Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Lin Zhao continued to use sword techniques.

A sword light split into a hundred in the air, and then into ten thousand, with the ten thousand cyan sword lights covering the sea surface for several miles ahead.

The sword energy transformed into threads, the sword light so fine it was almost invisible to the naked eye. Yet, as it swept across the demonic beast, its scales silently split open, leaving a smooth, mirror-like cut.

These sword techniques, combined with the Five Elements Sword Qi, have increased in power to an even higher level.

The Gengjin sword energy, wrapped in sword light, split into hundreds of white sword lights that pierced into the horde of demonic beasts, specifically targeting their hard armor.

The fiery sword energy, accompanied by thunderous sound, blasted forward. The moment the crimson sword light struck the demonic beast, it forcibly shattered the demonic energy shield, and the fiery energy followed closely behind, burning into it.

The azure sword energy was drawn into extremely fine sword threads, weaving an invisible net. Any monster that crashed into it was sliced ​​into pieces.

The direction Lin Zhao was facing had completely transformed into a sword domain.

The blue sword light crisscrossed, the sword threads woven into a dense net, and the sword light spread across the sea surface.

The monsters that rushed in were cut into pieces, their blood, flesh, and bones flying everywhere in the sword domain, and the seawater was so stained that its original color was no longer discernible.

During this period, he hunted down dozens of third-tier demonic beasts.

One of them was a peak third-tier demonic beast, which fought him for a day and a night before its head was forcibly pierced by the Three Fiends Sword Qi.

The vitality of a peak third-tier demon beast is indeed terrifying, but it was continuously worn down in the sword domain and was eventually worn down to death.

However, there were simply too many demonic beasts. During this period, dozens of demonic beasts devoured each other and advanced to the third rank.

Every time a demon beast advances to the next level, it will attract a heavenly tribulation. Thunderclouds within a radius of dozens of miles will instantly gather and form a terrifying bolt of lightning that strikes down.

Those who survived were promoted, while those who couldn't were instantly reduced to ashes, their corpses then devoured by other monsters.

Because of the constant thunderstorms in the Black Sea region, the monsters have extremely high resistance to lightning, making their chances of successful advancement quite high.

Many died, but many survived, so the overall number didn't decrease much.

At the forefront, Master Kou's aura grew increasingly terrifying, and also more and more restrained.

He stood at the highest point of the cliff, holding a giant axe. No monster within dozens of miles could get close to him—those that did were cleaved in two by the axe's light.

Now, even late-stage Tier 3 monsters are just a matter of a single axe blow to him.

Where the axe flashed, the monster's body was split in two, the cut surface as smooth as a mirror.

Lin Zhao realized it.

Master Kou has nearly perfected his control over his own power.

With the help of external pressure, the golden core within his body is slowly transforming into a nascent soul.

Moreover, there should be some kind of power continuously providing him with spiritual energy.

Even a peak Core Formation cultivator couldn't sustain such a relentless battle for so long using only their own spiritual power.

It is very likely a fourth-tier spiritual object, as only a fourth-tier spiritual object can provide this level of spiritual power.

This is also the source of his confidence in daring to challenge the Nascent Soul stage amidst the beast tide.

Master Kou suddenly spoke, his voice soft and devoid of emotion: "You may leave."

Everyone stopped fighting; it was indeed time to leave.

Master Kou's Nascent Soul formation has reached its most crucial moment.

If he stays here any longer, people will interfere with his breakthrough.

Moreover, once he breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage, he will immediately be struck by three heavenly lightning bolts, and at that time, they will also be caught in them.

As for the tribulation of inner demons, it's hard to say. Sometimes it comes before the heavenly lightning strikes, sometimes it comes after the heavenly lightning strikes have passed, and sometimes it comes together with the heavenly lightning strikes. It varies from person to person.

Lin Zhao nodded and, along with the other three peak Core Formation cultivators, prepared to break through.

However, one cultivator at the peak of the Core Formation stage, dressed in black, did not move.

The fact that he didn't leave at this moment clearly revealed his intentions; he had designs on the fourth-tier spiritual item on Master Kou.

Master Kou didn't say anything, and didn't even glance at him.

Lin Zhao and the other two didn't say much.

Everyone has their own choices, and everyone must bear the consequences of their choices.

The three exchanged glances and simultaneously rushed out from the side of the high cliff.

They forcibly tore a gap in the boundless horde of monsters and broke out without looking back.

After flying no more than a hundred miles, a bell suddenly rang out from the high cliff behind them.

The sound was dull and heavy, drowning out all the thunder and the sound of the waves.

A phantom image of a yellow ancient bell, hundreds of feet high, descended from the sky, trapping the entire cliff below.

That was a technique at the Nascent Soul level, with power comparable to a strike from a Nascent Soul cultivator.

The golden bell was covered with densely packed restrictive runes. Even before the sound of the bell faded, the demonic beasts within a hundred miles were all stunned into stiffness.

The ancient yellow bell not only trapped Master Kou, but also protected the high cliff, preventing the demonic beasts from attacking.

Immediately afterwards, a series of striking sounds came from inside the bell.

The axe light collided with the bell wall, and each impact created a ring of golden shockwaves.

It was the black-clad monk who remained behind who and Master Kou who made the move.

But a short while later, a terrifying cracking sound came from the high cliff.

A crack appeared on the wall of the yellow ancient bell, which spread from the top of the bell downwards, and then the entire bell was split in two by an axe light that was concentrated to the extreme.

After the axe shattered the ancient bell, its momentum did not diminish, and it struck the sea surface directly, carving out a trench several miles long.

Master Kou emerged from the shattered golden light, his body covered in countless wounds and blood, but his vital energy was intact, and his aura was even more refined than before he was trapped.

The black-clad cultivator's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly burned his essence blood, transforming into a streak of blood-red light as he fled the sea.

He regretted it.

He thought he could get a good deal, since he happened to have a life-saving jade talisman given to him by a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Trading a fourth-tier life-saving technique for a fourth-tier spiritual item is a win-win situation no matter how you look at it.

I never expected that Master Kou had gone so far on the path to Nascent Soul formation; even the methods of the Nascent Soul level couldn't suppress him.

Unfortunately, he thought he would be fine once he escaped a hundred miles away.

Master Kou stood on the high cliff, watching the receding crimson light, and swung his axe from afar.

A beam of axe light, condensed to its extreme, shot out from the axe, instantly traversing a hundred miles and catching up with the man's blood-red escape light.

The axe flashed silently, tearing through the magical artifact's protective shield like paper, shattering the person and the defensive artifact into two pieces.

The black-clad cultivator never understood, even in death, how terrifying the explosive power of a cultivator who was about to enter the Nascent Soul stage could be.

Only Master Kou remained on the high cliff.

Holding a giant axe, he turned to face the endless monsters below and entered a fighting state once again.

There are two paths to transform from a Golden Core to a Nascent Soul.

One method is to slowly nurture the golden core with one's own spiritual power, allowing it to naturally transform into an infant. This path is relatively safe, and one's magical power is several times stronger than that of other cultivators of the same level, but it requires a lot of time and resources.

Another method is to force a breakthrough under external pressure, shattering the core to form a nascent soul. This path is fraught with peril, but it does not require consuming too many resources or time.

Master Kou chose the second option.

The three who left, including Lin Zhao, also encountered some trouble.

They left too late and were entangled by countless demonic beasts, including several peak third-tier demonic beasts that had their eyes on them.

The three fought and retreated, but the number of monsters gathered more and more, and they were entangled in the depths of the beast tide, which was very dangerous.

Once spiritual energy is exhausted, death is inevitable.

Lin Zhao made a decisive move and used his divine soul attack—Divine Soul Sword Sound.