A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Half an hour later, Luo Ming abruptly stopped making hand seals, and the spiritual light of the array surrounding his body receded like a tide, disappearing without a trace. Then, he pulled out the array bases buried in the ground one by one. He still had a use for these arrays and couldn't just abandon them.

He lightly brushed the dust off his robes, his gaze fixed on the direction of the hidden cave mentioned by Liu Shi. Just as he was about to leave on his magical artifact, he suddenly stopped.

He turned his head to look at the simple cave in the distance. The spirit vines climbing on the stone wall were planted by his own hands when he first arrived here, and now they are lush and verdant.

In a daze, he suddenly remembered the little girl named Mingyue, whom he had recently accepted as a disciple.

"Alas, my cultivation at the late Foundation Establishment stage is still considered low-level. There are three mountains pressing down on me: the Six-Hall Alliance and the Extreme Yin Island forces. They are far beyond what I can handle right now. I can only find a quieter place."

Luo Ming sighed inwardly, a hint of helplessness surging in his eyes.

With his future uncertain, he naturally couldn't drag a young girl with no connections into the conflict; he would let her develop on her own.

With a swift, ghostly movement, Luo Ming silently landed outside a farmhouse in the distance. After studying the wind-controlling abilities of the Wind Fox Beast, Luo Ming's wind-controlling technique had become increasingly unpredictable, showing a significant improvement over the past.

Inside the woodshed, the dim light of the oil lamp flickered slightly. Mingyue sat curled up on a low stool, with the "Spirit Control Technique" laid flat on her lap. Her brows were furrowed, and she tilted her head from time to time, pondering the contents of the book. Her fingertips were still tracing obscure incantations in the air. She was completely unaware that someone was approaching, immersed in the mystery of the technique.

Luo Ming stood outside the door, a faint gentleness flashing in his eyes. He then flicked his finger, sending a wisp of almost imperceptible spiritual energy into the woodshed. Mingyue felt an overwhelming drowsiness wash over her, her eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and her head drooped as she fell into a deep sleep on the table, her palm still tightly clutching the book "Spirit Control Technique".

This pure and ethereal energy was condensed from Luo Ming's magical power. For the little girl Mingyue, it had the effect of clearing her meridians and helping her to cultivate and sense the Qi more quickly.

Luo Ming pushed open the door and entered, placing a gray storage bag and a note next to the cultivation manual. He then reached out to straighten her slipped clothes before turning and disappearing into the deep night.

Two hours later, the sky began to lighten with the first light of dawn, and the bright moon slowly awoke, immediately noticing the strange object on the table. She picked up the note, which contained only four powerful characters.

"Keep it a secret, take care."

The handwriting was clear and cold, yet it conveyed a sense of warmth. Mingyue stared blankly at the note, a feeling of emptiness and bewilderment welling up in her heart.

At this moment, Luo Ming was already thousands of miles away from Lingbang Island, speeding along on a spirit boat.

"That girl is quick-witted. With the resources I left behind, she should be able to establish herself securely," he thought to himself. The spirit stones, low-grade spiritual herbs, and defensive talismans prepared in his storage bag were enough for her to steadily cultivate to the early stage of Foundation Establishment. As for her future path, that would depend on her own opportunities and temperament.

"Why didn't the master take her with him?"

Liu Shi's voice rang in my mind, full of doubt, "This woman has a rare wind spirit root and excellent aptitude. If we find a dual cultivation method, once she has completed her foundation building, it will definitely be of great benefit to the master's cultivation. She can even be used as a furnace to help the master break through the shackles of the core formation as soon as possible."

In his view, it would be a waste to abandon such a female cultivator with such excellent aptitude. If she were to be discovered by other cultivators with wicked intentions, they would surely abduct her and take her for their own use.

"Hmph, dual cultivation furnace is nothing but a heretical path." Luo Ming's tone was disdainful, and his eyes became more and more determined. "Cultivators should take the Dao in their hearts as the foundation. If they rely on external things to take shortcuts, they will eventually find it difficult to reach the Great Dao."

He abruptly changed the subject, interrupting Liu Shi's explanation, and said in a deep voice, "Tell me about your Jiyin Island. How much do you know?"

"My knowledge is limited. I usually act according to the island's secret orders. The lower-level cultivators each have their own duties and rarely have the opportunity to access the island's core secrets." Liu Shi dared not say more and answered respectfully and truthfully.

As Luo Ming flew through the air, he listened attentively to Liu Shi's narration, comparing his words with his understanding of this world from his previous life. Gradually, he began to sketch a clear outline of the power structure and underlying operations of the Extreme Yin Island. Finally, he deliberately mentioned the words "Reverse Star Alliance," but Liu Shi looked completely blank and shook his head repeatedly, saying he had never heard of it.

"It seems that the threshold for the Reverse Star Alliance is not low. Cultivators below the Core Formation stage have no way to contact them now." Luo Ming sighed inwardly. Although his plan to learn about the internal affairs of the Reverse Star Alliance had failed, it was understandable.

How could such a secretive anti-star palace force be known to the lower-level cultivators? The slightest carelessness could leak the secret and ruin the entire plan.

He remembered that the Star Palace's two saints were trapped in the cultivation of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light and could not leave Tianxing Island. After learning about this, the Reverse Star Alliance seized this opportunity to accelerate the expansion of its power. Finally, after the Void Heaven Palace opened, it officially broke off relations with the Star Palace and started a war.

On the third day after Luo Ming left Lingbang Island, a dazzling yellow light shot down from the sky and hovered steadily above his former cave. When the light dissipated, it revealed a middle-aged cultivator with a sinister face, none other than Elder Miao from the Six Linked Halls, who was at the early stage of Core Formation.

He scanned the cave with his divine sense and discovered that it was already deserted. Faint traces of a battle remained on the ground. His brows furrowed and his face showed doubt.

"The island's master, Luo Ming, is merely a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. He has no ability to annihilate Huang Song and the others. There must be other cultivators involved, and Luo Ming is probably also implicated." Elder Miao muttered to himself, just as he was about to investigate further, when his divine sense suddenly caught a faint trace of Yin energy, which vanished in an instant.

His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately summoned a golden throwing knife, hovering it before him. Infused with spiritual energy, the knife gleamed with a chilling light. Elder Miao's gaze swept across the distant void like a hawk's, and he said in a deep voice, "Which fellow Daoist is hiding here? Why not show yourself!"

"Hehe, Elder Miao's divine sense is quite sharp, you were able to detect this." A deep, hoarse laugh came, and ripples spread through the void. A cultivator dressed in black robes, surrounded by dense yin energy, slowly appeared.

"People from Extreme Yin Island!" Elder Miao was shocked, instantly recognizing the other party as Qiu Hu, a disciple of the Extreme Yin Ancestor. Suppressing his apprehension, he coldly said, "The area around Spirit Clam Island is within the territory of my Star Palace. Fellow Daoist Qiu, your rash intrusion suggests you intend to challenge the prestige of my Star Palace?"

Qiu Hu, his identity exposed, showed no embarrassment whatsoever. He swaggered over to the cave dwelling, carefully examined the traces of the battle, then turned to Elder Miao with a sinister smile, saying, "A few days ago, a batch of important goods from my Extreme Yin Island was stolen in this area. I wonder if Elder Miao has heard anything about it?"

"Your goods from Jiyin Island?" Elder Miao's expression changed slightly, and he secretly thought that this matter must be related to the disappearance of Huang Song and the others.

As the two exchanged words, the tension escalated, and the conversation broke down in no time.

Qiu Hu took the initiative, waving his black robe and sending out several dark needles that glowed with an eerie light.

Elder Miao was not to be outdone. His golden flying knife transformed into a streak of light to meet the attack. The two completely different spiritual energies collided violently, instantly unleashing an earth-shattering battle.