Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

The Changqing Sect Master broke the silence of the cave: "Let's begin dealing with the spiritual veins."

The spirit stone vein is located at the deepest part of the cave, and the mining process is complicated. Moreover, he intends to take half of the output directly this time.

This ratio is exactly the upper limit for spiritual vein repair; any more would cause permanent damage to the spiritual vein. Clearly, he had already calculated this repeatedly.

After putting away the Azure Feather Magic Disc, Master Chen took out a magic artifact shaped like a chessboard, preparing to start mining the vein.

The chessboard is carved from light gray jade, and there are 128 black and 128 white chess pieces on it, clearly separated.

A third-tier magic weapon, the Heavenly Craft Chessboard.

Master Chen lifted the chessboard with his palm and slowly poured spiritual energy into it.

Two hundred and fifty-four chess pieces were released from the board one after another and landed on the ground, instantly transforming into foundation-building puppets.

The black puppet, clad in heavy armor and wielding a heavy hammer, possessed immense strength.

The white puppet is slender and agile, and is skilled in magic.

Two black and white chess pieces remained on the chessboard, transforming into two three-foot-tall spirit arrays that floated in the air, their auras reaching the early stage of Core Formation.

Wei Yun and Master Song exchanged a glance, secretly shocked: This guy has too many trump cards.

The Azure Feather Magic Plate and the Heavenly Craft Chessboard can clearly be used together, complementing each other.

With the Azure Feather Magic Disc trapping the enemy and the Heavenly Craft Chessboard summoning puppets to attack, plus the seven Mysterious Water Thunders and two Core Formation Array Spirits by his side, it's uncertain whether an ordinary mid-stage Core Formation cultivator could survive being trapped in his array.

If it weren't for the fragile underground environment and his deep love for his son, coupled with his urgent need for spirit stones, he could have easily wiped out the monsters on his own, without needing anyone's help.

More than two hundred foundation-building puppets were immediately put into operation.

The black puppet's heavy hammer landed precisely, chiseling away at the rocks along the vein without damaging the spirit stones in the slightest;

The white puppet flicked its spiritual threads, probing into the cracks in the rock strata to pull out the spirit stones buried deep within the mineral veins.

The puppets were tireless and far more efficient than ordinary miners. Hard rock walls were like soft mud under the heavy hammer, and a single blow could hollow out several feet deep. The spiritual light threads could penetrate dozens of feet into the ground without missing a single spirit stone.

In just three days, nearly half of the spirit stones were mined and piled up like a mountain in a corner of the cave.

With nearly ten thousand high-grade spirit stones, hundreds of thousands of mid-grade spirit stones, and countless low-grade spirit stones, this fortune is equivalent to the life savings of more than a dozen Core Formation cultivators.

Even Lin Zhao was moved when she saw it, but she didn't say anything.

After the mining ended, the Changqing Guild Master put all the spirit stones into his storage bag.

Together, everyone sealed the entrance to the mine. The leader of the Evergreen Society set up an array, and the array plate was handed over to everyone.

From this point on, the spirit stone mine was officially shared by the Ye family, Wei Yun, and Master Song.

The group set off from the deserted island, no longer trying to conceal their tracks. Five streaks of light shot through the air side by side, releasing their spiritual pressure without any attempt to hide it.

There aren't many Core Formation cultivators on Crimson Fire Island; five Core Formation True Persons were traveling together.

Returning quietly would only arouse speculation, leading people to guess that the trip was highly successful or that there was something fishy going on.

It would be better to clear out the monsters along the way; that would be much more straightforward and efficient.

Flying to the two third-tier demonic beasts they had previously circled around, the group no longer gave way.

Wei Yun and Master Song took the lead and fought with extra effort.

They hadn't achieved any outstanding results in the cave earlier, so now was the perfect time to showcase their strength, solidify their position in this temporary alliance, and lay the foundation for future cooperation at the spirit stone mine.

Wielding a black iron staff, Wei Yun launched a direct and straightforward attack, his staff's shadow crashing down like a mountain.

It kept striking the head of the Crimson-Striped Sea Serpent King.

A dull, cracking sound rang out as the snake's head was slammed dozens of feet into the sea, causing huge waves to surge.

The sea serpent twisted its massive body, trying to entangle and kill him, but it underestimated his physique, which he had cultivated for many years.

The two fought underwater for an hour.

In the end, Wei Yun grabbed the snake by its vital spot with one hand, forcefully pulling the hundred-foot-long snake out of the sea, and with a sweep of his staff, severed most of the snake's body.

Song Zhenren's fighting style is completely different.

The three Blood Soul Nails moved silently through the seawater, sneaking in from the blind spots of the demonic beasts' perception.

Although the demonic beast possessed a powerful physique, it lacked a domain of magic and was therefore unaware of this dark magical artifact.

It travels along the blood vessels all the way to the heart, and only when it reaches the vital point does it explode with a roar.

Although the narwhal struggled desperately before it died, the Blood Soul Nail was insidious and vicious.

The enormous body eventually sank to the bottom of the sea, flowing out countless drops of dark red blood.

Lin Zhao, the Ye family head, and the Changqing Society leader watched the battle from mid-air without making a move.

After the battle ended, the two returned with two third-tier demon cores. Although their auras fluctuated slightly, their expressions remained calm.

---

The group returned safely to Crimson Fire Island, and the leader of the Evergreen Society handed over three Danqing Spirit Woods to Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao carefully checked and found nothing wrong, then took out a bag of blood crystals that had been prepared beforehand and went over.

With the transaction settled, the two parted ways without much further conversation.

The Evergreen Association took charge of disposing of the Chamber of Commerce's remaining assets, while Lin Zhao returned to the villa alone to rest.

Half a month later, the leader of the Evergreen Guild completely cleared out the properties on Crimson Fire Island and left in a low-key manner, but he was still targeted by someone and was ambushed by four Core Formation cultivators on his way.

However, President Changqing was no pushover. He set up an array with the Azure Feather Magic Disc and summoned two array spirits with the Heavenly Craft Chessboard. The two magic treasures transformed into an array within an array, forcefully killing two Core Formation cultivators. The remaining two Core Formation cultivators fled in panic.

As for who those four Core Formation cultivators were, nobody knew.

All that is known is that the Ye family acquired a complete Tier 3 spirit stone mine several years later.

-----

When the news reached Redfire Island, Lin Zhao remained calm and offered no pretense or comment.

He's leaving too.

Now that the Crimson Spirit Wood has been acquired, the training in the Blood Crystal Islands to hone sword intent will not be very effective.

Over this period of time, he has gained a general understanding of the situation in the Endless Demon Sea.

Crimson Fire Island is located behind the All-Laws Alliance's defensive line, and its number of third-tier demonic beasts is actually not large.

The truly brutal battlefield lies beyond those endless defensive lines; that is the main battlefield where Core Formation cultivators fight and hone their skills.

A few days later, Lin Zhao left Red Fire Island without a word.

Crimson Fire Island has lost one of the Flying Swallow Daoists.

On the front lines of the Myriad Laws Alliance's defenses, a lone swordsman known as the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal has appeared.

The endless sea of ​​demons is vast and boundless.

The further you go towards the Black Sea, the more monsters there are, and the larger they are. These monsters all move in packs.

Beast tides occur in small waves every three to five days, and in large waves every ten days to half a month.

If an ordinary Core Formation cultivator were to accidentally fall into a large beast tide led by a third-tier demon beast, they would still die once their spiritual energy was exhausted.

This is not an exaggeration; it's a fact that happens every year.

But for Lin Zhao, who was at full strength, ordinary beast tides posed no threat at all.

More than a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Zhao stood on a reef jutting out into the sea, her feet resting on red volcanic rock.

He no longer used the Flying Swallow Sword Seal, which was meant to conceal his true intentions; instead, he carried his natal magic weapon, the Azure Lotus Sword, at his waist.