txolops Chapter 69 Escape
Chapter 69 Escape
The black-robed youth stared at the fat sun bird with undisguised fervor, already considering it his for the taking.
Although he coveted Luo Ming's spirit bird, he also recognized Luo Ming's identity—in the battle of Jingu Plain, this disciple of the Spirit Beast Mountain, with his mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation, killed several late-Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators. He was ruthless and possessed numerous spirit beasts, making him no easy opponent.
More importantly, he didn't have the strength to subdue his opponent instantly. If he pushed Luo Ming to the brink and caused him to detonate the spirit beast's soul restriction before his death, it would be a loss. He also didn't know how Luo Ming controlled his spirit beast. To be on the safe side, he naturally decided to restrain Luo Ming first and wait for Elder Hu to return before taking him down along with the spirit beast in an instant, without giving Luo Ming a chance to resist.
Luo Ming took in the hesitation and calculation in the black-robed youth's eyes and felt a chill run down his spine: "The 'Old Hu' this man is talking about must be that black-robed Core Formation cultivator from earlier. If I really go back with him, or if he traps me here to wait for Old Hu to return, I will surely die."
"But right now, the opponent is clearly not an ordinary disciple of the Yuling Sect. They must have many tricks up their sleeves and have followers to help them. The chances of winning by fighting head-on are not high. If I don't deal with these two first, I won't be able to get away at all..." He narrowed his eyes, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and a plan to win by taking a risk slowly took shape.
"I, Luo, am upright and have nothing to fear. I am not an imposter from any of the other six sects. This is my identity token. My two senior brothers will recognize it at a glance—appearance can be altered, but one's spiritual aura is absolutely unforgeable." Luo Ming spoke sincerely, his previous wariness fading from his face. He took out his Spirit Beast Mountain identity token from his storage bag and casually took a few steps forward.
He approached step by step until he stopped when he was less than ten feet away from the two of them—this was the shortest safe distance that Foundation Establishment cultivators tacitly agreed upon. It would not appear deliberately distant, but would also allow both sides room to react in the event of a surprise attack. Strangers who met outside would usually maintain this distance in an unspoken agreement.
The black-robed youth and his attendant looked wary, their divine senses still firmly locked onto Luo Ming.
Just as Luo Ming used his divine sense to lift the token and fly it toward the other party, an invisible ripple suddenly appeared in his sea of consciousness, and two Fire God Thorns that had been ready to be fired shot out! These were his only two Fire God Thorns, the ones he had used earlier had not yet had time to be reassembled, and now he was going all out, aiming directly at the sea of consciousness of the two people.
"Not good!" The black-robed youth and his entourage had been keeping a close eye on Luo Ming's every move, but they never expected him to launch a soul-based attack—this type of attack is silent and the most difficult to defend against.
Even though the two sensed the anomaly the moment the attack broke out, it was too late to take effective countermeasures. After all, only exclusive soul artifacts or secret techniques can block soul attacks; ordinary defensive artifacts simply cannot keep up.
"Smack! Ouch!"
A strange noise and a scream rang out at the same time. To Luo Ming's slight surprise, the effect of the Fire God Thorn did not fully meet his expectations.
The mid-Foundation Establishment follower was struck directly in the sea of consciousness, immediately collapsing to the ground in agony, the excruciating pain from the injury to his soul rendering him utterly powerless to resist. Luo Ming did not waste the opportunity; with a flick of his wrist, he summoned the Water Nether Sword. In a flash, the sword pierced through the follower's dantian, and with a twist of the sword light, shattered his soul, cleanly and decisively ending his life.
The young man in black robes, however, was unharmed—the fire dagger that Luo Ming shot at him was actually blocked by a jade pendant at his waist.
The jade pendant appeared ordinary, but it was actually a rare treasure for defending the soul. However, after withstanding the fatal blow, the jade pendant shattered. The "bang" just now was the sound of the treasure breaking. Jade fragments flew everywhere, and only a bare knot remained around the black-robed youth's waist.
"Good! Very good!" The black-robed youth's face was ashen. If it weren't for his soul defense treasure protecting him, he would have been hit just now.
His spiritual power surged suddenly, his silver-patterned black robe billowing even without wind. "How dare you kill a disciple of the Spirit Control Sect right before my eyes! Today I will make you taste the pain of fire poison devouring your heart!"
He quickly manipulated the Thousand Demon Banner to cover his body, guarding against Luo Ming's soul attack again. At the same time, he patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist, and a ball of fire cloud suddenly flew out.
Upon closer inspection, the fiery cloud was actually composed of hundreds of thumb-sized flying ants with wings on their backs. Each flying ant's abdomen was covered with mysterious fire patterns, and crimson flames flowed between its legs. It was none other than the ancient ferocious insect, the Crimson Fire Ant.
Luo Ming was shocked—he had seen records of the Crimson Fire Ant in the Spirit Beast Mountain's books. This ant could even gnaw on magic artifacts. He had been envious when he first saw the record, but unfortunately, no such insect remained in the Spirit Beast Mountain. He never expected to encounter it in the hands of the black-robed youth today.
He dared not be careless in the slightest. His palm shone brightly, and the crimson bronze mirror reappeared. It was the Xuanhuo Mirror that he had been refining for a long time.
This mirror is made of a special material and consumes a great deal of magical power when activated. Luo Ming usually does not use it easily, but when facing ferocious insects like the Crimson Fire Ants, only the Mysterious Fire Mirror can contend with them.
He knew that the Crimson Fire Ants had hard bodies and ordinary flames could not harm them, but most spirit insect-type demon beasts had a fatal flaw—their sea of consciousness was small and they could not resist attacks on the soul.
The Xuanhuo Mirror contains the original fire of the Zhiyang Bird, which is extremely yang and strong, and can just right to restrain the soul. Now the Zhiyang Bird is holding back the demon soul in the Thousand Demon Banner and cannot get away, so he can only rely on this fire mirror.
Luo Ming gritted his teeth and poured all his spiritual power into the Xuanhuo Mirror, which suddenly burst forth with a dazzling red light, and three flames of different colors shot out:
Crimson flames consumed his body, azure fire eroded his spirit, and scorching fire melted his soul. The three colors of flames intertwined and swirled in the air, instantly coalescing into a giant firebird with outstretched wings, which rushed toward the swarm of crimson fire ants with a scorching heat wave.
"Crackling and popping—"
The crackling sound of flames scorching the insects' bodies was incessant. Seeing this, the fire ants quickly swarmed together, using their hard insect bodies and their own flames to resist. However, under the scorching heat of the Xuanhuojian's three-colored flames, the ant colony's defenses gradually collapsed. One by one, the fire ants were scorched black and fell to the ground, and the originally dense fire cloud instantly thinned by more than half.
"Hmm?" A hint of surprise flashed in the black-robed youth's eyes, quickly replaced by an even stronger greed. "This treasure's three-colored flames can actually suppress the Crimson Fire Ants; it truly is a top-grade fire-attribute magic weapon!"
"Luo Ming, is it? I underestimated you."
The young man in black robes had a solemn expression. He hadn't expected Luo Ming's methods to be so effective in restraining him. Although he felt a headache coming on, he didn't panic. "It seems I really can't defeat you without using some trump cards. But it doesn't matter. I just need to keep you trapped here until Elder Hu returns. Even if you have extraordinary abilities, you'll be completely at my mercy!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the black-robed youth spat out a mouthful of blood essence onto the Thousand Demon Banner. The black banner, which had only been protecting him, instantly burst forth with dense blood light, emitting a low hum, and its size increased at a visible speed, covering the sky and the sun in the blink of an eye, carrying a sinister demonic aura, and enveloping Luo Ming's head.
"rise!"
With a roar, the black-robed youth unleashed a terrifying suction force from the Thousand Demon Banner, causing Luo Ming's body to involuntarily tilt towards it. He knew he was in grave danger; this banner possessed spatial powers, and he understood that if he were trapped by it, his fate would be in grave danger given its strange abilities.
Now that things had come to this, Luo Ming held nothing back. With a fierce determination, he pulled out a round bead, its entire body a deep blue and crackling with lightning, from his storage bag—his treasured Thunder Bead. He then hurled it forcefully toward the black-robed youth, while simultaneously retreating rapidly and summoning a golden shield to protect himself from the aftershocks of the Thunder Bead.
When the black-robed youth saw Luo Ming produce an inconspicuous black bead, he was first taken aback, then his pupils suddenly contracted, and a warning from the depths of his soul exploded wildly!
"Heavenly Thunder Child!?"
He was utterly horrified, never expecting that his opponent possessed such a one-time-use weapon of immense power. Its strength was far beyond what a Foundation Establishment cultivator could withstand head-on.