txolops Chapter 365 3 years
Chapter 365 3 years
Upon hearing this, Luo Ming couldn't help but smile bitterly. You, a powerful demon from the Spirit Realm who has lived for countless years, with a lifespan measured in tens of thousands of years, naturally find a hundred years a mere blink of an eye. But I, a human cultivator in the Core Formation stage, only have a lifespan of five or six hundred years in total.
For human cultivators, time is the most precious resource and the key to fighting against fate.
"It seems I must improve my body refinement as soon as possible..." Luo Ming's eyes became sharp and determined again.
Now that we've identified the key to the problem, let's concentrate our resources and solve it!
The late-stage Core Formation realm of the "Myriad Spirits Blood Technique" has been broken through. The next step is to attempt to break through to the Body Refinement realm, which is comparable to the Nascent Soul stage! Although it is difficult, it is still better than waiting for a hundred years!
The quiet room fell silent for a moment.
In the time that followed, Luo Ming clarified his goals.
On one hand, he wanted to try to slowly and continuously immerse and refine the mutated golden pill that was fused with the "True Blood of Xuanwu" in the Spirit Gathering Cauldron with his own blood and spirit, in order to re-establish contact as soon as possible and regain control.
On the other hand, he must go all out to break through his body cultivation from the current late stage of Core Formation to a level comparable to the Nascent Soul stage!
The benefits of breaking through to the Nascent Soul level in the Body Refinement realm are enormous.
First, a stronger physical body and more abundant blood and qi can greatly improve the speed and efficiency of his "assimilation" of that drop of Xuanwu true blood, which may shorten the "hundreds of years" time estimated by Yin Yue by several times.
Secondly, and this is also a point that Luo Ming deduced based on his own cultivation experience—before condensing the Nascent Soul, breaking through the Body Refinement Realm to the corresponding level can greatly solidify and even expand the foundation and "capacity" of the Dantian.
When he condensed his golden core, it was because he first improved his body refinement to the core formation stage that he was able to condense a "different kind of golden core" that far surpassed others of the same level and had amazing potential.
Now, if one could temper their physical body to a level comparable to that of a Nascent Soul before condensing it, and then condense the Nascent Soul in that state... Luo Ming could hardly imagine how solid the foundation of such a Nascent Soul would be!
Breaking through the body refinement stage is inherently more painful and slower than breaking through the Qi refinement stage, and it also consumes a huge amount of resources and carries a high risk.
However, Luo Ming was not without trump cards. The eighth-level metal-attribute demon core he obtained from the Golden Bloodthirsty Mosquito King contained vast and pure metal-attribute demonic power, making it a supreme treasure for tempering the body and stimulating the bloodline!
In addition to the top-grade pills and spiritual herbs he "took" from Lu Xuan, and the various things he instructed Lu Xuan to collect later to strengthen his body and replenish his qi and blood, as well as the massive amount of spirit stones he had accumulated in his own storage bag... he planned to throw all these resources, regardless of cost, into the tempering and breakthrough of his body!
Two days later, Luo Ming used a secret method to refine Yin Yue's primordial spirit into the "Ten Thousand Souls Banner," making it the banner's "spirit."
The Ten Thousand Souls Banner itself is made of special materials and contains the power of Yin Souls, which has a certain nurturing effect on Yin Yue's remnant soul state.
After refining it, Silver Moon will be able to initially control the banner and exert some of its power, which will be used to protect Luo Ming, who is in seclusion, and deal with any possible accidents.
As for the Ghost King inside the Myriad Soul Banner, which was originally accumulating power and attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, Luo Ming weighed the options carefully and finally made a painful decision.
He used his divine sense as a blade to forcibly sever a portion of the ghost's original soul power, allowing the other ghosts within the banner to devour it!
This action severely damaged the ghost's vitality, forcibly interrupting and significantly delaying its breakthrough process. However, it also completely eliminated the risk that the ghost might break through on its own and turn against its master while Luo Ming was in seclusion and without effective suppression.
"In a place like Tiannan, if a Nascent Soul Ghost King were to be born while I was in seclusion, the resulting strange phenomena and fluctuations in Yin energy would definitely attract the attention of Nascent Soul elders from nearby demonic sects, especially the Ghost Spirit Sect. The consequences would be unimaginable."
Looking at the ghost, its aura waning and it had fallen into a deep sleep, Luo Ming felt a pang of regret, but mostly remained calm.
Luo Mingchao, perched atop the small banner, commanded the silver wolf phantom that had solidified slightly:
"Silver Moon, I'm entrusting this place to you while I'm in seclusion. I've strengthened the restrictions on this cave dwelling; with the Myriad Soul Banner, you can handle any disturbances from those below the Nascent Soul stage. If Lu Xuan comes..."
"Yes, Brother Luo. Yinyue understands." Yinyue's voice was clear and calm.
She has accepted reality and now has a certain awareness of being a "spirit of the artifact".
Luo Ming nodded and said no more. He checked the array and resources in the quiet room one last time, and after confirming that everything was in order, he took a deep breath and turned to walk towards the deepest part of the secret room.
"Boom..."
The heavy stone door slowly closed, completely isolating the inside from the outside. The restrictive runes on the door lit up one by one, emitting a solid spiritual light.
Outside the quiet room, only the floating Ten Thousand Souls Banner remained, along with the pair of silver wolf eyes on the banner that calmly gazed at the stone gate.
Luo Ming's figure disappeared behind the door. This seclusion would be the longest and most crucial breakthrough he had ever made in his cultivation.
……
Time flows like water, silently passing by, never stopping for anyone.
Qinghu Market remains bustling and noisy, with low-level cultivators coming and going, busy with the elusive pursuit of immortality. Sometimes, they only accumulate a dozen or so spirit stones in a year, but they still tirelessly dream of the day when they will have the opportunity to establish their foundation or even condense their golden core.
Thirty years is half a lifetime for mortals and enough time for many changes to happen for low-level cultivators, but for this market town built between three forces and for those high-level cultivators who are high above them, it seems like just a blink of an eye.
Deep within the market town, the cave dwelling belonging to "Three Yang True Man" Lu Xuan, and the adjacent "VIP" cave dwelling shrouded in layers of formations, which has remained silent for thirty years, with Lu Xuan only occasionally coming respectfully and then quickly leaving, have long been a mystery in the market town that arouses curiosity but dares not ask too many questions.
On this day, a thousand miles away from Qinghu Market, a slightly dim but extremely fast crimson light, like a startled bird, fled desperately towards the market.
Within the escaping light was Lu Xuan, pale-faced, breathing unsteadily, with a hint of panic and lingering fear in his eyes.
He clutched his chest tightly with his left hand, where a deep, bone-revealing claw mark was barely sealed by a layer of crimson flames, but wisps of black energy still seeped out, clearly indicating a serious injury with a strange and insidious venom.
His right hand was tightly gripping a seemingly ordinary but actually hidden gray storage bag.
The bag contained the latest batch of rare elixirs for tempering the body and replenishing qi and blood, as well as several rare magical artifact materials, which 'Luo Ming' had instructed him to collect.
To gather these items, he traveled to almost every auction house and black market within the Ghost Spirit Sect's territory, spending a huge amount of spirit stones provided by Luo Ming and even using his own network of connections built up over many years, before he could barely manage to collect them all.
The value of these items is simply terrifying; some of them alone would be enough to attract the covetous eyes of Nascent Soul stage monsters.
If it weren't for Luo Ming, the "Nascent Soul Old Monster," backing him up, and Luo Ming providing enough spirit stones, even if Lu Xuan and the entire Qinghu Market were sold off together, it would still be impossible to afford him.
However, his frequent appearances at high-end auctions and his extravagant bids for these rare treasures eventually attracted the attention of some interested parties.
Lu Xuan thought he had been careful enough, changing his appearance, concealing his whereabouts, and buying in batches, but this time at an underground trade fair, he was still recognized and targeted.
"Damn it! Those two old geezers, their noses are really sharp!"
While desperately urging his escape light, Lu Xuan glanced back at the two faintly visible, relentlessly pursuing gray-black clouds in the sky behind him, his eyes flashing with intense hatred and anxiety.
He recognized the two people chasing after him.
Although the other party deliberately disguised their aura and magical artifacts, his unique ghostly cultivation technique allowed him to instantly identify them as the infamous "Two Elders of Child Ghost" from the Ghost Spirit Sect, who were skilled in combined attacks!
Both of them were at the late stage of Core Formation. Lu Xuan might not be afraid of them one-on-one, but when they joined forces, he was caught off guard and suffered a great loss.
"Hmph! You two old ghosts probably never dreamed that I'm now working for a real 'Nascent Soul Old Monster'!" Lu Xuan sneered inwardly, but dared not relax his expression in the slightest.
"Soon... As long as I can escape back to Qinghu Market and return to Senior Luo, I doubt those two old ghosts would dare to act recklessly under the nose of a 'Nascent Soul cultivator'!"
Thinking about this, the frustration I felt from being controlled and losing my freedom now turned into a sense of relief! I was relieved to have such a powerful figure backing me up!
Without further hesitation, he slapped his storage bag, took out a pill the size of a longan, fiery red, and exuding a rich medicinal fragrance, and stuffed it into his mouth without even looking at it. The pill entered his stomach, transforming into a scorching torrent that instantly dispelled some of the chilling ghostly energy that had invaded his body, and also greatly restored his nearly depleted magical power.
"drink!"
The crimson light suddenly shone brightly, and its speed increased again, as it sprinted wildly toward the Qinghu Market, whose outline was already faintly visible!
……
About ten miles behind.
Two dark, gray clouds pursued relentlessly, and two blurry figures could be vaguely seen within them. They were none other than the "Two Elders of the Ghost Spirit Sect."
The man on the left, with a sallow complexion, long eyebrows, drooping eyes, and a emaciated figure like a bamboo pole, wore a large, dark blue ghost robe; this was none other than "Old Tong." His eyes were narrowed as he stared at the desperately fleeing crimson light ahead, his voice hoarse as sandpaper scraping:
"Old ghost, Lu Xuan's actions in recent years are really strange. Although his Qinghu Market is well-run and earns a lot of money every year, it is ultimately just ordinary business of buying low and selling high and taking a cut of rent, with limited profits."
But my investigation revealed that over the years, he frequented major auction houses, spending lavishly on medicinal ingredients—each one priceless, even unavailable, rare treasures. This is far beyond the means of an ordinary mid-stage Core Formation cultivator. There must be something strange about this.”
The man on the right, short and stout with a face full of fat and unusually small, triangular eyes, was none other than "Old Ghost." Hearing this, he gave a sinister laugh, his voice like a broken gong:
"Brother Tong is absolutely right. Two years ago, at an underground trade fair in Cheqi Kingdom, I accidentally stumbled upon this fellow disguised and bidding on that bottle of 'Blood Marrow Pill,' and I immediately sensed something was amiss."
Later, I secretly inquired about the spirit stones he paid with… Hehe, guess what? They were all mid-grade wood-attribute spirit stones! And of excellent quality, brimming with spiritual energy. Brother Tong should be familiar with this kind of situation, right?
"A Mortal's Beginning at Spirit Beast Mountain" is a free book available on the "Renren Bookstore" app. Search "Renren Bookstore" on Baidu to download and install the Android app, and read the latest chapters of "A Mortal's Beginning at Spirit Beast Mountain" anytime!