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

Han Li carefully put away the pill formula and was about to see Lu Yan out.

Lu Yan suddenly stopped and casually asked, "Junior Brother Han, your eight-hundred-year-old spiritual herb is of good quality. Do you have any more?"

Han Li's heart skipped a beat, but his face showed a hint of embarrassment: "Senior Brother Lu is joking. Those few plants were obtained by chance, and there are no extras."

Lu Yan nodded, not pressing further, and changed the subject: "Junior Brother Han, how confident are you about achieving Core Formation?"

Han Li was taken aback, then smiled wryly: "Senior Brother Lu is joking. My talent is mediocre. Being able to establish my foundation is already a blessing from heaven. I wouldn't even dare to think about forming my core."

He spoke humbly, but in his heart he was secretly making plans.

A while ago, I unexpectedly obtained a page from my cheap master, Li Huayuan. Later, I discovered the Qingyuan Sword Manual and the Three Revolutions Chongyuan Technique in a page I obtained from Feng Yue.

With the little green bottle in hand, given enough time, it's not impossible for him to form a core.

He would never utter a single word of these words to anyone else.

Lu Yan glanced at him, a smile playing on his lips, and slowly said, "I do know of a kind of pill called the Heaven-Mending Pill. It's said to cleanse spiritual roots, raising the aptitude of pseudo-spiritual root cultivators to the level of dual spiritual roots. If Junior Brother were to take it, not only would the chance of forming a Core be increased, but even the chance of forming a Nascent Soul would increase by 20%."

Han Li's heart skipped a beat. Cleansing spiritual roots? Could there really be such a heaven-defying elixir in this world?

"Senior Brother Lu, are you joking?" He suppressed the shock in his heart, his tone carrying a hint of disbelief: "Is there really something in this world with such miraculous effects?"

Lu Yan feigned displeasure: "Junior brother, what are you saying? Do you think I'd gain anything by lying to you?"

"Senior brother, please forgive me." Han Li quickly apologized, "It's just that this thing is so astonishing that I couldn't quite believe it for a moment."

Lu Yan's expression softened: "No wonder, even I couldn't believe it when I first heard about it."

Han Li nodded, a hint of curiosity in his voice: "Such a heaven-defying pill, the materials required must be beyond the reach of ordinary people, right?"

"That's for sure. You'd need at least dozens of ancient medicinal herbs that are ten thousand years old."

Han Li almost lost control of his expression.

A miraculous herb that lasts for millennia? Dozens of plants?

The image of the little green bottle flashed through his mind subconsciously, and then he felt a chill. Could this person have discovered something?

He steadied himself, a hint of surprise on his face, which quickly turned into a wry smile: "A ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herb... I'm afraid it's impossible to find such a thing in Tiannan, right? Let alone ten thousand years old, even a thousand-year-old spiritual herb is hard to come by."

"That's not necessarily true." Lu Yan said casually, as if chatting about everyday things: "What if it's hidden in some ancient ruin or monster's lair? Who can say for sure?"

Han Li's heart churned, but he simply shook his head: "Senior Brother Lu is joking. That kind of place is not something a lowly cultivator like me can go to."

Lu Yan laughed and said, "It's alright, I have some faith in Junior Brother Han's luck. What if he finds it on the roadside one day?"

He paused, then lowered his voice: "I heard from Senior Brother Wang that Junior Brother Han once found Dragon Scale Fruit in the mountains, didn't he?"

Han Li's heart skipped a beat again, and he cursed Wang's big mouth in his heart.

He just smiled awkwardly and said, "Senior Brother Wang is really... that's all just good luck, just good luck."

He quickly changed the subject: "Does Senior Brother Lu have the formula for the Heaven-Mending Pill?"

Lu Yan glanced at him: "How can you so easily show someone a pill formula?"

Han Li quickly said, "I was being presumptuous. Senior Brother Lu, if I happen to obtain a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herb in the future, I will definitely give it to you. I only ask that you spare me a Heaven-Mending Pill at that time."

Lu Yan laughed and said, "No problem, no problem. It's just that I'm about to leave Tiannan, and I'm afraid I won't be able to wait for your future."

Han Li was taken aback: "Leave Tiannan?" Didn't you just say you were going to be stationed in the mine?

"The demonic path is about to attack, are we just going to stay here and wait to die?" Lu Yan said matter-of-factly. "I plan to find a place to hide and form my core first. Junior Brother Han, do you want to run away together? I'll give you a ride for just five thousand spirit stones for the journey fee."

Han Li's lips twitched. Five thousand spirit stones for travel expenses? How far do they have to go?

He carefully considered his words before speaking: "Senior Brother Lu, you are a key talent being cultivated by Yellow Maple Valley. Aren't you afraid of leaving like this...?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Lu Yan waved his hand dismissively. "When I return after forming my Nascent Soul, that will be the best way to repay the sect. Everything else is meaningless."

Han Li remained silent for a moment, then asked, "Senior Brother Lu, do you have so little confidence in the seven sects? If the seven sects join forces, they might actually have a fighting chance, right?"

Lu Yan glanced at him, then suddenly sighed: "Who do you think decides the outcome of the battlefield?"

"Please enlighten me, senior brother."

"The outcome of the battle between the Seven Sects and the Demonic Path ultimately depends on the strength of their respective Nascent Soul cultivators. With the Joyful Union Demon, one of the three great cultivators of Tiannan, in charge of the Demonic Path, how could the Seven Sects possibly win?"

Han Li's expression changed slightly.

Lu Yan continued, "To put it bluntly, if someone like me, who has the potential to form a core, stays here, I can at least escape with the main force. But someone like my junior brother would probably be destined to be abandoned."

Han Li's face twitched, and he felt as if a stone was pressing on his heart.

Although he didn't know if he would be abandoned, he also knew that he couldn't entrust his fate to others.

"Senior Brother Lu, could you give me a few days to think about it?"

"I don't have time to think about it." Lu Yan shook his head. "I'm about to leave."

Han Li was taken aback: "So soon?"

"We can't afford to be slow," Lu Yan said in a low voice. "Junior Brother Han surely understands the saying 'the longer we wait, the more problems may arise,' right?"

Han Li hesitated, "Can't we really wait a few more days? Junior Brother still has some things to take care of in the mortal realm."

Lu Yan thought for a moment, then held up one finger: "One week. I'll only wait for you for one week. After one week, I'll leave whether you come or not."

Han Li breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Lu. I will definitely give you an answer within a week."

Lu Yan nodded and handed over a map: "Come find me here later."

Han Li looked at the map and saw that it was a wasteland in the eastern part of Yue Kingdom.

A week has passed in the blink of an eye.

Deep inside the mine, Lu Yan stood in front of a stone platform and nodded in satisfaction.

"It's done." The voice of Master Tianfu came from the Soul-Nourishing Wood: "Although my array formation skills are not top-notch, they are more than enough to build an ancient teleportation array."

Lu Yan smiled and said, "Senior is very talented, I admire him greatly."

"Stop flattering me." Master Tianfu snorted. "Although this teleportation array has been repaired, whether it will work depends on the status of the teleportation array on the other side. What will you do if it breaks down?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a soft sound of footsteps came from the direction of the entrance.

Han Li emerged from the darkness, dressed in a green robe, his face calm.

Lu Yan looked him up and down and smiled, "Junior Brother Han is indeed punctual."

Han Li cupped his hands in greeting and said with a wry smile, "How could I not come when Senior Brother Lu summoned me? It's just that this place is really hard to find."

Lu Yan waved his hand, not asking how he managed to slip out of the martial law-bound Yellow Maple Valley.

Han Li's gaze fell on the stone platform, and he froze abruptly.

An ancient teleportation array.

"This..." Han Li was utterly shocked. "Senior Brother Lu, could this be an ancient teleportation array?"

"That's right, it can instantly teleport someone millions of miles away." Lu Yan stretched out his hand: "Did you bring the spirit stones?"

"I brought it, I brought it." Han Li quickly handed over a storage bag.

Lu Yan took the stones, waved his hand, and more than a dozen mid-grade spirit stones flew out, accurately embedding themselves in the grooves around the teleportation array.

Rumble!

The runes on the teleportation array suddenly burst into a blinding golden light, causing the entire cave to shake violently, with pebbles falling from above.

"Come up here," Lu Yan said, raising the Great Teleportation Token to Han Li.

Han Li hesitated for a moment, but still walked up and stood next to Lu Yan.

"Senior Brother Lu, what's that over there?" he couldn't help but ask.

Lu Yan smiled and said, "You'll know when we get there."

The golden light grew brighter and brighter, and the surrounding space began to distort and deform. Han Li felt a buzzing in his ears, and the stone platform under his feet seemed to be falling rapidly, or as if it was being pulled wildly in a certain direction.

The world spun around.

It felt like a moment had passed, yet also like a long time had gone by, before the tremors underfoot finally stopped.

The golden light dissipated.

Han Li staggered, panting heavily. His stomach churned, and his head buzzed; it took him a while to recover.

A damp, rotten smell filled his nostrils. He looked up and found himself in a dilapidated stone house, the floor covered with moss, clearly abandoned for a long time.

Lu Yan's voice came from behind, tinged with amusement:

"Welcome to the Chaotic Star Sea."