Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Tianhao shook his head: "I contacted her, but she didn't agree. True Monarch Yuehua came to the Endless Demon Sea, probably because she accepted a mission from the Hundred Arts Immortal Alliance."

But her stance was clear: she would not participate.

Tianhao didn't mince words and spoke very frankly: "The Hundred Arts Immortal Alliance has always been weak. Among the seven overlords, the Hundred Arts Immortal Alliance ranks last in combat power."

They receive almost no decent benefits from the collective actions of the hegemon.

True Lord Yuehua has a shallow foundation in the Hundred Arts Immortal Alliance. He has achieved his current success entirely through his own hard work. Such a person knows very well when to exert effort and when to slack off.

She doesn't participate in the struggle for the Hou; at most, she'll send out intelligence—that's the limit of what she can do.

After listening, Lin Zhao thought to himself,

Good guy.

He had been wondering why so many core members of the dominant forces had suddenly appeared in the Endless Demon Sea recently.

The Heavenly Law Divine Sect's Holy Son Tianhao, the Hundred Arts Immortal Alliance's True Lord Yuehua, the Nine Nether Demon Sect's Demon Lord Jiye, plus himself, a secret disciple of the Cloud Sea Azure Sea Sect.

The four overlords gathered in one sea area.

After all that, it turns out everyone came for that Hou, which could potentially become a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Lin Zhao knew nothing about it and leisurely traveled on the sea.

If Tianhao hadn't been unable to find a suitable person to help and hadn't taken the initiative to come to him, he probably wouldn't even know the matter of Hou was over.

He glanced at Tianhao.

Tianhao noticed his gaze and his expression became somewhat subtle.

After learning about Hou, he initially thought Lin Zhao had also come for Hou, but later investigation revealed otherwise.

Lin Zhao hadn't paid attention to Hou's intelligence all these years; he had truly been traveling in the Endless Demon Sea.

They all had missions assigned by their sects, and the higher-ups behind them had given orders to complete these missions, which put them under considerable pressure.

As a Nascent Soul True Lord, Moonflower True Lord has sufficient autonomy and can slack off and not participate.

But he and the White Bone Saintess couldn't do it; if they failed the mission, they would be held accountable when they returned.

This is why he was willing to pay Lin Zhao out of his own pocket.

If you don't give it to him, he might really refuse to do it.

Since Lin Zhao had no missions or needs, she naturally felt no pressure.

This Nascent Soul stage combat power is for the sect, not for him personally.

Oh well, I'll just consider it as making friends with him.

Tianhao silently added a sentence in his mind.

This relationship may come in handy in the future.

The two fled at sea for half a month.

In the distance, an island spanning a hundred miles appeared on the sea. The island was devoid of any vegetation, consisting only of jagged black reefs, from which faint, pale will-o'-the-wisps could be seen.

This is the White Bone Saintess's temporary stronghold.

Upon sensing someone approaching, countless skeletal monsters on the island simultaneously awakened; some were mere palm-sized bone birds, others were bone giants several meters tall, and still others were the skeletons of large sea beasts.

They roared to the sky, emitting terrifying demonic sounds. All the demons looked at the two of them at the same time, their eyes flickering with eerie white ghost fire.

A haughty young woman's voice rang out from the center of the island: "Who goes there, daring to trespass on my territory!"

Tianhao frowned.

When he left some time ago, this was a normal island with trees and grass.

Now not a single hair remains; it has completely transformed into this eerie, ghostly form.

A white light shone from Tianhao's body, like a great sun suddenly appearing on the sea.

The white light seemed to penetrate the entire island, making the skeletal monsters tremble. Some of the bone birds that were close by fell apart, their bones scattered all over the ground.

He said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist Bai Jing, it is I."

There was a few moments of silence.

The young woman's voice rang out again, her tone shifting from arrogant to mocking: "Oh, it's you, pretty boy. Didn't you go to see your lover? Why are you back?"

Tianhao suppressed his emotions, his voice remaining calm: "I've found the person I'm looking for. Come out and meet me."

"Um."

A moment later, a streak of grayish-white light shot out from the center of the island and landed in front of the two.

As the light dissipated, a young girl appeared.

The girl had long, snow-white hair that flowed wildly behind her. She wore plain clothes with strips of white cloth wrapped around her upper body, extending all the way to her wrists.

She held a gigantic bone scythe in her hand, longer than her entire body; the bone was white and cold. A pale white skull pendant hung from her waist.

Scarlet eyes, a jade-white face, and a wild yet alluring smile on his lips.

She was surrounded by a chilling demonic aura, which solidified around her, resembling a distorted black mist.

Nine Netherworld Demon Sect, White Bone Saintess, Bai Jing.

Bai Jing scrutinized Lin Zhao with her scarlet eyes for a long while.

Her gaze swept over him mercilessly from head to toe before she gave her assessment: "You're the secret disciple of the Cloud Sea Azure Sea Sect? You don't seem particularly special."

Lin Zhao did not respond.

He was also secretly assessing Bai Jing's strength. She was in the late stage of Core Formation, a minor rank higher than him and Tian Hao.

As a secret holy son of the Nine Nether Demon Sect, his combat strength is definitely not at the level shown on the surface.

It is likely that it has already reached the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage, and may even be comparable to a true Nascent Soul Dharma Body.

Seeing his silence, Bai Jing pouted and said, "Boring."

Then she suddenly revealed two small, pointed teeth, her expression shifting from languid to excited, as if she had discovered some fun toy.

"Look at my newly renovated island! What do you think of the scenery?"

She raised her large, white bone scythe and swung it with all her might, showing the two the demonic island behind her.

The skeletal monsters on the island seemed to sense their master's interest, and at the same time they roared to the sky, their roars creating a piercing sound that shook the sea surface.

Lin Zhao and Tian Hao exchanged a glance.

The place is filled with demonic energy, eerie ghostly atmosphere, and chilling evil spirits. How else can one describe it?

Bai Jing naturally noticed their expressions and snorted, "No taste."

She was still somewhat unwilling to give up and wanted to invite the two of them to sit on the island, but Tianhao quickly refused. Not to mention that the Nine Nether Demon Sect and the Heavenly Law Divine Sect were mortal enemies, the two of them were extremely uncomfortable with this environment.

Bai Jing didn't mind; she raised her hand and snapped her fingers.

All the skeletal monsters on the island stopped moving at the same time, as if something had been taken away from them, and scattered into a pile of bones. However, the scarlet light from the skull pendant on her body brightened a bit.

The entire island fell silent once more.

The three of them found an ordinary island in the open sea. The island was not big, only about ten miles in circumference.

Tianhao raised his hand and pointed, turning soil into sand and sand into stone.

A stone palace rises silently from the ground—stone pillars, dome, steps, with clear patterns, every detail perfectly integrated, forming a seamless whole.

It was as if an invisible hand had lifted it up from the ground; it was a kind of effortless ease, with a hint of a Nascent Soul cultivator changing their attributes.