A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 14 Establishing Authority with the Silver Sword

The night was as dark as ink, thick as an unyielding paste, giving the rugged rocks an eerie appearance. Miasma flowed slowly through the ravines, rising in wisps of gray fog.

Luo Ming finished his practice in a natural cave in a cliff crevice, the last wisp of spiritual energy at his fingertips returning to his dantian. He slowly opened his eyes, a flash of spiritual light appearing in them, the brief adjustment having restored his magical power to its full potential.

Just then, a sharp, alarming cry of a fire crow echoed in his mind. Luo Ming's brows furrowed instantly, and he darted out of the stone cave. His nostrils twitched slightly as he instantly detected a violent fluctuation of spiritual energy coming from afar, interspersed with the crisp, sharp clang of clashing magical artifacts, which pierced through the miasma and traveled far into the distance.

"Hmph, what a coincidence." Luo Ming muttered to himself, no longer hesitating. With a slight thought, the three figures moved in unison: the Wind Fox, like a wisp of gray smoke, silently slid out of the cave entrance along the rock wall and instantly disappeared into the darkness.

The fire crow took flight, its wings shaking off a few sparks. After ascending, it quickly concealed its presence, transforming into a black dot that almost blended into the night, surveying from above. The rock python, on the other hand, twisted its thick body and burrowed underground with a "whoosh," using the cover of the rocks and soil to sneak towards the source of the disturbance.

Luo Ming concealed his aura, suppressing even his breathing to the point of being barely audible. His figure moved like a ghost, clinging to the ground, using the jagged rocks and dense miasma as cover, and gradually approached the core of the spiritual energy fluctuations.

Dozens of feet away, Luo Ming used the Spirit Attachment Technique to share the Fire Crow's vision, and the scene was clearly imprinted in his mind. When he saw who was being attacked, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes—it was Han Yunzhi from Spirit Beast Mountain.

At this moment, Han Yunzhi's situation was extremely precarious, as two cultivators dressed in the robes of the Hidden Moon Sect were attacking her from both sides.

The male cultivator wielded a gleaming spiritual sword, its sword energy crisscrossing, yet he did not aim to kill; instead, it carried a hint of playful teasing. Beside him, the female cultivator brandished a ring-shaped magical artifact, its spiritual light swirling as it continuously struck Han Yunzhi's defensive barrier with fierce attacks.

A brocade handkerchief, a magical artifact, floated in front of Han Yunzhi. Its originally lustrous spiritual light had dimmed like a candle in the wind, and fine cracks had even appeared on its edges. It trembled violently with each act of resistance, clearly on the verge of breaking.

Her cultivation was already weaker than the two opponents, and her magic weapon was also of slightly lower grade. After several rounds of fighting, her breathing was already disordered, fine sweat seeped from her forehead, and her chest heaved violently. Clearly, she could not hold on for much longer.

"Hmph, you vile woman from Spirit Beast Mountain, how dare you seduce my husband! Today I'll skin you alive, tear you apart, and chop you into pieces to feed my spirit pets!" The female cultivator possessed a beautiful face, but now her eyebrows were raised in anger, her eyes filled with venom. Every word she spoke was accompanied by a sharp attack, her shrill curses echoing through the miasma. Hearing this, the male cultivator beside her showed a clear hint of embarrassment, his eyes darting away, but he did not stop the female cultivator's insults.

Han Yunzhi's pretty face flushed crimson, anger and humiliation swirling in her eyes. She bit her lower lip hard, tasting a faint metallic flavor of blood. Her spiritual energy surged wildly, and the air around her suddenly became violent, clearly indicating that she was at her limit and preparing to unleash a trump card with a high cost, unwilling to suffer such humiliation even if it meant mutual destruction.

At the critical moment!

A sharp and incomparably fierce aura suddenly erupted from the flank of the battlefield, like an ice spike piercing through the thick fog, instantly seizing everyone's attention. Before the sword energy even reached them, the chilling pressure had already made the three of them freeze in their tracks.

"Who goes there?!" The two cultivators from the Hidden Moon Sect turned around in shock, their angry shouts filled with barely concealed fear.

Within the swirling miasma and shadows, a sudden surge of silver light erupted. Countless silver runes flowed and converged within the light, and the phantom of a giant silver sword, several meters long, materialized with a thunderous roar. The sword gleamed with a chilling light against the dark red sky, every inch radiating a terrifying power that sent shivers down one's spine. The surrounding air was distorted by the sword's pressure, emitting a hissing, cracking sound.

"A talisman treasure!" The two cultivators from the Hidden Moon Sect turned deathly pale instantly, their pupils shrinking, their eyes filled with disbelief and terror. They were merely late-stage Qi Refining cultivators; how could they have ever seen such a powerful talisman treasure? Could it be that this girl's elder from the same sect has arrived?

This giant silver sword was formed by Luo Ming activating his Silver Sword Talisman. Seeing that Han Yunzhi was on the verge of death, he no longer hesitated to use his trump card. Saving Han Yunzhi was one reason, but more importantly, he also wanted to use this opportunity to test the true power of the talisman in actual combat—after all, there was a Spirit Gathering Cauldron in his storage bag continuously providing spiritual power, so there was no need to worry about the power consumption of activating the talisman.

Luo Ming, hidden in the shadows, subtly moved his fingertips in a spell, and suddenly activated his power. The silver greatsword seemed to receive a command, emitting a deafening sword cry, and with a piercing shriek tearing through the air, it slashed fiercely at the female cultivator who had uttered the foul words, like a meteor falling to earth!

The silver greatsword was moving at incredible speed. Before the sword pressure had fully enveloped her, the sharp sword energy left the female cultivator with only the overwhelming silver light in her pupils. Her hair stood on end, and a chilling sense of death instantly gripped her heart.

She tried to dodge, but the aura locked by the giant sword immobilized her. Her spiritual power seemed to be frozen, and even her action of activating her magic weapon to block was slowed down.

"No—!" A piercing scream tore through the night sky of the blood-red forbidden land, but it only lasted for a moment. The silver greatsword fell without any resistance, splitting the female cultivator and the ring-shaped magic artifact that had hastily risen in front of her in two. The spiritual light suddenly dissipated, shattering into countless specks of light.

Warm blood mixed with bits of flesh splattered down, staining the rubble beneath their feet. The female cultivator's mangled body crashed heavily to the ground, her breath fading instantly.

He annihilated his own fellow disciple with a single sword strike! The male cultivator witnessed this terrifying scene and trembled violently, all traces of his previous mockery gone. He looked in the direction from which the silver light came, his eyes filled with extreme fear, his only thought being to escape this demonic being.

"How dare you kill someone from my Hidden Moon Sect! You'll regret this!" The male cultivator roared fiercely, uttered a harsh threat, and then fled without daring to look back. He suddenly raised his right hand, and three yellow talismans instantly floated in front of him, with spiritual power frantically pouring into them from his fingertips.

The talisman suddenly exploded, transforming into three dense yellow spiritual lights that enveloped his figure—a secret talisman technique to accelerate his escape. With a swift movement, he shot off like an arrow towards the area with the densest miasma behind him.

But just as he darted out a few feet, a gray afterimage sprang out from the shadows beside him like a ghost—it was the Wind Fox that had been lurking nearby! The Wind Fox was even faster than the male cultivator who had activated the talisman. Its limbs treaded on the air, its sharp claws flashing with cold light, and with a "whoosh," several wind blades struck the fleeing figure.

The man was terrified. In his haste, he frantically channeled his magic power, and a yellow shield flew out of his storage bag. It expanded in the wind, instantly transforming into a heavy cage that enveloped his entire body. Runes shimmered on the shield's surface, radiating an aura of indestructibility. This was a top-tier defensive magic artifact he had acquired at a great cost, which had saved him from danger many times before.

"cut!"

Luo Ming remained expressionless, his divine sense locking onto his target, and his silver greatsword slashed down without any fancy moves!

"Snap—!"

A crisp cracking sound rang out, particularly jarring in the silent night. The seemingly impregnable yellow shield was as fragile as paper before the silver greatsword, easily cleaved in two! The cultivator inside, his face filled with despair, was also cut in two amidst the dazzling sword light; before his blood could even spurt, it was evaporated by the sharp sword energy.

"Hiss..." Luo Ming himself was slightly shocked, feeling nearly half of his mana being drained from his body in an instant. He thought to himself, "As expected of a talisman treasure, its power is indeed astonishing! But the consumption is also quite frightening."

In the blink of an eye, both powerful enemies were annihilated. Only the aftershocks of the surge of spiritual energy and the heavy stench of blood remained in the arena.