A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 25 True Talisman Sect and Xiang Zhili

Suddenly, everything went black, just like when he first entered the Crimson Forbidden Land. When his vision cleared, Luo Ming found himself standing outside a teleportation array, and beside him, there were three identical teleportation arrays side by side.

"There are four teleportation arrays? Does that mean we can enter this place from four different locations?"

Luo Ming's expression hardened, and he immediately began to warily survey his surroundings. He was in a spacious hall, with five teleportation arrays positioned on a central platform. The hall's walls were inlaid with countless luminous stones, illuminating the area as bright as day. Beside the platform was a deep, dark passage, its destination unknown.

After confirming that there was no immediate danger in the surroundings, Luo Ming relaxed slightly, but the spiritual energy shield around his body remained in place. Just as he was about to walk towards the passage to investigate, a teleportation array on his left suddenly lit up slowly, and with a flash of white light, a figure gradually emerged.

"There are still people here?"

Luo Ming's eyes narrowed, and a murderous intent instantly filled the air. Almost without hesitation, he summoned his magical artifact again, ready to launch a fatal attack—the fewer people who knew about this secluded place, the better.

Just as he was about to make his move, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and he forcefully pushed the magic weapon that was about to fly out back. Because his magic power suddenly stopped, his internal magic power fluctuated, and he couldn't help but cough twice.

Unfortunately, the person who came was the last person he wanted to encounter in the forbidden area.

The newcomer was dressed in a Taoist robe from Huangfeng Valley and looked extremely old. He had just teleported over and was startled to find someone next to him. His bright eyes darted around as he warily watched Luo Ming.

At this moment, Luo Ming felt extremely regretful. He shouldn't have coveted any opportunity, but there was no going back for the time being. He could only think of a way to deal with this person.

"Ahem, Luo Ming from Spirit Beast Mountain greets this senior brother from Yellow Maple Valley." Luo Ming said with a smile.

In his mind, this top cultivator in the human realm was single-mindedly seeking the method of ascension. As long as he acted as if he posed no threat to him, the other party should not take the initiative to kill him. Moreover, since he appeared to be of high cultivation level, the other party might even invite him to scout the way for him.

"So it's a senior brother from Spirit Beast Mountain. I am Xiang Zhili. I also came here by chance. How about we explore together? I'll let you choose first, and I'll just let you have a taste." Xiang Zhili was delighted to see a cultivator here. He had used a special secret technique to seal his cultivation, so he couldn't use many of his methods. He could take advantage of this person. If he performed well, he wouldn't mind letting him gain some benefits.

This seemingly smooth-talking cultivator from Huangfeng Valley displayed a perfectly normal demeanor when facing someone with a higher cultivation level than himself. If it were someone else, they might secretly admire this person's tact and think that they could easily kill him after using him.

But Luo Ming knew the other party's true identity; he was one of the top people in the human realm. If he dared to show even a hint of killing intent, he wouldn't even know how he died.

"Haha, our seven sects are of one mind and should look out for each other when we encounter such an unknown and dangerous place. It is fate that we met here. Let's not talk about eating meat and drinking soup. We can share the benefits we find equally. If there are any cultivation techniques or secret manuals, we can make copies for each of us. I wonder if Senior Brother Xiang would agree?"

Luo Ming acted like a gentleman, even trying to get closer to the other party by addressing him as "Senior Brother."

Generally, cultivators address each other based on their cultivation level. Among cultivators of the same major realm, the one with higher cultivation is called senior brother or senior sister, unless the two have a close relationship and can be ranked by age. In the case of these two, strictly speaking, Xiang Zhili should call him senior brother, since his cultivation level is superficially lower than Luo Ming's.

The two were like two foxes, deceiving each other. However, the other party had a completely playful attitude, while Luo Ming was somewhat apprehensive, fearing that if he did something wrong, he would be easily killed by the other party.

After all, even though a Nascent Soul cultivator had suppressed his cultivation to the Qi Refining stage, his methods were far beyond what Luo Ming could have imagined. He felt that even with his Qi Refining stage cultivation, this person could easily kill a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator.

"Haha, I like straightforward people like Senior Brother Xiang." Luo Ming laughed heartily twice, feeling his face twitch slightly. He had been in this world for so long, and usually had a calm expression, rarely actually laughing.

The two walked into the dark passage one after the other. To put the other at ease, Luo Ming walked ahead without any guard, while Xiang Zhili, following behind, watched Luo Ming's back with a meaningful look, seemingly lost in thought.

The glowing stones on the inner walls of the passage emitted a soft light, illuminating the moss-covered stone walls. In addition to the chaotic spiritual energy, there was also a faint smell of decay in the air.

Luo Ming moved with extreme caution, carefully probing the surroundings with his divine sense while transmitting his voice to the other party: "Senior Brother Xiang must be very knowledgeable, do you know the origin of this place?"

Without pausing, Xiang asked his senior brother, "I was also teleported here by accident, so I have no idea where I am. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Luo has made any discoveries?"

"What a cunning old fox! You old devil, you must know something about this place, but you're pretending not to know." Luo Ming thought to himself, criticizing this old man who was at least a thousand years old for deceiving a thirty-year-old like himself.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the passage suddenly opened up, revealing a grand stone chamber. In the center of the chamber stood a dark blue-green stone tablet, over ten feet tall. The tablet was covered with mottled carvings, which upon closer inspection revealed ancient talismanic patterns, though most were blurred due to its age. At the top of the tablet, three powerful characters were engraved in ancient seal script: "True Talisman Sect".

"True Talisman Sect?"

Luo Ming was puzzled. He had never heard of such a sect before, so he naturally looked at Xiang Zhili next to him, hoping to get some answers from him. However, the other party was also looking at him with the same puzzled expression, the wrinkles on his forehead pressed tightly together, as if asking him what this place was.

Regardless of the circumstances, this place is definitely related to talismans. Considering the information about the talisman-making master of Qingxu Sect, it seems that there should be some opportunity related to talisman-making here.

Unexpectedly, the legendary opportunity had come to him. Luo Ming couldn't help but feel overjoyed. However, thinking of the person next to him and the unknown dangers that might follow, he had to suppress his emotions.

The two carefully explored the stone chamber and found that many places had obviously been disturbed. Some holes in the stone wall should have contained something, but now they were all empty.

"Has anyone been here before?" Xiang Zhili asked疑惑地.

Upon hearing the other party's words, Luo Ming's first thought was of the talisman-making master of the Qingxu Sect. However, at this moment, he was just an ordinary cultivator who knew nothing. He also imitated the other party, lamenting his bad luck that someone had already taken this place first.

"Fellow Daoist Luo, there seems to be an array or restriction here!" Xiang Zhili exclaimed in surprise from beside a stone wall at the edge of the stone chamber.