Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

After Lin Zhao advanced to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, the power of the Breaking Law Nether Needles reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and he was able to condense nine of them.

If he breaks through to the later stage, he can condense twenty-seven Nether Needles comparable to those in the later stage.

Only now did the fourth-tier cultivation technique slowly reveal its ferocious power.

The face of the Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator turned completely black.

"you--"

At this moment, Cui Jun completely dropped the pretense. He stood up and activated his magic weapon to confront the Foundation Establishment peak cultivator.

Lin Zhao ignored them.

His gaze swept over the remaining four people—two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators confronting their fellow disciple surnamed Zhou.

Opposite Lin Zhao were two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. One of them was affected by the Three Absolute Demon Drum, and his aura was somewhat unstable, indicating that his foundation was the weakest.

Lin Zhao raised his hand, and the drumbeats began again.

"Thump—!!!"

This time, all three ultimate techniques were used at once, but now they were all aimed at a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. The man was controlled by the sound waves, and the powerful sonic waves overturned him, sending him flying horizontally and crashing into a rock in the distance, scattering gravel everywhere.

At the same time, Lin Zhao also made his move with the Myriad Soul Banner.

It was a large, eerie black banner, its surface seemingly stitched together from countless twisted, tormented human faces, each one screaming silently.

As soon as the banner was unfurled, countless mournful howls of souls instantly filled the heavens and earth, and black mist billowed out, obscuring half the sky.

The black energy condensed into a gigantic ghost hand—ten zhang in size, with five fingers spread out, fingernails as black as ink, and countless struggling souls wrapped around the knuckles.

The ghostly hand suddenly fell, grabbing the other late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with the weakest foundation.

"No--!!!"

The man only had time to let out a scream before the ghostly hand suddenly clenched.

"Bang!"

Like crushing a ripe watermelon. Blood mist exploded, flesh splattered everywhere, and the person and the magical artifact were crushed to dust.

The ghostly hand retracted, and a chewing sound came from within the black mist.

The entire room fell silent.

The brother and sister were completely dumbfounded. The old man surnamed Zheng swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He had lived for over a hundred years, seen all kinds of cultivators, encountered tribulation cultivators, and met all sorts of ruthless characters who killed without blinking an eye.

But the demonic cultivator in front of him, wearing a black mask—wielding the Three Absolute Demonic Drum, the Yin Needle magic weapon, and the Myriad Soul Banner, one set after another, killing Foundation Establishment cultivators like chickens—this damn cultivator is ten times more ruthless than a Tribulation Cultivator.

Who the hell is this disciple of a major demonic sect?!

Lin Zhao ignored them.

He looked at the remaining late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who had been thrown into the air witnessed this scene as soon as he got up—he was almost dumbfounded by Lin Zhao. When did Foundation Establishment cultivators become so vulnerable?

Lin Zhao seized the opportunity and released the Five Qi Convergence Lock spell.

Five-colored spiritual light flowed from Lin Zhao's fingertips, transforming into five agile, snake-like chains of spiritual energy.

Like a nimble snake, it instantly traversed a hundred feet, precisely coiling around the cultivator.

The chains snapped shut the moment they touched the metal, tightening abruptly! The power of the five elements erupted, instantly locking down all his spiritual energy flow.

The late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator let out a muffled groan, his eyes filled with horror and despair.

At the same time, Lin Zhao transformed the Ten Thousand Souls Banner into a ghostly mountain several meters in size, exuding a chilling aura. The mountain seemed to be stitched together from countless distorted human faces, roaring silently.

As the ghost mountain pressed down, the man struggled twice, but the chains tightened more and more, and the pressure from the ghost mountain made his bones creak.

He was too scared to move, lying on the ground, trembling all over.

In just a short while, Lin Zhao had dealt with his opponents, killing one and capturing the other.

Meanwhile, the outcome of Zhou Yuan's match was also decided.

He activated a fist-sized, second-tier white magic orb, which hovered in mid-air, emitting a soft white light.

Where the white light enveloped, the two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators who were confronting him felt their magical power stagnate, as if they were trapped in a quagmire.

"This is..." one of them exclaimed, his eyes wide with horror.

Zhou Yuan didn't give him time to think.

The white light suddenly contracted, transforming into a semi-transparent hand of light that grabbed one of the people and slammed him to the ground.

The man spat out a mouthful of blood, unable to move due to the pressure from the magical artifact.

The other one planned to fly away and escape.

Zhou Yuan snorted coldly, patted his storage bag, and a blood-red short sword magic weapon flew out.

The short sword transformed into a streak of blood, swift as lightning, traversing hundreds of feet in an instant to catch up with the fleeing man, piercing through his back and exiting through his chest.

The man collapsed to the ground and never got up again.

Lin Zhao stopped and looked at the last battlefield in the arena.

Cui Jun was engaged in a fierce battle with the leader of the Foundation Establishment Peak Tribulation Cultivator.

The peak Foundation Establishment stage is indeed several times stronger than the late Foundation Establishment stage—some powerful ones have even reached the threshold of Core Formation.

However, that peak Foundation Establishment cultivator was clearly just an ordinary person, with no impressive supernatural abilities or secret techniques, relying entirely on his superior cultivation level to intimidate others.

Cui Jun is different.

He used seven or eight second-tier magic artifacts in turn, sometimes flying swords, sometimes golden bells, sometimes ropes, sometimes fire pearls, making the peak Foundation Establishment cultivator scramble for cover.

Although they couldn't win immediately, they firmly held the upper hand.

Lin Zhao glanced at it twice, then looked away.

He was a little disappointed.

It's not that the peak Foundation Establishment cultivator is weak, but their combat strength... is quite inferior to that of cultivators of the same level in the Cloud and Mist Mountain Range.

Think about it too.

The human cultivators of the Cloud and Mist Mountains have been locked in a standoff with the demonic beasts for over a thousand years.

Although resources are scarce, their combat strength is not bad. Lin Zhao had previously compared them with cultivators from other sects, so he naturally thought that the cultivators there were of average combat strength.

In fact, which Foundation Establishment cultivator who survived in the Cloud and Mist Mountains didn't struggle on the edge of life and death?

Their fighting spirit, adaptability, and ruthlessness are all genuine.

The Tongming Domain has been at peace for too long, with no beast tides or major battles.

Foundation Establishment cultivators who emerge from this kind of environment tend to be somewhat superficial.

Lin Zhao withdrew his gaze and took out a set of tables and chairs from his storage bag.

He placed the table and chairs on the ground and sat down.

Zhou Yuan also walked over at this time. When he saw the table and chairs, he raised his eyebrows and naturally sat down opposite Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao took out a tea set from his storage bag and began to brew tea.

Zhou Yuan glanced at him and also took out a handful of melon seeds and spiritual fruits from his storage bag and placed them on the table.

The two of them drank tea, ate melon seeds, and watched Cui Jun fight.

The brother and sister stared wide-eyed at the scene, the sister opening and closing her mouth repeatedly, but no sound came out.

The older brother looked like he'd seen a ghost—that ruthless man who had just killed five Foundation Establishment cultivators with a single move was now sitting there drinking tea.

The elderly man surnamed Zheng took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart, and whispered to the brother and sister, "Don't move, don't speak, just wait."

The brother and sister nodded repeatedly.

Lin Zhao looked at the old man surnamed Zheng and the brother and sister and waved.

The three men approached cautiously and stopped before Lin Zhao. The elderly man surnamed Zheng bowed deeply with his hands clasped.

"Many thanks for saving our lives, fellow Daoist. I am Zheng Yuanshan, and these are my two disciples, Qin Yu and Qin Yao. May I ask your honorable title, fellow Daoist...?"