Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

A massive war fortress sits atop the mountains.

This is a colossal fortress tens of thousands of feet in size, forged entirely from black iron and obsidian. Its walls are hundreds of feet high and covered with thousands of rune-inscribed cannons.

Four menacing spirit-suppressing towers stand at the four corners, their bodies densely covered with runes. Each rune is like a half-open eye, monitoring every inch of space around the fortress.

Countless giant spikes extend from the bottom, piercing deep into the mountain and firmly fixing the entire fortress among the mountains.

The fortress contains countless buildings—markets, military camps, weapon-refining workshops, alchemy rooms, and teleportation halls—layered upon layered and orderly.

The cultivators moved among them, some wearing white Taoist robes from the Heavenly Law Divine Sect, some wearing various colors of loose cultivator attire, and others wearing armor and carrying materials of demonic beasts larger than a person, heading towards the artifact workshop.

Countless puppets lined up neatly on both sides of the street, motionless, only moving in unison when patrolling.

Wanshuzhen Rock Fortress.

This is a war fortress built specifically for the expedition to the Palace of the Beast Spirit Lord.

It can fly and move, and once it lands, the ground within a radius of thousands of miles hardens like iron, and the earth's rock strata are controlled by the fortress.

What's even more terrifying is that it can gather all the spiritual energy of the earth veins within a radius of ten thousand miles. Once it is fully activated, the attack and defense of the entire fortress are comparable to those of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Such a fortress could almost sweep away the entire Alliance of All Laws.

The Heavenly Law Divine Sect has twelve such war fortresses, seven of which are stationed in the Southern Continent, specifically for conquering the Myriad Beasts Spirit Venerable's Palace.

Lin Zhao received an identity token at the entrance of the teleportation hall. He hung the token on his waist, granting him free movement outside the core area.

He walked to the edge of the fortress wall and gazed into the distance.

Nanzhou is known for its 100,000 mountains.

The mountains stretched from our feet to the horizon, their dark blue ridges layered upon each other, eventually blending in with the clouds on the horizon.

Occasionally, one can see patches of primeval forest in the valleys between the mountains, with canopies so dense they resemble green lakes. Occasionally, a flock of birds is startled by something, soaring into the sky from the forest, circling several times before returning to their nests.

Further away, on several mountain peaks, one can vaguely see the outposts of the Myriad Beasts Spirit Lord's Palace—some are totem poles built with the bones of giant beasts, some are giant beast nests embedded in the mountains, and some are simply the sleeping giant beasts themselves.

A faint, sweet, fishy smell permeated the air—the scent of demonic beast blood mixed with the aroma of mountain vegetation, carried by the wind from other directions.

Flying boats took off and landed constantly in the sky. The spirit boats of the demon-hunting team flew out of the fortress in formation and headed deep into the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Further away, a huge firework signal exploded deep in the mountains, and the crimson light lingered in the sky for a long time, marking the location of a certain demon-hunting team's distress call.

Tianhao was already standing next to Lin Zhao without anyone noticing.

He gazed in the direction of the Ten Thousand Mountains in the distance and spoke in a calm and unhurried tone: "The Central Continent is entirely under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Law Divine Sect, which implements a household registration system."

All cultivators residing in the Central Continent must register. The higher their rank, the better the benefits they receive—their cave dwellings, spiritual veins, resources, cultivation techniques, and even the opportunity to meet a Nascent Soul Heavenly Lord are all linked to their rank.

Everyone must start from rank one and progress upwards, and battle merits are the fastest way to advance in rank.

He paused, glanced at Lin Zhao, and said, "Brother Lin, if you can accumulate some battle merits here, it will be much easier for you to travel to the Central Continent in the future."

Lin Zhao didn't speak, waiting for him to finish.

"I'm organizing a small expedition next, Brother Lin, would you be interested in joining?"

Lin Zhao looked at Tian Hao.

Tianhao went to great lengths to lure him to the Southern Continent, and it certainly wasn't just to let him accumulate military merits.

This guy wants him to see something.

The tragedy of Nanzhou?

The atrocities committed by the Ten Thousand Beasts Spirit Lord's Palace?

Or is it the strength of the Heavenly Law Divine Sect's expeditionary force?

Regardless of which one it was, Lin Zhao decided to keep watching, and he nodded.

Three days later, tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators hovered outside the fortress.

Small flying boats of demon hunters lined up in the sky outside the fortress.

The spirit boat of the large demon-hunting group hovered higher up, the spirit patterns on its hull gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Dozens of Core Formation cultivators, riding various chariots and magical artifacts, hovered at the forefront of the formation. Their combined aura caused even the wind above the fortress to stop.

A legion of Foundation Establishment cultivators numbering in the tens of thousands hovered in the sky, their imposing presence drawing crowds of onlookers to the fortress walls.

Lin Zhao stood on the city wall and watched this scene, slightly startled.

He knew that Tianhao was the Holy Son of the Tianlu Divine Sect, but he did not expect that his power in the Tianlu Divine Sect was so great that he could mobilize tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators and dozens of Core Formation cultivators with just a word.

According to Tianhao, the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators participating in the expedition from the Southern Continent has exceeded one million, and the number of Qi Refining cultivators is countless.

A million-strong foundation was laid.

Although the Yunhai Cangming Sect is unfathomable, it has only a little over 100,000 Foundation Establishment disciples, far less than the Tianlu Divine Sect.

Tianhao took out two purple chariots from his storage bag. The moment the chariots appeared, the air within a radius of a hundred feet trembled violently.

The chariots were small, each only about ten feet in size, and the entire body was made of some kind of purple crystal, with star-like light spots flowing across the surface.

At the front of the vehicle is a purple crystal core the size of a millstone, with dragon patterns slowly moving inside the core.

Two chariots hovered on the city wall, emanating a powerful spiritual pressure.

"One person, one vehicle." Tianhao jumped into one of the vehicles.

Lin Zhao boarded another vehicle, and a message entered his mind from the crystal core, a detailed explanation of this magical artifact.

The Purple Dragon Pattern War Chariot is a top-tier, third-order war artifact with three great supernatural powers.

First, Purple Starry Sky – the chariot can transform into a purple meteor, crashing into the opponent with pure speed and impact, its power comparable to a full-force strike from a peak Core Formation cultivator.

Secondly, the Purple Dragon Pattern Armor – the chariot will condense into a purple armor for its master, with amazing defensive power. As long as the chariot itself is not destroyed, the armor cannot be broken.

Third, the Purple Star Teleportation Technique—when encountering a fatal attack, the chariot can instantly teleport its master back to the Wanshu Town Rock Fortress, which even ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators cannot catch up with.

These three supernatural abilities alone make this chariot as valuable as a fourth-tier magic weapon.

Moreover, judging from the design of the third divine power, this chariot is clearly not for ordinary cultivators.

Two purple dragon-patterned chariots rolled out from the city wall, their purple crystal cores lighting up simultaneously. Dragon patterns danced across the chariots, emitting deep dragon roars.

The monks watching from the city wall instantly erupted in uproar.

"Two Purple Dragon Pattern Chariots!"

"That's a war chariot that only a sect's holy son can ride. Two holy sons have actually come today?"

"The one on the right is the Holy Son Tianhao, I haven't seen the one on the left before."

"Who cares who he is? Anyone who can stand shoulder to shoulder with the Heavenly Son of Heaven can't be an ordinary person! With two Holy Sons leading the team, this time we're in luck!"