Crack—!!
Blue lightning tore across the night sky like an angry dragon descending from the heavens.
The ruined street outside the Ding Region trembled violently beneath the bombardment of spiritual spells.
Dust exploded outward.
Broken stones flew into the air.
The remaining robber cultivators had completely lost their earlier confidence.
Originally, they believed this would merely be another easy ambush.
A lone Qi Refinement cultivator traveling near the black market at night usually meant wealth without backing.
Unfortunately for them—
They had kicked an iron plate.
The masked lightning cultivator moved like flowing thunder itself.
Whoosh!
His figure flickered sideways, leaving behind crackling afterimages of blue electricity.
The surrounding spiritual qi became chaotic wherever he moved.
One robber cultivator gritted his teeth before slamming both palms forward.
"Earth Prison Technique!"
Boom!
The ground suddenly erupted.
Several thick stone pillars shot upward instantly, attempting to trap the masked cultivator within.
Yet before the stone prison fully formed—
Crack!!
A bolt of lightning exploded outward from inside.
The stone pillars shattered violently.
Fragments scattered everywhere.
The masked cultivator emerged unharmed.
His right palm was already raised.
Blue lightning gathered rapidly around his fingers.
The surrounding air distorted faintly from the violent spiritual fluctuations.
The nearest robber cultivator's expression changed drastically.
"Wait—!"
Before he could finish—
Boom!!
The lightning arc erupted forward violently.
The spell moved with terrifying speed.
Puchi!
The robber cultivator's defensive talisman barely activated before the lightning pierced directly through his chest.
His body convulsed violently.
Smoke rose from the burnt flesh.
Then he collapsed lifelessly onto the ground.
Silence spread briefly throughout the battlefield.
Only crackling lightning sounds remained.
The final two robber cultivators looked at each other before instantly turning to flee.
They no longer possessed the courage to continue fighting.
Unfortunately—
The masked cultivator clearly had no intention of letting them escape.
Whoosh!
Lightning exploded beneath his feet.
His body shot forward like a thunderbolt.
One of the fleeing cultivators hurriedly threw several talismans backward desperately.
Three fireballs roared through the air.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Flames exploded violently.
Yet amidst the sea of fire—
A streak of blue lightning suddenly tore through everything.
Crack—!!
The masked cultivator directly pierced through the flames without slowing.
The surrounding lightning currents destroyed the fire spells completely.
Appearing behind the fleeing cultivator instantly—
He thrust his palm forward.
Puchi!
Lightning penetrated through the man's back and exploded from his chest.
The smell of burnt flesh spread through the air immediately.
The corpse collapsed heavily.
Meanwhile—
The last remaining robber cultivator had already escaped several dozen meters away.
His face carried terror.
'Monster!'
'How can a Qi Refinement cultivator possess such terrifying spell mastery?!'
His breathing became chaotic as he circulated spiritual qi desperately.
He only wanted to survive.
But suddenly—
A cold voice echoed behind him.
"Too slow."
The robber cultivator's pupils shrank violently.
Before he could react—
Crack!!
A lightning arc pierced directly through his neck.
Blood exploded outward.
His headless corpse stumbled several steps before collapsing.
Silence returned once more.
Only scattered corpses remained across the ruined battlefield.
The masked lightning cultivator stood calmly amidst them.
Blue currents still crackled faintly around his sleeves.
Then—
To Lin Sheng's surprise—
The masked cultivator slowly closed his eyes.
Hum—
An invisible wave spread outward instantly.
Lin Sheng's pupils narrowed slightly.
'Divine sense?'
The masked cultivator was actually using divine sense to scan the corpses.
That fact alone was astonishing.
Normally—
Only Foundation Establishment cultivators possessed true divine sense.
Qi Refinement cultivators merely possessed stronger perception compared to mortals.
Yet this person clearly possessed genuine divine sense fluctuations.
Although weak—
It was undeniably real.
The masked cultivator quickly searched through the robber cultivators' belongings before collecting several storage pouches.
Then a faint glint of joy appeared within his eyes behind the mask.
Clearly—
The harvest was not bad.
From the shadows several hundred meters away, Lin Sheng observed silently while his thoughts moved rapidly.
There existed a saying within the cultivation world:
"Before establishing one's foundation, first calculate the chances of success."
Foundation Establishment was the true dividing line of cultivation.
Qi Refinement merely involved absorbing spiritual qi into the body.
But Foundation Establishment—
Was the process of transforming oneself completely.
A single failed breakthrough could destroy one's future permanently.
Thus cultivators constantly searched for methods to increase their success rates.
Body tempering before Foundation Establishment increased success rates by roughly ten to fifteen percent.
Liquefying spiritual qi ahead of time increased another twenty percent.
Achieving divine sense beforehand—
Increased chances by yet another twenty percent.
And finally—
A high-quality cultivation method could increase success rates by thirty percent or more because advanced techniques often contained special breakthrough methods.
As for spiritual roots—
They determined the cultivator's innate talent itself.
Inferior spiritual roots not only failed to help but actually burdened breakthroughs.
Low-grade spiritual roots increased success rates by roughly ten percent.
Mid-grade spiritual roots increased chances by thirty to forty percent.
As for high-grade spiritual roots—
Such geniuses could almost naturally reach Foundation Establishment without assistance.
Their foundations would also become incomparably stable.
Thus—
A Qi Refinement Seventh Layer cultivator possessing both mutated lightning roots and divine sense…
Was terrifyingly abnormal.
'Interesting…'
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly behind his mask.
'This person definitely has secrets.'
Soon, the masked lightning cultivator finished collecting the valuables.
Without lingering further—
Whoosh!
Lightning exploded beneath his feet again as he sprinted rapidly toward the Bing Region of Cloud Mist Market.
His speed was astonishingly fast.
Yet Lin Sheng remained calm.
During observation earlier—
He had already secretly marked the cultivator's aura fluctuations within the chip's memory analysis.
Like tracking a scent.
As long as the distance wasn't excessive—
He could identify the other party again later.
'No need to rush.'
Lin Sheng withdrew his mental field slowly before turning toward the direction of the Lin Training Centre.
The black market remained dangerous after all.
Especially after public battles.
The enforcement teams would probably investigate soon.
However—
Just after both men left the area—
A strange sound suddenly echoed from the darkness.
"Jie… jie jie jie…"
The laughter sounded hoarse and unpleasant.
Like metal scraping against dry bones.
Then—
A hunched figure slowly emerged from behind the trees nearby.
The figure wore black hooded robes completely concealing its appearance.
Its body appeared thin and crooked.
One arm seemed unnaturally long.
The surrounding air itself became colder after the figure appeared.
The hunched cultivator slowly approached the corpses scattered throughout the battlefield.
Then stretched out a dry hand toward one of them.
Hum—
A strange dark red light spread outward.
The corpse suddenly trembled violently.
Then—
Its flesh rapidly began drying up.
Like moisture being forcefully extracted.
The skin shriveled.
Blood vanished.
Muscles collapsed inward.
Within moments—
The corpse resembled dried tree bark.
The hunched cultivator inhaled deeply.
His aura surged slightly stronger.
Clearly—
He was absorbing something from the corpses directly.
A demonic cultivator.
Only demonic cultivation techniques could create such sinister scenes.
Within the cultivation world, demonic cultivators were hated beyond measure.
Not merely because of their cruelty—
But because their cultivation methods violated one of the greatest taboos of heaven and earth.
Using living beings as cultivation resources.
Blood.
Souls.
Essence.
Flesh.
Everything became nourishment for their cultivation.
Especially mortal slaughter.
That was why righteous sects constantly hunted them.
Yet despite endless extermination campaigns—
Demonic cultivators never truly disappeared.
Because greed never disappeared.
Weak talent.
Slow cultivation.
Limited lifespan.
Those desperate enough would eventually choose forbidden paths.
The hunched cultivator licked his dry lips slowly.
"Delicious…"
"Such a feast prepared perfectly for me…"
His voice sounded almost intoxicated.
The surrounding corpse essence continuously flowed into his body.
But suddenly—
Another voice echoed from the shadows nearby.
"You should hurry with that."
A second hooded cultivator slowly walked out from the darkness.
Unlike the hunchback, this figure appeared calm and composed.
"We wouldn't want to alert the enforcement officers now, would we?"
Hearing the interruption—
The hunched cultivator immediately growled unpleasantly.
Clearly irritated.
He hated being disturbed while feeding.
"Hmph."
"It's only a few weak cultivators disappearing."
"What problem could possibly happen?"
The second hooded cultivator rolled his eyes beneath the hood.
"You say that every single time."
"The problem is that we're no longer in the Eastern Wastes."
"This is Cloud Mist Market."
"The Lin Family's enforcement officers are extremely troublesome."
The hunchback cultivator snorted coldly before continuing devouring the corpse essence greedily.
Meanwhile—
Neither of them noticed that several hundred meters away—
A tiny fragment of spiritual perception remained hidden briefly before dispersing silently.
Back at the Lin Training Centre—
Lin Sheng slowly opened his eyes.
His expression had already become considerably more serious.
'Demonic cultivators…'
This situation was becoming increasingly troublesome.
First—
A mysterious lightning cultivator possessing divine sense.
Now—
Demonic cultivators secretly feeding near Cloud Mist Market.
The atmosphere around the market was beginning to change subtly.
Like dark currents gathering beneath calm waters.
And instinctively—
Lin Sheng felt that something bigger was slowly approaching. He might have to make preparations just in case.