Starting Immortal Cultivation from a White Dog

Chapter 61 Giant Python of the Frozen Pool
The bear-like creature rode the wind, flying south from behind Skull Mountain, a region Wu Tian had never set foot in before.

From mid-air, the trees here appear significantly taller and denser, with abundant branches and leaves, and numerous spirits dwell in the forest.

Wu Tian clearly saw a tree monster uproot itself from the ground and move around in the jungle. Its branches, like tentacles, wrapped around some birds and rabbits, then drained their blood, leaving their dried corpses hanging on the branches and leaves.

There are also flower fairies, with alluring flower buds opening to reveal the upper half of a woman's naked body, beautiful and captivating.

Besides these, packs of wolf demons, winged clouded leopards, seven-colored birds, fire crows, and many other unheard-of and unseen creatures roam this jungle.

Seeing that he seemed quite shocked, Man Xiongmu smiled and explained, "Skull Mountain is the outer edge of the Hundred Thousand Mountains in Southern Xinjiang. The land outside Skull Mountain borders the Central Plains, which is why humans can live there."

"The further north you go, the bigger the villages become, and the more people live in them."

"But south of Skull Mountain, that is the territory of the demon race. Monsters roam freely, demons are everywhere, great demons wreak havoc, and occasionally a demon king will appear out of nowhere."

"Even I wouldn't dare to go any deeper..."

As the two were talking, a black wind swept by and landed in a mountain hollow.

Surrounded by mountains on three sides, the area features waterfalls cascading down cliffs, forming a pool of emerald green water at the bottom of the valley. However, the area is devoid of life, making it appear somewhat desolate.

The bear-like creature landed on the ground and looked at the pool, saying, "This valley has a naturally formed Yin Sha earth vein, which has given birth to the cold pool. The water is icy cold. If you accidentally drink it, it can freeze your lungs and internal organs. Even ordinary monsters cannot withstand it, and few living beings will approach it."

"But the aquatic plants in this cold pool are spiritual objects with the attribute of yin and cold. I accidentally discovered a dead infant at the bottom of the pool when I was collecting aquatic plants here."

As they spoke, the two approached the pool. Man Xiongmu took out a palm-sized black banner from his sleeve and injected a beam of magic light into it. The banner swelled in the wind and grew to the height of a person.

Wu Tian vaguely saw many beast souls roaring and howling within the black banner, which was extremely mournful. The banner was surrounded by black wind, accompanied by the wailing of the ghosts, which was truly ferocious.

"This is the Hundred Beasts Yin Soul Banner, a magical artifact I refined. It is also the most common magical artifact in the sect, and the one refined by the most people. This item can be continuously refined into a magical treasure, and the sect has a complete lineage for it."

"Among the magical treasures passed down by the sect leader's lineage, there is a Hundred Beasts Yin Soul Banner passed down by the founding patriarch."

"Every night, the spirits of all kinds of beasts in this magical artifact will surge out from the banner and roam the thousands of miles of Skull Mountain, breathing in moonlight and yin energy, and slaughtering monsters that accidentally wander into the front of the mountain."

"Over the centuries, the number of evil spirits within this magic weapon has increased, and its power has become more and more terrifying. It is one of the treasures that guard our Skull Mountain."

Wu Tian recalled how, back in the village, eerie winds would sweep through every night, accompanied by the roars of wild beasts. Only now did he understand the root of the problem.

Unexpectedly, that terrifying scene was caused by a magical artifact. Just thinking about the overwhelming, sky-covering hordes of beasts and ghosts that filled the night sky makes one's scalp tingle.

"Master, won't those spirits get out of control? There are so many people in the village down the mountain..."

Man Xiongmu smiled and said, "Each village has a talisman, which is inscribed with a section of the Hundred Beasts Yin Soul Banner's restrictive runes. Its sole purpose is to prevent the wandering spirits at night from getting close."

“Every year, inspectors will patrol the eighteen villages to check the protective artifacts in the villages in order to prevent accidents.”

"Of course, if you're asking for trouble and go out of the village at night, then you're just asking for death."

"You should know that the Hundred Beast Soul Banner contains more than just beast souls..."

"Moreover, as long as the disciples of Skull Mountain have crafted the Hundred Beasts Yin Soul Banner, they can use their magical artifacts to dispel any Yin spirits that pass by, even at night."

Wu Tian felt a chill run down his spine. Imprisoning spirits and refining magical artifacts—this art had been passed down for hundreds of years. He truly didn't know how many spirits were contained within that particular artifact. "Alright, let's stop here. There's a python that has become a spirit in this cold pool; to be precise, it's a python demon."

"In sects, those demons who can communicate with spirits and consume qi are called spirits; those who can breathe demonic energy and are comparable to casting cauldrons are called demons."

"As for the great demons, once they awaken their demonic arts, they roam freely in the mountains and forests and can fight against cultivators in the Refinement Realm."

Man Xiongmu waved the Hundred Beasts Yin Soul Banner in his hand. A black wind swept by, and dozens of Yin Souls roared as they rushed out of the banner and charged toward the cold pool, quickly disappearing into the water.

Before long, the deep blue-green water of the cold pool suddenly began to boil violently. The calm surface was churning with waves, which grew more and more violent, as if the water in the entire pool was about to burst into the sky.

Rumble!
With a terrifying roar, a colossal creature covered in black scales burst forth from the water.

Wu Tian felt his scalp tingle. The python in front of him was thicker than a water bucket, its head could be a small mountain, and the part that broke out of the water was five or six zhang long. It opened its blood-red maw and spewed out a cloud of dark, cold air.

"Beasts die!"

Man Xiongmu was already poised to strike, and the banner in his hand shot up, its surface trembling as it blocked out all the chilling demonic energy.

Meanwhile, the beast spirits were tearing at the giant python's body from all directions. Although these beast spirits did not leave any wounds, they made the python roar in pain, and its body rushed out of the cold pool, splashing up a large amount of water.

"The most terrifying thing about the demons in these mountains and forests is their bodies and demonic energy. Demons are generally much stronger than humans, and their demonic energy has various characteristics, such as being cold, scorching, or highly poisonous, making them very difficult to deal with."

Man Xiongmu used the Hundred Beasts Yin Soul Banner in his hand to block the serpent demon's cold demonic energy, while simultaneously urging the dozens of Yin Souls to tear at the enemy.

"But they don't cultivate magic, and their souls are weak. When they encounter methods that can attack and subdue evil spirits, they will be powerless."

As he pointed at Wu Tian, ​​he casually unleashed a swirling black wind that swept across the enormous python's body.

A black wind swept through, the water surged, beasts roared, and giant pythons hissed.

Man Xiongmu, holding a banner, circled around, preventing the python from escaping. A ghostly wind blew, and the beast's spirit tore at the soul, causing the enormous creature to suffer more and more.

It burst out of the icy pool, its tail sweeping across the ground, snapping tall trees and sending sand and stones flying.

Occasionally, the enormous snake's body would crash against the cliff, causing boulders to shatter and fragments to tumble down.

In addition, the chilling demonic energy it exhaled left the mountain valley in a state of utter devastation.

Man Xiongmu remained calm and patient, leading Wu Tian while dodging the python's attacks and preventing it from escaping the valley.

Half an hour later, accompanied by an extremely shrill hiss, the enormous python's body crashed to the ground.

This python demon was eight or nine zhang long, almost like a young dragon.

"What do you think if this big guy were to be forged into a beast armor for you?" Man Xiongmu asked Wu Tian with a smile.

Wu Tian swallowed hard. "Okay, okay, I want it so badly..."

(End of this chapter)