Mortal: The Path to Immortality

After Xiao Suxin left, only Lu Nanzhu remained in the room, waiting quietly.

After about half an incense stick's time, Qi Yunxiao and Han Li woke up one after the other. Both of them were a little dazed and got up to rub their temples.

Upon seeing this, Lu Nanzhu stepped forward and said, "You two are finally awake."

Han Li rubbed his forehead, as if recalling something, and asked:

"What's going on... I remember Junior Brother Lu was going to treat Miss Ruyin's illness?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Nanzhu quickly explained, "That's right. After I finished casting the spell, I saw the two of you resting in the front hall. Perhaps you were too tired."

Fortunately, the method taught by the senior members of the sect was truly miraculous. Now, the accumulated problems in Miss Ruyin's body have been eliminated, and she only needs to rest.

Upon hearing this, Qi Yunxiao no longer cared about why he had "taken a nap." He bowed repeatedly to express his gratitude and then rushed to the inner courtyard in a great hurry.

Han Li and Lu Nanzhu exchanged a glance and followed.

In the inner courtyard, Xin Ruyin's face still showed some weakness, but through divine sense, it could be seen that the spiritual energy in her body was flowing smoothly and her meridians were no longer overburdened.

She had just woken up while leaning against the headboard, and when she saw everyone come in, a look of relief, as if she had survived a disaster, appeared in her eyes.

"Senior Lu..." Xin Ruyin struggled to get up and express her gratitude.

Lu Nanzhu quickly raised his hand to help her up, saying, "Miss Ruyin, please don't stand on ceremony. You've just recovered from a serious illness and need to rest properly."

Qi Yunxiao was overjoyed to see his Daoist partner out of danger, and his eyes even reddened a little.

Xin Ruyin took Qi Yunxiao's hand, took out a book from her storage bag, and said softly:

"Brother Yunxiao, Senior Lu has worked tirelessly for me for many years despite my ailing health. I have no way to repay this great kindness. This book of formation techniques is the culmination of Ruyin's life's work, so I present it to you, Senior."

Qi Yunxiao then realized what was happening and, somewhat ashamed, also pulled a book from his pocket:

"Ruyin is right, I almost forgot the important matter. Senior Lu, this is the Qi family's ancestral weapon-forging experience, along with this copy by Ruyin, you must accept it."

"If you ever need my help in the future, no matter what it takes, just let me know!"

Lu Nanzhu made some excuses, but seeing the two men's resolute expressions, he stopped being coy.

He knew that the art of weapon crafting and formation was profound and could not be comprehended overnight. He made copies of these two insights to keep as a reference if he encountered difficulties in the future.

"Then I, Lu, will accept your offer without hesitation." Lu Nanzhu said to Xin Ruyin as he put away the copied jade slip, then, as if remembering something,...

"Speaking of which, I had previously purchased some formations from the young lady to protect my cave, but when I travel outside, I really lack a suitable defensive formation."

"I've heard that the 'Inverted Five Elements Array' you crafted for Senior Brother Han is truly extraordinary. I wonder if you could spare another set for me? You'll be well rewarded with spirit stones."

Xin Ruyin smiled slightly and replied, "Senior has given me a second chance at life, so a set of formations is nothing to worry about."

However, Ruyin's energy is currently limited. She should allow herself a few days to recuperate before presenting the formation to the senior once it is fully completed.

Lu Nanzhu readily agreed with a smile.

He turned to look at Han Li, and seeing that this senior brother Han was staring thoughtfully at the furnishings in the room, he suggested:

"Now that the matter is settled, Brother Han, why don't we go back to Yunxiao Pavilion with Brother Yunxiao and retrieve the magical artifact you commissioned? What do you say?"

Han Li then withdrew his gaze and nodded in agreement.

After bidding farewell to Xin Ruyin, the three left the secluded hillside side by side.

Lu Nanzhu used his divine sense to sense the jade slips in the storage bag, and breathed a long sigh of relief. This cause and effect that had been entangled for several years had finally come to a satisfactory end.

......

Another two years have passed.

Inside the Abandoned Spirit Valley cave, a dozen humanoid puppets stood scattered in the narrow stone hall.

Guided by Lu Nanzhu's divine sense, these puppets uniformly drew their wooden swords from their waists and brandished them with impressive skill, occasionally creating the sound of wind being cut.

Lu Nanzhu has now successfully cultivated the first level of the "Great Evolution Technique," and his spiritual power has been greatly enhanced compared to before.

Strangely enough, ever since he began practicing the "Pulse Control and Spirit Transformation Technique," he has always felt a sense of exhilaration, achieving twice the results with half the effort, when learning various supernatural powers, cultivation methods, and skills.

At this moment, he possesses the divine sense of the "Great Evolution Technique", the body refinement of the "Soaring Record", and the magical power of the "Taiyi Wood Flower Scripture".

In Lu Nanzhu's view, all methods of cultivation ultimately cannot be separated from the flow of spiritual energy from heaven and earth through the meridians.

As the saying goes, "Wide channels make good water flow," the "Controlling Meridians and Transforming Spirit Technique" brought him not only greatly enhanced meridians, but also a comprehensive leap in cultivation speed.

Having realized the benefits of a superior physique for cultivation, Lu Nanzhu became even more determined to master the secret technique of "Controlling Meridians and Transforming Spirits".

For the past two years, he has been almost completely oblivious to the world around him, hiding in his cave to refine elixirs and cultivate his spiritual practice.

Now, the "Controlling Meridians and Transforming Spirit Technique" has reached the second level of minor perfection. Although it is still some distance away from the "third level" where the main meridians can be initially and completely constructed, and the plan to create "self-growing" puppets cannot be implemented yet, the foundation has been laid.

As for the "Taiyi Muhua Scripture," which he mainly cultivates, he had already reached the fifth level many years ago, and only needed to consolidate the supernatural powers and techniques within it.

And the second level of "Legend of Fuyao" has been completed. Now, his speed of escape has become his biggest trump card for survival.

In his spare time, Lu Nanzhu consulted the "Puppet Manual" and used sandalwood to create several kinds of mechanical puppets.

Although these items are only at the Qi Refining stage level, due to their special materials and ingenious design, their self-destruction power is enough to rival the full-force attack of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator.

In contrast, the Great Evolution Manual focuses on manipulating consciousness, while the Puppet Manual allows him to take a further step in manufacturing techniques.

Besides these inanimate objects, the spirit beast garden is also quite lively.

The Queen Bee of the Spirit-Eating Bee underwent its first evolution. Not only did it grow slightly larger, but although its original silvery-white shell still shimmered with five-colored iridescent light, the halo flowed and trembled on its carapace like a water sphere, making it appear full of spirituality.

The Snow Beast Egg remained dormant in the icy pool, while the Thunder Element Eagle and "Mancang" were completely different. One spent his days playing with his own electric arcs, while the other was busy eating, neither behaving like a demon beast at all.

At this time, Lu Nanzhu, who was twenty-eight years old, was only in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, but when it came to fighting techniques, his "trump cards" were enough to make cultivators of the same level despair.

But that's not enough. To condense the Golden Core in the chaos to come, we need to plan ahead.

On this day, Lu Nanzhu, who rarely ventured out of the pass, happened to run into his old acquaintance, Han Yunsong.

The junior brother Han was walking hurriedly, his face was gloomy, and he seemed to be preoccupied, as if he had encountered something serious.

Lu Nanzhu suddenly appeared beside him, startling Han Yunsong.

"Oh my! You scared me to death... It was Senior Brother Lu." Han Yunsong patted his chest, still shaken.

"Junior Brother Han, why are you in such a hurry? Judging from your face, has something serious happened?" Lu Nanzhu asked knowingly, his tone probing.

Han Yunsong looked around and lowered his voice:

"Ah, Brother Lu has been away from home for a long time and may not know this."

The Yan Family Fortress has defected and allied with the Ghost Spirit Sect! This is truly unexpected! The Yan Family Fortress is located in the heart of the Yue Kingdom. Now that the northern gates are wide open, the frontline cultivators are attacked from both sides and have all retreated to the Golden Drum Plain to defend it to the death.

I heard the casualties were extremely heavy, and the sect will probably have to make a large-scale conscription of disciples to take their place!

The invasion of the demonic forces has finally arrived as scheduled.

Lu Nanzhu's heart sank slightly. He knew he couldn't control the overall situation, and his only way out was to follow Han Li to find that ancient teleportation array and escape to the Chaotic Star Sea.

However, he only remembered the general plot and did not know the specific location of the mine. He had to find Han Li, the "guide".

If Han Li is never found in the end... a ruthless glint flashed in Lu Nanzhu's eyes: at worst, he would join the demonic path with the Spirit Beast Mountain. As long as he could live, the demonic path was fine with him!

Coming to his senses, he pressed on, "In that case, is there any plan or arrangement within the sect?"

"I only heard a little bit from my ancestor, so please don't tell anyone, Senior Brother," Han Yunsong said mysteriously as he leaned closer.

"There are still several important spirit stone mines near Yanjiabao. The seven factions plan to reclaim the lost territory to replenish their logistics."

Each faction has been assigned a task, and the list of those who will participate in the recapture of the mine is expected to be released soon.

We lower-ranking disciples should hurry and prepare some defensive magical artifacts and elixirs. On the battlefield, the more skill we have, the better our chances of survival.

The two exchanged a few words of sighs and then hurriedly parted ways.

As Lu Nanzhu watched Han Yunsong's departing figure, his mind was in turmoil: If he went to reclaim the spirit stone mine, could he find Han Li or the ancient teleportation array?