Mortal: The Path to Immortality

After leaving Shenshou Valley, Lu Nanzhu went straight back to the Foreign Affairs Hall, returned the voucher for his business trip, accepted a few pieces of silver as payment, sent the payment home, and then returned to his residence.

The outer disciples' quarters were an ordinary mud-brick house, with a kang (heated brick bed) running across the interior, large enough to accommodate more than a dozen people. At this moment, some disciples who had finished their chores were resting inside, sprawled out.

Lu Nanzhu walked to his own corner, moved into that narrow space, closed his eyes, and recalled his experiences.

Thirteen years have passed since Lu Nanzhu transmigrated to this world. Fortunately, he was born into a prominent secular family in Jingzhou. Although he was only a member of a collateral branch, he never lacked food or clothing.

Nan Zhu lost her mother at a young age, and her father spent years traveling the dirt roads as a merchant, earning a meager living on the edge to supplement the family income. Later, her stepmother came into the family; she was a dutiful woman who, while not affectionate towards Nan Zhu, was still considerate. A few years later, Nan Zhu's family welcomed her younger siblings.

Nan Zhu began his education at the clan's middle school and possessed a photographic memory from a young age. A voracious reader, he often sneaked into the library, and even though he was from a collateral branch and was frequently reprimanded by his elders for breaking the rules, he never tired of it and would sometimes stay there for an entire day.

Unbeknownst to others, Lu Nanzhu's fascination with the library stemmed from his desperate search for information related to "cultivation." After years of effort, he had indeed uncovered some clues. And these clues all pointed to the Seven Mysteries Sect and Rainbow Cloud Mountain.

Now that he has reopened his eyes in this world, Nan Zhu does not want to be just a fleeting visitor for a hundred years.

So, at the age of twelve, he bid farewell to his parents and went to the Seven Mysteries Sect to seek "immortal destiny".

As Lu Nanzhu spent more time at the Seven Mysteries Sect, he gradually became acquainted with his fellow disciples in the outer sect.

He was usually composed and never showed the arrogance of a scion of a noble family. Whether patrolling the mountains or sorting supplies, he always handled the tasks assigned to him flawlessly. Several of his senior brothers who had mentored him privately said that this Junior Brother Lu was meticulous and reliable.

Thanks to his good reputation, Lu Nanzhu never asked for any monetary rewards after making a contribution, except for the fixed pay. He always appeared obsessed with martial arts and asked the steward to let him stay in the library for a while longer.

During this time, he searched through almost every book in the library, but found nothing except some common martial arts manuals and unknown elixir formulas. He was waiting, waiting for a clue that matched the Lu family's notes.

Furthermore, the "Eternal Spring Skill" in Han Li's possession was also a divine opportunity that Lu Nanzhu desired. However, to avoid alerting the enemy and also out of fear of Elder Mo's infamy, Lu Nanzhu had not dared to rashly go to Divine Hand Valley.

His chance rescue by Han Li gave him an opportunity to establish a relationship with Han Li. While Han Li was still unaware of the secret of the Nameless Mantra, he planted the "seed" of curiosity, waiting for it to take root and sprout.

The next day, Lu Nanzhu finished his work early and returned to the secluded cave. He looked around to make sure no one was following him before taking out the "small inkstone" from his pocket.

This dark blue octagonal inkstone was something he found in an abandoned ancient well a few days ago while on duty. The moment his hand touched it, he felt a shiver run through his body, and a warm sensation shot straight into his dantian. Although Lu Nanzhu hadn't yet figured out where it came from, he intuitively knew it was no ordinary object, so he kept it close to his body.

Then he took out a few more seeds of jade ring grass from his bag and placed them steadily on the inkstone.

A moment later, a deep blue light shone from the center of the inkstone, pulling Lu Nanzhu's consciousness into it.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a secret realm. In the secret realm grew a spirit tree, on which layer upon layer of transparent, sphere-like fruits grew.

Lu Nanzhu reached out and touched one of the fruits. The fruit burst open like a bubble, and before his eyes, as if an unfurling scroll had unfolded, flashed the scene of the Jade Ring Grass multiplying for several generations. The grass in the picture grew extremely fast, and its leaves were huge. Compared to the grass in the herb garden now, each one was stronger than six.

After examining several more transparent fruits, it became clear that these fruits recorded the propagation of these seeds over several generations. However, not all of their offspring were as "outstanding" as the first one; some even degenerated as they grew older.

After several searches, Nanzhu felt somewhat exhausted. This "inkstone" was too mentally taxing; he had experienced the same situation the previous times he had used it.

He fiddled with the remaining transparent fruits on the spirit tree, but ultimately didn't dare to pick any more. Last time, Lu Nanzhu had forcibly picked one, and as soon as he left the secret realm, he collapsed in the cave due to exhaustion and fainted.

With a thought, he withdrew from the secret realm, and the seed at the center of the "small inkstone" disappeared as well.

Lu Nanzhu then took out a deep blue seed from his pocket, placed it in his palm, and examined it carefully.

This is what was replaced in the inkstone after the fruit was harvested last time. Before he could delve into the mystery of this seed, he fainted, and only today did he have the opportunity to investigate.

Lu Nanzhu stared at the dark blue object in his palm, but he wasn't really sure what to expect.

Based on the scenes seen in the secret realm, this thing should be what those few Jade Ring Grasses would look like after several generations of reproduction. But can something that hasn't happened yet really turn into a seed out of thin air?

Whether it will succeed or not, just watching from here won't yield any results. Lu Nanzhu decided to first find a secluded place with fertile soil on the mountain and plant it to see if this seed that "appeared out of thin air" could actually sprout.

For a period of time afterward, Lu Nanzhu continued his routine of going out on duty as usual, and practiced the mundane martial arts techniques he had learned from the library in his spare time.

On this day, Lu Nanzhu was having lunch in the cafeteria with two senior brothers with whom he had a decent relationship.

The round-faced, short, and stout senior student, surnamed Zhang, was usually the most talkative. While stuffing a steamed bun into his mouth, he winked at me in a low voice:

"Junior Brother Lu, have you managed to snag some great deal at Divine Hand Valley lately?" He continued, winking and whispering, "Today I went to Divine Hand Valley to get some medicine for external injuries and ran into Elder Mo's disciple who rarely goes out, named... oh right, Han Li. He actually tried to subtly inquire about you."

"Oh!? Is that so!?" The tall, thin senior brother sitting opposite, surnamed Guo, also became interested upon hearing this. He put down his chopsticks and asked, "That dark-skinned kid is usually so quiet, what has he been asking about?"

Senior Brother Zhang swallowed his steamed bun and continued, "Nothing special, just asking if Junior Brother Lu likes to read and often visits the library? Also, he asked about Junior Brother's family background."

"I think Han Li is quite fond of you, Junior Brother Lu. If you really manage to climb up to Elder Mo's high branch, don't forget about me and Lao Guo in the future! Spending all day here in the Foreign Affairs Hall making pills and brewing soup is really exhausting!" As he spoke, he didn't forget to pat Senior Brother Guo on the shoulder, and the two of them chuckled.

Lu Nanzhu's heart skipped a beat, but he pretended to be calm and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Senior brother is joking. I was practicing martial arts in the back mountain when I suddenly fainted due to a lack of blood and qi. It was Senior Brother Han who rescued me and brought me back to Shenshou Valley. I suppose he was worried that I wasn't fully recovered, which is why he asked me a few more questions."

"I see." Senior Brother Zhang nodded in sudden understanding. "That back mountain is indeed hidden. If something really happened, it would be difficult for anyone to find out. You really owe Junior Brother Han a huge favor this time."

Senior Brother Guo chimed in, looking at Lu Nanzhu with a hint of helplessness:

"Junior Brother Lu, you're just too stubborn. Last time, you stayed up late outside your quarters to practice your skills a little longer, disturbing the other brothers' rest, and someone reported you to the hall master."

If it weren't for Han Li, you probably would have lost your life on the back mountain.

We all know you want to improve your martial arts and become an inner disciple. But you're still young. From now on, you need to learn martial arts step by step, so you don't suffer that hardship again.

Listening to his two senior brothers' advice, he could only nod in agreement and say no more.

In the following months, Lu Nanzhu continued to hone his martial arts skills and study how to use the "small inkstone." Soon after, he heard news from the disciples that Mo Juren had returned to Shenshou Valley.