Mortal: The Path to Immortality

After hearing what Uncle Xiao said, he did not immediately agree and hesitated.

Is what Uncle Xiao said about the solution to the side effects of the "Wind Spirit Body" true or false?

Was it a lie fabricated by this old fox to lure him into risking his life in the forbidden area, or was it true? Lu Nanzhu's mind raced, and a layer of sweat beaded on his forehead. He wanted to test the waters, even hoping to use this opportunity to extract some life-saving benefits from this Foundation Establishment cultivator, but he stopped himself from doing so.

He was clear about his identity. In Uncle Xiao's eyes, he was just a "medicine boy" who could be replaced at any time. If he acted too greedily or shrewdly, he might not get the "solution" but instead anger this eccentric uncle.

After much hesitation, Lu Nanzhu ultimately dared not gamble his future on that "what if". If what Uncle Xiao said was true, if this conflict was not resolved, not only would he have no hope of immortality in this life, but he would not even be able to pass the Foundation Establishment stage.

Lu Nanzhu bowed again and replied, "Although this disciple is of mediocre talent, I am willing to serve my master with utmost loyalty."

A very short chuckle came from behind the gauze curtain, seemingly pleased with Lu Nanzhu's tact.

"It's good that you've come to this understanding. The Crimson Forbidden Land will open in two years, so you must not slack off in your cultivation."

As the words fell, an old sheepskin scroll flew out from behind the gauze curtain and landed steadily in front of Lu Nanzhu. The scroll slowly unfurled, revealing a densely marked map of a blood-red forbidden area.

Lu Nanzhu looked closely and saw that in the southwest corner of the map, several red dots were heavily marked with cinnabar, which must be the approximate locations of the auxiliary medicines that Uncle Xiao needed.

"Keep it. This map bears a trace of my divine consciousness; ordinary disciples don't receive such detailed markings. If it brings back what I want—the solution you require—I will certainly keep my word."

"Thank you, Uncle-Master. I will certainly not fail you."

Lu Nanzhu put away the map and the box, and respectfully backed out of the cave.

Several months later, in the Valley of Abandoned Spirits.

Lu Nanzhu was sitting cross-legged on the bamboo bed in the attic, his eyes slightly lowered, his hands folded and placed on his dantian to enter a meditative state.

At nineteen, his face had lost the roundness of youth. He had a full forehead, slightly high brow bones, and long, narrow eyes. His nose was straight, his lips were flat, and his jawline was slightly square. His appearance wasn't particularly stunning, but it gave him a dignified and approachable air.

A sudden restlessness arose in the air inside the bamboo pavilion.

A very light emerald green light began to appear around Lu Nanzhu's body. The light was not static, but rather swirled around him rapidly like a fine breeze.

Whenever the spiritual energy gathers in his dantian, Lu Nanzhu's body suddenly generates a powerful suction force. This suction force intercepts some of the spiritual energy that was originally heading towards his dantian and directly swallows it into his limbs and bones. This is the side effect of the "Wind Spirit Body" on ordinary spiritual root cultivators.

Fortunately, the "Wind Spirit Body" has a limit to its absorption of spiritual energy each time. Each practice of the "Eternal Spring Technique" only begins after the body can no longer absorb spiritual energy. With the help of the Qi-Nourishing Pill formula obtained from Uncle Xiao and the "small inkstone" in his hand, Lu Nanzhu's cultivation speed is not as fast as before, but his progress has not fallen behind.

He opened his eyes, slowly exhaled, and gazed at the faint, bluish-green veins appearing and disappearing on his body:

"Is this the effect of completing the 'Soaring Record'?"

Some time ago, Lu Nanzhu first used a small inkstone to deduce the "Xunfeng Grass" and obtained a strange variety with spiral-shaped leaves. In this way, the dew condensed on the "Xunfeng Grass" will be deeply trapped in the natural vortex of the leaves and will not easily dissipate when exposed to light.

Similarly, Lu Nanzhu conducted deductions on "Bloodline Thorn". The "Bloodline Thorn", which was originally a common weed, actually led him to find a variant that was 99% similar to "Crushing Red" through his costless deductions.

The tempering of the body is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Lu Nanzhu first tried applying a small amount of the prepared medicinal solution to his body. After confirming that his skin reacted and there were no signs of burning or poisoning, he gradually increased the amount every now and then. Only when he was sure that the mutated medicinal power had completely penetrated his muscles and bones and would not produce any side effects on his body did he truly complete the first tempering of the "Wind Spirit Body".

Just as Lu Nanzhu was feeling sentimental, a dark golden spirit-seeking rat silently appeared on his shoulder.

The little creature was only about the size of a fist, its body covered with a layer of fine, dark golden fur as smooth as silk. It straightened up, its two small white front paws quickly scratching at the soft fur on its head, and its emerald-green eyes blinked, revealing a cleverness far beyond that of ordinary spirit beasts.

"Mancang, you're even less patient than me." Lu Nanzhu turned his head and gently scratched the little mouse's chin.

This spirit-seeking rat named "Mancang" was conceived from the spirit embryo he had previously obtained. This little guy is far superior to ordinary spirit-seeking rats. Although its rank is not high, it is already a genuine spirit beast, capable of communicating with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to advance and transcend ranks.

"Mancang" squinted its eyes in enjoyment, making a soft "squeak" sound in its throat, and the tuft of white fur at the tip of its tail kept swaying.

Lu Nanzhu suppressed his smile, patted its head, and the little guy understood and transformed into a dark golden phantom, slipping through his clothes into the spirit beast pouch at his waist.

"Hopefully, this little guy will be of help in the Crimson Forbidden Land. It's also time to find an opportunity to acquire some magical artifacts for personal protection." Lu Nanzhu skillfully packed up the medicine box that needed to be handed over and headed to the sect's side hall for stewards.

Passing by the square, the once bustling market inside the gate was much quieter. Compared to a few months ago, there were far fewer disciples exchanging resources—with the Crimson Forbidden Land about to open, most people had already prepared their resources and were probably busy in seclusion to digest them.

In the crowd, Lu Nanzhu spotted Song Ji at a glance. Senior Brother Song was tugging at the sleeve of a disciple, a hint of anxiety on his face, repeatedly trying to persuade him. However, the disciple clearly wasn't interested, waving him off dismissively and walking away.

There were also some people around, like Song Jina, wandering around in the crowd, with a sense of urgency in their expressions.

Seeing that he had failed again, Song Ji stood there for a moment, a look of disappointment flashing across his face. But he quickly composed himself, took a deep breath, and prepared to find the next target. As he turned around, his gaze met that of Lu Nanzhu, who had just arrived at the square.

Song Ji hesitated for a moment, then, as if grasping at a lifeline, quickly went to meet him.

"Junior Brother Lu, it's been a long time. How have you been?" Song Ji forced a smile.

Lu Nanzhu glanced around, then looked at the slightly haggard Song Ji, and asked, "Senior Brother Song looks so tired, could it be that you are also worried about the trials in the Crimson Forbidden Land?"

Song Ji gave a wry smile: "Junior Brother Lu, this Crimson Forbidden Land is extremely dangerous, so I won't get involved."

Lu Nanzhu nodded, offering his consolation and agreement: "That's true, that place is dangerous. If one has better aptitude, there's no need to risk going in to try and find a chance."

Song Ji simply smiled and shook his head, then changed the subject: "Oh, by the way. Isn't Junior Brother Lu also going to enter the Crimson Forbidden Land? I wonder if he has made any preparations. If he doesn't have some good methods, even if he enters the forbidden land, it will be difficult to seize any opportunities."

Seeing that Lu Nanzhu did not answer immediately, Song Ji leaned closer and whispered:

"To be honest, junior brother, I have a good deal for you—an opportunity to buy a talisman treasure. With a talisman treasure, your chances of reaping good fortune in the Crimson Forbidden Land will greatly increase!"

This piqued Lu Nanzhu's interest; he was well aware of the power of talismans. Then, he hesitated, tilting his head back slightly, and looked the seemingly poor Senior Brother Song up and down, saying with a hint of doubt:

"Senior Brother, you truly have connections to find such a treasure. It's something a disciple like me, a rogue cultivator, can't afford. Besides, if you have the opportunity, why don't you take it for yourself? Or perhaps introduce it to one of the sect's elite disciples?"

Song Ji looked at Lu Nanzhu and said slowly, "Junior Brother is right. These talisman treasures are indeed beyond the reach of us rogue cultivators. However, the 'talisman treasure' I'm talking about is somewhat different; it's a 'pseudo-talisman treasure'!"