Cultivation begins in the endless sea.

Lin Qing felt a sudden chill run down his spine, and a strong sense of alarm went through him.

But just as the crimson lotus petal touched his chest, an invisible glimmer of light quietly emanated from his bosom, repelling the petal back...

In an instant, it dissolved into the churning blood pool and malevolent energy.

Lin Qing was startled and realized what was happening.

"Could it be that the Chao family map... secretly protected me again...?"

The dust has settled, and the blood pool has returned to calm…

Li Yunshang stood quietly not far away, her beautiful eyes gazing at Lin Qing with a complex expression, and slowly spoke:

"Senior brother, the fact that lotuses bloom in the blood pool indicates that this blood pool is of a very high level, with all its essence contained within the blood lotus roots..."

Lin Qing frowned and asked, "Junior Sister, this blood pool is clearly a forbidden area set up by sea monsters. We are human cultivators, so can we refine and use this blood lotus root?"

Li Yunshang nodded slightly, smoothed her hair, and explained softly:

"Yin alone cannot produce life, and Yang alone cannot grow. This blood pool is extremely yin and malevolent, yet the blood lotus root it nurtures is extremely pure and clean, without a trace of malevolence."

"Not only can it be refined into medicine, strengthen the body and prolong life, but it can also be used to refine various magical treasures and talisman materials... its value is extremely high."

As the two were talking, a gentle, spiritual light simultaneously emanated from their sleeves.

Each of them lowered their heads and took out the sensing talismans that Li Yunshang had previously distributed, their spiritual light trembling faintly.

"It must be Senior Brother Gu Lei and the others; they should have found the core of the forbidden array."

Lin Qing said in a low voice, while he glanced deeply at the surging blood pool, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes.

Li Yunshang put her veil back on, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and softly called out:

"Senior brother...you..."

Without further hesitation, Lin Qing unleashed his magical power, instantly conjuring a giant hand in the void!

"Chonglan Palm!"

The giant hand slammed down, causing a surge of blood to erupt from the blood pool, forcefully tearing open a passage.

The bottom of the pool was completely open, revealing two lotus-shaped spiritual objects about the length of a forearm, crystal clear and subtly extraordinary.

"Quickly open the cave's protective barriers!"

Lin Qing, enduring the terrifying pressure emanating from the blood pool, urged Li Yunshang in a low voice.

"Buzz—"

Li Yunshang dared not delay. With a flick of her fingertips, the stone door of the cave opened a crack.

Lin Qing's eyes narrowed, and with a flick of his wrist, the Meteor Blade, trailing a streak of gray light, instantly swept the two sections of blood lotus root into his sleeve...

Just as I acquired the blood lotus root...

"Boom—"

The entire blood pool churned like boiling water, endless dark red malevolent energy soaring into the sky, violently and frantically pressing down on Lin Qing...

Lin Qing was prepared. Without hesitation, he crushed several protective talismans, then activated the Chongxuan True Water to block in front of him. Using the Five Elements Water Escape technique, he swept through the water curtain, scooped up the Yuan Yi Cauldron that had sunk to the bottom of the water, and retrieved it...

"Thump—"

Just as she burst out of the cave, Li Yunshang suddenly pushed open the stone door.

"boom!"

He narrowly escaped the menacing aura that was relentlessly pursuing him from behind.

The two stood outside the cave, their eyes meeting, both still shaken and breathing slightly rapidly.

Li Yunshang's beautiful eyes curved into a smile:

"I thought Senior Brother Lin was always steady and cautious, I never expected him to take such a risk."

Lin Qing shook his head with a wry smile and said, "We can't just go into a treasure mountain and leave empty-handed."

After saying that, he waved his hand and handed a section of blood lotus root to Li Yunshang.

A hint of surprise flashed in Li Yunshang's eyes, and she quickly raised her delicate hand to decline:

"Senior brother's risky entry into the pool to seize the treasure was entirely due to his own courage. How can junior sister take away this opportunity for nothing?"

Lin Qing smiled calmly, staring into her eyes as he said:

"If my junior sister hadn't opened the cave door in time, I wouldn't have been able to escape unscathed."

He glanced at the blood lotus root as he spoke, "Moreover, this is an excellent spiritual material for making talismans, which will greatly benefit you."

"If my junior sister feels unworthy of this, she can simply give me a stack of high-quality talismans later."

Finally, he added with a half-smile.

Upon hearing this, Li Yunshang stopped being coy and gracefully took the blood lotus root.

As my fingertips touched the lotus root, I felt a wisp of pure spiritual energy surrounding me; it was indeed pure and flawless.

A look of joy immediately appeared on his face.

"Then Yunshang thanks Senior Brother for his generous gift."

Her face was already stunningly beautiful, and even though most of it was covered, it still made it impossible to look away.

"As for talismans..." Lin Yunshang blinked, "If you have any instructions, Senior Brother, Yunshang will do her best."

Just then, the sensing talismans on their sleeves became hot again, and the vibrations were more rapid and obvious than before.

The two exchanged a glance, and Li Yunshang's tone became more serious:

"Senior Brother Gu and the others should have arrived by now. Shall we hurry over and join them?"

Lin Qing deeply agreed. Although it hadn't taken up too much time, the demon-slaying operation on the sea was unpredictable, and there were still many variables to consider.

Therefore, the two said no more and walked side by side in tacit understanding, carefully following the guidance of the sensing talisman to stealthily move forward...

Along the way, sporadic sea monsters blocked their path, but Lin Qing and Li Yunshang swiftly and decisively killed them all. At the same time, Lin Qing secretly observed the route and silently memorized some key terrain features... Perhaps one day in the future he could return to this place and refine the Chongxuan True Water.

After navigating several side paths, the guidance of the talismans became increasingly clear, and the core of the forbidden formation was now within reach.

The two exchanged a glance and quickened their pace, stealthily making their way over.

The further they went, the more disordered the surrounding underground spiritual veins became, with bursts of malevolent energy intertwined with the aura of sea monsters constantly darting around.

Before long, the passageway ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a huge underground stone chamber.

The walls of the stone chamber were covered with ancient and mysterious patterns, with malevolent energy and spiritual light appearing and disappearing intertwined, forming a massive forbidden array.

The array's core is located in the center of the stone chamber, where a dark blue pearl floats in mid-air, gleaming with a chilling light.

Four strangely shaped stone statues guard the four corners. They may seem inconspicuous, but their presence here must be a secret weapon of some kind of sea monster.

Gu Lei, Zuo Jingming, and Qian Xiaobao were already waiting there.

Zuo Jingming remained seated with his eyes closed, his icy barrier concealed. Qian Xiaobao gripped a heavy hammer-like magical weapon, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

Gu Lei stood in front of the formation, observing the flow of the forbidden formation with a solemn expression.

Sensing that Lin Qing and the other person were approaching, the three of them suddenly looked up.

"Brother Lin, Junior Sister Li, you've finally arrived."

When Gu Lei saw the two of them arrive together, a strange look flashed in his eyes, but he didn't ask any questions.

"Although this place is a fragmented magic array, it is still far more complex than I imagined..."

Li Yunshang's gaze swept over the array patterns on the four walls, and her delicate brows furrowed slightly:

"This formation uses the Yin veins of the Earthly Fiends as its foundation, with layers linked together, making it indeed very troublesome."

"Junior Sister Li is quite skilled in formations?" Upon hearing this, Lin Qing's heart stirred, and he asked with a hint of doubt.

Li Yunshang explained briefly that the Li family descended from an ancient sect on the continent, possessing a complete lineage of talismans and magical arrays. However, over the past few hundred years, their talent had dwindled, which was why their reputation had faded.

"So, it seems the only option is to forcefully break through this broken protective array and seize the blue pearl?"

Lin Qing narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the four peculiar stone statues, and slowly began to speak.

"Yes, there's no time to lose."

Gu Lei glanced at the crowd and said in a deep voice, "Thank you four for holding back the four stone statues so I can seize the precious pearl!"