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

Dong Xuan'er flew over, looked up at him, her peach blossom eyes filled with affection, and her voice softened: "Senior Brother Lu, it's been a long time. What have you been busy with lately?"

As she spoke, her eyes sparkled, and a subtle, alluring charm naturally emanated from her. Most Foundation Establishment cultivators would be captivated by such a glance.

Lu Yan turned the Great Evolution Technique once, and that hint of seductive charm was like a gentle breeze, leaving no trace of feeling.

He glanced at her with an unchanging expression and said calmly, "I offended a level 10 demon a while ago, and then I was beaten by a late-stage Void Refinement cultivator. I'm currently hiding from a Nascent Soul stage monster."

Dong Xuan'er's face stiffened, she blinked, and then burst out laughing: "Senior Brother Lu is really good at joking. If you don't want to say, then don't make up this kind of nonsense to fool people."

At the same time, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. Her seductive skills had never failed among her peers, yet this Senior Brother Lu had not reacted at all.

Han Li also flew over, his face had returned to calm, though it was slightly flushed, clearly indicating that he had been quite angry just now.

He glanced at Lu Yan, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

Lu Yan took the initiative to speak: "Junior Brother Han, where are you headed?"

Han Li sighed: "The Yan Family Fortress Treasure Hunt. However, Patriarch Linghu has issued a martial law order, forbidding all disciples from leaving the mountain, so we can't go."

Dong Xuan'er snorted: "What martial law? I think it's making a mountain out of a molehill. What danger could there be?"

Lu Yan glanced at her, then at Han Li, pondered for a moment, and suddenly said, "It's probably for the best if we can't go. Things haven't been peaceful at Yan Family Fort lately."

Han Li's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't show it on his face. He simply asked, "What inside information does Senior Brother Lu know?"

Dong Xuan'er also perked up her ears.

Lu Yan looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "I just heard about it too. The Yan Family Fortress may be going to join the Ghost Spirit Sect."

Han Li's expression changed slightly. Ghost Spirit Sect? Isn't that the demonic path?

Dong Xuan'er's eyes widened in disbelief, and she exclaimed, "Impossible! How could Yan Family Fortress..."

"Believe it or not," Lu Yan shrugged and turned to leave.

Han Li quickly called out to him, "Senior Brother Lu, please wait."

He glanced at Dong Xuan'er and said, "Junior Sister Dong, you should go back first."

Dong Xuan'er was still in shock. She nodded subconsciously, then suddenly realized what was happening and glared at Han Li: "Why should I go back first?"

Han Li ignored her and looked at Lu Yan: "Senior Brother Lu, I have some matters I would like to ask you. Would you mind coming to my cave for a discussion?"

Lu Yan thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."

Seeing that Lu Yan was even more enthusiastic towards Han Li than towards her, Dong Xuan'er felt inexplicably displeased. She snorted, stomped her foot, turned around and left, muttering, "What's so great about him? I'm going to go and reason with Master."

Han Li watched her huff and puff as she walked away, shook his head, and gestured to Lu Yan, "Senior Brother Lu, this way."

The two used their escape light to fly towards Han Li's cave.

Upon entering the cave, Han Li poured Lu Yan a cup of spiritual tea and invited him to sit down at the stone table.

Lu Yan didn't rush to speak. He sensed the range of his divine sense and found that it could only extend to a few meters around him.

"Junior Brother Han, the array formation in this cave is quite impressive. It's actually an ancient restrictive array like the Reversed Five Elements Array."

Han Li was taken aback, then showed a hint of surprise: "Senior Brother Lu also understands formations?"

"I know a little bit," Lu Yan said casually.

The voice of Master Tianfu came from the Soul-Nourishing Wood: "It's just an incomplete Five Elements Reversal Array. The array setup is also very crude. Its only advantage is its ability to suppress divine sense."

Lu Yan remained expressionless, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

Han Li was unaware that the Heavenly Talisman Master was commenting on his mind. He simply smiled modestly and said, "Senior Brother Lu, you flatter me. I bought this formation from a fellow Daoist, and I can only use one or two tenths of the original version."

Lu Yan nodded, not pressing further, and put down his teacup: "Junior Brother Han specifically invited me here, surely it wasn't just for tea?"

Han Li poured him another cup of tea, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Senior Brother Lu, the sect has suddenly gone into martial law this time, and we're not even allowed to go to the Yan Family Fortress Treasure Hunt. Could it be... that the demonic path is really about to invade?"

Lu Yan glanced at him and said slowly, "The cultivation worlds of Jiang Kingdom and Cheqi Kingdom have been conquered by the demonic path. The news has been blocked, and we have been unaware of it. Their next target should be our seven sects."

Han Li's expression changed. Although he had guessed that the matter was not small, he did not expect it to be this serious.

Doesn't that mean the Yue Kingdom is about to descend into chaos?

Undeterred, Han Li asked, "Does the Fengdu Kingdom simply turn a blind eye to this and watch the demonic path grow stronger?"

Lu Yan sneered: "As far as I know, the Righteous Alliance suddenly attacked several small countries around us a while ago. I estimate that they have reached some kind of non-interference agreement with the Demonic Path. Don't count on them."

"So, the demonic path is about to launch an attack?"

"It should be soon." Lu Yan nodded. "I estimate that the summons from the seven sects will be issued soon, and all disciples will have to go to the battlefield."

Han Li fell silent. He looked at the teacup in his hand, his face calm, but his heart was churning.

Once the summons is issued, it means going to the battlefield.

His cultivation level is only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. How many days can he survive on the battlefield?

Even if they survive by sheer luck, all their cultivation time will have been wasted. They had originally planned to form their core, but now that the demonic path has attacked, all their plans have fallen through.

Han Li raised his head: "Senior Brother Lu, thank you for informing me."

Lu Yan waved his hand: "No need to thank me, you'll find out sooner or later."

Han Li was silent for a moment, then asked, "What are Senior Brother Lu's plans next?"

"Plans?" Lu Yan thought for a moment: "Once the war starts, I'll apply to be stationed in the mine. It's much safer there than on the battlefield, since I'm really not good at killing."

Han Li's lips twitched. In fact, he also felt that he was not good at killing. Why not go and guard the mine with Senior Brother Lu?

After a moment of silence, Han Li suddenly spoke up: "Senior Brother Lu, I have something I'd like to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Do you have any Foundation Establishment stage pill formulas?" Han Li looked troubled. He was currently using the one he had gone to great lengths to obtain from someone else.

"I've hit a bottleneck in my cultivation and want to try using alchemy as an aid, but I don't have a suitable formula. Senior Brother Lu is very knowledgeable; if you have one, I'd like to exchange some spiritual herbs for it."

Lu Yan rummaged through the storage bag. It contained five or six Foundation Establishment stage cards that he had previously seized from Wang Chan. He took one out.

"I actually happened to get one once, if you don't mind, junior brother."

Han Li's eyes lit up slightly. He glanced at the prescription and then took out two 700-year-old herbs from his storage bag.

"Senior Brother Lu, this is a small token of my appreciation. Do you think it's enough?"

Lu Yan looked down and chuckled inwardly.

This junior brother Han has so many thousand-year-old spiritual herbs on him, yet he took out two seven-hundred-year-old ones, and even looked like he was in great pain. He was quite the actor.

That's enough.

Han Li breathed a sigh of relief, a look of gratitude on his face: "Thank you, Senior Brother Lu."