Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Gao Yuan nodded slightly, and with a light swing of his heavy sword, a dark red aura drew an elegant arc in the air, signaling everyone to turn around.

Li Hao immediately moved to the right side of the group, and the Xuan Tie Shield flew out of his body. The earthy yellow spiritual light on the shield surface was thick and substantial, blocking all the wisps of light purple poisonous mist that drifted from the right.

The poisonous fog emitted a faint "sizzling" sound when it came into contact with the spiritual light, demonstrating its considerable corrosiveness.

Lin Zhao walked in the middle of the group, with the Qingfeng Sword hovering to his left, and the Water and Fire Yuan Pearls slowly rotating around him within a three-foot radius.

He deliberately controlled the spiritual light fluctuations of the magical artifact, making it blend with the flow of spiritual energy in the surrounding environment.

This is a technique he learned in actual combat. Excessive fluctuations of spiritual light not only consume spiritual power, but also more easily attract the attention of certain demonic beasts that are sensitive to spiritual energy.

Watch your step.

The rarely speaking pharmacist gently reminded everyone, her soft voice instantly alerting them. A wisp of emerald green light flicked from her fingertip.

As the spiritual light penetrated the ground, several Soul-Eating Grasses disguised as ordinary weeds immediately revealed their true forms, their leaves shimmering with an ominous, dark spiritual light. "These things aren't deadly, but getting entangled with them will waste a considerable amount of your spiritual power."

Chu Xin's ice sword silently emerged half an inch from its sheath. A flash of icy blue light appeared, and the few Soul-Devouring Grasses were instantly frozen, then shattered into ice powder.

She remained calm, as if she had only done something insignificant, but Lin Zhao noticed that the cold mist on her sword sheath was a bit thicker than before.

"Be careful to conserve your spiritual energy."

Gao Yuan reminded them without turning his head, and the team cautiously moved through the dense forest, with everyone maintaining the highest level of vigilance.

In these perilous deep forests, any carelessness could come at a heavy price.

After bypassing the poisonous miasma area filled with eerie purple mist, the scenery suddenly opened up before us.

A wide-open valley appeared before them, filled with spiritual energy, and spiritual plants that emitted a soft spiritual light grew in the valley.

Several demonic beasts resembling deer but with jade antlers on their heads were leisurely eating. They were all white, and pale green spiritual light flowed on their jade antlers, reflecting the spiritual energy that permeated the valley, making it look like a fairyland.

"Jade Horned Deer, around level three of Qi Refining, gentle in nature, not very valuable." Cheng Jin's bronze seal dimmed its spiritual light, clearly indicating that these demonic beasts posed no threat. "However, their jade horn powder is an excellent material for calming talismans, but harvesting it requires a special method, otherwise the spiritual energy will be completely lost."

Gao Yuan looked at Chu Xin, and Chu Xin nodded gently.

She knew that to obtain the jade horn powder, she first needed to freeze the jade horn with ice-attribute magic, and then shatter it into powder with fire-attribute magic, which happened to be the attribute of her and Gao Yuan's magic weapon.

Over the next half hour, streaks of spiritual light appeared in the valley.

Chu Xin's ice sword traced several trajectories in the air, precisely freezing the jade horns of the jade-horned deer. Gao Yuan controlled the flames on his heavy sword, and wherever the fiery red light passed, the frozen jade horns shattered into crystalline powder, which was collected one by one by a specially made jade bottle.

The once peaceful and tranquil valley has been turned into a scene of devastation by this hunting and gathering. Scattered frost and scorch marks remain on the ground, shattering the previous harmonious atmosphere.

Lin Zhao couldn't help but glance at the jade-horned deer a few more times. The soft spiritual light emanating from their horns reminded him of the time when he first started learning how to make talismans.

Cheng Jin walked up to him without him noticing. "When I first went out, everything was new and exciting to me, just like you."

Lin Zhao smiled, a wisp of spiritual light flashed between his fingers, and a talisman paper shimmering with light appeared in his hand: "I just feel that the spiritual light of these jade-horned deer is very suitable for drawing calming talismans."

While the two were talking, the team had finished packing up, crossed the edge of the valley, and re-entered the deep, dense forest.

Lin Zhao has been hunting demons with the team for twenty-two days now, and they are currently hiding under a large tree.

"They are three porcupines, all at the sixth level of Qi Refining. They are currently fighting a group of rock golems, and they must have triggered some kind of formation," Cheng Jinzheng reported back to the scene he had witnessed.

Gao Yuan pondered for a moment, then if there was a formation, it must be related to cultivators.

In the wild, cultivators are even more troublesome than demonic beasts. The spiritual light on the heavy sword flickered slightly: "Can't get around it?"

"Taking a detour will add half an hour to our journey, and we'll pass through an unknown area. There shouldn't be any living people inside the formation; it was activated automatically." Cheng Jin's bronze seal glowed with spiritual light, projecting a three-dimensional image of what lay ahead into the void.

Three porcupines covered in poisonous quills are engaged in a fierce battle with four rock golems. The quills on the porcupines glow with a purplish-black light, and each time they are shot out, they corrode deep pits in the rock golems.

The rock golem's fists were imbued with earthy yellow spiritual light, and each strike was powerful and heavy, smashing deep craters into the ground.

Lin Zhao couldn't help but glance sideways, never expecting that Cheng Jin's bronze seal magic tool could be used in this way. He had truly learned something new today.

"Let's finish this quickly." Gao Yuan made his decision, and dark red spiritual light began to gather on his greatsword. "Help the rock golems get rid of the porcupines."

The squad advanced silently and stopped fifty feet from the battlefield.

This distance is sufficient for them to observe the battle situation and facilitates intervention or retreat at any time.

Lin Zhao carefully observed the battlefield. The three quilled boars formed a triangular formation, their quills constantly shooting out, the purplish-black light drawing deadly trajectories in the air.

Their tactics are obvious: constantly roam and use poison stings to wear down the rock golems.

Although the rock golems had strong defenses, they were slow to move. Two of them had already been damaged beyond recognition, and their spiritual light had dimmed considerably.

"Li Hao, hold the left flank; Chu Xin, use Ice to restrict movement; Lin Zhao, use ranged attacks; I'll lead the attack," Gao Yuan quickly deployed tactics.

The spiritual light on the greatsword had reached its peak, and the dark red light seemed to flow through the blade as if it were a tangible substance. "Cheng Jin, keep watch on the surroundings. Pharmacist Chen, prepare the antidote."

Everyone nodded and got ready.

Li Hao's massive black iron shield was the first to leave his body, carrying a thick, earthy-yellow spiritual light as it crashed into the venomous porcupine on his left.

The shield spun in the air, and the spiritual light formed a protective zone with a diameter of two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), blocking all the poisonous quills shot by the porcupine.

The poisonous stinger collided with the spiritual light, producing a sizzling corrosion sound. The purple-black and earthy-yellow spiritual light intertwined, creating ripples on the shield's surface.

Chu Xin then unleashed her ice sword, the icy blue spiritual light on its blade surging as it drew a graceful arc in the air.

Where the sword tip pointed, the ground quickly froze, and the cold air spread along the ground, freezing the four hooves of the three porcupines.

The porcupine roared angrily, its body flashing with purplish-black spiritual light, trying to break free from the ice's restraints.

Lin Zhao seized the opportunity and released the Fire Element Pearl. In mid-air, it transformed into a fireball the size of a head, shooting towards the frozen porcupine with scorching spiritual light.

The air distorted slightly as the fireball streaked through, revealing the intense heat it contained.

However, the porcupine's purplish-black spiritual light suddenly intensified, and dozens of poisonous quills shot out, colliding with the Fire Element Pearl in mid-air. An explosion rang out, and the scene was instantly filled with poisonous mist, enveloping the battlefield.