Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Lin Zhao looked at him, and suddenly the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and she chuckled softly.

"Interesting," he said calmly. "It's been a long time since anyone has spoken to me like this."

The gray-robed man, his eyes flashing with a fierce light, suddenly appeared.

"You've been fighting for so long, and you still haven't taken down Zhu Yan?" Lin Zhao's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a nail. "Are you afraid he'll use you as a scapegoat before he dies?"

The gray-robed Core Formation cultivator's expression changed drastically in an instant, his domain shook violently, and the light on the barrier began to become chaotic.

"A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator—"

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Zhao had already moved.

"You're afraid of Zhu Yan?" Lin Zhao's domain suddenly pressed forward, and five-colored spiritual light swept out like a raging tide. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

Just as the gray-robed Core Formation cultivator was about to speak, Lin Zhao struck with lightning speed!

Five beams of light—green, red, white, black, and yellow—burst forth from Lin Zhao's body. These were the five elements' power, condensed to the extreme, intertwining and rotating, transforming into an enormous divine ring around him—the Five Sacred Mountains Divine Ring!

The divine ring spread out with a roar, and wherever it passed, the white barrier of the gray-robed cultivator who had reached the Golden Core stage crumbled and exploded layer by layer, like glass being torn apart by a giant hand. In front of the Five Sacred Mountains Divine Ring, those layers of defensive barriers seemed so vulnerable!

Lin Zhao's Five Sacred Mountains Divine Rings were a special spell he created specifically to break through the law domain and suppress spiritual power.

In an instant, most of the gray-robed Core Formation Domain collapsed, and his expression finally changed completely. His powerful domain, which he had cultivated for more than two hundred years, could not even withstand a few breaths in front of a late Foundation Establishment cultivator!

The backlash from the shattered Dharma Domain instantly invaded his consciousness. It felt like a steel needle had pierced his brain, his vision went black, and his consciousness became somewhat disordered. Before he could regain his composure, the powerful pressure had already descended.

Lin Zhao raised his hand and took out a longbow from his storage ring.

Golden Phoenix Bow, a third-tier magic weapon.

With a thought, the spiritual liquid sealed within the Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool surged forth, and 30% of the spiritual liquid was instantly extracted and poured into the bow.

The moment the bowstring was slowly drawn back, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth suddenly surged! The spiritual power within the surrounding domain seemed to be gripped by an invisible giant hand, frantically converging and coiling towards the bow.

A golden phoenix phantom slowly solidified from the bowstring—its crown was translucent, its beak sharp, its wings outstretched, its tail feathers shimmering, every feather was exquisitely detailed, and every divine pattern flowed with blazing golden light.

As the golden phoenix took full shape, the air within a radius of several miles suddenly solidified, even the flowing wind stopped. A clear and melodious phoenix cry tore through the sky, shaking people's hearts and minds.

The golden phoenix transformed into a streak of light, shooting out rapidly through the air, tearing a white trail in its wake.

The distance of more than ten miles was covered in the blink of an eye.

The golden phoenix pierced straight through the gray-robed cultivator's domain, which had already been mostly destroyed. The remaining barriers were as thin as cicada wings in front of the golden phoenix and were torn to shreds without a sound.

The gray-robed Core Formation cultivator's expression suddenly changed drastically. He hurriedly activated his magic weapon and attacked with all his might. The sword emitted a dazzling white light, drawing a sharp arc in mid-air, and crashed into the attacking golden phoenix.

In the center of the battlefield, a brilliant golden light suddenly shone, followed by a deafening explosion. A huge golden mushroom cloud rose from the ground, its base bursting with golden light, while thick black smoke billowed and rose into the sky above.

The violent shockwave swept in all directions, crashing into Lin Zhao's Four Elements Five Mountains Law Domain. The Law Domain trembled slightly, but then quickly stabilized.

The ship crashed into the hovering spirit boat in the distance, causing it to shake violently. Yan Chiheng placed one hand on the spirit boat and grabbed Luo Yu's collar with the other, pulling him back from the edge of the spirit boat.

The dust and smoke were dispersed by spiritual power, and the gray-robed Core Formation cultivator still stood in mid-air, but the domain he relied on for survival had completely collapsed and disappeared.

He stood alone in the void, his gray robe torn in several places by the flames, the flesh inside charred and turned inside out; blood kept oozing from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the tattered robe, a shocking sight.

The magical artifact hovered in front of him, a crack extending from the blade to the tip, its spiritual power greatly diminished.

Lin Zhao gave him no chance to catch his breath. The Four Elements and Five Mountains Domain expanded to twenty miles again, with five-colored spiritual light covering the sky and crushing down with a terrifying power that could suppress everything.

The gray-robed man, having just formed his core, gritted his teeth and desperately tried to reassemble his domain. Layers of white barriers barely took shape, but their thickness was less than half of what it had been before. The two forces clashed again, and this time, the gray-robed man's domain only managed to expand to a little over ten miles.

The distance between the two sides had closed to within fifteen miles. A strong sense of crisis gripped his mind, and he began to consider retreating and escaping.

But Lin Zhao never gave him a way out from the very beginning.

The spiritual liquid from the Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool was drawn out again, but it was not poured into the Golden Phoenix Bow.

A palm-sized, jet-black bone hand flew out from Lin Zhao's palm, growing larger with the wind and possessing overwhelming power.

The oppressive aura of a third-tier magic weapon swept across the entire area; it was none other than the Profound Yin Ghost Hand! The Ghost Hand instantly traversed more than ten miles and appeared a hundred feet above the gray-robed Core Formation cultivator.

The gray-robed cultivator's pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints. He frantically activated his domain, creating layers upon layers of white barriers in a desperate attempt to block the attack. However, those barriers were like paper before the Xuan Yin Ghost Hand—the ghost hand pierced through them with a single touch, and all the barriers shattered instantly.

The next instant, the ghost hand transformed into a hundred-foot-tall giant palm, its five fingers spread out menacingly, its nails as black as ink, and its knuckles wrapped in thick, bone-chilling Xuan Yin death energy.

A strange rune slowly rotated in his palm, emitting a chilling pressure that made even the soul tremble. The giant palm suddenly expanded its territory by a hundred feet and fiercely descended upon the gray-robed Core Formation cultivator!

The gray-robed Core Formation cultivator was desperate to use his escape technique to flee, but an invisible force of confinement burst forth from the ghost hand, pinning him firmly to the spot. The pitch-black giant hand, like a cage descending from the sky, suddenly clenched its five fingers and slammed down to the ground!

Five giant fingers pierced deep into the earth, instantly solidifying on the surface into a boundless death cell—the Xuan Yin Prison!

Inside the cage, extremely dense Xuan Yin demonic energy surged and erupted, transforming into thousands of pitch-black chains that crisscrossed and tightly bound the gray-robed Core Formation figure.

Endless demonic energy transformed into countless chilling demonic blades, frantically attacking from all directions!

The gray-robed Core Formation cultivator had no defensive magic treasures to protect him and could only rely on his already cracked magic treasure to hold on.

Silver-white sword light burst forth wildly within the cage, and streaks of sword energy continuously collided with the pitch-black demonic blade.

The entire Xuan Yin Prison remained completely still, impenetrable.

The demonic blades kept piercing through his protective aura, leaving one wound after another, densely packed with blood seeping out.

He was originally a rogue cultivator and didn't even have a single defensive magic weapon. Now he could only rely on his physical body and magic power to resist the erosion of demonic energy.

The demonic energy within the cage grew increasingly dense, constantly devouring and refining the spiritual power within his body. His Dharma Domain was suppressed and unable to expand, and the power of his Golden Core's origin was rapidly depleted.

The gray-robed man, his eyes blazing with fury, poured all his magical power into his flying sword! The grotesque crack on the sword suddenly widened and tore open, the sword emitting a mournful wail—he was actually going to detonate this third-tier magic weapon and fight to the death to break the deadlock!

With a deafening roar, the magical artifact self-destructed! The violent force of the explosion blasted a gap in the Xuan Yin Prison.