A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

A quarter of an hour later, Luo Ming arrived outside a formation hidden in the yellow sand. He flicked his finger, and a sound transmission talisman flew into the formation.

A moment later, the array's restrictions rippled, revealing the figures of the cultivators stationed behind it.

One of the cultivators stepped forward, glanced at Luo Ming, and bowed, saying, "According to the sect's rules, please show your mission token, senior."

Luo Ming was naturally aware of the rules here, so he immediately took out his mission token and handed it over.

A moment later, a response came from the array's central control. After the on-duty cultivator confirmed that the information was correct, the array slowly opened a passage, allowing Luo Ming to enter.

"Haha, it's Junior Brother Luo from Spirit Beast Mountain!" A hearty laugh rang out as Luo Ming passed through the array passage. A Foundation Establishment cultivator dressed in Yellow Maple Valley attire quickly stepped forward, cupping his hands in greeting and saying with a smile, "My name is Dong Zheng. With Junior Brother Luo's arrival, things will be much easier for me from now on!"

Luo Ming quickly returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "Greetings, Senior Brother Dong. I have been ordered to come here to guard this post. I will need your continued care in the future."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Luo Ming learned from Dong Zheng that this place was a small spirit stone mine, jointly guarded by the Spirit Beast Mountain, the Hidden Moon Sect, and the Yellow Maple Valley, with each sect sending one Foundation Establishment cultivator. This arrangement was also for mutual supervision to prevent any sect from secretly hoarding resources.

As for the Foundation Establishment cultivators from Spirit Beast Mountain in front of Luo Ming, they would exchange information with Luo Ming before returning to report back and taking away the Spirit Beast Mountain's share of spirit stones for the recent period.

Dong Zheng was a very talkative and cheerful man. Before long, he explained the general situation of the mine, the existing personnel stationed there, and the daily duty rules to Luo Ming. Luo Ming listened attentively, nodding in response from time to time, and soon gained a clear understanding of the situation.

Afterwards, Dong Zheng led Luo Ming to a large hall in the heart of the mine, where a cultivator dressed in the robes of the Hidden Moon Sect was already waiting. Dong Zheng introduced, "Junior Brother Luo, this is Senior Brother Zhao Xing of the Hidden Moon Sect. Senior Brother Zhao, this is Junior Brother Luo Ming from the Spirit Beast Mountain."

"Greetings, Senior Brother Zhao." Luo Ming bowed in greeting.

Zhao Xing nodded slightly in return, his expression somewhat composed: "Greetings, Junior Brother Luo."

After the three of them sat down, Dong Zheng spoke first: "Now that Junior Brother Luo has arrived, let's redistribute our specific duty assignments."

Luo Ming was already aware of this. The Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed at the spirit stone mine had three main tasks: first, to patrol the mine veins and investigate potential hazards such as demonic beasts and mine collapses; second, to oversee the central formation, maintain its operation, and respond to any sudden enemy attacks; and third, to manage the spirit stone warehouse, guard the mined spirit stones, and prevent their theft.

To ensure fairness, the three people's tasks are rotated every month, while the lower-level cultivators who actually do the work in each department are mixed from the three factions.

Before Dong Zheng and Zhao Xing could explain in detail, Luo Ming took the initiative to speak up: "I've just arrived here and am not yet familiar with the mine, so I'll take on the patrol duty for now. Once I'm more familiar with it, I'll take turns with my two senior brothers."

Upon hearing this, Dong Zheng and Zhao Xing were both somewhat surprised, then a hint of approval flashed in their eyes. Of the three, patrolling was undoubtedly the most arduous task—the mines were intricate and complex, making patrolling time-consuming and laborious, and seriously interfering with cultivation. In contrast, overseeing the central array and the spirit stone warehouse was not only relaxed and leisurely, but both places were also equipped with spirit-gathering arrays, making the spiritual energy far more abundant than inside or outside the mines, ideal places for cultivation.

Luo Ming's willingness to take on the most tiring task undoubtedly saved the two of them trouble. Dong Zheng and Zhao Xing exchanged a glance, nodded slowly in secret, their tense expressions easing considerably, and they became even more polite to Luo Ming.

Over the next few hours, the three not only finalized their duty schedules but also exchanged many cultivation insights, enjoying a pleasant conversation. Several hours later, Luo Ming finally returned to his own residence.

This cave dwelling was for public use, and thanks to the renovations by each resident cultivator, it was quite large and fully equipped. He didn't find it cumbersome and simply settled in.

Luo Ming's decision to patrol was not out of a willingness to be taken advantage of. He also wanted to cultivate peacefully within the Spirit Gathering Array and improve his cultivation level as quickly as possible. However, the most important thing right now was to find the ultra-long-distance teleportation array located deep within the mine, and patrolling the mine was the best cover for searching for the teleportation array.

Early the next morning, Luo Ming got up and went to the mine's guard post. A small team of more than ten cultivators was stationed there, who were nominally his subordinates.

"Shi Xiao greets Senior Luo!" A leading cultivator bowed to Luo Ming, and the other cultivators quickly followed suit.

"Greetings, Senior Luo."

Luo Ming looked at the group and nodded slightly, saying, "Yes, is everyone here?"

"Reporting to Senior Luo, all eleven members of the patrol team have arrived."

Over the years, Luo Ming had become quite familiar with the patrol team's work at the spirit stone mine. He would usually arrange the tasks for the next few days every few days, while the team would handle the specifics. He would only be asked to deal with the situation if a powerful monster was spotted.

Because of the rich underground spiritual energy, the spirit stone mine often attracts cave-dwelling monsters, which is why the patrol work is so arduous. This is because we often have to deal with monsters.

After assigning the patrol routes for the day, Luo Ming stopped Shi Xiao and asked, "Have any monsters been spotted in the mine recently?"

Shi Xiao frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "A few months ago, low-level demonic beasts appeared frequently, but recently it's been quite quiet. I wonder why?"

Is it very quiet?

"Okay, I understand. You can go ahead and get back to work. Report any unusual situations to me immediately."

After seeing Shi Xiao off, Luo Ming pondered for a while. He felt that it was abnormal that there were fewer demonic beasts near the spirit stone mine. After all, demonic beasts also knew that abundant spiritual energy was beneficial for cultivation, so they would definitely gather in this area.

"Looks like I'll have to go down and check things out myself!"

,,,,,,

Time passed day by day, and three months went by in the blink of an eye. Luo Ming secretly searched almost every mine, but still found no trace of the teleportation array, only a few minor mine collapse hazards.

That day, Luo Ming had just returned from his patrol when he received a message from Dong Zheng, asking him to go to the main hall for a meeting.

"It seems the news of the demonic invasion has arrived." Luo Ming had just guessed from Dong Zheng's anxious tone that it might be news from the demonic forces.

Upon arriving at the council hall, they found many unfamiliar faces, including the ever-calm Old Devil Han.

From the way the other person looked at him, Luo Ming knew that the other person had obviously recognized him.

Upon seeing Luo Ming enter, Dong Zheng quickly introduced everyone and informed him of the demonic invasion. He also mentioned that Han Li and the others had arrived to strengthen the defenses of the spirit stone mine.

"The demonic path has invaded?" Luo Ming showed a look of horror. Although he had known about this for a long time, it would be abnormal if he did not react at all.

No one was surprised by Luo Ming's reaction, because they had the same reaction when they first heard about it.

This time, a total of four Foundation Establishment cultivators and dozens of Qi Refining cultivators came to guard the area, and they also brought materials to reinforce the formation. After discussing it, everyone immediately began to prepare and set up the formation.