Mortal: The Path to Immortality

Looking at the two surrounded, Luo Jin's lips curled up slightly, a hint of smugness in his expression.

"We originally came to this cave to retrieve the Snow Beast. But you lot were so greedy that you actually came along to your deaths."

He pointed to the two of them again and continued:

"If you two surrender, I might take pity on you and let your souls pass away sooner, so you won't suffer the torment of soul refining."

"Junior brother, the situation is not good." Kong Yuan felt the oppressive feeling of being surrounded by enemies and whispered to Lu Nanzhu beside him.

"It's alright. For now, we can only fight separately. I believe my movement skills are decent, so I will deal with Luo Jin and those puppets, while you, senior brother, will handle the red-skinned corpse and try to find a way out." Lu Nanzhu transmitted his plan.

"Junior brother, be careful." After hearing the plan, Kong Yuan nodded in agreement and then raised his double hammers to meet Han Zhen.

Seeing that Kong Yuan was already fighting Han Zhen's Hundred-Refined Corpse, Lu Nanzhu no longer hesitated and activated the spells in "The Legend of Fuyao", and the blue veins on his body suddenly lit up.

He was like a sharp blue sword, piercing towards Luo Jin.

"You're courting death!" Luo Jin sneered, his ten fingers trembling with spiritual energy.

Zhou Tong, the corpse puppet, brandished his longsword and leaped in front of Luo Jin, blocking Lu Nanzhu's attack.

The puppet snow beast chased after Lu Nanzhu, striking him with its limbs and pounding him with its tongue, but Lu Nanzhu neutralized each attack with his agility.

Luo Jin hid behind the corpse puppet, manipulating it with both hands, occasionally popping out a few talismans or unleashing a few dark purple needle-shaped beams of spiritual light to ambush Lu Nanzhu's vital points.

After dozens of rounds of fierce fighting, neither side could gain the upper hand. Luo Jin continued to manipulate the corpse puppet with a serious expression, his initial contempt gone.

Lu Nanzhu was also exhausted, both physically and mentally. The two corpse puppets, whose realms were higher than his, worked together very well, and it was still quite difficult to deal with them at the same time. What's more, there was also the "villain" Luo Jin shooting at him from behind.

However, whenever Lu Nanzhu used his movement technique to bypass the corpse puppets and attack Luo Jin himself, this "pseudo-Core Formation" demonic cultivator would always show fear and retreat hastily, preferring to use the corpse puppets to defend rather than unleash his magic power to fight Lu Nanzhu in close combat.

"Since you're avoiding battle, I'll make sure you don't succeed." Lu Nanzhu immediately had a plan in mind.

He slapped his right hand on the storage bag at his waist, and a piercing buzzing sound rang out.

A swarm of insects, their bodies gleaming with a metallic sheen and shimmering with iridescent light, roared out; these were the "Spirit-Eating Bees" he had carefully cultivated.

Guided by their divine sense, the swarm of spirit insects, like a colorful cloud, precisely pounced on the back of the corpse puppet—where the spiritual energy threads controlling the corpse puppet were densely distributed.

Luo Jin's expression changed slightly. He quickly manipulated the Snow Beast Corpse Puppet, intending to make it devour these unknown insects, but he was a step too late.

The multicolored insects, sensing the pure spiritual energy, instantly went into a frenzy, opening their mandibles to devour the void. Under divine observation, the purple spiritual threads could be seen disappearing inch by inch as the insects devoured them.

As the spirit threads severed, the Snow Demon Beast Corpse Puppets' movements instantly slowed down. Having lost control, these corpse puppets' strength was greatly reduced.

Seeing this, Lu Nanzhu was not about to let such a good opportunity slip by. He immediately put away the spirit bees, took out a stack of fireball talismans from his storage bag, and stuffed them into the Snow Beast's mouth while it was momentarily stunned.

Without saying a word, he vanished in a blur.

"boom--!"

A deafening roar, like a muffled thunderclap, exploded inside the cave.

The already charred corpse of the Snow Beast exploded from the inside due to the violent clash between the corpse energy and the explosive fire elemental power within it. Limbs and pieces of flesh were scattered all over the ground.

Amidst the billowing blood mist, Lu Nanzhu stood in the icy river, holding a spinning blade, silently staring at Luo Jin.

Seeing his technique broken, Luo Jin couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

"Good lad! You're smart and capable too."

He slowly descended the stone steps and waded into the dark river, continuing with a smile:

"I am also someone who values ​​talent. Why don't you follow me and join my Holy Sect?"

Although you are of mediocre talent, as long as you choose the right cultivation method and practice diligently, it is not difficult for you to condense a golden core like I have.

how?"

"Just now you were fighting me to the death, how come you're now recruiting me? Are you not confident you can defeat me?" Lu Nanzhu still held the spinning blade to protect his chest, not daring to relax.

"Times have changed. I originally thought you were just like those other mediocre talents, only fit to be nourishment for my cultivation." Luo Jin waded through the water, pacing back and forth.

"Your performance in the battle just now was truly remarkable. You are a promising talent, which is why I am giving you this opportunity."

"To tell you the truth, since I am a disciple of Spirit Beast Mountain, how could I betray my sect and join the demonic path?! Let's settle this with our skills!!"

Lu Nanzhu didn't waste any words and directly rejected Luo Jin's offer to recruit him.

"Hmph! I have seen countless people with exceptional talent. Do you really think I would hesitate because of a mere Wind Spirit Body?"

Luo Jin had hoped to extract more information from Lu Nanzhu, such as the previously unseen spirit insect. However, since Lu Nanzhu had flatly refused their conversation, she had no choice but to give up.

"I didn't want to use too much spiritual power, thinking that I could handle you with just two Foundation Establishment stage puppets. Well, it seems I'll have to take matters into my own hands."

Luo Jin stopped pacing, faced Lu Nanzhu, and the purple light in his eyes suddenly became even brighter.

It turns out that Yu Liancheng was able to control this body to perform some spells through the secret method, but if he activated his spiritual power at a high intensity, the possession state could not last for long.

Therefore, he initially chose to use the most energy-efficient method of manipulating corpse puppets to fight the enemy.

But once his method of controlling the corpse puppets was cracked, he tried to stall for time through dialogue, hoping that the Hundred-Refined Corpse on the other side of the battlefield would defeat the enemy and come to his aid.

Now that Yu Liancheng's delaying tactics seem to have been thwarted by Lu Nanzhu, he has no choice but to act quickly and decisively to win the battle.

"Since you are determined to die, then I will grant your wish!"

As soon as Yu Liancheng finished speaking, dark purple spiritual energy surged out from his body, violently stirring the previously calm river water beneath his feet, causing it to spin wildly around him.

He pointed his finger, and the Zhou Tong corpse puppet, whose spiritual threads had been severed, was controlled by his divine sense. Like a humanoid cannonball, it stirred up a wave of water and brandished its long sword, rushing straight at Lu Nanzhu.

Lu Nanzhu stared intently at the corpse puppet; this level of corpse puppet couldn't harm him. He tapped the water's surface with his foot and suddenly flipped to the side.

In the instant they crossed paths in mid-air, he used his waist to deliver a powerful side kick that slammed into the corpse puppet's face.

"Bang!"

The kick was powerful and heavy; the corpse puppet was sent flying and slammed hard against the cave wall.

However, in the instant the gravel flew, Luo Jin's figure vanished from the spot.

"Oh no!" A warning bell rang in Lu Nanzhu's heart.

In the next instant, Luo Jin appeared strangely in front of Lu Nanzhu. His hand clenched into a fist, dark purple spiritual energy flickering between his fingers, and with the force of a thunderbolt, he slammed it down on Lu Nanzhu's head!

"boom--!"

With a loud bang, the boulder in the riverbed where Lu Nanzhu was standing instantly shattered, creating a huge crater more than ten feet wide. The surrounding river water was stirred up by this brute force, creating a huge curtain of water several feet high.

At the critical moment, Lu Nanzhu forcefully activated his movement and physical techniques to barely dodge.

Before Lu Nanzhu could even land and stand still, Luo Jin's sinister laughter rang in his ears again.

Luo Jin flung his hands out to the sides, and the water droplets that were still splashing in mid-air and had not yet fallen were instantly strung together by the spiritual threads flicked from his fingertips, turning into several crystal-clear but heavy "water droplet chains" that were flung toward Lu Nanzhu with a piercing whistling sound.

"Bang! Bang!"

The water droplet chain whipped the ground and rock walls, sending shards of rock flying. Lu Nanzhu was forced to dodge and weave, but the chain danced wildly in the air, each strike scattering countless tiny water droplets.

These water droplets, imbued with spiritual energy, shot at extremely high speeds, raining down on Lu Nanzhu with dense force.

With no way to avoid it, Lu Nanzhu could only activate the Azure Scale Armor with all his might, his fingertips rapidly tapping across the armor, changing several "Earth Armor Talismans" in succession.

A yellowish-brown light shield continuously emanated from his body, but it shattered instantly under the impact of the dense water droplets.

"This can't go on forever."

Lu Nanzhu inwardly groaned. He had already expended a lot of his magic power dealing with the encirclement of the two corpse puppets. Now, facing Luo Jin's massive attack with such a wide range, even if he was fast and had a strong foundation, he could not guarantee that he could continue to hold on.

Seeing Luo Jin sweep the chain across again, Lu Nanzhu's eyes flashed, and he stopped dodging. Instead of retreating, he moved forward, charging straight at the raindrops!

"You're asking for it!" Luo Jin laughed contemptuously.

Just then, Lu Nanzhu suddenly touched his storage bag, and a "tethering rope" that looked like a silver snake instantly wrapped around Luo Jin.

At the same time, Lu Nanzhu scattered dozens of "earth trapping talismans" at Luo Jin's feet.

"trap!"

The riverbed beneath Luo Jin's feet instantly turned into a viscous swamp, and the tether rope tightened even more.

"How do you have these? And these talismans, how do you have so many talismans?! You're a truly strange kid!"

He was somewhat surprised, and for a moment his body was frozen in place.

"Now!"

Lu Nanzhu's eyes widened, and he suddenly pulled out the "Invisible Needle" talisman from his storage bag.

A dozen breaths later, under Lu Nanzhu's full urging, a huge needle-shaped spiritual light, over ten feet long and entirely golden, took shape in the air.

"Go!" Lu Nanzhu waved his hand forcefully.

The needle-shaped beam of light, like a rainbow piercing the sun, shot towards Luo Jin's brow.

"You have a talismanic item too!?"

The golden light arrived in an instant, and Luo Jin, at the critical moment of life and death, let out a fierce shout, urging his magic power to break through the restraints in an instant.

In an instant, he forcibly twisted his body, and the giant golden needle flew past his cheek, leaving a trace of blood.

Luo Jingang was secretly relieved to have dodged a fatal blow, but he was shocked to find that after the huge golden light passed over him, it did not turn back at all. Instead, it shot towards the other side of the battlefield at an even faster speed. There, Kong Yuan was being beaten black and blue by Han Zhen, the Hundred-Refined Corpse, and was unable to defend himself.

"Awooo—!"

A piercing scream rang out. The golden needle pierced precisely through the back of Han Zhen's head, a corpse shrouded in molten metal.

Under the attack of the invisible needles, the dark red spiritual light on the invulnerable demonic corpse instantly dissipated, and it collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"You brat!" Luo Jin was furious. He hadn't expected that Lu Nanzhu's target from the beginning wasn't him, but rather to help Kong Yuan out of a predicament.

Taking advantage of Luo Jin's momentary lapse in concentration, Lu Nanzhu, his face ashen, squeezed out the last bit of spiritual power and activated the escape technique "Stepping into the Sky" to the point of near self-destruction.

He transformed into a streak of green light, swept across the river, scooped up the already unconscious and bloodied Kong Yuan, and fled towards the tunnel entrance without looking back.