Rain Abominations

The moment the lamplight tore through the darkness, Lu Ming first saw a bizarre face slowly emerge from the damp, cold black mist. The face was a corpse-like dead-gray, covered in fine scales. As for the warm yellow light that had previously felt so comforting, it actually originated from a bulging gray fleshy pearl embedded in the flesh of its forehead.

Inside the gray pearl, something resembling rainwater seemed to flow, and the warm yellow light was emitted by this very pearl.

It was hard to imagine how much fear and despair it would bring if someone lost in the black mist, filled with hope upon seeing this warm light, eagerly rushed forward only to see a bizarre face emerge from the darkness.

Perhaps because the deception of the light was no longer effective, the flame began to slowly retract and dissipate.

On that dead-gray face, aside from two deeply sunken, grayish-white pupils, there was only a mouth. Row upon row of fine, sharp teeth slowly revealed themselves.

As this Rain Abomination emerged, its figure became increasingly clear. It was humanoid in shape but several times taller and sturdier than a human. Most importantly, it possessed four arms.

The four arms were dark green, covered in scales, with sharp claws and webbed fingers.

This was the bizarre creature bred within the black rain—a Rain Abomination!

At this moment, the Rain Abomination was riding a creature. It was a bizarre beast with a rotting fish tail and a snake head. This was an abomination beast, which carried the Rain Abomination as it floated and slowly swam through the black mist.

Lu Ming stared at the bizarre figure riding the abomination beast, his expression growing increasingly solemn. From what he knew, a four-armed Rain Abomination possessed power equivalent to a Grand Divine Ability Practitioner of the Dharma Inscription Realm.

Relying on the abomination beasts beneath them, they could roam and fly freely in the black rain and black mist, coming and going as easily as fish in the sea.

This four-armed Rain Abomination drew closer to the medicinal garden bit by bit through the black mist, finally stopping about a zhang away from the Azure Light Restriction. Its cold, dead-gray eyes stared at the medicinal garden shielded by the restriction.

Hiss!

It suddenly opened its mouth, which was filled with fine teeth, and emitted a bizarre, inhuman screech.

Not long after the sound waves spread, two more warm yellow lights appeared in the black mist behind it. Two more four-armed Rain Abominations, riding strange-fish abomination beasts, swam out from the black mist and hovered outside the medicinal garden.

“Three four-armed Rain Abominations?”

Seeing this, Qian Shan's expression could not help but turn ugly. How could they be so unlucky this time? In the past, it was rare for even a single four-armed Rain Abomination to appear in the black rain mist, yet three had shown up today?

Fortunately, Lu Jin had come along this time. With this Divine Ability Master overseeing the place, the medicinal garden was safe.

“These Rain Abominations were drawn here by you,” Lu Jin said, looking down at Lu Ming.

“Ah?” Lu Ming was somewhat baffled.

“Rain Abominations love to eat Divine Ability Bones. The higher the grade of the Divine Ability Bone, the more they desire it. In their eyes, your Sub-Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone is a rare and great supplement,” Lu Jin explained.

Lu Ming shuddered. He had not expected the Sub-Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone to have such a drawback. Did this mean that in the future, as long as he entered the Black Rain Zone, he would attract the attention of countless Rain Abominations?

“You have not yet condensed Divine Ability Dharma Inscriptions, so you cannot conceal the fluctuations of your Divine Ability Bone. Once your primordial energy grows stronger in the future, these low-level Rain Abominations won't be able to sense it so easily,” Lu Jin comforted him.

Lu Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Will they attack the medicinal garden?” Lu Ming asked.

“If they come in, I'll just slaughter them,” Lu Jin said calmly. If they were six-armed Rain Abominations, he might have been somewhat wary today, but if they were only four-armed, they posed no real threat.

However, Lu Jin had no intention of proactively leaving the medicinal garden to slay them. After all, Lu Ming was still here, and he had to remain by his side at all times to protect him.

As the two spoke, the three four-armed Rain Abominations rode their strange-fish abomination beasts and hovered outside the Azure Light Restriction for a moment. They seemed to hesitate, keenly sensing the dangerous aura radiating from within.

It was Lu Jin's killing intent.

This made them realize that there was a power inside capable of slaying them.

Furthermore, it was currently only the Rain Mist Season rather than the actual black rain, so they could not summon higher-level Rain Abominations.

Thus, after lingering for a long time, the three four-armed Rain Abominations ultimately did not launch an attack on the Azure Light Restriction. Instead, riding their strange-fish abomination beasts, they slowly backed away, gradually vanishing into the damp, cold black mist.

When the Rain Abominations retreated, Lu Qingyan, Lu Jinglei, and Qian Shan all let out sighs of relief. After all, being able to scare off these strange creatures without a fight was naturally the best outcome. Otherwise, if a clash did occur, no one knew if it would attract even more Rain Abominations. Even if they could eventually eliminate them, it would not be worth the loss if the medicinal garden ended up destroyed in the process.

Lu Ming wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Although no battle had begun tonight, the tense atmosphere still left him feeling suffocated.

And this was only the black rain mist. The diffusing mist would not bring many Rain Abominations. But if the Black Rain Season arrived, it would be a completely different story. Countless Rain Abominations would rage along with the black rain, breaking through restrictions, and there would be no shortage of six-armed Rain Abominations comparable to Divine Ability Masters among them.

Every eruption of the Black Rain Season was a crisis of survival for Qingyuan Ward, and countless people would die in it.

“What is it? Are you scared? Do you want to go home tomorrow?” Lu Jin's withered hand gripping his pipe slowly relaxed. Seeing Lu Ming's tense appearance, he asked with a smile.

Lu Ming thought for a moment and asked, “How long will this black rain mist last before it subsides?”

“It should last for three or four days.”

“Then I will stay. There are only ten days left until the Hall Meet. I want to use this environment to cultivate. My progress should be faster here than at the hall,” Lu Ming said.

Lu Jin was slightly startled, and then a look of admiration surfaced in his eyes. He had not expected that after experiencing such terror, Lu Ming would not only show no retreat but even plan to stay, utilizing the special effect of the rain mist compressing the primordial energy of heaven and earth to cultivate. This mental fortitude was quite extraordinary.

“Good. Then cultivate with peace of mind for the next few days. I will stay to accompany you.”

“Then I must trouble Grandfather,” Lu Ming thanked him with a smile. If not for Lu Jin, a Divine Ability Master, overseeing the medicinal garden, he truly would not dare to stay here.

“Why are you being so polite with your grandfather? You are the final hope of our Lu family. To protect your path, I can give up anything.”

Lu Jin raised his pipe and took a heavy drag. As the smoke rose, his aged voice was warm yet resolute: “Including this old life of mine.”

“Alright, after tossing and turning all night, you should rest first. Wake up tomorrow to cultivate.”

...

The next day, as the morning light bloomed, the rain mist that had been as thick as ink between heaven and earth rapidly thinned. However, once night fell and the rainy air expanded, the mist would return.

Repeating in this manner for several days, it would finally subside.

Meanwhile, Lu Qingyan, Lu Jinglei, and the others quickly began inspecting the Divine Ability Restrictions to see if they had been corroded by the rain mist, while also scouting the surrounding mountains and forests to ensure no Rain Abominations remained.

Lu Ming did not slack off either. Using the power of the High-grade Bone Refining Pill, he began his third bone refining.

However, having stepped into the level of the third bone refining, Lu Ming could clearly feel that the difficulty of bone refining had grown significantly. In the past, consuming a single High-grade Bone Refining Pill would allow him to clearly feel the changes in his Divine Ability Bone, but now, that progress had weakened considerably.

Clearly, the third bone refining was the most difficult stage of the Bone Refining Realm.

If he proceeded at this pace, even if Lu Ming completely consumed all the High-grade Bone Refining Pills in his possession over the next ten days, he would probably struggle to complete even a third of the third bone refining...

Yet Lu Ming did not grow impatient because of this. After all, cultivation could not be rushed. Thus, he continued to refine the Bone Refining Pills in an orderly manner. Once the medicinal power was mostly absorbed, he would practice his cultivated divine abilities.

Flame Blade, Lesser Lightning Flash, and Golden Liquid Fire, which had just condensed its first wisp of golden flame.

Lu Jin stood guard nearby, offering occasional guidance.

As the sky grew dim, Lu Qingyan and the others returned to the medicinal garden, activating the Azure Light Restriction and standing ready.

Night shrouded heaven and earth, and as expected, the damp, cold black rain mist swept back once more.

Unlike the previous night, however, as the rain mist just began to spread, those familiar warm yellow lights appeared deep within the dense black mist.

And this time, there were a total of six!

Lu Ming, who had been about to directly utilize the special environment of the black rain mist to cultivate, suddenly felt his heart sink. Not only had the Rain Abominations from last night returned, but they had also brought even more helpers this time!

It seemed he had still underestimated the allure of his Sub-Heaven-grade Divine Ability Bone to the Rain Abominations.