Mortal: The Path to Immortality

Upon hearing Lu Nanzhu's question, Han Yunzhi remembered that she had important matters to attend to, and quickly bowed, saying somewhat awkwardly:

"Oh, I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Uncle Lu. When I met you before, I completely forgot my brother's instructions."

My elder brother learned that our martial uncle had rescued Yunzhi in the forbidden area, so he specifically asked me to invite our martial uncle to visit my elder brother. My elder brother wanted to thank our martial uncle in person.

However, his elder brother is unaware that his Uncle-Master Lu has already advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage...

Lu Nanzhu rested his chin on his hand, sizing up Han Yunzhi before him. He hesitated for a moment, muttering to himself:

"Thank you in person? It doesn't seem that simple. Oh well, I'll go and take a look anyway."

He lowered his arms, which were crossed over his chest, and agreed to the matter:

"In that case, please lead the way, Miss Han."

......

Lu Nanzhu followed Han Yunzhi to a residence at the foot of the sect's mountain. The residence was not large, and it was not conspicuous from the outside, even appearing somewhat old.

Passing through the gate, the interior was also exquisitely furnished. The screen wall was carved from a single massive piece of gray stone, adorned with various birds and beasts. The corridors were also lined with unique and spiritual plants.

A gentle breeze blew by, carrying with it a familiar medicinal fragrance.

Upon entering the courtyard, Han Yunzhi turned and said:

"Uncle-Master Lu, I'll go and call my brother to come and greet us."

Just as she turned to head towards the inner courtyard, Lu Nanzhu stopped her. He withdrew his divine sense and looked at Han Yunzhi, saying:

"No need, I think your brother has already arrived."

A moment later, a brown-robed cultivator hurriedly emerged from the inner courtyard, his face beaded with sweat. He looked around and, seeing the two standing in the courtyard, his gaze bypassed Han Yunzhi and settled on Lu Nanzhu.

He paused for a moment, opened his mouth slightly, then quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, bowed, and said:

"This junior, Han Yunsong, was unaware of your presence and has failed to greet you properly."

Not long ago, Han Yunsong was sitting at a blue stone table in a pavilion, drinking tea and studying some strange objects, such as a broken blade and a rusty blue ring.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, Han Yunsong's eyes widened slightly, and he quickly put down the tea in his hand and rushed towards the front yard.

Upon arriving at the front yard, he finally noticed the Foundation Establishment cultivator following behind his sister.

Lu Nanzhu used his divine sense to examine Han Yunsong; the man had already reached the thirteenth level of Qi Refining, only one step away from Foundation Establishment. He cupped his hands in greeting and said:

"My name is Lu Nanzhu, and I greet Brother Yunsong."

"No, no, no! Senior, you flatter me. Just call me Yun Song." Han Yun Song waved her hands repeatedly in fright.

"I wonder what brings Brother Yun Song to me?" Lu Nanzhu cut to the chase and asked the reason directly.

"This..." Han Yunsong looked at Han Yunzhi, his eyes full of questions.

It turned out that after the last Blood Forbidden Land trial, Han Yunsong heard that Lu Nanzhu had not only saved his sister, but also gained the appreciation of Old Monster Qiong and Elder Wang of the sect, and immediately had the idea of ​​befriending him.

However, the Qi Refining cultivator he originally wanted to befriend has now become a true Foundation Establishment cultivator, which has put him in a bit of a dilemma.

"To be honest, senior," Han Yunsong took a deep breath, his face revealing a resolute expression.

"Yun Song originally just wanted to invite the senior to come as a way of expressing his gratitude."

After my younger sister returned from the forbidden area, she mentioned many times the life-saving grace of the senior. I thought that since we were both in the Spirit Beast Mountain, if we could form a good relationship, we could help each other if we encountered difficulties in the future.

But... but unexpectedly, the senior has already crossed that insurmountable barrier, and now Yun Song is shamelessly trying to climb the social ladder.

After hearing this, Lu Nanzhu remained expressionless and did not respond immediately.

The scene was quiet for a moment, with the Han siblings staring silently at Lu Nanzhu, waiting for his reply.

"It's hardly an honor to 'climb the social ladder.' I'm only just beginning to understand things thanks to Elder Wang's guidance," Lu Nanzhu said, bowing once more.

"Since Brother Yun Song has put it this way, I appreciate your thanks. If there's nothing else, I must visit my master, so I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, Lu Nanzhu turned and left. This greatly worried the brother and sister, but they were helpless, since they didn't have anything that could attract the covetous eyes of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Lu Nanzhu hadn't taken more than a few steps when another strange sound came from the storage bag at his waist. It was "Full Storage" again. It was taken out of the spirit beast bag and ran straight to the inner courtyard as soon as it landed.

The brother and sister didn't understand the little mouse's behavior either. The three of them followed "Mancang" through several archways and stone paths to the pavilion where Hanyunsong had rested earlier.

"Mancang" also jumped onto the blue stone table in the pavilion, which was filled with old objects. It tried to pick up a fragment from the table, but it couldn't lift it no matter what it did.

Just as "Mancang" was pulling hard on the fragment, Lu Nanzhu stepped forward and grabbed it, shouting in a deep voice:

"You little rascal!"

Then, carrying a full load of food, he walked up to the two men and apologized with a smile:

"You rude boy. Please forgive me, gentlemen."

"It's alright," Han Yunsong said politely.

After stuffing "Mancang" back into the spirit beast bag, Lu Nanzhu walked to the blue stone table and picked up the fragment to examine it carefully for a while.

"Brother Yun Song, do you have any knowledge of these items?"

"I wouldn't call it research. I'm just quite curious about some old objects, so I collected a few." Seeing that Lu Nanzhu wasn't in a hurry to leave, Han Yunsong quickly stepped forward, took a cup, poured some tea, and handed it to him with both hands.

"Are you also interested in these old items, senior?" Han Yunsong asked tentatively.

"Oh, I just find this object peculiar. Are those array patterns engraved on it?" Lu Nanzhu took the cup of tea and examined the fragment intently.

"Senior has discerning eyes; the markings on this object are indeed array patterns. However, after inquiring around, I found that array masters couldn't explain what kind of array these patterns recorded." After saying this, Han Yunsong shook his head.

"Where did these fragments come from?" Lu Nanzhu asked, taking a sip of tea.

"I received it from several senior brothers. A few years ago, the sect arranged for those senior brothers to investigate a ruin, which seemed to be a damaged 'teleportation array' ruin."

The senior disciples found these fragments in the ruins. They didn't know anything about them, but thought they were worth some spirit stones, so they picked them up.

After listening to Han Yunsong's account and recalling Mancang's unusual behavior, Lu Nanzhu made up his mind to obtain these fragments.

"Brother Yun Song, I am quite interested in these fragments. What is their price? How can I acquire them?"

"Oh! Since you like it, Senior, take it. It's not anything valuable. If you like, Senior, there are many old items in the study that you can choose from." Han Yunsong became interested and quickly said.

Lu Nanzhu smiled, took out several bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills from his storage bag, and placed them on the table.

"How could I, Lu, be the kind of person who would steal by trickery and force? You two have already reached the thirteenth level of Qi Refining. These Qi Cultivation Pills can help you stabilize your realm and provide additional assistance for your Foundation Establishment."

Before they could refuse, Lu Nanzhu quickly added:

"I have just completed the Foundation Establishment stage and have not yet reported to my master. This has caused some delay, so I will take my leave now."

Having said that, he flicked his sleeve and pocketed all the fragments on the table. He then rode his magical artifact back to the sect and headed to Elder Wang's cave dwelling.