Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Half an hour later

The entire Jinsha Market was like a small boat in a storm, rocking violently. Dust fell from the buildings, and terrified cries echoed from the mortal area.

The protective barrier was now cracked with fine, spiderweb-like fissures! Although it was not yet broken, everyone could see that the market's formation had been breached at this moment.

Despair, like icy water, engulfed everyone.

At this critical moment—

"call out--!!!"

A sharp, ear-piercing whistling sound suddenly rang out from the southeast!

A beam of blood-red light, only a few feet long and resembling a crimson crystal pillar, traversed a distance of several miles and struck a palace on the side of the Ghost Cry Palace with unparalleled precision at a speed that was impossible for the naked eye to perceive!

"BOOM!!!"

A tremendous crash and shattering sound! The gray-black evil energy flowing around the Ghost Cry Palace suddenly stopped, and the huge skull phantom also shook violently, becoming somewhat blurred.

The area of ​​the temple that was hit instantly dimmed, and several huge black fragments even flew off!

"Who?!" A furious roar, filled with shock and rage, echoed from within the Ghost Cry Palace.

More than ten miles to the southeast, a shuttle-shaped spirit boat with a dark golden luster silently tore through the clouds and revealed its form.

The Zhong family's second-tier top-grade Blood Slaughter Spirit Boat is over thirty zhang long. At the bow, there is a giant crossbow with a ferocious appearance. Runes flow across the crossbow, radiating a terrifying aura of destruction.

A heart-wrenching roar echoed from within the Ghost Cry Palace: "Zhong! Zhen! Yue!"

"Hey, I'm here," Zhong Zhenyue replied slowly, waving his hand gently.

The Blood Killing Crossbow emitted a low hum once more, and a second crimson beam of light tore through the air!

This time, the blood-red light accurately struck the area near where Ghost Cry Palace had been hit last time.

More black fragments flew out, and even the sound of explosions from the overload of the internal formation could be heard!

Among the cultivators suspended around the palace, nearly a hundred were struck by the backlash from their deep connection with the magical artifact's spiritual power, coughing up blood and plummeting into the beast horde below, disappearing without a trace.

"The third arrow, to send you on your way?" Zhong Zhenyue's threatening voice clearly reached inside the Ghost Cry Hall, but he did not launch the third arrow for a long time!

The Ghost Cry Palace slowed its offensive against the skulls, clearly assessing the threat posed by the Zhong family.

How could Angelica dahurica let go of this chance to catch its breath?

With a fierce shout, she gathered the remaining power of the city's array, and the golden giant sword phantom shone brightly. Taking advantage of the unstable skull phantom, she slashed down fiercely!

"Snap!"

The giant skull finally gave way and shattered with a crash, turning into a cloud of gray-black energy that drifted across the sky.

The hoarse voice rang out again, this time filled with barely suppressed resentment: "Old Ghost Zhong... I, Ghost Cry Market, will remember what happened today!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the massive Ghost Cry Palace ceased its attack and instead began to slowly retreat, its malevolent aura receding as it assumed a defensive stance.

Clearly, the Ghost Cry Pavilion Master dared not risk this third-tier magic weapon again. Although he was at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, he had no hope of forming his core. The Ghost Cry Pavilion was more valuable than him, and if this treasure were damaged, his backer in the Thousand Radiance Sect would not let him off easily.

For a moment, the sky presented an eerie triangular confrontation.

In the west, there is the Ghost Cry Palace, a third-tier magical artifact where malevolent energy is contained, and thousands of cultivators who have undergone countless eons of cultivation.

To the east lies a second-tier top-grade spirit boat, the Blood Slaughter Spirit Boat, and fifteen members of the Zhong family who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

In the center stands the Jinsha Market, its array of lights dimmed, yet still standing tall.

Bai Zhi Fairy was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, her back already soaked with cold sweat.

She looked at Chung Chung-yue's spirit boat with a complicated expression.

Below the city, the demonic beasts that had retreated due to the appearance of the Ghost Cry Palace began to flee in large numbers after the Blood Slaughter Spirit Boat appeared, heading upstream or attacking the downstream defenses...

Everyone—Bai Zhi inside the city, Zhong Zhenyue outside the city, and the shopkeeper in the Ghost Cry Palace—ignored these demonic beasts.

They all knew perfectly well—

The real victory or defeat does not lie with them.

On the upper reaches of the Jinsha River, ... the battle to slay the dragon took place.

-----

The upper reaches of the Jinsha River are the main battlefield for the Jiaolong submersible.

The waters within a radius of more than ten miles had been completely transformed. The muddy water had been evaporated and stirred up by the violent spiritual power, revealing the black silt and strange rocks below.

The second-generation black dragon, which was over thirty feet long, had now been forced from the deep pool to a relatively solid riverbed.

Half of its scales were broken, and dark red dragon blood flowed from its wounds like a stream. The dragon's vertical pupils burned with madness and rage.

Ten miles around it, eight thousand Qi Refining cultivators formed a huge circular battle formation.

The base of the formation consists of eight massive second-tier spirit boats and fifty second-tier flying boats, their spiritual light intertwined to form a pale golden formation covering the sky—the Eight Locks Dragon-Trapping Formation.

The formation not only suppressed the movement of the black dragon within the formation, but also resisted the continuous stream of demonic beasts surging from the outside.

Forty early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators and six mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators were scattered at key nodes of the formation, struggling to maintain the operation of the spirit boat and the formation.

Each time the black dragon struggled and charged, many cultivators coughed up blood.

Outside the formation, the sounds of dozens of second-tier demonic beasts bombarding the formation continued incessantly.

At the heart of the formation, the real battle was extremely fierce.

Zhou Xun had transformed into a pale golden giant nearly ten feet tall, which was the form he had pushed his body-refining technique to its limit.

His entire body was covered with fine golden patterns, and his muscles were as bulging as if cast from gold and iron. He met the black dragon's attack head-on! Each collision produced a loud clang of metal against metal, and the shockwaves plowed deep trenches into the ground.

He had been sent flying countless times, his golden body covered in cracks, blood constantly spilling from the corner of his mouth, yet he would always roar and pounce again in the next moment!

Several miles away, Xue Ya of the Black Fiend Pavilion was suspended in mid-air, with two Black Fiend magical artifacts floating in front of him. These artifacts were like a leech, specifically designed to harass the Black Dragon's wounds, making it extremely agitated.

Nearly ten other Foundation Establishment stage cultivators roamed the perimeter, unleashing a barrage of magical artifacts and spells, specifically targeting the black dragon's relatively vulnerable parts.

Although this black dragon is of the second generation bloodline and is not as powerful as the first generation, its late Foundation Establishment cultivation, coupled with its powerful physical body and innate divine abilities, makes its combat strength far exceed that of human cultivators of the same level.

If they hadn't been suppressed by the great formation and held back by the desperate tactics of the crowd, they would have broken through the encirclement long ago.

-----

-----

The battle is even more dangerous in the higher reaches of the sky.

A shuttle-shaped spirit boat, over forty feet long and shimmering with a golden sheen, was slowly circling in a mysterious trajectory—this was the legendary, damaged, treasured spirit boat of Jinsha Market, the second-tier top-grade spirit boat, the Jinsha Locked Spirit Boat!

At this moment, Zhu Yi had secretly repaired the spirit boat! Using the spirit boat as its core, he had set up a miniature "Golden Sand Spirit Locking Array," effectively trapping a Foundation Establishment peak cultivator from Wanheng Market.

Along with a demonic beast that had also reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage and resembled a winged black tiger, they were trapped together in the center of the formation!

The Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator was an elderly cultivator with a sinister face. At this moment, he was both shocked and furious. He was riding a black flying sword and constantly bombarding the invisible golden barrier around him.

The winged black tiger became even more enraged, unleashing countless wind blades from its wings and spewing out jet-black lightning balls from its mouth.

However, the Golden Sand Locking Spirit Array is extremely strange, as it can disperse and transmit most of the attack power, making it difficult to break through for a while.