txolops Chapter 363 Divine Fire Mirror
Chapter 363 Divine Fire Mirror
"Duan Chen... Bing Xuanzi... Han Chan Zhenren..." Luo Ming's eyes flickered slightly.
He had some impression of Han Chan Zhenren. It seemed that he had already reached the peak of Core Formation when he was in Ling Shou Shan. He was known as the number one person below the Nascent Soul stage in Yue Kingdom. It was not too surprising that he was able to advance to the Nascent Soul stage.
As for Duan Chen, Luo Ming had a fairly good relationship with him, but he never expected that the other party had an ice spirit root.
Another name that interested him was "Han Yunzhi".
He recognized this woman; they had a fairly close relationship back in Spirit Beast Mountain. She had some connection with a Nascent Soul cultivator surnamed Han from the Imperial Spirit Sect, and had received special care and resources from him, which helped her cultivate smoothly. Now she had successfully formed her core and held a high position within the Imperial Spirit Sect.
"Han Yunzhi has also formed her core...that's not bad." Luo Ming nodded slightly. Although he already knew about this, he didn't know when she had formed her core.
The last piece of news that particularly interested him was about a female cultivator named Qin Meng.
According to Lu Xuan, this woman is one of the ten most prominent disciples of the Yu Ling Sect in recent years. Her cultivation has now reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, and she is only one step away from Core Formation. She is a core junior whom the Yu Ling Sect is focusing on cultivating.
"Qin Meng...a descendant of Steward Qin?" Luo Ming instantly recalled the image of Steward Qin, who had taken good care of him back in Spirit Beast Mountain and entrusted him with the care of his descendants before his death, as well as the gray cloth bag containing some spirit stones and cultivation techniques and talismans that he had kept all this time.
He had promised Deacon Qin that he would take care of his descendants, but due to a sudden change of events, he went far away to the Chaotic Star Sea, and the matter was left unresolved.
Unexpectedly, a hundred years later, news of his descendants was heard in Tiannan, and they seemed to be doing quite well, already one of the ten direct disciples of the Yuling Sect.
"What a coincidence," Luo Ming thought to himself, a complex emotion rising within him.
I owed Steward Qin a favor back then, and although there were reasons for it, I still owe him a debt of gratitude.
"The favor I owed Deacon Qin, and that storage bag... it seems I'll have to find a way to settle this score someday."
He put aside these conflicting thoughts for the time being and continued to process the other information.
The overall structure of Tiannan remains unchanged, still dominated by the Heavenly Alliance, the righteous and demonic paths, and the Nine Kingdoms Alliance. While there is constant friction between them, large-scale wars have ceased for many years, and the region is in a delicate balance.
In addition, Luo Ming also kept in mind some trivial information, such as rumors about secret realms and ancient cultivation caves appearing in various places, newly rising cultivators, and the movements of some Nascent Soul stage monsters.
As for news about the three sects of Luoyun in the Heavenly Dao Alliance in the north, due to the great distance and the fact that the three sects are quite low-key, no useful information has come through.
After Lu Xuan finished recounting what he knew about the most important events in the cultivation world of Tiannan over the past hundred years, the cave fell into a brief silence once again.
Lu Xuan stood at his sides, not daring to even breathe loudly. He kept his eyes down, his mind racing with thoughts of anxiety.
He had already been placed under a restriction deep within his soul by Luo Ming using his powerful divine sense in conjunction with some strange secret technique. At this moment, his life and death were truly in the hands of this "Senior Luo".
He racked his brains trying to figure out how to behave and how to demonstrate enough "value" so that this scoundrel would think it was more useful to keep him alive than to kill him, thus saving his own life.
Luo Ming was naturally unaware of the complex thoughts swirling in Lu Xuan's mind. He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze returning to Lu Xuan, calm and serene, yet making Lu Xuan feel as if he were being scraped by a cold blade.
"Back in Qinghu Market, Fellow Daoist Lu almost caused my death and destruction. I'm sure you still remember the 'Mysterious Fire Mirror' incident very well," Luo Ming said, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.
Lu Xuan's heart tightened, and his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat. He hurriedly tried to kneel down and explain, "Senior, I was blind and foolish back then, I..."
Luo Ming raised his hand to stop him from speaking, and continued, "Logically speaking, based on what happened back then, I, Luo, should send you on your way today to prevent future troubles."
Lu Xuan's face turned deathly pale in an instant, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with despair.
However, Luo Ming changed the subject, his tone still calm: "However, I am not a bloodthirsty person. Considering you were relatively honest just now, and the information you provided was indeed valuable..."
"I, Luo, can give you a chance to live."
A moment later, only Lu Xuan remained in the cave, standing there blankly, staring in the direction where Luo Ming had disappeared. His face showed no joy at surviving the ordeal, but was instead filled with indescribable bitterness and frustration.
Luo Ming did spare his life and did not kill him on the spot.
However, the price was that an extremely complex, resilient restriction was planted deep within his soul, closely connected to Luo Ming's consciousness. With just a thought, the opponent could annihilate his soul, killing him silently.
This made him feel more desperate and powerless than if he had been killed. From then on, he was no longer the carefree and all-powerful "Three Yangs Master," but a puppet whose life and death were not in his own hands, a servant who had to watch his master's face at all times.
What pained him even more was that before leaving, Luo Ming ruthlessly took away almost everything he had painstakingly accumulated over the past hundred years, including the "Crimson Flame Stone" he had just acquired and hadn't even had time to warm up, several rare pills that could aid in Core Formation stage cultivation, a number of top-grade refining materials, and even his most powerful magic weapons and talismans! He left him with only some basic resources to maintain the market and his daily cultivation.
He felt that every time he encountered Luo Ming, it was like encountering a nemesis, destined to suffer great misfortune and heavy losses that made him want to vomit blood.
Last time, he lost the Xuanhuo Mirror; this time, he lost his entire fortune and his freedom.
What made him most uneasy was that Luo Ming casually instructed him before leaving to arrange a "quiet, safe, and reasonably spiritual" cave dwelling, as Luo Ming wanted to "stay for a while" in Qinghu Market.
This means that the evil star not only controls his life and death, but also stays under his nose like a sword hanging over his head, making him constantly on edge, restless, and unable to find peace.
Looking at the empty cave, which seemed to have been ransacked, and feeling the cold, clear, and unshakable restriction mark deep in his soul, Lu Xuan could only let out a long sigh full of helplessness and bitterness, and slumped down on the messy ground.
He knew that he would probably never be able to escape the shadow of Luo Ming in his lifetime.
……
Deep within Qinghu Market, there was a secluded cave dwelling that Lu Xuan had "carefully" arranged, located in the area with the richest spiritual energy and undisturbed by other cultivators.
Luo Ming sat cross-legged in the center of the newly arranged quiet room, holding a jade slip that was entirely crimson, warm to the touch, and faintly shimmering with flames inside. He was carefully examining its contents with his divine sense.
As he read on, the calm expression on his face was gradually replaced by an irrepressible look of surprise.
"The Divine Fire Mirror... it's actually a method for refining spiritual treasures!" Luo Ming muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming.
The "Mysterious Fire Mirror" magic weapon that Lu Xuan asked him to help refine and which was later taken away by him, was actually a simplified and imitation of the "Divine Fire Mirror" by Lu Xuan based on its original refining idea and basic structure!
"This Lu Xuan... his talent for weapon crafting is indeed extraordinary." Luo Ming put down the jade slip, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.
To be able to deduce a replica magic weapon suitable for Core Formation stage cultivators using only a single method for refining a spiritual treasure, and to successfully refine a powerful magic weapon like the "Mysterious Fire Mirror," this person's skill and comprehension in the art of weapon crafting are absolutely at the master level.
This is also one of the important reasons why Luo Ming ultimately decided to spare Lu Xuan's life and even plant a restriction to control him.
"Last time I met him, I obtained the Mysterious Fire Appraisal magic treasure, and this time I obtained the crafting method for a genuine Divine Fire Appraisal..."
Recalling his two encounters with Lu Xuan, Luo Ming couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle, his tone tinged with amusement, "It seems this Fellow Daoist Lu truly is my 'treasure-delivering boy'!"
Of course, while the "Divine Fire Mirror" is excellent, it's still far beyond Luo Ming's current capabilities. This treasure is a true spiritual treasure, with earth-shattering power, far surpassing any magical treasure.
Its refining conditions are outrageously demanding: not only does it require the collection of nine different types of heaven and earth spirit fire as its core, but the main materials required for its body are also top-tier natural treasures that are hard to find in the human realm. If any one of them were to fall into the wrong hands, it would be enough to cause a frenzy of competition among Nascent Soul stage monsters.
Given Luo Ming's current state of having lost all his magical powers and being unable to protect himself, coveting such a spiritual treasure is nothing short of a pipe dream.
"One must take things one step at a time, and eat one bite at a time." Luo Ming quickly suppressed his inner turmoil and regained his composure. He carefully put away the crimson jade slip containing the "Divine Fire Mirror."
He took a deep breath, stood up, and began to bustle around the quiet room.
Although the cave dwelling arranged by Lu Xuan had good protective barriers, Luo Ming was not entirely at ease.
He took out several sets of high-quality array flags and array plates with different functions, and set up several layers of composite arrays inside and outside the quiet room, which were used for concealment, protection, early warning, and even countermeasures.
Most of these formations are powered by spirit stones, requiring no mana from him. After completing all this, the quiet room was enveloped in layers of light, completely isolating any aura and greatly enhancing its safety.
Luo Ming was slightly relieved and sat down cross-legged again. With a flick of his wrist, the ancient and mysterious "Spirit Gathering Cauldron" appeared in his palm, which he then gently placed in the center of the ground.
He focused his mind and communicated with the Spirit Gathering Cauldron with his divine sense, carefully opening the lid.
Inside the cauldron, his golden core, which should have been shining brightly and slowly rotating, now floated silently. However, the core's appearance was now completely different from before!
The entire piece has a strange dark gold color, no longer pure and bright, but rather has a kind of mellow, restrained, yet more profound texture.
Most strikingly, on the surface of the golden core, some extremely subtle, mysterious, pale golden patterns resembling a tortoise or a snake coiled together faintly appeared!
The drop of "Xuanwu True Blood" that had originally lingered on the surface of the Golden Core, attempting to merge with it, had now completely disappeared, or rather... had completely "soaked" into the Golden Core, merging seamlessly with its origin!
The aura emanating from the Golden Core had become extremely strange. It contained both the pure and vibrant power of his own Azure Nether Scripture and a wild and boundless aura originating from that drop of golden blood!
The intermingling of several auras made the pressure of this golden core far exceed that of an ordinary late-stage Core Formation cultivator's golden core, even giving Luo Ming the illusion of facing a high-level demon beast's "demon core"!
"Is my golden core... now considered a human cultivator's golden core, or a... mutated demon core?" A sense of absurdity and unease arose in Luo Ming's heart.
This situation is probably unprecedented in the entire human realm. Who could have imagined that the golden core of a human cultivator would completely fuse with a drop of the primordial blood essence of a demon beast that is suspected to be at the Nascent Soul stage or higher?
"Such a strange situation is probably beyond the understanding of anyone in the human realm. Unless... a powerful cultivator from the spirit realm, with extensive knowledge, might be able to see some clues and provide a solution." Luo Ming pondered to himself, feeling a sense of unease.
"A powerful being from the spirit world..." At this thought, a flash of inspiration struck Luo Ming, and he suddenly remembered something! He flipped his wrist again, and an item appeared in his palm.
It was the mysterious "Wolf Beast Jade Ruyi" that he obtained in the Void Heaven Palace back then!
This treasure contains sealed half of the primordial spirit of a powerful demon from the spirit realm—Silver Moon!
Although this woman has lost many memories, she comes from a higher level of the spirit world and has far more knowledge and experience than the cultivators of this world. Perhaps... she can gain some insight into the strange state of his golden core.
Luo Ming's eyes flickered, and he made a decision.
He held the jade ruyi with the wolf's head in his hands, his expression calm, his gaze fixed on the dark red "wolf eyes" of the ruyi. He spoke slowly, his voice clear and steady, echoing in the silent room:
"I'm sure you can understand what I'm saying. I'm short on time and don't want to waste time. I'll give you two choices."
He paused, his tone turning cold, carrying an undeniable resolve: "Either acknowledge me as your master and sign a soul contract with me. I, Luo, can help you repair your primordial spirit, and perhaps in the future, I can even help you find the other half of your primordial spirit and return to the spirit realm."
A cold glint flashed in Luo Ming's eyes. He raised his left hand, a faint spiritual light flickering at his wrist. "Either refuse, and then have your primordial spirit devoured by my spirit beast, becoming nourishment for its advancement."
Before he finished speaking, a beam of crimson-gold light shot out from his left wrist, landing in the air of the quiet room with a soft "bang," transforming into a crimson firebird radiating pure yang energy!
As soon as the Fat Sun Bird appeared, its crimson eyes immediately locked onto the wolf beast jade ruyi, or more precisely, onto the hidden fluctuations of a high-level demon soul inside the jade ruyi!
A distinct glint of hunger and eager excitement flashed in its eyes, and a low, threatening growl escaped its throat.
The flames around him suddenly surged a few degrees, spreading a scorching aura as he stared intently at the jade ruyi, as if he were looking at a long-awaited feast.