Mortal: The Path to Immortality

Upon seeing the rising dark shadow, the laughter of the crowd abruptly ceased.

The cultivator surnamed Han narrowed his eyes, staring at the long needle embedded in Luo Jin's arm, a few beads of sweat sliding down his cheeks. But he mustered his courage and shouted sharply:

"Luo Jin! How dare you! Collude with the demonic path!?"

"The demonic path?" Luo Jin said mockingly, letting the black smoke linger around him. "Senior Brother Han, didn't your Han family report the Luo family ten years ago on the pretext of 'colluding with the demonic path'? What? Have you forgotten already?"

"Moreover... the Han family is probably now inextricably linked to the demonic path, isn't it? Is it the Yu Ling Sect? Or the Gui Ling Sect?" Luo Jin, along with the black shadow, slowly walked towards the crowd.

"Boy, is this my 'food'?" the dark figure spoke again.

"Yes, Senior. These 'blood food' originally needed to be nurtured for a while longer, but..." Luo Jin explained respectfully.

"It's alright, these 'blood offerings' are just garnishes. I'm really looking forward to the 'feast'." The dark figure interrupted Luo Jin's speech, and somewhat impatiently manipulated the black smoke to probe in front of the disciples.

The cultivator surnamed Li, who had been shouting just moments before, was now trembling with fear. He turned and tried to run towards the cave entrance, screaming:

"Help! Please help me!!"

Upon seeing this, everyone began to run towards the cave entrance.

"run?"

The shadowy figure sneered, and its black smoke tentacles instantly grew several feet in length, grasping at the void.

The cultivators hadn't run far when they were dragged back by the black smoke. They struggled frantically, their fingers digging bloody scratches into the rough ground, letting out pitiful cries.

"Junior Brother Luo! No! Uncle Luo! I was wrong! I was blinded by greed just now, I shouldn't have bullied you! Please, spare my dog's life! Woof! Woof woof! I'll bark like a dog for you!"

In order to survive, the cultivator surnamed Li actually disregarded his dignity and started barking wildly, his voice trembling, completely devoid of his previous arrogance.

"Shut up!" The dark figure no longer hesitated, driving the black smoke to pierce through the cultivator's chest, and the miserable scream instantly disappeared.

Dark purple patches appeared on his skin, his eyes rolled back, and soon he stood up stiffly like a puppet, his body emitting a nauseating stench of death.

This cultivator was actually turned into a corpse puppet in a short period of time.

The shadowy figure withdrew the black smoke, revealing a blood-red pill that landed in Luo Jin's hand. The corpse puppet, from which the pill was extracted, instantly shriveled and collapsed.

The remaining cultivators were successively turned into corpse puppets, and their blood-red pills were also extracted from them.

The cultivator surnamed Han sat slumped by the campfire, terrified to see his once obedient subordinate reduced to such a state. His crotch was now stained with a foul stench.

"Junior Brother Luo... no, Ancestor Luo!"

As Luo Jin and the shadowy figure drew closer, the cultivator surnamed Han kowtowed desperately, tears streaming down his face, begging for mercy:

"Let me go, and I'll beg my ancestor and Elder Lin to return that mine to you!"

He spoke while crying, slapping his face with both hands:

"I'm not human! I've been bullying you and disrespecting your sister all this time. I'll go back and set up a memorial tablet for her! I'll observe mourning every day! Please forgive me!"

Luo Jin did not stop. He walked up to the cultivator surnamed Han and looked down at him.

"Senior, this person has the highest cultivation level among these people. Wouldn't it be better to use the 'Corpse Pill' he refines to assist in cultivation?" Luo Jin asked casually.

"A mere Qi Refining cultivator. Better than nothing, though," the shadowy figure replied indifferently.

"You surnamed Luo! After I die, my ancestor and Elder Lin will not let you go!!" With that final shout, the cultivator surnamed Han was used to refine a "corpse pill" in shock.

Luo Jin collected the storage bags of these people and found that there were many main ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills inside, which he then readily pocketed.

"Have you found the 'Severed Meridian Flower'?" After dealing with these cultivators, the dark figure suddenly asked.

"This junior has fulfilled his mission and successfully obtained this item." Luo Jin hurriedly took out the dark black flower from his storage bag.

"Good! In that case, once I have reshaped the meridians of this body, the promise I made to you can be fulfilled." After saying this, the dark shadow disappeared, and the long needle popped out of Luo Jin's body.

He was left alone, kneeling there, utterly exhausted, his chest heaving violently, his emotions still unsettled.

......

An hour later, in the outer area of ​​the forbidden zone, a streak of cyan light streaked across the sky.

That was Lu Nanzhu, who was putting all his effort into activating "The Song of Stepping to Heaven".

Previously, after obtaining the Dragon Blood Fruit and the feathers of the Shadowless Kite, he left the cave, crossed the mountain peak, and fled swiftly from the other side of the mountain.

If it weren't for the extraordinary speed of the "Step to Heaven Song," he would inevitably have been surrounded and attacked by the few who caught up with him.

In order to find a quiet hiding place again, Lu Nanzhu decided to leave the central area, a place of trouble, and return to his original starting point—the Giant Forest.

The area is also resource-poor and has few powerful monsters, making it a good hiding place.

He hid in a hollow in a giant tree, his forehead covered in beads of sweat. He activated his divine sense and carefully surveyed his surroundings. Only after confirming that no one was chasing him did he feel relieved enough to rest.

After a period of meditation, he took out a bird egg the size of a human head from his storage bag. It was covered with dark blue patterns.

Previously, Lu Nanzhu was amazed by the incredible speed of the Shadowless Kite, and after subduing the monster, he did not kill it directly.

Instead, they chose to use the "Spirit Tree" in the "Small Inkstone" to directly "deduce" the monster, which is how they obtained the giant egg.

In the urgency of the situation, Lu Nanzhu did not carefully examine all of Jueyingyuan's deductions in the secret realm. Instead, he quickly selected a transparent fruit from the spirit tree that faintly emitted electric arcs.

As this fruit suggests, under this deduction, the Shadowless Kite cultivated will not only possess unparalleled speed but also be able to wield the power of lightning.

Therefore, he gave the new variety a new name – Lei Yuan Diao.

For Lu Nanzhu, this trip to the forbidden area was also very fruitful.

Now, he only needs to wait patiently for the restrictions to be lifted again and for him to leave the forbidden area before these gains can truly be his.

......

The following day, the restrictions on the forbidden area were lifted again as scheduled.

Inside the forbidden area, the remaining disciples scattered through the barriers and returned to the residences of their respective sects.

Lu Nanzhu still avoided the crowd and only left the forbidden area just before the barrier was about to close.

He returned to his sect's headquarters, looked around, and found that there were very few disciples left in the seven sects; eight or nine out of ten had been lost.

Huangfeng Valley and Qingxu Sect are counting the number of spiritual herbs their disciples have harvested.

Han Li, unsurprisingly, was accepted as a disciple by Li Huayuan based on his outstanding performance. Overjoyed, Han Li glanced up at the Hidden Moon Sect's headquarters, presumably searching for his little sweetheart.

At this moment, in the Hidden Moon Sect's headquarters, Nangong Wan, having lost some of her magical power dealing with the Ink Dragon and Han Li in the forbidden area, was busy recuperating. The brocade-robed cultivator was also discussing his experiences in the forbidden area with his fellow disciples, his face filled with regret and resentment.

"What!? He's dead!" Inside the Spirit Beast Mountain's encampment, Elder Wang, who was leading the group, asked Luo Jin with some surprise.

As soon as Luo Jin emerged from the forbidden area, his body was covered in blood and he looked completely distraught, as if he had just escaped death.

"Reporting to Grandmaster, Senior Brother Han...they...were indeed...killed by...the demonic beasts within the forbidden area!"

Luo Jin gritted his teeth, cupped his hands, and said with great effort.

"If those guys died, how did you escape?" Zhongwu asked in surprise.

"Senior Brother, I escaped this calamity because I used some 'Spirit-Controlling Powder' and... prepared some magical artifacts to conceal my presence. Before that... I... repeatedly advised Senior Brother Han... to use some of this stuff as well, but Senior Brother Han... didn't listen to my advice..."

Luo Jin continued to answer with difficulty.

Elder Wang thought to himself, "I promised Senior Brother Lin that I would take care of this Han boy, but now he's died in the forbidden area."

Although he's just a Qi Refining disciple, his relationship with his senior brother and the Han family is crucial. Why didn't his senior brother give him anything to protect himself? It's truly baffling.

Just as Elder Wang was pondering how to explain this to the sect, a voice transmission sounded.

"Everyone—!"

Old Monster Qiong slowly walked to the center of the various faction's headquarters.

"Now that this trial has ended, it is time for me to fulfill my previous bet."