Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Four Core Formation cultivators ganged up on one monk, but were instead overwhelmed by him.

The pirates on the sea saw this all and their morale began to visibly decline.

Bone Fiend Master also saw that the situation was starting to turn against him.

This monk who appeared out of nowhere is incredibly skilled in combat; even his Core Formation subordinates are being held back.

The Blood Domain of True Immortal Dingling is still there.

If any more Core Formation cultivators under his command are lost, the situation will be completely reversed.

Pirates have no concept of sharing life and death; they'll just abandon him and flee for their own lives.

Bone Demon Master decided to break the deadlock himself.

He raised his right hand, and the bone fire within his domain began to gather in his palm, preparing to severely injure the monk with a thunderous strike.

But this was the moment that Dingling Zhenren had been waiting for.

In the brief moment between Bone Fiend True Person's attention and the shift in spiritual energy, something that had been lurking deep within the Blood Domain was activated.

It was a thunder pearl, only the size of a fist, entirely purplish-black, and completely inconspicuous amidst the surging blood energy.

Bloodthirsty Yin Thunder.

That's the Purple Blood Fiend Net, a secret treasure that takes hundreds of years to condense.

Each one is as powerful as a full-force attack from a peak Core Formation cultivator.

When it had arrived less than a hundred feet behind Bone Fiend Master, Bone Fiend was still preparing to deal with Pu Hui.

Then the Blood Fiend Yin Lightning suddenly exploded near him, forming a dark purple spherical shockwave that spread outward from the point of explosion, causing the pale flames of the White Bone Yin Flame Pearl to dim wherever it passed.

The gray mist shield of Bone Fiend Master was torn apart like paper in the face of the shockwave.

His defensive magic item was only a mid-grade third-tier item, and it shattered after a few breaths in this explosion, which was comparable to a peak Core Formation cultivator's attack.

Bone Fiend Master was blasted away, his gray robe was mostly torn to shreds, his body was charred black, and his left arm was severed at the elbow, with blood gushing out from the cut.

He barely managed to steady himself, and when he looked up at Dingling Zhenren, his gaze was filled with malice: "Dingling, you're despicable!"

Dingling Zhenren ignored him and opened his right palm, where two Blood Fiend Yin Lightning bolts lay.

He looked at Bone Fiend and said, "Bone Fiend, shall we continue fighting?"

Bone Fiend Master gritted his teeth and remained silent for three breaths.

"withdraw."

The pirate fleet began to turn.

On Pu Hui's side, sensing the signal that the Bone Fiend was retreating, the pirates at the Core Formation stage lost their will to fight and left the battlefield one after another.

Pu Hui seized the opportunity, his Buddha palms slamming shut. The defensive magic weapon in the early stage of Core Formation that had been gripped finally gave way and cracked open with a snap.

The Buddha's palm slammed down.

Another Core Formation cultivator has fallen.

Enraged, Bone Fiend unleashed the full power of the White Bone Yin Flame Pearl, causing twelve pillars of Yin Flame to intertwine and transform into a hundred-foot-long white bone flame dragon, roaring as it crashed into Pu Hui's domain.

The Fiery Dragon crashed into the outer edge of the Pure Land Dharma Domain, and the Buddha's light and Yin Fire clashed violently, emitting a piercing hissing sound.

The golden light at the edge of the domain dissipated layer by layer, and the phantom of the temple within the domain began to tremble.

Pu Hui knew that he was not Lin Zhao or Tian Hao, and could not confront a peak Core Formation cultivator head-on.

He did not linger in the fight. The guardian deity shook the Vajra Bell violently, and countless bell sounds transformed into a golden barrier blocking the Fiery Dragon.

At the same time, the Vajra was released from his hand and clashed head-on with the White Bone Flame Dragon.

With a deafening roar, the golden light and pale flames exploded into countless fragments, creating a crater hundreds of feet deep in the sea.

Using the force of the recoil, Pu Hui withdrew his domain, transforming into a golden ray of light and landing steadily back on the deck of the Dinghai.

He stumbled slightly when he landed, and his face was paler than usual.

My right hand was cracked, and a few streaks of blood seeped out.

Bone Demon Master did not pursue them.

He took a deep look at the Dinghai, then turned around and, with the remaining three Core Formation cultivators and the remaining seventy-odd ships, disappeared into the sea.

Fairy Muqing ran towards Puhui, took out healing pills from her storage bag, and handed them to him.

Pu Hui waved his hand, saying he was fine. The monk's complexion was indeed not good, but his spiritual power was still relatively stable.

The deck was filled with monks who breathed a sigh of relief.

Some people were counting the wounded, some were slumped on the ground panting heavily, and some were loudly boasting about how they had just killed a pirate leader.

Lin Zhao did not participate in the commotion.

He and Tianhao exchanged a glance, then nodded slightly at the same time.

No one noticed that two people had silently disappeared from the third-class sea vessel.

Pu Hui did notice, but he didn't say anything.

A day later, the two returned to the ship without a word.

The Six Directions Island pirates have been completely wiped out.

Bone Fiend Master and his three remaining Core Formation cultivators were caught up by the two on their retreat.

Although Bone Fiend was at the peak of Core Formation,

However, he was first severely injured by the Blood Fiend Yin Lightning, which depleted most of his spiritual power, and his defensive magic treasure was also shattered.

Most importantly, his magical treasures haven't kept up with his cultivation level. His strongest treasure is only a third-grade high-quality White Bone Yin Flame Pearl, and he doesn't even have a third-grade top-quality magical treasure.

Bone Fiend Master was naturally no match for him.

Moreover, these two launched a sneak attack.

It didn't take much effort.

Bone Fiend Master and the remaining three Core Formation cultivators all perished, the second-tier sea ship was completely destroyed, and most of the pirates died.

Bone Fiend Master's storage bag contained many good things, but his White Bone Yin Flame Pearl was taken away by Tian Hao.

Lin Zhao had already obtained the demon core when hunting the giant whale, so he didn't contest the magic weapon, the White Bone Yin Flame Pearl, this time.

Instead, he took all the cultivation resources of the remaining Core Formation cultivators for himself.

Inside were four Tier 3 spiritual items, as well as a batch of blood crystals, spirit stones, and various resources.

The fleet left the area.

The Dinghai had several deep scratches on its hull and scorch marks from the bone fire on the side of the ship, but the overall damage was not significant.

A total of seven second-class seagoing vessels were sunk, and five were severely damaged.

The fleet rested on a deserted island for half a month before setting sail again, with twenty-three second-tier sea ships remaining.

On the day the rest period ended, the Spirit Master sent someone to invite them.

The reception room on the fifth floor wasn't large, but it was decorated with great care.

Master Dingling sat in the main seat, having changed into casual clothes. His complexion had improved considerably. Daoist Wenjing and Madam Yunxiang sat on either side of him.

Lin Zhao, Tian Hao, and Monk Pu Hui walked in together.

Dingling Zhenren stood up to personally greet him, and Wenjing Daoren and Lady Yunxiang also stood up.

"Please have a seat, all three of you."

Lin Zhao glanced at the spiritual tea on the table as he sat down.

The tea is a deep green, with a restrained and subtle fragrance. The tea leaves slowly unfurl in the cup, like newly opened orchids.

Tier 3 Supreme Spirit Tea

The Dingling Merchant Guild has brought out its most treasured possessions.

The six people sat there, and the atmosphere wasn't tense; rather, there was an indescribable subtle tension.

Dingling Zhenren did not pursue the matter of the pirates' demise, nor did Lin Zhao and the other two offer any explanation.

Those few days of blank time were as if they didn't exist.

No one dared to expose the hidden cultivation level.

Both sides understood each other without saying a word.

What followed was a pleasantry, during which we talked about the local customs and conditions at sea—which area had the weakest undercurrents and what new changes had occurred on the route ahead.