A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 48 The Demonic Path Arrives

"You know nothing!" the bearded disciple shouted urgently. "In such a grand spectacle of Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators, how could we Qi Refining ants possibly have a chance to make a contribution? We'd be lucky to even save our own lives! Even those Foundation Establishment seniors on the battlefield are like chicks; one slip and they're gone..."

"Ah! Senior Luo! I... I wasn't talking about you." Before he could finish speaking, the bearded disciple caught a glimpse of Luo Ming walking slowly towards him out of the corner of his eye. He was immediately terrified and quickly shut his mouth, looking at Luo Ming cautiously, afraid that his slip of the tongue had offended this Foundation Establishment senior.

Luo Ming recognized the man; his name was Hu Hai, the very cultivator whose alchemy had been disturbed by the fluctuations of spiritual energy when he broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage. Far from being angry at Hu Hai's earlier remarks, Luo Ming quite agreed with them. He glanced around at the patrol team of cultivators gathered nearby and calmly said, "You're right. When faced with danger far beyond one's capabilities, timely avoidance is not cowardice, but rather a wise move. The path of cultivation is long; only by surviving can one have the last laugh."

For the past few months, these cultivators had been accompanying Luo Ming on his inspections of the mines. Over time, Luo Ming had developed a certain empathy for these ordinary cultivators struggling to survive—they were so much like his own unremarkable self in his previous life. He couldn't help but add a word of advice: "Remember, if the demonic army really attacks, and things get really bad, forget about missions and battle merits. Run as fast as you can into the underground mines; that's your only chance of survival."

Everyone was taken aback by Luo Ming's words; it was the first time they had ever heard him advise them to run away. Did he mean that when faced with an enemy attack, they shouldn't fight back bravely?

Only Hu Hai looked thoughtful, his eyes darting around a few times.

After Luo Ming finished speaking, he left without explaining anything further. He believed that if they listened to his warning, they might be able to save their lives.

Instead of returning directly to his cave, he turned and headed deeper into the mine. This spirit stone mine had been developed for countless years. It was originally seized by the seven sects when the righteous and demonic paths were weak during the war between them. It had witnessed countless battles in the past, and many of the internal passages had collapsed.

The light grew dimmer as he ventured deeper into the mine. The Wind Fox Beast scouted ahead, occasionally sending back information from the depths of the mine, but unfortunately, none of it was what he was looking for. The mine he was currently traversing was a hidden mine he had recently discovered, with its exit blocked by a large amount of rubble, which he had painstakingly dug out using a magical artifact.

No matter how he searched, the forks in the road were either blocked by collapsed ore or led to deeper, unknown areas; he could not find any trace of a teleportation array.

"It seems that the teleportation array is hidden in some sealed passage. Unfortunately, there are too many such passages, and I don't have time to explore them all. Oh well, they'll find it eventually anyway." Luo Ming sighed, knowing that this matter couldn't be rushed.

The demonic army is expected to arrive soon, and he doesn't have much time left. Rather than wasting his energy here, it's better to focus on improving his cultivation.

Moreover, since Old Demon Han is here, the teleportation array must be inside. He glanced one last time at the impenetrable darkness deep in the mine, then turned and returned the way he came.

Upon returning to his cave, Luo Ming immediately began cultivating. He took out two mid-grade spirit stones, held them in his hands, sat cross-legged, and guided the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to slowly flow into his body, gradually accumulating magical power.

In his spare time from cultivation, Luo Ming would also draw some mid-level talismans. Now, after several years of comprehension, he has finally succeeded in drawing a mid-level talisman. It is because of this that he has a clear understanding of the difficulty of drawing talismans of mid-level and above.

Low-level talismans only require sealing one low-level spell. Once that spell is mastered and practiced for a while, the method of talisman creation can be learned. However, mid-level and higher talismans involve knowledge of formations, because what is sealed inside the talisman is no longer a single spell, but a combination and arrangement of several spells. This is why their power far exceeds that of low-level talismans.

Rumor has it that high-level spells can even threaten Nascent Soul cultivators. In the southernmost part of Tiannan, the Mulan Grassland, it is said that the mages there have studied magic extensively due to the scarcity of refining materials, and have created many powerful spells that are quite troublesome.

In order to improve his skills in drawing intermediate-level talismans, Luo Ming had to first study some basic array formation knowledge. During this process, he suddenly realized that the four arts of immortal cultivation, once they reached a high level, were actually interconnected in many ways—for example, weapon crafting also required mastering some basic array formations in order to inscribe spiritual patterns and set up restrictions on magical artifacts.

This realization often made him sigh, "Why does this formation feel like advanced mathematics from my previous life? It seems that whether it's talismans, weapon crafting, or other cultivation techniques, it's indispensable in many aspects."

Time slipped away quietly as he devoted himself to cultivation and talisman drawing; in the blink of an eye, three months had passed.

Inside the cave, Luo Ming remained seated cross-legged, surrounded by a faint aura of spiritual energy. After this period of arduous cultivation, the spiritual power within his body had become increasingly profound and refined, now only a hair's breadth away from the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage.

"At this rate, I can try to break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage in another month. It's a pity that the pills have been exhausted." Luo Ming slowly finished his practice, a hint of regret on his face. He originally thought that the pills should be enough to last until the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

"However, my speed is already extremely fast. I should be able to reach the mid-Foundation Establishment stage faster than Old Demon Han. Once I obtain the Heaven-Mending Pill and further improve the quality of my spiritual roots, I should be able to reach the level of dual spiritual roots."

Just as he was secretly pleased, a sharp and piercing alarm suddenly sounded outside the cave—this was the highest-level alarm that was only used when the spirit stone mine faced a life-or-death crisis.

Luo Ming's heart sank, and he instantly regained his composure: "Could it be the demonic path?"

He dared not delay and immediately got up and rushed out of the cave. What he saw was chaos throughout the entire spirit stone mine, with cultivators running around in panic, clearly not expecting the demonic cultivators to arrive so quickly.

Luo Ming looked up at the sky and could see the figures of demonic cultivators in the distance through the protective array set up above the mine. Although there were only about twenty people, they were no ordinary group, as they were able to penetrate the defenses of the seven sects and launch a sneak attack from the rear. They were at least elite Foundation Establishment cultivators.

At the very front of the demonic cultivators' ranks, two cultivators dressed in the robes of the Demon Flame Sect and the Heavenly Fiend Sect respectively were talking in hushed tones, their expressions carrying a hint of composure and disdain.

"It seems these two are the leaders of this ambush team." Luo Ming narrowed his eyes, making a judgment to himself. Judging from this situation, this team of demonic cultivators should be a combination of two teams from the Demon Flame Sect and the Heavenly Fiend Sect.

He knew perfectly well that wars in the cultivation world were never one-on-one battles; they were always fought by combining cultivators based on the characteristics of their techniques to maximize their combat power. This elite Foundation Establishment team must have members with unique strengths, and they likely possessed the means to break through the mine's protective array.

Sure enough, not long after, the two leading cultivators seemed to have come up with a plan.

More than ten cultivators dressed in the attire of the Heavenly Fiend Sect took the lead. As soon as their toes touched the ground, a faint aura of black Fiend surrounded them. They rode various black demonic weapons and soared into the air. Their formation was well-organized and carried a chilling killing intent as they charged straight toward the great formation.