The battlefield had already become a living hell.
Explosions echoed endlessly.
Roars shook the heavens.
The scent of blood filled every corner of Cloud Mist Market.
Screams.
Angry shouts.
Dying cries.
Everything blended together into a single horrifying symphony of slaughter.
Boom!
A fireball exploded amidst a charging group of wolf beasts.
Several yao beasts were blown apart instantly.
Blood and flesh scattered through the air.
At the same moment—
A cultivator failed to dodge an incoming claw.
Puchi!
His chest was ripped open completely.
Before he could even scream, a second beast lunged forward and bit off his head.
Crack!
The severed head flew through the air.
Fresh blood sprayed like rain.
Nearby cultivators immediately erupted in anger.
"Kill them!"
"Protect the formation!"
"Don't let them advance!"
Talismans lit up everywhere.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Hundreds of yellow papers ignited simultaneously.
Fireballs.
Wind blades.
Earth spikes.
Lightning arcs.
The battlefield became a storm of destruction.
Yet despite the heavy casualties—
The yao beasts continued charging fearlessly.
As if something was driving them mad.
As if retreat no longer existed in their minds.
Meanwhile—
Far above the battlefield.
The true powerhouses had finally revealed themselves.
---
The skies above Cloud Mist Market trembled.
Ten terrifying figures stood opposite one another.
On one side—
Five Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators.
Blood-red aura surrounded their bodies.
The spiritual pressure they emitted distorted the air itself.
Each possessed a powerful Rank-2 Spiritual Artifact.
One carried a black bowl covered with writhing Gu insects.
The creatures continuously crawled along the surface, releasing unsettling buzzing sounds.
Another held a massive Thousand Ghost Flag.
Countless ghostly faces twisted within the banner.
Their mournful screams caused weaker cultivators below to shiver involuntarily.
A third carried a crimson bone spear.
The weapon appeared to have been crafted entirely from human bones.
The remaining two wielded strange treasures equally filled with demonic qi.
Opposite them stood the defenders of Cloud Mist Market.
Three Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Two Xuan Gang Martial Masters.
Their auras rose into the heavens.
Golden spiritual light collided with crimson demonic qi.
The entire sky seemed divided into two separate worlds.
One of the demonic cultivators suddenly laughed.
His voice sounded strange.
Like metal scraping against bone.
"Hehehe..."
"Where is your very stroooong Guardian?"
The mocking tone caused several righteous cultivators to frown.
The demonic cultivator continued.
"Don't tell me..."
"He's too scared to come out?"
Several demonic cultivators burst into laughter.
The sound carried across the battlefield.
The righteous side remained calm.
One of the Foundation Establishment cultivators snorted.
"Hmph."
"The Guardian is occupied."
"He'll be done with his business soon enough."
The response appeared casual.
Yet the moment the words were spoken—
Several demonic cultivators exchanged glances.
A trace of unease appeared in their eyes.
Their entire plan revolved around Guardian Zhao being absent.
The beast tide.
The hidden demonic cultivators.
The assassination attempts.
Everything had been calculated carefully.
Yet now—
The confidence displayed by the righteous cultivator felt suspicious.
Far too suspicious.
One of the demonic cultivators narrowed his eyes.
"Interesting."
"Then perhaps we'll wait and see."
Boom!
The next instant—
Both sides attacked simultaneously.
The sky exploded.
---
A massive blood-red river appeared above the battlefield.
At the same time—
Golden spiritual light erupted from the righteous cultivators.
The collision resembled two worlds crashing into one another.
BOOOOM!!!
The shockwave spread outward.
Buildings shook.
Windows shattered.
Countless cultivators below paused momentarily.
Even the charging yao beasts hesitated briefly.
The pressure from Foundation Establishment experts was simply too overwhelming.
For a split second—
The entire battlefield seemed frozen.
Then reality returned.
The slaughter resumed.
Because regardless of who won above—
Those below still needed to survive.
---
Lin Sheng raised his head slightly.
His Mental Field extended outward.
The battle in the sky entered his perception clearly.
His expression became serious.
"So it has reached this stage..."
Foundation Establishment experts.
Xuan Gang Martial Masters.
Rank-2 Spiritual Artifacts.
This was no longer a small disturbance.
This was a genuine crisis.
Yet despite scanning repeatedly—
He still couldn't find Guardian Zhao.
The strongest expert of Cloud Mist Market remained absent.
Which meant one thing.
The true climax of the beast tide had not yet arrived.
Suddenly—
A violent roar echoed from the formation wall.
ROOOOAAARRRR!!!
The ground shook violently.
Several enormous shadows crashed into the battlefield.
Lin Sheng turned immediately.
His pupils contracted.
Rank-2 yao beasts.
Four of them.
The weakest possessed strength comparable to Foundation Establishment cultivators.
The strongest was approaching the middle stages of Rank-2.
The sudden appearance of such creatures instantly caused panic.
Several cultivators nearby nearly lost their courage.
Then—
Two figures shot into the sky.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Powerful Gang Qi erupted.
One of the men was immediately recognized.
"Mentor Sun!"
Many trainees exclaimed in shock.
Lin Sheng recognized him as well.
It was the mentor responsible for examining their root bones and cultivation potential during the entrance assessment.
The usually calm mentor now radiated overwhelming killing intent.
Beside him stood another unfamiliar Martial Master.
His face appeared stern.
Scarred.
A massive black spear rested in his hand.
Clearly a veteran of countless battles.
The two Xuan Gang experts stared at the four Rank-2 beasts.
The pressure was immense.
Yet neither showed fear.
Because everyone knew one thing.
Martial Masters at the Xuan Gang Realm possessed terrifying combat power.
Although Foundation Establishment cultivators enjoyed longer lifespans and more versatility—
Xuan Gang experts excelled in direct combat.
Especially at close range.
Still—
Two against four was far from easy.
The coming battle would be brutal.
---
Elsewhere on the battlefield—
Bai Ling found herself surrounded once again.
Four late-stage demonic cultivators attacked her repeatedly.
Like flies refusing to disappear.
Boom!
A blood blade slashed downward.
Boom!
A ghost claw descended from another direction.
Whoosh!
Several poisoned needles flew toward her neck.
The attacks arrived simultaneously.
Yet Bai Ling remained calm.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The attacks struck her jade skin directly.
Sparks erupted.
The demonic cultivators immediately retreated.
Their expressions dark.
They had discovered an irritating truth.
Bai Ling's defense was absurd.
The Jade Cover True Scripture made her nearly impossible to injure directly.
One of the demonic cultivators sneered.
"She's only durable."
"Keep wasting her True Qi."
"Eventually she'll collapse."
The others nodded.
Unfortunately—
They had forgotten something important.
Defense alone could never place someone at the top of the alliance.
Bai Ling slowly lowered her spear.
Then—
Her aura changed.
Boom!
Earth-attribute True Qi erupted.
The ground beneath her feet shattered.
At the same time—
A powerful Momentum burst forth.
Invisible pressure spread across the battlefield.
Several nearby cultivators felt their breathing become difficult.
Momentum.
A symbol of elite martial artists.
Something only true geniuses could comprehend.
The surrounding air condensed visibly around her spear.
Dust and stones floated upward.
The spear seemed to become heavier.
More terrifying.
More unstoppable.
Bai Ling's cold gaze swept across the demonic cultivators.
"You've talked enough."
The next moment—
Whoosh!
Her figure vanished.
The demonic cultivators' expressions changed drastically.
Too fast!
The moment one turned—
He saw Bai Ling directly before him.
The spear thrust forward.
Simple.
Direct.
Yet carrying overwhelming force.
Boom!
Earth-attribute Momentum erupted.
Puchi!
The spear pierced through the demonic cultivator's chest.
Then—
Bang!
His entire upper body exploded.
Blood filled the sky.
The remaining demonic cultivators retreated rapidly.
Shock filled their eyes.
They had underestimated her.
Greatly.
Bai Ling was not merely a defensive martial artist.
She was a peak Outer Strength expert.
A cultivator who had comprehended Momentum.
A future Xuan Gang candidate.
The surviving demonic cultivators immediately exchanged glances.
Then attacked together.
Boom!
Blood qi exploded.
Ghost flames emerged.
Poison mist spread.
The battlefield around Bai Ling instantly descended into chaos once again.
---
Cloud Mist Forest Core Region
Legend has it that a powerful cultivator comprehended the Dao of Mist that resulted in the entire situation, others claim that a cultivator fell there, another myth is that a Yao beast undergoing a tribulation fell there resulting in a change in bloodline lineage of the entire core region yao beasts.
Most cultivators would probably dismiss these but maybe, just maybe there was some truth to this.
A massive beast that had lightning crackle around its body opened its eyes and spoke
"Do my actions seem foolish to those it affects?!"
A man wearing a dharmic robe walked in holding a Bright Green Saber .