A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 21 Blood Spirit Fruit and Fat Sunbird

After avoiding several areas where dangerous monsters lurked, Luo Ming arrived outside the Yin Wind Valley, as described by Steward Qin.

Yinfeng Valley is located in a clearing between three high mountains. To enter, one must pass through a narrow passage. The passage is very narrow, less than a meter wide at its narrowest point, with almost vertical cliffs on both sides, as if it had been cleaved in two by a powerful cultivator with a single sword strike.

According to Deacon Qin, he was too weak to compete with others for popular spots. He accidentally entered the area while trying to avoid a demonic beast and discovered a Yin vein with many Yin-attribute spiritual herbs growing around it. He was able to exchange a Foundation Establishment Pill for a very good harvest there and thus successfully established his foundation.

What surprised him most was that there was a Blood Spirit Fruit tree there, but it was not old enough to bear fruit yet.

It should be noted that the Blood Spirit Fruit is a spiritual fruit with extremely yang attributes, yet it grows on a yin vein. Many things in the cultivation world cannot be judged by common sense.

The Blood Spirit Fruit is a renowned spiritual fruit that enhances bloodline and physical strength. Its growing environment is extremely demanding. The Spirit Beast Mountain spent a great deal of effort to cultivate one by accident. It was treasured by the sect, and each batch of spiritual fruits was divided up by the higher-ups, never reaching a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Deacon Qin.

"That Deacon Qin's eagle spirit beast has already reached the peak of level one. He probably wants this fruit to enhance his foundation so that he can break through to a higher realm."

He understood Deacon Qin's thoughts, and this fruit would also be of great benefit to his spirit beast. The fruit tree on Spirit Beast Mountain would only bear fruit once every ten years after it reached maturity, with a maximum of less than ten fruits each time. Even if he had money, he couldn't buy it.

As usual, the Wind Fox Beast went to scout ahead first. This beast's concealment skills were becoming more and more proficient. If it was hiding in the shadows, it would be impossible for the Wind Fox Beast to find it without carefully using its divine sense. It was truly a master of reconnaissance.

Luo Ming then used a spirit-attaching technique to slowly follow behind. The range of the spirit-attaching technique was only a hundred feet. If it was too far, the connection would be interrupted. However, with the buffer of a hundred feet, Luo Ming did avoid many unnecessary troubles.

At this moment, Yinfeng Valley was no longer as deserted as when Deacon Qin had arrived. Instead, three demonic beasts were locked in a tense standoff, surrounded by the corpses of several other demonic beasts. Judging from the freshness of their blood, they had clearly been killed by these three. However, these three were the strongest and could not defeat their opponents for the time being, so they temporarily gave up.

Judging from the aura emanating from the three, they all seemed to have reached the peak of the first level. Luo Ming felt that if he didn't use any talisman treasures, he would have a hard time dealing with each of them.

A creature resembling a fierce tiger, covered in fluffy crimson mane, with three thick, fiery red stripes encircling its neck, the stripes flowing slowly like burning lava, exhaling a faint, scorching breath with each breath—it was a Flame Wolf at the peak of level one.

The other was a gigantic iron horned lizard, its body comparable to that of a bison. Its entire body was covered with layers of dark black horny scales, as if forged from steel. A faint chill emanated from the gaps between the scales. The single horn on its head, several feet long, was dark gold, with a sharp tip like a knife, gleaming with a cold metallic luster in the dim valley.

The last one was a fiery red demonic bird, its feathers as translucent and shimmering as the finest red jade. It resembled a giant swallow, but unlike a swallow, it had a pair of sharp, hook-like golden claws, and its glass-like eyes held a faint golden light.

The bird landed atop a towering stone pillar, one claw curled up while the other gripped the stone surface firmly. It occasionally used its beak to groom the dust on its wings with elegant and languid movements. When its pair of crystal-gold eyes swept over the two demonic beasts below, they were full of condescending disdain, as if looking at two insignificant ants.

The Ironhorn Lizard and the Flame Wolf below, however, were on high alert, their muscles tense as they stared warily at the demonic bird atop the stone pillar. The Ironhorn Lizard's scales were fully extended, and its single horn trembled slightly, clearly ready to defend itself at any moment; the Flame Wolf, on the other hand, let out a low growl, its mane bristling, and the brightness of its fire patterns subtly increased, yet it dared not approach easily.

Both of them had suffered at the hands of this bird before, and were well aware of its sharp claws and scorching flames. However, the temptation of the blood spirit fruit that was about to ripen next to them was too great, and they were unwilling to leave. They could only suppress their fear and wait for the opportunity, hoping to seize a fruit when it was fully ripe.

However, Luo Ming had already shifted his attention from the Blood Spirit Fruit to the swallow-like spirit bird. He wasn't worried about the fruit, since it wouldn't run away anyway, but this bird was a rare sight. He seemed to have seen a similar description in the records of the Spirit Beast Mountain sect.

Could this body shape and appearance be the legendary Fat Yang Bird?

The Zhiyang Bird was an ancient spirit bird that had long been extinct in the cultivation world. Legend has it that the last one was wiped out during the invasion of the demon realm in ancient times.

Just as Luo Ming was thinking about how to capture the bird alive, the Wind Fox Beast issued a warning, detecting an abnormal fluctuation of wind spiritual energy at another exit.

Are there other people lurking in the shadows?

As a wind-attribute beast, the Wind Fox is very sensitive to wind-attribute spiritual power. It's not surprising that the person lurking there used a wind-attribute concealment technique and was detected by the Wind Fox.

Since there were other people around, Luo Ming wasn't in a hurry to make a move. He could use the Spirit Attachment Technique to observe the situation inside from a hundred feet away and find a suitable opportunity to strike.

At this moment, two disciples of the Qingxu Sect were quietly approaching. One of them was manipulating a transparent, gauze-like magic artifact, which wrapped the two of them inside like a mosquito net. The two of them were staring at the Blood Spirit Fruit Tree with great surprise, completely ignoring the two demonic beasts a dozen feet away.

"Brother Yang's Wind Spirit Silk Treasure is indeed miraculous; these two demonic beasts were so close yet they couldn't detect us."

"Brother Li, you flatter me. This treasure was bestowed upon me by my ancestor. If I hadn't come to this Crimson Forbidden Land, my ancestor would not have given me this treasure. I will return it to him once I leave this place."

"Hiss, this treasure actually belongs to your ancestor. I was wondering why." Upon hearing that it belonged to that Foundation Establishment cultivator from the sect, the man was somewhat shocked, as he was well aware of the ancestor's reputation.

"It's nothing special. Back then, our ancestor killed a level two wind attribute demon spider and used its silk, along with some other rare materials, to refine it. It's a rare treasure, but it only has the function of concealment."

After talking for a while, the two decided to wait until the fruit was fully ripe and the monsters started fighting. Then, they would use the Wind Spirit Veil to get close to the fruit tree, pick a few fruits, and run away. They figured that as long as they didn't pick them all, the three monsters wouldn't chase after them.

As time went on, the Blood Spirit Fruit finally ripened completely. The fist-sized fruit began to become crystal clear, like red agate. The intense yang spiritual energy surrounding the fruit became even more blazing, actually suppressing the chilling aura around it.