A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

As far as he knew, the Qingjiang River was at least a hundred miles wide at its narrowest point, and over a thousand miles wide at its widest, yet it was merely a tributary of the Canglan River, a major river in the southern region. The Canglan River, in turn, was the longest river in the southern region, running from north to south and eventually emptying into the boundless sea.

If he travels north along the Canglan River, Luo Ming can directly reach the Xi Kingdom, where in the center lies Yunmeng Mountain, a sacred place for cultivating immortality.

Although he had considered going there, the river was located at the border between the righteous and demonic forces, a place teeming with all sorts of people. With his current early Foundation Establishment cultivation, it would be quite risky for him to rashly cross the border between the righteous and demonic forces to go there.

In his memory, the righteous and demonic paths seem to be tacitly annexing smaller forces around them to strengthen their own power. They will only stop expanding once they have eliminated the cultivation forces of other independent countries.

"I'd better stay in Spirit Beast Mountain for now." Luo Ming steadied himself and pondered to himself, "The crisis of the demonic invasion is getting closer and closer. The only way is to improve my strength as soon as possible."

Several days later, Luo Ming finally returned to his cave.

He dared not slacken in the slightest, and immediately took out the array plate and array flags, setting up the Golden Wind and Drizzle Array inside and outside the cave. This was a mid-level array with average offensive and defensive capabilities; Luo Ming mainly used it to regulate the distribution of spiritual energy within the cave.

His cave dwelling is located in the heart of the spiritual veins of Spirit Beast Mountain, where the earth spiritual energy is the most abundant. Although the cultivation technique he practices does not have any attributes, his spiritual roots are the three spiritual roots of metal, water, and earth. This Golden Wind and Fine Rain Formation can just regulate the spiritual energy attributes inside and outside the cave dwelling, so as to maximize his cultivation efficiency.

Furthermore, the Spirit Gathering Cauldron can purify the effects of the Spirit Gathering Pill, allowing a low-grade Spirit Gathering Pill to exert an effect almost like a mid-grade pill. Luo Ming is confident that his cultivation progress will not be slower than that of Old Demon Han.

Of course, this is also because low-grade pills below the Golden Core stage are relatively easy to buy in the market. However, high-grade pills, which are needed at the Golden Core stage, are often priceless and unavailable; even with a lot of spirit stones, it's not guaranteed that you can obtain a single one. But these are not things he needs to consider right now.

After setting up the defenses and regulating the spiritual energy of his cave dwelling, Luo Ming began making final preparations for his seclusion. According to the rules of Spirit Beast Mountain, newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivators have a two-year exemption from sect duties, allowing them to focus on cultivation. After two years, they are required to complete a certain number of sect tasks each year in exchange for cultivation resources and sect contributions.

Before settling down to cultivate, Luo Ming went to the spirit beast chamber and saw the azure dragon that was trapped there.

After working for a while, the azure dragon remained unyielding, a situation he had already anticipated. "Sigh, this dragon-type demon beast is indeed unruly and difficult to tame. It seems I have to teach it a lesson it won't forget."

Leaving the spirit beast chamber, Luo Ming patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist, and a flash of crimson-gold spiritual light appeared, summoning the Fat Sun Bird. As soon as the little creature appeared, it flapped its wings and circled twice in the cave, chirping incessantly, its round eyes full of dissatisfaction, clearly complaining about the stifling feeling of being locked up in the spirit beast pouch these past few days.

Luo Ming ignored its dissatisfaction and conveyed his demands to it through his divine sense.

Upon hearing this, the Fat Sun Bird immediately wilted, its fluttering wings ceasing, its large, bright eyes filled with reluctance. However, it had already been bound to Luo Ming by a master-servant contract, and could not disobey its master's orders. After hesitating for a moment, it finally opened its small beak and spat out a small ball of flickering golden spiritual fire—its very essence fire. The moment the spiritual fire appeared, the temperature inside the cave rose sharply.

A glint flashed in Luo Ming's eyes, and without hesitation, he activated the secret technique. A pale golden light shot from his fingertips, landing precisely on the ball of Yang Spirit Fire like a needle, splitting off a small portion. Then, he carefully took out the Spirit Gathering Cauldron and placed this portion of the spirit fire into it.

In truth, this small ball of spiritual fire was barely enough for his cultivation. But Luo Ming knew the wonders of the Spirit Gathering Cauldron, and whenever he encountered a spiritual object, he was in the habit of putting it into the cauldron first to see if it could be purified and strengthened.

If, as he predicted, the Spirit Gathering Cauldron could nurture and strengthen this spiritual fire, then he would be able to continuously obtain even stronger spiritual fire in the future. This fire could not only be used to cultivate the Qianyang Fire Eye and the Forging God Technique to improve his own strength, but it could also nourish the Zhiyang Bird, making its primordial fire more domineering, thereby enhancing its combat power. In this way, it would be the best of both worlds.

"Alright, don't be upset." Luo Ming looked at the listless appearance of the Zhiyang Bird and, as if coaxing a child, took out a mid-grade fire spirit stone from his storage bag and threw it in front of it. "Consider this fire spirit stone as compensation for you."

Upon seeing the Fire Spirit Stone, the Fat Sun Bird's eyes lit up instantly, and its previous listlessness vanished. It flapped its wings and flew over, swallowing the Fire Spirit Stone in one gulp. A satisfied whimper escaped its throat, and its previously listless aura instantly returned to normal, its chirping becoming cheerful again.

The bodies of demonic beasts are incredibly powerful, capable of directly consuming spirit stones to absorb spiritual energy. If a human cultivator were to directly consume a spirit stone, the consequences would be dire, as the spiritual energy within the stone is extremely volatile and contains many impurities, leading to damage to their meridians.

In the days that followed, Luo Ming began his secluded cultivation.

After that, apart from taking Spirit Gathering Pills and meditating to hone his cultivation, he spent the rest of his time studying the insights of that talisman-making master surnamed Yang.

The description of talisman-making techniques is extremely detailed, from the selection of talisman paper and the refining of talisman ink to the precise control of spiritual power and the order of outlining the talismans. Even the pressure of the brushstrokes and the rhythm of breathing are marked. It is almost like a step-by-step instruction, meticulous and detailed.

Perhaps it's because he's now at the Foundation Establishment stage, and his control over spiritual power is far more precise than when he was at the Qi Refining stage; or perhaps it's because he practiced calligraphy for a few years in his previous life, giving him an innate sensitivity to outlining lines. Luo Ming's progress in talisman making can be described as miraculous.

In just a few days, he was able to perfectly draw a low-level Gengjin talisman. When the talisman was completed, the paper was filled with spiritual light, and a sharp Gengjin aura rushed out.

Looking at the Gengjin talisman in his hand, Luo Ming couldn't help but feel a little surprised: "The art of talisman making doesn't seem as difficult as the legends say? Could I actually be a talisman-making genius?"

Regardless of the reason, given his talent in talisman making, Luo Ming naturally wouldn't waste it.

It's important to understand that talismans are extremely useful for low-level cultivators. They can be used for surprise attacks during combat, cover when escaping, or as an aid during daily cultivation. A mid-level talisman can even allow a Qi Refining cultivator to challenge a Foundation Establishment cultivator, making it a true life-saving tool.

After that, Luo Ming mastered the method of drawing a new low-level talisman almost every few days. Green Wood Talisman, Azure Water Talisman, Blazing Fire Talisman... low-level talismans of various attributes were drawn by him in an endless stream, filling a corner of his storage bag.