Time flowed quietly like drifting seasons.
Before anyone realized it—
Half a year had already passed since Lin Sheng stepped into the Innate Realm.
During these months, the Cloud Mist Training Centre underwent many subtle changes.
And among the most eye-catching group within the younger generation—
Were naturally the five people who continuously acted together.
Lin Sheng.
Lin Xiaolu.
Lin Shou.
Lou Han.
Zhao Feng.
Within the past half year, everyone besides Lin Sheng had already successfully broken through into the Innate Inner Strength Realm.
Opening the fourth acupoint.
Equivalent to Qi Refinement Fourth Layer.
Innate Realm martial artists were fundamentally different from ordinary Acquired martial artists.
Every opened acupoint represented a qualitative increase in combat strength.
Innate Inner Energy Realm with one to three acupoints was equivalent to Qi Refinement Early Stage cultivators.
Innate Inner Strength Realm with four to six acupoints corresponded to Qi Refinement Mid Stage.
As for Innate Outer Strength Realm—
With seven to nine acupoints—
One could already rival Qi Refinement Late Stage immortal cultivators directly.
Currently—
Lin Xiaolu had already stabilized her fourth acupoint completely.
Lin Shou had entered Innate Inner Strength Middle Stage.
Lou Han remained at early stage but possessed extremely terrifying combat instincts.
As for Zhao Feng—
Nobody truly knew his exact strength anymore.
Even Lin Sheng increasingly felt that the fellow was hiding countless things.
After reporting their breakthroughs to the elders, all five officially moved into the Core Courtyard.
Their identities rose significantly overnight.
Not only did their monthly allocation increase—
But they also gained access to elder sermons regarding Innate cultivation and martial concepts.
Even the residences within the core region were vastly superior compared to the inner courtyard.
The surrounding spiritual qi density alone exceeded before by almost thirty percent.
For ordinary martial artists, this was already an enormous advantage.
Still—
The benefits naturally came with problems.
Especially after they collectively rejected the alliance leaders months ago.
The core courtyard alliances clearly had no intention of simply letting the matter go.
At first—
The methods used were subtle.
The General Affairs Hall suddenly lacked profitable missions.
Several good missions were either taken immediately or mysteriously reassigned.
Certain mission details even became intentionally incomplete.
Information about dangerous yao beast territories began disappearing.
Anyone with eyes could tell what was happening.
The alliance leaders were applying pressure.
Unfortunately for them—
Zhao Feng had already expected this outcome long ago.
Rather than competing for contribution-heavy internal missions, the group directly focused entirely on yao beast hunting.
Yao beast missions were permanently available.
Dangerous.
But unrestricted.
More importantly—
The Cloud Mist Forest itself was an enormous treasury.
As long as one possessed enough strength and experience, wealth could continuously be extracted from it.
And among the five—
They possessed Lin Sheng.
Inside the outer and middle regions of the forest, his mental field functioned almost unfairly.
Several times during dangerous encounters, they escaped ambushes only because Lin Sheng detected enemies beforehand.
Whether hidden yao beasts.
Hostile cultivators.
Or even environmental dangers.
He always reacted first.
This allowed their hunting efficiency to increase tremendously over the past months.
Naturally—
The alliance leaders also realized something was wrong eventually.
Since suppressing missions proved ineffective—
They changed methods again.
Spies.
Followers.
Observers.
For the past few months, the group constantly noticed people secretly monitoring their movements.
Sometimes while leaving the Training Centre.
Sometimes within the market.
Sometimes even near the Cloud Mist Forest outskirts.
Still—
None of them acted openly.
After all, despite faction competition, directly attacking fellow core trainees without reason would attract elder interference.
Especially now that the five had become increasingly famous within the Training Centre.
Thus both sides remained in silent confrontation.
Neither side tearing apart the surface completely.
Yet beneath that calm surface—
Tension continuously accumulated.
…
At the same time—
The atmosphere throughout Cloud Mist Market itself had gradually become increasingly uneasy.
Several strange incidents began occurring over the past months.
At first—
Nobody cared much.
After all, people disappeared constantly within cultivation markets.
Cultivators died every day.
Martial artists vanished during missions.
Robber cultivators ambushed travelers.
Yao beasts devoured hunters.
Death was normal.
Especially near Cloud Mist Forest.
But this time—
Something was different.
Several corpses were eventually discovered outside the market boundaries.
Their appearances immediately alarmed everyone.
The bodies were completely dried.
Like mummified bark.
Even their blood essence seemed drained entirely.
More importantly—
Residual demonic qi remained within the corpses.
The moment this news spread—
The entire market atmosphere changed.
Demonic cultivators.
Those words alone were enough to make ordinary cultivators fearful.
In the Eastern Region cultivation world, demonic cultivators were universally hated.
Not merely because of their cruelty—
But because of their cultivation methods.
Most demonic techniques relied upon blood sacrifices, corpse refinement, or devouring living essence.
Especially mortal slaughter.
To righteous cultivators and martial organizations alike—
Demonic cultivators represented instability itself.
Once allowed to grow freely, entire regions could descend into chaos rapidly.
Thus after discovering traces of demonic qi, the market immediately entered a tense state.
Prices of protective artifacts and talismans skyrocketed.
Night travel sharply decreased.
Many independent cultivators even temporarily stopped entering the forest.
Some smaller shops closed entirely after sunset.
Fear spread silently through the streets.
Thankfully—
The situation was partially alleviated several weeks later.
The Talisman Alliance introduced a new product.
Qi Sensing Talismans.
These talismans were specifically designed to detect hidden demonic qi fluctuations.
Once activated near demonic cultivators or contaminated objects—
The talisman would react immediately.
Soon afterward—
The talismans appeared everywhere throughout Cloud Mist Market.
At market entrances.
Inside restaurants.
Auction halls.
Training centres.
Even patrol guards carried them openly.
Shockingly—
Even the black market implemented them.
Clearly, nobody wished for demonic cultivators operating too freely nearby.
At least not openly.
Still—
Despite these measures—
The killings did not stop.
Instead—
They increased.
Because cultivators still needed resources.
And resources required risk.
People still entered the forest daily.
Still hunted yao beasts.
Still ventured outside the safe zones.
After all—
Cloud Mist Forest itself was the foundation supporting the entire market economy.
Without the forest resources—
Cloud Mist Market would collapse quickly.
Thus even knowing danger existed—
People continued risking their lives.
Such was cultivation.
…
Meanwhile—
Within Jia Region.
The absolute core area of Cloud Mist Market.
Guardian Mansion.
Inside the massive discussion hall, spiritual lamps flickered quietly against polished black stone walls.
Three cultivators sat within the hall discussing and arguing.
Their auras alone caused the surrounding air to feel heavy.
At the main seat sat Guardian Zhao.
The actual overseer responsible for maintaining order throughout Cloud Mist Market.
Beside him sat two other Foundation Establishment experts invited for discussion.
Currently—
The topic naturally revolved around the demonic cultivator incidents.
One of the middle-aged cultivators calmly sipped tea before speaking.
"The current losses remain manageable."
"Expending excessive manpower searching blindly through the forest would waste resources."
"The Cloud Mist Forest already contains countless dangers."
"If we spread our forces thinly, problems may worsen instead."
His tone remained indifferent.
To Foundation Establishment cultivators—
The deaths of several Qi Refinement cultivators monthly barely mattered.
Another cultivator immediately frowned.
"This isn't merely about casualties."
"The more blood essence those demonic cultivators absorb, the stronger they become."
"If this continues unchecked and they reach Foundation Establishment…"
The hall atmosphere turned slightly colder.
Everyone understood the implications.
A Foundation Establishment demonic cultivator operating near Cloud Mist Market would become a disaster.
Especially if hidden successfully.
Guardian Zhao silently tapped his fingers against the table.
His brows furrowed slightly.
For some reason—
He continuously felt something about this matter was wrong.
Too quiet.
Too controlled.
Ordinary demonic cultivators were usually impatient and reckless.
Yet this one seemed strangely cautious.
Calculated.
Almost as though someone deliberately restrained their activities.
After several moments—
Guardian Zhao released a quiet sigh.
"This matter cannot be decided by us alone."
"The opinions of the remaining Foundation Establishment cultivators within the market are also necessary."
The other two nodded slowly.
This situation had already exceeded ordinary disturbances.
Especially because Cloud Mist Market was jointly maintained by multiple forces.
The Lin Training Centre.
Dan Dao Alliance branch.
Talisman Alliance.
Hundred Flowers Alliance.
Independent cultivator associations.
None of them could act recklessly without discussion.
Otherwise—
Conflicts might erupt internally before the demonic cultivators were even found.
Guardian Zhao slowly narrowed his eyes.
Then quietly spoke again.
"Increase patrols outside the market."
"And continue investigating recent missing person cases."
"Especially rogue cultivators."
"Many demonic cultivators hide themselves among them."
The two Foundation Establishment cultivators nodded again.
Soon afterward—
The discussion ended temporarily.
Yet even after everyone departed—
Guardian Zhao remained seated silently within the hall.
His gaze drifted toward the distant Cloud Mist Forest visible outside the mansion windows.
The forest mist rolled endlessly beneath moonlight.
Peaceful.
Silent.
Yet hidden beneath that silence—
Something dangerous was slowly awakening.