txolops Chapter 92 Hidden Cave
Chapter 92 Hidden Cave
Two streaks of light, one red and one green, streaked across the sky and disappeared into the distance in an instant.
The brother and sister stood frozen in place, staring dumbfounded in the direction the two had left, before finally coming to their senses after a long while.
First, they escaped death and broke through the fog, then they encountered two Core Formation cultivators confronting and chasing each other. This dramatic encounter made the two both relieved and fearful. They dared not linger and hurriedly determined their direction before fleeing the place without looking back.
At this moment, on Luo Ming's side, the Thunder Eel was already being ravaged by the Bloodthirsty Mosquitoes inside its body. Under the constraints of the formation and the repeated attacks from the spirit beasts, its resistance became weaker and weaker. Its body gradually turned black, the lightning arcs around it completely dissipated, and finally, its head tilted to the side, and it stopped breathing.
"If a wounded level 5 demon beast is this difficult to deal with, it seems that one should not wander into the outer sea until reaching the Core Formation stage." Luo Ming said calmly, looking at the Thunder Eel that had finally been killed.
A moment later, using the Bloodthirsty Blade to cut open the thunder eel's corpse, Luo Ming retrieved an egg-sized demon core shimmering with pale blue lightning—it was a level-five thunder eel demon core. Perhaps due to excessive consumption of spiritual energy, the demon core's color was slightly dark, and it did not exhibit the abundant spiritual energy fluctuations of legend.
"So this is what a demon core looks like!"
Luo Ming carefully placed the demon core into a specially made jade box, his eyes filled with joy. This demon core was a top-tier material, whether for spirit beasts to refine it to improve their cultivation or for making pills and magical artifacts.
He then examined the flesh and blood of the thunder eel and found that all the bloodthirsty mosquitoes inside were dead. He didn't know whether they were remotely controlled by the Golden Gu Elder to self-destruct or strangled by the remaining thunder power inside the thunder eel.
"It's a bit of a pity. These bloodthirsty mosquitoes are quite effective against armorless monsters like the thunder eel."
Luo Ming frowned slightly as he looked at the bloodthirsty mosquito corpse in his hand.
From the flesh and blood of the thunder eel, he discovered a large number of bloodthirsty mosquito corpses, each with a round belly, clearly having absorbed a considerable amount of the thunder eel's essence and blood.
Just as Luo Ming was dealing with the Thunder Eel's corpse, the Infant Carp Beast and Crab Demon outside the formation devoured all the essence of the Demon-Attracting Grass that was floating in the air, and were slowly attracted by the distant swarm of Spirit Mist Insects, and gradually drifted away.
"These spirit mist insects will take several more days to dissipate. It seems we'll have to stay here for a while. Once this high-level demonic beast leaves, we'll go check out that hidden cave."
Luo Ming sat cross-legged, slowly recovering his depleted mana, and planning his next move.
Three days later.
The deserted island was still shrouded in a thick fog, but with the absence of the large number of spirit mist insects, it had begun to recede slowly, and some demonic beasts had begun to return to the sea.
A shadowy figure darted nimbly through the mist, finally stopping at the bay at the edge of the island.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Luo Ming asked doubtfully, looking at the surroundings.
He scanned the area with his divine sense but found nothing unusual; it was just an ordinary place, somewhat resembling a fjord.
"Hehe, Master would never guess the entrance to that hidden cave. Without someone to guide you, you would never find it," Liu Shi said confidently.
Following the other party's directions, Luo Ming first went to the cliff near the sea and found the crescent-shaped pool of water that the other party had mentioned.
"How did you find such a secluded place?"
After diving dozens of feet into the pool, Luo Ming turned left and passed through a passage several hundred feet long before surfacing and finding himself in a huge cavern.
"Well... we intercepted a pair of cultivators back then, and this place was where they met in secret." Liu Shi's slightly embarrassed voice came from behind.
"How many heinous things have you done?" Luo Ming retorted.
"Master, you are wronging me. Those two were not good people either. The male cultivator was a descendant of a Core Formation cultivator from Kui Xing Island. He and the female cultivator conspired to kill his Daoist partner. I have done my duty to uphold justice," Liu Shi argued.
Luo Ming had no interest in such things. He was quite satisfied with the seclusion of this place. Once he had set up all the formations in his hand, he believed that even a Core Formation cultivator would have a hard time finding this place.
Luo Ming was already very experienced in opening up cave dwellings. He spent several days expanding the original structure several times over, adding many secret rooms. After all, he wasn't the only one living there; several little ones also needed different cultivation environments, which required different arrangements.
A month has passed in the blink of an eye.
The cave has changed dramatically. With the support of several formations, the spiritual energy is now much richer than before.
He has now confirmed that this place is a hidden branch of this spiritual vein.
"This demon core has finally reached its perfect state, but it's a pity that it can't be upgraded."
Luo Ming took a demon core brimming with spiritual energy from the Spirit Gathering Cauldron and said with a hint of regret.
But he immediately realized that he was being too greedy. If the Spirit Gathering Cauldron could bring the demon core to a higher level, that would be too heaven-defying, since the demon core was not a spirit stone, but pure spiritual energy.
Looking at the demon core surrounded by lightning before him, Luo Ming summoned four spirit beasts, unsure which one to give it to.
However, Luo Ming quickly gleaned the answer from the reactions of the spirit beasts.
"That's right. Although this demon core is very good, not everyone can control the power of lightning." Luo Ming found the reactions of the four spirit beasts very interesting.
The Azure Dragon, the Fat Sun Bird, and the Wind Fox Beast all kept their distance, showing no interest in the pill whatsoever. It was the Black Tortoise's reaction that stirred something within him.
Although it seemed somewhat fearful, it also appeared eager to try, its bright eyes never having been so wide open, staring intently at the demon core.
"Don't say I didn't give you a chance! It's your own fault for being so useless." Luo Ming laughed and scolded the other three beasts, then tossed the Thunder Eel's inner core to the Black Tortoise.
Watching the Xuan Turtle tremble slightly after swallowing the demon core, Luo Ming's anticipation for this Xuan Turtle grew stronger.
After finishing with the matter of the Thunder Eel Demon Core, Luo Ming turned around and went to a secret room, where he placed the Bloodthirsty Blade, where Liu Shi's primordial spirit was located.
After all, he possessed the secret of the Spirit Gathering Cauldron and didn't want the other party to know too much. He came here simply to have the other party explain the cultivation experience of the Vajra Technique.
,,,,,,
As time passed, while Luo Ming focused on his cultivation, the news that this deserted island possessed a spiritual vein gradually spread throughout the nearby seas, attracting some rogue cultivators to stop and cultivate here.
After all, although this spiritual vein is not as good as that of Kui Xing Island, it is enough for some low-level cultivators.
Furthermore, the independent cultivators who came to this place discovered that the sea area near the deserted island is shrouded in spiritual mist once a year. Although the area is more than ten times smaller than before, it has one advantage: it will no longer attract demonic beasts of level five or above.
This phenomenon greatly excited the surrounding independent cultivators. There was no threat from high-level demonic beasts, only some demonic beasts of level two or three or lower. This was a real boon for them, since it was not easy to find such a stable place to hunt demonic beasts in the Inner Star Sea region.
Gradually, the island became famous in the surrounding area and was also known as Spirit Mist Island, attracting a large number of rogue cultivators to stay here and open cave dwellings. However, no one knew that in a corner of this deserted island, deep underground, there was a cultivator who was in seclusion.