Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Lin Zhao returned to his residence and took out the Hundred Stars Demon-Burning Banner to examine it.

As the banner was unfurled, the 108 demon beast totems were now dim and lifeless, their spiritual light mostly dissipated.

He flipped the long banner over and gave it a gentle shake. The banner swayed slightly under the lamplight, emanating a lingering heat that made his palms feel slightly warm.

This banner is not an ordinary magic weapon; it belongs to the category of special secret treasures and requires a long period of accumulation before it can be used once.

Once deployed, it becomes a mobile formation that can trap and kill opponents.

Once a Core Formation cultivator is trapped without a fourth-tier magic weapon, they basically won't be able to get out.

Lin Zhao played with it for a while, then put it back into the storage bag.

The Holy Son of Ten Thousand Spirits is actually quite strong; he is a rare expert among Core Formation cultivators.

Unfortunately, he belongs to the bottom tier among the holy sons.

To put it bluntly, it's because they're poor.

If he had one or two more fourth-tier magic treasures, the battle to surround and kill him would definitely not be so easy.

Although Lin Zhao and Tian Hao's battle today was quite taxing, neither of them actually reached their limits.

The trump cards of the Holy Son of Ten Thousand Spirits: the Blood Moon Dharma Image, the Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower, the Hundred Stars Demon-Burning Banner, and the incomplete fourth-tier tortoise shell.

They are indeed strong, but unfortunately none of them can deliver the decisive blow.

Even if the Holy Son of Ten Thousand Spirits breaks through Tianhao's formation and escapes, Lin Zhao can still deploy the Four Symbols Heavenly Gang Sword Formation to trap him again.

His fate will not change; he will simply die in a different way.

-----

News of the death of the Holy Son of All Spirits quickly spread throughout the expeditionary force, and the entire fortress was in an uproar.

Although the Holy Son of Ten Thousand Spirits is at the bottom in terms of strength, he is still the Holy Son of a dominant force. His advancement to the Nascent Soul stage is a certainty, and he may even go a few steps higher.

Killing one of them would have a strategic value comparable to killing several Nascent Soul cultivators.

More importantly, Nascent Soul True Monarchs are not so easy to kill. The longer they live, the more they cherish their lives. Every Nascent Soul True Monarch has a bunch of backup plans.

The slaying of a holy son was a huge boost to the morale of the expeditionary force.

Tianhao not only regained all the face and prestige he had lost due to the sneak attack by Xuehe Zhenjun, but also received a large amount of military merit rewards.

Lin Zhao's identity token also rose in status, with its rank directly raised to the seventh level—equivalent to the status and authority of a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Lin Zhao didn't stand on ceremony and used his seventh-level authority to make several trips to the Myriad Laws Heavenly Wheel Fortress, observing its operation for a period of time.

The higher-ups of the Heavenly Law Divine Sect naturally knew, but they turned a blind eye.

While the core secrets were naturally unseen, Lin Zhao had a general understanding of the outer array structure, energy guidance methods, and the basic combination logic of the gun wheels.

Lin Zhao was sensible enough not to approach the core and important areas, and only looked at everything she could see within the permitted area.

This alone has already benefited him greatly, and with his abilities, he should be confident in creating a third-tier war fortress.

But the impact of killing the Holy Son of Ten Thousand Spirits went beyond that. The Heavenly Law Divine Sect spread the news of this battle extensively for propaganda purposes.

Lin Zhao's identity was repeatedly mentioned—a secret disciple of the Yunhai Cangming Sect, the only one in ten thousand years.

The news spread from the Southern Continent to the Central Continent, and then from the Central Continent to other continents, eventually even reaching back to the Cloud Continent, making Lin Zhao famous among the major powers for the first time.

Various rumors followed.

Some say that the Cloud Sea Azure Sea Sect is going to join forces with the Heavenly Law Divine Sect to attack the Myriad Beasts Spirit Venerable Mansion.

Some even directly said that the Yunhai Cangming Sect's upcoming grand expedition was aimed at the Southern Continent.

Because of the death of their Holy Son, the Myriad Beasts Spirit Lord's Mansion was preparing to launch a retaliatory attack. However, these rumors disrupted their plans, forcing them to halt their offensive and switch to a defensive posture.

It's simply impossible for the death of a holy son to make a regional overlord cease hostilities.

But the key issue is that the possibility of the "Yunhai Cangming Sect possibly ending up in a bad situation" is too frightening, and the Ten Thousand Beasts Spirit Venerable Mansion dares not gamble on it.

If the Cangming Sect really joins forces with the Tianlu Divine Sect, then the situation in the Southern Continent will be completely different.

There were also cultivators from other dominant forces in the expeditionary force, and news of their various origins spread back to their respective sects as if they had grown wings.

Several Core Formation cultivators from the Yunhai Cangming Sect in the Southern Continent also came to inquire, and Lin Zhao gave a brief explanation.

Those fellow disciples were all intelligent people; they understood immediately after hearing it.

But there are always those who can't see things clearly and who rely on their age and seniority.

On this day, an old man in the late stage of Core Formation came to the door, claiming to be a senior of the sect. He immediately accused Lin Zhao of taking sides on behalf of the Yunhai Cangming Sect, saying that it would affect the overall situation of the sect and the relationship between the major powers.

Lin Zhao didn't waste any words with him, and simply swept him out the door, kicking him out like trash.

Could a secret disciple really change the course of the Cloud Sea Cangming Sect's great expedition?

They think too highly of Lin Zhao.

This old fellow has probably been out there for too long, witnessing the power and influence of other overlords, and has been completely terrified, his bones practically trembling with fear.

For a dominant power, if they really want to cause trouble, let alone participating in the siege of a holy son, even a glance, a word, or the pattern on your clothes can be analyzed into hundreds of different directions.

Although his status as a secret disciple didn't grant him any real power, it wasn't something that could be shaken by a few rumors.

His success today boils down to two key points.

Firstly, Qingyuan Zhenjun valued him, and secondly, he possessed strong personal strength and potential.

Other matters had little impact on Lin Zhao.

When this news reached the Cloud Sea Cangming Sect, although there was a lot of discussion within the sect, most people just felt that it was a source of pride.

The younger disciples were especially excited, as the sect had been inactive for a long time and had weak influence in other continents.

A secret disciple made a name for himself outside, and everyone thought it was bringing honor to the sect, so no one thought there was anything wrong with it.

Wuya Zhenjun also heard the news. He knew that Lin Zhao had an avatar traveling outside, but he didn't expect it to cause such a commotion.

His communication jade talisman has been running non-stop these past few days.

Some joked that Wuya Zhenjun still needs his grand-disciple to make him look good.

They subtly inquired about the true situation of the Great Expedition.

There was also a subtle suggestion from a Nascent Soul cultivator that Lin Zhao's actions should be restrained to prevent him from being too ostentatious.

After listening to each of the communication jade talismans, Wuya Zhenjun let out a cold laugh.

He had some disagreements with Lin Zhao before, but he wasn't so narrow-minded as to suppress her directly.

He replied to the message.

It was a sarcastic remark; the words were polite, but the meaning was direct: if you're so capable, why don't you train a secret disciple?

The approach of hinting indirectly is ambiguous.

He directly retorted to those with ill intentions, saying that if they wanted to fight, he would be ready to fight.

The Wuyai lineage has lost a lot of resources in the power struggles among sects over the years, and he is worried about how to get those resources back.

Although he is old and his lifespan is not long, he is not dead yet and can live for at least several hundred more years.

If it really comes down to an arm-wrestling match, he'll be happy to go all the way.

After distributing the jade talisman, Wuya Zhenjun glanced at the stone tablet outside the cave.

He erected it in a fit of anger back then, and it was inscribed with "Lin Zhao and Qianqiu are not allowed to enter".

After Qianqiu Zhenren advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, he erased Qianqiu's name.

After Lin Zhao became famous, that very night, "someone" quietly erased Lin Zhao's name.

All that remains on the stone tablet are the four large characters "No Entry".

I don't know who they're talking about.

The stone tablet stands there all alone, symbolizing "someone's" last act of defiance.