A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 249 Stealing the Mirror

The four black-robed cultivators and the maid in green had already retreated far away, but they were still reeling from the shockwave, their blood churning. Looking at the blazing golden light at the center of the explosion, their eyes were filled with awe and fervor. The young master's divine power was indeed unmatched!

However, just as the golden light reached its peak and everyone thought Luo Ming and his magical artifact were about to be reduced to ashes—

Although the Ghost Face Shield firmly withstood the barrage of golden light, the intense, pure Yang energy contained within the light seemed to be its nemesis, constantly burning and dissolving the Yin and Ghostly energy accumulated within the shield, emitting a faint hissing sound. The dark light on the shield's surface dimmed at a visible speed. Luo Ming's mind raced: "This mirror's golden light is extremely Yang and sharp, specifically designed to counter Yin and evil. Although the Ghost Face Shield is made of excellent material, such consumption may damage its very essence, and its spiritual power will be greatly diminished in a short time."

With this thought in mind, he no longer hesitated. He turned his magic power around him, and a red light surged around him. With a "whoosh," he transformed into a streak of crimson fire, instantly leaving his original spot and appearing in mid-air more than ten feet away.

However, the eight golden mirrors seemed to possess their own spirit. Their surfaces shimmered and shifted, and almost the instant he appeared, they adjusted their angles. Eight slightly thinner but faster golden beams followed him closely, crisscrossing and blocking most of his escape space.

Luo Ming stepped into the void, his figure flashing repeatedly within a limited range. His fire escape technique was pushed to its limit, and he narrowly missed the golden light every time. The blazing fire and the sharp golden light collided, stirring up ripples of spiritual energy.

He sighed inwardly, "It's a pity that the Wind Fox Beast's Metal Escape Technique hasn't awakened yet. If it were to merge with metal, the power of the same origin would blend together during its escape, making it difficult to harm the Wind Fox Beast no matter how sharp the golden light is. Right now, I'm only relying on Fire Escape, which is slightly advantageous in terms of attribute, but the opponent's metal energy is too strong, and I'll inevitably lose if I hold out for too long."

As he weaved through the gaps in the golden light net, Luo Ming communicated with the Heavenly Mirror Hermit hidden within the Profound Origin Pearl using his divine sense: "Senior, is the time ripe?"

Tianjing Sanren's response carried a hint of solemnity: "Among those eight mirrors, one has the most concentrated aura, which is the main mirror that controls the hub. At this moment, it is being protected by Wen Tianren with a secret method, and its energy is closely connected to that person. If I were to make a move too close to that person, I would surely be detected by his divine sense, and I might alert him."

Only when he fully unleashes the great power of this treasure, the 'Golden Divine Flame,' concentrating the power of the eight mirrors into a single point to trap and kill you, will the main mirror temporarily detach from him and merge into the core of the formation. Only then will it be my only chance to launch a sudden attack, sever the connection, and seize control!

In a flash, a resolute glint appeared in Luo Ming's eyes. "So be it, fortune favors the bold! Although that golden divine flame is quite powerful, with my profound magical power and the vast amount of high-grade spirit stones I possess, even in a day, this person would have refined a significant portion of me. The only option is to take a risky gamble and lure him into using his full power!"

Having made up his mind, Luo Ming stopped dodging. He seized a moment when a golden light shot out, and with a flick of his hand, a shuttle-shaped magic weapon flew out – the Wind-Escape Shuttle.

The treasure transformed into a streak of azure light, enveloping him completely. Instantly, Luo Ming seemed to be shrouded in a layer of pale azure wind shadows, his speed increasing by several times, becoming even more agile and elusive than before. He even found a flaw in the originally impenetrable golden light net, and the azure wind shadows darted past like swimming fish, not only avoiding the following beams of light but also changing direction and rushing towards Wen Tianren's location!

"Hmm?" Wen Tianren, who was suspended in the air, had maintained his composure and confidence. But when he saw this, he couldn't help but let out a soft "Eh," and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Just now it was clearly pure fire escape, how come it has turned into wind now? The change of aura is smooth and unimpeded. Could it be that he possesses a rare treasure that can help with escape techniques?" He was proud of his extensive knowledge, but he had never seen a technique or supernatural power that could use different elemental escape techniques so quickly and freely. He subconsciously attributed it to a rare treasure, and his greed burned even brighter, and his killing intent also rose.

"You're courting death!" Seeing Luo Ming advance instead of retreat, charging straight at him, Wen Tianren laughed instead of getting angry, thinking that the other party was desperate and had walked right into a trap. His hand seals suddenly changed, becoming complex and solemn, and he uttered a low shout: "Combine!"

As he activated his incantation, the eight golden mirrors hovering beside him, merely emitting golden light to chase Luo Ming, suddenly emitted a clear and resonant sound, instantly moving to high above Luo Ming's head, arranged in the eight trigrams. On the mirror surfaces, the previously scattered golden light suddenly receded and condensed, and the pale golden connecting threads between the eight mirrors became thick and dazzling, their energy completely connected as one.

"Golden Qi suppresses demons, the mirror locks the void!"

With a cold shout from Wen Tianren, the eight golden mirrors trembled violently simultaneously, their surfaces radiating an intense light. Instead of scattered beams of light, they spewed forth eight condensed, almost tangible, golden streams of light. These eight streams rapidly converged and merged in mid-air, instantly transforming into a colossal pillar of light, over ten zhang in diameter, incredibly solid, and seemingly cast from pure gold. Carrying an immense force capable of suppressing all directions and sealing off space, it crashed down with a deafening roar!

Even before the beam of light arrived, an invisible pressure as heavy as a mountain descended. Luo Ming felt the air around him instantly freeze, as if he were sinking into a sticky swamp, and his speed plummeted. The golden beam of light covered a vast area and contained a strange binding power, leaving him with no way to avoid it.

"boom!"

The giant golden pillar completely enveloped Luo Ming, along with his Ghost Face Shield and Wind Shuttle! Inside the pillar, golden light permeated the air, greatly suppressing his vision and divine sense. Countless fine yet extremely sharp golden threads of light crisscrossed and cut, eroding his protective aura.

Luo Ming groaned, feeling as if he were carrying a mountain on his back. His movements became extremely slow, and the flow of his internal magic power also became somewhat sluggish.

"Is this the power that directly imprisoned Old Demon Han back then?" Luo Ming felt the terrifying force pressing down on his body, but his face showed no panic. Instead, he showed an expression of interest.

Luo Ming roared, his body radiating crimson light as a thick blood armor materialized around him. This was the Blood Armor Divine Power he had fully mastered after advancing his Body Refinement Technique to the mid-stage of Core Formation.

This divine ability is not only incredibly defensive, but also has many other uses. This is the first time he has used it since mastering it. Only by facing an opponent of Wen Tianren's caliber can the strength of this divine ability be truly verified.

As Luo Ming's body was covered by a layer of blood armor, the enormous force that had been binding his body suddenly dissipated by more than half. It seemed that this binding golden light had little effect on conjoined cultivators, which put his mind at ease.

With no worries about the future, Luo Ming felt a surge of fighting spirit. He roared and unleashed a powerful punch with his right fist. A blood-red fist shadow, over ten feet long, struck the golden pillar of light surrounding him, causing it to shake violently and show signs of collapsing.

"This blood armor... what is the relationship between this person and Xue Shazi of Fengle Trading Company?" Wen Tianren frowned when he saw the blood armor on Luo Ming's body. He thought to himself that this person was actually a dual cultivator of body and magic. No wonder he dared to challenge him with his mid-stage Core Formation cultivation.

However, he had a guess about Luo Ming's identity. Fengle Trading Company had a close relationship with Xinggong. Could this person be here today to test him?

"Hmph, a cornered beast's struggle. So what if he's a body cultivator? This Golden Qi Pillar isn't so easy to break." Wen Tianren saw Luo Ming attacking frantically inside and a cold smile of complete control appeared on his face. He slowly raised his hand, and golden light began to gather at his fingertips, while the golden horn between his brows also lit up faintly again.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

High in the sky, a golden streak of light shot towards the most ancient and vital main mirror in the Eight Mirrors Formation below with incredible speed and without warning!

"What is that?!" Wen Tianren's cold smile froze instantly, turning into extreme astonishment and disbelief. He couldn't understand at all when such a magical artifact had been hidden in the sky.

However, in the next instant, astonishment turned into utter horror that felt like one's soul had been shattered!

The golden light struck the main mirror with perfect precision, without making a sound. Instead, it melted away like water droplets into a sponge, transforming into a flowing golden liquid film that completely enveloped the entire mirror, forming a radiant golden "cocoon"!

"No--!"

Wen Tianren only had time to let out a desperate roar in his heart before a vast and terrifying divine sense that absolutely suppressed the metal elemental power surged forth from him through the close connection between his divine sense and the main mirror!

The divine imprint he had attached to the main mirror was as fragile as thin ice in the face of this divine consciousness, unable to put up even the slightest resistance before being instantly erased and devoured!

"puff--!"

The backlash from the forced severing of the spiritual connection and the instant transfer of the magical artifact was incredibly fierce. Wen Tianren's body trembled violently, as if struck in the chest by a heavy hammer. His face turned deathly pale in an instant, and he spat out a mouthful of bright red blood. His aura instantly weakened and became chaotic, and the light from the golden horn on his head dimmed rapidly.

"How is this possible... My Eight Gates Golden Light Mirror... What... is this thing?!"

At the very instant that the main mirror's divine consciousness was forcibly erased by the Heavenly Mirror Hermit, and Wen Tianren's mind was severely injured, causing him to cough up blood—

"Buzz—!"

The thick golden pillar of light that enveloped Luo Ming suddenly lost its stable energy source and precise control due to the sudden loss of the array's core. It began to tremble and twist violently, with countless tiny golden light spots bursting out from it. The mountain-like binding force also weakened greatly, revealing a flaw.

"Now is the time!"

With a low shout, Luo Ming transformed into a golden-red blazing meteor, crashing into the golden barrier that had become thin and unstable due to the disorder of the formation with a far more violent and fierce momentum than before!

"Sizzle—!"

The crimson flames clashed and melted violently with the remaining golden light, producing a piercing tearing sound. The already uncontrolled golden light's binding force was greatly reduced, and with Luo Ming's charged attack, a gap was instantly torn open. A flash of crimson fire, and Luo Ming, like a trapped dragon breaking free of its shackles, instantly rushed out of the golden pillar of light's coverage.

After escaping, he didn't linger. His gaze was like lightning, instantly locking onto the eight golden mirrors above his head, which were hovering in the air, trembling slightly, their light flickering and their golden threads broken, having lost the control of the main mirror.

More precisely, his gaze fell on the main mirror, which was enveloped by the Heavenly Mirror Hermit's "golden mirror cocoon" and was slowly flying towards him, as well as the other seven secondary mirrors, which were still radiating spiritual light and faintly echoing Wen Tianren's remaining divine consciousness, as if struggling to fly back.