Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

These words were like ice water poured over someone's head, instantly freezing the celebratory atmosphere below the city!

Anger surged on the faces of countless cultivators, their fists clenched and their teeth grinding.

They fought valiantly, with countless comrades dying on the battlefield, to achieve this victory. Yet, in this person's eyes, all he cares about is whether he can obtain a desired mount? And he even insults all the Foundation Establishment cultivators who participated in the battle!

The Foundation Establishment cultivators in the air were even more furious, their faces turning ashen.

Several hot-tempered individuals even began to unleash their spiritual energy, instantly creating a tense atmosphere.

However, feeling the overwhelming pressure of Wan Heling's late-stage Foundation Establishment realm and the formidable strength of Wanheng Market, the crowd was momentarily speechless with anger.

Just as the oppressive silence was about to explode, a calm yet clear voice swept across the entire venue like a gentle breeze.

"So it was someone from Wanheng Market who was so arrogant."

The Foundation Establishment cultivators in the air automatically parted to make way, and Mingxuan, dressed in white with a slightly pale face, slowly flew out from behind.

His aura was clearly not as strong as it had been in his prime, and he seemed to still bear some injuries, but his eyes remained calm and deep.

He walked to the front of the crowd, looked up at Wan Heling in the air, and a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown appeared on his lips.

"If Wanheng Market had been eyeing this Golden-Winged Thunder Roc all along, why were you nowhere to be seen when the beast tide was at its fiercest half a month ago?"

If you had made a move then, with your late Foundation Establishment cultivation, combined with our strength, we would naturally have had a chance to capture Lei Peng.

Now that the battle is over and the demonic beasts have retreated, you've only just arrived, and you're already criticizing others. You truly want to have your cake and eat it too.

Master Mingxuan spoke slowly and deliberately, yet each word was like a knife, piercing through Wan Heling's selfishness and cowardice!

Upon hearing this, a deathly silence fell over the city.

All the cultivators held their breath, and countless gazes were focused on Wan Heling.

Wan Heling's arrogance froze instantly, his old face first turning bright red, then turning ashen.

His originally calm spiritual pressure suddenly became chaotic, and his robes fluttered without wind, clearly indicating that his state of mind was in turmoil.

It had been a long time since anyone dared to speak to him like that. Even the three major sects treated him with utmost respect, and they had never heard such words spoken to him before.

His withered fingers clenched the jade gall in his palm so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and his eyes flashed with a fierce light of shame and anger, as if he was about to explode on the spot!

However, when he touched the cloud patterns on the other person's white robe, which, though dim, still exuded a mysterious aura, a chill suddenly ran down his spine.

That's the mark of Tianyun Market!

The rebuke that was on the tip of his tongue was swallowed back down.

He recognized the cloud pattern! He also clearly understood the seemingly young cultivator before him.

Behind Tianyun Market stands an enormous behemoth.

It is definitely not something that a mere Wanheng Market can provoke!

The greed and anger in his heart were instantly extinguished by a bucket of ice water, replaced by deep fear.

Wan Heling's expression changed several times before he finally forced out an extremely awkward smile and dryly explained...

"Fellow Daoist, you jest. I was indeed preoccupied with the trivial matters of the market and was unable to come to your aid in time, for which I feel quite guilty."

I was just speaking rashly in the heat of the moment, and I hope you fellow cultivators will forgive me.

The middle-aged cultivator at the early Foundation Establishment stage beside him had already lowered his head, not daring to meet Mingxuan's gaze.

A potential conflict was averted with just a few casual words from Master Mingxuan.

Everyone watched as Wan Heling, who had been so arrogant and domineering before, now became obsequious and resentful, unable to utter a word of anger.

He felt incredibly happy, and his admiration for Master Mingxuan reached its peak.

Feeling utterly humiliated, Wan Heling could no longer linger and hastily bowed to Ming Xuan and the leading Foundation Establishment cultivators.

He then took another Foundation Establishment cultivator with him, covered in dust and dirt, and transformed into a streak of light, quickly disappearing into the horizon.

After this commotion, the celebratory atmosphere faded considerably. The Foundation Establishment cultivators dispersed, some returning to the market to heal their wounds, others to handle the aftermath.

The Qi Refining cultivators below, under the command of their respective leaders, began to systematically clean up the battlefield, collect the remains of their comrades, gather materials from the demon beasts, and repair the damaged facilities.

Lin Zhao silently observed all of this, gaining a deeper understanding of strength. Without lingering any longer, he followed the flow of people into the ravaged Guiyun Market.

Upon entering, a complex odor, a mixture of blood, burnt smell, medicinal smell, and a faint putrid stench, immediately hits you.

The scene before us was even more desolate than the battlefield outside.

The once bustling streets are now riddled with cracks, and most of the buildings and shops on both sides have collapsed or been severely damaged.

Amidst the ruins, traces of magical attacks and the claws and teeth of demonic beasts can still be faintly seen.

The once bustling square has now been transformed into a temporary shelter for the wounded.

Although the protective array in the core area of ​​the market is still operating, the light barrier is noticeably thinner, clearly indicating that it has been greatly depleted during the long siege.

This is what the scene looks like after the war; behind the victory lies devastation and wounds that are difficult to heal.

Lin Zhao wandered through the ruins, finding a relatively intact temporary cave dwelling that could be rented.

After paying the spirit stones, they went straight inside and closed the stone door.

His rented temporary cave dwelling was located in the relatively intact southwest area of ​​the market.

Inside the cave, Lin Zhao sat cross-legged, his mind focused on his body.

When the fourth level of the "Taihe Yangyuan Gong" was fully activated, a cool and pure life force flowed like a gentle stream.

He gently soothed his damaged meridians and the sea of ​​consciousness that was throbbing with pain, again and again.

At the same time, he carefully guided his spiritual power to repair the fragile and blurred connection between himself and the Four Elements Pearl, which had become weak due to the damage to the magical artifact.

The four pearls, covered with fine cracks, floated above his dantian, dull and lifeless.

The four-colored spiritual light that used to flow continuously is now reduced to a faint glow.

If a magical artifact is damaged, you either need to find a professional artifact refiner or slowly repair it yourself by nurturing and warming it.

He is still recovering from his injuries and has no time to find a weapon refiner, so he can only slowly heal himself. Lin Zhao knows that he can't rush it.

Most importantly, Lin Zhao had previously seen a middle-aged cultivator in the early Foundation Establishment stage next to the old man in Wanheng Market, and felt that his aura was very familiar.

During his seclusion, he carefully considered the cultivators he had come into contact with recently.

Finally, a suspect emerged: the masked cultivator who had forcibly broken into the Lin family during the clan leader's Foundation Establishment phase when the Lin family had closed its mountain.

During the period of mountain closure, many Foundation Establishment cultivators came to the Lin family's ancestral land, openly and secretly gathering information.

However, none of them were as arrogant as him, directly attacking Chuangshan. Although he later retreated from the family's great formation like the other cultivators.

But Lin Zhao was extremely impressed with him.

If he hadn't broken through the "Divine Barrier" and reached the tenth level of Qi Refining, he probably wouldn't have been able to recognize his aura at all.