The beast tide consisted of all kinds of demonic beasts.
Wolf type beasts with crimson eyes.
Massive serpent beasts that slithered across the ground like rivers.
Bird type yao beasts that filled the skies.
Even giant armored beasts that smashed into the defensive barrier repeatedly without fear of death.
Most of them were only Rank 1 early stage beasts, but their sheer numbers made the scene terrifying.
Outside the Cloud Mist Market, the sounds of explosions, beast roars, and shaking earth continued endlessly.
Boom!
Boom!!
Boom!!!
The massive defensive formation surrounding the market glowed brightly every time a beast collided against it. Layers of blue spiritual light spread across the barrier like waves on water.
Standing within the inner courtyard, Lin Sheng quietly watched the scene from afar.
Beside him, Zhao Feng folded his arms and snorted.
"Too bad for them."
Lin Sheng glanced at him slightly.
"The beasts?"
"No." Zhao Feng shook his head. "I mean the beast tide itself. That formation protecting the market is a Rank 2 high grade formation. It can even resist attacks from a late stage Foundation Establishment cultivator for some time."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng looked at Zhao Feng more carefully.
Formation ranks.
Cultivation levels.
Defensive limits.
Those were not things ordinary youths casually understood.
Even most trainees within the inner courtyard probably did not know the exact level of the market formation.
Yet Zhao Feng spoke about it naturally.
Before Lin Sheng could ask anything—
A figure suddenly shot into the sky above the market walls.
Boom!
The pressure descending from that person instantly suppressed the chaotic atmosphere below.
It was Guardian Zhao.
The Martial Guardian of Cloud Mist Market.
His body floated in the air while his robes fluttered violently from spiritual pressure alone. The sword in his hand radiated dense Gang Qi fluctuations.
Even from far away, Lin Sheng could feel the terrifying aura pressing down on the surroundings.
"Xuan Gang Realm..." Lin Sheng muttered inwardly.
This was the first time he had properly seen a true Xuan Gang expert display power openly.
Guardian Zhao coldly looked toward the endless beast horde below.
"Hmph."
With a single swing of his sword—
Slash!!!
A massive arc of sword qi tore through the battlefield.
The earth split apart instantly.
Dozens of beasts exploded into pieces before they could even react.
A huge pathway was forcibly carved through the beast tide.
The terrifying pressure released from Guardian Zhao also caused many weaker beasts to tremble in fear.
Some immediately began retreating back toward the forest.
The beast tide momentarily lost momentum.
Cheers instantly erupted from within the market.
"Guardian Zhao!"
"So powerful!"
"As expected of the market guardian!"
Even many trainees within the training center revealed excited expressions.
Strength like this…
Who would not desire it?
But before the cheers could fully continue—
ROOOOAR!!!
A terrifying roar suddenly echoed from deep within the Cloud Mist Mountain Forest.
The sound itself carried spiritual pressure.
The sky seemed to shake faintly.
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes immediately.
This roar…
Matched Guardian Zhao's aura.
The next moment, a gigantic beast emerged from the distant mist.
Its body resembled a massive black tiger covered in arcs of lightning. Every step it took scorched the ground beneath it.
Thunder continuously crackled around its body.
A Rank 2 beast.
Equivalent to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The pressure released from it caused many trainees to pale instantly.
Even Zhao Feng's smile disappeared.
The Thunder Beast slowly raised its enormous head before speaking in a deep voice.
"Martial Zhao… you broke the rules."
The moment those words sounded, countless people froze.
A beast…
Talking?
Lin Sheng's eyes sharpened slightly.
High ranked yao beasts possessing intelligence was one thing.
But hearing one speak directly still felt strange.
Guardian Zhao's expression remained cold.
"The Lin Family does not need to answer to a mere Rank 2 beast."
The Thunder Beast's eyes instantly turned violent.
Lightning gathered around its body wildly.
Crack!!
A massive thunder arc blasted toward the market walls.
At almost the same moment—
Guardian Zhao slashed downward.
Sword qi and lightning collided violently.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The explosion shook the entire battlefield.
The shockwave instantly killed the remaining beasts near the collision zone.
Smoke and scorched earth spread everywhere.
For several seconds, visibility completely vanished.
Then gradually—
The smoke dispersed.
Guardian Zhao still floated calmly in the air.
Meanwhile, the Thunder Beast had already retreated several hundred meters away.
The beast glared at the market coldly before releasing another furious roar.
But this time…
It did not attack again.
Instead, it slowly retreated back toward the deeper forest regions.
Seeing this, the remaining yao beasts quickly fled alongside it.
The beast tide ended just as suddenly as it had begun.
The market erupted into loud cheers.
"We won!"
"The beast tide retreated!"
"Guardian Zhao forced back a Rank 2 beast!"
Excitement spread throughout Cloud Mist Market.
Even within the training center, many trainees revealed expressions filled with yearning.
To slash apart beast hordes with a single strike…
To force back a Foundation Establishment level beast…
That was true power.
Lin Sheng silently watched the distant sky.
Though Guardian Zhao appeared calm…
The Thunder Beast also did not seem injured.
That exchange earlier had likely only been a warning.
Neither side truly wanted to escalate matters further.
After all, once beings at that level fought seriously, the destruction would be catastrophic.
Eventually, the training center mentors ordered everyone back into their rooms.
But the image of Guardian Zhao's sword strike remained deeply imprinted in countless minds.
Including Lin Sheng's.
…
A week later, the market gradually returned to normal.
The defensive formation was finally lowered, allowing people to leave and enter freely once again.
Of course, the atmosphere within the market had changed slightly.
Many hunting teams never returned.
The medical halls remained crowded.
And spirit herb prices had risen sharply due to reduced supply.
Inside the training center, however, the beast tide had produced another effect.
Motivation.
After witnessing true experts fight openly, almost every trainee became far more diligent in cultivation.
Even the usually lazy trainees began training seriously.
No one wanted to remain weak forever.
Most trainees within the outer courtyard had already reached Second Rate by now and started opening their meridians one after another.
Competition within the training center also became increasingly intense.
Inside his room, Lin Sheng quietly sat cross legged on his meditation mat.
His breathing rose and fell rhythmically.
Unlike before, the flow of internal energy within his body had become far smoother and more stable.
Inside his body—
A complete Small Heavenly Circulation continuously revolved.
Internal energy flowed through his opened meridians smoothly like flowing water.
Compared to ordinary martial artists who required conscious control every cycle, Lin Sheng's optimized breathing technique allowed the circulation to maintain itself almost automatically.
"Basic Breathing Exercise Version 3.0 truly exceeded expectations," Lin Sheng thought inwardly.
This version specifically optimized continuous circulation efficiency while opening meridians.
With it, his cultivation speed increased once again.
At his current pace, opening all necessary meridians and reaching the peak of the Acquired Realm would take only slightly over a month.
Such speed would terrify ordinary martial artists.
But Lin Sheng remained calm.
His attention shifted elsewhere.
Within his sea of consciousness, countless invisible threads of mental energy slowly rotated together.
Then suddenly—
They compressed violently.
A nearly invisible spiral thorn instantly formed.
The moment it appeared, the surrounding mental space trembled slightly.
Compared to before, the Mental Spiral Thorn had become far more refined.
More stable.
More deadly.
"Release."
The spiral thorn instantly vanished from his consciousness.
Almost simultaneously—
Several kilometers away, a bird resting atop a distant tree suddenly trembled before collapsing unconscious from the branch.
Lin Sheng slowly opened his eyes.
"Range increased again."
Originally, the attack could only function at short distances.
Now, however, he could precisely target enemies from kilometers away while still maintaining enough power to damage their minds.
Against martial artists weaker than him, the attack would likely cripple them instantly.
Even stronger opponents would suffer momentary mental disruption.
And in battle…
A single moment was enough to decide life and death.
Still, Lin Sheng knew this technique remained incomplete.
Mental attacks were difficult to defend against, but they also consumed enormous mental energy.
Against someone with stronger spiritual consciousness, the backlash might even injure him instead.
For now, it would remain one of his hidden trump cards.
After stabilizing his mental energy, Lin Sheng shifted his attention toward another matter.
The storage pouch.
After countless failed attempts, he had finally succeeded several days ago.
Using his mental perception, he had carefully extracted traces of Ghost's spiritual qi aura from the memories and attacks preserved within his sea of consciousness.
Then, by replicating that aura temporarily—
The storage pouch had finally opened.
At first, Lin Sheng expected some hidden traps.
Fortunately, Ghost either never prepared one or lacked the ability to create one.
Inside the pouch were numerous items.
Spirit pills.
Light body talismans.
Fireball talismans.
Several beast bones and beast materials.
Some medicinal herbs.
A few damaged weapons.
And deeper inside…
Lin Sheng's expression turned strange.
There was an entire bundle of revealing red robes and accessories clearly meant for brothels within the red light districts.
"…So this Ghost was actually a pervert."
He could not help shaking his head slightly.
Still, the overall value of the storage pouch was extremely high.
After rough calculations, everything inside together could sell for nearly nine hundred low grade spirit stones.
Plus several spirit stone fragments.
That amount was enormous for ordinary cultivators.
After all—
One low grade spirit stone was equivalent to ten spirit stone fragments.
Even many inner courtyard trainees would not possess such wealth.
Most importantly, the talismans inside provided useful insight into immortal cultivation combat methods.
Lin Sheng picked up one of the fireball talismans carefully.
The paper itself contained faint spiritual fluctuations.
Complex symbols were carved into the surface using spiritual ink.
"Interesting…"
Martial artists relied on True Qi
Cultivators relied on spiritual Qi.
Yet both systems clearly possessed strengths and weaknesses.
Martial artists had stronger bodies and explosive close combat.
Cultivators possessed greater versatility and ranged attacks.
At least for now, Lin Sheng still lacked enough information to determine which path truly possessed greater potential.
Perhaps…
Neither path was truly superior.
They were simply different systems.
Suddenly—
Knock knock.
Lin Sheng's eyes sharpened slightly.
His mental perception spread outward instantly.
Then he relaxed.
It was Zhao Feng.
Lin Sheng waved his hand lightly and deactivated part of the room formation before opening the door.
Zhao Feng walked in casually.
"You really spend all your time cultivating," Zhao Feng complained while sitting down. "Sometimes I wonder if you even sleep."
Lin Sheng smiled faintly.
"What is it?"
Zhao Feng's expression gradually became more serious.
"There's news from outside."
"The beast tide?"
"Partly." Zhao Feng nodded. "But more importantly… some people discovered traces of a ruined cave dwelling in the outer regions of the mountain forest."
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
Ruins.
Inheritance grounds.
Those words alone were enough to drive cultivators mad with greed.
Zhao Feng lowered his voice.
"Apparently several hunting teams already entered and never returned."
The room suddenly became quiet.