Mortal: The Path to Immortality

At the moment the tunnel completely collapsed, a cloud of dust mixed with rubble roared down.

Lu Nanzhu reacted quickly, gathering blue-green spiritual energy around his body. With a single hand, a thick protective light shield opened up, deflecting all the boulders that were raining down.

"Cough cough..."

After struggling to break free from the pile of rubble, Lu Nanzhu didn't bother to brush off the dust from his body.

In this dark and sunless underground, he patted his spirit beast pouch and, relying on "Full Warehouse's" almost instinctive talent for finding spirits, groped his way through the winding mine tunnels.

Before long, the view ahead suddenly opened up, and a rich spiritual energy rushed towards them.

Stepping into a huge stalactite cave, Lu Nanzhu paused slightly.

There, a large group of cultivators, including Xuan Le, Lü Tianmeng, and Han Li, had already gathered and were pointing at the shadowy area ahead.

Everyone turned around and saw that it was Lu Nanzhu who had followed them, so they didn't bother to exchange pleasantries.

Just then, a piercing scream suddenly came from deep within the cave, echoing through the empty cavern and sending chills down one's spine.

"Let's go take a look!" Xuan Le's face darkened, and he secretly made a hand seal.

Everyone took out their defensive weapons, stepped on the gravel, and quickly followed the sound.

What appeared before everyone was a huge spider, pure white and as big as a small mountain.

At this moment, the beast was waving its eight spear-like feet, frantically gnawing at the remains of a Qi Refining cultivator.

"What is this?" Lu Tianmeng exclaimed in surprise.

Lu Nanzhu's gaze bypassed the demonic beast and fixed on the moss-covered, rune-shimmering stone platform behind it—the very ancient teleportation array he had been longing for!

Beside the stone platform, several piles of spirit stone ore, as large as small mountains, were emitting an alluring luster. Judging by their size, they must be at least tens of thousands in number.

One of the Qi Refining disciples was terrified and retreated in panic, but his toe accidentally touched a clump of thin spider silk stuck to the rock wall.

The white spider, which was feeding, suddenly stopped, and its eight eyes instantly locked onto the crowd.

Using the vibrations transmitted through the spider silk, it let out a piercing screech, and its massive body transformed into a white afterimage, rapidly skimming along the cave ceiling!

"Damn it!" everyone cursed inwardly.

Just as they were about to form a defensive formation and retreat, the spider spat out several strands of silk as strong as iron chains, instantly sealing off their escape route.

"Don't panic, everyone! Prepare to fight!" Xuan Le shouted, and took the lead in throwing a flying sword at the monster's head.

The Blood Jade Spider was even more ferocious than everyone had imagined.

Its sharp claws slashed like scythes, and several Qi Refining disciples who couldn't dodge in time didn't even have time to scream before one of them was cleaved in two, his brains splattering out.

Another person had his neck entangled in spider silk, and in the blink of an eye, his neck was snapped by immense force, spraying blood all over the ground.

In a short while, the once noisy cave fell silent, leaving only a pile of limbs and four Foundation Establishment cultivators, including Lu Nanzhu, on the ground.

Lu Nanzhu was currently manipulating the pair of black and white blades, his figure weaving back and forth between the stone pillars. He pursed his lips slightly, feigning a great depletion of his magical power.

Just as he was putting on a show of flirting with the blood jade spider without putting in any real effort, a deep voice suddenly entered his ears.

"Junior Brother Lu, I've heard that you entered the sect as a rogue cultivator, and have advanced to this level in just over ten years. Such talent is truly astonishing. I wonder... if you wish to further your cultivation?"

Lu Nanzhu glanced sideways at Lü Tianmeng, who was not far away. This burly senior brother was dealing with the spider while glancing at him every now and then.

"Senior brother, please speak frankly." Lu Nanzhu pretended to be struggling, his black and white twin blades swaying in mid-air.

"See those spirit stones over there?" A greedy glint flashed in Lü Tianmeng's eyes.

"If I could acquire all these spirit stones, not only would advancing to the late stage be possible, but even reaching the Pseudo-Core Realm or forming a Golden Core wouldn't be out of the question. But even with so many spirit stones, it's ultimately not enough to go around..."

His tone turned cold as he continued telepathically, "How about we join forces to eliminate Xuan Le and that Han brat? After it's done, you'll get forty percent of the spirit stones. What do you say?"

"Senior brother... We cultivators from the seven sects have always been of one heart and one mind. To turn against each other at this critical moment seems inappropriate, doesn't it?" Lu Nanzhu hesitated, pausing for a few moments before slowly uttering a few words.

"I need to pay more. I should get at least 50% of those spirit stones!"

"Alright, alright. Fifty percent, fifty percent! In that case, let's join forces after we subdue this monster." Lü Tianmeng quickly agreed, secretly delighted.

I thought to myself, "Let's keep this hothead calm for now. Once I've dealt with the other two, you, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, will be nothing to me. All the treasures here, including your storage bag, will be mine sooner or later!"

Just as Lu Nanzhu was planning his next move, another voice reached his ears.

"Junior Brother Lu, would you be interested in sharing a tremendous opportunity?" Xuan Le's voice rang in my ears.

"Well, another 'team-up request'," Lu Nanzhu thought to himself, but replied with a serious expression, "I'm all ears."

"See that formation? That's the famous ancient teleportation array. Legend has it that using this array, even a distance of ten thousand miles can be reached in an instant." Xuan Le glanced at Lü Tianmeng opposite him and Han Li beside him, and continued,

"Moreover, the locations teleported by this kind of formation are mostly secret realms and ancient cultivation caves."

I have some knowledge of this formation. If the two of us join forces, we can share this opportunity. As for the remaining two, it would be safest to eliminate them when the time is right. What do you say?

"I will follow your instructions, Senior Brother." Lu Nanzhu said respectfully.

Xuan Le sneered inwardly, thinking that although Lu Nanzhu had cultivated quickly, he was still young and inexperienced, and had been subdued by her in just a few words.

Just as everyone was harboring their own secrets, Lü Tianmeng roared and summoned a bag-shaped magical artifact, which generated a huge suction force that enveloped the Blood Jade Spider.

Just as he was smugly thinking he had subdued the demon, the magical artifact began to twist wildly.

"Bang!"

With a loud bang, the spider's body was enveloped in a strange crimson glow, and it burst out of the bag.

The berserk spider was several times faster, instantly forcing everyone to retreat.

Xuan Le, that old fox, stopped hiding and took out a small, golden-yellow bell.

As magic was poured into it, the small bell gradually grew larger, and with a "clang," it firmly trapped the spider inside.

"Don't be afraid, everyone. My 'Heaven-Covering Bell' is mixed with copper essence. This beast will definitely not be able to break it!" Xuan Le breathed a sigh of relief, appearing full of confidence.

Lu Tianmeng walked up to Zhong, his eyes flashing with cold light: "Strike while the iron is hot. I'll use my talisman to finish it off!"

He took out a cyan talisman, and his spiritual power surged around him.

Standing on a high stone platform, Lu Nanzhu chimed in, "Senior Brother Lü is right, Junior Brother will also lend a hand."

After saying that, he took out an earth-yellow talisman from his storage bag. It was the same talisman that the demonic cultivator Yu Liancheng had seized from Zhou Tong. After defeating Yu Liancheng, the talisman came to him and had already passed through three hands.

Lu Tianmeng and Xuan Le were both taken aback when they saw this, but then they both smiled faintly, clearly very satisfied with this cooperation.

After more than ten breaths, the talisman's power was fully charged.

In that instant, Lü Tianmeng's expression suddenly turned ferocious. Instead of attacking the demonic beast, he used his talisman to transform into hundreds of long green light rulers, which rained down on the people behind him!

"open!"

At the same time, Xuan Le abruptly withdrew the magic power of the Heaven-Covering Bell. The freed Blood Jade Spider had already gone mad, transforming into a bloody shadow that flashed by.

"Pfft!"

Before the ferocity on Lü Tianmeng's face had faded, he felt a chill on his waist.

He was actually cleaved in two at the waist by the raging spider! The countless flying "rulers" instantly disintegrated into specks of light due to the loss of control.

"boom!"

Lu Nanzhu was prepared for this. He ignored Lü Tianmeng's life or death. The earthen-yellow Dharma wheel, accompanied by heavy chanting, slammed down on the Blood Jade Spider's back like Mount Tai, shattering its shell and causing green liquid to flow out.

Almost simultaneously, dozens of cold ice spikes shot out like crossbow bolts, aiming straight for Lu Nanzhu's face.

However, Lu Nanzhu suddenly emitted a burst of blue-green light, and his figure vanished from the spot.

"What!?" Xuan Le's smile froze on her face. This pseudo-talisman treasure, "Snow Soul Cone," which she had activated at full power, was actually dodged so easily by a cultivator in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage?

Before he could even react, Lu Nanzhu was already within arm's reach.

The black and white blades swept across the battlefield, bringing with them a chilling arc of light.

Xuan Le dodged with all her might, leaping into the air and pulling out a white veil to drape over herself. Her aura vanished instantly.

"Brother Han, help me restrain this beast. I need to deal with this bastard first!" Lu Nanzhu shouted sternly.

Han Li nodded silently, flicked his sleeve, and several mechanical puppets were released, unleashing their firepower on the heavily injured spider.

Lu Nanzhu snorted coldly and slung "Mancang" over his shoulder: "Where is he?"

"Mancang" twitched his nostrils slightly and pointed to a boulder on one side with both hands.

Without saying a word, Lu Nanzhu patted the spirit beast pouch, and the swarm of spirit-eating bees, shimmering with five-colored rainbow light, swept over them.

In a short while, the white veil that had been able to conceal her figure was devoured by the swarm of bees, and Xuan Le staggered out.

"My Hidden Spirit Veil! How is this possible!" Xuan Le exclaimed in shock.

Lu Nanzhu had already closed in, a flash of blue light behind him, and the Nine-Feathered Fan was in his hand.

He didn't give the other party a chance to beg for mercy. With a flick of his fan, several tiny needles formed from pure spiritual energy instantly pierced Xuan Le's throat.

This cunning cultivator from the Hidden Moon Sect didn't even get to utter a final curse before collapsing in front of the pile of spirit stone ore, clutching his throat and dying with his eyes wide open.