A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 386 Six-Winged Frost Centipede

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The fact that the sect was about to publicly select the "Banner Bearer" was a major event that would shake the higher-ups. For Li Feiyu, who was only at the "early stage of Foundation Establishment" and was just an ordinary inner disciple of the Insect Peak on the surface, it was naturally still far away and no one would specifically inform him of it.

At this moment, Luo Ming's mind was entirely focused on the twelve "Six-Winged Frost Centipede" eggs he had just acquired.

Back in his secluded cave deep beneath Frost Valley, Luo Ming instructed Silver Moon to wait outside, and immediately activated all the protective and isolation barriers within the cave. He carefully took out the jade box emanating a chilling aura, placed it on a flat, cold jade platform, and gently opened the lid.

Twelve warm, snow-white insect eggs, like carved mutton fat jade, lay quietly on the soft ice velvet, emitting faint life fluctuations and a faint chill.

Luo Ming once again used his powerful divine sense, comparable to that of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, to carefully examine each insect egg inside and out.

The results of his divine sense feedback were consistent with his initial judgment: these insect eggs were indeed still alive, but extremely weak, like candles in the wind, and were firmly locked by a strange "double freezing" power that mixed the mysterious ice and the insect eggs' own ice attribute, forming a fragile balance.

Any abrupt melting or nourishment could disrupt the balance, causing the already fragile vitality to completely dissipate.

"Although I don't know what method the original Liu Yu used to successfully hatch several offspring after several years, with my current conditions and means, I have many more options." Luo Ming's lips curled up slightly, and a confident glint flashed in his eyes.

This is not arrogance, but a calm judgment based on one's own solid foundation.

He fused with the "True Blood of Xuanwu," completing a physical transformation. The vigor of his blood and the purity of his life essence far surpassed those of other body cultivators of the same level, and were even comparable to some demonic beasts of the same level. His blood and energy were a great tonic for any spirit insect or demonic beast, especially for demonic beasts with water or earth attributes.

He possesses the "Flame Wood Spirit Body." Although his main cultivation technique is not of the wood element, the wisp of "green energy" nurtured by the spirit body's origin contains powerful vitality and restorative power, which has a miraculous effect on awakening dormant vitality and nourishing the origin.

This "Six-Winged Frost Centipede" possesses a faint true dragon bloodline. However, within Luo Ming's dantian, he is nurturing the original blood of a "Azure Dragon" with true dragon blood! Using it as a guide, it might be possible to stimulate, awaken, or even purify the dormant bloodline power within these insect eggs.

Not to mention, he also had a "mutated snow silkworm" with some of the characteristics of the Dry Blue Ice Flame beside him. The pure and fierce primal cold air it exhaled might be the key to breaking that special frozen balance without harming its own essence.

The most powerful trump card is none other than the mysterious "Spirit Gathering Cauldron"! All the above methods, if further harmonized, purified and stabilized by the Spirit Gathering Cauldron, will have a multiplied effect.

"This six-winged frost centipede has enormous potential and is worth investing in. In that case, let's try a multi-pronged approach and see if we can create a miracle." Luo Ming had made up his mind and no longer hesitated.

With a flick of his wrist, the ancient "Spirit Gathering Cauldron" appeared in his hand, which he gently placed in front of him.

Luo Ming was not stingy and directly took out four "superior spirit stones" that exuded spiritual energy and had a restrained brilliance, and placed them at the bottom of the Spirit Gathering Cauldron according to a specific orientation.

The spiritual energy contained in high-grade spirit stones is pure and vast, far surpassing that of mid-grade and low-grade spirit stones. It is sufficient to support a series of subsequent consumptions and provide rich spiritual energy nourishment for the revival of insect eggs.

Immediately afterwards, he gently lifted the twelve snow-white insect eggs with his magic power and carefully placed them evenly in the center of the Spirit Gathering Cauldron.

As soon as the insect eggs entered the cauldron, nourished by the special force field inside the cauldron and the pure spiritual energy of the top-grade spirit stones, the sluggish feeling on the surface that represented the ice seal seemed to loosen slightly for a moment, and a faint, extremely weak, warm luster appeared.

"Hehe, just the activation alone uses high-grade spirit stones. Such a gesture is something even ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators might not be willing to do, let alone the methods that follow." Luo Ming thought to himself as he looked at the subtle changes in the insect eggs in the cauldron.

He didn't delay any longer and began to implement subsequent measures in an orderly manner.

First, he drew his fingers like a knife and lightly made a cut on his left wrist. A stream of dark golden blood, carrying a powerful aura of vitality and solemn majesty, slowly seeped out.

Luo Ming made a hand seal, manipulating the dark golden essence blood, which slowly flew towards the Spirit Gathering Cauldron and dripped evenly onto the surface of the twelve insect eggs.

The essence blood, upon contact with the snow-white shell of the insect egg, did not slip off; instead, it was quickly absorbed, like water seeping into a sponge! The faint life force inside the insect egg seemed to suddenly throb, as if parched earth had received sweet rain.

Immediately afterwards, Luo Ming's consciousness sank into his dantian, connecting with the Azure Dragon's essence, which was intertwined with his own life. He carefully guided a wisp of it out, which transformed into a thin, hair-like azure bloodline, and it also flew into the Spirit Gathering Cauldron, evenly seeping into the twelve insect eggs.

Then, with a thought, Luo Ming activated the wisp of "azure energy" within his body, which contained immense vitality. Like a thin mist, it slowly enveloped and completely covered the twelve insect eggs inside the cauldron. The azure energy nourished every inch of the insect eggs' shells and attempted to penetrate through the tiny pores on the shells.

Finally, Luo Ming gave a command to the mutated snow silkworm that had been lying beside him, watching curiously. The snow silkworm raised its icy head, a hint of reluctance flashing in its sapphire-like compound eyes, but it still opened its small mouth and "poof" spat out a small ball of "primordial cold air" about the size of a fist, which was deep icy blue.

Luo Ming manipulated the primordial cold energy, which slowly descended, forming an ice-blue dome that enveloped and sealed the insect eggs, which were already covered by the azure energy, along with the space inside the Spirit Gathering Cauldron.

After doing all this, Luo Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He took two steps back, sat cross-legged on a futon beside him, and stared at the twelve snow-white insect eggs inside the Spirit Gathering Cauldron, which seemed to be sleeping in a dreamy ice-blue halo under the combined nourishment of various methods.

At this moment, the surface of the insect eggs was no longer the deathly pale white it had been before, but instead presented a strange texture that was warm and smooth like jade, with a faint shimmering light.

Through the translucent eggshell, one can even vaguely see that the originally almost imperceptible weak life force inside is gradually becoming stronger and more active at an extremely slow pace!

They no longer passively accept nourishment, but begin to instinctively and greedily absorb and devour the "luxurious" supplements around them, just like newborn babies.

Luo Ming nodded in satisfaction and stopped paying attention.

He knew that the most crucial steps of "awakening" and "laying the foundation" had been completed. What remained was a matter of patience and patience, waiting for these little ones to fully replenish their deficient essence in such a favorable environment, and complete their final development and hatching. This process could not be rushed.

He calmed his mind, closed his eyes, and began to meditate, circulating the Azure Nether Scripture to refine spiritual energy and continue accumulating that astonishingly vast magical power. A long silence fell over the cave, broken only by the faint glow of the Spirit Gathering Cauldron and the increasingly clear pulse of life emanating from within it.

……

In the midst of cultivation, time flies like an arrow, and the days pass like a shuttle.

Six months passed quietly as Luo Ming entered a deep meditative state and occasionally paid attention to the progress of the insect eggs.

On this day, Luo Ming, who was sitting cross-legged on the futon and circulating his energy, suddenly opened his eyes! Two sharp, lightning-like gazes instantly fell on the Spirit Gathering Cauldron in front of him!

Inside the cauldron, the once calm, icy blue aura was now violently fluctuating and churning! One of the insect eggs on the edge began to vibrate and shake wildly without warning!

On the surface of the eggshell, there was even a tiny crack, as if it had been caused by a strike from something sharp inside! A life force dozens of times stronger than before burst forth from it!

"Click...click click..."

A series of subtle yet distinct cracking sounds rang out. Influenced by this insect egg, as if a chain reaction had been triggered, the remaining eleven insect eggs inside the cauldron also began to vibrate and shake violently!

For a moment, the "crunching" sound inside the cauldron was incessant, as if countless tiny mouths were frantically gnawing at the hard eggshell inside, eager to enter this world full of "delicious" aroma!

"Finally...it's coming out!" Luo Ming couldn't help but show his joy.

After half a year of waiting, and the expenditure of much effort and precious resources, the moment of harvest has finally arrived! He could clearly feel that the twelve new, vibrant life forms within the cauldron, imbued with a cold and fierce aura, were rapidly growing stronger and breaking free from their restraints!

He didn't interfere, but simply watched quietly, his powerful divine sense enveloping every inch of space inside the cauldron to ensure that no accidents would occur, and he also carefully sensed every change in these little creatures that were about to hatch.

"puff!"

A soft, bubble-like sound. The first egg to vibrate had a small hole pushed open at its tip.

A small centipede, entirely black with a cold metallic sheen, covered in countless tiny legs and with a pair of sharp mouthparts on its head, struggled to squeeze out of the hole and fell to the bottom of the cauldron.

Immediately afterwards, the second, the third... "Pop pop" sounds rang out one after another. Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the twelve insect eggs burst open one after another. The twelve little creatures, only half a foot long, pitch black, with their shells reflecting a cold and hard texture under the dim light inside the cauldron, all successfully broke free of their shackles and appeared in the Spirit Gathering Cauldron!

These newly hatched "Six-Winged Frost Centipedes" do resemble ordinary centipede spirit beasts in appearance, but the details are quite different. Their carapaces are not simply jet black, but rather faintly shimmer with a dark, gloomy blue sheen, like the deepest, coldest night. The surface of their carapaces is covered with extremely fine, intricate, and mysterious natural patterns!

These patterns appear chaotic at first glance, but upon careful sensing with divine sense, one can discern that they vaguely form a pattern resembling... a tortoise shell, or some kind of ancient defensive rune! Clearly, this is a benign mutation resulting from absorbing Luo Ming's natal blood essence containing the true blood of Xuanwu! This makes their shell's defensive capabilities far surpass those of ordinary six-winged frost centipedes.

Unlike the weak and wriggling larvae of ordinary insects, these newly hatched larvae appeared quite "fierce." Their tiny mouthparts opened and closed with a subtle yet unsettling "click" sound, and their fine legs moved rapidly as they crawled on the icy velvet inside the cauldron—quite a surprisingly fast pace!

Its compound eyes gleamed with a cold, hungry light, as if it were carrying an innate wariness and predatory instinct toward everything around it, including its "brothers and sisters".