A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 53

The moment the talisman burned out, a thick, yellowish-brown earthen armor suddenly took shape, completely enveloping his body. This armor was powerful enough to withstand a full-force attack from a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. He had only one thought in his mind: if he could buy himself two breaths to catch his breath, he could recall the Heaven-Covering Bell. With this defensive treasure in hand, he would be invincible. As for the ownership of the Blood Jade Spider, he couldn't care less at this moment.

"Hmph, that piece of trash Lü Tianmeng can't even defeat Han Li with his talisman." Xuan Le secretly plotted to leave this dangerous place as soon as he was free, leaving Luo Ming and Han Li to fight the demon beast to the death. He then realized that neither of these two cultivators, who appeared to be in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, were easy to deal with.

"Click..."

A crisp cracking sound reached Xuan Le's ears, sounding like a thunderclap—it was the sound of the earth armor shattering! A single mid-level water arrow talisman was equivalent to the full-force attack of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. The power of five talismans fired simultaneously was terrifying, especially since Luo Ming controlled these water arrows to attack a small area. The earth armor was instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and shattered in the blink of an eye.

The instant the earthen armor shattered, a shadowy figure darted forward with speed beyond the reach of the naked eye, its sharp claws precisely aimed at Xuan Le's neck—it was the Wind Fox Beast, which had been lying in ambush! This fatal blow was aimed straight for the vital point. Although Xuan Le was surrounded by a spiritual energy shield, how could she withstand the spirit-piercing effect inherent in the Wind Fox Beast's claws?

"Pfft!"

A jet of blood gushed out, and Xuan Le's head tilted limply to one side, his breath fading instantly. From the moment he launched his surprise attack to being killed by Luo Ming, only five breaths had passed. If Luo Ming hadn't been prepared to block the sneak attack, and if Xuan Le's mana hadn't been scattered and his defenses weakened, even with all his methods, Luo Ming, with his current cultivation level, would have found it difficult to stop a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator who was capable of escaping at full speed.

"You...you actually killed Xuan Le?"

Lu Tianmeng's pupils shrank sharply as he stared intently in Luo Ming's direction, his face filled with disbelief. Suspicion had already formed in his mind: this Luo Ming was definitely not a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the early stage; he must be some Foundation Establishment Perfection expert in disguise!

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Lü Tianmeng's mind raced: the other party was, after all, a fellow disciple of Spirit Beast Mountain; perhaps he could persuade him to join forces to kill Han Li, and then seek another opportunity...

Before the thoughts could settle, the Heaven-Covering Bell, now freed from Xuan Le's spiritual power, suddenly dimmed, and the Blood Jade Spider trapped within it finally broke free. At this moment, the Blood Jade Spider was entirely crimson, like burning blood, its demonic aura surging several times over, clearly having entered a state of madness. Its compound eyes were filled with ferocity, and its heart held only one obsession—to tear all the human cultivators before it to shreds to vent its hatred!

And the person closest to it happened to be Lü Tianmeng.

Previously, in order to take advantage of the opportunity to kill the Blood Jade Spider to ambush Han Li, he deliberately closed the distance with the Heaven-Covering Bell. However, Han Li's movements were unpredictable, and he had many top-tier magic artifacts for defense, so he was unable to succeed. At this moment, Luo Ming killed Xuan Le with lightning speed, causing the Heaven-Covering Bell to go out of control. The Blood Jade Spider, which had just escaped, looked down and saw Lü Tianmeng standing close by.

"Pfft!"

The dull thud of claws piercing flesh rang out as the Blood Jade Spider's claws instantly pierced through Lü Tianmeng's chest. Violent demonic energy surged into his body through the claws, instantly shattering his soul.

"Xuan Le, you piece of trash..."

This was Lü Tianmeng's last thought before his consciousness dissipated.

Having dealt with Lü Tianmeng, the Blood Jade Spider turned its agile compound eyes and instantly locked onto Han Li, who was closest to it.

Seeing this, Luo Ming immediately summoned his Xuanbing Rope magic weapon. He didn't want to kill this level four Blood Jade Spider directly; if he nurtured it, it would definitely become a major trump card in the future. The Xuanbing Rope transformed into an ice-blue chain over ten zhang long, like a nimble ice snake, precisely wrapping around the Blood Jade Spider's eight legs, forcefully interrupting its charge and dragging it to the ground.

At this moment, Luo Ming no longer concealed his strength. With a low shout, he summoned the Fat Sun Bird to assist him.

"唳——"

As soon as the Fat Sun Bird appeared, it saw the Blood Jade Spider struggling frantically on the ground and let out a sharp cry, its eyes filled with excitement. Spider-like demonic beasts were the natural prey of birds of prey like this, and even though the Blood Jade Spider's cultivation was two levels higher, it showed no fear.

Spider-type monsters are inherently afraid of fire. Ordinary flames may not be able to harm them, but the scorching white flames spewed by the Fat Sun Bird are the ultimate Yang fire, which can even burn the soul. Although the Blood Jade Spider can resist the Azure Ice Flame, it is very afraid of this fire.

As soon as the flames appeared, the Blood Jade Spider emitted a piercing screech and struggled more violently. Luo Ming had no choice but to exert all his spiritual power and tightly control the Xuanbing Rope.

Han Li finally managed to free himself, summoning his magical artifact to join the battle and assist Luo Ming in suppressing the Blood Jade Spider. Only when the demonic beast was covered in wounds, its explosive power subsided, its demonic energy dissipated, and it was no longer able to struggle, did Luo Ming hurriedly stop the Fat Sun Bird.

"Thank you for your help, Brother Han." Luo Ming put the Blood Jade Spider into a specially made spirit beast bag, turned around and bowed to Han Li to express his gratitude.

Han Li stared at the two demonic beasts beside Luo Ming, utterly shocked. The Wind Fox Beast was strangely shaped and incredibly fast, even with his Wind-Riding Boots, he couldn't keep up. The unknown fire-attribute demonic bird was even more terrifying; from ten feet away, one could feel the burning pain of its soul being scorched. Only now did he truly realize that Luo Ming's strength far exceeded his expectations.

"I should be thanking Brother Luo. If it weren't for your help, I probably wouldn't have escaped this calamity today," Han Li said sincerely, still feeling lingering fear.

Xuan Le and Lü Tianmeng were both formidable figures in the late Foundation Establishment stage, and with the addition of the ferocious Blood Jade Spider, he had truly escaped with his life. Although he was still somewhat wary of Luo Ming, the other party had indeed saved his life on the surface, and he would remember this kindness.

"Haha, there's no need for thanks between us!" Luo Ming laughed heartily. "If it weren't for Brother Han holding them back, I wouldn't have been able to defeat them so quickly. Let's divide the treasures here equally."

Before Han Li could respond, Luo Ming tossed Xuan Le's storage bag and the Heaven-Covering Bell to him, while he himself collected Lü Tianmeng's belongings—after all, Lü Tianmeng was a disciple of the Spirit Beast Mountain, and the items in his storage bag would be more useful to him, who also came from the Spirit Beast Mountain.

The two searched the cave carefully, collecting all the scattered treasures. Han Li even found two spider eggs before arriving at the source of the conflict—the Great Teleportation Token and the ultra-long-distance teleportation array.

To put Han Li's mind at ease, Luo Ming suggested, "To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, why don't we form a soul contract, swearing never to betray each other and to protect the secrets of this place together? What do you say?"

Han Li nodded in agreement, which was the most reassuring way for the two of them. Soul contracts are not something that can be made haphazardly; they are made with one's own Dao heart as the bargaining chip. As long as the cultivator wants to advance to a higher realm, he would never dare to break his promise.

After making the oath, Han Li's gaze fell on the teleportation array with a missing corner. He stroked his chin and pondered, "I know a master of array formations. I can ask her to take a look and see if she can repair this array."

"Since Brother Han has such connections, I'll trouble you to repair the teleportation array." Luo Ming was overjoyed upon hearing this, and then added, "Repairing such a long-distance teleportation array must be extremely costly. Here are five thousand spirit stones, which I'll consider as a small token of my appreciation for the repairs."

After saying that, Luo Ming tossed a heavy storage bag to Han Li.