Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Perhaps a stronger opponent is needed.

Ordinary third-tier monsters are not enough.

Sword cultivators often break through to higher realms on the brink of life and death.

Lin Zhao closed his eyes and retracted the Flying Swallow Sword Seal into his body.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

The Foundation Establishment elder from the Ye family sent an invitation, saying it was for the market's auction held once every ten years, with a special small-scale trading fair for Core Formation cultivators.

He didn't say it explicitly, but Lin Zhao knew that these Core Formation cultivators were after the materials from the two third-tier demonic beasts he possessed.

In a place like Crimson Fire Island, third-tier monster materials are considered hard currency.

It is very difficult for an ordinary Core Formation cultivator to hunt down a third-tier demonic beast.

Materials for third-tier monsters are scarce in all major factions.

Lin Zhao accepted the invitation.

Ten days later, he went directly to the auction on Crimson Fire Island.

The auction was held in a market town in the center of Crimson Fire Island, inside a huge circular stone hall.

The seats on the ground floor of the main hall were filled with Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators, numbering in the tens of thousands.

Since none of the Core Formation cultivators had arrived yet, Lin Zhao didn't go up; instead, he observed the auction from below.

Then he casually placed a few sets of first-tier fire-based magical artifacts on it.

The seven magical artifacts can be combined to form the Fire Separation Array. If cultivators coordinate them properly, it is equivalent to a second-tier array.

Something powerful enough for Qi Refining cultivators to hunt second-tier demonic beasts, something that could change the fate of Qi Refining cultivators.

He casually crafted a few sets of these while on the Dinghai ship out of boredom.

The Qi Refining cultivators below the stage went crazy with the bidding, and several Foundation Establishment cultivators also placed bids several times, but in the end, the prize was won by several demon-hunting teams.

After watching the commotion for a while, Lin Zhao went up to the top floor.

A quiet room, several tens of feet in diameter, was simply furnished.

Some people had already arrived, and later a few more came, eventually making a total of ten Core Formation cultivators.

The Core Formation auction has begun.

The process is simple—it's not a formal auction, but more like everyone bringing out their items and exchanging them directly with whoever needs them.

Someone offered a mid-grade third-tier demon core in exchange for a defensive magic weapon of the same tier.

Someone displayed three bottles of third-tier pills, specifically requesting to exchange them for lightning-attribute spiritual materials.

Someone simply pushed their spoils onto the table, letting everyone see for themselves.

Lin Zhao was the fourth to speak.

He placed the materials of the two third-tier demonic beasts on the table. The shell of the Black Water Tortoise gleamed with a faint watery light, while the scales of the One-Horned Ink Scale Python were dark black with sharp edges like knives.

The two demon cores were sealed in spirit-sealing boxes.

"Two demon cores, tortoise shell, and scales can be exchanged for a wood-attribute spiritual item or a third-tier sword dao inheritance."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Several Core Formation cultivators exchanged glances.

There are no sword-wielding inheritances; such things are already scarce among independent cultivators in the Inner Sea. However, some people possess wood-attribute spiritual items.

An old man in a green robe took out a piece of spirit wood from his sleeve, which was glowing with a green light.

A third-tier Azure Cloud Wood, a wood-attribute spiritual object.

Lin Zhao glanced at it and nodded.

Qingyun Wood replaced the scales of the Ink Scale Python.

Another person took out a batch of blood crystals and exchanged a large number of blood crystals for a third-tier tortoise shell.

The endless sea of ​​demons is teeming with monsters, so the materials aren't actually that valuable; demon cores and blood crystals are more useful.

Many of the formations here use demon cores and blood crystals as energy, while spirit stones are used for cultivation.

Lin Zhao didn't haggle much, and the transaction was completed very quickly.

As the trade fair ended, people gradually got up and left.

Just as Lin Zhao was about to leave, the head of the Ye family called him back.

"Fellow Daoist Feiyan, there's a private banquet over here. Would you like to join us?"

Lin Zhao went along. The banquet was held in a villa of the Ye family. Several plates of spiritual fruit and a pot of spiritual wine were placed on the table.

The four people exchanged names.

The head of the Ye family, in the early stage of Core Formation, is the local tyrant of Crimson Fire Island.

The head of the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce, surnamed Chen, was at the peak of the early stage of Core Formation. He appeared to be middle-aged, with a thin build, and spoke in a soft but clear voice.

A burly man with broad shoulders and a thick waist, Wei Yun, was clearly someone who had spent years battling demonic beasts. He was a rogue cultivator in the early stage of Core Formation, and had spent thirty years on Crimson Fire Island.

Including Lin Zhao, there are four Core Formation cultivators.

The head of the Ye family spoke first.

It is said that the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce has discovered a third-tier spirit stone mine in the northwest of Crimsonfire Island, with considerable reserves.

However, a group of demonic beasts roamed around the mine, led by three third-tier demonic beasts—one of which had already reached the mid-stage and was quite powerful. They led the herd and completely occupied the mine.

If the Evergreen Chamber of Commerce wants to start mining, it must first eliminate those three demonic beasts.

The Evergreen Chamber of Commerce promised that if mining is successful, each of the three Core Formation cultivators would receive 10% of the mine's permanent ownership.

Patriarch Ye asked, "Fellow Daoist Feiyan, are you interested?"

Lin Zhao thought for a moment, then shook her head.

He didn't plan to stay here long; ownership of the spiritual vein didn't mean much to him.

The Ye family head and the Changqing Association leader exchanged a glance.

The leader of the Evergreen Society took out a jade box from his sleeve, opened it, and pushed it in front of Lin Zhao.

Inside the box lay a spirit tree, its trunk verdant and its spiritual light subtly contained; at first glance, it could be mistaken for an ordinary plant.

But when you get close, you can smell a faint fragrance, and just smelling it makes you feel that the spiritual energy in your body flows more smoothly.

"A third-tier wood-attribute spirit, using the Danqing Spirit Technique. If Fellow Daoist Feiyan is willing to make a purchase, this is a token of my gratitude."

Lin Zhao's gaze lingered on the spirit wood for a moment.

The Danqing Spiritual Technique is a spiritual item that can enhance the foundation of wood-attribute cultivators.

For his Azure Lotus clone, it could be directly refined to increase his cultivation. Although this kind of thing existed in the sect, it was expensive and considered a rare item.

The Endless Demon Sea doesn't seem to have a shortage of spiritual materials; this is due to the difference in spiritual materials between different regions.

Lin Zhao glanced at the leader of the Changqing Guild. The other party could casually take out a piece of Danqing Spirit Wood as a reward, so he must have a lot in stock.

The remaining spirit wood can be planned slowly.

As for this action, who knows if it's real or fake? He can wait and see.

If the other party really wanted to double-cross him, he was indeed quite interested.

No rush, let's see how things go first...

"Can."

Lin Zhao agreed.

"Then it's settled. We'll leave in three days?"

three days later.

It is more than a thousand miles northwest of Red Fire Island.

Four streaks of light flew close to the sea surface, with Lin Zhao and the Ye family patriarch flying behind them.

President Changqing and Wei Yun stood side by side, several dozen feet apart, neither too far nor too close.

They swept past more than a dozen groups of demonic beasts.

Some hid underwater, while others lay on the island basking in the sun, becoming restless as soon as they saw the light in the distance.

They also encountered two demonic beasts led by third-tier demonic beasts.

A group of crimson-striped sea serpents covered more than ten miles of sea surface; the serpent king was a third-tier demon beast.

On the other side was a third-tier demonic beast, a narwhal, with a dark gold horn on its back.

Nobody wants to waste time.

President Changqing made a hand gesture, and the four of them simultaneously rose into the air and circled around from a distance.

After flying for half a day, an unnamed deserted island appeared ahead.

The island is not large, only about ten miles in size; there are many such deserted islands in the inland sea.

Without a spiritual vein, it has no value, unless some Core Formation power spends a lot of money to transfer a third-tier spiritual vein over.

Alternatively, a Nascent Soul True Monarch could move mountains and seas and forcibly condense spiritual veins; otherwise, it would be difficult for even cultivators, let alone ordinary mortals, to survive on such a nameless deserted island.

The four landed on a flat area in the center of the island.