Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Lin Zhao nodded in agreement.

In fact, given his and Tianhao's abilities, flying there themselves would be faster than taking a sea voyage.

However, neither of them was familiar with the sea conditions, and neither of them was in a hurry.

Monk Puhui had no choice.

The Buddhist sect is weak. If he, a Core Formation Buddhist cultivator, were to go through the teleportation array, there would be no other possibility but to be filled into the defensive line.

Although traveling by sea is slow, at least you won't be at someone else's mercy.

The three chatted for a while, and somehow the topic turned to Tianhao and Fairy Muqing.

Even Pu Hui perked up his ears.

As a monk, he naturally doesn't get involved in matters of men and women, but that doesn't stop him from learning about it.

After all, Buddha once said, "If I don't go to hell, who will?"

As he said this, he couldn't hide the curiosity and gossip in his eyes.

Well, this monk is quite cunning.

Tianhao, not wanting to satisfy their curiosity, chuckled and dismissed the question with a simple, "My relationship with Fellow Daoist Muqing is merely that of friends."

Lin Zhao scoffed, and Pu Hui uttered "Amitabha." Neither of them pressed for details, but the teasing in their eyes remained undiminished.

Just then, the fleet's speed began to decrease.

The protective array on the ship lit up, and the entire Dinghai was enveloped in a light blue light shield.

The thirty second-tier sea ships on the outer perimeter closed the distance between each other, forming a tighter defensive formation.

Lin Zhao and Pu Hui exchanged a glance, then looked at Tian Hao together.

Of the group, only Tianhao had contact with the fleet's higher-ups. Through Fairy Muqing, Tianhao was able to obtain some information from the front lines in advance.

He didn't mince words, saying that they would have to pass through Six Directions Island, which was a pirate territory.

Normally, you can pass by giving some monster materials. The Dingling Merchant Guild has been dealing with Liufang Island for decades and has a routine toll fee standard, so it's not a big deal.

After all, the Dingling Merchant Guild is not to be trifled with—if things really come to a head, even the pirates will have to think twice about the consequences.

"Can't we go around it?"

"There is a demon clan's territory nearby."

Lin Zhao nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

He does know something about the demon race.

The monster system is vast, but once they reach the fourth rank, they can transform into humans, and their offspring become the monster race.

The Endless Demon Sea has demon-transforming herbs and various secret techniques. Some demon beasts with special bloodlines can transform into human form during the Core Formation stage, but their form is still significantly different from that of humans—their skin, pupils, and aura make it obvious at a glance that they are not human.

Only when one reaches the Nascent Soul stage can one truly transform into a human, becoming indistinguishable from a human.

After reaching the third tier, the monsters embarked on two different paths.

One path is the path of the giant demon, which retains the original form of a demon beast. Its intelligence is not high, but its size continues to expand with its strength, reaching hundreds of feet in the third rank, thousands of feet in the fourth rank, and tens of thousands of feet in the fifth rank, making it an ancient giant demon.

The other path is the path of the demon race, which involves cultivating and transforming into human form to form a race that can pass down its techniques, bloodline, and territory from generation to generation.

The demon forces in the Endless Demon Sea are also a tough nut to crack, and they have both friction and cooperation with cultivators.

The fleet continued forward, skirting the border between the pirate territory and the demon realm.

But not long after, small ships began to appear on the nearby sea.

The boats were small, but they were very fast, skimming the surface of the water like fish.

At first, no one paid much attention—it was common for scouts to be watching when you were near pirate territory.

But soon, more and more ships arrived from all directions.

They were spread out, like a pack of wolves surrounding their prey.

The monks on the ship began to feel uneasy.

The Qi Refining cultivators all stopped what they were doing.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered in small groups, whispering amongst themselves, their eyes scanning back and forth among the ships.

The monk Puhui removed his hands from the prayer beads and slowly stood up.

He gazed at the distant ships, his brow furrowing slightly.

Something's not right.

Lin Zhao narrowed his eyes.

Tianhao put away the jade pendant and stood up.

At the bow of the Dinghai, a blinding beam of light shot into the sky—a signal that the fleet was assembling for battle.

On the thirty second-tier ships, the array lights simultaneously shone, like bowls of light inverted on the sea.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

In less than half an hour, a dark mass of ships appeared on the horizon.

Hundreds of ships, each a hundred feet long, were arranged in a fan shape, with three third-tier ships at the core. Although not as large as the Dinghai, they were still four or five hundred feet long, with black hulls.

The pirates formed a semi-encirclement and pressed forward.

There's a road left on the south side, which looks like a way out.

Anyone who has spent a few years at sea can tell that this is a standard hunting formation.

They'll leave you a way out, letting you walk right in. Once you're inside, the fleet lying in ambush will close in and attack from both sides, ensuring none of you escape.

Unless Master Dingling abandons those thirty second-tier sea ships and forcibly breaks out with the third-tier Dinghai, it will be difficult to escape.

Otherwise, the entire fleet would be stuck in this sea area.

As the Spirit-Stabilizing Immortal soared into the sky, his late-stage Core Formation spiritual pressure poured out without reservation, forming an invisible wall that forcefully pushed back the overwhelming aura coming from the opposite side.

"Bone Demon!"

The voice of the Spirit-Stabilizing Immortal was loud and clear, audible even dozens of miles across the sea: "What do you mean by this today?"

On the opposite third-class ship, a wisp of gray mist rose, obscuring the people inside; only a hunched silhouette could be vaguely seen.

Six Directions Island, ruled by the Bone Demon Immortal.

According to intelligence, he is at the late stage of Core Formation and has five Core Formation cultivators under his command: four at the early stage and one at the middle stage.

Their overall strength is roughly equal to that of the Dingling Chamber of Commerce.

In the past, when passing through this sea area, we would pay a toll by handing over some monster materials; there was a certain tacit understanding between the two sides.

This is also why the Dingling Merchant Guild dared to choose this route.

A hoarse old man's voice came from the gray fog: "Dingling, I don't mean anything else. Your third-tier sea ship can leave, but those thirty second-tier ships, leave them here."

Dingling Zhenren didn't waste any more words.

He raised his hand.

A fist-sized square seal flew out from the sleeve, its entire body dark red.

The seal grew taller with the wind, transforming into a hundred-zhang-long object in an instant, like a real mountain suspended in mid-air.

The dark red spiritual patterns on the seal surface lit up layer by layer, each pattern absorbing and releasing spiritual power.

The immense pressure of the magical artifact forced a square depression, hundreds of feet wide, into the sea below, pushing the seawater outwards.

Spirit-Stabilizing Seal. A high-grade, third-tier magic weapon.

The Spirit-Stabilizing Seal locked onto the gray mist and crashed down.

The power of that strike would undoubtedly kill any ordinary Core Formation cultivator who took it head-on.

The gray mist was smashed apart the moment the Spirit-Stabilizing Seal landed, scattering in all directions, but that was all.

After the fog dissipated, a string of beads was revealed behind them—twelve white bone beads.

Each bead is the size of a fist, suspended in mid-air and slowly rotating, with pale white flames burning on its surface.

The flames weren't hot; instead, they caused the surrounding air temperature to drop sharply, and a thin layer of frost condensed on the sea surface.

White Bone Yin Flame Pearl.

A top-grade, third-tier magic weapon.