Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Further afield, thousands of miles away, another standoff is unfolding.

A second-tier high-grade spirit boat, entirely black with a ferocious beast head carved on its prow, was stopped in mid-air.

The obstacle is a massive, floating throne made of black metal.

The throne is as wide as a house, with a high back and carved with reliefs of various animals, exuding a domineering and arrogant aura.

On the throne, Tiger Roar Master Yue Shan picked at his ear, somewhat impatient with the two late-stage Foundation Establishment elders from Wanheng Market who were chattering incessantly on the spirit boat: "Are you done talking? Either take action or get lost."

He was actually thinking to himself: This throne of mine is beautiful, but it's a bit drafty. Which bastard suggested that I use the throne as a flying artifact back then?

Oh, it seems he just bragged when he was drunk, saying that only a throne was worthy of his domineering presence... Never mind then.

A pale-faced, cold-eyed young cultivator slowly stepped out of the black spirit boat.

He is the owner of Wanheng Market.

He didn't say much, but simply took out a flute that was only about a foot long and covered with dark purple twisted patterns.

【Dragon-Binding Flute】

The terrifying pressure of a third-tier magic weapon, even just being taken out, caused the air within a radius of several miles to suddenly freeze!

Yue Shan's expression changed drastically. He abruptly stood up from his throne, his ordinary robes instantly ripped open, revealing a powerful body covered in countless ancient beast patterns and shimmering with a dark golden luster: "Damn it, you madman, you actually brought out a third-tier magic weapon?!"

The Lord of Wanheng Market, expressionless, brought the magic flute to his lips.

"Ugh—!!!"

A piercing, sharp, and soul-stirring flute melody resounded! Dark purple sound waves erupted from him!

Wherever the sound waves passed, the sky seemed to be stained with a layer of purplish-black, the wind and rain subsided, the clouds dispersed, and within ten miles, it seemed to instantly turn into a deathly purplish-black domain!

A terrifying force crushed towards Yue Shan!

"Domain? I've seen those before!" Yue Shan laughed wildly, his beast markings lighting up one by one, unleashing a savage and ferocious aura that soared into the sky.

He actually managed to create his own force field within the purplish-black domain! A long-handled battle sword, the size of a door panel, had appeared in his hand at some point, its blade dark red, as if it had drunk countless drops of blood.

"Take this!"

The blade flashed like a blood-red ribbon, tearing through the purplish-black domain, and fiercely slashed towards the spirit boat!

The Lord of Wanheng Market narrowed his eyes, turned his magic flute around, and shot out a purplish-black beam of light that was condensed to the extreme, colliding with the sword light in mid-air!

"BOOM—!!!"

A terrifying energy storm exploded, flattening several small hills below! The aftershocks of their battle had already disrupted the celestial phenomena within a radius of more than ten miles, with spiritual energy surging, lightning flashing, and its power approaching the threshold of the Core Formation stage!

-----

On the main battlefield, the fighting has entered its most intense phase.

The black dragon went completely berserk, disregarding its injuries and sacrificing its life essence to unleash three terrifying "Blood Dragon Waves" to bombard the formation.

Eight Foundation Establishment cultivators, along with nearly a thousand Qi Refining cultivators, were instantly vaporized! A huge gap was torn open in the formation!

"Reinforce the formation!" Zhu Yi's roar came from high above.

Without hesitation, the ten Foundation Establishment cultivators simultaneously spat out their primordial blood essence, sprinkling it onto the array flags and spirit boat!

The blood-red light merged in, forcibly mending the collapsing light net, but at the cost of a sudden drop in the aura of these ten people, a severe loss of cultivation, and almost causing them to fall from the Foundation Establishment stage.

It was precisely during this gap that it appeared and then closed,

The three strongest teams—Seven Kills, Breaking Army, and Greedy Wolf—with over a thousand elite cultivators, charged into the inner battlefield from three directions like three arrows!

They quickly formed a strange triangular battle formation. At the center of the formation, the nine Foundation Establishment cultivators, including Gao Yuan, poured all their spiritual power into it without reservation.

The array patterns lit up with a blinding blood-red light, and the murderous aura, divine consciousness, and spiritual power of a thousand people were frantically extracted and condensed!

A spear, ten zhang long and composed entirely of dark red to black energy, slowly took shape above the battle formation! The spear was wrapped in blood-red lightning, and the destructive waves it emitted made even the crazed black dragon feel a deadly threat, and fear appeared in its eyes for the first time!

"kill!"

The nine roared in unison, and their blood-red spears pierced the air! Silent, yet so fast that they could not be seen!

The black dragon let out a desperate roar, and dark red light gathered wildly in its throat. The last and strongest "Blood Dragon Wave" burst forth, shooting straight towards the direction from which the blood spear was coming! The power of this attack had already faintly touched the threshold of Core Formation!

"I'll do it!" Zhou Xun, who had returned to normal human size but was covered in blood, suddenly stood between the blood dragon waves! He crossed his arms, and his whole body was filled with golden light to the extreme, actually using his physical body to withstand this pillar of destruction!

"puff--!"

The golden light dissipated, and Zhou Xun was sent flying backward like a broken sack.

But in that brief moment of obstruction—

"laugh!"

The ten-foot-long blood spear pierced the black dragon's neck with perfect precision, seven inches below the neck—the location of the dragon's heart and core of its demonic power! The blood spear, upon entering its body, frantically devoured its life force and demonic power, transforming into countless blood-red chains that tore its body apart from the inside, binding and pinning it to the spot!

"roar--!!!"

The black dragon let out a deafening scream, its thirty-zhang-long body thrashing and thrashing wildly, cracking the earth and sending mud and rocks flying into the sky, but it could no longer break free from the blood-red shackles that had seeped into its very bones.

Almost simultaneously, the outcome of the battle in the high altitude was decided.

The winged black tiger was shredded into a rain of blood by the power of the formation, at the cost of several huge cracks appearing on the hull and the spiritual light of the Golden Sand Lock Spirit Boat dimming suddenly.

Zhu Yi rushed out of the spirit boat, wielding a golden halberd, and charged towards the already severely injured Foundation Establishment peak cultivator from Wanheng Market.

The man's face turned pale. Seeing the black dragon below pinned to death and his reinforcements blocked, he lost all will to fight and turned to flee.

however--

"waste."

A detached, aged voice, yet seemingly resounding deep within everyone's soul, descended from the heavens.

The pressure from the Core Formation stage descended like an invisible mountain!

In an instant, all the free-flowing spiritual energy within a radius of thirty miles was as if it had been firmly grasped by an invisible hand, and its flow ceased!

Whether it was the cultivation techniques used by cultivators, the talents activated by demonic beasts, or the spiritual energy absorbed by the formation, all connections with external spiritual energy were instantly severed.

The Eight Locks Dragon Trapping Formation, and even the protective spiritual light of many cultivators, began to flicker and quickly dim and collapse!

A giant hand formed from perfectly condensed spiritual energy slowly took shape above the clouds.

The palm of his hand was so large it blotted out the sun, its lines as clear as mountains and ravines, exuding a vast aura.

The moment the giant hand took shape, all the formations below shattered with a deafening roar!

"No--!"

Amidst desperate cries, thousands of Qi Refining cultivators, whose spiritual power had been instantly drained by the backlash of the formation, shattered like porcelain, turning into a bloody mist.

Many more cultivators and demonic beasts were crushed to the ground by the sheer pressure, unable to move.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators were like insects trapped in amber, their movements slowed tenfold, their faces filled with terror.

The giant hand slowly pressed down, its shadow enveloping the battlefield below.

It intends to wipe these thousands of remnants of the army, hundreds of thousands of demonic beasts, and nearly a hundred Foundation Establishment and Second-Order demonic beasts from the world completely!