Mortal: The Path to Immortality

A thin mist shrouded the Spirit Bird Garden. Lu Nanzhu stood before a stone path shaded by lush bamboo, put away his magical artifacts, straightened his clothes, and without hesitation, bowed calmly towards the dark blue barrier high on the hillside.

"Disciple Lu Nanzhu requests an audience with Martial Uncle Xiao."

The surroundings were silent. After about ten breaths, the thick, dark blue light curtain opened a passage.

Lu Nanzhu lowered his head and entered, following the path paved with bluestone into the cave.

Upon entering the cave, the scene before him startled him slightly.

The furnishings inside the cave were extremely simple, even crude. All that could be seen were the blue stones and rough wood that could be found anywhere in the mountains, with absolutely no rare treasures to adorn it.

Several pieces of old bamboo, casually cut off, were tied together at varying heights to form a screen, obscuring the inner room. The stone table and benches, though just rough stones from the mountains, were arranged with great care.

A faint, almost imperceptible scent of incense wafted through the air.

Passing through the front hall and turning into a side room, a semi-transparent, plain-colored gauze curtain hung to the ground, concealing the world inside. Behind the curtain, a blurry figure sat cross-legged.

"Lunanzhu" (路南烛).

Uncle Xiao's voice remained cold, carrying a hint of displeasure at being disturbed:

"Why aren't you obediently serving those spirit-seeking rats in the Abandoned Spirit Valley? What are you doing here?"

Lu Nanzhu stood firmly in place, unperturbed. He took out a jade slip he had prepared beforehand from his robes and presented it with both hands:

"Uncle-Master, please calm down. These past few days, while watching over those spirit-seeking rats, I've noticed some subtle changes in their habits and physical appearance. I'm afraid I might have missed some important details. Therefore, I've compiled all my observations into a book and come to present it to you for review."

As soon as he finished speaking, the jade slip was sucked into the gauze curtain.

As Uncle Xiao read behind the gauze curtain, his previously tense shoulders and back relaxed slightly. The records in this jade slip were not messy words, but rather Lu Nanzhu had categorized the data according to the logic of making reports in his previous life. From food intake and weight to emotional reactions, even the texture of excrement was listed in a table for comparison, which was extremely detailed.

This unprecedentedly rigorous approach caught his eye.

"Hmm... this record is quite thorough; you've put in a lot of effort."

Uncle Xiao put away the jade slip, his tone still stiff, and glanced at Lu Nanzhu through the gauze curtain before asking slowly:

"Speak, besides this jade slip, what else do you want? You don't seem like the type to make a special trip for such a trivial matter."

Lu Nanzhu's heart stirred. Now that he had laid enough groundwork, he decided to stop beating around the bush and bowed again, speaking earnestly:

"Uncle-Master, your insight is truly remarkable. I recently came across a fragment of a prescription while browsing through ancient texts. I am completely baffled by two of the medicinal herbs in it, named 'Wind-Condensed Dew' and 'Destroying Red.' I have searched the entire library but have been unable to find a solution. That is why I have no choice but to swallow my pride and come to Uncle-Master for guidance."

"Tell me in detail..."

Having received permission, Lu Nanzhu repeated the details of the two medicines once more.

A brief silence fell behind the gauze curtain. After listening to Lu Nanzhu's description of the medicinal plant's characteristics, Uncle Xiao's fingers, which had been resting on his knees, tapped slightly.

"'Wind-Condensed Dew'... This name is indeed quite old. It is not an herb, but rather the dew that 'Wind-Wind Grass' forcibly condenses in the wind, taking advantage of the first ray of yin and yang energy at dawn. This dew melts upon contact with light, making it extremely difficult to collect. Nowadays, alchemists mostly use 'Flowing Wind Powder' as a substitute, but its medicinal effects are somewhat lacking."

He paused, a hint of regret in his voice, and then continued:

"As for the 'Crushing Red,' judging from your description, it is similar to a kind of nasty weed called 'Bloodline Thorn.' Bloodline Thorn and Wind-Wind Grass are not rare, but nowadays few people use them to make medicine."

As soon as he finished speaking, an antique-looking wooden box passed through the gauze curtain and landed steadily on the stone table in front of Lu Nanzhu.

"I have some seeds of Xunfeng grass here, which I will give to you as a reward for your meticulous record."

Lu Nanzhu was overjoyed and was about to bow in thanks when he heard the voice from behind the gauze curtain suddenly turn cold.

"This 'Wind Dew' is indeed a spiritual medicine for cultivating wind-attribute techniques. Are you determined to temper your 'Wind Spirit Body'? However... everyone knows that the 'Wind Spirit Body' is a superior method for becoming a wind-attribute body cultivator. But this body is naturally only compatible with the Wind Spirit Root. Only the pure wind-controlling origin of the Wind Spirit Root can balance the power of this body during cultivation."

"If an ordinary cultivator were to forcefully cultivate this 'Wind Spirit Body,' lacking the balance of the source, most of the spiritual energy absorbed during cultivation would be forcibly devoured by the body, making it impossible to gather in the dantian. You are currently only in the Qi Refining stage, and the spiritual energy in your dantian is scattered and unpredictable, so the interference from this body is still tolerable... As your cultivation deepens, it will become increasingly difficult for ordinary spiritual roots to balance this body, and your cultivation will only stagnate."

He continued to warn:

"Even worse, if your Wind Spirit Body advances too quickly and overshadows your own magical power foundation, I'm afraid that as soon as you step into the Foundation Establishment stage, your magical body will instantly dissipate your power and cause you to regress, resulting in a complete failure."

Upon hearing this, Lu Nanzhu's heart jolted violently, and his previously calm breathing became somewhat disordered.

Since consuming the "Wind Spirit Sacred Fruit," he did indeed feel an almost instinctive affinity between his physical body and the surrounding spiritual energy. However, this also meant that no matter how diligently he cultivated, his cultivation progress was slower than before. He had previously searched through all the ancient books in the library, but had never seen a single record of this "side effect."

He had initially thought it was simply a natural consequence of his mediocre three spiritual roots or the advanced stage of cultivation, but now, after Uncle Xiao pointed it out, he was shocked to realize that the fruit, which he had originally considered a "great opportunity," had become a stumbling block on his path of cultivation. The thought of the unpredictable and difficult path of cultivation ahead sent a chill down his spine, even for someone with two lifetimes of experience and a steady mind.

But I really don't know whether what Uncle Xiao said is true or false.

Seeing his expression change several times, Xiao Suqing behind the gauze curtain snorted coldly, seemingly quite satisfied with the effect of this intimidation.

However, Lu Nanzhu was no ordinary junior. He forcibly suppressed the lingering fear in his heart, and his mind raced through the book "The Record of Soaring Clouds". That cultivation method clearly required cultivators to consume the Wind Spirit Sacred Fruit to forge their physical body, but it never mentioned that one must possess the aptitude of the Wind Spirit Root to cultivate.

"Since the predecessor who created this technique was no ordinary person, he would never have set up a deadly trap. There must be some variables in this that I have not yet figured out."

Thinking of this, Lu Nanzhu took a deep breath to calm his turbulent emotions, his expression becoming even more respectful than before. He looked up at the elegant gauze curtain and asked with his hands clasped:

"Uncle's words are truly profound. Since this 'Wind Spirit Body' is a burden for ordinary spiritual root cultivators, there must be many others throughout history who, like me, have acquired this physique through fortuitous circumstances. Among these predecessors, there must have been exceptionally talented individuals. I wonder if they have left behind any mature methods to resolve the conflict between this 'Dharma Body' and 'Spiritual Root'?"

"A mature solution?" Uncle Xiao sighed softly after hearing this. He slowly stood up from the stone bed, walked down the stone steps, and approached a stone table piled with bottles and jars.

He casually picked up a bottle, uncorked it, sniffed it lightly, and said with a slightly mocking tone:

"You're quick on the uptake, kid. True, the ancients did leave behind some solutions, but most require rare and precious treasures, which are of little use to ordinary cultivators. However, there is one method that might be useful to you. But... um?"

He put down the bottle he was fiddling with, and the atmosphere in the stone room suddenly became a little more subdued with his "however".

Lu Nanzhu was a smart man. In this situation, if he waited for the other party to speak first, there would be little room for negotiation. His mind raced, and he had already made up his mind.

"Since my uncle is willing to offer guidance, this method, though difficult, is probably not a dead end."

Lu Nanzhu bowed again, his posture extremely humble, but his tone was very calm: "As the saying goes, the Dharma is not easily passed on. Today, I am already extremely fortunate to have received guidance from my master. Now, I have become greedy and want to ask for this solution, so naturally I dare not ask for something for nothing. If my master has any requests, whether it is trivial matters in the Abandoned Spirit Valley or running errands outside the sect, I will do my best to fulfill them."

A very faint chuckle came from behind the gauze curtain. "You do have a clever and insightful mind. If the opportunity arises, perhaps I would take you as my disciple. It's just a pity..."

"Very well." Uncle Xiao no longer concealed anything; he slowly walked to the edge of the gauze curtain.

"You've probably heard of the Crimson Forbidden Land two years from now, right? To tell you the truth, I'm about to form my core, and I've already prepared most of the auxiliary pills. But for these last few auxiliary ingredients, I searched through countless books and asked people to inquire everywhere before I was able to confirm that within the Tiannan region, only in that Crimson Forbidden Land do I still have some."

At this point, his tone became somewhat nonchalant:

"Of course, I also have several alternative plans. Although the medicinal properties are somewhat mixed and it will take some time to test them, we can still deduce them in three to five years. I can wait those years, but you..."

"Your 'Wind Spirit Body' can't wait. If you don't find a solution, you'll never reach the Foundation Establishment stage in this lifetime. I need you to go to that Crimson Forbidden Land in two years to retrieve the medicine for me. If you succeed, I will naturally grant you a solution; if you fail, or die there, I will only have to spend more time developing a substitute formula. What do you say? Are you willing?"