Immortality and cultivation begin with drawing talismans.

Chapter 68 Hunting Monsters
Two months later.

Cloud-shrouded mountains.

In the dim and damp mountain forest, amidst the surrounding silence, a figure slowly emerged.

It was Lin Chang'an who had dispelled the invisibility spell.

"No one should expect that I, who has just broken through to the ninth level of Qi Refining, will venture into the Cloud Mist Mountains alone."

Lin Chang'an nodded secretly. There were too many cultivators preparing to establish their foundation in Tianxuan City. There was no guarantee that someone wouldn't be secretly watching them, wanting to take advantage of their misfortune.

If he waited until he reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, there would likely be even more people watching him. Therefore, he made a feint and used the excuse of seclusion to secretly come out.

This is also his best opportunity.

No one would have expected that he would venture out into the unknown so soon after his breakthrough.

What truly gives Lin Chang'an his confidence is that he has no shortage of arrays, magical artifacts, and spirit stones.

The Cloud Mist Mountains are teeming with demonic beasts, especially the spiritual energy emanating from the spiritual veins of Tianxuan City, which constantly attracts them.

"There are techniques to finding second-tier monsters. Fortunately, my time in the monster-hunting team back then wasn't wasted."

With a leap, Lin Chang'an appeared on the trunk of the ancient tree, calmly gazing ahead.

When he first ventured deeper into the Cloud Mist Mountains, he still encountered traces of human cultivators, mostly small groups of demon hunters. However, as he continued deeper, he hadn't seen any human cultivators for ten consecutive days.

“Powerful demonic beasts all have their own territories and have a strong sense of territory. With my current strength, when choosing a second-tier demonic beast, it is best to choose one that is weak or has fought over territory.”

At this moment, Lin Chang'an raised his head and quietly gazed into the distance until he heard the chirping of insects, at which point a smile appeared on his face.

"After waiting a month for this season, it was finally worth it."

In the distant forest, a pair of iron-backed mantis monsters were mating, the male emitting bursts of insect chirping.

This is a strange insect-type demon beast, far more terrifying than ordinary demon beasts.

Female mantises are more robust; male ironback mantises are inferior to females in both strength and size.

……

boom!
As the tree collapsed, a male ironback mantis the size of a yellow ox fled in panic, its sharp forelegs cutting down countless trees along the way.

At this moment, its abdomen was shrunken compared to when it entered the territory of the female ironback mantis, and it was missing one of its forelegs and two of its hind legs.

Upon seeing this scene from afar, Lin Chang'an couldn't help but show a look of joy.

"We were lucky this time; we didn't wait in vain. The male Ironback Mantis escaped."

When female ironback beetles mate, driven by hunger and instinct, they may devour the male, though this is not always the case.

Sometimes, this doesn't happen to some powerful female praying mantises whose territories have spiritual fruits and herbs to replenish their energy.

However, male ironback mantises usually cut off their own limbs to provide energy for the females in order to survive.

In layman's terms, it means that you can only leave alive if you pay a satisfactory price for sex.

"It seems this is just a fat mantis, which allowed the male to escape."

From afar, Lin Chang'an could see the Ironback Demon Mantis fleeing in panic. He gripped the Green Bamboo Sword solemnly, while the ground around him was littered with the corpses of low-level demon beasts.

The stench of blood seemed to alert the Ironback Mantis, which had just survived a major battle and desperately needed to replenish its strength, and it quickly flew towards the area.

"Fool, this time we're counting on you to lure this Ironback Mantis in."

With a pat of the spirit beast pouch, the Green Horned Ox appeared. Its beastly instincts allowed it to sense the terror of the distant beasts, and it immediately stared with its large, copper bell-shaped eyes.

The cow's eyes vividly revealed a look of fear and grievance.

Lin Chang'an slapped the cow's head and said irritably, "You idiot, I've spent countless spirit stones raising you these past few years, not sending you to your death."

Using the Beast Taming Token, Lin Chang'an continuously conveyed his intentions. Although the Green Horned Ox understood what he meant, its four hooves still trembled uncontrollably.

It seems to be saying, "I'm only at the late stage of the first tier, and you want me to lure a second-tier monster? That's too difficult."

"Don't worry, you silly goose."

Lin Chang'an laughed and scolded. He had grown attached to the animals he had raised over the years, not to mention that they had eaten so many spiritual herbs. He had finally raised them to the late stage of the first rank, and he was reluctant to let them die easily.

Two high-quality golden light talismans were affixed to the Green Horned Ox, which could save its life in critical moments.

……

This was a small valley, and after a series of piercing insect chirps, the Ironback Mantis appeared in the sky a moment later.

Upon seeing the corpses of three low-level demonic beasts, the weakened Ironback Mantis disregarded everything else and immediately began to devour them. Meanwhile, Lin Chang'an, hidden in the distance, took a deep breath upon witnessing this.

The Perfect Realm's Concealing Breath Technique completely concealed his aura, and coupled with the fact that this second-tier demon beast was weak and injured, it naturally did not detect him.

"Moo!"

A trembling moo echoed, and the Ironback Mantis instantly raised its head, revealing a terrifying gaze unique to insects.

The distant green-horned ox was so frightened that its eyes widened, and its four trembling hooves stopped what they were doing and it ran away as fast as it could.

"Moo! Moo! Moo! Moo..."

The urgent mooing of the cow echoed, and it was the first time Lin Chang'an had ever heard a cow moo that could be continuous without panting.

Just as the terrifying Ironback Mantis behind them revealed its blade-like forelimbs, the exquisite high-grade golden light talisman on the Green Horned Bull flashed with golden light.

Upon witnessing this scene, Lin Chang'an, who was hiding in the bushes, immediately became serious.

"It's now!"

[Wooden Armor Binding Spirit Array - Activated]

As Lin Chang'an slammed his palm down on the hidden array plate on the ground, five other array plates and array flags hidden around the small valley instantly flashed with a blue light.

In an instant, a cyan light barrier completely sealed off the area.

At the same time, the Ironback Mantis's aura completely disappeared, causing the large female Ironback Mantis in the distant forest to look up and seem to sense something.

But the next moment, his eyes turned cold, he turned around cleanly and decisively, and headed quickly towards his own territory cave without hesitation.

The transaction between the two parties has been completed, and the other party's value has long since disappeared.

Such is the indifference of monsters and strange insects.

……

Inside the Wooden Armor Binding Spirit Array.

"Moo! Moo!"

The green-horned ox screamed in terror, as if it had encountered some ferocious beast.

At this moment, within the formation, countless terrifying vines grew rapidly, wrapping around the Ironback Mantis and causing it to squeak and emit a piercing, unpleasant insect chirp.

"You idiot, what are you afraid of?"

Lin Chang'an glared at him. The beast's keen senses, coupled with its natural fear of high-level beasts, meant that the creature that had just acted as bait was a spirit beast that had been raised from a young age.

Otherwise, a normal demon beast would have disappeared long ago upon sensing the presence of a high-level demon beast.

At this moment, the Ironback Mantis, bound by countless vines, cried out frantically, its single foreleg slashing wildly at the vines binding it.

When it spread its wings and tried to escape, it was blocked by the array barrier, resulting in loud thuds.

"We can't let this beast keep crashing into us."

Lin Chang'an, who was hiding in a corner of the formation, looked solemn after seeing this scene.

Although the formation is still very sturdy, this kind of impact has greatly depleted its strength.

With a wave of his hand, he threw out five high-grade, first-tier talismans, the talismans shimmering with firelight.

In an instant, the Ironback Mantis was engulfed in flames and let out a series of miserable screams.

More importantly, its pair of transparent wings, as thin as cicada wings, were burned through by this high-quality fire-type talisman, causing the Ironback Mantis to fall from the sky.

The Ironback Mantis's painful chirping echoed continuously as its figure was rapidly engulfed by the vines.

Although the Ironback Mantis is extremely fast and its forelimbs are incredibly sharp, cutting through vines like mowing grass, it still struggles against the endless vines and the occasional sneak attacks from fireballs.

It had just escaped from the female mantis and was already extremely weak and injured, only to find itself trapped in the formation again.

Faced with this endless barrage of attacks, its tail was already injured.

A chilling green blood splattered everywhere.

Thank you to fellow Daoist '九上签' for the 1500 spirit stones reward and to fellow Daoist '叫我康哥就行' for the 100 spirit stones reward.

This book has already achieved the expected results. The author is a full-time writer, so fellow readers can read it with peace of mind.

Please remember to read this book next Monday and Tuesday, as it's the final round of recommendations and competition.

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(End of this chapter)