A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 324 Intercepting Halfway

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At this moment, the gray-robed man's face was as pale as paper, and his breathing was heavy.

In order to break through the encirclement of the dozen or so demonic cultivators who had just formed the Core Formation stage, he had almost exhausted most of his mana and even used a secret escape technique that damaged his vital energy.

At this moment, he felt waves of throbbing pain in his dantian and his meridians, and even his escape light seemed to be tilting and unstable.

He gritted his teeth and used his remaining magic power to maintain his flight, while glancing back in horror.

Behind them, three streaks of light of different colors clung to the horizon like maggots, relentlessly closing the distance of a hundred feet.

These three individuals were all at least as powerful as him, all at the mid-stage of Core Formation! If they were at their peak, he might have had a chance to hold his own or even turn the tables, but now…

"Am I really going to perish here today? Damn demonic villains, I still have to go back to Tianxing City!" The gray-robed man's face twitched, and a trace of despair and unwillingness flashed in his eyes.

He subconsciously gripped the cold, black short spear in his sleeve. It was the only thing he could still rely on, but activating the spear consumed a great deal of energy. In his current state, he would probably be exhausted after just one strike.

Just as he was racking his brains for a way to escape, an extremely faint fluctuation of spiritual energy, almost blending into the sea breeze, swept across the sky above the sea without warning! Its speed was beyond imagination!

The gray-robed man's pupils constricted sharply, and the hairs on his body stood on end! His cultivation technique was exceptionally sensitive to baleful aura and killing intent, which was why he was able to barely detect that trace. If it were anyone else, they probably wouldn't have noticed it at all!

"That speed... Could it be a Nascent Soul stage expert passing by?" The gray-robed man's heart trembled, and an indescribable chill ran through him. Encountering a strange high-level cultivator at this time was neither a blessing nor a curse; it was completely unpredictable! He didn't even dare to use his divine sense to investigate, for fear of angering the other party.

However, what happened next completely exceeded his expectations and was something he would never forget.

The three relentlessly pursuing demonic streaks of light swept across the low sky with overwhelming force. One of the cultivators, wielding a blood-red flying fork, seemed to have sensed something and looked around in surprise and uncertainty.

At that very instant, a faint, eerie light flashed in the void about ten feet above their heads without warning!

A small, inconspicuous banner, only about a foot in size, completely black, appeared out of thin air like a ghost!

"What is it?"

The three demonic cultivators exclaimed in surprise, their expressions changing drastically. Without thinking, they activated their protective spiritual light and simultaneously summoned their respective magical treasures—the Blood Fork, the Black Blade, and the Bone Bead—which surrounded them, flashing with spiritual light as they instantly assumed defensive stances.

But their reaction was still too slow!

The moment the small black banner appeared, it swelled in the wind! In the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a towering demon banner, hundreds of feet tall, blotting out the sky and radiating endless eerie ghostly energy!

The shadow cast by the demon banner instantly enveloped the three Core Formation cultivators below, along with the surrounding sea area spanning dozens of feet!

"Senior, spare our lives! We are cultivators from Holy Demon Island, ordered to pursue and eliminate the remnants of the Star Palace! This is a misunderstanding!"

The demonic cultivator wielding the black blade was the first to react upon seeing the power of the demonic banner. His face turned deathly pale, and he desperately tried to activate his magical artifact to resist while screaming at the top of his lungs, attempting to reveal his origin in hopes of survival.

However, what answered him was a sudden, deafening roar of ghosts and spirits erupting from within the Thousand Demon Banner, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing down! A black torrent composed of countless yin spirits and demonic souls poured down from the banner.

Interspersed among them were dozens of exceptionally powerful demonic souls and ghostly figures, like sharks that had smelled blood, instantly engulfing the three of them along with the spiritual light of their magical artifacts!

"ah--!"

"senior!"

"No--!"

Three short, piercing screams, filled with endless fear and pain, burst forth almost simultaneously from the rolling, thick black mist, only to come to an abrupt end!

The gray-robed man only saw the hundred-foot-long demon banner that had just been unfurled rapidly shrink in less than ten breaths. The black mist in the sky surged back like a whale sucking in water, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed back into a small black banner about one foot in size. It turned into a beam of light and flew toward a black-robed figure that had appeared at some point and was quietly hovering in mid-air.

It was a man who looked extremely young, with a calm face and deep eyes, casually putting the terrifying demonic banner that had just devoured three Core Formation cultivators into his sleeve.

Throughout the entire process, he didn't even glance at the lingering black mist, as if he had only done something insignificant.

The sea breeze swept away the last trace of chill and bloodshed. The sky was azure, the sea shimmered, as if the horrific scene had never happened. Only the three demonic cultivators, along with their magical artifacts, had vanished without a trace.

"Senior... Senior!" The gray-robed man's voice was dry and hoarse, trembling uncontrollably. He quickly bowed and didn't dare to breathe.

He dared not flee; faced with such unpredictable and supernatural methods, running away would only be suicide. He was simply filled with extreme fear and dread.

Why would this unfathomable "senior" suddenly intervene and kill those three demonic cultivators? Was it out of a sense of justice? Or... was there another motive? Why would he save a complete stranger like himself?

Luo Ming moved slightly, and in the next moment, he appeared silently not far from the gray-robed man, as if by teleportation.

The gray-robed man froze, instinctively wanting to back away, and subconsciously began to activate the remaining magic power within his body.

Just then, a calm, emotionless voice rang directly in his ear.

"Don't move if you don't want to die."

As soon as the words were spoken, a soft cyan spiritual light shot out from Luo Ming's sleeve, coiling around the gray-robed man's body like a serpent, instantly forming a thin light shield that enveloped him.

This light shield is not offensive, but it carries an irresistible binding and pulling force.

The gray-robed man trembled, instantly abandoning all thoughts of resistance, resignedly allowing the azure light barrier to envelop him. He understood that in front of this "senior," any unnecessary action could be a path to death.

The next moment, a flash of blue light appeared, and the two of them transformed into a blurry streak of light, heading in the opposite direction from Red Sand Island. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared at the horizon, their speed astonishing.

……

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

A dozen streaks of light, each a different color, cautiously and slowly flew over the sea area where Luo Ming had just killed three demonic cultivators.

Although these people were all Core Formation cultivators, their faces were filled with surprise and uncertainty. They looked around warily while simultaneously summoning their natal magic treasures or strongest defensive techniques to protect themselves. Their spiritual light flickered, showing that they were extremely nervous.

They had actually arrived ten miles away when Luo Ming unleashed the Thousand Demon Banner and instantly trapped the three Saint Demon Island cultivators.

The terrifying yin energy emanating from the hundred-foot-long demonic banner, along with the wailing of ghosts and wolves, and the tragic scene of the three being devoured without any resistance, terrified them. How could they dare to approach? They only dared to watch from afar until they were sure that the evil star had left with the gray-robed man for a long time before they dared to come over and investigate with trepidation.

The sea was calm, with only a gentle breeze and ripples. The lingering yin energy and bloody smell in the air had been mostly dispersed by the sea breeze. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would hardly believe that three fellow cultivators at the mid-stage of Core Formation had been wiped out like ants in just ten breaths right here.

"They're all...gone?" A middle-aged cultivator with a sinister face asked, his voice dry as he glanced at the empty sea, his facial muscles twitching.

"That black banner... it's incredibly powerful!" Another cultivator, who appeared to be a woman, still had lingering fear in her eyes. "It instantly grew to a hundred feet tall, unleashing countless vengeful spirits, including a ghostly main soul at the Pseudo-Infant Realm! How come I've never heard of such a powerful soul banner magic weapon before?"

An elderly man with white hair and beard, whose aura was the most composed, frowned and pondered for a moment before slowly speaking: "The person who made the move has unfathomable cultivation. Judging from their methods, they are ruthless and decisive, and their magic weapon is also a top-tier demonic treasure... I'm afraid they are some hidden senior demonic cultivator who has just returned from the outer seas."

"This matter is suspicious. If that senior had a past with our Reverse Star Alliance, or belonged to the same demonic path, why would he kill our fellow Daoists from Holy Demon Island? If he was reinforcements invited by the Star Palace, or a passing expert, why did he only kill three people and then leave with that person, ignoring us completely?"

He paused, his face turning grave: "In any case, this matter must be reported immediately! A senior who is suspected to be in the Nascent Soul stage and possesses such a terrifying magical treasure has appeared in this sea area. His motives are unclear. Whether this is a blessing or a curse for our Reverse Star Alliance's actions here remains to be seen."

Upon hearing this, the others nodded in agreement, their faces filled with lingering fear and unease. A mysterious and powerful Nascent Soul cultivator had suddenly appeared above Red Sand Island like a dark cloud, causing these previously arrogant Reverse Star Alliance cultivators to feel unprecedented pressure and dread.

They dared not linger any longer. They hastily absorbed the remaining chilling aura of the place and transformed into streaks of light, rushing back towards Red Sand Island to report this sudden and major change to the Nascent Soul stage senior stationed there.

Luo Ming fled immediately after his successful attack, without lingering, naturally because he was wary of the Nascent Soul stage cultivators who might exist on Red Sand Island.

Red Sand Island was originally guarded by the Nascent Soul cultivator, the patriarch of the Liu family, but it has now been captured by the Reverse Star Alliance. Either the patriarch of the Liu family has perished, or the Liu family has surrendered to the Reverse Star Alliance.

In either case, it means that there is a high probability that there are Nascent Soul stage cultivators stationed on Red Sand Island, perhaps more than one. He doesn't want to run into a Nascent Soul stage monster head-on for a short spear or a momentary impulse.

With the vast sea and sky, the Wind-Swallowing Shuttle transformed into an almost invisible faint shadow, speeding past beneath the high-altitude clouds.

At this moment, the gray-robed cultivator Jiang Rufeng was filled with anxiety and unease.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his mind, and respectfully clasped his hands in a deep bow towards Luo Ming's figure:

"Junior Jiang Rufeng, thank you senior... for saving my life." His voice was a little hoarse, filled with the relief of surviving a disaster, but even more so with the fear of facing an unknown powerhouse.

Luo Ming did not respond immediately. His gaze calmly fell on Jiang Rufeng, scrutinizing her from head to toe as if examining an object or assessing something.

His gaze wasn't sharp, but it carried an invisible pressure that made Jiang Rufeng feel as if he could see right through her.

Time passed slowly, and only the soft whistling of the shuttle cutting through the air and Jiang Rufeng's increasingly clear heartbeat remained inside. Fine beads of cold sweat gradually seeped from his forehead, and his clothes on his back were also somewhat damp, but he dared not move, and even his breathing became unconsciously shallow.

Just as Jiang Rufeng felt he was about to succumb to the silent pressure, Luo Ming finally spoke, stating his purpose directly, though he deliberately changed his voice.

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