Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

"Buzz—!!!"

The massive hull of the spirit boat shuddered violently, and all the intricate array patterns on its surface lit up simultaneously, unleashing an unprecedented burst of dazzling spiritual light! The bow section slowly opened...

Countless runes inside spun and condensed wildly, and a massive amount of spiritual energy flowed from the core of the spirit boat, rapidly converging at the bow!

Three breaths later, a giant sword phantom, over a hundred feet long and composed entirely of extremely condensed Geng metal energy, materialized in the void in front of the ship's bow!

The giant sword trembled slightly, and the sharp aura it emitted forcefully pushed away and annihilated the surrounding violent gales!

The sword tip was aimed directly at the purple-armored dragon lizard rising from below!

This is one of the attack forms of a third-tier spirit boat, a strike powerful enough to threaten a Core Formation cultivator!

The Purple Fiend Crystal Armored Dragon Lizard seemed to sense the threat posed by the giant sword. Its massive body flickered in and out of existence amidst the purple fiend aura, and it refrained from attacking again.

Instead, it let out a series of low growls, its cold, vertical pupils confronting the countless tense gazes on the spirit boat.

Time ticked by, and a suffocating sense of oppression filled the air.

The spirit boat's protective shields were fully activated, and the cultivators stared pale-faced at the terrifying monster in the distance. Despair and fear spread silently.

Lin Zhao clenched his fists, his palms sweating profusely. This was the first time he had truly felt the death threat of someone at the Core Formation stage!

The standoff lasted for a full hour.

Ultimately, perhaps they felt it wasn't worth the risk of locked in a deadly struggle with a "lump of iron" that posed a threat.

The Purple Fiend Crystal Armored Dragon Lizard let out a resentful roar, slowly retracting its overwhelming fiendish aura. Its enormous phantom sank into the darkness below and disappeared.

Only after that terrifying aura had completely dissipated for a long time did the tense atmosphere on the spirit boat suddenly relax.

"Crisis over, remain vigilant. Gather the survivors."

Lan Jingchi's voice rang out again, regaining its usual composure, but upon closer listening, one could still detect a trace of fatigue.

The follow-up actions were swiftly initiated. The cultivators who escaped from the destroyed spirit boat were allowed to board a third-tier spirit boat after paying a substantial fee.

A few days later, another Tier 2 spirit ship was dodging a swarm of troublesome Tier 2 "Spirit-Eating Ghost Bees" when...

The power runes were accidentally pierced, causing significant damage. Left with no other option, the majority of passengers had to be evacuated.

A small number of people skilled in formations were left behind to carry out maintenance work. As for whether they can return safely in the future, that's hard to say.

The second-tier spirit boat was enormous. Although it could be put into a special storage bag, it was impossible to enter the interior of the spirit boat.

Otherwise, if a second-tier spirit boat were to cooperate with a Foundation Establishment cultivator to deploy inside the spirit boat, even a third-tier spirit boat comparable to a Core Formation cultivator would be severely damaged. This is a matter of principle.

As a result, the spirit ship successively received cultivators from three other distressed spirit ships, becoming even more crowded than usual, and new faces could often be seen.

After witnessing the confrontation with the third-tier demon beast, Lin Zhao's desire for power grew even stronger.

He returned to his assigned single room, sat cross-legged, and silently circulated his internal energy to enter a meditative state.

After a month-long voyage, the massive spirit ship fleet finally traversed the complex terrain of the Cloud and Mist Mountains and officially entered the Tongming Domain.

Upon entering, all the cultivators from the Yunxia Mountains, including Lin Zhao, immediately sensed a significant difference.

The spiritual energy permeating the world has become more balanced and peaceful, making it easier for cultivators to absorb and refine it.

With each breath, spiritual energy flows naturally into the meridians like a trickle, subtly increasing the efficiency of cultivation.

Lin Zhao stood by the porthole, took a deep breath, and sighed, "I didn't realize it before when I was in Yunxia Mountain, but now that I've compared the two, I realize that the spiritual energy there has a bit more violent power, while the spiritual energy here is extremely gentle."

Perhaps it is precisely because of the turbulent spiritual energy of the Yunxia Mountains that so many ferocious beasts and perilous places were born.

After arriving at the relatively safe Tongming Domain, the Azure Sea Chamber of Commerce's third-tier spirit boat and the remaining spirit boats...

Finally, we can stop the numerous energy barriers and start full-speed navigation.

The massive ship's array was fully activated, transforming it into a streak of light, its speed increasing several times over.

Of the fifteen Tier 2 Guardian Spirit Ships that set out, only twelve remained when they arrived in the Tongming Domain.

Five of the ships broke away from the fleet after arriving in the Tongming Domain; their destination was not Tongming Immortal City.

The remaining seven ships continued to follow the merchant guild, heading towards the Tongming Immortal Realm.

Below lies a vast, fertile plain stretching as far as the eye can see.

The area is crisscrossed by rivers, dotted with villages, towns, and cities, and densely populated.

According to the fellow cultivators on the ship, there are more than ten dynasties among the mortal forces within the Tongming Domain.

The "Southern Li Kingdom" that Su Qianxue wanted to go to was one of them.

The cultivation civilization and the mortal dynasty seem to have reached a delicate balance and interdependence here.

As they ventured deeper into the core area of ​​the Tongming Domain, the sights in the sky became increasingly breathtaking.

Almost everyone possessed a flying artifact! Flying swords, auspicious clouds, strange flying boats, even giant gourds and banana leaves... all sorts of flying artifacts of varying grades carried cultivators.

Even cultivators in the early to mid-stages of Qi Refining can travel for short periods by using special flying artifacts powered by spirit stones, a sight unimaginable in the Cloud and Mist Mountains.

Perhaps because there are so many powerful figures in the domain, the airspace above the Tongming Domain seems much "safer".

Several days later, the outline of a magnificent city, like a sleeping mountain, slowly rose on the horizon.

Tongming Immortal City!

The closer you get, the more you can feel its oppressive presence and boundless vitality.

The city was built on the banks of a wide, misty river.

The city itself was larger than imagined. The walls were not made of ordinary bricks and stones, but of a special material with a metallic luster and engraved with countless runes, which shimmered with a pale golden light in the sunlight.

Surrounding the Immortal City are thirty-six giant towers, entirely constructed of silver-white metal!

Each tower is over a hundred feet tall, with a slender and straight body, like thirty-six sharp swords piercing the sky, and a complex psionic device slowly rotating at the top.

They stand on the plain like loyal guardians, forming the outermost and most formidable defensive line of the immortal city.

The sky was filled not only with the flying magical artifacts of Qi Refining cultivators, but also with the frequent appearance of second-tier spirit boats.

As they approached the sky above the immortal city, Lin Zhao spotted several third-tier spirit boats that also emitted fluctuations at the Core Formation level.

"Attention all flying units! We are about to enter the no-fly zone of Tongming Immortal City! Please land as instructed or proceed to the designated location!"

A loud warning echoed through all the spirit ships in the fleet via the array.

With the city walls of the immortal city as the boundary, a vast, pale blue light curtain, covering the entire city and its surrounding area, appeared and disappeared intermittently.

That's a city-wide no-fly zone and protective array! Any unauthorized flying object...

Whether it's a magical artifact or a spirit boat, once it enters, it will be subjected to a merciless attack from the great formation.