"This kind of being is not limited to Hou; there are also Ba, Yayu, Mingshe, Dafeng... a series of ferocious beasts, each with a different way of being born."

"The seven overlords have wiped out many of these beings, and each sect has its own name for them—evil beasts, rebellious beasts, abyssal beasts, calamity beasts, and of course, some are called celestial beasts."

"But this existence has another advantage: if the hegemonic force can capture and seal it, and control it, then it is definitely a Nascent Soul cultivator."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhao finally stopped completely.