Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

In the stillness of the night, after everyone had left, Lin Zhao sat alone in the tent. He slowly spread his hands, his palms seemingly still trembling from the battle that day.

The guard wolf's gaping maw was less than a meter away from him, its vertical pupils gleaming with ferocity, and the stench wafting towards him—all of this was so clearly imprinted in his mind.

He unconsciously gripped the Qingfeng sword beside him, the delicate patterns on the hilt pressing against his palm, providing a tangible sensation.

"Theoretical knowledge is ultimately superficial," he murmured to himself. The life-or-death struggle he had experienced during the day was far more profound than any word recorded in the jade slip.

He recalled the feeling of spiritual energy surging through his meridians when he unleashed that sword strike, eventually condensing into the sword itself.

Without relying on the [Gengjin Sword Qi Talisman], he relied purely on his own understanding of the "Qingxuan Sword Technique." At that moment, the Qingfeng Sword seemed to become an extension of his body, its light invincible.

Perhaps it is true, as Lin's father said, that Lin Zhao truly possesses the talent of a sword cultivator.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Zhao took out a cultivation pill from his storage bag. The pill melted instantly in his mouth, turning into a warm current that flowed into his dantian.

To his surprise, the flow of spiritual energy was exceptionally smooth today, with the circulation speed nearly 30% faster than when he was cultivating in the family.

Lin Zhao's heart skipped a beat. "Insights gained from life and death can be so beneficial to cultivation?"

Gao Yuan's team walked through the dense forest, the sunlight dappled through the trees. Today marked the fifteenth day since Lin Zhao joined the demon-hunting team.

Lin Zhao's Qingfeng Sword always hovered a foot away from him, with water and fire elemental beads flying around it. The spiritual light was restrained, but it could unleash amazing power at any time.

Lin Zhao has already used the Four Elements Pearls. If he takes them out now, as long as all four don't appear together, it won't be too conspicuous.

Moreover, Lin Zhao glanced at his teammates in front of him, and each of them was faintly radiating extraordinary spiritual energy fluctuations; they were all elites.

The group had previously hunted demons on a plain, but now they were four hundred miles away from Wind Spirit Canyon. The further they went into the mountains and forests, the dimmer the light became.

The towering ancient trees blocked out the sun, with only a few scattered rays of light filtering through the gaps in the branches and leaves.

The air was filled with a peculiar scent of decaying leaves and spiritual plants, and the roars of unknown monsters could be heard from afar.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Cheng Jin suddenly raised his hand to signal them to stop.

The spirit-measuring disc in his hand flickered with spiritual light, indicating that there was a demonic beast ahead.

"Eleven gold-digging rats, the strongest of which is at the sixth level of Qi Refining," Cheng Jin whispered. "They're in that open space a hundred meters ahead. The gold-digging rats are skilled in earth-attribute magic, so we have to act together and not let them burrow underground."

Gao Yuan's eyes sharpened, and he quickly made a gesture to surround the enemy.

The crowd dispersed like well-trained hunters, silently forming an encirclement.

Through the gaps in the trees, one could see a group of yellowish-brown monsters gnawing on the roots of the spirit plants in the clearing.

Their fur was glossy, their front teeth gleamed with a metallic glint, and the strongest of them was exceptionally large, with the tips of their fur glowing with a pale golden light, clearly already possessing demonic power.

A battle suddenly broke out in a clearing in the woods.

Li Hao's burly figure charged out first, and the massive black iron shield flew out with a muffled whooshing sound.

The shield's earthen-yellow aura surged, spinning rapidly in the air to form a thick halo about ten feet in diameter, completely enveloping the three gold-digging rats.

With a deafening roar, the giant shield crashed down, cracking the ground and sending dust billowing into the air. The three gold-digging rats were thrown about, staggered and sprawled.

Almost simultaneously, Chu Xin's blue ice sword flew out of its sheath, transforming into a long, icy blue rainbow that shot straight at the strongest rat in the swarm.

Wherever the sword light passed, the moisture in the air condensed into fine ice crystals. The gold-digging rat reacted extremely quickly, its front paws glowing with a metallic light as it bravely met the sword's edge.

"Clang."

The sound of metal clashing was deafening, and the icy blue light and metallic light collided fiercely.

The ice sword left a deep, bone-revealing wound on the gold-digging rat's front paw, and the icy spiritual energy seeped in, visibly slowing its movements.

Just then, Lin Zhao's Fire Element Pearl flew out.

The crimson aura condensed in the air into a fireball the size of a head, which flew precisely toward the other three gold-digging rats with a scorching current.

The fireball exploded with a roar, scattering intense heat and light that instantly ignited the gold-digging rat's fur, filling the air with a burnt smell.

Cheng Jin's bronze seal had somehow appeared above the battlefield, its pale blue light cascading down like a waterfall, forming a halo of light that covered the entire area.

The remaining gold-digging rats struggled to move within the aperture, as if stuck in a quagmire.

Gao Yuan finally unleashed his heavy sword. Dark red spiritual light surged, and the sword seemed to double in size, slashing towards the strongest gold-digging rat with the force to split mountains and shatter rocks.

The sword light flew out of the body, transforming into a giant blade of spiritual energy several feet long in the air, distorting the air wherever it passed.

"Boom!"

The giant blade slashed down, leaving a trench a foot deep in the ground.

The gold-digging rat, at the sixth level of Qi cultivation, was cleaved in two, its blood instantly staining the ground red.

The battle was over in the blink of an eye.

All eleven gold-digging rats perished, and the various colored lights gradually dissipated, leaving only the pungent smell of burnt metal and blood in the air.

Cheng Jin strode forward and skillfully collected the gold-digging rat's incisors and fur.

Although these materials are not of high value, they add up to a considerable income.

"Everyone's teamwork is becoming more and more skillful." Gao Yuan's resolute face showed a look of satisfaction.

Lin Zhao raised his hand and retrieved the Fire Element Pearl, the crimson spiritual light gradually fading in his palm.

Although the battle was brief, he was already able to precisely control the power of the Fire Element Pearl, distributing the flames evenly to each gold-digging rat, ensuring that not a single bit of spiritual power was wasted.

This is the skill I've honed while hunting monsters these past few days.

Chu Xin's ice sword had already been sheathed, but a faint mist still lingered around the scabbard.

She stood quietly at the edge of the open space, her spiritual senses extended outward, constantly alert to any movement around her.

"Everything's packed up." Cheng Jin put the last set of materials into her storage bag. "We can move on now."

The team set off again, with each person's magical artifact remaining detached from their body, their protective aura faintly visible.

Walking through this perilous wilderness, without the protection of any formations, they must be prepared to deal with any sudden dangers at any time.

The Wind Howling Wolves that were faced before were considered very weak in the eyes of true demon hunters. There were many creatures in the wild that were far more dangerous than the Wind Howling Wolves.

Deep in the dense forest, ancient trees reached for the sky. The group cautiously proceeded along the path trodden by wild animals. The layer of decaying leaves underfoot was thick and soft, exuding the scent of earth and rotten wood.

The deeper one goes, the denser and more chaotic the spiritual energy in the air becomes. In this area of ​​disordered spiritual energy, even breathing becomes somewhat heavy.

The bronze spirit-detecting disc in Cheng Jin's hand trembled slightly, and the pale blue ripples on the disc spread forward in circles like water.

He suddenly stopped, his brow furrowing slightly: "There's a poisonous miasma area two hundred feet ahead. Go around it."

Cheng Jin suddenly spoke, her voice exceptionally clear in the quiet forest.

The bronze seal above his head flashed with spiritual light, pointing to the right front. "The miasma is not very toxic, but it will corrode the spiritual light of magical artifacts. It's not worth forcing your way through."