Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Lin Zhao walked out slowly, his plain blue robe spotless. He exuded a gentle, jade-like aura, yet a faint, hidden sword intent lingered between his brows.

The most peculiar thing is that when the barrier's spiritual power approached him, it automatically transformed into the same fluctuation as his protective spiritual energy, allowing him to pass through naturally as if he were a fish swimming in water.

This is the first characteristic of the Celestial Sword Path: "Transformation," which allows spiritual energy to be simulated and transformed into other attributes.

"You, you—" Zhao Ziming's eyes widened, and he almost dropped the token in his hand.

Lin Zhao at this moment was indeed a completely different person from a few days ago.

Lin Zhao stood in the courtyard, dressed in a simple blue robe that accentuated his tall and slender figure. His face was handsome and clear, with features that looked as if they had been meticulously sculpted. His long, dark hair was neatly tied back, revealing his bright eyes.

His demeanor was pure and ethereal, as if untouched by the dust of the world. His movements exuded a natural harmony, neither overly sharp nor overly gentle. His aura was calm and serene, as if he were one with the surrounding light and shadow.

Not only did his cultivation level break through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, but his entire demeanor also underwent a tremendous change.

"How much longer will the formation take to stop?" Lin Zhao looked outside the shop. "I see a lot of people have gathered outside."

It took Lin Zhao quite a while to break through. The crowd watching outside the shop whispered among themselves, speculating about what had happened at the Lin family's shop. Some people with ill intentions were even watching the Lin family make a fool of themselves.

Zhao Ziming then snapped out of his daze and hurriedly continued fiddling with the token: "Right away, almost done!"

Lin Zhao shook his head slightly and raised his hand to press down. A layer of spiritual light appeared in his palm, and the originally violently fluctuating array light screen seemed to be gently grasped by an invisible hand, and the flowing spiritual light instantly solidified.

With a backhand press, all the strange phenomena subsided, the array's light barrier receded like a tide, and the shop returned to its usual tranquility.

This is precisely the second characteristic of the Celestial Sword Dao: "Dharma Domain." Within a hundred meters of him, spiritual energy flows freely, as if he were the master of a world. This is an initial imitation of the "Unity of Heaven and Man" realm, yet it has already demonstrated astonishing power.

The Celestial Sword Path also has a third characteristic, "Mastery," which allows one to transform nearby spiritual energy into sword energy. Although this Celestial Sword Path, which he created in its early stages, is still very immature, it has already greatly increased his strength.

After this breakthrough, his "Taihe Yangyuan Gong," which had not made any progress for a long time, vaguely touched the fourth level. The fourth level would allow him to completely master "the unity of heaven and man." Currently, he could only control a radius of 100 meters. But even that was only a 100-meter range.

He felt that he was now facing the Crimson Flame Tiger head-on. His strength was comparable to the ninth level of Qi Refining. As for the outcome, he would only know after the battle.

At the same time, Lin Zhao unleashed a powerful surge of divine consciousness that swept outwards like a tidal wave.

"Ladies and gentlemen, have you seen enough?"

This divine transmission resounded in the minds of the onlookers, carrying a chilling aura of divine might.

The crowd's expressions changed drastically, and they all retreated. Only after they had walked several hundred meters away did they dare to whisper among themselves.

"Was that... an elder of the Lin family?"

"This kind of powerful divine sense pressure is probably beyond the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refining!"

"Even such important figures have come; it seems the rumors of a beast tide were true!"

Some even suspected it was the Lin family patriarch, because his divine sense contained a trace of terrifying heavenly might, which made people unconsciously fearful. Only cultivators who had surpassed the ninth level of Qi Refining could possibly exhibit this.

Zhao Ziming also sensed this powerful divine sense and stared blankly at Lin Zhao for a long time before sighing, "I have no idea what level his cultivation has reached."

"I am who I am." Lin Zhao turned around, her tone calm. "I just heard them mention the beast tide, what's going on?"

The beast tide in the Cloud and Mist Mountains is absolutely the most terrifying thing and cannot be ignored.

Zhao Ziming then snapped out of his daze and quickly replied, "There have been frequent unusual movements deep within the Cloud Mist Mountains, leading to speculation that a beast tide might be brewing. However, our investigation suggests it's not a large-scale outbreak, just a small one. Nevertheless, the market's leadership has recalled all the demon-hunting teams as a precaution."

Lin Zhao nodded in understanding. The Heavenly Wind Demon Hunting Team that the Tian Team encountered on their way back to the market was probably recalled because of the beast tide.

Beast tides are divided into three levels. Small-scale beast tides only involve Qi-refining demonic beasts, at most a few commander-level demonic beasts, posing no threat to the market. On the contrary, they present an opportunity for the market. After all, resources can be obtained around the market, and there are high-level cultivators guarding it, making it far safer than venturing into dangerous territory.

A medium-sized beast tide might include second-tier Foundation Establishment stage monsters, which would be terrifying. Only by relying on the defensive formations of the market can it be countered, posing a huge threat to the market. This happened in Qingfeng Market more than ten years ago.

As for the most terrifying large-scale beast tide, led by third-tier demonic beasts comparable to Golden Core cultivators, it swept across the entire Cloud Mist Mountain Range, a natural disaster from which no one could escape.

A few days later, Lin's father received news of Lin Zhao's breakthrough and returned to the shop. Looking at Lin Zhao, he remained speechless for a long time.

"You..." Lin's father opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence. Although he had once imagined Lin Zhao breaking through to the late stage of Qi Refining before the age of 20, the actual arrival of this day still felt unreal to him.

He himself had been stuck at the late stage of Qi Refining for many years, trying every possible method to break through. Now, however, he received news of his son's breakthrough. Looking at Lin Zhao, who was only nineteen years old and had broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining, he was filled with mixed emotions.

After a long while, he slowly stepped forward, his hand landing heavily on Lin Zhao's shoulder, his voice filled with indescribable complexity: "I really don't know if your breakthrough at this time is a blessing or a curse."

Lin Zhao keenly sensed the hidden meaning in her father's words: "Father, has something happened?"

"Don't go out during this time." Lin's father hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "Your uncle needs to see you." After saying that, he turned and left, leaving only his back view.

Inside the training room, Lin Zhao sat cross-legged. The shadow of the beast tide and his father's admonitions made him realize that something might happen. He had to master his own abilities as soon as possible. Although he had created the "Celestial Sword Path," he already had some simple ideas on how to put it into practice and unleash its power.

Lin Zhao raised his hand, and four pearls of different colors appeared—the Four Elements Pearls. After leaving his body, the Four Elements Pearls transformed into four streams of light that circled around Lin Zhao. He pointed at them, and the Four Elements Pearls shone brightly, hovering in mid-air, absorbing the spiritual energy in the cultivation room. The four colors of light—cyan, red, blue, and yellow—intertwined, gradually transforming into four dragon-shaped phantoms, each about ten feet long. Although they appeared enormous, they were essentially still spiritual energy, merely possessing a form.

Lin Zhao's eyes narrowed, and the "Celestial Sword Dao" domain was unleashed.

The spiritual energy within the cultivation chamber instantly solidified, as if gripped by an invisible hand. The four dragon shadows trembled violently under the suppression of the domain, their bodies shrinking at a visible speed. They eventually transformed into a single dragon, just over a meter in size. Shrinking to a lifelike form, it possessed immense destructive power if released, but this was still not enough.