Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Lin Zhao took a step forward, her tone becoming even more stern.

"I, Lin Zhao, am the only secret disciple of the Holy Sect in the past ten thousand years, under the command of True Monarch Qingyuan."

He pointed to Yan Feng, "This one is a prodigy from the lineage of the Nascent Soul Peak True Monarch Beichen."

Yan Feng held up the Nine Dragons Burning Heaven Seal, and a fire dragon rose from it, emitting a deep dragon roar.

He then pointed to Pei Yue. "This is the master of Cangming Palace, a prodigy of the Xuan Yang True Monarch lineage at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage."

The Luohuang Cauldron in Pei Yue's palm shone brightly with a blue light, and stars flowed across its surface.

Lin Zhao then pointed at Qin Tianjun, "Qin Tianjun is a prodigy of the Qin family's sword path, a family with a history of thousands of years of Nascent Soul cultivation."

Qin Tianjun gently vibrated the Heavenly Edge Azure Spirit Sword in his hand, and the sword rang out clearly.

Finally, Lin Zhao pointed to Xia Jin.

Xia Jin looked somewhat embarrassed and didn't take anything out.

Lin Zhao coldly looked at True Monarch Qingmiao: "What? Are you questioning our identities, that we're not worthy of possessing fourth-tier magic treasures?"

Pei Yue, Yan Feng, and Qin Tianjun stepped forward simultaneously, their auras from several fourth-tier magic treasures clashing, their terrifying pressure aimed directly at True Monarch Qingmiao.

Qingmiao Zhenjun was completely numb.

He only said a few stubborn words and stopped Xia Jin a little, who would have thought it would cause such a big commotion.

He might not necessarily lose to these five younger men.

But what happens after you win?

Five Core Formation cultivators, each backed by a powerful figure from a dominant sect.

He's someone you really can't afford to offend.

"It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding."

He gave an extremely awkward smile and deliberately lowered his posture.

The rest was much simpler.

After some "friendly" negotiations, Xia Jin "borrowed" the last fourth-tier magic weapon from him—the Thunderous Spirit-Breaking Spear.

As for when it will be returned, who knows?

The five people left satisfied.

Qingmiao Zhenjun stood amidst the ruins, looking at the devastation and ashes, a sinister glint flashing across his face.

He subtly twitched his fingers inside his sleeve, wondering if he should give it to them and secretly trip them up.

A voice echoed from the void, extremely faint, yet each word sharp as a knife: "Don't cause trouble, or I can't save you."

Qingmiao Zhenjun stiffened and bowed slightly: "Yes."

The voice belonged to the Lord of the Great Xia Dynasty, True Monarch Xia Shuo, a peak mid-Nascent Soul cultivator.

Deep within the capital city, in a high-rise palace.

Xia Shuo Zhenjun looked at the two empty teacups opposite him and sighed.

"The Holy Ancestor of the World," he muttered to himself, his tone complex.

Lin Zhao and the others have already left the capital.

Xia Jin gripped the Thunderous Spirit-Breaking Spear tightly, as if he hadn't yet recovered from what had just happened.

Lin Zhao walked ahead of him without turning around, only saying, "Don't be so slow next time. If you need anything, just come to our door."

Yan Feng sneered from the side.

Pei Yue sighed and beckoned everyone to the teleportation array to prepare to return to the sect.

The hunt for the Loulan True Lord should begin.

-----

The group returned to their sect.

On the way, Pei Yue had already gathered more than thirty young Core Formation cultivators he had previously contacted.

Over the years, these talented individuals have all advanced to the mid-stage of Core Formation, and those who haven't advanced are no longer qualified to participate.

Instead of using the Immortal City teleportation system, they used the sect's internal teleportation array.

Half a day later, Lin Zhao and his group stood in a huge golden plaza.

This is the sect's core teleportation platform.

This type of teleportation platform can bypass the twenty-three immortal cities of Yunzhou and reach any region of Yunzhou directly.

When Lin Zhao opened her eyes, she was already standing in a dense forest.

Beneath their feet was a teleportation array, a hundred feet in diameter, its patterns fresh, clearly having been set up recently.

The tree canopy overhead blocked out the sky, but sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering into dappled patterns on the ground. The air was damp, carrying the smells of decaying leaves and animal blood.

Pei Yue opened a topographic map. He began to explain the situation, and the outline of the ancient Loulan Kingdom unfolded on the map, with large areas of yellow representing the desert.

"The cultivator army of Loulan Zhenjun has invaded Tongming Domain. The battlefield is in the northwest, 100,000 miles away, while the secret realm is here, in the southeast, covered by the ruins of an ancient city."

"We split our forces into two groups."

Pei Yue raised his head and said in a crisp voice, "Lin Zhao, myself, Yan Feng, Qin Tianjun, Xia Jin, and twenty fellow disciples are responsible for surrounding and killing Loulan Zhenjun."

The Fairy Linglong, leading seven others, conquered the secret realm of Loulan.

He looked in one direction.

Lin Zhao followed his gaze. A beautiful female cultivator stood at the edge of the dense forest. She was not tall and wore a plain white robe with the spirit patterns of the Hundred Machines Hall embroidered on the cuffs.

She was looking down and fiddling with a bronze compass.

It was none other than the Fairy Linglong.

Lin Zhao had also interacted with her before, and had asked her to refine pills.

Linglong Fairy is qualified to become a secret disciple. Her combat strength may not be stronger than Lin Zhao and the other five, but she is proficient in all the arts of cultivation.

Legend has it that Baiji Hall has more than twenty Nascent Soul cultivators from various sects behind it, more than half of whom taught her. Furthermore, more than ten Nascent Soul True Monarchs have taken her in as their nominal disciples. Such treatment is unparalleled in any sect and can be considered a legend.

Linglong Fairy seemed to sense the gaze, looked up in their direction, nodded to Lin Zhao, and then lowered her head to continue fiddling with the compass, clearly not intending to exchange pleasantries.

Both of them transformed into streaks of light and flew towards a massive, abandoned ancient city in the desert not far away.

The Fairy Linglong used her magic weapon to conduct a simple investigation, and then shot out a beam of spiritual light.

"Found it."

The Loulan Secret Realm is hidden in the void. Without a special token, it cannot be found, let alone opened. Moreover, if a Nascent Soul cultivator forcibly takes action against this secret realm, it will drag the Nascent Soul cultivator into the void and self-destruct.

However, these arrangements were of little use to Fairy Linglong. She was not without merit, having been taught by more than ten Nascent Soul cultivators from various sects.

She easily broke through the entrance to the secret realm and led six Core Formation cultivators inside.

There are still various arrangements inside the secret realm, which will take time to complete, but with her help, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Pei Yue explained to everyone, "Fairy Linglong, breaking through the secret realm will take time. What we need to do is stall Lord Loulan. Once he discovers that the secret realm has been invaded, he will definitely come back, after all, this secret realm is the true foundation of the Loulan lineage."

Lin Zhao nodded. Whether the Loulan True Lord lived or died was not the point.

The key is the amount of resources within the Loulan Secret Realm. The resources there must be far greater than those of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator to enable the Loulan lineage to continuously produce Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

This secret realm has withstood the test of time for thousands of years. Loulan Zhenjun didn't have many measures set up on the outer perimeter, and even if he did, Pei Yue had already eliminated them.

Now that the secret realm has been invaded, Lord Loulan has only just learned of the news and can only teleport back as fast as he can.

Lin Zhao stood on a rocky cliff and looked northwest, towards the direction of Tongming Domain.

Loulan is the foundation of the ancient kingdom; he cannot miss it.

However, although Loulan Zhenjun had only recently advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, he had successfully forged a Dharma body that could replace him in commanding the cultivator army in the Tongming Domain, while his main body returned.

According to previous information, Loulan Zhenjun has three fourth-tier magic treasures: two in his physical body and one in his avatar.

Even a wrecked ship has three pounds of nails, let alone the Loulan lineage which has been passed down for nearly ten thousand years.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Loulan Secret Realm, Lin Zhao and his companions began preparations, awaiting the arrival of the Loulan True Lord.

Pei Yue also took out some of the methods he had specially prepared for hunting Nascent Soul cultivators.