Mortal: The Path to Immortality

The following day, Lu Nanzhu and his two companions were summoned and followed the servants of the Hu family to the council hall.

As soon as Lu Nanzhu stepped into the council hall, he saw an elderly woman with white hair sitting on a high platform inside the hall.

The old woman possessed the cultivation level of the late Foundation Establishment stage. Although she was advanced in years, the heroic spirit and murderous aura in her eyes and brows remained undiminished.

Lu Nanzhu telepathically asked his senior sister beside him, "Senior sister, is the white-haired old woman sitting at the head of the table the current head of the Hu family?"

Senior Sister Fan nodded slightly and replied telepathically, "That's right. Since the passing of the Hu family's patriarch, it was this Madam Xie who temporarily stabilized the Hu family with her own strength."

Looking around, Lu Nanzhu saw that more than thirty Foundation Establishment cultivators had arrived in the hall. Half of them were dressed in different styles of sect attire, and most of them were disciples of the three major sects of Yuanwu.

The other dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators were mostly members of the Hu family. This kind of background surprised Lu Nanzhu: the Hu family truly deserved to be listed as one of the three major immortal cultivation families in Yuanwu Kingdom.

It's already quite difficult for an ordinary cultivation family to have three or five Foundation Establishment cultivators. If the Hu family didn't lack a Core Formation cultivator for protection, their strength would definitely be extraordinary.

What's even more eye-catching is that several Foundation Establishment "cultivators" wearing black cloaks stood quietly beside Madam Xie and in the corner of the hall.

These "monks" remained motionless, staring at the crowd in the hall like statues.

Lu Nanzhu noticed the abnormality of these "cultivators," so he released his divine sense to investigate carefully, only to discover that these "cultivators" were actually puppets.

"A Foundation Establishment stage mechanical puppet..." At the same time, Senior Brother Su sighed, "This is a rare item. Not only does it require extremely high-quality materials, but it also requires exceptional spiritual sense to control it simultaneously. The Hu family's puppet mechanical arts are indeed well-deserved."

After everyone had taken their seats, Madam Xie stood up, coughed lightly, and looked intently at the people below the platform.

She then raised her hand and activated her power, and arrays of light that isolated divine sense were erected on all four sides of the hall. This caused everyone present to become alert and uneasy.

"I thank you all for your righteous help in my time of crisis." She glanced around and then waved her sleeve.

Dozens of golden rays were emitted, and those rays landed in front of the cultivators in the hall.

Everyone opened their storage bags and found a jade slip and some cultivation materials to aid in cultivation and combat.

Madam Xie continued:

"The Fu family, backed by the demonic path, has committed countless evil deeds, and their wolfish ambitions are obvious. They want to dominate the entire cultivation world of the Western Yuan Martial Kingdom."

I have invited you all here today not only to protect my Hu family, but also to safeguard the peace of the cultivation world in the Western Yuanwu Kingdom.

Consider these supplies a small token of the Hu family's appreciation; further rewards will be offered for future battles."

Upon hearing this, everyone accepted the storage bags, and the tense atmosphere in the hall eased slightly. Madam Xie then flicked her sleeve, sending out a beam of spiritual light, and a huge battle map of the Western Yuanwu Kingdom region floated in the air, its red and green markings indicating the locations of the battles.

"Although the Fu family has a Core Formation cultivator in charge and their attack is fierce, they are not entirely without a chance of victory." Madam Xie's tone suddenly rose.

"I had previously reached a secret agreement with the Qin family, as well as the leaders of several small and medium-sized families and sects in the vicinity."

At that time, they will not only harass the Fu family's supply lines from the flanks, but will also deploy the family's elite forces to assist them.

Upon hearing this, a low murmur of commotion arose among the Foundation Establishment cultivators below.

"Although the Qin family is not as powerful as the Fu family, their family's 'Water Cloud Illusion Array' is also exceptional. If they can really lend a helping hand, they can hold out for a while," Senior Sister Fan explained from the side, a hint of relief flashing in her eyes.

Madam Xie continued loudly, "Although the Fu family is powerful, most of its subordinates are rogue cultivators who have been recruited and have different thoughts, making it difficult to unify their commands."

"I, along with my allies, including the Qin family, have devised three plans. Relying on the Hu family's mechanical puppetry techniques, we will deploy layers of defense to delay and await any eventuality..."

As Madam Xie laid out her detailed defense and counterattack plans, the expressions of the cultivators sitting in the hall gradually became solemn and serious.

Lu Nanzhu looked around and thought to himself: This Madam Xie is quite capable; she has temporarily stabilized the demoralized morale of this hastily assembled allied army.

Half an hour later, many cultivators received their defense missions and left the council hall.

Just as Lu Nanzhu and his two companions were about to leave, they were stopped by a servant.

"Please wait, three immortal masters. My master invites you. Please follow me."

The three of them couldn't guess what was going on, so they followed the servant of the Hu family to a room.

As soon as they entered, everyone saw Madam Xie sitting in the room.

"Greetings, Madam Xie," the three said in unison, bowing with their hands clasped in greeting.

Madam Xie rose and returned the greeting, smiling as she said:

"Fellow Daoists, there's no need for such formalities. I am grateful for your assistance to the Hu family. I wonder how Senior Wang is doing these days?"

"Our master is currently in seclusion, so he sent the three of us brothers here," Senior Brother Su replied.

"That's good then." The old woman nodded, then her brows furrowed again.

"Madam Xie summoned us here, is there something important?" Senior Brother Su continued to ask.

The old woman raised her head, looked at the three of them, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "What are your views on the current situation of the Hu family, fellow Daoists?"

Faced with this question, all three were somewhat bewildered. Senior Brother Su spoke first:

"Previously, Madam Xie had already formulated a detailed battle strategy in the hall. If these strategies can be implemented smoothly, the Hu family's foundation will be secure."

Senior Sister Fan chimed in, "Absolutely! With so many helpers gathered at Hu Family Fortress, we're sure to be able to hold off the Fu family."

Madam Xie turned her gaze to Lu Nanzhu, who was standing to the side, not saying a word for a long time.

"Is that what you think too?" Madam Xie asked, staring into Lu Nanzhu's eyes.

Lu Nanzhu felt somewhat uncomfortable being stared at like that, so he bowed and replied, "Madam Xie has summoned my two brothers and me here alone, surely not just to ask for our views on the current situation?"

"Just now in that hall, you seemed quite interested in the Hu family's Foundation Establishment puppet." The old woman nodded, then turned around and continued,

"My ancestors migrated from Dongyu Kingdom to Yuanwu Kingdom and have been rooted here for hundreds of years, relying on this secret mechanical puppet technique."

However... this puppetry technique has now become the Hu family's death warrant.

"Could it be that the Fu family covets the Hu family's secret techniques, which is why they've made trouble for the Hu family?" Senior Sister Fan asked.

"That's right. The Fu family once sent a message saying that as long as our Hu family hands over the secret technique, they will no longer harass the Hu family."

However, this secret technique was accumulated through the painstaking efforts of generations of the Hu family ancestors; how could it be casually given away? Moreover, even if the secret technique were handed over, given the Fu family's character, could my Hu family truly escape misfortune?” Madam Xie looked at Senior Sister Fan and continued,

"When my grandfather was alive, he told my late husband and me that if things were not going well, we could take the secret teachings back to Dongyu Kingdom, where there was still a branch of the Hu family relatives we could rely on."

Previously, I had contacted the Hu family of Dongyu Kingdom, but they had limited resources and could not accommodate too many clansmen.

I and the clan's senior members decided to send the clan's younger disciples to the Hu family in Dongyu Kingdom to avoid disaster.

"So, Madam Xie intends for us to participate in this escort mission?" Lu Nanzhu immediately voiced his guess.

The old woman nodded again and added, "For this escort mission, the clan will send some Foundation Establishment cultivators to accompany us."

However, we are ultimately short-handed, which is why I have taken the liberty of asking for your assistance.

Seeing that the three did not reply, the woman added, "Fellow Daoists, please do not worry. If you can assist in this matter, the clan will certainly reward you handsomely."

Lu Nanzhu frowned, thinking to himself: Although the escort mission is far from the war zone, Fengdu Kingdom is far away from here. Moreover, there are no high-level cultivators to escort us on this trip, so it is inevitable that something might happen.

Madam Xie then took out three small, dark wooden sticks from her storage bag, which emitted extremely rich earth and wood elemental spiritual energy.

"This is...!?" Senior Brother Su sighed softly.

"This item is called Xuan Tan wood. It is a top-grade wood material and is extremely rare. It is more than enough to refine top-grade magic weapons and magic treasures, as well as puppets for the Foundation Establishment stage."

"These few pieces of century-old sandalwood are a gift to the three of you. You can use them to craft some suitable magical artifacts." After saying this, Madam Xie pushed the three pieces of sandalwood into the hands of the three men.

The three who accepted the treasure exchanged glances and decided to go back and discuss it before returning.

Afterwards, he bid farewell to Madam Xie and returned to his residence.