A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 243 The Secret of the Black Bead

He looked at Luo Ming with candid eyes: "This matter does indeed involve some of my secrets, and I apologize that I cannot reveal them all. However, I swear by my inner demons that with just a drop of ordinary blood essence for testing, whether it succeeds or fails, I will never use this blood to do anything detrimental to you or your spirit beast, nor will I divulge this matter to anyone. If your spirit beast's blood can activate this pearl, then the Five Elemental Bracelet will be given to you directly. If it cannot be activated, you may leave; I will not stop you, and today's events will be considered as if they never happened. What do you say?"

Luo Ming listened calmly, his mind racing. The other party's oath, sworn by his inner demons, was an extremely weighty promise in the cultivation world, greatly increasing its credibility. Moreover, their explanation made sense—searching for spirit beasts with specific bloodlines or traits indeed required casting a wide net.

He secretly communicated with the Heavenly Mirror Hermit in his sea of ​​consciousness: "Senior, can you discern the true nature of this pearl?"

The aged voice of the Heavenly Mirror Hermit rang out with a hint of surprise: "This bead... its material is strange, and I cannot fully understand it at this moment. However, its crafting technique is extremely ancient, and it does indeed resemble some kind of ancient artifact used specifically for testing bloodline characteristics or purity. Its function should be as it says, rather simple. I have not sensed any malicious restriction or curse aura from this bead. However, whether to try it or not is up to you to decide."

Having received Tianjing Sanren's initial assessment, Luo Ming felt somewhat relieved. He glanced at the seemingly ordinary black bead on the table, then thought of the Five Elements Bracelet with its peculiar functions, and the oath the other party had made with his inner demons.

"It's just testing a drop of essence blood... and it's not even the original essence blood, so the impact is negligible," Luo Ming thought to himself.

The risks seem manageable. Once the conditions are met, he can obtain the Five Spirit Bracelet, which is exactly what he urgently needs right now.

Having made up his mind, Luo Ming's icy expression softened slightly, and he said calmly, "Since Fellow Daoist Yan has sworn an oath with his inner demons, I, Luo, will believe you this once."

"That's only right!" The cultivator surnamed Yan's eyes flashed with joy when he saw Luo Ming relent.

Luo Ming no longer hesitated. He flipped his hand, and a small, cyan jade bottle, about an inch tall, appeared in his palm. He pulled off the stopper, and an aura, slightly fishy yet containing powerful thunder and earth elemental energy, wafted out. This was the essence blood of the Xuan Turtle that he usually used when cultivating his body-refining technique. Although it wasn't taken directly from a live Xuan Turtle and its spiritual energy was slightly inferior, its bloodline characteristics remained.

Luo Ming flicked his finger, and a drop of dark red essence blood with a faint bluish-black luster flew out from the bottle mouth. Enveloped in spiritual power, it slowly drifted toward the black bead on the table.

The cultivator surnamed Yan held his breath, his eyes fixed on the drop of blood essence and the black bead.

The instant that drop of Xuan Turtle essence blood touched the surface of the black bead—

A sudden change has occurred!

The once dull, unyielding black bead, like a stubborn rock, suddenly trembled slightly! Then, as if some dormant power within it had been awakened, a deep, night-like dark light shone from its center, rapidly spreading throughout the entire bead. Within this dark light, an extremely subtle, almost imperceptible phantom image of a tortoise and snake intertwined appeared and vanished in a flash.

At the same time, the seemingly naturally formed, fine textures on the surface of the bead alternated between light and dark as if breathing, and spontaneously and slowly began to rotate! Although the rotation was very slow, it was indeed no longer in a static state!

"Buzz..."

A faint, ancient tremor echoed in the quiet chamber.

The cultivator surnamed Yan's eyes widened suddenly, his previously composed expression shattered, replaced by barely suppressed excitement and elation. He jumped to his feet, his body trembling slightly with excitement, his gaze fixed intently on the black bead that was slowly rotating on its own, emitting a strange, dark light. He then abruptly looked up at Luo Ming, his voice trembling with emotion:

"well!"

He said "good" twice, and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out with his smile. His eyes shone with an amazing light, as if he had seen some long-awaited hope.

The cultivator surnamed Yan realized he had been too conspicuous, so he coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment and bowed to Luo Ming, saying:

"I apologize for the embarrassment, Fellow Daoist Luo. As I keep my word, since your spirit beast blood can activate this pearl, this 'Five Spirit Bracelet' shall belong to you."

As he spoke, he unhesitatingly pushed the jade box containing the Five Spirit Bracelets on the table towards Luo Ming, then quickly put away the black bead that had returned to calm, and stood up, saying, "I have some personal matters to attend to immediately, so I won't bother you any longer. Farewell, Fellow Daoist Luo."

After saying this, he didn't explain further. He nodded slightly to Luo Ming and hurriedly left the secret room, his steps carrying a barely perceptible urgency.

Luo Ming watched the other person's figure disappear quickly out the door, then looked at the Five Spirit Bracelet lying quietly in the jade box on the table, its spiritual light emanating from within, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

A precious spatial treasure with unique functions and a grade that is definitely at the top level of magic weapon, became his so easily just because of a drop of Xuan Turtle essence blood and a test on that strange round bead? The other party didn't even put forward any other conditions, didn't ask for a confidentiality oath, and just left so decisively?

Things were going too smoothly for Luo Ming's liking. The subtle change in the Yan surname cultivator's attitude, especially his barely concealed excitement and hurried departure, made Luo Ming suspicious.

This doesn't seem like a reaction after a fair trade has been reached. Rather, it seems like... the other party has confirmed something crucial through testing and is eager to move on to the next step, while the Five Spirit Bracelets are merely an insignificant bait or price to be thrown out.

"This person... his actions are somewhat suspicious," Luo Ming thought to himself, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the edge of the jade box.

"Hehe, kid, it seems you also sense something's not right?" The aged voice of Tianjing Sanren echoed in his mind, tinged with amusement.

"That black bead is no ordinary object. Its reaction means that your Xuan Turtle essence blood, or some hidden quality within your bloodline, is extremely valuable to him, perhaps even far more valuable than the Five Spirit Bracelet itself. In my opinion, that cultivator surnamed Yan has most likely obtained a clue to a relic or inheritance that requires specific conditions to open. Your drop of blood is probably a 'key,' or at least proof of the 'key's' existence. His urgency suggests he's rushing to verify it or proceed to the next step."

Upon hearing this, Luo Ming's eyes narrowed slightly. The Heavenly Mirror Hermit's speculation coincided with his own vague premonition. "Senior, are you saying that his true goal is... to collect specific essence blood to unlock something far more important to him? And these Five Elemental Bracelets are merely a way for him to attract cultivators with specific spirit beasts?"

"Most likely," Tianjing Sanren said slowly. "Moreover, he left in such a hurry that he skipped even the basic formalities and follow-up agreements. It seems that the reaction of that round bead gave him great confidence, making him believe that he had found what he needed and couldn't wait to start planning. So, kid, are you even a little tempted? If that round bead is indeed the key to unlocking some ancient cultivator's legacy, its value might not be inferior to the treasures in the Void Heaven Palace."

Luo Ming remained silent for a moment, then reached out and picked up the jade box. Feeling the warm, smooth texture of the Five Elements Bracelet and the stable yet mysterious spatial fluctuations within, a faint smile suddenly appeared on his lips. He responded with his divine sense, "If this were in some remote, unknown place, I might actually consider following them to investigate. But this is Tianxing City, the territory of the Treasure Artifact Alliance. There's probably more than one Nascent Soul cultivator here. To follow a Core Formation cultivator who has just completed a transaction with malicious intent is simply asking for trouble. Besides…"

He paused, a clear and resolute glint in his eyes: "Everyone has their own opportunities and fortune. That cultivator surnamed Yan may have good opportunities, but are my opportunities any worse? The Void Heaven Palace is about to open, and the treasures and inheritances within are coveted even by Nascent Soul cultivators. Rather than coveting an unknown opportunity with unclear details and potential dangers, it's better to seize the certain fortune before me. Now that I've easily obtained the Five Elemental Bracelets and solved the problem of the spirit beast pouch, that's an unexpected bonus. As for what that cultivator surnamed Yan is plotting… as long as he doesn't actively provoke me, what does it have to do with me?"

"Hehe, your state of mind is quite good. You know how to make choices and are not easily swayed by external things," Tianjing Sanren praised. "In that case, your inner demon tribulation when you break through to the Nascent Soul stage may be less of an obstacle."

Without further hesitation, Luo Ming put the Five Spirit Bracelet into his sleeve, got up, and left the Treasure Alliance. He didn't leave the city immediately, but instead found a reputable and quiet inn nearby that catered to high-level cultivators. He rented a superior room with a protective array, intending to first refine his newly acquired magic weapon and plan his next move: the Eight Gates Golden Light Mirror.

Meanwhile, in a secluded cave in Tianxing City, where the spiritual energy was moderate.

The cultivator surnamed Yan activated all the restrictions on the cave, and layers of light screens rose up, completely isolating the inner and outer auras and preventing any prying eyes. After doing all this, the calm, even slightly anxious expression on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a complex look that mixed ecstasy, greed, and ruthlessness.

He strode into the deepest part of the secret chamber, took out a jade box covered with talismans from his storage bag, and carefully opened it. Inside, neatly arranged, were three black beads, each the size of a pigeon egg, exactly the same as those in the previous test.

Judging from its radiant appearance, it has clearly been activated by some special bloodline.

Immediately afterwards, he carefully took out an item from the deepest part of his storage bag.

Immediately afterwards, he carefully took out an item from the deepest part of his storage bag.

It was a palm-sized, round compass, dark red to almost black in color, neither gold nor wood, its texture resembling both jade and bone, and cool to the touch. The surface of the compass was covered with dense, ancient, and obscure runes, and in the center area were four shallow grooves, the size and shape of which perfectly matched the four black beads.