A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 63 Golden Drum Plain

Luo Ming stared dumbfounded in the direction where the two figures disappeared. It took him a moment to come to his senses. His back was covered in a cold sweat, but he secretly felt relieved.

It seems that Lu Xuan saw me traveling with a Core Formation cultivator and mistakenly thought that I had brought my elders to seek revenge. Therefore, he dared not linger for even a moment and directly used his most secret technique to escape.

Such a coincidence is truly a blessing from heaven.

He clenched his fists, silently praying that Uncle Cao would not be able to catch up with Lu Xuan—otherwise, once Lu Xuan was captured, he would not be able to withstand the interrogation of a Core Formation cultivator, and his secret would be completely exposed sooner or later.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Uncle Cao returned with a gloomy expression. The fluctuations of his spiritual energy were slightly disordered, indicating that he had used some powerful method during the pursuit.

He didn't say much, but rushed towards the ruins of the market. Luo Ming didn't dare to be negligent and quickly gathered his strength to follow closely behind.

The two landed above the stone chamber where the Xuanhuo Mirror had been forged. Uncle Cao flicked his finger, and a condensed magical power shot out, clearing away the rubble outside and completely exposing the messy stone chamber.

The indoor formation had been torn to pieces, and the ground was scorched by the earth's fiery flames. Broken stones and fragmented formation flags were scattered all over the place, leaving a scene of utter devastation.

"It seems this is the source of the Earthly Fiend Fire eruption." Uncle Cao's voice was as deep as muffled thunder, echoing across the empty ruins.

Luo Ming's gaze swept quickly across every corner of the stone chamber, but he found no trace of the Blood Jade Spider. The last weight that had been hanging over his heart finally lifted.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief—the Blood Jade Spider was his spirit beast, and if its corpse had been left here, a Core Formation cultivator's keen observation would surely have revealed clues. To conceal the truth about seizing the Profound Fire Mirror, he had already deceived Uncle Cao; if the lie were exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

High-level cultivators are known for their unpredictable tempers. If the other party harbors murderous intent, it would only take a moment for them to slap him to death.

"Lying to high-level cultivators is truly like dancing on a knife's edge," Luo Ming sighed inwardly, ultimately realizing his strength was too weak. Lies are like spider webs; once woven, they require countless more to fill the gaps, and the slightest oversight leads to utter defeat.

Just as he was calming down and thought the storm was finally over, Uncle Cao's unquestionable voice suddenly rang out, like a bucket of ice water poured over him from head to toe, instantly extinguishing any glimmer of hope in his heart.

"Now that you have fully recovered from your injuries, you should return to the sect to report immediately. However, the battle at Jingu Plain is currently intense, and the sect is short of manpower. Therefore, you do not need to return to the sect. You can come with me directly to Jingu Plain to provide support." Uncle Cao slowly turned around, looking at him calmly, with no room for negotiation in his tone.

Luo Ming quickly bowed and agreed, his lowered eyelids concealing the helplessness in his eyes. "In the end, I can't escape the fate of going to the front lines!" he thought to himself, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Time flies, and a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

The situation between the Seven Factions Alliance and the Demonic Path is becoming increasingly tense, with both sides deploying their full forces in a fierce battle for control of the border region. Even rogue cultivators have not been spared, being coerced, bribed, or forcibly conscripted by the major sects and sent to the front lines. Countless cultivators have perished in this short time, with the most devastating loss occurring at the main battlefield, Golden Drum Plain.

Here, there's a small battle every day and a major battle every month.

During major battles, Core Formation cultivators would fiercely clash high in the sky, their spiritual energy causing the heavens and earth to change color and the sun and moon to lose their light. Such battles were nothing short of a natural disaster for lower-level cultivators; the only way to avoid being affected was to stay far away with all their might.

In a rocky area, the sky was shrouded in the gloom of gunpowder smoke, with only a few wisps of wind carrying the stench of blood. A cultivator dressed in black robes, with a hideous scar on his cheek, was hiding behind a concealment barrier emitted by a small gray banner, quietly lying in wait for his prey to take the bait.

He had absolute confidence in his methods—relying entirely on the powerful concealment ability of the Cloud Banner, combined with unexpected sneak attacks, he had repeatedly succeeded and had already gained some fame in this area.

"This battlefield is indeed a good place to make money. If I accumulate another hundred battle merits, I can exchange them for a bottle of Demon Essence Pills that can break through bottlenecks." Yuan Shi licked his dry lips, a greedy look flashing in his eyes.

He was originally a rogue cultivator from a region controlled by the demonic path. Three months ago, lured by the generous offers from the demonic path, he came here to fight against the cultivation world of Yue Kingdom. Now he has already hunted down two enemy cultivators. If he can get one more, he can exchange it for a bottle of Demonic Essence Pill to help him break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shi's breathing quickened slightly, his eyes narrowed into slits, and he became even more focused.

"Hmm? The prey is here." The next moment, he keenly sensed a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy, which was quietly approaching him.

When the fluctuation approached within a ten-zhang radius, Yuan Shi's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and he unleashed a strike that he had been preparing for.

Three blue flying blades surged with spiritual light, spiraling out at different angles to block the target's escape route.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!" Instead of the expected sound of the target being hit, all the shots missed and flew into the distance.

Just beside him, a shadowy figure slowly emerged from its concealment.

A black, night elf-like wind fox was crouching on some rocks not far away, silently watching him.

"Black Wind Fox Spirit Beast... Wait!" Yuan Shi's pupils suddenly contracted, and the greed on his face was instantly replaced by fear.

Almost instinctively, he activated the Cloud Banner to protect himself, while simultaneously biting his tongue and spitting out a drop of blood essence. The blood essence landed on the Cloud Banner, and a burst of bloody light erupted around him, his figure transforming into a blood shadow as he fled outwards at extreme speed—clearly, he had used some kind of escape technique that consumed blood essence.

"How did that assassin end up in this area?"

Yuan Shi was filled with utter shock and disbelief. He remembered that the Demonic Path's headquarters had a list of key vigilance targets, specifically recording the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Yue Kingdom who required special attention. Ranked seventh was a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator named Luo Ming, the only mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator among the top ten.

Over the past year, this person has killed more than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators from the demonic path, making him a mortal enemy to be wary of. His most conspicuous feature is the black raccoon spirit beast beside him!

However, just as he flew less than ten feet, a crystalline chain suddenly shot out from the void beside him, accompanied by a sharp whooshing sound, aiming straight for his back. Clearly, it was an ambush.

Yuan Shi was in a great hurry. He suddenly took out a black bead from his storage bag and slammed it against the crystal chain.

"boom!"

A violent explosion rang out, and the raging spiritual energy spread in all directions, momentarily halting the crystalline chains. Just as a sliver of hope arose in Yuan Shi's heart, thinking he could seize the opportunity to escape, a sharp pain from the depths of his soul suddenly struck him, causing his body to convulse and plummet from the sky, rolling and howling on the ground.

A figure slowly emerged from the darkness; it was Luo Ming. He frowned slightly as he looked at the black-robed cultivator rolling on the ground and said calmly, "Your reaction was quite quick, but unfortunately... it's still not fast enough."

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp sword light flashed, instantly silencing Yuan Shi's wailing and ending his life.

"The people in this area actually recognize me and run away when they see me. It seems I'll have to disguise myself from now on."

Luo Ming turned to the Wind Fox Beast beside him and said helplessly, "You've exposed our identities again, you know that?"