Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Wherever the sword light passed, countless fine cyan sword energies burst forth from the main sword light, frantically stirring, cutting, and disintegrating the massive fist-shaped spiritual energy structure from within!

Countless spiderweb-like blue cracks suddenly appeared on the surface of the jet-black fist imprint, and they quickly spread and expanded!

From the moment the sword light pierced through the entire fist imprint to the moment it completely penetrated it, it was only a blink of an eye!

"puff--!"

A dull thud, like a balloon being popped.

The massive, jet-black fist imprint completely collapsed from within when it was still a hundred feet away from Lin Zhao, transforming into a sky full of uncontrolled black spiritual light that scattered and vanished, only stirring up a chaotic storm.

The azure sword light, still powerful, dimmed slightly after shattering the fist imprint, but still carried a piercing thunderous roar. In an instant, it crossed the last hundred feet and headed straight for Yang Yu's face!

Yang Yu's pupils shrank drastically! He roared and activated his power field in an attempt to distort the trajectory of the sword light. At the same time, his protective aura and the defensive runes on his robes lit up!

However, the Azure Lotus Sword, which displayed sword energy and thunderous sound, was far sharper and faster than he had imagined.

"Sizzle, sizzle, snap!"

Three soft sounds in succession.

The force field was pierced, the protective aura was torn apart, and the protective barrier of the magic robe instantly dimmed and shattered!

Yang Yu felt a chill between his brows, and his vision suddenly went black. His soul felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and he instantly lost all consciousness.

Although it was only for a moment, he forcibly regained consciousness with his strong physique and willpower, but what came into view was the Azure Lotus Sword hovering in front of his brow, its tip emitting a deadly cold light.

The subtle sword energy swirling around the blade stung his skin.

He could even feel the extreme sharpness of the sword tip; just one more inch and it would easily pierce his skull and annihilate his soul.

Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

The sea breeze howled, and an eerie silence filled the battlefield.

Only the sound of the waves crashing and the lingering echoes of the sword energy and thunder still reverberated in the air.

All the onlookers, whether they were Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment cultivators, gaped in astonishment.

That earth-shattering giant fist was so easily shattered by a single sword strike! The speed of the turn of events and the decisiveness of the outcome far exceeded their expectations.

With a slight thought, Lin Zhao felt the Azure Lotus Sword emit a clear, melodious hum, and it flew back into his hand with a "whoosh," returning to its sheath.

Yang Yu stood frozen in place, his face turning pale and then flushed, eventually settling into a gloomy, dejected expression.

His lips moved, his voice dry and hoarse: "...I lost."

Lin Zhao glanced at him, said nothing more, but nodded slightly towards the direction of the several fellow cultivators in the distance whose faces were pale and whose eyes were filled with fear. Then he transformed into a streak of azure light, broke through the air and disappeared into the sea and sky in the blink of an eye.

Only after his figure completely disappeared did a huge commotion erupt on the sea.

Amazement, admiration, fear, frustration... a variety of emotions permeated the crowd.

Yang Yu stood silently for a long time before slowly turning around, glancing at his junior brothers whose faces were ashen, and barking, "Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough? Go back!"

Having said that, he took off in his escape light and flew towards Zhenhai Cliff without looking back.

He lost this battle wholeheartedly, but he also lost some of the prestige of his lineage at Zhenhai Cliff.

It would be unwise for Master to offend such a promising sword prodigy.

Lin Zhao, however, had already put this whole affair behind her.

He determined the direction, and the Azure Scale sped off at full speed towards the secret sea area he had agreed upon with Fang Yue.

-----

Thousands of miles away, an inconspicuous little island lies quietly.

The island bears the mark of a sect and is a second-tier resource point under the jurisdiction of Zhenhai Cliff. It possesses a second-tier spiritual vein and is resident with one Foundation Establishment cultivator and over a hundred Qi Refining disciples.

At this moment, hundreds of feet below the island, and even deeper, nearly a thousand feet below, in the middle of a naturally formed narrow cavity, two figures are concealing their presence.

It was Lin Zhao and Fang Yue.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Lin Zhao transmitted his thoughts, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding rock walls that glowed faintly.

The earth's spiritual energy flows actively here, but there is nothing particularly remarkable about it.

"There's no mistake, this is a place where spiritual water is nurtured." Fang Yue's eyes were sharp, and a transparent ripple was gently moving at his fingertips. "Master Canglang's methods are indeed superb. He used the natural flow of the earth's veins to conceal the spiritual energy, and he was able to deceive even the divine sense of a Core Formation cultivator."

However, he used a spatial magic item to solidify the concealment restriction. No matter how powerful the magic item is, it will always leave extremely subtle spatial fluctuations when used... I sensed it. The Core Formation cultivators of the Enforcement Hall found five similar locations, and I found this one, but I didn't hand it in."

He pointed to an ordinary rock wall several feet in diameter in front of him: "The thing is hidden behind this. I can pinpoint its location, but I can't break the restriction. Its connection to the spiritual vein is too deep. Your domain might be able to open the restriction."

Lin Zhao nodded and said no more.

He held his breath and focused his mind, his domain quietly unfolding as he slowly explored every inch of rock and spiritual energy veins ahead.

At first, nothing was gained. The rock wall was just a rock wall, and the flow of spiritual energy was natural and smooth.

Lin Zhao was in no hurry. He continued to penetrate and perceive the Dharma Domain, immersing his mind in it.

A full hour later, he finally caught a trace of extremely discordant "stagnation" in the information fed back by the Law Domain—like a small area of ​​brushstrokes in a perfectly flowing painting showing imperceptible overlap and distortion.

"Found it..." Lin Zhao felt reassured and concentrated his domain power to cover the distorted area. It took him almost another day to barely figure out the complex spiritual energy nodes and spatial nesting structure of the restriction.

He opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air: "Such a complex restriction, nested layer upon layer, and even resonating with the earth's veins. The contents inside... are fourteen drops of 'Azure Jade Spirit Water,' each drop possessing a spiritual energy comparable to a mid-grade second-tier spiritual item, approaching the high grade."

A glint of light flashed in Fang Yue's eyes: "Can it be broken?"

"Yes, but it will take time, at least several hours." Lin Zhao shook his head. "The commotion will be significant, enough for a Core Formation cultivator to make several round trips."

"This is the furthest known location from Zhenhai Cliff," Fang Yue said thoughtfully. "Once the Enforcement Hall makes its move and Canglang Zhenren is tied down, that will be our only chance. Can you reduce the time to less than half an hour?"

"I'll give it a try. Now's not the time, let's retreat."

The two retreated silently, and only emerged from the sea a hundred miles away from a deserted reef.

"What a cultivator who has set his sights on is plotting against you..." Lin Zhao gazed at the waves, his tone devoid of fear, only displaying calm deliberation.

"The boldest get the best of the best." Fang Yue smirked. "Which spiritual item that can truly help us break through our bottlenecks isn't in the hands of higher-level cultivators? If we don't take the risk, are we waiting for it to fall from the sky?"

Lin Zhao asked, "Approximately how long will it take for the Enforcement Hall to make its move?"

Fang Yue remained silent for a few moments before replying, "Based on my observations and internal information, it will take at most a month."

"Alright. If I can keep the time to break the restriction within half an hour within a month, we'll go for it. If not, we'll give up immediately; the risk is too great." Lin Zhao made his decision.