Mortal: The Path to Immortality

Upon entering the secret realm, the surging heatwave around us suddenly subsided.

Lu Nanzhu suddenly felt refreshed and clear-headed. The spiritual energy here was exceptionally rich, comparable to the spiritual veins of Spirit Beast Mountain.

He looked up and saw a vast expanse of ancient architectural ruins.

Amidst the ruins, numerous broken coral fragments, each several meters in size, and the remains of enormous, petrified starfish lay scattered haphazardly.

Not far away, there lay the enormous skeleton of a deep-sea beast, which was over ten feet long.

It seems that this place did indeed have some connection with the "sea" a long time ago.

Lu Nanzhu subconsciously looked up, and above him was a thick layer of restrictive formation.

The entire dome was completely covered by the heavy lava from the fiery abyss above, and the crimson lava flowed slowly, illuminating this originally dark underground secret realm.

The earth is engulfed in fire, the world is turned upside down, truly deserving of the name "Sealed Sea Abyss of Fire".

"Bang--!"

Suddenly, a muffled, loud noise came from the dome, mixed with faint screams.

Those were rogue cultivators without any golden talisman credentials, who tried to force their way through the formation with their magic power, but were overwhelmed and swallowed by the lava.

Lu Nanzhu withdrew his gaze, thinking to himself that what Manager Wang said was true, but this golden talisman was indeed a perfect stepping stone.

Noticing that Lu Nanzhu was carefully observing his surroundings, Li Feng, who was standing nearby, took the initiative to come over and introduced him in a rather enthusiastic manner:

"Fellow Daoist De, this is the edge of the Fire Abyss Secret Realm."

This place is hundreds of feet deep below the ground. Legend has it that in ancient times, it was once the headquarters of a huge, unknown sect.

Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick, and it was sealed underground by a volcanic ley line. These underwater artifacts are quite rare and exotic to us cultivators who have spent our entire lives on the southern landmass.

At this point, Li Feng's voice lowered, and a strange glint flashed in his eyes:

"However, do not be deceived by the tranquility and peace of this place."

Deep within these ruins lie not only numerous dangerous restrictive mechanisms, but also many strange and monstrous beasts.

For example, the 'Black Spirit Smoke Mother' I mentioned earlier—the spiritual herb you desire is in its lair.

After Li Feng finished speaking, he gave a wink to the black-clad cultivator beside him, and then led the two away from the ruins where they had settled, heading towards a deep tunnel in the depths of the secret realm.

Behind them, outside the dome's protective barrier, the sounds of continuous impacts still echoed.

The three of them walked along the tunnel. On the dark rock walls on both sides, there grew strange, spiritual creatures that resembled blue corals, emitting a ghostly blue glow that illuminated the path ahead.

The underground passages of this secret realm are like a huge maze, winding and twisting.

As Lu Nanzhu walked, he silently traced the route in his mind with his divine sense.

He knew very well that without a guide, an ordinary cultivator would be completely lost if he entered this place, let alone find the specific spiritual medicine.

Guided by these eerie blue lights, the group wandered through the dim underground several times before finally stopping at a cave entrance ahead.

"This is it." Li Feng stopped and said to Lu Nanzhu in a low voice.

"The most troublesome thing is the 'Illusionary Smoke Bewitching Technique' of the 'Black Spirit Smoke Mother'."

As he spoke, he patted his storage bag and took out two small paper packets that emitted a faint herbal fishy smell, handing them to Lu Nanzhu and the black-clad monk respectively.

"This item is called 'Spirit Control Powder,' a secret medicine that I obtained from a cultivator from Spirit Beast Mountain years ago."

Monsters are most attracted to the unique scent of this medicine. Sprinkling it on their bodies can mask the presence of living beings, making infiltration much easier.

Lu Nanzhu calmly accepted the paper package and thanked the black-clad monk along with him.

Li Feng twitched the corner of his mouth and gave a final instruction:

"Fellow Daoist, the spiritual herb you need is in the deepest part of the cave."

We'll sneak in later and gather some medicinal herbs on the outskirts, trying our best not to disturb the beast.

Once we've gathered enough medicinal herbs, Lao Lü and I will help you hold off that monster for a while.

"You quickly retrieve the 'Blazing Frost Scale Grass,' then we'll join forces to surround and kill this beast, shall we?"

"Then we will follow Brother Li's arrangement." Lu Nanzhu nodded obediently, his tone seemingly conveying a sense of gratitude through his mask.

Seeing that Lu Nanzhu agreed, Li Feng and the black-clad cultivator did not delay any longer. They sprinkled the powder from the paper packet all over their bodies, then concealed their auras and took the lead in sneaking into the cave.

Upon entering the inner cave, the scene before him immediately startled Lu Nanzhu.

The spiritual energy here is exceptionally rich, and the stone walls are densely covered with various high-level fire-attribute spiritual herbs that are rarely seen in the outside world.

In the very center of the cave, a hole more than ten feet wide has opened up in the dome, from which wisps of extremely pure spiritual energy are seeping out continuously.

Below the void, a gigantic, translucent jellyfish-shaped monster floated silently in mid-air, its body undulating slightly as it absorbed the pure spiritual energy, greedily bathing in it.

This is the peak level four demon beast – "Wulingyanmu".

Upon closer inspection, the beast had more than a dozen long, whip-like tentacles hanging from its body, and dozens of shriveled eyes evenly distributed around the edge of its head.

The three of them silently dispersed, and the monster in the air was indeed like a wooden sculpture, showing no reaction to their arrival.

"So many eyes are just for show? Didn't even know the house was burgled." Lu Nanzhu thought to himself, but his hands moved quickly. While keeping a close eye on the jellyfish, he skillfully put the few spiritual herbs at his feet into the jade box.

Meanwhile, Li Feng and the black-clad cultivator, using the rocks as cover, crept in in the opposite direction, also frantically scavenging the spiritual herbs on the stone wall.

Lu Nanzhu used his divine sense to secretly scan the surroundings and quickly discovered the entrance connecting to the inner cave. A faint breeze was blowing out from near the cave entrance.

Just as Li Feng said, this place is a gourd-shaped cave that is wider at the front and narrower at the back, and the real opportunity lies in the narrow inner part.

He probed his divine sense into the depths of the inner cave, and a treasure gleaming with a cold light in a crevice caught his attention—it was actually a fist-sized piece of "Ten Thousand Year Ice Marrow".

On this extremely cold and yin icy marrow, a strange spiritual herb is tightly wrapped around it.

The spirit herb shimmered with a faint red and blue halo, its leaves covered with a layer of white frost, and its top leaves were stubbornly absorbing the fire-attribute spiritual energy falling from above.

A faint wind was blowing through the cave from above, carrying with it a spiritual energy.

Exploring the cave ceiling with my divine sense, I discovered a wind cave—the place where the rare gale-force winds were located.

He repeatedly confirmed with his divine sense that this was indeed the main ingredient of the third level of the "Legend of Fuyao" that he had been dreaming of—"Blazing Frost Scale Grass".

A glint flashed in Lu Nanzhu's eyes as he slipped into the cave and skillfully peeled the entire spiritual herb, along with the piece of ten-thousand-year-old ice marrow, intact, and placed it into a special jade box.

Just as Lu Nanzhu succeeded in the inner cave, the cultivator surnamed Lü in the outer cave could no longer contain himself.

As he stuffed a fire lotus into his storage bag, he impatiently transmitted his voice to Li Feng beside him:

"Brother Li, your 'Demon-Attracting Powder' usually works very quickly, right? How come it's been so long today and that beast hasn't made a move yet? That kid surnamed De is probably about to empty the inner cave!"

Li Feng was also getting restless. He looked suspiciously at the unresponsive Wu Lingyan Mother, then glanced towards the deep inner cave:

"How strange! This powder of mine never fails. Could it be that the kid is carrying some kind of treasure that's neutralizing its effects? I can't wait any longer, let's just make our move now, lest something unexpected happens!"

Before they finished speaking, the two simultaneously unleashed their respective top-grade magical artifacts, which transformed into two dazzling blades of light that struck the unsuspecting Wu Lingyan Mother fiercely.

boom--!

Wu Lingyan, who was immersed in cultivation, was caught off guard and a part of her body was instantly charred black.

Its enormous body swelled violently, and it let out a deep roar like a heavy hammer striking a drum, clearly enraged.