The Cloud Mist Forest Core Region was eerily quiet.
Unlike the slaughter taking place around Cloud Mist Market, the heart of the forest possessed a strange stillness.
Ancient trees towered hundreds of meters into the sky.
Dense mist drifted endlessly between the trunks.
Thunder occasionally crackled through the clouds overhead.
The air itself felt heavy.
Dangerous.
Oppressive.
At the center of a vast ruined valley—
A massive beast slowly raised its head.
Crack!
Arcs of silver lightning danced across its scales.
Each spark that fell to the ground blasted small craters into the earth.
The beast's body resembled a giant wolf, yet its size rivaled a mountain.
Lightning flowed endlessly through its fur.
Its golden eyes stared directly at the approaching figure.
Guardian Zhao.
The guardian stood calmly with a bright green saber resting in his hand.
His robes fluttered gently despite the absence of wind.
Yet inwardly—
His heart had already sunk.
The traces around the valley were too obvious.
Several remnants of demonic aura lingered in the surroundings.
Broken formation markings.
Corrupted blood.
Residual Yin Qi.
All of it pointed toward one conclusion.
"Demonic cultivators have been here."
Guardian Zhao's gaze darkened.
As soon as the beast tide began, he had suspected something was wrong.
The Mutated Thunder Beast rarely left the Core Region.
Much less launch a full-scale beast tide.
Now—
Everything finally made sense.
Someone had deliberately provoked it.
The Thunder Beast's massive eyes narrowed.
Then it spoke.
Its voice resembled rolling thunder.
"My cub has been taken."
Boom!
The surrounding clouds exploded with lightning.
Guardian Zhao's muscles immediately tensed.
The pressure emitted by the beast surged outward.
The surrounding trees shattered instantly.
Even the mist dispersed.
Pseudo Rank-3.
Just as expected.
A trace of seriousness appeared in Guardian Zhao's eyes.
Among yao beasts—
Bloodline determined everything.
Just as human cultivators valued spiritual roots.
Yao beasts valued ancestry.
Bloodlines were divided into four major grades.
Turbid.
Mixed.
Mutated.
Pure.
Most Turbid Bloodline beasts struggled to advance beyond the middle stages of Rank-1.
Only exceptional individuals could reach Rank-1 Perfection.
Mixed Bloodline beasts possessed far greater potential.
Many could enter Rank-2.
Some could even become regional overlords.
As for Mutated Bloodlines—
They were entirely different.
Mutated bloodlines appeared when dormant ancestral blood unexpectedly awakened.
For Mixed Bloodline beasts—
The chance was perhaps one in a million.
For Turbid Bloodlines—
The probability approached one in a hundred million.
Yet once successful—
Their potential underwent a heaven-defying transformation.
The Thunder Beast before him was precisely such an existence.
A Mutated Bloodline Beast.
One capable of eventually reaching Rank-3.
That was the reason Guardian Zhao had been stationed here for decades.
To monitor it.
To ensure balance remained intact.
Because balance was everything.
The human race.
The yao beast race.
Both maintained an uneasy peace.
Neither side wished for a full war.
The true enemy had always been the demonic cultivators.
Yet now—
Someone had deliberately shattered that balance.
Guardian Zhao slowly gripped his saber.
The blade emitted a soft green glow.
The surrounding vegetation visibly came alive.
Even the damaged earth began recovering.
His aura steadily rose.
"Your cub's disappearance wasn't our doing."
The Thunder Beast's eyes narrowed.
Lightning crackled violently.
"Does that matter?"
Boom!
The ground beneath its paws exploded.
"My cub is gone."
"My territory violated."
"My descendants slaughtered."
The beast's voice shook the heavens.
"You humans failed to stop it."
Guardian Zhao remained silent.
Because he understood.
Reason no longer mattered.
The beast tide had already begun.
Thousands had already died.
The moment demonic cultivators interfered—
The situation had crossed the point of negotiation.
The Thunder Beast slowly stood.
Its body seemed capable of supporting the sky itself.
Silver lightning illuminated the valley.
The pressure grew stronger.
Pseudo Rank-3.
Equivalent to a Almost Purple Palace Cultivator.
Even Guardian Zhao felt danger.
Yet his expression remained calm.
If this beast survived—
Future disasters would only multiply.
A Mutated Bloodline Beast consumed by rage was far too dangerous.
Thus—
There was only one solution.
Kill it.
The green saber slowly rose.
The Thunder Beast bared its fangs.
Lightning erupted.
The final battle of the Core Region began.
---
Meanwhile—
Cloud Mist Market had descended further into chaos.
The battlefield resembled a sea of blood.
Corpses covered the streets.
Both humans and beasts fell every moment.
The arrival of the Rank-2 yao beasts had placed tremendous pressure on the defenders.
The situation became even worse above the battlefield.
Boom!
A blood-red spear pierced through the air.
Puchi!
The Dan Dao Alliance's Foundation Establishment elder barely managed to dodge.
Yet one of his arms was torn off completely.
Blood sprayed through the sky.
"Senior!"
Several cultivators below cried out in alarm.
The sight shattered morale instantly.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator had been injured.
Severely injured.
Despair began spreading throughout the battlefield.
The demonic cultivators immediately noticed.
Their laughter echoed across the sky.
"Hahaha!"
"Give up!"
"Your market is finished!"
"The beast tide cannot be stopped!"
Their voices carried immense confidence.
Below—
Many cultivators clenched their fists.
Some looked fearful.
Others looked hopeless.
If even Foundation Establishment experts were losing—
How could they possibly survive?
The injured Dan Dao Alliance elder's expression turned pale.
Without hesitation—
He swallowed a green medicinal pill.
The moment it entered his stomach—
A powerful medicinal aura erupted.
Whoosh!
Fresh flesh began growing from the severed arm.
His complexion rapidly improved.
His spiritual fluctuations stabilized.
The sight shocked many observers.
Yet his opponent had no intention of allowing him to recover.
The demonic cultivator sneered.
Countless black insects emerged from his sleeves.
Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz!
The Gu insects covered the sky.
Each carried terrifying poison.
The moment one landed on flesh—
Even Foundation Establishment cultivators could be crippled.
The swarm descended.
The Dan Dao elder's expression changed.
Even with healing pills—
He couldn't fight while continuously defending against poison.
The situation immediately became dangerous.
Then—
A white flame suddenly appeared.
Whoosh!
The flame streaked across the sky.
Fast.
Silent.
Deadly.
The demonic cultivator sensed danger.
Too late.
Boom!
The white flame exploded amidst the insect swarm.
Thousands of Gu insects instantly burned to ash.
Screech!
The surviving insects emitted shrill cries.
Nearly thirty percent of the swarm vanished instantly.
The demonic cultivator's face twisted.
His heart bled.
Every Gu insect represented years of effort.
To lose so many at once—
The damage was enormous.
"Who?!"
The furious roar echoed through the battlefield.
A figure slowly appeared.
Dressed in plain robes.
Calm expression.
Steady aura.
Shen Xiuyong.
The newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The same man whose fate had been changed by the Dragon Lock Pill.
Many cultivators immediately recognized him.
Shock spread through the battlefield.
"He broke through!"
"It's Master Shen!"
"A Foundation Establishment Alchemist!"
The demonic cultivators' expressions darkened.
Foundation Establishment cultivators were troublesome.
Foundation Establishment alchemists were even worse.
Because they possessed abundant medicinal resources.
Strong recovery.
Countless trump cards.
Shen Xiuyong stood calmly in the sky.
His aura appeared extremely stable.
Much more stable than a newly advanced cultivator should be.
During the past month—
He had remained in seclusion.
Not merely stabilizing his foundation.
But continuously strengthening it.
From Lin Sheng's Mental Field—
The changes were obvious.
Foundation Establishment was divided into:
Early Stage.
Middle Stage.
Late Stage.
Peak Stage.
Yet cultivators often compared progress using nine internal layers.
When Shen Xiuyong first broke through—
He was barely equivalent to the First Layer.
Now—
He had already approached the Third Layer.
Such progress within a month was astonishing.
It meant one thing.
His foundation was excellent.
Very excellent.
Of course—
No one else noticed.
Because Shen Xiuyong concealed his aura perfectly.
Only Lin Sheng's Mental Field could detect the subtle difference.
At that moment—
The white flames surrounding Shen Xiuyong attracted attention.
Unlike ordinary fire.
The flames possessed a faint jade-white color.
Pure.
Refined.
Controlled.
Lin Sheng immediately understood.
Foundation Flame.
When a cultivator established their foundation—
The Three Divine Treasures partially fused.
Essence.
Qi.
Spirit.
Their transformation allowed the birth of Foundation Flames.
Such flames could replace ordinary alchemical flames completely.
For alchemists—
This represented a qualitative leap.
The white color demonstrated something even more impressive.
Control.
Extreme control.
Every strand of flame obeyed Shen Xiuyong perfectly.
Not a single trace of energy was wasted.
The Gu cultivator's expression darkened.
"Rank-2 Alchemist..."
Shen Xiuyong smiled faintly.
Then raised a hand.
The surrounding temperature rose rapidly.
White flames condensed above his palm.
Like a miniature sun.
The battlefield suddenly became brighter.
The Gu cultivator's pupils contracted.
For the first time—
A trace of unease appeared in his heart.
Because he realized something.
The man before him was no longer merely Shen Xiuyong the alchemist.
He was now—
Shen Xiuyong the Foundation Establishment cultivator.
And today—
He intended to use the battlefield to announce his arrival to the entire Cloud Mist Market.