Mortal: The Path to Immortality

"Got it, get out of there!"

Li Feng shouted and led the cultivator surnamed Lü away towards the cave entrance without looking back.

Just as the two stepped out of the cave, the enraged "Black Spirit Smoke Mother" suddenly shrank back, and a thick, dark red smoke gushed out of its body. Its spread was so fast that it completely submerged the entire inner and outer caves in the blink of an eye.

A dozen thick tentacles, accompanied by a slight whooshing sound, lashed wildly through the smoke, attempting to capture the living creature restrained by the smoke.

Li Feng and the cultivator surnamed Lü, who had escaped from the cave entrance, leaned against the stone wall on the other side, watching the billowing red smoke that continued to spread from the cave entrance. Finally, they couldn't help but reveal a triumphant smile on their faces.

"Even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would be completely overwhelmed by the bewitching smoke spewed by this beast within three breaths, becoming a living dead in the illusion. That kid is doomed." Li Feng looked at the cave entrance, his tone certain.

"Hmph, does that guy surnamed De really think we'd risk our lives for him?" The cultivator surnamed Lü also looked excited.

"Once that monster has tormented him enough, we'll go in and collect his body. The resources in his storage bag might just give us brothers a significant boost in our cultivation."

"Brother Li, why don't we take advantage of this and grab some of the treasures inside the cave?" The cultivator surnamed Lü's eyes grew increasingly greedy.

"Do you think I don't want to? There's a strong wind in that inner cave. Although the wind isn't strong, it's enough to disperse the spiritual energy within a low-level cultivator. At best, a cultivator's cultivation will be greatly reduced; at worst, they'll lose all their magical power and die."

"Unless you have some kind of wind-controlling treasure to protect you, going in there will most likely be more loss than gain," Li Feng said, turning back to the cultivator surnamed Lü.

After listening to Li Feng's explanation, the cultivator surnamed Lü said confidently, "With the combination of the mist and the strong wind, it seems that the man surnamed De is doomed."

The two stood guard outside the cave entrance, their attention focused, for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The violent commotion inside the cave gradually subsided, and the thick red smoke also faded away.

Li Feng and the cultivator surnamed Lü exchanged a glance, then patted several more layers of "Spirit-Controlling Powder" onto their bodies before carefully making their way back into the cave.

As soon as they entered the cave, they saw that the injured Wulingyan Mother had already floated back into the air, still slowly absorbing the pure spiritual energy.

At the entrance to the inner cave, there lay a figure dressed in a blue robe and wearing a mask.

The figure remained motionless, and the spiritual light around it was extremely faint, indicating that it was indeed dead.

"Haha, Brother Li, your method is really effective. This lad is quite fortunate. Putting aside his other treasures, just consider that 'Fire-Avoiding Pearl' alone..."

If we sell it, we won't lack the medicinal herbs we need for cultivation advancement.

Unable to contain his joy, the cultivator surnamed Lü transmitted his voice to Li Feng.

A smile played on Li Feng's lips, but he still pulled out a flying sword and stabbed it fiercely at the figure.

Having confirmed that the person had not faked his death, he cautiously stepped forward, reached out to turn over the corpse, and ripped off the mask from the person's face.

However, the moment the mask was removed, the smile on Li Feng's lips froze instantly.

Beneath the mask, there was no corpse at all, only a charred spirit wood face covered with strange runes—it was actually a substitute puppet made of sandalwood!

"Oh no! We've been tricked!" Li Feng's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in alarm.

Almost simultaneously, a peacock-blue beam of light shot out from the shadows of the inner cave. It was none other than Lu Nanzhu, who had been hiding for a long time.

His expression was cold and stern. The moment he appeared, he flicked his sleeve, and more than a dozen "earth-trapping talismans" glowing with an earthy yellow spiritual light flew towards the ground around the two of them.

puff--!

The two of them were immediately plunged into the muddy ground, which resembled a swamp.

While still "greedy" eating, "Wulingyanmu" was also attracted by the fleeing Lunanzhu and waved its two tentacles at him.

Lu Nanzhu turned around and easily dodged it.

"A mere trick," Li Feng thought to himself. Clearly, these talismans were insufficient to trap two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Taking advantage of the brief moment when the two were freed from the mud, Lu Nanzhu had already reached the exit.

Before leaving, he turned around and used the "Nine-Feathered Wind Fan" to unleash several light blades at the demon beast, severing one of the tentacles of "Black Spirit Smoke Mother".

Before turning and fleeing outside the cave, he made another hand seal, and the puppet lying behind the two suddenly lit up and self-destructed.

boom--!

Everything happened so fast that the two could only instinctively raise a protective shield. However, the power of the puppet made of sandalwood after its self-destruction was truly astonishing.

The two people's protective shields were shattered by the explosion, and they were blown up by the shockwave, landing right in front of "Wulingyanmu".

"Thump—! Thump—!"

Enraged by the explosion and attack, "Black Spirit Smoke Mother" instantly filled those dozens of eyes with a crimson light, and a dark red mist, several times denser than before, swept down from above.

"Damn it..." Li Feng, who had just experienced the violent explosion, barely managed to sit up and was still cursing at Lu Nanzhu.

Suddenly, a dark red mist rushed towards the two of them.

In less than two breaths, their angry shouts stopped abruptly, their eyes began to glaze over, their eyes rolled back, and their facial muscles relaxed strangely, like walking corpses. Under the control of the illusion, they walked towards the crazed Wu Lingyan Mother.

puff!puff!

The enraged Wu Lingyan used her tentacles to pierce through the chests of the two men without mercy. Then, she opened her gaping maw, full of sharp teeth, and bit them to pieces, swallowing them whole.

Outside the cave.

Lu Nanzhu withdrew his outward-extended divine sense and calmly dusted off his sleeves. Just in case, he threw an explosive talisman towards the cave entrance, completely destroying it.

"Perhaps this cave can become an opportunity for future generations," Lu Nanzhu thought.

Then, Lu Nanzhu, in a playful mood, set up a small defensive formation on the destroyed cave entrance.

"Two old geezers teaming up to play 'Spirit Control Powder' against a disciple from Spirit Beast Mountain is truly like showing off one's limited skills before an expert."

Lu Nanzhu sneered.

As early as when Li Feng handed over the two packets of medicine powder, he vaguely sensed that the smell was a bit off.

The packet of powder he was holding, while mainly composed of Spirit Control Powder, was mixed with a powder called "Demon Temptation Powder".

So, taking advantage of the two's inattention, he replaced the powder with the genuine "Spirit Control Powder" that he had carefully refined beforehand, thus enabling him to move freely in the cave.

As for that illusionary smoke that would strike fear into the hearts of ordinary cultivators…

Lu Nanzhu had previously learned about the "Black Spirit Smoke Mother" from the sect's books. That monster's smoke specifically targets the cultivator's soul.

Lu Nanzhu rubbed his temples, realizing that he had already expended a lot of his spiritual energy to protect his soul in the mist.

He is currently cultivating both the "Controlling Meridians and Transforming Spirit Technique" and the "Great Evolution Technique" simultaneously. In terms of the strength of his spiritual sense and the refinement of his soul, he is already comparable to a Core Formation cultivator. In addition, with the soul-stabilizing pills he had prepared beforehand, this venomous smoke poses no threat to him.

After dealing with the matter here, Lu Nanzhu turned and flew away, intending to find a place to recover and recuperate before continuing his search for the "Heavenly Fire Liquid" that could aid in the formation of the Golden Core.

"On this trip, I have obtained the main medicine for cultivating the third level of the 'Soaring Record'. In addition, I also acquired an extremely yin and cold treasure."

"It was a worthwhile trip." He increased his flying speed and left the remote place.