A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 443 Refining Spirit Fire

She had benefited greatly from processing the materials from the Bloodthirsty Golden Mosquito last time, and her weapon-refining skills and understanding of the properties of high-level materials had improved considerably.

For a weapon refiner, what could be more exciting and improve their skills than personally handling and refining higher-level materials? Many weapon refiners are stuck at a bottleneck because they lack enough high-level materials to practice and verify what they have learned.

"Senior has acquired another rare material? I wonder what it is—" Liu Su asked, unable to hide her anticipation.

Luo Ming didn't say much, and simply waved his sleeve.

"call""

A flash of azure light, accompanied by a heavy and pure yet chilling pressure, instantly filled the entire side hall!

A colossal skeleton of a demonic bird, its bones a pale blue hue, with faint wind patterns swirling around it, and emanating a chilling aura, appeared in the open space of the secret chamber.

The skeleton is remarkably well-preserved, especially the pair of wing bones on its back, which can be spread out to several feet. Although many feathers were used to refine the Wind and Thunder Wings, leaving few feathers here, the shape of the skeleton itself and the powerful wind spirit energy remaining within it still allow one to imagine the divine steed that once soared through the heavens.

"This—this is?!" Liu Su gasped, her beautiful eyes widening in disbelief as she stared at the giant bone before her. The aura emanating from the bone was more than twice as powerful as the Bloodthirsty Golden Mosquito material she had previously processed! It was a pressure from a higher level of life, carrying the unique, bone-deep oppressive force of a transformed great demon.

"This aura... could it be... the remains of a level nine demonic bird?" Her voice trembled slightly, and at the same time, a terrifying thought uncontrollably surfaced:

Could it be that this Senior Luo killed a level nine transformed demonic bird on his trip?

A level nine demonic bird! That's a terrifying existence comparable to the peak of the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm, or even close to the late-stage. It's especially skilled at flying and can escape even if it can't defeat you. A late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator might not be able to catch it! How did he do that?

Luo Ming took in Liu Su's shock and said with a faint smile, "Fairy, you guessed correctly. These are the remains of a level nine Wind-Splitting Beast. It was also my luck that I encountered this beast when it was already severely injured, and I had already set up an ambush and trapped it beforehand. It took me quite a bit of effort to capture it. If it were at its peak, with its speed, I wouldn't even be able to catch up with it."

Upon hearing this, Liu Su's shock subsided slightly, but her gaze towards Luo Ming remained filled with awe and reverence. Even a heavily injured level-nine demonic bird was still level nine! To ambush, trap, and kill such a being, one's supernatural abilities, mental fortitude, and treasures were all indispensable.

She recalled that Luo Ming had severely injured Whale Power King, who was in the mid-stage of transformation, but now it seemed normal.

After the initial shock came the irrepressible excitement of a weapon refiner facing top-grade materials. Liu Su strode forward, disregarding her composure, and lightly touched the wing bone that gleamed with a pale blue light, feeling the pure and violent wind elemental energy within it, her eyes gleaming with wonder. But soon, her delicate brows furrowed, revealing a troubled expression.

"Senior, this—this is the remains of a level nine demonic bird! The toughness of its bones and the demonic power it contains are far superior to those of level eight demonic beast materials."

Liu Su turned around and said with a wry smile, "With my current cultivation level and the strength of my true fire, I'm afraid—it would be extremely difficult to melt and divide it. Even with the help of earth fire and the power of the formation, it would take an extremely long time, and if there is any slight mistake during the process, the materials could be damaged, wasting precious resources. I'm afraid—I'm afraid I'm not up to the task."

Upon hearing this, Luo Ming nodded in understanding. After all, Liu Su was only at the Core Formation stage; it was indeed asking too much of her to handle level nine materials.

"What the fairy says makes sense; I, Luo, have not considered this carefully." After a moment's thought, he had an idea. "How about this, I'll have two little fellows assist you. They might be able to help."

After saying that, a thought flickered in his mind.

Two beams of light flew out from the spirit beast pouch at his waist, landing and solidifying. They were the Wind Fox Beast, which was jet black with bright blue eyes and surrounded by a swirling blue wind, and the Fat Sun Bird, which had brightly colored feathers, long tail feathers, and exuded an extremely yang and intense aura.

As soon as the two little creatures appeared, their gazes were drawn to the massive skeleton of the Wind-Splitting Beast on the ground. The Wind Fox Beast, in particular, stared intently at the skeleton with its emerald eyes, letting out a low, eager, and excited whimper. It could clearly sense the incredibly pure wind-attribute energy contained within the skeleton, energy that would greatly benefit it!

Liu Su's eyes lit up when she saw the Wind Fox Beast and the Fat Sun Bird. The Wind Fox Beast's wind blade technique possessed extremely strong cutting power and had a natural affinity for and restraint over wind-attribute materials; the Fat Sun Bird's spiritual fire was an extremely yang true fire, capable of melting gold and refining stones with ease. With their assistance, the problem of dealing with the materials from the already dead level nine demonic bird would be easily solved!

"With these two spirit beasts assisting us, there won't be any problems!" Liu Su smiled, her confidence returning. "Senior, do you intend to refine this demonic bird material into the Wind-Escape Shuttle to enhance its wind attribute and speed, or will you use it for something else?"

Looking at the excited Wind Fox Beast and the curious Fat Sun Bird examining the skeleton, Luo Ming said to Liu Su, "Directly fuse with the Wind-Escape Shuttle to further enhance its speed and spirituality. As for the specific crafting method, Fairy, you can design it according to the characteristics of the materials and your understanding; there's no need to be rigid. These two little guys will obey your commands and assist in processing the materials. If any auxiliary materials are needed, you can make a list and let Si Yue prepare them."

"Yes! This junior will do my utmost to live up to your expectations!" Liu Su solemnly replied, looking at the skeleton of the Rending Wind Beast as if it were a collection of priceless treasures about to be born.

For her, this was not only helping Luo Ming refine treasures, but also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve her own weapon-refining skills!

Without further delay, she bowed to Luo Ming, then carefully gathered up the massive Riftwind Beast skeleton and carried it to her private quarters.

The refining room where the earth fire was most intense. For a long time to come, she will probably be immersed in processing and refining these level-nine materials.

Eight years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Deep within the Bright Moon Pavilion on Silver Shark Island, in the cave dwelling of Luo Ming and Yuan Yao, time passed peacefully and contentedly.

For the past eight years, Luo Ming has lived a rather regular life. Most of the time, he has been cultivating his magical power alone in a quiet room, studying the newly acquired "Mysterious Purity Transformation Technique", and nurturing the prototype of the "Blood Shadow Avatar" based on Feng Xi's essence and blood.

Alternatively, one could study the "Mystic Crane and Luan Cry Technique" with Yuan Yao, refining their magical power and consolidating their realm through dual cultivation of Yin and Yang.

After Yuan Yao refined those two jugs of Azure Flame Wine, her cultivation indeed advanced by leaps and bounds. Several years ago, she successfully broke through to the late stage of Core Formation. Now she continues to accumulate magic power and steadily moves towards the perfection of Core Formation, with her hope of condensing a Nascent Soul growing ever greater.

The development of Mingyue Tower also entered a fast track. The two teleportation arrays connecting Blood Crane Island and the nameless deserted island near Kui Xing Island in the Inner Star Sea were finally completed and tested after several years, under the supervision of Liu Su and Wen Siyue and with the assistance of Jiang Rufeng.

Thus, a secret and fast passage connecting Blood Crane Island, Silver Shark Island, the nameless deserted island in the Inner Star Sea, and the even more distant Tiannan region was quietly taking shape in Luo Ming's hands.

Using this channel, Jiang Rufeng and his group began to operate in secret. They used the Biyun Sect's channels in the Haiyuan region to resell a large number of spiritual herbs and materials obtained from the Haiwang Sect's secret realm in their early years, while also purchasing local specialties from Qiyuan Island and scarce resources from the Inner Star Sea.

The profits from this back-and-forth trade were astonishing. The treasuries of Mingyue Tower and Biyun Gate were rapidly filled through this clandestine cross-sea trade.

The increased strength and neutral stance of focusing solely on business and avoiding involvement in factional struggles have attracted a large number of independent cultivators who are unwilling to be drawn into the conflict between the Star Palace and the Reverse Star Alliance. Today, the Bright Moon Pavilion has become the third largest power in the waters surrounding Silver Shark Island, second only to the Star Palace and the Reverse Star Alliance.

The number of Core Formation stage guest elders in the building has increased to more than a dozen. Although most are in the early stages, they are still a force to be reckoned with. Under the protection of Luo Ming, the Nascent Soul ancestor, Bright Moon Tower is developing into a business alliance that focuses on trade and embraces diverse interests, and its foundation is becoming increasingly solid.

Of course, this also accumulated a lot of resources for Luo Ming, so that he no longer had to make a trip in person because of a lack of certain materials. This is the benefit of having powerful subordinates to command.

Of course, power and obligation go hand in hand. Luo Ming has benefited greatly from this, and if his own forces encounter any calamity, he must also step in to resolve it.

On this day, in Luo Ming's private weapon-refining meditation room.

He sat cross-legged at the eye of the spirit-gathering array, his expression solemn. In the void before him, two flames, each about a foot in size, floated silently, their auras completely opposite and chilling.

On the left, a ball of flame, dark gray in color, burned silently, yet exuded a chilling and deathly stillness that penetrated to the bone. It was the "Gray Flame" that he had created by fusing three Yin-attribute spiritual flames: "Heavenly Capital Corpse Flame," "Mysterious Soul Yin Flame," and "Netherworld Ghost Flame."

On the right was a cluster of intense, dazzling crimson gold, its radiance so bright that the temperature in the quiet room rose sharply the moment it appeared, the air distorted, and it emitted a terrifyingly high temperature that could scorch mountains and boil seas.

This is the "Golden Flame" he created by successfully fusing three extremely yang spiritual flames—"Crimson Owl Demon Flame," "Golden Crow True Flame," and "Fat Yang Golden Flame"—during the past few years in between practicing his main cultivation technique.

These three explosive Yang-attribute spiritual flames were much more difficult to fuse than the three Yin-attribute spiritual flames mentioned earlier. Luo Ming practically forced them to fuse together slowly inside the Spirit Gathering Cauldron.

Today, what he needs to do is to finally fuse these two opposing spiritual fires, which are of opposite yin and yang nature and have completely opposing attributes!

"Let's begin," Luo Ming murmured, his eyes focused. He formed a hand seal and gestured forward.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

As if drawn by an invisible force, the two balls of spiritual fire were drawn one after the other into the ancient spirit-gathering cauldron in the center of the quiet room.

"Buzz—!!!"

The moment the two balls of spiritual fire entered the cauldron, they reacted as if water and fire had met, erupting into a fierce conflict and confrontation! The gray, cold aura and the crimson-gold high-temperature energy intertwined, collided, and annihilated each other, emitting a muffled energy roar.

The Spirit Gathering Cauldron began to shake violently out of control. The two balls of spirit fire, like living natural enemies, eroded and devoured each other, each collision consuming a large amount of their original power.