Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Meanwhile, a massive fire array on the outer perimeter pushed open the thick fog, forcibly absorbing the flames within a radius of one mile to form an array. At the center of the array, five walls of fire shot into the sky.

The Fire Cloud Rhinoceros is a second-tier demon beast. Under normal circumstances, it only needs one charge to crush these three ignorant little insects into ashes when facing three cultivators at the tenth level of Qi Refining.

Unfortunately, none of the three it faced were normal cultivators.

Ye Xiaoxiao stood in the center of the magic circle, her fiery feather robe clinging to her body, making her figure appear slender yet sharp.

The Fire Cauldron hovered in front of him, frantically absorbing the dense fire mist around him to form spiritual energy, which was then transferred to the other five magical artifacts through an array.

Crimson Fire Sword, Crimson Fire Blade, Crimson Fire Wheel, Crimson Sun Pearl, and Crimson Flame Bow—five high-grade first-tier magical artifacts swirled within the formation, unleashing a devastating attack. This was her strongest form, single-handedly controlling seven magical artifacts.

However, it is not very effective against the Fire Cloud Rhinoceros. The Fire Cloud Rhinoceros is a demon beast born from fire-attribute spiritual power and is naturally immune to most fire attacks.

Ye Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth and had no choice but to change her attack to a trap. The five walls of fire suddenly rose higher and contracted inward, minimizing the Fire Cloud Rhinoceros's space. The five fire-based magical artifacts rotated around her, each one trembling slightly, and spiritual energy flowed along the array's veins to where it was meant to go.

While she was using the formation, she took control of the spiritual energy in the vicinity. Every time the Fire Cloud Rhinoceros drew upon the spiritual energy from the outside world, it would be cut off by the Fire Separation Formation. The power that should have belonged to it was forcibly drawn away by the formation, turning into a cage that trapped it.

The Fire Cloud Rhinoceros roared angrily, and a scorching fireball condensed on its horn, which it hurled at Ye Xiaoxiao. Halfway through its flight, the fireball was weakened by the five walls of fire, and by the time it reached her, it was only slightly warm.

Sweat beaded on Ye Xiaoxiao's forehead as she made a hand seal, tightening the five walls of fire even further.

"Luo Yu!"

Luo Yu stood at the very front, his entire body wrapped in a first-grade top-quality magic robe, which shimmered with spiritual light, keeping the scorching air waves outwards.

He wielded a top-grade first-tier sword, but his attacks barely broke through the armor. The monster's defense was too strong; his sword could cut through, but it couldn't injure any vital organs.

The Fire Cloud Rhinoceros flicked its head, its single horn sweeping across. Luo Yu parried with his sword, but was sent flying, rolling twice on the ground before regaining his footing.

At that moment, a sword aura flew from the side—with a soft "poof," a three-inch-deep wound was cut open on the Fire Cloud Rhinoceros's front leg, and blood gushed out, splashing onto the scalding ground and steaming up a large cloud of white mist.

Lin You hovered in mid-air, with three pairs of golden wings unfolding behind her. Her entire body was made of crimson gold. These were the Crimson Sun Wings, a magical artifact borrowed from Ye Xiaoxiao. One pair gathered spiritual energy, one pair allowed her to fly, and the other pair released fiery magic. She moved swiftly through the sky, as fast as a streak of light.

She was the only sword cultivator among the three, her sword energy surging like a raging storm.

The sword energy ignored the flames protecting the body, each strike tearing a gash in the Fire Cloud Rhinoceros's sturdy scales. The Fire Cloud Rhinoceros flew into a rage several times, turning to kill this most troublesome swordsman first, but Lin You gave it no chance.

Every time Huo Yunxi looked up, she had already moved to a different position, and Huo Yunxi's wounds were increasing.

It began to fight desperately, roaring to the sky, and a larger fireball condensed on its horn, hurtling towards Lin You in the sky—Lin You flashed, the Crimson Sun Wings carrying her in an arc, the fireball grazing her clothes and crashing into the distant mountain wall, exploding into a ball of flames ten feet high.

Seeing the Fire Cloud Rhinoceros fighting desperately, Lin You summoned the Crimson Sun Sword Tower.

The small, red-gold tower, about a foot tall, crashed down with a deafening roar. All five layers of runes on the tower glowed brightly, and it slammed into the Fire Cloud Rhinoceros's head like a small mountain, forcefully pressing it back to its original position.

The sword tower combines suppression, defense, and support, making it the most formidable magical artifact in Lin You's possession.

Under the combined attack of the three, the Fire Cloud Rhinoceros became a sitting duck. However, the difference in their cultivation levels was real. The gap between a second-tier demon beast and a Qi Refining cultivator could not be completely bridged by a few top-grade magic artifacts.

Ye Xiaoxiao's formation can trap it, Luo Yu's blade can restrain it, and Lin You's sword energy can injure it—but it's still far from killing it.

Outside the formation, He An hovered in the air, his spiritual power already raised, his magic weapon held in his palm, ready to strike at any moment—but he did not move.

He must not interfere unless those three people are in a life-or-death situation; this is their trial.

Inside the formation, dozens of feet high in the sky, a red lotus floated silently.

That was a sword technique created by Lin You.

【Red Lotus of Karmic Fire】

The lotus petals overlapped one after another, and a dark red flame slowly rotated in the lotus heart.

Since being released by Lin You, it has been gathering its strength for half an hour on this battlefield filled with fiery mist.

Ye Xiaoxiao's formation was gathering spiritual energy for it, and the fire cloud rhinoceros was also being devoured by the flame spells it kept spewing. It grew from about ten feet in size to seven feet in size. The edges of the lotus petals had turned white from the heat, and the flames in the lotus heart had changed from dark red to blazing white, emitting a chilling aura.

Half an hour.

It had expanded to the limit that Lin You could control. Lin You flew above the red lotus, took a deep breath, and waved his hand in mid-air.

The Fiery Red Lotus crashed down, and the Fire Cloud Rhino instinctively sensed the threat of death. It tilted its head back and spewed out a thick pillar of flame, but the moment the flame collided with the red lotus, it was swallowed up by the lotus, and the lotus heart shone even brighter.

The Fire Cloud Rhinoceros let out a desperate roar, desperately condensing a thick layer of fire armor on its body. The red lotus exploded several feet above its head.

Hundreds upon hundreds of exquisitely refined fiery sword energies poured down like a torrential rain, instantly tearing apart the fire armor and blasting countless dense wounds onto the Fire Cloud Rhino's body.

Blood gushed out, staining half of the magic array red.

The Fire Cloud Rhinoceros let out a heart-wrenching howl.

However, its spine had been torn open by the sword energy, revealing the stark white bones inside.

It was still struggling. The vitality of a second-tier demon beast was incredibly strong. This attack could only be said to have severely injured it, but it was far from killing it.

Only a second-tier demon beast's physical body could withstand this attack; an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator would be severely injured, if not killed.

He An, standing outside the formation, swallowed hard. He silently put himself in Huo Yunxi's shoes and came to a conclusion that sent chills down his spine—he probably couldn't withstand this attack.

Over the next few hours, Lin You activated the Karmic Fire Red Lotus twice more. The second time, the Fire Cloud Rhino had learned its lesson and tried desperately to dodge, but it still had half of its body cut off.

The third time, when the red lotus exploded above its head, it finally couldn't hold on any longer, its front legs buckled and it collapsed to the ground.

This time, the Fire Cloud Rhinoceros seemed to have no strength left to struggle, but the vitality of the monster was ultimately tenacious, and it stood up once again.

However, in the fifth hour, the Fire Cloud Rhinoceros let out a mournful cry, its massive body crashing to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. Three Qi Refining cultivators working together had killed a Foundation Establishment level second-tier demonic beast. This was a feat that was enough to shake the entire region.

From the moment the troops were deployed to the moment the enemy was defeated, the battle lasted a full five hours.