Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

The remaining blade light still pierced through the barrier of the self-destruction and rushed towards Lin Zhao!

Seeing that he was about to be hit by the aftershocks, Lin Zhao did not hesitate to use another trump card he had in his pocket to save his life—

Second-tier talisman: [Light Splitting and Shadow Transformation Talisman]!

It instantly manifested nearly sixty figures, ten of which were comparable to those at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and pounced directly on the attack.

The remaining phantoms shot out in different directions, and at this moment he was able to unleash the power of this second-tier talisman.

"laugh!"

The remaining blade light swept across five of the shadowy figures, causing them to vanish like bubbles. But it also exhausted the last of the blade's power.

Lin Zhao's true form, however, took advantage of the illusion's cover and the brief state of transcendence brought about by the breakthrough in his divine sense.

He forcibly squeezed out the last bit of spiritual power, combining it with the divine sense power he had just broken through to...

He displayed a movement technique far exceeding his usual level, staggering out of the camp like a wisp of smoke and disappearing into the dark forest outside.

Not long after he escaped, the Shadow Panther, entangled by the remaining phantoms, finally met its match.

"You beast! How dare you act so violently!"

"boom!"

A dazzling golden sword light, as bright as the sun, accompanied by a furious roar, descended from the sky and slashed fiercely at the Shadow Leopard! The human Foundation Establishment cultivators had finally arrived!

Immediately afterwards, another surge of violent demonic energy rose from the direction of the beast tide, and yet another second-tier demonic beast joined the battle!

Boom boom boom!

A battle at the Foundation Establishment level erupted instantly on the ruins of the dilapidated camp, with spiritual light shooting into the sky, the earth shaking, and the night sky illuminating as if it were daytime.

Four miles away, in a ravaged thicket, Lin Zhao leaned against a charred tree, breathing heavily, each breath laced with blood.

His face was as pale as paper, his clothes were torn, and he had been cut in many places by the sword energy from the self-destruction of the sword dragon. His spiritual energy was almost exhausted, and his meridians were throbbing with pain.

His divine sense was also experiencing sharp, needle-like pain due to the forced breakthrough and overexertion.

He looked back at the battlefield core that resembled a purgatory, feeling the heart-pounding energy collisions at the Foundation Establishment level. A strong sense of exhaustion and lingering fear, as if he had survived a catastrophe, welled up in his heart.

"What a stroke of luck..." he muttered to himself, his voice hoarse.

If it weren't for the protective jade talisman blocking the first attack, and if it weren't for the fact that the "Taihe Yangyuan Gong" broke through to the fourth level at that moment, bringing a surge of spiritual power and a glimmer of hope, then he would have been saved.

If he hadn't decisively self-destructed the sword dragon, if he hadn't used the final splitting light and shadow talisman... if any step had gone wrong, he would already be a cold corpse by now.

He looked down at the four-elemental pearl in his hand, its spiritual light dimmed and even cracked, a trace of regret flashing in his eyes.

"Foundation Building, this is Foundation Building," he clenched his fist, his nails digging deep into his palm.

He was utterly powerless against a true Foundation Establishment cultivator, even with just a single strike.

"Although the Four Elements Sword Dao is powerful, one's own cultivation level is the foundation of everything."

A day later, the battle between the Foundation Establishment cultivators and the demonic beasts finally ended completely at the Rock Base.

When Lin Zhao returned to the area, all he could see were ruins and rubble.

The protective array had completely disappeared, and the air was filled with an overwhelming stench of blood and burnt flesh, as well as a deathly silence.

Lin Zhao's face remained pale with injury, a result of forcibly gathering far more divine sense than he could handle to drive the Four Elements Sword Dragon.

And ultimately, the backlash from its self-destruction severely damaged his consciousness, causing him to experience sharp, needle-like pain from time to time.

At this moment, Zhao Lie also returned to check on the situation at the camp. This tough man's face was filled with grief.

He told Lin Zhao that the second-tier Foundation Establishment demonic beast attacked the camp that night, and of the thousands of cultivators in the camp, only a hundred or so were able to break through successfully.

At this moment, the face of every survivor was etched with the sorrow of losing comrades and the cruelty of war.

Lin Zhao had far underestimated the threat of the beast tide. The small beast tide that Qingfeng Market had faced before was nothing compared to the medium-sized beast tide that Guiyun Market was facing now.

The intensity is a completely different matter; even the outer battlefields almost swallowed Lin Zhao up.

Meanwhile, news from the main battlefield of Guiyun Market indicated that the long-brewing final battle between Foundation Establishment humans and second-tier demonic beasts had finally erupted!

This battle will determine the fate of Guiyunfang City and even the surrounding area.

In just half a month, the sky and land within a radius of hundreds of miles centered on Guiyun Market became a gladiator between Foundation Establishment cultivators and second-tier demonic beasts.

More than a hundred Foundation Establishment level collisions erupted in succession!

Not only was the Panshi outpost destroyed, but the surrounding outposts were also affected and implicated to varying degrees by the aftermath of this final battle, suffering heavy losses.

The surrounding area is fraught with danger, but the base where the Foundation Establishment battle just broke out is a different story.

The aura left behind by the second-tier demon beast deterred ordinary demon beasts from entering, creating a temporary safe haven.

People came to seek refuge from time to time.

But at this moment, Lin Zhao was no longer paying attention to the war outside; he was completely focused on restoring his cultivation.

Fortunately, after breaking through to the fourth level of the "Taihe Yangyuan Gong," the "nourishing energy" effect brought about by it far surpasses that of the past.

A cool sensation flowed through the parched meridians and damaged consciousness, soothing the wounds little by little. Though slow, it steadfastly repaired every hidden injury.

He knew, of course, that the battle situation outside had changed dramatically, but at this moment, his Four Yuan Pearls were severely damaged and he was temporarily unable to use them.

This effectively rendered his most powerful offensive weapon useless.

Although he can still use magic to unleash forms such as the Four Elements Sword Dragon thanks to his own understanding of swordsmanship, the power is greatly reduced.

At this time, his combat strength was only equivalent to that of an ordinary Qi Refining Level 10 cultivator. He had neither the will nor the ability to intervene in the battles between other outposts and demonic beasts.

"The most urgent task is to recover from my injuries and find a way to repair the pearl." He understood this perfectly and began to calm his mind.

"If I can protect the remaining hundred or so people during this process, that will be my limit."

During this battle, fragments of information, both true and false, continued to reach the remaining outposts through various channels:

"The Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Liu family died in battle, dragging a mid-stage second-tier 'Shadow Leopard' with him in the process..."

"The two Foundation Establishment elders from Tiger Roar Market joined forces and severely injured that 'Three-Headed Flame Python'!"

"There are too many demonic beasts! We are at a disadvantage in terms of the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators..."

"Master Mingxuan of Tianfeng Market single-handedly stopped two demonic beasts, the 'Earth-Splitting Wild Bear' and the 'Golden-Winged Thunder Roc'! My god, how did he do that?!"

The battle was extremely fierce, with news of human Foundation Establishment cultivators falling every day, but there were also reports of second-tier demonic beasts being killed.

With their exquisite teamwork and the support of a few top experts, the human cultivators managed to withstand the fiercest counterattack of the monster horde.

The turning point occurred on the thirteenth day after the start of the decisive battle.

A startling piece of news spread like wildfire—Master Mingxuan, after five days and five nights of battle,

Fifty miles outside Guiyun Market, they finally slew the infamous late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beast, the "Earth-Splitting Bear," with their sword!

Previously, he single-handedly fought against the Earth-Splitting Wild Bear and the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc, managing to hold back the two strongest demonic beasts.

After the Lord of Guiyun Market held back the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc, Master Mingxuan showed his terrifying strength without holding back!

In just half an hour, they killed the Earth-Splitting Wild Bear, whose magic power had been severely depleted over the previous five days.

The original land where the battle took place has disappeared, replaced by a crater that is tens of feet deep and more than one kilometer in diameter.

After the war, the cultivators named the battlefield ruins "Broken Bear Lake".

As its name suggests, this powerful Earth-Splitting Bear and the land beneath it were indeed forcibly "split" into hundreds of pieces by that Master Mingxuan!