Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

With another thought, the Wind-Walking Sword Wings on his back suddenly flapped, and he appeared a hundred meters away in an instant, his figure as fast as lightning. The Azure Edge Sword in his hand, wrapped with four-colored sword energy, slashed down and cut a demon wolf that had just pounced out from behind a rock in mid-air. His movements were smooth and fluid, without the slightest hesitation.

With the "Four Elements Sword Wings", he has too many options, whether facing a chase in complex and rugged terrain, being surrounded by a tidal wave of enemies, or needing to escape or pursue quickly.

The perfect fusion of swordsmanship and talismanic arts makes his fighting style more diverse and unpredictable.

Besides fighting against the heavens and beasts, he also fought against people.

Deep within the Yunxia Mountains, there are not only demonic beasts, but also cultivators who risk their lives hunting demons, including some with wicked intentions. Lin Zhao is alone, with a cultivation level of only "Eighth Level of Qi Refining," and is still young, naturally becoming a "fat sheep" in the eyes of some.

In one year, he survived no fewer than ten attempts to ambush him. Some pretended to be injured and asked for help, while others approached and suddenly attacked; some ambushed him while he was fighting monsters; and some even set traps and joined forces to kill him.

The most dangerous time was when Lin Zhao was ambushed by a seasoned and well-coordinated demon-hunting team.

The enemy, using their superior concealment technique, silently completed their encirclement. Only a split second before the attack was launched did Lin Zhao's divine sense, far surpassing that of his peers, detect the sudden burst of attacks!

He didn't have time to think much and almost instinctively unleashed his most proficient "Four Elements Sword Dragon". The silver-white sword dragon appeared fiercely with a sharp aura that could tear everything apart, and the destructive sword light swept out like a storm!

The few late-stage Qi Refining team members at the forefront had their protective auras and defensive artifacts rendered useless by the powerful sword energy. They couldn't even utter a decent scream before turning to ashes in the blinding sword light.

However, the captain, who had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, seized the opportunity and threw out a fist-sized, ancient-looking bell that was entirely purple!

"The Soul-Suppressing Bell!"

"Thump—!"

A dull, eerie bell chime suddenly resounded! There was no tangible sound wave, but an invisible, intangible, and strange fluctuation that struck directly at the soul swept over Lin Zhao and the sword dragon he controlled like ripples on water!

Lin Zhao felt as if his sea of ​​consciousness had been struck hard by an invisible hammer! His vision suddenly went black, countless golden stars flashed, and his consciousness went blank and stagnant for a moment. His divine sense, which was at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining, seemed somewhat fragile in front of this first-grade top-quality magic weapon that specialized in attacking the soul!

The Four Elements Sword Dragon, which was closely connected to his mind, was also affected. Its energy fluctuated violently, and the countless silver-white runes that made up the dragon's body were constantly being destroyed, as if they would collapse and revert to spiritual energy at any moment!

At the critical moment, his first-grade high-level magic artifact, "Stabilizing Spirit Realm," played a crucial role, helping him resist some of the effects of the demonic sound.

This allowed him to regain his senses ahead of schedule and re-establish his connection with the Four Elements Sword Dragon.

Finally, faced with the unleashed power of the Four Elements Sword Dragon, the Demon Hunter Captain, having lost his greatest reliance, was annihilated along with his last struggle in the endless hell of sword energy.

After the battle, Lin Zhao obtained the storage bag left behind by the enemy, as well as the purple bell—a first-tier top-grade magic weapon, the Soul-Suppressing Bell.

That battle made him truly understand the fundamental difference between human cultivators and demonic beasts.

Although the monsters are powerful, they mostly rely on instinct and talent, and are straightforward.

Human cultivators, on the other hand, possess a myriad of unpredictable and ever-evolving methods. A suitable magical artifact or a powerful spell can instantly turn the tide of battle!

"If I can create the 'Celestial Sword Path,' others may also have their own opportunities and secret techniques." For example, the second-generation ancestor of the Lin family created the Dao of Talisman Arrays, allowing Lin Xuan to kill a cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining while only at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Lin Zhao's current achievements ultimately stem from the "celestial being" state brought about by the third-tier Golden Core level auxiliary cultivation technique, the "Taihe Yangyuan Gong".

Lin Zhao was able to create the Celestial Sword Dao using this third-tier technique. The foundation of the three major sects' techniques must be incredibly profound. Their true disciples and geniuses probably cultivate techniques and possess magical artifacts far beyond his imagination.

It was this life-or-death battle that woke him up like a bucket of ice water.

Lin Zhao then realized that he had been putting the cart before the horse lately.

Being too engrossed in driving those powerful rune forms, they neglected their own existence as the core of the battle.

Once targeted by methods like "Soul-Slaying Bell," and the connection with the Stegosaurus is disrupted, the main body will be in an extremely dangerous situation.

It was around that time that he conceived the initial idea for creating the "Four Elements Sword Wings".

After numerous battles, his storage bag began to fill up. It was filled with precious materials from various demonic beasts, as well as various supplies obtained from cultivators.

Time flies, and Lin Zhao has been wandering deep within the Cloud and Mist Mountains for a year, his footsteps traversing thousands of miles of treacherous terrain. During this year, he has encountered and slain many powerful first-tier demonic beasts.

He had even sensed several auras from afar, the oppressive power of second-tier demonic beasts, which made him wisely choose to avoid them.

However, he always had his eye on a special kind of prey—"commander-level" monsters.

Commander-level monsters have developed intelligence and are far stronger than their peers. They can even command multiple types of monsters within a region. They often possess unique bloodline talents or ancient inheritances, and the powerful ones can even contend with second-tier monsters. They are excellent whetstones, and the materials they contain are extremely precious.

Unfortunately, such beings are not only incredibly powerful, but also extremely rare.

Throughout the entire year, Lin Zhao only had two brief "encounters" and never actually fought each other.

The first time was on a vast plain. There was a Silver Moon Wolf King, a giant wolf much larger than its kind, with fur as white as pure silver and a crescent moon mark on its forehead. It was raising its head to the moon, surrounded by tens of thousands of wolves.

Even more chilling was the fact that it was surrounded by hundreds of elite late-stage Qi Refining demon wolves with fierce eyes and powerful auras, like a loyal guard. This was no mere demon beast horde; it was clearly a well-trained, disciplined demon beast army. It could easily be called a beast tide.

Although Lin Zhao's strength has greatly improved, even the most powerful Four Swords Dragon would be torn apart when facing such a large wolf pack, especially the wolf king and its tens of thousands of wolves.

He could only watch helplessly as the Silver Moon Wolf King led its followers and disappeared into the depths of the mountains.

The second time was at the foot of a mountain, when a sharp, piercing cry that seemed to split rocks came from overhead! A huge golden figure swept across the sky at an astonishing speed.

It was a magnificent golden eagle with a wingspan of several tens of feet. Every feather seemed to be made of pure gold, and its sharp claws gleamed with a cold light.

With a single flap of its wings, the golden eagle transformed into a tiny golden dot on the horizon.

Before he could even conceive of a challenge, his opponent had vanished without a trace. He couldn't even catch a glimpse of them.

Lin Zhao would never admit that one of the motivations for creating the "Four Elements Sword Wings" was the "obsession" of watching the golden eagle fly away while he could only stand on the ground and watch.

Yes, that was to cope with more complex environments, definitely not because he was upset about not being able to catch that golden eagle! Hmm, that must be it?