Mortal: The Path to Immortality

Kusong'ao, as its name suggests, is a place of jagged rocks. Several old, crooked pine trees, dry and charred, lie across the entrance of the valley, like ghostly hands reaching out from the ground.

In a shady spot at the valley entrance, a petite, monkey-faced cultivator dressed in a gray-black robe was quietly crouching, concealing his spiritual energy. A formation plate in one hand emitted a faint, cold light.

"Hey, judging by the time, those fat sheep should be arriving soon."

In his other hand, he casually fiddled with a dark red dagger, his eyes gleaming with greed. "My senior brother made it clear last night that those fat sheep came from the auction house, and they definitely have a lot of good treasures. If we can snatch them, we brothers can make a fortune again."

Seeing that his companion didn't respond, the monkey-faced monk turned his head and looked at another exceptionally strong man behind him.

The strong, muscular man sat cross-legged against a withered pine tree, half his face hidden in the shadow of his hood. Only his exposed neck was visible, with a few dark purple spots the size of copper coins.

"Hey, you barbarian, what good thing happened to you last night when you went to that dark alley to sell the stolen goods? You haven't said a word since you came back," the monkey-faced monk muttered, somewhat disgruntled.

"Looking at all these spots on your face, could it be that you've secretly practiced the sect's 'Ghostly Fiend Technique' again?"

The burly man remained silent for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a sound from deep in his throat: "...Mmm."

"Hmm what? I'm asking you a question!" The monkey-faced cultivator leaned closer, his nose wrinkling slightly, and said suspiciously, "The smell on you... it's much worse than last night. You smell like a dead fish that's been rotting for three days."

The burly man slowly raised his head, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes with slightly dilated pupils, and said in a hoarse voice, "...Almost...there."

"Tsk, all this mystical nonsense. Alright, I've been assigned to this godforsaken place by the sect, and they don't even give me decent cultivation materials!" The monkey-faced cultivator nonchalantly shrank back, continuing to stare in the direction of the valley entrance, and muttered under his breath:

"The higher-ups are only focused on making us lay cables, they can't even supply us with a decent dose of pills. If we don't hunt down a couple of fat sheep soon to gather some resources and improve our cultivation, who knows, when we return to the sect for the competition after completing the mission, we might be instantly refined by one of our fellow disciples!?"

As he spoke, the monkey-faced cultivator shifted his body to the side with some disgust, avoiding the lingering strange smell emanating from the muscular man.

Half an hour later, Lu Nanzhu and his group flew in the sky for a long time on their magical artifacts.

Song Ji, who was leading the group, wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling a bit tired. Although Qi Refining cultivators were much stronger than ordinary people, the constant tension along the way had indeed taken a toll on his energy.

The cultivator surnamed Liu, who had been flying behind Song Ji on his magical artifact, suddenly arrived beside him and said in a rather gentle tone:

"Senior Brother Song, you've had a long and arduous journey. We've traveled for quite some time, and we're only halfway there now. Should we find a place to rest and recuperate for a while, like we did on the way here?"

Upon hearing this, Song Ji grinned with relief: "Alright, that's Kusong'ao just ahead. Why don't we rest there for a bit?"

The cultivator surnamed Liu nodded slightly and casually pointed to a valley in the withered pine grove, saying, "That valley looks quite secluded, why don't we go there?"

With that, everyone expressed their agreement and followed the cultivator surnamed Liu on their magical artifacts, heading towards the valley. Lu Nanzhu quietly flew at the very back.

Just as he flew into the territory of Kusong'ao, Lu Nanzhu felt an unusual tremor coming from his spirit beast pouch. He used his divine sense to probe into the pouch and saw the usually well-behaved "Mancang" jumping around inside, its eyes filled with horror.

Lu Nanzhu knew that "Mancang" was quite sensitive to spiritual energy, and had not lost his composure when he encountered monsters before.

"Is there something wrong with this place?"

He immediately stopped, his eyes flashing, and he opened his mind to carefully examine the valley, trying to find any clues that made "Mancang" uneasy.

Song Ji, leading the way, was the first to notice that some people had fallen behind. He frowned and immediately stopped the group from moving forward. Turning to Lu Nanzhu, who was lagging behind, he shouted:

"Junior Brother Lu! Why have you stopped?!"

Song Ji's voice echoed through the empty valley.

Lu Nanzhu withdrew his divine sense, about to issue a warning, but just as he was about to open his mouth, a sudden change occurred!

"ah--!"

A bloodcurdling scream rang out from the ranks.

Everyone turned around in horror, only to see the seemingly normal Chen-surname cultivator suddenly freeze in place. A pitch-black arm covered with strange dark red patterns and claws as sharp as knives had pierced through his chest from behind.

"Junior Brother Chen!!" Song Ji exclaimed in surprise, his whole body swaying a few times on the flying sword.

The cultivator surnamed Liu peeked out from behind Junior Brother Chen, took the storage bag from his waist, and quickly pulled out his demonized arm, throwing Junior Brother Chen away and tossing him to the bottom of the valley.

"Liu Yuan!! It's you!?" Song Ji stared at the cultivator surnamed Liu in disbelief.

"Brother Liu, have you gone mad! Harming fellow disciples is a heinous crime that will destroy both body and soul!" The cultivator surnamed Wang's expression also changed drastically, and he took out a small cyan shield from his storage bag and held it in front of him.

"Activate the formation!!" Liu Yuan ignored the two and shouted in a low voice towards the valley.

As soon as the words were spoken, black mist surged from the valley floor, rising into the air and gradually forming a black light shield that enveloped Song Ji and the cultivator surnamed Wang. Then, two cultivators, one tall and one short, clad in jet-black robes, soared into the air. The shorter, monkey-faced cultivator let out a grating laugh, the array plate in his hand emitting a cold light.

"These two are yours to handle; I'll deal with the one who slipped through the net."

Having said that, Liu Yuan's figure blurred, revealing his Qi Refining Perfection cultivation level. A dark red bone shuttle, radiating blood energy, appeared beneath his feet, with faint traces of ghostly spirits swirling around it. He sneered and instantly transformed into a streak of blood-red light, rushing straight towards the spot where Lu Nanzhu had just stopped.

However, to Liu Yuan's surprise, the person he wanted to capture had already escaped. It turned out that Lu Nanzhu had not hesitated at all; the moment the cultivator surnamed Chen fell, he had activated the "Soaring Record" with all his might to escape from this place.

He watched Lu Nanzhu disappear into the distance, muttering to himself, "To be able to fly without the aid of a magical artifact is quite interesting. Once I catch you, I'll definitely study you thoroughly!"

The greed in Liu Yuan's eyes intensified. He frantically channeled his magic power into the bone shuttle, causing a surge of blood-red light that streaked across the canyon sky, relentlessly pursuing Lu Nanzhu.

Lu Nanzhu rode the wind through the air, and although he did not rely on any external objects, he was still a bit faster than ordinary magical artifacts.

A moment later, Lu Nanzhu could feel the bloody aura rapidly approaching from behind. He was frantically thinking of a countermeasure:

"It seems this person is most likely a spy from the demonic path in Spirit Beast Mountain. Judging from the fact that he's using an unusual flying artifact, he must be of high status. We're still quite a distance from the sect; we need to find a way to escape as soon as possible..."

"It's no use, Junior Brother Lu! The mana of a Qi Refining stage cultivator is ultimately limited; your Wind Control Technique won't last long!"

Liu Yuan made a hand seal, and the bone shuttle beneath his feet surged with blood-red light. He then patted his storage bag, and a jet-black "demon blade" slid into his hand. He swung the blade, and several black blade lights, each over ten feet long, roared forward, blocking Lu Nanzhu's path.

Lu Nanzhu remained calm, showing no sign of panic. Knowing that his opponent's cultivation was profound and his magical power far surpassed his own, he knew he couldn't afford to engage in a prolonged war of attrition. He immediately threw several "Wind Bullet Talismans" beneath him. His already incredibly fast figure was propelled upwards again by the expanding wind, and the pursuing blade light just barely passed beneath him.