Inside the fortress.
Yang Jing stood where he was, circulating his true qi slightly to form an invisible protective barrier around himself, resisting the onslaught of that terrifying pressure.
He immediately noticed the powerful surge of aura that had suddenly appeared ahead. His expression changed sharply, his brows knitted tightly, and a trace of gravity flashed through his eyes.
That aura was simply too powerful.
Vast waves of sinister energy swept in every direction like a rising tide.
The pressure far exceeded that of Black Dragon Hermit at the peak of the qi-nourishing realm. It was even stronger than Yang Jing himself, who had just broken through to the true qi realm, carrying a heart-rattling air of dominance and authority.
That formidable aura was like an invisible mountain, pressing down until the entire fortress trembled faintly.
Even the surrounding air grew stagnant, weighing heavily on the heart of every martial artist within it and leaving them scarcely able to breathe.
Yet beneath his solemn expression, Yang Jing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He understood the immense gaps between realms on the Martial Path.
Although this aura was frighteningly powerful, it had definitely not reached the core realm.
According to the cultivation hierarchy-the internal energy realm, the internal qi realm, the core realm...-each of these major realms was separated by a gulf as vast as that between heaven and earth.
Core-Realm Experts had already reached the stage of transforming qi into astral force, crushing mountains and sundering peaks. They were fundamentally different from internal qi realm martial artists, who could not possibly contend with them.
Had he encountered a genuine core realm guardian of the Demon Cult this time, Yang Jing would have turned and fled without another word.
At the same time, he would have kept himself ready to