Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

At the very back of the defensive line, in a relatively safe area, nearly five thousand cultivators were gathered.

They were the reserve forces of various factions, the wounded, and the young monks who were weaker and were arranged here to "observe and learn".

The terrain here is slightly higher, allowing for a vague view of the battle situation at the front.

At this moment, everyone held their breath and stared at the battlefield in the distance, where spiritual light flashed and beast roars shook the heavens.

"My God... what kind of formation is that? Fireballs are raining down like crazy!"

"Look to the northeast! That scarred guy is charging straight into the herd of beasts and hacking them to pieces!"

"The scariest place is the southwest corner. They kill people there... no, they kill demons like they're mowing grass. Their movements are eerily synchronized."

"Those two young girls in the southeast corner... are they Senior Lin Zhao's niece and apprentice? So young and already leading the charge? Although they were a bit flustered, they actually held on!"

The buzzing of voices continued, a mixture of fear, shock, envy...

A boy who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old suddenly whispered to the elder beside him, "Third Uncle, the Lin family... is so powerful? I thought they were just lucky to have a senior like Lin Zhao."

The middle-aged cultivator, addressed as Third Uncle, remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "I used to think so too. But now I see... the Lin family's ability to maintain its position as the head of a sect isn't just due to one genius. Look at those five great formations? And look at those family cultivators... the Lin family's foundation is incredibly deep."

The boy nodded, seemingly understanding, and then asked, "So...in the future, should we...have to deal with the Lin family properly?"

The middle-aged cultivator smiled, a complex smile playing on his lips: "If we win this battle, Shaoyang Market will have to defer to the Lin family for the next few hundred years. Dealing with them? That's a must, and we'll have to be careful."

Just then, a violent energy fluctuation suddenly came from the front line!

Everyone looked up in a panic, and saw a dazzling blue rainbow streaking across the sky, hurtling toward the heart of the battlefield.

"It's Senior Lin Zhao!" someone exclaimed in surprise.

"He's back from Black Wind Valley? Could it be...?"

"It's only been less than an hour! Black Wind Valley has three Foundation Establishment level demonic beasts!"

Under the gaze of countless shocked eyes, the azure rainbow fell to earth like a meteor, ruthlessly plunging into the fiercest battle at the center of the defensive line.

The scales of the decisive battle tipped quietly at this moment.

-----

When Lin Zhao returned from Black Wind Valley, several defensive formations were in danger of collapsing.

There were simply too many demonic beasts. Three of the seven outermost second-tier formations had dimmed spiritual light and were on the verge of collapse.

Although the Five Lords' Fire Array was still in operation, the array's spirit stones had been replaced three times, and the array masters were all pale-faced.

The beast tide seemed endless, continuing to surge forth.

Instead of joining the Foundation Establishment battlefield first, he landed directly on the most critical defensive line.

Ye Xiaoxiao looked up abruptly and saw a figure in blue standing in mid-air, holding a scroll that was neither silk nor cloth.

【Four Elements Formation Diagram】.

He poured his magic power into it, and the array flew out of his hand, unfolding in mid-air.

"Buzz—!"

A deep, resounding roar, like a dragon's cry, echoed throughout! At the center of the array, four-colored spiritual light burst forth as if alive, instantly spreading out a huge, semi-transparent scroll of light within a radius of five miles.

On the scroll, countless intricate runes flowed and disappeared, faintly resonating with the earth's veins beneath their feet.

At the four corners of the array, the phantom images of four elemental orbs, which had already been upgraded to second-tier magic artifacts, appeared, suppressing the array's core and forming a perfect cycle. In an instant, the concentration of spiritual energy within the array soared, creating its own miniature world.

Lin Zhao's thoughts stirred slightly. As the array diagram shimmered with spiritual light, a silver-white "sword dragon" composed of countless intricate sword energy runes materialized within the array, its scales and claws clearly defined, its sword intent chilling.

On the other side, a pair of broad wings made of wind and fire runes unfurled, and the phantom of "Yinglong" gracefully appeared, its agile eyes scanning the array.

Both of these array spirits possess the combat power of the early Foundation Establishment stage, and relying on the grand array, their energy is almost inexhaustible.

The Four Elements Formation is becoming less and less useful to Lin Zhao, but it can still play a huge role in area-of-effect attacks.

It can now be considered a war artifact.

"attack."

Lin Zhao gestured forward with her finger.

The sword dragon roared and transformed into a silver-white streak of light, plunging into the beast tide! Wherever it passed, the demonic beasts were torn apart like paper by the sword energy, and severed limbs and blood rained down all over the sky.

Yinglong flapped its wings, unleashing countless wind blades and fireballs that covered an area of ​​over several miles, turning low-level monsters into charred remains in large numbers.

The most astonishing thing was that the entire Four Elements Formation Diagram began to slowly shift along the defensive line!

Although their movement speed was not fast, wherever they passed, the two array spirits were like the most efficient harvesting machines, forcibly plowing out a blood and flesh corridor three miles wide and more than ten miles long in the beast tide!

The monsters were too numerous. In just over a quarter of an hour, the Four Elements Formation swept across most of the defensive line, killing tens of thousands of monsters!

The originally precarious defensive line was actually stabilized by this array diagram!

On the stone platform, Ye Xiaoxiao and Lin You stared blankly at the cyan figure above the array diagram, then looked down at the Li Huo Cauldron in their hands—just now they had to exert all their strength to maintain the defensive line, while Lin Zhao, with one diagram, swept a range ten times that of them.

"Is this... the true power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator?" Lin You murmured.

However, this power also thoroughly enraged the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the demon beast side.

-----

"roar--!!!"

A furious roar came from the battlefield high in the sky! Among the second-tier demonic beasts that were locked in battle with humans at the Foundation Establishment stage, six black shadows suddenly broke off and rushed towards Lin Zhao without regard for anything else!

Leading the pack was a silver-gray fox with a crescent moon pattern on its forehead, possessing a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation level. As it ran, it left behind numerous afterimages, making it difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake.

On the other side was the "Shadow Leopard," also at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Its form appeared and disappeared in the sunlight, and its sharp claws slashed through the air with a piercing shriek.

The remaining four were all at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. When all six beasts appeared, their demonic energy formed a gray-black cloud that blotted out the sky!

The human Foundation Establishment cultivator tried to intercept them, but was tightly bound by the remaining ten demonic beasts. Daoist Qingsong cried out in alarm, "Fellow Daoist Lin, be careful!"

Lin Zhao's eyes were calm.

He glanced at the Four Elements Array Diagram below, which was still being cleared out—if they used this diagram to fight, they could withstand the attack, but the aftershocks of a Foundation Establishment level battle would be a catastrophic disaster for the Qi Refining cultivators below.

Moreover, he could handle just six low-level Foundation Establishment demonic beasts.

He took a deep breath and made a decision.

With a flick of his right hand, the Four Elements Array Diagram transformed into a stream of light and flew toward the fifth array stone platform, landing steadily in Lin You's hand.

"Use the power of the Four Elements Formation to strengthen the great formation," his voice transmitted to the two women. "Just maintain the formation line; there's no need to attack."

Holding the array diagram, Lin You felt a vast and gentle spiritual energy flow into her meridians along her arm, which greatly relieved the stinging pain caused by the exhaustion of her spiritual energy.

She gritted her teeth and nodded, working with Ye Xiaoxiao to guide the power of the array diagram to all the Li Huo cauldrons—in an instant, the five Li Huo arrays shone brightly!

Lin Zhao soared into the sky, heading towards a desolate mountain twenty miles away from the defense line.

He cannot leave the battlefield on human territory.

Six demonic beasts gave chase. The Shadow Leopard was the fastest, closing the distance to within a hundred feet of Lin Zhao in a few flashes, its claws unleashing five gray-black blades that tore through the air!

Without turning his head, Lin Zhao's Azure Lotus Sword Wings flashed with azure light, transforming into seventy-two azure sword lights that splashed backward! "Clang clang clang" A series of crisp sounds rang out as the blade lights were all blocked.

The two sides chased and fled, covering twenty miles in the blink of an eye.