Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Xu Chuan spoke eloquently, whispering about the characteristics, strengths, and even rumors of some of the leaders of the dozen or so different factions below.

Lin Zhao listened silently, his gaze sweeping over the various cultivators below.

I saw arrogance, I saw vigilance, and I also saw people like Xu Chuan looking around and gathering intelligence.

A total of 170 cultivators will enter the secret realm this time, with ten slots allocated to each market town.

Once inside the secret realm, these cultivators from different markets could become the most dangerous people at any moment.

At this moment, Lin Zhao's eyes suddenly lit up and fell on the queue in Jinsha Market.

A familiar figure came into view—he was tall and straight, with a stern face and eyes as sharp as a hawk's.

It was none other than Shen Qianshan, the captain of the Po Jun Demon Hunting Team, who had once cooperated with the Lin family to hunt down the second-tier silver-armored rhinoceros king!

He was still wearing black armor, and his cultivation level was ten.

He seemed to sense Lin Zhao's gaze, turned his head to look at him, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He then nodded slightly to Lin Zhao as a greeting, without saying anything more.

Almost simultaneously, Lin Zhao saw another familiar face in the ten-person team representing Qingfengfang City—Liu Yuan!

The Liu family cultivator, who had once harbored murderous intent towards Lin Zhao during the Black Spotted Insect Swarm, was calmly conversing with a beautiful female cultivator beside him.

A murderous intent welled up in Lin Zhao's heart; he hadn't expected to encounter him here.

Liu Yuan of the Liu family might be able to resolve this trouble here if given the chance. He concealed his aura and stopped paying too much attention to avoid arousing Liu Yuan's suspicion.

While Lin Zhao was observing others, others were also scrutinizing them.

A chubby little boy in Tiger Roar Market, wearing a golden robe embroidered with coin patterns, with fair skin and a harmless smile on his round face.

His small eyes were narrowed to slits, yet a strange gray-black light emanated from their depths.

He was also toying with a strange magical artifact shaped like an hourglass in his hand.

But those eyes, like the most efficient photographic stones, scanned each cultivator present with precision and speed.

Especially on those whose aura is restrained, the time spent on them will be slightly longer.

When his gaze inadvertently met Lin Zhao's, he even grinned, revealing two small tiger teeth, appearing very friendly.

Even Lin Zhao's powerful divine sense, which had broken through the divine barrier, failed to detect anything.

A day later, the most violently distorted space in the center of the valley suddenly burst forth with dazzling light!

A series of spiritual lights and arrays of restrictions appeared, and a huge light gate with a diameter of more than ten feet, composed of countless runes, slowly condensed and stabilized in the turbulent vortex of spiritual energy!

The entrance to the secret realm has opened!

Master Mingxuan's clear, cool voice, like a cold spring, instantly drowned out all the commotion.

The message was clearly transmitted to the ten people in Tianyun Market: "Remember the time limit: one month. Come back alive."

The next moment, without further instructions, hundreds of figures transformed into streaks of light of various colors.

Like moths drawn to a flame, they rush headlong into the portal to the unknown and the unknown!

Lin Zhao took a deep breath, the Four Elements Pearl within his body trembled slightly, and the phantom of the Wind-Riding Sword Wings flashed behind him.

His figure merged into the surging torrent, instantly swallowed by the dazzling light.

After a brief, dizzying sensation, as if the soul had been forcibly ripped out and then stuffed back in,

Lin Zhao opened his eyes with difficulty, and the "Taihe Yangyuan Gong" within his body circulated spontaneously, quickly calming the discomfort caused by the spatial teleportation.

Although Master Mingxuan had warned me on the spirit boat that I would feel dizzy when entering the secret realm, I didn't expect it to be this strong.

He dared not be negligent in the slightest, and, suppressing the dizziness and lightness in his body, quickly surveyed his surroundings.

After confirming that it was temporarily safe, he immediately took out the Small Xuanwu Formation that he had obtained from the clan leader.

The four deep black array flags transformed into streams of light and disappeared into the surrounding ground, while the central array plate flashed with spiritual light.

A thin yet resilient dark light barrier quietly rose, enveloping an area of ​​ten feet in radius and isolating it from breath and sound.

"Phew—" Lin Zhao finally breathed a sigh of relief, sat down cross-legged, and focused all his energy on regulating his breathing.

The entrance to this secret realm seemed to transcend space, causing an even stronger impact than anticipated.

If he hadn't practiced the "Taihe Yangyuan Gong," his dizziness and discomfort would probably have been much more severe.

Even so, it took him nearly an hour to completely get rid of the discomfort and get himself back to peak condition.

After dispelling the formation, he found himself in an unfamiliar forest, with ancient trees reaching for the sky and lush foliage.

It blocked out most of the sunlight, and the air was filled with a spiritual energy that was much denser than the outside world, yet also carried a wild and explosive energy.

He didn't linger any longer, his figure moving like a wisp of smoke through the dense forest, carefully avoiding the territories of some ferocious demonic beasts.

More than half a day later, when he arrived at the deep pool shrouded in a thin mist,

The second-tier Water Cloud Mushroom that Mingxuan Shangren marked on the map as possibly existing in the outer area was nowhere to be found; only some ordinary spiritual herbs were present.

"It seems we can only trust about 30% of the map given by Master Mingxuan." Lin Zhao unfolded the map and shook his head helplessly.

He seemed to be out of luck, as he was teleported to a rather remote place on the outskirts.

According to the map markings, even the closest second-tier spiritual herbs on the outskirts would take him most of a day to reach.

Half a day later, when he arrived at another marker, it was a scene of devastation, clearly indicating that a fight had just taken place. The marked spot was left with only some ordinary seaweed torn apart by sharp claws.

"It seems someone was faster than me, or... they were swallowed by the guardian beast." Lin Zhao wasn't too disappointed; seizing treasures in a secret realm is all about racing against time.

Just as he was about to leave, a deep tiger roar came from the forest on his flank.

A giant tiger, nearly ten feet long, with fiery red fur and a golden stripe on its forehead, suddenly pounced. Its crimson eyes were fixed on Lin Zhao, and saliva dripped from its mouth, burning white smoke on the ground.

"Crimson Flame Tiger? An old friend." A hint of reminiscence flashed in Lin Zhao's eyes.

The embarrassing and dangerous experience he had with the Po Jun Demon Hunting Team back then was still vivid in his mind; the raging fire power had caused him a lot of suffering.

It left a deep impression; in fact, his first goal in creating the Four Elements Sword was to compete with it.

Unfortunately, I never had the chance to do so.

Now, times have changed, and he is no longer the weak cultivator who relied on the right timing and summoned heavenly lightning to kill it.

Facing the charging Crimson Flame Tiger, Lin Zhao neither dodged nor evaded.

With a slight thought, a magic sword composed of four-colored spiritual energy instantly condensed in front of him!

"Roar!" The Crimson Tiger roared, opening its mouth to spew out a scorching red fireball.

Lin Zhao flicked his finger, and the Four Elements Sword emitted a sword cry, its blade gleaming with a brilliant azure light.

A water-attribute sword aura was unleashed, flowing like water and entangling the fireball. The clash between water and fire erupted into white mist.