Meng Lin's heart raced as she observed the powerful figures surrounding her cave.

Their auras were overwhelming, and she could sense the immense strength they possessed.

She knew that the aura from the earring had caught the attention of these formidable cultivators because even now, their attention seemed to be focused onto the golden aura.

As she carefully observed the group, she noticed that one figure stood out from the rest.

Closer to the front of the group was a man with flaming trails at his feet, he stood with a calm smile.

“ junior, how about you hand me the item and leave this place, i will turn a blind eye since you just happen to have a fated encounter with it” the man said.

“And who are you” Meng Lin asked, seemingly ignoring the words of the man.

The man with the flaming trails at his feet chuckled softly, his smile never faltering.

“Ah, manners! I like that. My name is Zephyr, a rough cultivator that is famous around the Sunlit Hill Region”

Meng Lin’s eyes narrowed as she listened to the word of the cultivator, her gaze shifted towards the rest of the cultivators near the cave and a small thought rose in her head.

As she opened her mouth to speak, she suddenly felt a massive aura head towards her.

One of the cultivators had made a move, a female cultivator within a gray robe released a thick layer of qi that rushed towards Meng Lin, threatening to cut her in half.

However before it could reach Meng Lin, it shattered and the man named Zephyr chuckled and turned towards the woman.

“Gou Yaqin, I would rather not kill a fellow rough cultivator” Zephyr looked towards the others and raised his voice to make himself heard. “The same is for you all, leave this place or you will die”

The atmosphere grew tense as Zephyr's words hung in the air. The other cultivators exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of hesitation and defiance.

Gou Yaqin, the female cultivator in the gray robe, clenched her fists and glared at Zephyr. She had a reputation for being ruthless and was not one to back down easily.

With gritted teeth Gou Yaqin opened her mouth to speak “Zephyr, you may be powerful, but don't underestimate my strength. I won't let you have your way so easily”

Zephyr smirked “Oh, I wouldn't dare underestimate you, Gou Yaqin. But remember, although i only brokethrough a few hours ago, my strength is still greater than yours”

Meng Lin watched the exchange, her mind racing to find a solution. She realized that the 8 cultivators before her were rough cultivators and they wouldn’t be working together as one group

She knew that at her current level she has a very high chance of going against a Gold Core Realm Cultivator, it just depends on how experienced they were.

As Zephyr and Gou Yaqin were having their tense standoff, a mysterious figure dressed in black appeared in the middle of the group, seemingly from nowhere.

Zephyr’s eyes turned towards him instantly but before the others could react a massive demonic head appeared behind the mysterious man and  released an aura that sent chills down everyone's spine.

The man didn’t even acknowledge the group of Gold Core Cultivators but rather turned towards Meng Lin and stretched out his hand.

Meng Lin felt a surge of fear and uncertainty coursing through her as she eyed the mysterious figure's outstretched hand, unsure of what to do.

However she felt that if she tried to do anything against his will then she would surely be dead.

Trapped between the looming threat of the massive demonic head and the sinister aura emanating from the man.

Meng Lin gritted her teeth and pulled out the earring that caused the attention of the others, now that it had been fully refined, it’s intricate pattens pulsated with ancient aura, releasing golden qi into the surroundings.

Tossing the earring towards the mysterious man in black Meng Lin didn’t bother to stay to see the result as her figure began to sink into the ground.

Crackle!

The flaming trails around the feets of Zephyr flickered and he disappeared from his location to appear infront of the earring thrown in the air.

The others only then reacted and began to take out their own weapons, ready to take their chances in acquiring the half step heavenly item.

Growl

However before they were able to move, the mysterious man in black already struck with the demonic head behind him.

A low growl emanated from the demonic head, freezing the others in their tracks, their weapons held tightly in their hand.

The head behind the mysterious man grew twice as big and from its hollow sockets appeared green flames that flashed the whole place with an eerie and malevolent glow.

The air around them seemed to grow heavier and colder, as if a sinister presence had descended upon the place.

Zephyr didn’t even have time to reach out for the earring as he felt a massive force pull him towards the demonic head, his body slid across the air as if he were being drawn by an invisible current.

He felt as if a cold bucket had been dumped on him as his whole body shivered uncontrollably, the chilling sensation seeping into his bones.

However before he could be dragged into the mouth of the demonic head he raised his head to utter the words.

“Core Manifestation: Sunlight Sea”

A blinding glow erupted from Zephyr's body, illuminating the eerie darkness that had engulfed the area.

From himself as the center, a massive surge of yellow water gushed into the surroundings to instantly enclose the 30 meter range in a bubble of water.

Singe!!

Several cultivators, caught within the core manifestation were slowly melted by the scorching water, their cries of pain turning into bubbles as all around them was hot scorching water.

Gou Yaqin and three other cultivators were quick to react and manifested their own cores to hold at bay the scorching yellow waters.

From within the cave where Meng Lin was standing Scorching water flooded the place, destroying any semblance of shelter or safety that it once held.

However Meng Lin was long gone to have been submerged within the scolding waters.

AHhh!!

Gou Yaqin gazed onto her right and saw a Gold Core Cultivator not able to keep the scolding waters at bay, and their entire body was slowly consumed by blistering heat and their figure became fogged up by the bloody steam produced in the water.

She gritted her teeth as she worried for herself, she didn’t think the core manifestation between an early stage and the middle stage would be so different.

“Damn it, hurry up and put it away” she cursed under her breath, her focus not the least shifting from defending herself from the Core Manifestation.

Zephyr, after releasing his Core Manifestation had a rush of relief wash over him as he felt perfectly safe under this bubble of water.

However his rush of relief soon turned into a rush of panic as he felt his scolding water being sucked towards a single direction.

A few meters away from him was the mysterious man in a black robe, he stood in the exact same position as he arrived in and even his outstretched hand didn’t lower.

The only thing that seemed to have changed was the demonic head behind his back, which now appeared to be growing larger and more menacing by the second.

It’s open mouth seemed to behave as if alive and gulped loudly, emitting a guttural roar that echoed through the water bubble and sucked in the water slowly into its mouth.

“Impossible” Zephyr whispered, his voice barely audible over the deafening roar.

He felt hopeless and reached into his storage bag however before he could do anything, he felt the suction force increase.

“Ahh”

Caught unprepared he was violently thrown ahead into jaws of the demonic head, his fate unknown.

Roar!!

After Zephyr had been sucked into the Demonic mouth, it roared as if content and began to madly suck in the remaining scolding water from the 30 meter bubble.

Gou Yaqin and one other survivor felt the scolding water leave their barriers as the bubble rapidly diminished in size to completely vanish within the mouth of the demonic head.

“This” Gou Yaqin stood with an exhausted expression as she gazed at the aftermath of this small exchange, only two of the original 8 gold core cultivators were left.

She turned to look at the main cause od all this and her eyes widened as she gazed at the mysterious man in black with the same posture with his hand outstretched.

Within his outstretched hand was the glowing earring that still released brilliant golden aura as if the center of attention.