txolops Chapter 11 Flying Scorpion
Chapter 11 Flying Scorpion
"Rumor has it that the Wind Fox Beast possesses the bloodline of the White Tiger, but whether it is true or not is unknown."
Luo Ming stared at the docile Fengli at his feet, which was as obedient as a house cat, and a sense of curiosity suddenly arose in his heart—how strong was it, with such a gentle appearance?
With a thought, he raised his hand and summoned the other spirit beasts, instantly turning the once tranquil cave into a lively place.
Now, besides the Rock Python, the Black Tortoise, and this Wind Fox, he also has a Fire Crow under his command. This Fire Crow is a demonic beast promised by the sect; its bloodline is ordinary, mainly because he simply doesn't get the chance to acquire demonic beasts with strong bloodlines.
What Luo Ming valued was its ability to fly—he just happened to lack a spirit beast capable of aerial reconnaissance. After all, the Crimson Forbidden Land was extremely dangerous, and he could use the secret technique "Spirit Attachment" from the Spirit Control Technique to briefly attach his vision to the spirit beast, a brilliant way to survey the environment.
The previous owner left behind many methods of beast taming; wouldn't it be a waste not to make use of them? This made Luo Ming even more fond of the way of beast taming.
Having been influenced by the environment of another world, he had a simple concept: there is strength in numbers. Of course, in the world of cultivation, a large number of people can also correspond to a large number of spirit beasts.
Other cultivators might not be able to afford to raise so many spirit beasts, but with the help of the Spirit Gathering Cauldron, resources are not a problem for him.
In his view, the reason why human cultivators were able to rise to power and surpass the demon race to dominate the world was that they were good at using external things for their own purposes. Alchemy, talisman making, weapon crafting, formations, puppets, beast taming... all these are the techniques for cultivators to protect their path.
The Rock Python, the Black Tortoise, and the Fire Crow were already familiar with each other. Today, with the sudden appearance of the Wind Fox Beast, a "new demon," the Rock Python, as the leader of Luo Ming's spirit beasts, immediately began to look down on it.
Although they are all Luo Ming's spirit beasts, among the demon beasts, the strong are always respected. These three have already settled their rankings—the Rock Python, with its size and strength advantage, firmly holds the top position. When it is summoned, it always occupies the position closest to its master.
But today, this unfamiliar little thing actually lay down right at Luo Ming's feet. The rock python instantly felt its status challenged, its coiled body tensed slightly, and it flicked its tongue, moving a few steps closer to the wind fox beast.
The wind fox, which had been lazily curled up, suddenly bristled with fur and narrowed its eyes upon seeing the rock python's arrogance. An invisible aura quietly spread out.
Luo Mingli stood to the side, a smile playing on his lips, not intending to interfere—in fact, he was quite interested in sitting down, enjoying a cup of tea, and watching the show unfold.
But the next moment, the rock python's behavior surprised him greatly. The usually majestic snake suddenly became timid, watching the wind fox warily, slowly retreating, and finally crawling to the edge of the cave, curling up into a ball and daring not to move again.
"Could it be bloodline suppression?" Luo Ming suddenly realized. In the mortal world, cats are the nemesis of snakes, and it's likely the same in the cultivation world. Although both are level one demon beasts, the Wind Fox has just awakened a more powerful bloodline, while the Rock Python is just an ordinary demon beast. Facing an opponent with a powerful bloodline, it still has a clear understanding of its own strength.
In the world of monsters, power reigns supreme and bloodline is paramount.
At this time, Luo Ming's cultivation had reached the perfection of Qi Refining. Since he could no longer make any progress through meditation and hard work, he focused his mind on cultivating secret techniques, especially those methods that allowed him to fight alongside spirit beasts. These might be able to help him solve a lot of troubles at critical moments.
As the days passed, Luo Ming stayed indoors, immersing himself in studying various spells. After a month, he had made considerable progress.
That day, Luo Ming went to the sect's main hall to assemble as ordered. Looking around, he was surprised to find far more people than expected, and wondered, "I heard only ten people signed up last time, how come there are twenty-five Qi Refining cultivators now?"
Inside the hall, a dozen or so people wore cold expressions, giving off an unapproachable aura, forcing Luo Ming to ponder the reasons behind their behavior. Just as his thoughts were racing, a streak of light swiftly arrived from afar, landing steadily in the hall and transforming into an old man dressed in black robes. Upon seeing this, the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the hall immediately bowed and greeted him, "Greetings, Uncle-Master Cao!"
Is this a Golden Core cultivator? Luo Ming secretly observed him, finding him no different from an ordinary mortal elder, with not a trace of magical power emanating from him. However, seeing the respectful demeanor of the Foundation Establishment deacons, he couldn't help but believe it.
"We pay our respects to Grandmaster Cao!" Luo Ming and the other Qi Refining cultivators dared not be negligent and quickly followed suit with their bows. The cultivation world was strictly hierarchical, and those with lower cultivation levels had no choice but to be humble and subservient. Moreover, it was rumored that these ancient monsters who had lived for hundreds of years were capricious and unpredictable; if they were to offend them with the slightest impoliteness, their lives would likely be in danger.
"Hmm, everyone's here, let's go." Grandmaster Cao responded calmly, raised his hand and patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist. A red light flashed, and a giant scorpion with a pair of transparent wings appeared in the open space outside the hall.
I never imagined that Master Cao's spirit beast would be such a terrifying being. The giant scorpion was dozens of feet long, its entire body covered in a crimson carapace that shimmered with a metallic luster, contrasting sharply with the black veins on its transparent wing membrane. The edges of its thick, massive pincers gleamed with a chilling aura, and its tail was over ten feet long, each segment bearing sharp bony spikes, the venomous stinger at the end gleaming with an eerie light. Just looking at it made one's scalp tingle.
Although Luo Ming and the others were standing dozens of feet away, they were still almost suffocated by this oppressive force. Han Yunzhi, who was beside him, was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she hid tightly behind Luo Ming, not even having the courage to look up.
What level of demon beast is this? Luo Ming was filled with doubt. His doubts were soon answered when a long-faced Foundation Establishment deacon stepped forward and said with a flattering expression, "Uncle Cao's Crimson-Tailed Flying Scorpion's aura is becoming increasingly astonishing. It shouldn't be long before it advances to level four, right?"
A level four demonic beast corresponds to the late Foundation Establishment stage of a human cultivator! Upon hearing this, Luo Ming was deeply shocked. A level three demonic beast already possessed such a size? He remembered the Azure Flood Dragon he had seen in Qingjiang; although it was only a level two demonic beast, its size was far smaller than this Crimson-tailed Flying Scorpion.
"Level four is still a long way off. Alright, everyone, come on up. The Crimson Forbidden Land is located in the Yellow Maple Valley, and our sect is the furthest away. Let's set off as soon as possible," said Master Cao.
This was the first time that Luo Ming and the other Qi Refining cultivators had ridden such a high-level demonic beast mount. He sat cross-legged on the steel-like back of the Crimson-Tailed Flying Scorpion, feeling the wind whistling past his ears and the scenery rushing by. He couldn't help but feel a sense of novelty.
Seven days later, the Crimson-Tailed Flying Scorpion landed on a desolate mountain. Luo Ming looked around and saw that trial participants from other sects had already gathered at the foot of the mountain. His gaze immediately fell on the group of cultivators dressed in Yellow Maple Valley attire in the distance.
"Old Demon Han... he must be one of them, right?" Luo Ming pondered to himself. He remembered the rumors that Old Demon Han had dark skin and an ordinary appearance. But after scanning the cultivators of Yellow Maple Valley, he didn't find anyone who matched the description of "dark skin".