Mortal: The Path to Immortality

Meanwhile, Lu Nanzhu was leading Xin Ruyin away from the ruins at high speed, while the dark red refining corpse behind them was still roaring and chasing after them relentlessly.

Before long, a glimmer of blue light appeared on the horizon ahead.

A giant blue bird flapped its enormous wings, carrying several familiar figures rushing toward this place. They were Qi Yunxiao, Senior Sister Fan, Senior Brother Su, and Senior Brother Kong, who had recovered from his injuries.

The group leaped down from the bluebird and, together with Lu Nanzhu, used all their skills to completely subdue the pursuing corpse in a short time.

Lu Nanzhu carefully handed Xin Ruyin back to Qi Yunxiao, saying, "Brother Yunxiao, Miss Ruyin is alright."

"I will never forget Senior Lu's great kindness!" Qi Yunxiao said sincerely.

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone briefly explained the background of their trip.

It turned out that after following Lu Nanzhu's instructions, Qi Yunxiao rushed to Ling Shou Mountain to seek help.

It just so happened that Lu Nanzhu's master was traveling, while Elder Xiao—no, at this time she should be called Xiao Suxin—had just emerged from her seclusion after completing her Core Formation cultivation.

She intended to go to the Abandoned Spirit Valley to find Lu Nanzhu, but instead found nothing and bumped into Qi Yunxiao and his group who were also looking for someone.

Qi Yunxiao then told everyone in detail how he met Lu Nanzhu and the whole story behind the matter.

Upon hearing that Lu Nanzhu was able to use extremely subtle "spiritual energy threads" during his free clinic, Xiao Suxin was moved and immediately decided to take everyone to Yuanwu Kingdom to find Lu Nanzhu.

Upon arriving in Yuanwu Kingdom, near Zidao Mountain, Xiao Suxin sensed a familiar aura through spirit beasts and cultivation techniques.

It was deduced that the aura had headed towards the ruins of the ancient teleportation array, so they went ahead and left the spirit bird with the others.

Senior Brother Su stepped forward, took out a jade slip radiating spiritual energy from his robes, and handed it to Lu Nanzhu:

"Junior Brother Lu, this was given to me by Elder Xiao before she left. She said that if you fulfill the entrustment as agreed, you can open this jade slip; otherwise, this jade slip will immediately self-destruct."

Lu Nanzhu took the jade slip and immersed his consciousness into it.

He then realized that the jade slip had been sealed with a restriction. Recalling what Senior Brother Su had said, he began to use the cultivation technique that Xiao Suxin had previously provided.

As expected, the restriction on the jade slip was easily broken. Inside the jade slip was a secret letter left by Xiao Suxin, as well as the complete "Controlling Meridians and Transforming Spirit Technique" cultivation method.

After Lu Nanzhu quickly finished reading the secret letter, a muffled loud noise suddenly came from the direction of the ancient teleportation array in the distance. Immediately afterwards, a beam of blood-red light shot straight into the night sky.

On those ruins, a colossal demonic figure with four arms stood tall, its ferocious aura sending chills down the spines of everyone present, even from a hundred miles away.

Seeing such a fierce fight, the senior brothers and sisters all advised Lu Nanzhu to leave with them.

"Junior brother, Senior Xiao instructed us that if we find you, we must bring you safely back to the sect," Senior Sister Fan said anxiously.

"Yes, every second we stay here is risking our lives. Going back to the mountain for help is the best course of action!" Senior Brother Kong echoed.

Lu Nanzhu gazed at the ruins, pondering for a moment:

"Senior Xiao was determined to die, which is why he passed on the 'Controlling Meridians and Transforming Spirit Technique' to me."

If she loses, the demonic cultivators will inevitably continue to harass me for the sake of the cultivation technique.

Now, I am inextricably linked to this matter. Even without this inheritance, I would be utterly unable to defend myself against that demonic cultivator.

Yu Liancheng and I are now irreconcilable enemies.

Now, if we cooperate with Senior Xiao and have the treasures we possess, we might still have a chance of winning.

If I miss this opportunity to get rid of him, who will protect a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator like myself?

It's not the theft itself that's frightening, but the thief's eye on the property. I fear I'll have nowhere to stand in this southern land from now on.

Lu Nanzhu turned to face the crowd, shook his head, and said:

"I appreciate your kindness, but I have other important matters to attend to and cannot return to the sect with you."

"I would like to trouble you senior brothers and sisters to take care of Brother Yunxiao and Miss Ruyin."

"Junior brother, you...do you intend to interfere in this battle between Core Formation cultivators?" Senior Brother Su asked in surprise.

"That won't do! For a Foundation Establishment cultivator like you to get involved is like a moth drawn to a flame! If something happens to you, how can I explain it to my master!?"

Lu Nanzhu smiled, his expression more resolute than ever before: "Don't worry, senior brother. Since I dare to go, I naturally have some means to protect myself."

This demon is incredibly powerful; we must all return to our sect quickly and seek help.

Seeing that they couldn't persuade him, the crowd could only sigh and, urged by Lu Nanzhu, rode the bluebird back to the sect.

As the bluebird completely disappeared into the night sky, the smile on Lu Nanzhu's face gradually faded.

He took out a delicate little white bottle from his storage bag, which contained a small amount of viscous, milky white liquid.

He tilted his head back and drank a few mouthfuls, and immediately felt an extremely pure and gentle spiritual energy spreading through his meridians and body. The mana he had consumed by activating the escape technique gradually recovered.

This milky white spiritual liquid was his life-saving trump card, painstakingly collected and accumulated from the Soul-Devouring Vines he had deduced in his own cave.

Feeling the surging spiritual power of the elixir, Lu Nanzhu was secretly delighted. Looking at the white bottle in his hand, he felt more confident about the trip: because he still had many of this elixir.

"Yu Liancheng..." Lu Nanzhu murmured, gazing at the battlefield, his eyes sharpening.

......

At this point, the ruins of the ancient teleportation array had become a scorched wasteland.

Xiao Suxin, dressed in a simple white robe, floated in mid-air, surrounded by thousands of lotus petals that transformed into a sea of ​​flowers, constantly washing over the four-armed demon.

However, this demon was surrounded by corpse energy, and ordinary spiritual attacks were corroded and dissolved as soon as they came into contact with the petals, unable to harm it in the slightest.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Suxin suddenly flicked her wrist, and the "Seven Luminaries Jade Lotus Bead" swirling around her burst forth with dazzling rainbow light.

The orbs shot out one after another, slamming heavily into the demon's chest and shoulders, producing a series of dull thuds.

Although each impact shattered large swathes of corpse energy, the continuous flow of cold, damp energy from the depths of the crevice quickly surged out, replenishing the demon's body, and the shadowy demon's injuries were instantly healed.

Having just advanced to the Core Formation stage and with her cultivation level not yet stable, Xiao Suxin had to frequently dodge and weave to avoid the demon's attacks.

"Haha! Junior sister, stop struggling! In this place where Yin energy gathers, my demonic corpse body is indestructible!"

Yu Liancheng, who was at the core of the demonic head, burst into wild laughter, his face full of smug satisfaction.

In his view, eliminating this nemesis and obtaining the coveted "Controlling Meridians and Transforming Spirits Technique" was only a matter of time.

Just as he was preparing to launch another attack, a sudden change occurred!

A huge silver array plate was thrown directly above the battlefield like a meteor. Immediately afterwards, more than a dozen dark blue array flags shimmering with starlight shot out from it and accurately planted themselves at the edge of the battlefield.

A vast stellar energy rippled outwards, and the surrounding area within a hundred feet seemed to fall into silence.

The moonlight, which had illuminated the ground, plunged it into darkness as if ink had been smeared into the ground.

Immediately afterwards, starlight began to shine through the soil and rocks, and in the blink of an eye, the once barren wasteland transformed into a deep starry sky.

Immediately afterwards, hundreds of bright star trails, like lines of latitude and longitude, traversed the darkness. The suspended earth and rocks transformed into actual stars, flowing along the star trails.

A magnificent star curtain descended from the sky, like a veil, neatly and cleanly enveloping this hundred-foot-wide world.

On that starry sky, stars of various colors flickered uncertainly.

Xiao Suxin and Yu Liancheng, one of the demons, both changed their expressions drastically and exclaimed in unison:

"Star-Tracing Formation!!"

Yu Liancheng's cold gaze instantly pierced downwards, his divine sense locking onto Lu Nanzhu, who was frantically changing hand seals on the ground.

"court death!"

Yu Liancheng roared and casually unleashed a condensed purplish-black corpse aura.

The corpse energy transformed into a ferocious ghost claw, flying towards Lu Nanzhu's crown, attempting to kill him to prevent the activation of the formation.

Xiao Suxin reacted extremely quickly, her figure transforming into a streak of light as she escaped the edge of the closing formation, and in a flash, she arrived beside Lu Nanzhu.

With a flick of her jade fingers, several jade lotuses bloomed in front of Lu Nanzhu, effectively neutralizing the attack.

The enormous demon was inherently somewhat sluggish to control, and with Yu Liancheng currently in a state of spellcasting immobility, it simply didn't have time to withdraw from the array's range in an instant.

Om-!

The power of countless stars crashed down, the formation was activated instantly, and a solid silver beam rose from the ground within the formation, directly locking onto and piercing through the demon.