Mortal: The Path to Immortality

Yu Liancheng opened his left hand, and in his palm lay a dark red pill that exuded a strong bloody smell. The veins on the surface of the pill pulsated, like a beating heart.

"This 'Hundred Refined Corpse Pill' took me a lot of effort, but today it's a bargain for you."

In Han Zhen's terror, Luo Jin (Yu Liancheng) suddenly exerted force with his left hand, and with a cracking sound, he forcefully pressed the pill into Han Zhen's chest, specifically the Mingmen point.

"Ah—! Cai... Ling..."

Han Zhen's eyes widened, the corners of his eyes splitting open in excruciating pain, two streams of bloody tears flowing down. A final, mournful cry escaped his throat, then his head drooped, and he fell silent.

The cave fell into a deathly silence, with only the dripping sound of water.

Before long, a strange change occurred.

From the bloody, mangled wound on Han Zhen's chest, a thick, liquid-like, crimson spiritual energy began to emanate.

The spiritual energy did not dissipate, but instead surged into his eight extraordinary meridians. Under his originally pale skin, countless dark red veins bulged out, writhing wildly beneath his flesh like red snakes.

Luo Jin (Yu Liancheng) rapidly made hand seals, and the incantation he uttered became increasingly urgent.

Han Zhen's skin hardened like iron at a visible speed, exhibiting a dark red metallic luster.

As the last ray of dark red light pierced the top of his head, Han Zhen suddenly raised his head.

He opened his eyes again, but his pupils had vanished, replaced by two lifeless, grayish-white pupils. The once refined middle-aged cultivator was now surrounded by a dense aura of death.

"The Hundred-Refined Corpse—is complete!"

Luo Jin (Yu Liancheng) withdrew his hand, looking at the "living dead" in front of him, which was comparable to a level four demon beast, a perverse pleasure flashed in his eyes.

Then, the dark purple in his eyes gradually faded, and he looked at his hands, saying with some confusion:

"Senior, why did this secret technique fade so quickly?"

"This 'Blood Vengeance Soul Pact' requires the sacrificer to willingly offer their body for the caster to possess."

The one who seizes a body must fulfill the wishes of the one who makes the sacrifice. Only in this way can the soul of the former master be reborn, and only then can the one who performs the ritual truly take control of the body.

"Now, I cannot control your body for much longer." Yu Liancheng's voice rang out again from Luo Jin's body.

"Now that we have this 'Hundred-Refined Corpse,' we can go to the mine tomorrow to retrieve our senior's belongings," Luo Jin planned.

"Oh? You really want to help me? Do you know that helping me will only hasten your death?"

"As long as I can avenge my great wrongs, Luo Jin has nothing to fear!"

"He does have some spirit, but unfortunately his aptitude and comprehension are lacking. Even after reshaping your meridians, he still couldn't master the first level of the 'Corpse Meridian Spirit Transformation Technique,' which is truly a pity," Yu Liancheng sighed, then added.

"Very well, if it weren't for the need to recover my cultivation as quickly as possible after possessing your body, I wouldn't have gone to such lengths to use this secret technique on you."

"Once I retrieve what is mine, I will temporarily suppress your soul. In just a few years, I will recover my cultivation using this body and avenge you."

Luo Jin remained silent, only nodding quietly.

......

The next day, the group prepared to head to the mine.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated when Lu Nanzhu stepped out of the room and found that Han Cailing was already waiting in the courtyard.

Seeing Lu Nanzhu leave the room, she quickly stepped forward, took out a plain-colored amulet with slightly worn embroidery from her bosom, and handed it to him with both hands:

"Senior, this was something my mother got from a temple a long time ago. She said it could protect you and was very effective." Her voice was a little soft, and her fingers unconsciously touched the corner of the talisman.

"Father... always said that ordinary things are useless, and he never liked wearing these things..."

At this point, her eyes dimmed again, but then she remembered that today was a farewell, and she looked up and forced a smile:

"I hope you can bring my father back safely."

Lu Nanzhu took the warm amulet, touched the slightly rough stitches, sighed inwardly, but simply nodded, put it away, and hurried to the gate to meet up with the others.

The group followed Han Ze as he rode his magical artifact at breakneck speed. Half an hour later, they arrived at the spirit stone mine where the Han family had encountered the accident.

The mountains here are steep, and the cave entrance is hidden among the jungle and strange rocks. Before even entering the cave, Lu Nanzhu felt a chilling aura rushing towards him.

He didn't loosen his grip on the storage bag, his divine sense scanning the surroundings, maintaining a state of high alert.

Seeing this, Kong Yuan chuckled, nudged Lu Nanzhu with his elbow, and comforted him:

"Junior Brother Lu, relax. I'm here, don't be afraid."

Knowing that his senior brother was a straightforward person, Lu Nanzhu didn't say much and just nodded.

Zhou Tong, as the team leader, took the lead and stepped into the mine. However, after only a few steps inside, everyone stopped in their tracks.

The Han family cultivators who were supposed to be guarding and patrolling there were nowhere to be seen.

By the dim light of the torches on the cave wall, large patches of dark red blood could be seen flowing down the rock face, with shattered fragments of magical artifacts and torn pieces of clothing scattered all over the ground.

Han Ze frowned and said in a deep voice:

"How could this happen!? After the patriarch's accident, he sent many cultivators to guard this place."

"It seems the trouble here is bigger than we imagined." Zhou Tong stared at the ground carefully, his tone not only without worry, but even with a hint of excitement.

Upon hearing this, everyone became extremely alert, took out their magical artifacts, and slowly walked into the depths of the cave one by one.

Lu Nanzhu walked silently at the back of the line, while Senior Brother Kong intentionally or unintentionally shielded him behind him.

After walking for a while, Zhou Tong suddenly bent down and picked up a few nearly transparent fragments with a pale, glossy sheen from the ground. The fragments were extremely thin, yet they felt as tough as armor, like the old hide shed from some kind of demonic beast.

After passing several more mining sites where spirit stones were being excavated, the group turned a narrow bend, and their view suddenly widened.

This is a huge underground cavern, hundreds of feet wide, with piles of spirit stone ore that has not yet been transported out and kerosene used to make explosives on the ground.

The surrounding stone walls were damp and covered with a nauseating, milky-white viscous substance. Beside the cave was a deep pit, and beside it lay a huge white cocoon.

The cocoon had already ruptured, and what was inside was long gone. Lu Nanzhu tried to probe it with his divine sense, but found that his divine sense bypassed the cocoon completely, unable to perceive its existence at all.

"This thing can actually evade divine sense; it's truly amazing," Lu Nanzhu thought to himself.

Just as everyone was looking around the cocoon in surprise and doubt, a seemingly ordinary "giant rock" nearby suddenly changed color.

The original grayish-brown stone pattern suddenly turned into a moist and smooth snow-white—it turned out to be a giant toad monster that was disguised very well. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that it was actually a peak level four monster.

At this moment, Luo Jin seemed unaware, as he had his back to it.

"Watch out!" Kong Yuan shouted to Luo Jin in a panic.

However, the giant toad had already opened its mouth. Before Luo Jin could react, he was swallowed whole by the giant toad.