Mortal: The Path to Immortality

Lu Nanzhu slept very soundly. When he woke up, the back of his head felt like it had been kicked by a donkey, and it throbbed with pain.

He rubbed his head and immediately looked up to check if the "little inkstone" was still there. On the ancient tabletop, two seeds were lying there, emitting a faint glow: one was dark and iron-colored, a mutated variety that sought to concentrate medicinal properties; the other was crystal clear, a product of accelerated growth.

"Hey! This suffering wasn't for nothing. Improving my cultivation level really does increase my deduction efficiency!" Lu Nanzhu happily put away the seeds, which were his "initial shares" for continuing his grueling breeding efforts.

Over the next two months, Lu Nanzhu transformed into a "breeding expert." He frequently used the "small inkstone" to repeatedly analyze and screen the seeds he had previously collected from the seed pods of the strange jade ring grass, and finally cultivated a variant that he privately named "Jade Ring Type III"—its medicinal properties were greatly enhanced, but its maturation speed was increased to thirty times that of the original plant!

With the help of the "little inkstone," the matter of obtaining pills gradually became no longer a problem, and his Qi Refining Level 1 cultivation was also consolidated. If it weren't for the miscellaneous tasks he usually had to deal with within the sect, Lu Nanzhu would have loved to hide in the back mountain and cultivate all day long.

"Working is really interfering with my cultivation!!"

That night, Lu Nanzhu finished his cultivation in the cave and was leisurely making his way back.

As he passed through a dense forest, he keenly sensed something unusual not far away. He instinctively lowered his body, blending into the shadows of the trees.

Not far away, two furtive figures were gathered together by a path. One of them was the kitchen manager, while the other was dressed in the robes of an outer disciple, but he was somewhat unfamiliar.

"Lord Zhao, everything is ready. As soon as the Wild Wolf Gang's army moves, I'll add some 'spice' to the food of those gang leaders, and I guarantee they won't be able to muster any morale..." The steward lowered his voice and laughed in an extremely sinister tone.

Just as "Lord Zhao" nodded, a very faint gasp suddenly came from behind a tree nearby.

"Who's there!" Lord Zhao reacted quickly, throwing a pebble with his backhand.

A figure staggered out from behind the tree—it was Han Li! Han Li's face was deathly pale as he stared intently at the greenish-blue venomous snake clutched in his hand. At this time, he knew no martial arts, let alone had practiced lightness skills. Seeing that his whereabouts had been discovered, he could only rely on instinct to flee into the forest behind the mountain.

"He must be a disciple of the sect! We absolutely cannot let him return alive to report the news, kill him!" Lord Zhao and the steward exchanged a glance, drew their short blades, and chased after him.

Lu Nanzhu, seeing everything clearly from behind the rock, cursed inwardly, "Old Devil Han, you haven't quite mastered your 'runaway' reputation yet!"

Without hesitation, he lightly touched the dirt road with his toes and, relying on the skill he had honed through countless trips back and forth through the cave over the past few months, took a shortcut and intercepted them.

As Han Li was running, panting heavily and anxious, he suddenly felt a strong and powerful hand reach out from the shadows and pull him into a hidden crevice in the rocks.

"Brother Han! Don't make a sound, it's me." Lu Nanzhu's voice was extremely low.

Han Li was still in shock when he saw that it was his familiar junior brother Lu, and his heart skipped a beat.

The two of them hid quietly. This place wasn't far from where Lu Nanzhu cultivated and refined pills, and he worried that if the two searched haphazardly, they would discover him, and if that led to an investigation by the sect members, what would happen if news of his secret pill refining reached Mo Juren's ears? What would he think? It would be difficult to explain! No! The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. He decided to deliberately lure the two away.

"Brother Han, if we stay here, neither of us will be able to escape. I will lure those two to the lake behind the mountain later. You can take the opportunity to leave and ask the brothers in the sect to help subdue them!" Lu Nanzhu whispered his instructions before leaving the crevice.

Lu Nanzhu deliberately kicked a few pebbles in the woods, making a sound. Sure enough, the two people chasing behind him turned around instantly.

"There it is!"

The two hurried over, only to find that the person standing in the woods was not Han Li, but a young man dressed in outer sect attire with a calm expression.

The steward, recognizing the newcomer by the moonlight, immediately darkened his expression and grabbed Lord Zhao, who was about to rush forward: "Lord Zhao, wait! This young man is called Lu Nanzhu. He's quite famous among the outer disciples, and his skills are formidable. Don't underestimate him!"

"Outer sect disciple?" Lord Zhao sneered. "If you ruin the sect leader's grand plan, even the Heavenly King himself will die!" Lord Zhao's figure suddenly sprang up, and a cold light flashed from the short blade in his hand.

Although Lu Nanzhu couldn't use his spiritual power to fight, his reaction speed at the first level of Qi Refining made his opponent's movements seem somewhat slow. Instead of confronting him head-on, he lowered his body, performed a side roll to avoid the attack, and then, with a push of his feet, flashed into the dense forest beside him.

"Trying to leave?!" The two chased after him relentlessly.

Lu Nanzhu used his "Luoyan Steps" to traverse the dense forest, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right, leading the two to the deep spring and lake in the back mountain.

"Run! Why aren't you running anymore?" Lord Zhao's face twisted into a ferocious grin, the short blade in his hand flashing an arc of light as if it were coated with deadly poison.

"Die!" Lord Zhao lunged forward, his short blade whistling through the air.

Lu Nanzhu used the "Blinking Sword Technique," crouching and shifting his stance to dodge the opponent's downward thrust, then reversed his grip on the knife to take a heavy punch from the opponent.

The two instantly engaged in a fierce battle on the lakeside. After a prolonged struggle, Lord Zhao became increasingly astonished, and for a short time, the two fought to a standstill, neither gaining the upper hand.

"Help me! This kid is really weird!" Lord Zhao shouted urgently.

The manager, who had assumed one person could handle the situation, was somewhat surprised upon seeing this and was about to flank the enemy from the side.

Just then, a blade of light suddenly slashed out from the woods to the side! Lord Zhao was completely focused on dealing with Lu Nanzhu's close combat and had no time to pay attention to the attack from the shadows. In shock, he forcibly twisted his body to dodge. Seeing the opportunity, Lu Nanzhu suddenly grabbed his hands.

Li Feiyu's longsword slashed through the air once more. The blade precisely sliced ​​through Lord Zhao's ribs, severing both his arms and drawing a spray of blood. Lord Zhao screamed in agony as Lu Nanzhu delivered a powerful knee strike to his abdomen, sending him crashing to the lakeside, lifeless.

"Lord Zhao!" The steward was terrified. Before he could react, Lu Nanzhu and Li Feiyu had surrounded him from the front and back.

"Gentlemen...please spare my life! I was forced into this!" The steward knelt on the ground with a thud, still trying to beg for mercy.

"Whether you'll be spared or not, go explain to the sect leader!" Lu Nanzhu sneered, stepped forward, and precisely placed his fingertips on the steward's shoulder, dislocating it with a slight force. With two "crack" sounds, the steward's arms dislocated, and he screamed and fainted.

Then, Lu Nanzhu calmly approached the lying Lord Zhao, reached out to check him, and found that he was no longer breathing. He then stabbed him a few more times to confirm that there was no possibility of revival. He then searched the body and found the wolf pattern on the man's chest. As expected, he also found a letter of communication.

He unfolded the letter, read it carefully, and discovered that it was the kitchen manager's letter arranging a meeting with this Lord Zhao.

"My two senior brothers, we've caught them red-handed!" With that, he handed the letter to Li Feiyu. "The three of us have done a great service to the sect this time!"

Li Feiyu took the letter and glanced at it by the moonlight. He was currently suffering from the side effects of the "Marrow Extraction Pill" and desperately needed to make great contributions within the sect to gain a higher position and resources. This item was like a timely help to him.

"Those scum from the Wild Wolf Gang have actually extended their reach to the higher-ups within the sect." Li Feiyu gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, his face beaming with joy. "Junior Brother Lu, this merit is enough to directly promote us to inner disciples, and we might even be able to get a job in the Hall of Offerings!"

However, Han Li, who was standing to the side, kept his brows furrowed.

"Brother Li, Junior Brother Lu..." Han Li suddenly spoke, his voice a little hoarse, "You two can report on this meritorious service. As for me, please don't mention me when you state my story."

"Han Li, are you really sure? This isn't just a few pieces of silver; it's a golden opportunity to enter the inner sect and even gain the sect leader's favor!" Li Feiyu asked again, her tone tinged with surprise.

Although Lu Nanzhu had expected this, he still feigned regret and sighed, "Since Brother Han has his own plans, we cannot force him."

He patted Li Feiyu on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down, then nodded to Han Li: "Don't worry, Brother Han, I'll work with Brother Li to come up with an explanation. Everything that happened here tonight has nothing to do with you."

"Thank you." Han Li clasped his hands in thanks. After saying that, he hurriedly returned to Divine Hand Valley.

Watching Han Li leave, Li Feiyu shook his head and muttered with some confusion, "That kid, I really can't understand him. Junior Brother Lu, shall we go?"

"Let's go, this credit is a hot potato. We need to hand it over as soon as possible so we can be on our own."

They each carried one of the spies, one dead and one alive, gathered the evidence, and aligned their testimonies. The two then hurried towards Sunset Peak.