A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 24 The Hidden Land

This subtle difference, like a pebble thrown into a still lake, rippled through his heart, arousing an intense and irrepressible curiosity.

"It's a pity we can't search the soul of that cultivator surnamed Yang, otherwise we could have found out more." Luo Ming murmured to himself, his fingertips tracing the edge of the map.

He subconsciously looked up and scanned his surroundings. The wind through the mountains carried the scent of grass and trees. The wind-breathing beast beside him seemed to sense the seriousness in his brow, nuzzling his hand affectionately with its furry head and whimpering softly, as if trying to comfort him. Luo Ming withdrew his gaze and refocused his attention on the map, his mind in turmoil: "What does this marking mean? Is it a death trap with a slim chance of survival, or a secret place hiding an incredible opportunity?"

If it were a perilous and dangerous place, the trial maps issued by the sect should all be marked with warnings—forbidden zone trials are cruel, but they never deliberately lead disciples into a deadly situation; but if it were a place of opportunity, why is this exclusive mark only on the map of the cultivator surnamed Yang? He suddenly recalled the information he had obtained from the soul search: the ancestor of that cultivator surnamed Yang was the only Foundation Establishment Talisman Master of the Qingxu Sect. Since he established his foundation, his talisman skills had greatly improved, and he had also entered the Crimson Forbidden Zone.

"Could this mark have been deliberately placed by the Yang family patriarch, who then arranged for his descendants to come here to seek opportunities?"

The moment the thought crossed Luo Ming's mind, his breathing quickened slightly, and his heart pounded in his chest. He hurriedly spread out the other maps he had collected and compared them one by one. Whether they were maps from his fellow disciples of the Qingxu Sect or from other sect cultivators he had previously killed, that location was completely blank, showing nothing unusual. Then, he focused his attention on the distance between the marked point and his current location. It was only half a day's journey, a discovery that immediately made him eager to explore.

"Should we go take a look?" Luo Ming thought to himself. "Anyway, with the concealment ability of the Wind Spirit Veil, as long as I don't wander around in front of a level two demon beast, there shouldn't be too much danger."

At this moment, he was like a greedy cat hooked by bait, wanting to snatch the bait but also afraid of touching the hidden hook. But the potential opportunities hidden in that unknown secret place, coupled with his vague expectation of inheriting the talismanic arts from the Yang family patriarch, ultimately outweighed most of his concerns. Luo Ming carefully put the map into his storage bag, patted the head of the Wind Fox Beast, and the two of them hurried towards that place.

The atmosphere in the forbidden area had become increasingly tense. Some weaker cultivators, having gathered the necessary herbs for a Foundation Establishment Pill, sought secluded places to hide, hoping to remain safe until the trial ended. Others, gathered through sect secret methods, set their sights on lone cultivators—the painstaking search for herbs was far less efficient than outright robbery. Those who had survived to this point were all carrying substantial rewards.

With the help of the Wind Fox Beast's ability to find its way, Luo Ming made his way through the dangers without any real incidents, and finally arrived at a dilapidated building in a valley.

The most terrifying encounter he'd had on his journey was with a flock of fire crows. In that critical moment, Luo Ming acted swiftly, first throwing out several talismans to distract them, then using a wind-spirit veil to conceal himself. The fire crows, which had been charging straight at him, were immediately bewildered. Lacking intelligence, they couldn't understand why their prey had suddenly vanished. After circling in the air a few times, they flew away dejectedly.

This Wind Spirit Veil only works on level one demonic beasts with diluted bloodlines. If it encounters a highly intelligent demonic beast like the Fat Sun Bird, it will definitely try to attack the surrounding area and will not give up easily. In fact, the intelligence of most demonic beasts is not only linked to their cultivation level, but also closely related to the density of their bloodline.

Recalling the perilous experience, Luo Ming couldn't help but lament his terrible luck. Why did he keep encountering flocks of flying monsters on this forbidden land trip? Was he perhaps born with a "destined" connection to birds?

Suppressing his distracting thoughts, Luo Ming began to carefully examine the surrounding damaged buildings. He released his divine sense, scanning every corner inch by inch, but found no trace of any forbidden entrance.

"Something's not right! Since it was specifically marked on the map, there must be a secret hidden here. Is my investigation method wrong, or is there some hidden restriction that I haven't noticed?" Luo Ming frowned and muttered to himself.

After a fruitless search, he summoned the Wind Fox Beast that was on guard around the area. This beast was extremely sensitive to fluctuations in wind spiritual energy, and Luo Ming recalled the wind-attribute restrictions on the stone wall, guessing that there might be a similar arrangement here.

The Wind Fox first sniffed around, a glint of green light flashing in its glassy eyes, before it quickly walked toward the stone wall not far away.

Luo Ming's eyes lit up—he had been so focused on investigating the abandoned buildings that he had overlooked this stone wall. He quickly stepped forward and examined it closely, and sure enough, he detected the subtle fluctuations of a hidden restriction.

He patted his storage bag, and a golden flying sword suddenly flew out. This sword was purchased in Qinghu Market, and he rarely used it after entering the forbidden area—after all, the opponents he had encountered before were too strong, and he could only rely on stronger talismans to gain the upper hand in the battle.

Magical power flowed continuously into the flying sword, causing its blade to instantly blaze with golden light. With a thought, Luo Ming manipulated the flying sword to pierce the stone wall before him.

"Bang!"

If it were an ordinary stone wall, a single strike from a top-tier magical artifact-level flying sword would surely create a large hole. However, when the sword tip struck the stone wall, it only created a faint ripple before the flying sword was bounced back. Clearly, the stone wall was covered with a protective barrier, and the stone wall itself was merely a disguise.

Seeing that the restriction was reacting, Luo Ming was overjoyed and immediately controlled his flying sword to launch a series of attacks. However, no matter how the flying sword clashed, it only made the ripples shake more violently, without consuming much of the restriction's power. He roughly estimated that if he wanted to break the restriction with just this flying sword, it would take at least several hours.

Luo Ming cautiously scanned his surroundings. Although this place was remote, there was no guarantee that other cultivators wouldn't pass by, and he couldn't afford to delay any longer. Without further hesitation, he patted his storage bag again and summoned his silver sword talisman.

A silver sword light, several meters long, flashed suddenly, its power terrifying. A deafening roar followed, and a large hole, over ten meters high, was cleaved through the stone wall. However, the scene inside startled Luo Ming—it wasn't the cave he had expected, but a teleportation array. Where the array led was entirely unknown. What concerned him even more was the flickering spiritual light at the edge of the cave entrance; the damaged area was slowly shrinking, clearly a self-repairing array, indicating that its core was intact.

As he watched the opening gradually shrink, a flicker of hesitation crossed Luo Ming's face, but it was quickly replaced by determination. "Now that we've come this far, there's no reason to back down. Otherwise, wouldn't all our previous efforts have been in vain?"

Without further hesitation, he strode into the large cave. A few breaths later, the restrictions at the cave entrance were completely restored, as if no one had ever been there, and it remained just an ordinary architectural ruin.