Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

He possessed a secret cultivation technique that allowed him to vaguely sense the hidden, dangerous aura within Lin Zhao's body, comparable to the late Foundation Establishment stage. He had already made up his mind: to go through the motions but not put in the effort.

The core position of the Thousand Radiance Sect, which is expected to form the Golden Core stage, has long been firmly held by those major families.

He wasn't from a powerful family, and even if the Hidden Mist Market were protected, it wouldn't be his turn as an "ordinary" sect cultivator with no background. Why would he risk offending a young prodigy who was clearly not someone to be trifled with?

Their eyes met briefly in mid-air before parting, creating a strange and unspoken understanding between them.

The other black-clad mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator lacked this insight and apprehension.

He had long coveted the Hidden Mist Market and had secretly contacted a Foundation Establishment cultivator within the market. Now, seeing the array blocking his path and the continued commotion in the market's direction, he was extremely anxious.

With a roar, he summoned two second-tier magic weapons, a sword and a shield, which transformed into a streak of crimson light and pounced fiercely towards Lin Zhao. The sword light was ruthless, and the shield strike was heavy.

Lin Zhao's expression remained unchanged, and he didn't even use the Azure Lotus Sword itself.

He flicked his sleeves, made hand seals, and chanted incantations.

"Crimson Arrow of Blazing Fire!"

"Crimson Blaze!"

……

In an instant, a series of powerful second-tier fire spells flowed effortlessly from his hands, as if he didn't need any magic power at all! Fire arrows rained down, and crimson flames lashed out in succession, forcefully suppressing and interrupting the opponent's attack.

The black-clad cultivator was struggling to defend himself, his shield flashing wildly from the explosions, and his sword's light being worn away by the ubiquitous flames, leaving him in a sorry state.

He was horrified; the power and speed of the opponent's spell were simply unbelievable!

Unbeknownst to him, Lin Zhao possessed the Four Elements Array Diagram, which gathered spiritual energy, and the Four Elements Pearl, which transformed spiritual power. His mana consumption was far lower than usual, making this the perfect opportunity to test the actual effects of the many spells in the "True Technique of Departing Fire".

Time passed amidst the fierce battles and bizarre standoffs within the formation.

On the morning of the third day, the rumbling and strange phenomena from the direction of the market gradually weakened and subsided.

The two early Foundation Establishment cultivators, having grasped the situation after a night of fighting, started slacking off early on.

The black-clad Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator was completely panicked!

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as he summoned his third magical artifact—a damaged, blood-red axe covered in cracks, yet radiating an astonishingly malevolent aura! Then, he violently spat out a mouthful of blood essence onto the axe.

This is his trump card, a life-or-death weapon. Once activated, it emits a bloody light that soars into the sky, and its power is close to that of the late Foundation Establishment stage!

"You're asking for it." Lin Zhao, who hadn't actually made a move yet, finally turned completely cold.

He no longer held back, and a purple light shot out from his sleeve, instantly expanding into an ancient purple bronze bell that hung in the air. It was the Soul-Suppressing Bell, a second-tier magic weapon that had been upgraded over the years!

"Thump—!!!"

A deep, resonant bell tolled, piercing straight to the soul! Ignoring all defenses, it crashed into the soul of the black-clad cultivator who was fully wielding the Blood Axe!

"Ugh!" The black-clad cultivator's body trembled violently, his movements instantly stiffened, his eyes lost their focus, and the murderous aura of the blood axe also faltered.

In that instant, a nearly transparent black needle, the Breaking Law Needle, silently swept past Lin Zhao's fingertip.

"laugh!"

With a soft thud, the Magic-Breaking Needle struck the blood axe with pinpoint accuracy.

The power of the Void contained within it suddenly erupted, frantically eroding the blood axe's blade!

"Snap... Bang!"

Before the broken blood axe could even utter a mournful cry, it shattered into countless black fragments before everyone's horrified eyes.

The power of the Void even rebounded through the connection between the artifact and its master, causing the black-clad cultivator to cough up blood, his aura to plummet, and his soul to suffer severe damage. His face turned ashen, and his eyes were filled with fear and disbelief.

The Magic-Breaking Needle is specifically designed to counter various protective auras and magical artifacts.

For cultivators practicing the "Five Elements Return to the Void True Technique," the normal attack method should be to first break through the defense with the Magic-Breaking Needle, and then use magic weapons for subsequent attacks.

However, because Lin Zhao has comprehended the sword intent, he usually uses sword energy to attack first. Now he uses the Magic-Breaking Needle as a finishing move to kill the opponent.

The other three Foundation Establishment cultivators, including the two early-stage cultivators, had already sensed Lin Zhao's strength and began to "just go through the motions."

Seeing the black-clad cultivator's miserable state, they all gasped in shock, and then instinctively huddled together, their will to fight completely gone.

The heavily injured black-clad cultivator looked with difficulty at his three "companions."

His voice was hoarse: "You...are you just going to... watch the market fall into ruin..."

The two early-stage cultivators exchanged glances, avoiding his gaze.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Thousand Radiance Sect lowered his eyelids, as if his mind was wandering to the heavens.

Lin Zhao gave him no more chances to delay.

A flash of silver light appeared in his eyes, and the Sword Eye of Illusion was activated. An invisible attack of divine sense completely crushed the black-clad cultivator's last thought.

He groaned, his breath utterly exhausted, his eyes filled with despair and pain. He turned around shakily and staggered away from the outside of the formation.

With such severe damage to the foundation of one's soul, without a hundred years of nurturing and a tremendous stroke of luck, one's cultivation level would be lucky to maintain its current level, let alone improve.

The two early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators exchanged a glance, then stopped looking at Lin Zhao and tacitly followed the direction in which the heavily injured black-clad cultivator had left.

If you can't get meat at Hidden Mist Market, this piece of "fatty meat" in front of you seems pretty good too.

Lin Zhao did not stop them, allowing them to pass through the Four Elements Formation and leave.

Finally, the Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Thousand Radiance Sect bowed respectfully to Lin Zhao from afar, gave him a complex look, and then transformed into a streak of light, drifting away and disappearing into the mountains.

In fact, Lin Zhao's attention was mostly focused on this person from beginning to end. His intuition told him that this person's strength was comparable to the late Foundation Establishment stage, and if he really fought desperately, he would be a much greater threat than the black-clad cultivator with the axe.

Lin Zhao secretly estimated that it would probably take all his strength to suppress the other side.

Even sects have their own geniuses, but it seems the other party is unwilling to do their best for the sect.

The formation returned to calm, and the Sword Dragon and Yinglong transformed back into spiritual light and merged into the formation diagram. Lin Zhao stood quietly in place.

At noon on the third day, a communication talisman fell into his hands.

Clan Chief Lin Shanhe's voice was calm yet powerful: "The situation is settled. Return immediately."

Lin Zhao's lips curved upwards almost imperceptibly as he waved his hand to retract the Four Elements Array Diagram.

Without lingering, he transformed into a blue rainbow and sped towards the market town that had just changed hands.

--------

When Lin Zhao stepped into the Hidden Mist Market, the gray mist of the market's grand formation was slowly dissipating, revealing a scene of utter devastation.

In this battle, all Foundation Establishment cultivators went all out. The Hidden Mist Market covered an area of ​​approximately twenty miles.

A quarter of the buildings in the market had collapsed, and the remaining magical light from the array on the buildings flickered like dying fireflies.

The air was thick with the smells of dust, burnt food, and blood.

The Qi Refining cultivators moved through the ruins, carrying out the wounded and clearing away rubble. Occasionally, suppressed gasps and short commands could be heard.