Outside the Cloud Mist Market, survival itself was a form of cultivation.
For the countless people living within the Bing and Ding Regions, hunting demonic beasts and scavenging spirit plants were among the few recognized ways to rise above poverty.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Every few years, someone talented enough in one of the Four Side Immortal Arts would appear.
Alchemy.
Formations.
Talisman Creation.
Artifact Refining.
Those people rarely stayed long in Cloud Mist Market. Once their talent was discovered, they would quickly move toward larger cultivation cities and stronger sects with far greater opportunities.
As for the rest…
They fought with their lives.
The Cloud Mist Mountain Forest Range stretched endlessly beyond the market walls like a massive ancient beast sleeping beneath the heavens. Thick forests, towering mountains, hidden valleys, poisonous swamps, and mist covered regions filled the area.
Within it lived countless demonic beasts.
Some weak.
Some terrifying.
And because of those beasts, opportunities also existed.
Spirit herbs.
Spirit fruits.
Ancient ruins.
Dead cultivator inheritances.
Everything could be found within the mountain range if one was lucky enough… or strong enough.
Naturally, countless people were willing to gamble their lives for such opportunities.
Inside the inner region of the Cloud Mist Forest, visibility was extremely poor.
Dense white mist drifted endlessly between the ancient trees, covering even one's footsteps. Spiritual sense was heavily suppressed here, making ambushes and sudden attacks incredibly common.
This was not a place ordinary Qi Refining cultivators dared to enter.
At minimum, one needed late stage Qi Refining cultivation just to survive.
Even then, survival was not guaranteed.
At this moment, a five man hunting team carefully moved through the forest.
Every member wore dark protective robes reinforced with beast leather armor. Their expressions were sharp and alert as they constantly observed their surroundings.
This was one of the more famous hunting teams within the Bing District.
Two scouts at Qi Refining Sixth Stage.
Two vanguard attackers at Qi Refining Seventh Stage.
And their leader…
A Qi Refining Eighth Stage cultivator.
All of them carried storage pouches filled with medicinal pills, talismans, and survival equipment. This was not their first time entering the inner region.
In fact, they were among the few teams capable of entering occasionally and returning alive.
One of the scouts crouched near the ground before whispering.
"We're close."
The team immediately slowed their movements.
Ahead of them, faint heat waves spread through the cold forest air.
Then—
A low beastly growl echoed from the mist.
The group stopped completely.
Moments later, the enormous silhouette of a demonic beast gradually appeared.
It resembled a massive crimson lion over three meters tall. Burning red fur covered its body while blazing flames drifted around its mane like living fire.
Its eyes glowed with intelligence and hostility.
A Rank 1 late stage Flame Mane Beast.
Behind the beast stood a small spirit tree with crimson fruits hanging from its branches.
The moment the team saw it, their breathing became slightly heavier.
"Flame Burst Fruits…"
One of the vanguard attackers muttered in disbelief.
There were five fruits.
And all of them were nearly ripe.
The team leader's eyes brightened immediately.
The Flame Burst Fruit was extremely valuable among fire attribute cultivators. Not only could it help late stage Qi Refining cultivators break through bottlenecks, it could also greatly increase cultivation for those already in the late stages.
A single fruit could sell for at least fifteen hundred low grade spirit stones.
Five fruits meant seven thousand five hundred spirit stones.
Even after dividing the profits equally, the amount each person received would still be enormous.
Greed slowly appeared within everyone's eyes.
The Flame Mane Beast clearly sensed their intentions.
ROAR!!
A violent roar exploded through the forest as flames erupted around its body.
The surrounding temperature instantly rose.
But none of the hunters retreated.
Now that they had discovered the spirit tree, there was no way they would leave empty handed.
The team leader narrowed his eyes.
"Formation attack."
The others immediately nodded.
The two scouts moved first.
Using light body techniques, they instantly split apart and circled around the beast at high speed.
The Flame Mane Beast roared furiously and opened its mouth.
BOOM!!
A massive fireball blasted toward them.
The explosion scorched several nearby trees black, but the scouts narrowly avoided the attack.
At the same time, both of them activated talismans.
"Ice Spike Talismans!"
Six blue talismans shot toward the beast simultaneously before exploding into countless ice spikes.
The surrounding air instantly cooled.
Hissing sounds filled the area as ice and fire collided violently.
When fighting against elemental beasts, using the weakness within the Five Elements was common knowledge.
Fire was naturally restrained by ice.
The Flame Mane Beast roared angrily as the freezing energy weakened the flames around its body slightly.
Seeing the opportunity, the two vanguard attackers charged forward immediately.
Each carried Rank 1 mid stage spirit weapons.
One used a heavy saber.
The other wielded twin hook blades.
Their weapons slashed toward the beast from opposite directions.
Clang!!
Sparks exploded.
The Flame Mane Beast's claws collided against the spirit weapons directly.
The sheer physical strength behind the beast almost forced the attackers backward.
The scouts quickly supported from the sides using wind blade talismans to distract the beast's attention.
The battle instantly became chaotic.
Trees exploded apart.
Flames spread everywhere.
The ground cracked repeatedly under the beast's attacks.
Suddenly—
The Flame Mane Beast let out a furious roar.
A ring of blazing fire erupted outward from its body like a shockwave.
"Retreat!"
The vanguard attackers barely escaped before the flames swallowed the area they previously stood on.
But before the beast could continue attacking—
Crack!!
A bolt of lightning suddenly descended from above.
The leader had finally made his move.
His hands formed seals rapidly as violent lightning qi gathered around him.
"Lightning Strike Chant!"
BOOM!!
The lightning attack smashed directly into the Flame Mane Beast's body.
The beast screamed painfully as electricity exploded across its fur.
Burn marks instantly appeared across its body.
Among elemental cultivators, lightning cultivators possessed some of the strongest offensive abilities.
Their attack power was extremely feared.
The leader clearly understood this advantage well.
"Attack together!"
The other four immediately unleashed everything they had.
Talismans.
Spells.
Spirit weapons.
Under the constant attacks, the already injured beast gradually weakened.
Its movements became slower.
Its flames became unstable.
Finally—
The leader charged forward with a long halberd wrapped in lightning qi.
The Flame Mane Beast attempted to counterattack.
But it was too late.
Slash!!
The halberd sliced cleanly through the beast's neck.
A massive head rolled across the ground while blood sprayed everywhere.
The enormous body collapsed heavily.
Silence briefly filled the forest.
Then—
The team erupted into excitement.
"Hahaha!"
"We actually did it!"
"That's seven thousand spirit stones worth of fruits!"
The scouts immediately rushed toward the spirit tree carefully.
One of them took out a specially prepared jade box designed to preserve medicinal efficacy before carefully harvesting the fruits.
Meanwhile, the two female members of the group looked toward the leader admiringly.
"Captain, your Lightning Strike Art is becoming stronger again."
"Against beasts, lightning users are truly terrifying."
Hearing the compliments, the leader raised his chin proudly.
Naturally, he enjoyed such praise.
After all, lightning attribute techniques were rare and difficult to cultivate.
Just as he was about to speak—
ROOOOOOOAR!!!
A terrifying beast roar suddenly echoed from deep within the forest.
The sound shook the surrounding trees violently.
Everyone's expressions instantly changed.
Not just their team.
Across the entire inner region, countless cultivators froze in horror.
The roar carried terrifying pressure.
Far beyond Rank 1.
The leader's face turned pale instantly.
"Run!!"
The moment he shouted, the ground suddenly began trembling.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At first it sounded distant.
Then it rapidly grew louder.
The hunters quickly leaped onto tree branches before looking deeper into the forest.
The moment they saw what was coming, cold sweat covered their backs.
Beasts.
Thousands of them.
Demonic beasts of every size charged wildly through the forest like an unstoppable flood.
Wolf beasts.
Serpent beasts.
Bear beasts.
Flying demonic birds.
Everything was running toward the outer regions.
And behind them…
A terrifying pressure slowly spread through the mist.
The hunting team no longer cared about the Flame Mane Beast corpse.
They sprinted toward Cloud Mist Market at full speed.
Throughout the forest, similar scenes appeared everywhere.
Cultivators desperately fled while beasts chased behind them.
Screams constantly echoed.
Some slower cultivators were instantly swallowed by beast hordes.
Blood covered the forest floor.
The outer regions quickly descended into chaos.
"Beast tide!!"
"It's a beast tide!"
"Run back to the market!"
Countless cultivators sprinted desperately toward Cloud Mist Market.
The market guards atop the walls also noticed the situation immediately.
"Close the formation gates!"
"Hurry!"
Massive formation patterns lit up around the market walls.
The defensive formation gradually activated.
Some cultivators managed to enter moments before the gates closed.
Others…
Were left outside.
"No! Open the gates!"
"Please let us in!"
"Save us!!"
But the guards ignored them completely.
The moment the beast tide reached the walls, the defensive formation activated fully.
BOOM!!
Several beasts slammed against the barrier instantly.
Outside the formation, countless cultivators screamed as they were torn apart by demonic beasts.
Blood and despair spread everywhere.
Inside the market, panic rapidly spread.
Meanwhile, deep within the inner forest—
Another roar echoed slowly.
The terrifying pressure hidden within the mist caused even Rank 1 beasts to lower their heads instinctively.
That pressure belonged to something far more terrifying.
A Rank 2 beast.
Or perhaps even higher.
And this…
Was the true reason beast tides existed.
Long ago, high level cultivators and powerful yao beasts had reached an agreement.
Cultivators were allowed to hunt beasts.
Beasts were also allowed to hunt cultivators.
The beast tide was part of that balance.
A bloody culling.
And it occurred without warning.
Inside Cloud Mist Training Center, alarms suddenly rang throughout the courtyard.
Inner courtyard trainees quickly emerged from their rooms in confusion.
Lin Sheng also stepped outside slowly.
The moment he saw the red signal flares rising above the market walls, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Beast tide…" he muttered softly.
Beside him, Zhao Feng's expression had already become ugly.
"This timing is terrible."
In the distance, loud bells continuously echoed throughout Cloud Mist Market.
The entire market had entered emergency state.