Mortal: The Path to Immortality

Two years later.

Inside the secret chamber of the cave in the Abandoned Spirit Valley.

Lu Nanzhu was sitting in front of a stone table, on which were neatly arranged several pieces of dark sandalwood, about the thickness of a thigh and with a dark purple luster.

If this quality of sandalwood were to circulate outside the world, it would be enough to cause weapon refiners to fight tooth and nail over it.

However, Lu Nanzhu used the spirit moss cultivated by the "Little Inkstone" to mature a batch of top-grade wood that was hundreds of years old in the past two years, which was used to make some puppets.

With a slight movement of his carving knife, he methodically crafted a new batch of beast-shaped puppets according to the methods recorded in the "Puppet Manual".

For the past two years, Lu Nanzhu has hardly left his home.

With the support of a large number of ripening-enhancing elixirs, his main cultivation technique, the Taiyi Muhua Scripture, has broken through to the fifth level, and his cultivation level has naturally entered the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Not only has his magical power increased significantly, but he has also learned a new supernatural ability called "Water and Wood Spirit Armor". When this armor is activated, a layer of blue armor that flows like water waves will appear around his body. It has extremely strong defensive power and extremely strong regenerative resilience.

In terms of physical cultivation, in order to break through the second level of "The Legend of Fuyao", he has been continuously using the medicinal liquid made from "Nine-Leaf Wind-Controlling Orchid" to temper his body.

The progress is going quite smoothly. If nothing unexpected happens, the final round of body tempering will be completed soon, and the practitioner will officially begin cultivating the second level of the technique.

Thinking of this, Lu Nanzhu turned to look at the few humanoid puppets standing quietly to the side.

At this time, Xiao Suqing was still in seclusion, attempting to break through to the Core Formation stage. Lu Nanzhu, relying on his extraordinary comprehension and familiarity with medical principles and meridians, had already mastered the first level of the nameless cultivation technique that Xiao Suqing had previously given him.

He casually flicked out a few transparent strands of spiritual energy, his fingertips trembling slightly, and the strands instantly connected to one of the puppets.

In an instant, the puppet's spiritual energy surged, its movements became smooth and free, and it even faintly revealed a kind of spirituality, making it much stronger than before when it was uncontrolled and driven only by spirit stones and divine sense.

"This technique... is truly profound!"

Lu Nanzhu was genuinely amazed.

This first level of cultivation greatly enhanced his spiritual awareness and his control over spiritual energy.

Furthermore, he can now not only precisely control the meridians of low-level cultivators through the fine threads of spiritual energy, but he can even control these wooden and stone puppets with ease, making his combat power quite remarkable.

At the end of the first level of the technique, Lu Nanzhu also noticed a description of a rare, pure black flower called the "Severing Meridian Flower." The text stated that, when used in conjunction with this level of the technique, it could completely destroy all the meridians in a person's body.

Upon seeing this, Lu Nanzhu understood. This was probably the essential preliminary step for "reshaping the meridians" that Elder Xiao had mentioned earlier.

"Now that I have fulfilled my promise to Senior Brother Xiao, I can try to resolve the 'Dragon Roar Body' when he emerges from seclusion." Lu Nanzhu then got up and walked deeper into the cave.

During this time, Lu Nanzhu did not neglect his research on the parasitic moss.

After a new round of breeding by "Little Inkstone", the ripening ability of the Spirit Moss has been improved again, and even special ripening varieties that are specifically designed for plants that prefer different types of spiritual energy have been differentiated.

He successfully cultivated a Spirit-Generating Moss that was compatible with earth-attribute spiritual energy, and used it to accelerate the growth of a Spirit-Devouring Vine that previously preferred earth-attribute spiritual energy. When the two were combined, the special earth-yellow Spirit-Devouring Vine grew extremely fast, with results beyond imagination.

Arriving at the deepest underground stone chamber in the cave, Lu Nanzhu looked at the large area of ​​Soul-Eating Vine "Jungle".

The surface of these Soul-Eating Vines was scratched by magical artifacts, and some white liquid seeped out from the wounds, dripping into the container placed on the ground.

He had previously discovered that the little guy "Mancang" particularly loved licking the milky white sap that seeped from the wounds on the vines.

He collected some of the juice for research and was pleasantly surprised to find that it contained astonishing spiritual energy, making it a highly nourishing substance. Just a few sips were enough to quickly replenish the spiritual energy within the body.

Although these spiritual liquids cannot replenish mana as quickly as the "one-shot full" miraculous substance like the Ten-Thousand-Year Spiritual Milk, nor can they assist in breaking through cultivation barriers like proper elixirs, their advantage lies in their continuous production.

Lu Nanzhu stared at the milky white liquid and said with a smile, "With this 'spiritual liquid,' my stamina in battle will far surpass that of cultivators of the same level."

After inspecting the herb garden and spirit insects inside the cave, Lu Nanzhu stepped out of the cave, feeling the long-lost sunshine and in a cheerful mood.

He looked up at the sky above the valley and saw a dark blue afterimage weaving through the clouds, letting out a clear cry. It was Lei Yuanpeng, who had hatched two years ago.

Thanks to Lu Nanzhu's careful breeding, Lei Yuanpeng has now shed its childish downy feathers, and its feathers are now a jade-like dark blue with blue-purple arcs dancing at the edges.

Sensing the presence of Lunanzhu, it flapped its wings and swooped down.

With a muffled thud, the massive eagle claw landed steadily beside Lu Nanzhu, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Lei Yuanpeng, now an adult, was as tall as two people, and his massive body cast a large shadow over Lu Nanzhu.

It affectionately nuzzled Lu Nanzhu's shoulder with its huge beak, letting out low growls from its throat.

Lu Nanzhu stroked its bent neck, then put it into the spirit beast pouch.

Just then, a voice pierced through the barrier and came from outside the valley:

"Is Senior Brother Lu here? I, Han Yunsong, have taken the liberty of visiting you."

"Why is he here?" Puzzled, Lu Nanzhu immediately opened the restrictions on the Abandoned Spirit Valley and came out to greet him.

As soon as he left the valley, he saw Han Yunsong, who had already advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage. He was dressed neatly and standing next to a giant tree.

"So it's Junior Brother Han! Congratulations on advancing to Foundation Establishment! It's true what they say, 'A scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days' absence!'" Lu Nanzhu congratulated him with a cupped-hand salute.

Han Yunsong waved his hand and laughed, "Senior brother, please don't laugh at my meager cultivation. You've advanced to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage in just two years; it's truly enviable!"

"Junior Brother, what brings you to see me?"

"Oh. Junior brother, I plan to explore the ancient teleportation array ruins in the sect again. I was wondering if senior brother would be interested in accompanying me?"

Han Yunsong then took out two talismans from her storage bag, handed one to Lu Nanzhu, and continued:

"I have obtained the necessary permits from the sect to explore the ruins. If you would like, senior brother, could we go together to seek an opportunity?"

Lu Nanzhu hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took the talisman, saying:

"It would be disrespectful for me, Mr. Lu, to accept this."

The two then rode their magical artifacts and flew northwards.

......

Several days later, when the two arrived at the entrance to the ruins, they found a monk arguing fiercely with a guard.

"Fellow Daoists, I have urgent business to attend to! Please allow me to go in and take a look; I can pay with spirit stones!"

A slightly anxious yet familiar voice came over.

"What's wrong?" Han Yunsong asked first.

The two Qi Refining stage disciples guarding the gate looked troubled, but upon seeing the two Foundation Establishment cultivators approaching, they quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"I have met the two seniors. This person has been making a fuss here for most of the day, insisting that he has important business to attend to and wants to enter the ruins."

Outsiders are not allowed to enter this place, and we are about to expel them according to the rules of our sect.

Lu Nanzhu looked up and was slightly taken aback; the person was none other than Qi Yunxiao. He looked somewhat haggard.

"Brother Yunxiao, what are you doing here?"

Qi Yunxiao looked up abruptly, and the instant he saw Lu Nanzhu, he felt as if he had grasped a lifeline and rushed forward quickly:

"Senior De! It really is you! Please help me, Ruyin... Ruyin has disappeared!"

"Senior De?" Han Yunsong muttered softly from the side.

Lu Nanzhu frowned and said, "Tell me slowly, what exactly happened?"