Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

They tried to break through the formation in the final moments to find an opportunity.

The remaining cultivators from the three major sects have also arrived, but it's unknown how many of them have entered the core palace area.

They are now making an effort to break the formation, a fact that the members of Shangqifang all understand without tacitly agreeing.

Lin Zhao and Xu Chuan exchanged a glance, tacitly concealing their auras, and began attacking the formation.

Lin Zhao swung his Qingfeng sword, unleashing several sword energies; Xu Chuan, on the other hand, threw out several ordinary talismans.

The two pretended to attack the formation while secretly communicating through telepathy.

"Brother Lin, look over there in the purple robes. They're from the Purple Cloud Pavilion. They have fiery tempers, impressive names, but their strength is nothing special."

The three people huddled together, not really fighting, are from the Broken Jade Market, the market closest to the secret realm.

Xu Chuan reverted to his "gossip" nature, secretly offering advice on the situation, his talkativeness only increasing.

"Don't be fooled by how exciting the fight looks now; few of them are actually going all out."

Those who have survived to this day either have connections or real power; they're all very slippery.

If you seriously injure or kill someone here, it's easy for bystanders to take advantage of the situation; it's not worth it.

Lin Zhao observed silently and indeed found that although conflicts occurred from time to time, they mostly ended quickly.

Once one side shows signs of weakness, they immediately retreat, and the victor doesn't pursue, maintaining a fragile balance.

For the next few days, Lin Zhao spent her time in this seemingly tense, spectator-like state.

He was happy to have some free time, observing the techniques and formations of different cultivators while secretly adjusting his breathing to consolidate his cultivation.

Until this day, a conflict more intense than ever before erupted near a ruined formation shrouded in an earthen-yellow halo.

The deafening roar of the colliding spiritual energies was exceptionally loud, attracting the attention of many onlookers.

Lin Zhao arrived at the outer perimeter and stared intently. He noticed that one of the fighting sides was someone he knew—

Shen Qianshan! He and two other cultivators from the Po Jun Demon Hunting Team were fighting against the siege of four cultivators from Hu Xiao Market.

The four cultivators from Tiger Roar Market attacked extremely fiercely. Lin Zhao recognized the burly man with a face full of scars as the leader at a glance.

It was the guy who tried to recruit him with ill intentions when he first entered the secret realm!

The four cultivators attacked fiercely and coordinated perfectly.

However, Shen Qianshan and his two companions were not to be underestimated; they were experienced in actual combat, and the two sides fought to a standstill.

"What a small world." Lin Zhao's eyes instantly turned cold as she prepared to step forward to help.

Putting aside the fact that he was once a member of the Po Jun Demon Hunting Team, Po Jun also contributed a lot to the Lin family's Foundation Establishment process.

The Lin family of Qingxi Mountain and the Po Jun Demon Hunting Team are still allies.

He could no longer sit idly by.

"Brother Xu, wait a moment." Lin Zhao transmitted his voice to Xu Chuan, and his figure had already darted out.

He didn't use the eye-catching four-elemental sword dragon or sword wings; he simply focused his mind and channeled powerful spiritual energy into the Qingfeng sword.

With a simple yet powerful sword strike, he raised his hand!

With a heavy, mountain-like, rock-shattering, and gold-shattering aura, it slashed straight at a sinister, thin, tall cultivator who was controlling a pair of flying claws to attack Shen Qianshan!

The tall, thin man sensed the fierce approach and his expression changed. He hurriedly recalled his grappling hook to block.

"clang--!!!"

A deafening clang of metal clashing rang out! Sword energy and dark claw light collided violently, and the tall, thin cultivator felt an irresistible force coursing through his magical artifact.

The shock made his arms go numb, his blood surge, and he groaned as he spat out a mouthful of blood. He was forced back more than ten feet, claws and all, with a look of horror on his face.

At the same time, he recognized Lin Zhao as the ninth-level Qi Refining youth who had rejected them and then quickly disappeared in the swamp.

But the formidable combat power displayed by the opponent at this moment exceeded his expectations!

"It's you?!" The burly man leading Tiger Roar Market also recognized Lin Zhao. His eyes flashed even more fiercely, but he was also filled with fear.

"Those people from Tiger Roar Market are truly haunting."

Lin Zhao stood with his sword in hand, blocking Shen Qianshan and his companions. His cold gaze swept over the four of them. "Do you want to continue fighting today?"

"You little brat, you're asking for it!" the burly man roared, but did not immediately step forward.

Lin Zhao's appearance disrupted their numerical advantage, and the strength he displayed with that sword strike was not to be underestimated; moreover, many eyes were watching.

If we continue fighting, even if we win, it will likely be a Pyrrhic victory, benefiting others instead.

Shen Qianshan took the opportunity to give the injured team member a pill, and then stood on either side of Lin Zhao with another team member.

The four people from Tiger Roar Market exchanged glances, all seeing the hesitation in each other's eyes.

The burly man gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "Fine, Shen Qianshan! You're lucky today. Let's go!"

After uttering these harsh words, the four of them put away their magical artifacts, retreated cautiously, and quickly disappeared from sight.

"Thank you for your timely assistance, Brother Lin Zhao!" Seeing the enemy retreat, Shen Qianshan solemnly clasped his hands in a salute to Lin Zhao.

The two teammates behind him also thanked him, their eyes filled with gratitude as they looked at Lin Zhao.

"Captain Shen, you're too kind. The Lin family and the Po Jun Demon Hunting Team are of the same ilk, so it's only right that we help each other."

Lin Zhao sheathed his sword, his tone softening. "How is that brother's injury?"

"It's just a superficial injury, nothing serious," Shen Qianshan waved his hand.

He then looked behind him at the dilapidated array that still emitted an earthy yellow glow, and at the several gaps in the array that they had broken through at its edge.

He smiled wryly, "The formation was about to be opened, but it was interfered with by those villains. Now that the formation has been restored, we have to start all over again."

"Captain Shen, are you going to retrieve the guardian item within this formation?" Lin Zhao asked, noticing that there seemed to be no conspicuous spiritual herbs or treasures radiating light in the center of the formation.

Shen Qianshan shook his head and lowered his voice, saying, "Brother Lin, to be honest, our goal here is not the spiritual objects that might have been left behind within the formation."

Rather, it's the remnant formation itself, or rather, the core formation materials that constitute this "Suppressing Mountain Formation"!

"Disassemble the formation and take it out?" Lin Zhao was slightly startled. This was no easy task; the art of formations was such that moving one part affected the whole system.

In particular, such ancient and dilapidated formations are structurally unstable, and forcibly dismantling them can easily trigger a backlash of spiritual energy or cause them to collapse, which is very dangerous and requires extremely sophisticated methods.

"That's right," Shen Qianshan affirmed, a determined glint in his eyes.

"My Po Jun Demon Hunting Team has cooperated extensively with the border troops of the Dayun Dynasty. I'm sure Brother Lin is aware of this as well."

Lin Zhao nodded; of course he knew about this.

The Yunxia Mountains are ravaged by demonic beasts year-round, for which the Great Yun Dynasty has expended countless resources in the border regions.

They deployed an ironclad defense line consisting of twelve fortified cities, hundreds of fortresses, and millions of ordinary soldiers.

To fend off the monsters and various dangers that were missed in the Seventeen Markets.

That was the last line of defense for the safety of countless civilians.