Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Actually, he has two more trump cards up his sleeve.

The Luo Yu Knife and Jade Talisman—a life-saving item bestowed upon me by Master Qianqiu Zhenren, with two more chances remaining.

The Hundred-Mile Teleportation Talisman—also given by the Master, it truly utilizes spatial power to teleport, allowing one to travel a hundred miles in an instant.

The Five Sacred Mountains Shifting Technique only utilizes the power of the Five Elements of Heaven and Earth; it is not true spatial shifting.

When encountering a magical artifact like the Xuan Yin Ghost Hand, which is countered by magic, it will be suppressed.

But the Hundred-Mile Teleportation Talisman does not.

That was a third-tier talisman, using true spatial power.

Xuan Yinzi wanted to kill Lin Zhao, but he never actually had the chance.

These two trump cards are what give Lin Zhao the confidence to hunt down a Core Formation cultivator.

We didn't need it today because we haven't reached that stage yet.

Then let's keep fighting.

Lin Zhao opened his eyes; the lightning liquid in the Nine Luminaries Lightning Pool had recovered to 60%.

enough.

He stood up and looked towards the direction where the smoke and dust had not yet dissipated, dozens of miles away.

Xuan Yinzi's golden core power is about to dissipate.

It's time to go back.

-----

Half a day later.

A golden phoenix streaked across the sky once more.

The eighth Golden Phoenix Arrow.

Xuan Yinzi struggled to control the Nine-Condensed Yin Bone Shield—he had used a secret technique to forcibly retain some of the Golden Core power that should have dissipated, which was why he could barely use this protective magic weapon.

But every time he withstands an attack, he is burning through his lifespan and overdrawing his life force.

The bone shield barely managed to block the powerful force of the Golden Phoenix Arrow, but the cracks covering the shield grew wildly again, and the spiritual light dimmed rapidly, almost going out.

The aftershocks continued to sweep in, and Xuan Yinzi felt a sweet taste in his throat, vomiting a mouthful of blood.

"Young friend—!" Xuan Yinzi's voice was hoarse, tinged with urgency, "Hold your hand—we have no grudge against each other! Let me go."

Lin Zhao did not answer.

The bowstring twanged again, and the golden light rekindled.

The ninth Golden Phoenix Arrow pierced the sky and arrived!

boom--!

With a deafening roar, the Nine-Condensed Yin Bone Shield, a third-tier defensive magic treasure that had been with him for many years, finally succumbed to the relentless onslaught and was shattered by the Golden Phoenix Arrow.

Countless fragments were scattered across the desolate mountains, beyond any possibility of restoration.

Xuan Yinzi's face was ashen.

"you--!"

He desperately tried to activate the magical artifact, the Mysterious Yin Ghost Hand, but the ghost hand was so heavy that he could hardly lift it.

His magical power was rapidly diminishing, weakening with each breath.

Xuan Yinzi barely managed to block the aftershock with his ghostly hand, but he was still violently thrown away by the impact, carving a deep ravine dozens of feet long into the ground, his body covered in blood.

"Stop! Stop! I surrender! I—I'm willing to offer up everything I own! Third-tier magic weapons, spiritual items—all yours!"

The tenth Golden Phoenix Arrow.

The golden phoenix pierced through the smoke and dust, crashing directly into his broken body.

In the instant the golden light exploded, Xuan Yinzi's figure melted away layer by layer in the golden light.

Only a pitch-black storage ring and the damaged Xuan Yin Ghost Hand remained, lying silently amidst the ruins.

Lin Zhao stood at a distance, her brows slightly furrowed.

wrong.

The mysterious connection still exists.

Xuan Yinzi is not dead at all.

His sharp gaze swept across the devastated ruins, finally settling on an open space several hundred feet away—though there was nothing there.

But his mysterious intuition told him that the Xuan Yinzi was there.

The eleventh Golden Phoenix Arrow.

The phoenix spread its wings and pierced the sky, landing precisely on that open space.

boom--!!!

The last mushroom cloud rose into the sky.

As the dust and smoke slowly dissipated, a charred, curled-up human figure lay sprawled on the ground, motionless.

At this moment, that mysterious connection was completely severed.

Lin Zhao stood still, waiting for a long time, until he was sure there were no more hidden soul fluctuations around him, before slowly stepping forward.

He finally killed a Core Formation cultivator.

The corpse was charred black, its face was completely destroyed, and its flesh and soul had almost turned to ashes, leaving no trace of life.

-----

Lin Zhao stood in front of the corpse and remained silent for a while.

A Core Formation cultivator is truly difficult to kill. Lin Zhao fired eleven Golden Phoenix Arrows, each comparable to a Core Formation strike.

Although Xuan Yinzi had fallen to the Core Formation realm, Lin Zhao felt that his strength was probably even greater than that of the Core Formation ancestor of the Zheng family.

An ordinary Core Formation cultivator might not have been able to defeat him, especially since the defensive magic weapon in his hand withstood most of the Golden Phoenix Arrow's attack.

It's fair to say that defensive magic items are more valuable than offensive ones. If he didn't have any defensive magic items, Lin Zhao was confident he could kill him within five or seven shots.

Lin Zhao channeled his spiritual power and remotely picked up the storage ring and the third-tier magic weapon, the [Mysterious Yin Ghost Hand].

Instead of checking on the spot, he first left and found a secluded place a hundred miles away.

The Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool hung in front of him, its contents churning with lightning liquid.

Lin Zhao threw the storage ring into the lightning pool.

zizi——

Lightning exploded!

A layer of black mist appeared on the surface of the ring, which was the curse that Xuan Yinzi laid before his death.

The mist struggled, twisted, and hissed in the lightning—like a snake being thrown into a fire.

Three breaths later, the black mist dissipated.

The ring lay quietly at the bottom of the pool.

Lin Zhao retrieved the ring and probed it with her divine sense.

Then he paused for a moment.

Good guy.

Hundreds of high-grade spirit stones were neatly stacked in the corner.

In order to replenish his lightning essence, he had used up more than thirty high-grade spirit stones in the past few days—now he has fully recovered them, and even has some left over.

Two second-tier top-grade magic weapons: the Azure Frost Sword and the Falling Star Seal.

Two jade boxes were placed side by side.

Opening the first one, you'll find a fist-sized cyan crystal inside, radiating a rich life force—the Heart of Green Wood.

Opening the second one, you'll find a piece of earthy yellow chalcedony, smooth and lustrous, exuding a rich aura—earthly chalcedony.

Two Tier 3 spiritual items.

In addition, there's the Mysterious Yin Ghost Hand—although somewhat damaged, it's still a third-tier magic weapon.

The repair is complete, and it's another powerful trump card.

Lin Zhao made a rough estimate.

These items combined are worth at least a thousand high-grade spirit stones.

It is comparable to several third-tier spiritual items.

He took a deep breath and put his things away.

This battle was worth it.

Lin Zhao packed up all the spoils of war and prepared to leave.

He put the Xuan Yin Ghost Hand into his storage ring.

He turned around, transformed into a ray of light, and flew towards the direction of Tongming Immortal City.

----

But no one noticed that while Lin Zhao was examining the third-tier magic weapon, the [Mysterious Yin Ghost Hand],

A faint, almost imperceptible, eerie aura emanated silently from the ghost's hand.

The aura was colorless and odorless, without any fluctuations in spiritual power or traces of divine consciousness.

It drifted out like a wisp of smoke.

Lin Zhao was completely unaware of this.

Then the aura slowly condensed, then slowly stretched, elongated, and twisted—transforming into a human shape.

He looked like a young man in his early twenties, with delicate features that were almost too refined, thin lips, and a natural, nonchalant smile.

He wore a black robe of indistinguishable material, devoid of any patterns, yet with a faint sheen flowing across its surface, like water.

His appearance bears some resemblance to the body possessed by Xuan Yinzi—not that they share the same origin, but rather that the body had already been corrupted by this aura and become its shadow.

This phantom was a demonic soul left behind by a Nascent Soul Peak cultivator.