Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Thick demonic energy surged out through the gap, and the gray-robed Core Formation cultivator, having exhausted all his strength, fled in a sorry state through the gap.

At this moment, his body was covered in blood and gore, his gray robe was torn into tattered strips hanging on his body, there was no intact part of him, his magical treasures were almost completely destroyed, and he was clutching only a small half of a broken sword in his palm.

He stared intently at Lin Zhao in the distance, his heart filled with fear and resentment. He dared not linger for another moment and turned to flee.

The gray-robed man, who had just reached the Golden Core stage, thought he could still escape.

Little did they know that the Mysterious Yin Ghost Hand was actually two killing moves—the first, the Mysterious Yin Prison, was just the visible one.

The second ghost hand is the true killing move of this magic weapon.

Lin Zhao's Core Formation level divine sense accurately locked onto him. With a thought, he activated his magic weapon, and the invisible Xuan Yin power quietly condensed into a ghostly hand.

It has no physical form, no spiritual light, and no trace of tangible energy; it is utterly silent.

They passed through the energy storm left by the self-destruction of the magical artifact and penetrated the spiritual energy barrier set up by the gray-robed man, all without making a sound.

At this moment, the gray-robed man who had reached the Golden Core stage had already lit up his escape light, preparing to flee for his life.

The Hidden Killer Ghost Hand suddenly reached in front of him, aimed at his dantian, and pierced through it with a powerful claw!

The gray-robed man, who had just reached the Golden Core stage, suddenly froze. He looked down at his abdomen.

There was a hole the size of a fist, running from his front abdomen to his back. Inside the hole, only a ball of golden light flickered—that was his golden core.

The ghost hand gripped the golden pill tightly, its palm clenching, letting the pill tremble and struggle wildly within its claws, yet unable to break free.

The next instant, the ghostly hand snapped shut, crushing the golden core!

Thousands of golden rays suddenly burst forth from between the fingers, like a blazing sun surging in the palm of the hand.

The gray-robed, golden-core-formed body could not withstand the backlash from the shattering of the golden core. In an instant, it was burned to ashes in the golden light, leaving only a mournful and desperate scream.

A golden beam of light shot into the sky, tearing a huge hole in the clouds overhead.

The shockwave spread outward from the explosion center, leveling all the earth, rocks, and ruins along the way.

As the battle ended, the Xuan Yin Ghost Hand flew back from the center of the explosion, landing on Lin Zhao's right hand and transforming into a solid, dark, pitch-black gauntlet that fit snugly against his palm.

A faint black halo shimmered on the surface of the gauntlet, as if it had just had a hearty meal.

The battlefield fell into a deathly silence.

On the spirit boat, Yan Chiheng opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He had seen Lin Zhao defeat a Core Formation cultivator before, but he had never seen this kind of fighting style—a head-on collision, where a Core Formation cultivator was pinned to the ground and killed in a single exchange.

After holding it in for a while, he finally uttered a curse word: "Damn it."

The three little ones were huddled together on the spirit boat.

Lin You's mouth was wide open, big enough to fit an egg. Ye Xiaoxiao was expressionless, but her knuckles were white as she gripped the gunwale. Luo Yu was the quietest, staring intently at the still-burning golden pillar of light on the battlefield, his eyes shining brightly.

Although they had always known that Lin Zhao was strong, having once directly defeated a Core Formation cultivator, they hadn't expected him to be this powerful now.

Along the way, they had witnessed the power of a Core Formation cultivator firsthand—a power that instilled despair. And now, Lin Zhao was right in front of them, effortlessly annihilating a Core Formation cultivator.

Zhu Yan leaned against the spirit boat, quietly gazing at the figure in green robes standing in the center of the battlefield, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He recalled how he had once narrowly escaped from a Core Formation cultivator during his Foundation Establishment stage. After he himself reached Core Formation, he personally killed a Core Formation cultivator and even thought that he had already caught up with, or even surpassed, Lin Zhao.

Only now did he realize that if that series of deadly moves had landed on him, he might not have been able to escape.

The gap between the two is still significant.

Lin Zhao stood in the center of the battlefield, wearing a black gauntlet on his right hand, his five fingers slightly spread, with residual Xuan Yin Qi slowly dissipating between them.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping outward from the center of the battlefield.

It was very quiet all around.

But he knew that there was definitely more than just the gray-robed Core Formation cultivator nearby.

Given the huge commotion that occurred in the Heavenly Fire Secret Realm, it's impossible for someone at the Core Formation stage not to know.

At the very least, Master Chongguang must have been observing from the shadows recently, and there may be other Core Formation cultivators watching this battle from the outside.

He slowly raised his right hand, circling it around. His black gauntlet gleamed coldly in the sunlight, his five fingers slightly spread, like sharp claws poised to strike.

His gaze swept from between the fingers of his gauntlet across the surrounding wasteland, clouds, and ruins—over those unseen bystanders.

"Who else?"

The sound wasn't loud, but it was enveloped in spiritual energy and sent out clearly, echoing across the wasteland.

Who else...who else...who else...

There was no response for a long time, as if only that gray-robed Core Formation cultivator had been there from beginning to end.

Lin Zhao withdrew his gaze, said nothing more, and decided to stop while he was ahead.

He had seemingly killed a Core Formation cultivator with ease, but in reality, he had exhausted a great deal of spiritual power and used his magic treasures several times. Now, only 40% of the spiritual liquid remained in the Nine Luminaries Thunder Pool, so it was not advisable for him to push himself any further.

He raised his hand and took away the gray-robed Core Formation cultivator's storage bag, along with the broken and ruined magic weapon.

He turned around and flew straight towards the spirit boat.

Lin Zhao flew onto the spirit boat.

"Thank you," Zhu Yan said, his tone solemn.

Lin Zhao nodded without speaking. The spirit boat took off, turned around, and flew towards Cangyun Mountain.

Zhu Yan leaned against the ship's railing, his eyes closed, lost in thought. Yan Chiheng stood at the bow, glancing back at Lin Zhao every now and then. The three little ones huddled together, occasionally whispering something to each other, their voices so soft they seemed afraid of disturbing someone.

Lin Zhao sat at the stern and put the Xuan Yin Ghost Hand, which had transformed into a gauntlet, back into his storage ring.

He glanced one last time at the devastated battlefield below, then closed his eyes and quietly began to meditate and recuperate.

The spirit boat headed east, flying towards Cangyun Mountain.

-----

A quarter of an hour later, five or six beams of light landed one after another at the edge of the battlefield. They were all powerful cultivators, all of whom were Core Formation Realm cultivators.

Among them was Master Chongguang, whose expression was extremely complex.

The crowd stood in a line, gazing at the devastated ruins before them and the aura of the fallen Core Formation cultivator. The entire scene was deathly silent.

"A Foundation Establishment cultivator has killed a Core Formation cultivator..." someone finally spoke, his voice dry and filled with disbelief. "Truly, the younger generation surpasses the older."

Another person chimed in with a deep voice, his tone a mix of mockery and resentment: "It seems that we Core Formation cultivators who have lived for hundreds of years are going to be swept away by the next generation."

But after these words, no one could laugh; only a heavy heart remained.

A Core Formation cultivator who had devoted himself to cultivation for hundreds of years ended up in such a state, leaving behind not even a complete corpse.

After a long silence, someone murmured, "The Holy Sect is terrifying..."

The rest of the people nodded in agreement, as if only this reason could convince themselves to accept the facts before them and slightly soothe the shock and unease in their hearts.

The group stood there for a while longer before leaving one after another.

One after another, streaks of light flashed and disappeared in all directions.

Master Chongguang was the last to leave.

He stood at the edge of the battlefield, looking down at the scorched earth. He stood there for a long time, then finally sighed and turned to flee.