A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 226 Azure Dragon Playing with a Pearl

"This shield... is not bad."

Luo Ming nodded slightly. The fact that it could withstand his full-force attack without shattering was enough to prove that the materials and techniques used in its forging were top-notch. In particular, its cold, tough, and power-dissolving properties were quite extraordinary. It seemed that this dark-faced giant was far more powerful than he had expected.

His gaze then shifted to the Nether Tiger Master below, who was struggling to steady himself, his eyes filled with despair and horror, as well as the Nether Tiger whose aura was disordered and whose ferocity had greatly diminished. The coldness in his eyes returned.

On another battlefield, amidst the dense clouds created by the Azure Dragon's divine power, a gigantic azure dragon claw shot out with lightning speed! The three fingers of the claw were spread wide, their tips flashing with cold light, carrying a sharpness that could tear through space and immense power, as it fiercely grabbed at Huang Youzi, who was trapped in the center and already struggling to defend himself.

Huang Youzi had barely dodged the bites of several dragon shadows and was about to activate the tortoise shell shield for defense, but he was already at his limit and his reaction was half a beat too slow.

"puff!"

That resilient protective aura was as fragile as a string of bubbles in the sunlight before this giant blue claw, easily punctured and crushed! The giant claw's momentum had not diminished, and its five fingers suddenly closed!

"ah--!"

A short, piercing scream abruptly stopped. Huang Youzi's body exploded into a cloud of blood mist under the terrifying grip of the giant blue claw, and even his high-quality Taoist robe and several protective magical artifacts were shattered.

However, just as the blood mist filled the air and the physical body collapsed, a bright yellow ball of light shot out from it. In the center of the ball of light, a golden pill the size of a longan could be vaguely seen, spinning around.

The surface of the golden core was covered by a small, yellow phantom that resembled Huang Youzi in appearance but was now distorted with terror—it was Huang Youzi's golden core, which he had cultivated for hundreds of years, and his primordial spirit that was temporarily preserved by the golden core!

This primordial spirit, freed from the constraints of its physical body, moved with incredible speed and agility, leaving a fleeting yellow streak in the air as it attempted to break through the clouds and escape.

"hold head high?"

From within the clouds and mist came a low murmur from the Azure Dragon, tinged with a hint of doubt and intense interest.

Its enormous head emerged from the clouds, its window-sized blue eyes curiously following the darting yellow lights, a look in its eyes like that of a child seeing a new and exciting toy.

It seemed to find the "flying beads" quite interesting.

The Azure Dragon did not immediately use its thunderous methods to kill or capture the creature. Instead, it seemed to be teasing its prey. Its huge body appeared and disappeared in the clouds and mist. Occasionally, it would open its mouth as if to bite, and the breath it exhaled would blow the yellow light spot to the side. However, it deliberately slowed down its bite speed, allowing the yellow light spot to escape "by chance" at the last minute.

Watching the light spot panic and desperately try to escape but ultimately unable to break free from its control, the azure dragon's eyes gleamed with amusement, and it even let out a pleasant, low snort.

However, for Huang Youzi's primordial spirit, this was by no means an interesting game.

Facing the enormous azure dragon head, feeling its undisguised, terrifying aura that seemed poised to devour him at any moment, and its toying manner as if it were playing with its prey, he felt only boundless fear and a deep-seated humiliation.

Huang Youzi, a dignified late-stage Core Formation cultivator who had immersed himself in the Dao of Talismans for hundreds of years and was a prominent figure in the Outer Seas, had ended up with his physical body destroyed and his Golden Core and primordial spirit toyed with like a cat playing with a mouse by a demonic beast! This was a hundred times more painful than being killed outright!

At this moment of despair and humiliation, a streak of light approached from afar, arriving in an instant and stopping at the edge of the battlefield. It was Luo Ming, who had returned.

At this moment, Luo Ming was tightly gripping the fleshy wing of the Nether Tiger with one hand. The Nether Tiger was now on its last breath, and Luo Ming had placed a restriction on its body. If it weren't for the fact that this mutated tiger demon was very useful to his Wind Fox Beast, he would have simply dismembered it.

Luo Ming glanced at the battlefield and immediately understood the situation. Seeing the Azure Dragon's amused and teasing manner as it played with the Golden Core cultivator, he was slightly taken aback. Then, certain habits of true dragons flashed through his mind, and he was speechless:

"Do all dragons have this 'playing with pearls' hobby in their bones? After this Azure Dragon advanced, it seems to have brought out its mischievous nature as well."

When the Azure Dragon saw Luo Ming return and noticed its master's gaze, it immediately felt embarrassed and quickly stopped its playful behavior. Its huge head moved closer to ingratiate itself, and at the same time, it opened its blood-red maw, preparing to swallow the darting yellow light spot in one gulp, to show that it was not just playing around, but was still seriously carrying out its mission.

"Want to swallow me? Weren't you having a lot of fun just now?" Luo Ming glanced at it with a half-smile.

Just as the azure dragon's giant jaws were about to close, a massive hand, formed entirely from incredibly refined azure-gold magical power, appeared out of thin air above the yellow dot of light. With a gentle clench of its five fingers, it firmly grasped the dot in its palm. No matter how the golden core struggled left and right, or how the primordial spirit screamed and struggled, it could not budge this magical hand in the slightest.

Seeing this, the Azure Dragon groaned in frustration, its massive head drooping dejectedly.

Luo Ming ignored the tantrum of the azure dragon and focused his gaze on the yellow light trapped within the magical power in his palm.

The yellow phantom on the surface of the Golden Core now clearly revealed Huang Youzi's terrified face. Sensing Luo Ming's abyss-like and terrifying divine sense that far surpassed the Core Formation stage, he had no more doubts and was convinced that the unfathomable green-robed cultivator in front of him was the "transformed demon cultivator" on Biling Island!

"Senior! Senior, spare my life!" Huang Youzi's primordial spirit cried out in a sharp and urgent voice, filled with endless fear and humility.

"This junior was blind and ignorant, offending the Immortal Island, a crime deserving of death! But this junior is willing to offer up all my possessions and surrender my divine soul's restraints, to serve you as a slave for eternity! This junior has considerable knowledge of talismans and will surely be of assistance to you! I beg you, senior, to have mercy and spare a wisp of my remnant soul; this junior is willing to serve you like an ox or a horse to repay your kindness in sparing my life!"

Luo Ming listened expressionlessly, his eyes indifferent, as if looking at an inanimate object. Only after Huang Youzi finished speaking did he speak, his voice calm and unwavering:

"If you had come to me on your own initiative decades ago, you might have been of some use. Unfortunately, your greatest value now is probably just your cultivation level and soul." Luo Ming's tone remained calm, yet it plunged Huang Youzi's soul into an icy abyss, leaving him utterly despairing.

Luo Ming said no more. With a thought, a pure white jade bottle, engraved with sealing runes, appeared in his hand. He manipulated his magical hand to stuff the struggling Golden Core spirit, along with the yellow light cluster around it, into the jade bottle.

Immediately, a shimmering silver "Spirit Sealing Talisman" with intricate runes appeared at his fingertips. With a gentle flick, the talisman landed precisely on the bottle's opening. Instantly, the bottle trembled slightly, and the runes on its surface swirled, completely sealing and isolating all aura and fluctuations within the bottle.

"Perfect timing. I've recently had some new ideas about the divine soul and the golden core, but I'm lacking a suitable experimental material." Luo Ming put away the jade bottle, his tone casual, as if he were just collecting an ordinary piece of experimental equipment.

"Master!"

At this moment, a beam of light carrying anxiety and concern flew from the direction of Biling Island. It was Mingyue, who had noticed that the battle had ended and was worried about the situation, and had rushed over.

Seeing that Luo Ming was unharmed, breathing steadily, and even carrying the Nether Tiger that had almost killed her with a single blow, she finally felt completely relieved.

Enjoy reading "A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting at Spirit Beast Mountain".