Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Li Hao took a deep breath, and the earthen yellow spiritual light of the Xuan Iron Shield still shone. He roared and leaped down the high slope. His heavy footsteps instantly startled the armored rhinoceros drinking water!

The armored rhinoceros let out a deep, thunderous roar, its crimson eyes instantly locking onto Li Hao. It pawed at the ground with all four hooves, unleashing a terrifying force that caused the ground to tremble slightly, charging forward like a moving hill!

"Freeze!" Chu Xin acted immediately, her Ice Soul Sword drawing a deep blue arc, and an extremely cold aura swept out, condensing into a thick layer of ice in the path of the armored rhinoceros.

The armored rhinoceros slowed down noticeably, leaving deep cracks on the ice with each step.

"Activate the formation!" Old Wu formed hand seals, and the formation base he had already laid out suddenly lit up.

A white light curtain, like an inverted giant bowl, trapped the armored rhinoceros within, its array patterns humming as they swirled. The power of the array flowed continuously into Li Hao's body, causing the spiritual light on the shield to intensify.

"boom!"

Li Hao's black iron shield collided fiercely with the armored rhinoceros, stirring up a visible shockwave.

The shield's aura flickered violently, and Li Hao groaned as his feet dug two deep furrows in the mud.

Gao Yuan's crimson longsword, Cheng Jin's bronze seal, and Chu Xin's ice sword struck the armored rhinoceros's protective aura one after another, but only caused ripples.

The layer of spiritual light that was integrated with the iron armor was indestructible, and the attacks of the crowd were as ineffective as tickling.

"Damn it! This tortoise shell is too hard!" Cheng Jin roared and summoned the bronze seal. The seal grew to a size of ten feet in the air and slammed heavily onto the back of the armored rhinoceros. However, it only caused the spiritual light to fluctuate slightly, and the rhinoceros was instead thrown away by the recoil.

Li Hao barely managed to hold on with the support of the formation, but he was still repeatedly knocked back by the armored rhinoceros.

Chu Xin continued to cast her ice-sealing spell, and the ice layer on the armored rhinoceros grew thicker and thicker, but she was still unable to completely restrict its movements.

Lin Zhao seized the opportunity and thrust his Qingfeng sword straight into the relatively vulnerable abdomen of the armored rhinoceros.

However, when the sword tip touched the protective aura, it made a crisp sound like metal striking stone, and was forcefully bounced back, leaving only a faint white mark on the aura.

"Even the Qingfeng Sword can't break through it?" Lin Zhao frowned and immediately took out a Gengjin Sword Qi Talisman and slapped it onto the sword.

The sword energy transformed into flowing gold and entered the sword body, and the Qingfeng Sword immediately emitted a sharp golden light about a foot long.

This time, the sword tip finally pierced through the protective aura, leaving a wound about an inch deep on the armored rhinoceros's abdomen.

However, this was merely a superficial wound to the massive armored rhinoceros, which only fueled its ferocity.

Its single horn on its forehead shone brightly with yellow light, and sharp stone spikes suddenly pierced out from the ground, forcing everyone to retreat.

"This won't do!" Old Wu's face was pale; maintaining the formation had consumed a lot of his spiritual energy.

Gao Yuan's face turned ashen; he knew he couldn't hesitate any longer. "Use the talisman! Smash its shell!"

In an instant, the talismans that everyone had treasured, originally intended for saving their lives or dealing with powerful enemies, were thrown at the armored rhinoceros as if they were free.

The roar was deafening, and the spiritual light burst forth, finally breaking the tough protective aura until it flickered and cracked!

But just as the protective aura was about to shatter, Lin Zhao seized the opportunity to strike.

Lin Zhao understood that his cultivation level was still too low; his sword energy could only injure it. Its defense and vitality were too strong. To kill it, he had to break through its armor first.

He took a deep breath, and four Yuan Pearls flew out and hovered in front of him. The four Yuan Pearls spun rapidly in the air and merged into a white pearl, emitting a terrifying aura that made people's hearts tremble.

Lin Zhao pointed his fingers, and the white pearl shot out like a meteor, its aura of destruction striking the wound that had been inflicted by the Gengjin sword energy.

"Crack—Boom!"

First came a crisp cracking sound, followed by a deafening explosion. The armored rhinoceros's seemingly indestructible armor shattered like glass struck by a heavy hammer, countless fragments mixed with flesh and blood scattering in all directions.

The white orb continued its trajectory, piercing straight through the massive body of the armored rhinoceros and leaving a shockingly large hole in its back.

Moo!

The armored rhinoceros let out a mournful howl that was extremely shrill.

Blood gushed from the wound like a burst dam, instantly staining the surrounding ground red.

Sensing the threat of death, the armored rhinoceros roared again, its massive body rising upright, its single horn emitting a blinding yellowish-brown light, before stomping down with both feet.

The Ironclad Rhinoceros's strongest spell, "Earth-Shattering Tide".

Rumble

Centered on it, the ground within a radius of 100 meters shook violently and cracked! Countless massive earth spikes, as thick as buckets and with tips gleaming with a deadly cold light, surged wildly from the ground like a forest, covering every inch of land! This was an indiscriminate, destructive, and widespread crushing!

"Retreat!" Gao Yuan's eyes were bloodshot.

Under this cataclysmic attack, Wu Laodao's formation was torn apart and destroyed like paper in an instant! The formation flags shattered, and Wu Laodao immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground.

Li Hao's black iron shield was struck repeatedly by several earth spikes, causing its spiritual light to dim completely. He and the shield were sent flying, breaking countless bones.

Cheng Jin and Chu Xin were also affected. Although they avoided the main impact, they were still injured by the flying debris and the shocking spiritual energy. Their blood and qi surged, and blood spilled from the corners of their mouths.

Gao Yuan swung his sword to block, but was also forced back by a tremendous force.

Only Lin Zhao, with his divine sense far surpassing that of his peers and his agile movements, narrowly avoided the densest area of ​​stabbing when the arrows could not be released, but he was still forced into a rather disheveled state.

"Now!" Lin Zhao's eyes sharpened. He frantically circulated his spiritual energy, forcibly channeling the sword energy from the three [Gengjin Sword Qi Talismans] into his Qingfeng Sword, regardless of any potential waste.

The Azure Edge Sword emitted an unprecedentedly clear and melodious sword cry, and an extremely condensed and incomparably sharp golden-blue sword aura shot out from the sword! "Azure Profound Sword Technique, Piercing the Sun!"

"laugh--!"

The armored rhinoceros, which had just unleashed a powerful spell after being severely injured, had lost its protective aura.

The sword energy pierced the armored rhinoceros's gaping maw, which was slightly open due to its panting, with unparalleled precision, penetrating straight into its brain!

Its massive body stiffened abruptly, its crimson pupils dimmed instantly, and it collapsed to the ground with a thud, this time, without a sound.

The scene was deathly silent, save for the suppressed groans and heavy breathing of the wounded.

They won, but no one cheered.

Looking at their severely wounded comrades, the high-level talismans they had used up, and the battlefield that looked as if it had been plowed through, everyone felt an immense heaviness in their hearts. This battle had come at a terrible cost.

Gao Yuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at Lin Zhao's sword aura that had decided the outcome of the battle at the crucial moment, a complex look flashing in his eyes.

He forced himself to stand, his voice hoarse but steady: "Cheng Jin, stay alert. Pharmacist Chen, help with the rescue. Anyone else who can move, please assist!"