Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

After a long silence, Tianhao said, "Two reasons."

First, there is a continuous stream of people reselling military supplies.

Secondly, the cultivators of the expeditionary force no longer had enough military merits and salaries to cover their expenses, so they had to use these specially supplied spiritual items to supplement their household income.

Or, both.

Lin Zhao did not respond.

Tianhao did not continue speaking.

Both of them knew that the Three Spirit Fish had been sold stably for hundreds or even thousands of years, becoming a specialty dish of the Immortal City, which could not be explained by simply reselling military supplies.

Of the hundred immortal cities in Zhongzhou, is Qinxia Immortal City the only one with such a shop?

Would the sect's higher-ups not know?

Of course they know.

It's just that nobody cares, nobody can care, or nobody wants to care.

Lin Zhao looked out the window; a qin (a seven-stringed zither) competition was being held in Qinxia Immortal City.

Not far down the street, a group of musicians were having a musical contest. Their robes fluttered, and the music was melodious. A group of well-dressed cultivators gathered together, and their laughter carried from afar, mingling with the sound of the zither and the aroma of wine and meat.

Lin Zhao suddenly remembered something, and his voice was somewhat cold: "From the Heavenly Law Sword Manual to the system of the Heavenly Law Divine Sect, it can be seen that the ancestors who established these rules back then really wanted to give mortals and cultivators a good path to follow."

But human nature is selfish. Once those Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation cultivators become the beneficiaries and controllers of the system, can this system still restrain them?

The rules were set for lower-level cultivators; upper-level cultivators were only responsible for enjoying the benefits.

Qinxia Immortal City was originally called Qinjian Immortal City, with Qin (琴) first and Jian (剑) second, but the word Jian (剑) has now disappeared.

There are fewer and fewer sword cultivators in the Immortal City, and the Heavenly Law Sword Manual is becoming increasingly difficult to forge; and there are reasons for this.

Tianhao remained silent, his fingers slowly tracing the nameplate on the tea table.

As the holy son of the sect, he actually knows a lot of things; he understands these things better than most people.

The Heavenly Law Divine Sect's tens of thousands of years of expeditions have turned it into a war machine. Every machine has its costs, and what it consumes are the flesh and blood and resources of mortal cultivators.

The sect's rules have become a tool for exploiting lower and middle-level cultivators.

The Great Expedition has been going on for so long that it has become a routine.

The conflict between the expeditionary force and the local cultivators tore the Heavenly Law Divine Sect into two factions.

One faction consists of local forces that benefit from this set of rules.

One faction is a radical force that relies on expeditions to acquire resources.

With the two factions locked in a tug-of-war, the sects were never able to exert their full strength in their conquest of the Southern Continent.

Otherwise, with the resources of the Heavenly Law Divine Sect, if they mobilized all their strength, they could produce nearly ten million Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even if they couldn't destroy the Myriad Beast Spirit Venerable Palace, they wouldn't have ended up in this stalemate.

After tens of thousands of years of expeditions, the ideals and passion of these monks have cooled, and they have begun to think more about themselves.

But this war machine cannot be stopped; ideals can only compromise with reality in the end.

Ultimately, both sides reached a tacit understanding to send some incompatible cultivators into the expeditionary force to maintain the stability of the sect.

Tianhao is trying to win over Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao knew this matter had been going on since the beginning of the Endless Demon Sea.

He took him on expeditions to accumulate military merits, brought him to Zhongzhou to see its prosperity, and even went so far as to offer up a fifth-tier Nascent Soul inheritance like the Heavenly Law Sword Manual—Tianhao did all this for one purpose.

Influence Lin Zhao to side with the Heavenly Law Divine Sect, thus increasing the possibility of destroying the Myriad Beasts Spirit Venerable Mansion in the future.

But Lin Zhao had her own judgment.

The attitude that the Palace of the Myriad Beasts Spirit Lord should be destroyed has never changed.

But he also clearly saw the problems with the Heavenly Law Divine Sect.

The tide has turned.

The Heavenly Law Divine Sect's system is like a war machine that has been fully activated, with the expeditionary force maintaining its balance.

Once the balance is broken, it's hard to say whether the chariot will overturn, but it will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

The greatest enemy of a hegemonic power is never an external force, but its own internal divisions.

Tianhao's efforts to win over Lin Zhao were not solely for military merit in the Southern Continent, nor were they merely for killing one or two Holy Sons.

What he wanted was change within the sect, even if there was only the slightest possibility.

Suddenly a commotion arose outside the window.

First, a beam of light shot into the sky from the direction of the city gate, followed by dozens, then hundreds, of beams of light of various colors, illuminating half of the immortal city as if it were daytime.

The crowd on the street stirred, and someone shouted, "The Holy Son of Tianyao has arrived!"

Lin Zhao turned to look out the window, where the cheers of tens of thousands of cultivators could be heard; the Heavenly Saint Son's army had entered the city.

On both sides of the long street, Core Formation cultivators and Foundation Establishment cultivators lined up in a vast and magnificent procession, like a colorful torrent.

Lin Zhao finished the last sip of wine and said, "When I was young, I made a living in the market. Someone once told me something. She said that when she first came to the market, she felt that it was a big stage and that she would be the main character on it."

After staying there for a while, I felt that the market was a big prison – outer market, inner market, core, with a strict hierarchy.

Those in power exploit the lower classes with cheap goods, monopolize upward mobility, and erect numerous obstacles, forcing them to risk their lives for that slim hope, in a never-ending cycle.

He put down his wine glass and looked at Tianhao: "In my opinion, Zhongzhou is nothing more than a larger and more sophisticated prison."

It's just a different approach.

Fellow Daoist Tianhao, are you also trapped inside?

Tianhao paused, as if struck by something. The identity of the Holy Son was also a shackle that bound him tightly inside.

Lin Zhao stood up, looked at Tian Hao, and said in a low voice, but with a firm and resolute tone: "I don't want to be trapped in a cage."

"Zhao" means light. I will surely transform into a great sun and rise, and I will ascend to the spirit realm and the immortal realm.

Transformation into a divine being, Mahayana—these are not my final destinations.

My goal is the immortal path of eternal life; I want to become an immortal, so that even if heaven and earth decay, I will not perish, and even if the sun and moon perish, I will not perish.

Lin Zhao had said this to someone before, and she still says it now, without changing a single word.

Tianhao was finally shaken.

To achieve immortality, to become an immortal.

Countless geniuses are stuck at the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage, and countless others have had their talents worn down by the long path to immortality.

In Lin Zhao's eyes, he saw an unwavering Dao heart!

It is a kind of courage and ambition to look directly at the sky and challenge the highest immortal path!

Tianhao suddenly said, "Shoot it beautifully."

Daring to challenge and pursuing the eternal path of immortality, how could they be easily influenced by the rules of the Heavenly Law Divine Sect?

If Lin Zhao were to destroy the Myriad Beasts Spirit Lord's Mansion, there would only be one possibility: he simply wanted to do so, nothing more.

Lin Zhao nodded, turned around and went out.

It quieted down again.

Tianhao sat alone, poured himself a glass of wine, and looked out the window at the increasingly bright sky. In the distance, the spiritual light array of Qinxia Immortal City was being activated in large areas.

"Perhaps we really will see it."

He muttered something under his breath and finished his drink.

In the center of the immortal city, a grand procession of cultivators was marching along the street, with hundreds of Core Formation cultivators and tens of thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators, surrounded by attendants, making an astonishing spectacle.

At the very front of the procession was a magnificent flying chariot, upon which stood a man with his hands behind his back, exuding an imposing aura.

The Holy Son of Heaven.