Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Ye Xiaoxiao deactivated the magic array, and the seven magical artifacts flew back to her side. Her legs went weak, and she sat down on the ground, panting heavily.

Luo Yu planted the knife in the ground and stood leaning against the hilt, his arm muscles still trembling. Lin You fell from the sky, her Crimson Sun Wings folding. She staggered when she landed and had to hold onto a nearby rock to steady herself.

None of the three spoke.

He An flew in from outside. He had been on guard for five hours, observing everything from beginning to end. At this moment, his expression was somewhat complicated—he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

But he had just silently considered in his mind whether he could survive if he were surrounded and killed by these three people.

The conclusion is, it's unlikely.

He stepped forward and silently began collecting the corpse of the Fire Cloud Rhinoceros. The giant beast, over ten zhang long, was made of second-tier materials, which could be sold for a considerable amount of spirit stones if taken outside.

The demon core of the Fire Cloud Rhinoceros is the size of a fist, entirely crimson, and scalding hot to the touch.

He An handed the demon core to Lin You, but Lin You shook her head, indicating that he should keep it for now, as she didn't even have the strength to lift her hand.

Luo Yu sat on the ground, panting heavily, feeling an indescribable shock in his heart.

He once killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a sneak attack while only at the eighth level of Qi Refining. Although he was modest about it, he was actually quite proud of it.

But now, he, Lin You, and Ye Xiaoxiao, three Qi Refining Level 10 cultivators, fought together for five hours before barely managing to kill a Level 2 demon beast.

Only now did he truly realize how great the difference was between Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining.

Only then did they truly understand how terrifying Lin Zhao was, having single-handedly killed over seventy Foundation Establishment cultivators and directly confronted a Core Formation cultivator.

Ye Xiaoxiao was also reviewing the battle.

She was panting, her voice broken: "This time... we had a huge advantage in terms of terrain. The fire elemental energy here is dense, and since our magical artifacts and formations are all fire-attribute, their power has been amplified by several times. In the outside world, we might not have been able to kill it."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "Throughout the entire battle, the damage output relied entirely on Lin You. If it weren't for the sword cultivator's sword energy countering the monster's regenerative abilities, we really wouldn't have been able to defeat it."

She counted her possessions on her fingers, and as she counted, she was astonished: "The Blazing Fire Cauldron, the Crimson Sun Wings, Luo Yu's robes and knife, Lin You's sword and the Crimson Sun Sword Tower... a total of six top-grade magic artifacts. Back when my master was in the Qi Refining stage, he only had one top-grade magic artifact that he could actually use."

Luo Yu was deeply moved and couldn't help but ask, "Just how strong was the Guardian when he was refining his Qi back then?"

Lin You closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, a slight smile playing on his lips. "My uncle once said that when he reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, he passed the sect's assessment and single-handedly killed a cloud beast comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

She opened her eyes and looked at Luo Yu. "If we disregard the influence of the environment, the three of us joining forces now would only be about the same strength as him when he was at the ninth level of Qi Refining."

Luo Yu fell silent. He wanted to say something, but found himself unable to utter a single word.

An hour later, the group's magical power had mostly recovered, and the materials for the Fire Cloud Rhinoceros and the Fire Spirit Marrow had been properly prepared. The Fire Spirit Marrow they had obtained was enough for them to use for a while.

He An sorted the things and asked, "Going back?"

"Go back." Lin You stood up, brushed the dust off her skirt, and said, "Rest for a few days before coming back in."

For the next six months, Lin You and her group went out once a month to venture deep into the secret realm and hunt down second-tier monsters.

Two successes, four failures—the gap in skill level still exists.

The reasons for the failure were either that the monsters were too strong or that the environment was too harsh.

Once, a volcano suddenly erupted, and the surging spiritual energy directly broke through Ye Xiaoxiao's formation, forcing the group to flee in a sorry state.

The most dangerous time was when they were ambushed by three Foundation Establishment cultivators—the three of them attacked when they had just finished a battle and their mana was depleted.

Even He An couldn't stop the three Foundation Establishment cultivators.

In the critical moment, Ye Xiaoxiao used the magic-breaking needles that Lin Zhao had left for them. The man didn't even have time to scream before he fell from the sky.

The remaining two Foundation Establishment cultivators exchanged a glance, turned tail and ran, not even daring to collect their companion's corpse.

Ye Xiaoxiao and Lin You now have more than ten Magic-Breaking Needles in their hands, four of which are the newest type, capable of killing late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Of course, they didn't tell Lin Zhao about these little things.

Half a year has passed. Lin You's sword energy has become more ferocious, Ye Xiaoxiao's control over the Li Huo Formation has become more refined, and Luo Yu's swordsmanship has become stronger.

He An was still the same He An, in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, but the way he looked at these three juniors had changed—from "I have to keep an eye on them to make sure nothing happens to them" to "I can't keep up with them anymore."

The situation of the remaining cultivators of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty is visibly deteriorating.

Six months ago, visiting cultivators could only spy in secret and occasionally sneak into the camp to steal things, but now things are different.

Some people took action directly from the depths of the secret realm—Foundation Establishment cultivators led the way, Qi Refining cultivators assisted, and they would target lone cultivators and surround and kill them cleanly and efficiently, leaving no survivors.

The activity range of the Tianhuo Dynasty cultivators has been gradually compressed, from the depths of the secret realm to the outer perimeter, and then forced to withdraw from the secret realm. Now they can only move around the Dingfeng Plain area.

The camps on Dingfeng Plain also suffered. People sneaked in at night to steal things, and the patrolling cultivators who chased after them never returned. The lives of the remaining cultivators and mortals of the Tianhuo Dynasty became increasingly difficult.

Meanwhile, the situation in the Heavenly Fire Secret Realm became increasingly chaotic, with conflicts and bloodshed occurring daily. Some Foundation Establishment Peak cultivators even began to openly take action, targeting the Seven Sons of Heavenly Fire. Their goal was not ordinary dynasty cultivators, but the Core Formation relics in the hands of the Seven Sons of Heavenly Fire.

An even bigger storm is brewing.

Three days later, one of the Seven Sons of Heavenly Fire, who was openly known, was cornered in a mine tunnel in the middle of the secret realm.

That person was Zhou Luo, a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, and the most senior among the remaining cultivators of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty.

When he was found, he had dozens of wounds on his body, and his storage bag, magical artifacts, and even the clothes on his body had been stripped off, leaving nothing behind.

This is no longer a fight, it's a provocation. Someone killed him, stripped him naked, and left him there for everyone to see.

When the news reached Dingfeng Plain, Li Xuandu was in a small camp taking stock of the remaining supplies.

The messenger knelt outside the tent, his voice trembling violently: "Senior Brother Zhou... Senior Brother Zhou's body was discovered this morning. He died a gruesome death. It was a deliberate act to lure people over."

Li Xuandu sat there, motionless.

"Who did it?"

"I don't know. But some of the wounds on Senior Brother Zhou's body... were left by second-grade top-quality magic artifacts. Ordinary cultivators can't produce magic artifacts of that level."

Li Xuandu remained silent for a long time. Outside the tent, someone was crying. It was Zhou Luo's disciple, a young man at the ninth level of Qi Refining, kneeling on the ground.

"Cremate Senior Brother Zhou's body... Take his ashes back to Dingfeng Plain and bury them somewhere." Li Xuandu stood up, his voice flat, so flat it didn't sound like he was talking about someone's death.