A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 93 Bottleneck

"Cultivation truly transcends time!"

Luo Ming slowly opened his eyes, his deep pupils seemed to flicker with flames, and his aura was several times stronger than before.

This was the longest he had ever been in seclusion, a full twelve years without leaving this place. If it weren't for the few spirit beasts accompanying him and the pleasure brought by his progress in cultivation, he didn't know how he would have been able to persevere.

However, his efforts were eventually rewarded. At this moment, he finally raised his cultivation level to the point where he was only a hair's breadth away from the Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm. But this hair's breadth was what blocked him, and he could not achieve perfection no matter what he did.

Only when one reaches the Foundation Establishment Perfection realm can one attempt to break through to the next realm, which is also the watershed between low-level and high-level cultivators—that is, condensing a flawless golden core.

Once a cultivator enters the Core Formation stage, their dantian magic power solidifies, and the degree of their magic power condensation will far exceed that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. A single casual strike from them will require a Foundation Establishment cultivator to defend against with all their might.

"Why does it feel like something's missing?"

Luo Ming walked out of the secret room with a rather unpleasant expression. He hadn't expected that even the Foundation Establishment Perfection realm could hold him back, and there was an even bigger hurdle waiting for him.

Could it be that... his cultivation level improved too quickly, resulting in an insufficient mental state?

He suddenly felt a little lost, feeling that he was only one step away from the completion of the Foundation Establishment stage, but he could not find the way in.

"I really envy those cultivators with Heavenly Spiritual Roots. It's like their bottlenecks don't exist. They only get blocked when they advance to the Nascent Soul stage, but their success rate is much higher than that of ordinary cultivators." Luo Ming sighed to the sky.

Since you know you've hit a bottleneck, you absolutely mustn't be impatient. If you force yourself to cultivate with this mindset, there's a high chance you'll suffer a qi deviation.

Having figured it out, Luo Ming smiled. Cultivation is not something that can be rushed; a balance between exertion and relaxation is best.

Arriving at the cultivation site of several spirit beasts, Luo Ming checked on the progress of the little ones' cultivation and nodded in satisfaction.

The cultivation speed of demonic beasts slows down as they progress. Currently, all of the spirit beasts have reached the fourth level. Although they are still quite far from the peak of the fourth level, at this rate, they will definitely be able to reach the threshold of advancing to the fifth level within twenty years.

Only then can we truly see the strength of a demon beast's bloodline and whether it has the potential to grow into a high-level demon beast.

Luo Ming was, of course, very confident in his spirit beast.

If the high-level cultivators of Spirit Beast Mountain knew that Luo Ming had raised several demonic beasts to such a level in just a few decades, they would definitely search his soul and refine his spirit to find out the reason.

The most significant change has occurred in the Xuan Turtle. Since it devoured the Thunder Eel Demon Core, its aura has shifted from peaceful to violent. It is currently sleeping in the pool, with occasional flashes of lightning on its body, as if some kind of bloodline is awakening.

"Could this guy be the one who advanced to level five beforehand?" Luo Ming couldn't help but wonder.

The demon core of a high-level demon beast could provide such a great boost to a low-level demon beast. Luo Ming felt an urge to immediately head out to the outer sea to hunt high-level demon beasts.

But he immediately abandoned this crazy idea. The outer sea is not only full of high-level demonic beasts, but also high-level cultivators. Sometimes, the danger level of cultivators is much higher than that of those low-intelligence demonic beasts.

Finally, they immediately went to a spirit beast room in the corner. As soon as they opened the barrier, an astonishing chill burst out. Two chubby big guys were fast asleep inside silkworm cocoons.

These were the two snow silkworms he had raised back then.

At this moment, the two little guys had both advanced to level two, and their size had increased many times over. Their round, white bodies immediately crawled over affectionately when they saw Luo Ming coming over.

Feeling the icy touch on its body, I glanced at the two silkworm cocoons emitting an astonishing chill.

"These ice silks are not only exceptionally tough, but also brimming with astonishing cold, making them excellent ice-attribute materials. If they could be woven into a robe..."

At this moment, Luo Ming remembered a famous magical artifact called the Ice Silk Armor, which could withstand the burning flames when worn and was a good protective artifact.

"Let's wait until my cultivation level is higher before talking about it. The silkworm silk I have now is still not enough for me."

Luo Ming tested the strength of the silk and found that it was still a bit insufficient for him at present, so he had to temporarily give up the idea of ​​using the other party's house to weave ice silk armor.

At this moment, the snow silkworm was unaware that its lair had just escaped a calamity.

After teasing the other party for a while, Luo Ming put the several spirit beasts into his spirit beast bag, and with a flash, walked towards the outside of the formation.

He planned to go out for a walk to clear his head and catch some bugs while he was at it.

,,,,,,

"Has this island developed to this state now?"

After quietly leaving his cave, Luo Ming stared in shock at the distant market, hardly believing his eyes. In his view, the number of low-level cultivators on this island was no less than that of his own Spirit Clam Island back then.

"Fellow Daoist, when did this island become home to so many cultivators?" Luo Ming asked as a Qi Refining stage cultivator passed by.

"Senior, you don't even know about Spirit Mist Island?" The Qi Refining stage cultivator in gray robes stared at Luo Ming in shock, but then realized something and quickly explained:

"Senior must have come from other seas..."

After the other party's explanation, Luo Ming learned about the events that had happened on the island over the years. Filled with curiosity, Luo Ming quickly walked into the market.

Although the market is not large, it has already reached a certain scale. Luo Ming estimates that if it develops for another hundred years or so, it will surpass his original Lingbang Island.

Just as Luo Ming was strolling around, a subtle divine sense suddenly swept past him, startling him. However, the divine sense only flashed by, and if it weren't for his keen senses, he would have had difficulty detecting it.

"This is definitely the divine sense of a Core Formation stage cultivator. Could it be that the old man hasn't left yet?"

Luo Ming has now taken the thousand-year-old spirit clam as a spirit beast, and with so many years of training, its ability to hide is much stronger than before. He is confident that even an ordinary Core Formation cultivator would find it difficult to detect his disguise without careful investigation.

However, the presence of an unknown Core Formation cultivator here gave him a sense of crisis.

As he strolled slowly through the market streets, an old man in a green robe at one of the stalls was secretly observing Luo Ming.

"A Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, not that guy."

"Damn it, where did that cultivator with the mysterious green liquid go?"

For years, the Golden Gu Old Man had been searching for Luo Ming's whereabouts. Back then, he had gone to great lengths, even detonating his natal magic weapon and using a secret technique to finally escape the man's pursuit.

After returning to his cave and carefully studying the drop of green liquid, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the bottleneck of his golden-winged centipede, which had been stuck at the peak of the fourth rank for a long time, had actually loosened after consuming the drop of green liquid.

This made him ecstatic, but also deeply regretful. Why didn't he just capture that kid and force him to reveal the source of the green liquid? If he could have obtained some more, his spirit beast would definitely have a great chance of advancing to level five.

"Hmph, I have a feeling that the little guy is definitely near this Spirit Mist Island. Once I've fully recovered from my injuries, I'll turn this island upside down."