Mortal: The Path to Immortality

The following day, on the north shore of Kuixing Island.

Yang Liansheng and the red-coated cultivator rode their magical artifacts together, hurrying towards "Listening Sea Peak".

Yesterday, the two received a message from Lu Nanzhu, who claimed that he had broken the array restrictions here and was now settled in the cave. He also asked if the cultivator surnamed Wang still remembered the previous bet.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, you've really lost more than you gained this time!" Yang Liansheng teased his companion while stroking his beard as he flew on his magical artifact.

The red-coated cultivator had a solemn expression and did not reply. He simply increased the speed of his magic weapon and hurried toward his destination.

Soon, the two arrived at Listening Sea Peak. The familiar array covering the mountain peak had long since disappeared, replaced by a new defensive barrier that looked far more powerful.

Seeing this, Yang Liansheng and the red-coated cultivator were both somewhat shocked and exchanged a glance.

Within the barrier, Lu Nanzhu sensed the arrival of the two individuals. He immediately stepped out of his cave, passing through the barrier's spiritual light, and bowed to the two landing figures, saying:

"Fellow Daoists, this cave dwelling has been abandoned for many years, and I, Lu, am currently repairing it. Since you have come from afar, if you don't mind, would you like to come in and have a cup of tea?"

"Oh my! Fellow Daoist Lu has indeed broken through the array and restrictions here."

Yang Liansheng was full of surprise. As soon as he landed, he praised Lu Nanzhu.

"We've tried several times before, but none of us could budge this formation. We never imagined your mastery of formations was so profound; truly remarkable!"

"It was just a fluke, I don't deserve such praise from you, fellow Daoist."

Lu Nanzhu made a polite remark, then stepped aside and gestured for them to enter the cave's protective barrier.

Yang Liansheng and his companion cautiously slipped into the restricted area, one after the other. They landed in front of the cave entrance, looking around as they walked inside.

Upon entering the cave, the scene inside surprised the two. A dozen or so humanoid mechanical puppets at the Qi Refining stage were repairing the passage with various tools, hammering and striking the rock walls, each performing its own task, creating quite a lively scene.

Lu Nanzhu walked ahead and led the two to a freshly cleaned round stone table. After gesturing for them to sit down, he picked up the teapot, filled two cups with hot tea, and handed them to them.

"I didn't expect that Fellow Daoist Lu is not only highly skilled in array formations, but also quite knowledgeable about 'puppet techniques'."

Yang Liansheng took the tea and, looking at the puppets busy at work not far away, continued to praise them.

"It's nothing but trivial matters, hardly worthy of serious consideration. I apologize for making you two laugh." Lu Nanzhu lifted his robe, sat down, picked up his teacup, and shook his head with a smile.

"Eh—? Fellow Daoist, you are too modest!"

The red-robed cultivator, who had been silent for some time, now put on a smiling face and spoke up in support.

"In my opinion, even their elite disciples might not be able to solve the formation left behind by the Red Moon Island cultivators."

"Fellow Daoist, you solved it all by yourself, which demonstrates your profound skill."

"Now that your cave dwelling is complete, what are your plans for Kui Xing Island?" Yang Liansheng asked, taking a sip of tea.

"Nothing more than continuing your cultivation," Lu Nanzhu said, taking a sip of tea.

"I am new to this place, and I will inevitably have to trouble you two and ask for your guidance in the future. I will need your help."

"Of course!"

"Naturally! Naturally!"

The two readily agreed, and the atmosphere became much more lively.

Seemingly remembering something, Lu Nanzhu put down his teacup, took out a bag of spirit stones from his storage pouch, pushed it in front of the red-coated cultivator's table, and said:

"I, Lu, intend to rent this place for ten years. This is the rental fee for this cave dwelling. Please accept it."

"cough--!"

Yang Liansheng didn't look at the bag of spirit stones, but turned his head to stare at the red-coated cultivator and coughed heavily.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, what are you saying? I, Wang, have already promised to cover the expenses for this cave dwelling; how can I break my promise?!"

The red-coated cultivator blushed, quickly pushed the bag of spirit stones back, and continued speaking.

"I was momentarily confused before, and that's why I thought of making things difficult for you, fellow Daoist. This matter arose because of me, and I, Wang, am willing to accept defeat!"

Seeing this, Yang Liansheng nodded slightly and calmly drank his tea.

Lu Nanzhu thought for a moment, then didn't refuse any longer and took back the spirit stones on the table: "In that case, I'll trouble Fellow Daoist Wang to do the work."

"Fellow Daoist Wang is quite wealthy, so paying for the cave dwelling expenses is no problem for him."

Yang Liansheng chuckled, then changed the subject, tentatively saying,

"However, it is truly unfortunate that a cultivator of Fellow Daoist Lu's strength is confined to this remote Listening Sea Peak."

A few years from now, the island will hold a "Spiritual Land Competition". With your strength, fellow Daoist, you may be able to give it a try.

The winner will be able to choose a new, exceptionally spiritually rich location deep within Qingyun Mountain as their cultivation cave.

"I, Lu, am truly inept at killing and possess only mediocre talent. Reaching this level of cultivation is purely by chance. How dare I covet the cave dwelling at the center of the spiritual vein?"

Without hesitation, Lu Nanzhu immediately declined Yang Liansheng's suggestion.

"Moreover, I am quite satisfied with this Listening to the Sea Peak. To cultivate oneself here in peace, listening to the waves and watching the sea every day, would be a wonderful thing."

"Since Fellow Daoist Lu dislikes fighting with others, could you perhaps take on some position on the island? The island's master, True Man Mulong, has been searching far and wide for cultivators skilled in formations."

"If you don't mind, fellow Daoist, once the island lord emerges from seclusion, Old Yang and I will recommend you to him. What do you say?"

The cultivator surnamed Wang then offered another suggestion, hoping to win over Lu Nanzhu.

"Thank you both for your kind offer. However, I am used to being free and unrestrained and have never liked to be bound by rules. I would like to decline this recommendation."

Lu Nanzhu pondered for a moment, then gently but firmly rejected the proposal.

Seeing that Lu Nanzhu was unmoved by reason and had no interest in spiritual land or power, Yang Liansheng and his companion were at a loss for other ways to win him over.

So he simply put aside his thoughts and chatted with Lu Nanzhu about the local customs, culture, and cultivation anecdotes of the island.

About half an hour later, the two stood up to say goodbye and left "Linghai Peak" together.

Lu Nanzhu stood before the precipice, watching the two ride away on their magical artifacts.

After the two streaks of light completely disappeared into the sky, he turned around and reinforced the outer "Inverted Five Elements Array" and "Thousand Machine Suspended Thread Array" a few more times. Then he turned back and went into the cave, closed the stone door, and continued to tidy up his new home.

At the very bottom of the cave dwelling, there is a spacious stone chamber. The previous owner had planted some medicinal herbs needed for alchemy here, but they were all relatively young and their medicinal effects were rather ordinary.

Lu Nanzhu decided to completely transform this place. He took out a handful of purplish-blue, velvety spiritual plants from his storage bag; this was the latest variety, "Spirit Moss."

He himself couldn't remember how many generations he had cultivated using the "small inkstone," but in short, the effect of the "spirit moss" in accelerating the growth of spiritual plants had been greatly improved compared to the original.

He divided the floor of the stone chamber into several independent areas, and then evenly spread the "spirit moss" on these divided areas.

Next, he planted seedlings and seeds of medicinal plants in each of these areas. Using his accumulated knowledge of pharmacology, Lu Nanzhu planted compatible plants in the same area, while completely separating those with conflicting properties.

As these spiritual plants were planted one by one, the "spirit moss" spread on the ground began to shimmer with specks of blue-purple fluorescence.

Guided by these fluorescent lights, the newly planted seedlings of spiritual plants sprouted from the soil at a visible speed, slowly unfurling their tender green leaves.

In addition to the spiritual herbs needed for future cultivation, Lu Nanzhu also specially designated several open spaces at the very edge to plant some Xuan Tan wood, the selected and bred Soul-Devouring Vine, and the piece of Fusang wood he had obtained earlier.

In order to fully utilize the true efficacy of these rare and precious plants, Lu Nanzhu plans to keep them in the stone chamber for a long time and use the ability of the "spirit moss" to accelerate their growth to the level of ten-thousand-year-old spiritual plants for future use.