A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 99 Preparations for the Demon Hunt

Jin Qing's tone was full of regret, "Unfortunately, my family is very strict. I have only recently advanced to the Core Formation stage, and I am afraid that something might happen to me over there. Now I am not allowed to venture out to the outer sea on my own, so I can only stay near this Star Palace."

He grew up under the protection of his family, with abundant resources and a smooth road ahead, but he also lost the freedom to roam freely. Watching Luo Mingneng go to the open sea alone, he felt only longing.

Seeing this, Luo Ming comforted him, saying, "Brother Jin, there's no need to be disappointed. Although there are opportunities in the outer sea, there are also dangers at every turn. A slight mistake could lead to your demise. You should stay in the clan and steadily improve your cultivation. When your cultivation is sufficient in the future, the elders in the clan will naturally feel at ease letting you go out."

Jin Qing smiled, suppressing his envy, and raised his cup, saying, "Brother Wang Chan is right. Let's not talk about these things. It's already a pleasure to have had a heart-to-heart talk with you about cultivation today. I'm sure we'll return from the outer seas with a full harvest."

The two chatted about the habits of the monsters in the outer sea and the fighting techniques of Core Formation cultivators. The more they talked, the more they clicked. The initial awkwardness had long since faded away, and they felt as happy as if they had found kindred spirits.

Because the other party had met many cultivators who had been to the outer sea, Luo Ming also learned some interesting stories about the outer sea recently from them.

"I heard that Qiyuan Island has been quite lively lately. Half a year ago, someone discovered traces of a mutated monster, the whale Kun, in the abyss, which attracted a Nascent Soul cultivator to investigate. They even had a battle with the transformed monster there."

"A rogue cultivator in the late stage of Core Formation found a Rainbow Grass on a deserted island. Just as it was about to bloom its eleventh leaf, it attracted dozens of high-level demonic beasts. The man was so frightened that he abandoned the array he had set up and fled in a sorry state."

"Last month, I heard that a group of rogue cultivators were hunting demonic beasts when they unexpectedly discovered a cultivator's cave on a deserted island. The group fought over the treasures inside, but in the end, a seemingly unassuming early-stage Core Formation cultivator got the better deal and stole the most important treasure."

Several hours later, as night deepened, Luo Ming got up to take his leave.

Jin Qing personally escorted him to the entrance of the cave, repeatedly urging him to be cautious in his actions at Waihai and not to be greedy for quick success. Luo Ming nodded in agreement, and in a flash, his figure transformed into a streak of light and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Watching his departing figure, Jin Qing thought to himself: This person is exceptionally talented, has a calm temperament, and dislikes being bound by power. He must be a solitary cultivator who can endure loneliness. No wonder he was able to advance to the Core Formation stage within a hundred years. Such perseverance is hard for ordinary cultivators to match.

Meanwhile, Luo Ming returned to his cave dwelling, feeling quite moved: "Jin Qing is not a bad person at heart; he is frank and straightforward, and worth getting to know better."

In this chaotic Star Sea where people's hearts are unpredictable and the strong prey on the weak, it is truly rare to meet such a cultivator who is free from scheming.

This is naturally related to Jin Qing's upbringing. If it were those cultivators who had fought their way up from the bottom of the world, where every step was calculated, Luo Ming would feel that it would be much easier and more comfortable to be with someone like Jin Qing.

Suppressing his emotions, Luo Ming sat cross-legged and mobilized his spiritual power to try to nurture the Golden Core according to the method taught by Jin Qing.

Although he felt that the trajectory of spiritual energy was quite strange when this method was in operation, he dared not slack off in the slightest. He knew that from the moment he advanced to the Core Formation stage, his path to Nascent Soul had officially begun.

Over the next few days, Luo Ming stayed indoors, taking care of all the affairs in his cave dwelling, and also checked the spirit stones, magical artifacts, and pills in his storage bag, making thorough preparations for his journey to the outer sea.

"But before we go to the outer sea, it would be best to take away the Spirit Eye Spring on Spirit Mist Island first." Luo Ming suddenly remembered this.

The outer seas are treacherous and unpredictable; while hunting monsters, one may not necessarily find a safe place to cultivate.

Although the Spirit Eye Spring on Spirit Mist Island is not large in scale, its spiritual energy is pure and can provide a significant boost to the cultivation of Core Formation cultivators.

In the cultivation world, spiritual eyes are extremely rare. The spiritual eyes that are openly available are controlled by major forces and high-level cultivators. Whether carried on one's person or integrated into the spiritual veins of a cave, they can significantly improve the speed of cultivation.

However, collecting the Spirit Eye Spring is no easy task. It requires at least the mana of a Core Formation stage cultivator, and the process will also cause fluctuations in spiritual energy, easily attracting covetous eyes. Luo Ming decided that he needed to prepare the necessary tools and formations before acting in secret.

The next day, Luo Ming changed into an ordinary black robe and wore a bamboo hat to cover his face before heading to one of the largest trading companies in Tianxing City—the Treasure Alliance.

The Treasure Alliance has a deep-rooted presence in Tianxing City. Its storefront is spacious and bright, with shelves filled with all kinds of spiritual materials, magic tools, cultivation manuals, jade slips, and array equipment. Cultivators come and go in an endless stream, creating a bustling atmosphere.

Luo Ming walked straight to the counter and said to the shopkeeper bluntly, "I need a set of arrays and containers for collecting spiritual spring water, and two sets of offensive arrays for hunting high-level demonic beasts."

The shopkeeper was a mature-looking late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Although his cultivation was not as high as Luo Ming's, he had developed a keen eye for people. Seeing that Luo Ming's aura was condensed and profound, with the hidden pressure of a Golden Core cultivator leaking out, he quickly stood up, cupped his hands, and said in an extremely respectful tone: "Senior, please wait a moment. Our shop happens to have a set of formations for collecting the spiritual energy of the Spirit Eye Spring. When used with a high-grade spirit jade pot, it can perfectly collect the spiritual energy of the Spirit Eye Spring and prevent it from leaking out. It is most suitable for use."

As he spoke, the shopkeeper took out a brocade box from the back warehouse, carefully opened it, and inside were twelve small array flags, a round array plate, and a translucent white jade pot, the body of which was surrounded by a faint spiritual light, and the spiritual energy was refreshing.

"This Spirit Eye Spring is a rare and precious treasure. Senior, you are truly fortunate to have found such a place," the shopkeeper said with envy as he handed over the brocade box.

After Luo Ming finished inspecting the Spirit Gathering and Spring Collection Array, the shopkeeper bowed again and said, "Fellow Daoist, the hunting and attacking array for high-level demonic beasts that you requested, our shop happens to have three sets of treasures that meet your needs—the Five Elements Bewitching Array, the Myriad Blades Demon Locking Array, and the Primordial Earth Array."

This Five Elements Bewitching Array can generate five-colored bewitching mist. When ordinary monsters fall into it, they will feel their five senses confused and lose their sense of space. It can be effective on monsters of any attribute. Unless a monster has illusion abilities, it cannot escape the effect of this array.

The Myriad Blades Demon-Locking Array is a metal-elemental array that can condense thousands of Geng metal energies to form a trapping and killing net. It can severely injure or even kill high-level demon beasts. However, setting up the array requires precisely burying eighteen array flags and calibrating three array eyes, which is quite time-consuming and labor-intensive.

This Hunyuan Thick Earth Formation is an earth-attribute magic formation that can connect with the power of the earth's veins to form a thick earth and stone cage that can firmly trap demonic beasts. If it is just a single demonic beast, even a level seven demonic beast can be trapped for a short time.

Luo Ming nodded upon hearing this, thinking to himself: He already possessed a set of Xuanbo Binding Spirit Array, which was quick to set up and flexible to adapt to, making it most suitable for hasty defense.

The Ten Thousand Blades Demon-Locking Array and the Primordial Earth Array are even more powerful, and they are relatively easy to control after being set up, which makes Luo Ming very satisfied. The two, one trapping and the other killing, are just right for the needs of the outer sea. With the addition of the illusionary magic of the Five Elements Bewitching Array, it is even more stable in the outer sea.

As for the other formations the shopkeeper mentioned later, they were either too troublesome to control or lacked power, making the Xuanbo Soul-Trapping Formation much easier to use. "Let's choose these three formations," Luo Ming immediately decided. "We'll settle the accounts together with the Spirit Gathering and Spring-Collecting Formation."