Mortal: Starting by looting Han Laomo's entire herb garden

Lu Yan walked over and cast a restriction into the man's body, completely sealing off his remaining spiritual power.

The man's eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness completely.

Lu Yan tied him up tightly, threw him onto the Illusionary Phoenix Sparrow, and let it take off again.

Silver Moon peeked out from his embrace and asked curiously, "Aren't you going to kill him?"

"It'll be useful to keep it." Lu Yan smiled. "If we hand it over to the sect later, we might get a lot of money as a reward, which will give us money to draw talismans."

The voice of Master Tianfu came from the Soul-Nourishing Wood: "This brat from the Spirit Control Sect is unlucky to run into someone like you who doesn't play by the rules."

Lu Yan laughed and said, "In the world of cultivation, whoever plays by the rules dies quickly."

The phoenix spread its wings and took off, flying towards the cave marked on the map.

They pierced through the clouds and fog, and found the cave in half an hour.

Facing the Golden-backed Demon Mantis, Lu Yan didn't waste any words and directly revealed all his resources: the Illusionary Phoenix Sparrow, the Profound Yuan Turtle, the Ink Dragon that was about to reach level five, the Blood Jade Spider at the peak of level four, and the giant tiger puppet at the late Foundation Establishment stage, all of which rushed forward.

The golden-backed mantis didn't even have time to get into position before it was beaten so badly it couldn't take care of itself.

They seized a level 4 peak Golden-backed Demon Mantis corpse, a jade slip from the Strange Insect Ranking, two Golden-backed Demon Mantis eggs, and a bunch of other miscellaneous insect eggs they couldn't name.

After leaving the cave, Lu Yan went straight to the market and sold the corpse of the Golden-backed Demon Mantis and the Green Radiance Sword to Wanbaolou for 150,000 spirit stones. Then he set off on his escape light towards Huangfeng Valley.

Half a day later, at Lei Wanhe's cave.

The stone door opened with a rumble, and Lei Wanhe was still sitting at the stone table drinking tea. Seeing Lu Yan enter, he casually said, "You never come here unless you have something important to say. What brings you here this time?"

Lu Yan smiled, sat down at the stone table, and took out a jade pot from his storage bag: "I just received a pot of spiritual tea, and I came here especially to offer it to my master."

As he spoke, he filled the teacup in front of Lei Wanhe.

Silver Moon secretly transmitted her voice: "Brother Lu, isn't this the pot of Yincha Tea?"

Lu Yan remained outwardly calm, secretly transmitting his voice: "Yes, this is a mixture of forty-nine kinds of rare poisons. These poisons, when mixed together, fight each other with poison, achieving a delicate balance. Not only will the person who drinks it not be poisoned, but it will also enhance their spiritual awareness."

Silver Moon exclaimed in surprise, "Such a wondrous item exists? Why didn't Brother Lu keep it for himself?"

Lu Yan transmitted his voice: "That's what they say, but it's still a poison. Who knows if there are any problems? What if the potency is too strong and you burst after drinking it?"

Silver Moon was speechless: "Aren't you afraid that this cheap master will find out? After all, this tea is full of poison."

Lu Yan replied, "No problem, it's been diluted with water; only one drop was added."

Silver Moon: "..."

Even Master Tianfu couldn't stand it anymore and transmitted his voice through the Soul-Nourishing Wood: "Is this how you treat your master? Aren't you afraid of poisoning him to death?"

Lu Yan said confidently, "I still have a Seven-Colored Lotus on me. If something really happens, I can save it."

"Seven-Colored Lotus? The one that can bring the dead back to life and heal wounds when eaten by ordinary people, and allow Core Formation cultivators to advance their cultivation level immediately?" True Person Tianfu was shocked: "You really have a lot of good stuff on you, kid."

Lu Yan replied, "I risked my life for all of this."

Lei Wanhe, unaware of Lu Yan's subtle actions, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then widened his eyes in shock: "This tea... it can actually enhance one's spiritual sense?"

Lu Yan blinked, seeing that Lei Wanhe's complexion was rosy and he didn't look poisoned, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he could drink it without worry when he got back.

"I was lucky enough to seize it from an evil cultivator." Lu Yan spouted nonsense, shifting the blame to the evil cultivator, leaving no way to verify the claim.

"Heretical cultivators?" Lei Wanhe frowned. "What kind of heretical cultivators?"

"Uh, it's a bunch of guys who call themselves the Black Fiend Cult. They've supposedly been entrenched in Yuejing for a long time." Lu Yan shifted the blame to the Yue Emperor. As for whether he had Yin Sha Tea or not, who cares? Let Lei Wanhe tell him.

Lei Wanhe wanted to ask more questions, but Lu Yan quickly changed the subject: "Master, I have something important to report."

"What is it?"

Lu Yan whistled outside, and Huanhuangque dragged in a man who was tied up.

Lei Wanhe glanced at him, picked up his teacup, and took a sip: "Who is this person?"

Lu Yan recounted the events incompletely, only saying that he encountered a suspicious Qi Refining stage cultivator in Tai Nan Valley, sensed something was wrong, and subdued him.

It turned out that the other party was a Core Formation cultivator from the Yuling Sect who had possessed another body and was now cultivating again, and his intentions for infiltrating the Yue Kingdom were unclear.

Lei Wanhe stopped holding the teacup.

He slowly put down his teacup, stared at the man who was bound hand and foot for a long time, then turned his head to look Lu Yan up and down with a very strange look in his eyes.

"You, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, managed to defeat a Core Formation cultivator?"

Lu Yan remained expressionless: "After he possessed the body, his cultivation level plummeted, reaching only the second level of Qi Refining. Although he could temporarily raise it to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage using a secret technique, his foundation is unstable. I was lucky to succeed."

Lei Wanhe remained silent for a long while, leaning back in his chair with a very interesting expression on his face.

"I've lived in Yue Kingdom for so many years, how come I've never encountered such good fortune?" he muttered. "Last time you went out and found a Spirit Eye Spring, and this time you've found a Core Formation cultivator. Did you steal all the luck I've accumulated over the past few hundred years?"

Lu Yan smiled and said, "This disciple is indeed very lucky."

Lei Wanhe glared at him, then looked at the Yuling Sect cultivator who was tied up like a dumpling, and suddenly sighed.

Given his disciple's luck, it'll probably be a few years before I have to call him my junior brother.

"Alright, this is no small matter. The cultivators of the Yuling Sect have infiltrated the Yue Kingdom, and we don't know what kind of conspiracy they're plotting. You're coming with me to report to Uncle-Master Linghu."

Lu Yan nodded and followed Lei Wanhe outside.

Lei Wanhe took a couple of steps, then suddenly turned back, looked Lu Yan up and down, and exclaimed, "I'm truly impressed by your luck, kid. I wouldn't be surprised if you went out and picked up a Nascent Soul cultivator one day."

Lu Yan smiled but didn't say anything.

Lei Wanhe shook his head and strode out of the cave.

Lei Wanhe led Lu Yan to a cave dwelling deep in the back mountains of Huangfeng Valley.

The stone gate to the cave was ancient and heavy, without any decoration. Lei Wanhe straightened his robes and said respectfully, "Uncle-Master, your disciple Lei Wanhe has important business to discuss."

The stone door opened silently, and a profound aura wafted out from the cave.

"Come in."

Linghu Laozu's voice came from the cave, old and calm, without any discernible emotion.

Lei Wanhe led Lu Yan into the cave. The interior was simply furnished: a stone bed, a futon, and a lamp that burned continuously.

Linghu Laozu sat cross-legged on the futon, his beard and hair were all white, his face was thin, but his eyes were sharp and unfathomable.

"What is it?" Linghu Patriarch glanced at Lu Yan, then looked at Lei Wanhe.