txolops Chapter 273 Kitoko
Chapter 273 Kitoko
The next moment, it flew out of my hand, growing longer in the wind, transforming into a nimble and swift three-colored light and shadow, like a living spirit snake, carrying a natural binding force, and with lightning speed, it shot towards the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng spirit body in the formation, which had just been bounced back by the surrounding formation and was still somewhat dizzy!
The jade rabbit spirit had an almost instinctive sensitivity to danger. The moment the three-colored spirit snake touched its body, its jade fur stood on end, and fear flashed in its blood-red eyes. Without thinking, it was about to use its innate escape technique again.
However, the Four Symbols Black Tortoise Formation under Han Li's control had already solidified the ground. When his Earth Escape talent collided with the ground reinforced by the formation, it was like hitting an impenetrable wall. He was bounced back violently, letting out a short, mournful cry.
In the blink of an eye, the three-colored serpent coiled around the rabbit like a shadow, deftly twisting and turning, instantly binding the spirit-filled "Jade Rabbit" tightly. The three-colored light flowed, forming profound rune restrictions that were deeply embedded in the rabbit's spiritual body. No matter how the rabbit struggled and twisted, it could not break free. Instead, the power of the demon-binding rope suppressed its spiritual light, making it unable to move.
Luo Ming moved swiftly and arrived close by. He reached out and grasped the other end of the Demon-Binding Rope, lifting up the spirit ginseng that was bound like a "zongzi" and groaning in pain. He brought it close to his eyes and examined it closely.
The spirit body felt warm and smooth to the touch, carrying a refreshing herbal fragrance. This fragrance was pure and rich; upon inhaling even a trace, Luo Ming felt a slight tremor within his Wood-based Azure Spirit Body, as if a long-awaited rain had fallen after a drought, bringing an irresistible sense of longing and comfort. He could even clearly feel that the wisp of azure spiritual energy in his dantian had become more active.
"This thing... seems to be of great benefit to my spirit?" Luo Ming wondered in surprise, suppressing the instinctive urge to devour and refine it directly.
After its initial panic, the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng, which was being held, seemed to sense something. It stopped struggling in vain and instead raised its small head. Its pair of bright red, jewel-like eyes darted around, curiously and somewhat bewilderedly observing Luo Ming, who was standing close at hand. Its small nose twitched slightly, as if it were carefully sniffing the scent on Luo Ming's body.
Soon, a look of intense, almost human-like intoxication appeared in its eyes, as if it had smelled something that made it feel incredibly comfortable and desirable, and even its struggles lessened considerably.
"It can sense my Fiery Wood Body?" Luo Ming's heart stirred, and he vaguely guessed. The spiritual objects of heaven and earth are most sensitive to spiritual bodies and spiritual energy of the same origin or higher level. This Nine-Bend Spiritual Ginseng incarnation is itself transformed from the purest wood spiritual energy, so it is reasonable that it can sense the special wood attribute spiritual body in his body.
Han Li, seeing that the spirit ginseng's spirit body had been successfully captured, felt relieved and smiled. He stepped forward and said, "Brother Luo, your methods are truly remarkable. This Demon-Binding Rope is indeed mysterious. Now that we have the spirit body, we only need to wait for the Xuan Bone to find its true form, and this trip will be complete."
Luo Mingchao nodded slightly to him without saying anything more. With a flick of his wrist, he temporarily put the Demon-Binding Rope, along with the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng spirit that had stopped struggling and was now somewhat "clinging" to his hand, back into his storage bag.
He did not choose to leave the area of the Four Symbols Black Tortoise Formation. Instead, he stayed in the formation with Han Li. It seemed that he was waiting for Xuan Gu, but in reality, it was because of the unknown feeling of unease and the third wood spirit aura that he had just discovered that he dared not easily leave the relatively safe protection of this formation that was under Han Li's control.
Although Han Li felt that Luo Ming's actions were a bit cautious, he also agreed with Xuan Gu's cunning nature, so he held his position firmly, silently adjusted his breathing, and waited for what would happen next.
About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a dark, gray cloud rolled in from the distant horizon, arriving in the blink of an eye. The cloud dispersed, revealing Xuan Gu's figure. He glanced around and saw that Luo Ming and Han Li were both standing safely in the formation. Especially seeing that Luo Ming's aura was still "weak" as he stood in the formation, the last trace of doubt in his heart disappeared, and he secretly sneered.
He raised his hand and produced a palm-sized jade box, which opened on its own and floated in the air. Inside lay a peculiar plant, its roots like dragons, winding and intertwining, its main body resembling a human figure, its entire body crystal clear like jade, emitting an intensely rich fragrance of herbs and pure spiritual energy—it was the true form of the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng!
"Brother Luo, the spirit ginseng's true form is here!" Xuan Gu's face was plastered with a smile, but his voice carried a barely perceptible hint of urgency. "Why don't you quickly release that spirit and let it return to its original form? Once the spirit is back in its place, the ginseng's medicinal properties will be fully realized, and it will be of great use to you!"
As he spoke, he remained dozens of feet away from the array's light barrier, not approaching, clearly still maintaining a high level of vigilance.
Seeing this, Luo Ming couldn't help but sneer inwardly: "Old fox, still so cautious even at this point. Too bad, your scheme has already failed."
He did as instructed, flipping his wrist to retrieve the Demon-Binding Rope along with the "Jade Rabbit" spirit once more. Xuan Gu, seeing that Luo Ming hadn't used the golden net, slightly changed his expression, then quickly concealed himself, asking with a hint of doubt, "Brother Luo! Why...why aren't you using that golden net?!"
He felt that things were getting out of his control, and he never expected that Luo Ming also had such a magical artifact that could seal spiritual objects.
The golden net made of Yin Soul Silk was also a key part of his plan! Only when Luo Ming activated the golden net with his own magic power would the Yin Soul Silk quietly absorb his magic power and instantly counterattack when he activated it, temporarily sealing Luo Ming's magic power and creating an excellent opportunity for possession.
Now Luo Ming actually used a three-colored rope magic weapon that he had never seen before, which made his carefully laid trap fall into empty air!
"Damn it! This kid is so cunning and suspicious!" Xuan Gu cursed inwardly, knowing that his plan had gone wrong. Now, he could only hope that the primordial spirit within him could forcibly seize his body using the "Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Souls" secret technique! He immediately stopped hesitating and was about to secretly activate the backup plan he had already laid out, trying to first control the Four Symbols Xuanwu Formation to trap Luo and Han, and then take a risky move.
However, just as his thought arose, and his magical power was about to be unleashed—
"Tsk tsk, after observing you all for half a day, scheming and plotting against each other, it turns out it was all for this one 'Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng'?"
An old, hoarse voice, yet carrying a hint of mockery and an undeniable authority, suddenly rang in the ears of the three—no, it seemed to resound directly in their hearts!
The sound came so suddenly that neither Luo Ming, whose divine sense was comparable to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator, nor Han Li or Xuan Gu, could detect its source beforehand!
Luo Ming, Han Li, and Xuan Gu's expressions changed drastically at the same time!
Xuan Gu reacted the fastest. In his shock and anger, his first thought was to retrieve the jade box containing the spirit ginseng that was floating in the air! This was the key!
But he was still too slow.
A thick vine, jet black and shiny, seemingly cast from refined iron yet imbued with the texture of wood, appeared out of thin air. Like a black venomous python, it coiled around the jade box with incredible speed and then gently pulled it!
The jade box was powerless to resist, broke free from the control of the Xuan Bone, and flew to the side like lightning.
Only then did the three realize with horror that a figure had appeared under an inconspicuous, crooked old tree a hundred feet away from them.
The man wore a large, worn-out bamboo hat that covered most of his face in shadow. He was dressed in a faded coarse cloth outfit with his trousers rolled up and straw sandals on his feet, looking exactly like an old farmer from the fields.
He casually leaned on a seemingly ordinary wooden cane with one hand, while with the other hand, he steadily caught the jade box that the black vine had coiled back, and seemed to weigh it in his hand for a moment.
Although dressed plainly, the aura of profound and unfathomable depth emanating from him, along with the calm gaze that seemed to see through people's hearts as it swept over them from the shadow of his straw hat, sent shockwaves through Luo Ming and the other two into a deep icy abyss.
"Old Monster Wood!" "Wooden Vine!"
Almost simultaneously, three different names came out of the mouths of the three people in surprise, their tone filled with disbelief and deep fear!
Luo Ming's heart suddenly clenched, and his grip on the Demon-Binding Rope tightened involuntarily. The jade rabbit spirit seemed to sense the even more vast, pure, and oppressive aura emanating from the "old farmer" in the distance, and trembled with fear, shrinking closer to Luo Ming's palm.
The source of my heart palpitations was him!
Earlier, when he was investigating the source of the strange tremor in his mind, he caught a trace of extremely skillful wood release that was almost assimilated into the ancient tree... All the clues instantly connected and pointed to the seemingly ordinary old man in the straw hat in front of him, who was actually extremely skilled in wood-attribute supernatural powers - Mutengzi!
"Why is he here?" Luo Ming's mind raced, a chill creeping down his spine. "The Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng is precious, but it shouldn't be this attractive to a Nascent Soul cultivator, much less warrant him personally lurking and spying on it. Could it be…?"
He suddenly remembered that when Mutengzi appeared, her interested gaze seemed to linger on him for a moment longer. That gaze was calm, yet it seemed to possess a certain penetrating power.
"Could it be that my Flame Wood Body has attracted this old guy's attention?" This thought set off alarm bells in Luo Ming's mind.
Mu Tengzi is renowned throughout the Chaotic Star Sea for his wood-attribute supernatural abilities, so he must be extremely sensitive to special wood-attribute physiques or techniques. My own cultivation level is ultimately too low; in front of this old fellow, even a seemingly unintentional action might reveal a weakness.
At this moment, Luo Ming was no longer as composed as before, completely in control of the situation. He also no longer harbored any contempt for those Nascent Soul stage monsters due to his greatly enhanced strength.
Those who can advance to the Nascent Soul stage are indeed not simple. No one knows what methods these old guys who have lived for thousands of years have mastered.
Just as his mind raced, pondering countermeasures and even considering whether to immediately abandon the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng and try to escape with Han Li, the slightly surprised voice of Tianjing Sanren rang out again in his sea of consciousness.
"Hmm? This person's aura... is interesting. He's probably here for you."