Mortal: The Path to Immortality

Inside the secret chamber of the Abandoned Spirit Valley, Lu Nanzhu sat cross-legged on the stone bed, exhaled, and the faint spiritual light surrounding him gradually receded into his body.

It took him a whole month and a lot of pills to heal his injuries and restore his original state.

Thinking back on his trip to Fengzhou, he couldn't help but frown, a bitter feeling welling up inside him.

Not only did they not gain any benefit, but they also lost a lot of talismans and magical artifacts. They couldn't hope that the rewards given by the sect could make up for these losses.

What made Lu Nanzhu even more uncomfortable was the encounter with Elder Lin on the return journey. His strange gaze made Lu Nanzhu feel like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat.

"Does that old monster have a penchant for men?!" Lu Nanzhu thought, a chill running down his spine. "No, I need to stay far away from here. I really can't stay in this Spirit Beast Mountain any longer. I need to hurry up and improve my cultivation."

He then took out the mysterious fragment he had obtained from Han Yunsong from his storage bag. "It's time to go to Yuanwu Kingdom and buy some array formations from Xin Ruyin."

Having made up his mind, Lu Nanzhu took out a jade slip, on which he had engraved the mysterious cultivation technique that Xiao Suqing had previously given him.

These days, besides healing his injuries and cultivating, he has been studying this mysterious technique.

Although it was only the first floor, its complexity far exceeded his imagination.

The text within the jade slip is obscure and difficult to understand, with a complex and convoluted grammar. To even begin, one must not only have a thorough understanding of the subtle meridians throughout the body, but also be proficient in pharmacology to help expand these meridians; the slightest mistake could lead to qi deviation and demonic possession.

"No wonder they gave me three years. For ordinary cultivators, this cultivation method is indeed a dead end."

Lu Nanzhu muttered to himself.

However, the allure of this cultivation method is immense. According to the jade slip, once the first level is mastered, the cultivator's microscopic control over the spiritual energy around their body will reach an unbelievable level.

What excited him even more was the amplification of his divine sense. A strong divine sense is the foundation for precisely controlling spiritual energy.

This month of research has subtly refined his spiritual sense, and his ability to observe subtle changes in his surroundings has also improved significantly.

"Spiritual energy transforming into threads, moving with the ease of an arm... How is this technique so similar to the purple threads Luo Jin used to manipulate the corpse puppet?"

Lu Nanzhu fell into deep thought. He recalled the scene when Luo Jin used his demonic arts, his spiritual energy transforming into threads and flowing into his meridians like a swimming dragon.

"Xiao Suqing, Luo Jin, and this mysterious martial arts technique..."

Lu Nanzhu vaguely sensed that he was being drawn into a huge vortex.

Thinking of this, Lu Nanzhu's desire to cultivate this technique faded somewhat. He began to recall his previous interactions with Elder Xiao.

After a moment, he put the jade slip away, got up and left the secret chamber of the cave.

......

After leaving the Valley of Abandoned Spirits, Lu Nanzhu flew towards his master's cave.

There, he met Senior Brother Kong, who had also recovered from his injuries. The two of them, led by their master Elder Wang, went to the sect hall to formally report the details of the Han family's mission.

The hall was dimly lit. Apart from Elder Wang, there were several Core Formation cultivators with solemn expressions, but Elder Lin was nowhere to be seen.

When Lu Nanzhu described in detail how Luo Jin manipulated the fine threads of spiritual energy to instantly transform living people into corpse puppets, the Core Formation elders present all looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Such a wondrous technique exists?" An elder stroked his beard and pondered. "Although the Thousand Bamboo Sect in the far west is skilled in puppetry, most of their puppets are made of wood and stone. This method of precisely controlling a living person's body by channeling spiritual energy into their veins is unheard of in the southern lands."

Amidst their感慨 (feelings of deep emotion), the elders looked at Lu Nanzhu with a hint of admiration.

A red-faced elder laughed loudly, "Junior Brother Wang, your disciple is truly remarkable. At the early stage of Foundation Establishment, he was able to fight against three opponents, including a pseudo-Core Formation stage demonic cultivator and two corpse puppets, and he even remembered to protect the lives of his fellow disciples."

His strength, courage, and character are truly remarkable; the younger generation is indeed formidable!

The praise from everyone made Lu Nanzhu a little embarrassed, and his face turned red. Elder Wang, on the other hand, was very happy to hear the praise from his senior brothers.

After being comforted and encouraged by everyone, the two left the hall.

As soon as he reached the door, Kong Yuan turned around and bowed solemnly to Lu Nanzhu: "Junior brother, if it weren't for your life-saving rescue, I'm afraid I would have died in that underground river."

That corpse puppet was truly troublesome; I never imagined that the Han family patriarch would be transformed into such a monster.

Lu Nanzhu quickly helped Kong Yuan up and said gently, "Senior brother, you're too kind. If you hadn't successfully sent out that communication talisman, Master wouldn't have been able to arrive in time, and neither of us would have come back."

After exchanging pleasantries, Lu Nanzhu lowered his voice and asked the question that had been bothering him: "Senior Brother, do you know why Elder Lin is not here? He initiated this mission for the Han family, so he should be here to oversee the situation."

Kong Yuan looked around and replied in a low voice, "I heard that Elder Lin's face was frighteningly gloomy after the mission failed. He retrieved all the investigation data about the 'teleportation array' ruins from the sect, and then left the sect alone. He hasn't returned yet and we don't know where he's wandering."

As they were talking, Elder Wang and several other elders walked out of the hall, chatting and laughing. After the other elders had vanished in a flash, Elder Wang walked over to the two of them, his eyes full of satisfaction.

"You two have contributed significantly to this investigation," Elder Wang said, patting their shoulders gently.

"The sect will be bestowing spirit stones as a reward soon. However, the situation in Tiannan is currently turbulent, and the invasion of the six demonic sects is imminent. All the resources accumulated within the sect must be prioritized for the front lines, so we are afraid we will not be able to allocate any extra magical artifacts or pills to you."

"I have some secret treasures here; you may take them."

The two thanked him and accepted the gifts. Lu Nanzhu's heart stirred slightly, and he asked, "Master, the Han family patriarch and his elite troops are all dead. Who should lead the Han family in Fengzhou now?"

Elder Wang's smile faded slightly, and he sighed, "The Han family... is no more."

On the very night the mine mission went wrong, more than a dozen unidentified black-clad cultivators massacred the Han family mansion. Most of the clan's experts had already perished, and the remaining elderly, women, and children, with the exception of a very few who escaped, were all slaughtered.

Lu Nanzhu stood there stunned, the scene from the Han residence a month ago flashing through his mind.

Seeing him lost in thought, Elder Wang sighed and said earnestly, "This has always been the way of the cultivation world; such is the impermanence of life."

Let alone the Han family, even those sects that have been passed down for thousands of years and those immortal cultivation families that have prospered for tens of thousands of years, once they lose their pillars, their downfall is only a matter of moments.

What kind of foundation for eternal life is this? It's nothing but the delusion of us cultivators.

He paused for a moment to calm himself down before continuing, "Just now in the hall, I discussed with several elders how to handle the aftermath of the Han family's death."

Now that the Han family has been destroyed, those spirit fields and spirit mines must not fall into the hands of the demonic path. The sect has decided to reclaim them and redistribute them to its other cultivation families.

After saying this, Elder Wang patted Lu Nanzhu on the shoulder, indicating that he didn't need to think too much about it, and then led the two back to the cave.