Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Of course, he didn't rely entirely on these two powerful forms. He also frequently used the Four Elements Sword Technique in combat.

The process of creating and controlling the "Sword Dragon" and the "Yinglong" is itself a form of cultivation of the "Heavenly Sword Way".

This feedback to his swordsmanship makes his Four Elements Sword Technique faster and more accurate, often allowing him to anticipate his opponent's moves at the outset and end the battle in the simplest and most effortless way.

During these days of trial and error, Lin Zhao's inspirations were not always successful. He attempted to condense the lightning-fast "Four-Element Sword Falcon," but it collapsed halfway through due to structural instability.

He envisioned a powerful and unrestrained "Four Elements Sword Tiger," but discovered that its agility was far inferior to that of the Sword Dragon, resulting in a waste of spiritual energy.

They also tested the "Four-Element Sword Turtle," which was primarily defensive. While its defense was decent, it almost completely lost its offensive capabilities, making it seem clumsy and useless.

Most of the forms he conceived were less powerful than the corresponding spells he could directly unleash, so he decisively abandoned them. More forms are not necessarily better; the most important thing is to choose the ones that are suitable.

Lin Zhao's figure darted rapidly through the dense forest. Ahead of him, a "giant bear" the size of a small hill roared and smashed through the trees along its path, trying to escape.

With a thought, Lin Zhao formed hand seals, and the Four Elements Pearls shone brightly, their earth-yellow light intensifying as they rapidly outlined and condensed in the air. In the blink of an eye, a creature entirely composed of earth-attribute runes appeared, its most striking feature being the spiral horn on its forehead, which contained terrifying earth-elemental spiritual power.

The "Four Elements Sword Bull"—formed with a roar. It was enormous, covered in silver armor made of sword energy, and looked incredibly powerful. This was a form he created based on the "Silver Armor Rhinoceros King," the strongest second-tier demonic beast his family had previously killed.

"Go!" Lin Zhao pointed his sword.

With an unstoppable momentum, the Sword Bull charged towards the Giant Spirit Bear, leaving a deep trench in the ground wherever it passed.

However, the giant bear did not take the powerful charge head-on. Instead, just as the sword bull was about to collide with it, its massive body nimbly slid to the side, much like it did with its size, easily avoiding the frontal impact.

Immediately afterwards, the giant bear's huge paw, as big as a fan, slammed into the side of the sword bull, which was unable to turn around in time due to its inertia and forward momentum!

"boom--!"

A deafening roar, not the clang of metal on metal, but the muffled sound of runic structures being violently destroyed. The seemingly mighty "Four Elements Sword Bull" instantly crumbled into countless scattered fragments of earthen-yellow spiritual light, unable to hold on for even a moment.

Lin Zhao frowned, shaking his head as he watched the dissipating spiritual light: "No matter how strong the power, it's futile if you can't hit the target. The form of the talisman needs to be in harmony with one's own combat abilities."

He stopped trying new forms and instead used the Four Elements Sword, which moved like four agile fish, avoiding the giant bear's thickest back and focusing on its relatively vulnerable parts such as joints, eyes, and nose. Relying on speed and precise attacks, he quickly killed it.

Of course, not all the patterns explored were failures. Several patterns, after being tested in actual combat, proved to be quite practical.

One of them is the "Four Elements Sword Tower". Its inspiration comes from the golden tower he once saw used by the sect disciples as a life-saving trump card.

To complement the Four Elements Bead, he modified it into a Four-Sided Sword Tower.

The sword tower is entirely composed of flowing runes, with the four sides corresponding to the four elemental auras of earth, fire, water, and wind. Its eaves are like swords, pointing diagonally towards the sky. Its physical defense is only average, but it has two unique features.

First, there's the "Sword Qi Reflection." Lin Zhao once encountered an attack from hundreds of "Wind Howling Wolves" in a wide-open hilly area. The wolf pack unleashed countless pale blue wind blades upon the sword tower. However, the sword tower only trembled slightly, and after its surface shimmered with spiritual light,

The next moment, even more condensed sword energy carrying various attributes shot out in the opposite direction! Caught off guard, the wolf pack was instantly killed by the rebounding sword energy, and scattered and fled with mournful howls.

Secondly, it possesses the power to "suppress evil spirits and ward off misfortune." Lin Zhao was once unwittingly surrounded by a swarm of "illusory sound butterflies." With each flutter of their wings, invisible sound waves intertwined, and seductive melodies directly penetrated her consciousness, creating a multitude of illusions.

The first floor of Lin Zhao's "Four Elements Sword Tower" is adorned with four-colored spiritual light, like a pillar stabilizing the sea. The sword tower embodies the ultimate strength and power of the sword path.

The runes flowing across the tower seemed to form a special sword-wielding force field, largely isolating the pervasive illusory sounds and mental impacts. In the end, Lin Zhao released a wide-range fiery sword aura, incinerating the troublesome demons.

Another successful form is the "Four Elements Sword Serpent". It has a slender body, and its main body is composed of dark blue water-attribute runes, which are integrated with wind-attribute runes to enhance its speed, making it as agile as lightning;

A small amount of earth-attribute runes were added to increase the impact of its charge; moreover, highly compressed fire-attribute runes were placed on the fangs, concealing a deadly intent.

The sword-serpent form is not indestructible, but the runes that make it up are extremely tightly connected. Even if it is broken, it can quickly reassemble under the guidance of Lin Zhao's divine sense, making it extremely difficult to completely destroy.

He once spent several days fighting a "Azure Scale Python" by the poisonous pool. The python hid in a complex cave beneath the pool, and with the help of the poisonous mist and the terrain, even the powerful Four Elements Sword Dragon found it difficult to use effectively in the confined space.

Lin Zhao then changed his strategy. One night, he quietly released the "Four Elements Sword Serpent." It silently infiltrated the poisonous pool and coiled around the Azure Scaled Python while it rested.

Finally, it found an opportunity. Its fangs were like drills, and the highly concentrated power of the fire runes erupted, instantly piercing through the seven-inch scales of the demonic python. A violent burst of fire power erupted from its body, killing the troublesome demonic beast completely from the inside out.

After this battle, Lin Zhao became more proficient in using rune combinations. He understood that the key to power lies in understanding and applying the essence of power, and that the biggest difference between humans and demons is intelligence. He was no longer bound by fixed forms.

After numerous successes and failures, Lin Zhao gained a more thorough understanding of runes.

He began to conceive of a more complex and balanced form that could simultaneously take into account speed, defense, and offense.

At the summit of a precipice deep within the Yunxia Mountains, he sat cross-legged, with the Four Yuan Pearls floating before him, emitting a soft and stable four-colored radiance.

He immersed his consciousness into it and began to meticulously construct the "Four Elements Sword Wings" he envisioned, using the governing intent of the "Celestial Sword Path".

The difficulty of this construction is comparable to the previous Quadruple Sword Dragon. He is not aiming to condense a single behemoth or architectural form.

Instead, the goal is to create three pairs of agile sword wings, each with different functions yet sharing the same origin and functioning as one's own limbs!

Its inspiration still comes from Su Qianxue's pair of pure white wings, which provided unparalleled mobility, allowing her to soar above the swarm of insects.

Lin Zhao later secretly compared the two situations and felt that if a fight had broken out back then, he would likely have been worn down to death by Su Qianxue, who would have used her wings to fly a kite.