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

"The Chaotic Star Sea?" Han Li was taken aback. "What kind of place is that?"

Lu Yan didn't reply. He took out a jade slip from his storage bag and casually tossed it over.

"Information about the major cultivation worlds in the human realm, as well as the language of the Chaotic Star Sea, is all inside. Take a look for yourself."

Han Li took the jade slip, placed it on his forehead, and probed it with his divine sense.

A moment later, he put down the jade slip, his expression changing from confusion to shock, and then from shock to bewilderment.

Tiannan, Luanxinghai, Dajin, Tiansha Continent, Wulonghai... So the human realm is this vast? So there is such a wide world besides Tiannan?

The boundless sea that Nascent Soul cultivators could never cross in their entire lives, can be reached with just a teleportation array?

He took a deep breath, suppressed his turbulent emotions, and carefully put the jade slip away.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Lu."

Lu Yan ignored him, turned around and walked to the teleportation array. He raised his hand and flipped it, and a flying sword appeared in his palm. He aimed at a corner of the array base and slashed down with the sword light.

Click!

A stone horn covered in runes shattered with a crack, sending fragments flying.

Han Li's eyelids twitched.

"To prevent anyone from chasing us." Lu Yan sheathed his flying sword and said calmly, "Keep this thing, in case someone from the other side uses a teleportation array to sneak over."

Han Li nodded thoughtfully and didn't ask any more questions.

Lu Yan took one last look at the broken teleportation array, a slight smile playing on his lips.

From today onwards, those messy things in Tiannan have nothing to do with him anymore.

Whether it's the demonic path or the seven sects, let them fight however they want.

He would cultivate peacefully in the Chaotic Star Sea, and return to check on things when he reached the Nascent Soul stage.

As for now...

He turned around and strode out of the stone house.

"Let's go, let's find a place to stay first."

Han Li quickly followed, and after taking two steps, he looked back at the broken teleportation array, a sense of melancholy rising in his heart.

Once I leave, I don't know when I'll be able to go back.

He shook his head and quickened his pace to catch up.

Outside the stone house, the sea breeze swept over us, carrying a salty, fishy smell.

The sea shimmered in the distance, and several seabirds flew overhead, chirping sweetly.

Lu Yan stood at the door, took a deep breath, and stretched.

"Junior Brother Han, the Chaotic Star Sea is not like the Southern Heaven. Here, rogue cultivators are everywhere, and killing and robbing are commonplace. If you want to survive, you have to be more ruthless, faster, and more shameless than others."

Han Li's lips twitched: "...Senior Brother Lu is right."

He then changed the subject: "Senior Brother Lu seems to know so much about this Chaotic Star Sea, have you been here before?"

"I only saw it in an ancient book," Lu Yan said dismissively.

"Let's go, let's find a place to stay first."

---------

The war between the Seven Factions and the Demonic Path lasted for two years, but they were ultimately defeated.

On the day the Yellow Maple Valley's mountain gate was breached by the Demonic Alliance, Patriarch Linghu led his remaining disciples to break through the encirclement and fled south, eventually settling in the territory of the Nine Kingdoms Alliance.

The seven factions collapsed, and the Yue Kingdom fell completely into the hands of the six demonic sects.

The disappearances of Lu Yan and Han Li did not cause much of a stir in Huangfeng Valley.

With a major battle imminent and countless deaths and injuries imminent, the disappearance of two disciples is hardly a big deal.

Lei Wanhe searched for half a month, turning the Taiyue Mountains upside down, and even went to Yuejing City to eradicate the Black Fiend Sect, but he still couldn't find Lu Yan's shadow.

Finally, he met a girl named Xiao Cuier in Yuejing, and thought she was quite talented, so he brought her back to Huangfeng Valley.

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Chaotic Star Sea, Little Huan Island.

This island is small and inconspicuous among the many islands surrounding Kui Xing Island.

When Lu Yan and Han Li first arrived in the Chaotic Star Sea, they had nothing and not even a place to stay.

Later, by chance, he helped a caravan win a tournament. The caravan owner was grateful and vouched for them in front of the steward of Kui Xing Island, which allowed the two to obtain the right to settle down.

For ten years, Lu Yan rarely left his home, spending his days in seclusion cultivating.

Han Li often went out, wandering among the markets of the nearby islands, exchanging cultivation resources through various channels.

With the little green bottle in hand, he never lacked resources. Over the past ten years, his cultivation level has quietly risen to the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

However, he has always kept a low profile and never flaunted his abilities. To outsiders, he was just an ordinary rogue cultivator.

That morning, Han Li flew from outside Xiao Huan Island in a small spirit boat.

He had just returned from outside, his storage bag containing more than a dozen ancient spiritual herbs that had been ripened with spiritual liquid. He was pondering how to make Lu Yan believe that he had really found these by chance.

Before the spirit boat even docked, Han Li suddenly sensed an unusual aura.

He raised his head and looked at the mountain peak in the center of Xiaohuan Island, his pupils suddenly contracting.

The sky had darkened without us noticing.

Thick, dark clouds surged in from all directions, gathering above Xiaohuan Island, layer upon layer, darkly obscuring the entire sky.

Within the clouds, flashes of lightning flickered faintly, and a muffled rumble of thunder rolled in.

A massive vortex of spiritual energy slowly formed in the center of the clouds, its diameter spanning hundreds of meters, frantically devouring the spiritual energy between heaven and earth.

The spiritual energy from all directions, like rivers flowing into the sea, rushed into the whirlpool, stirring up gusts of wind and making the sea surface surge.

Han Li stood on the spirit boat, his eyes wide open.

This is... the celestial phenomenon of Core Formation.

He had seen Core Formation cultivators before and had heard that Core Formation would cause celestial phenomena, but this was the first time he had seen it with his own eyes.

The sight of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth being stirred up by one person's own power far exceeded his imagination.

The center of the vortex was directly opposite the cave where Lu Yan was in seclusion.

Han Li remained silent for a moment, then sighed softly.

Ten years have passed. Of the two people who ran away from Huangfeng Valley together, one is about to form the Core Formation stage, while the other is still in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Although he had the little green bottle and no shortage of spiritual medicine, sometimes what one lacks in cultivation is not just spiritual medicine.

He looked up at the ever-growing vortex of spiritual energy in the sky, feeling a mix of envy and感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex emotion encompassing both admiration and reflection).

Inside the cave, Lu Yan sat cross-legged on a futon, his body surrounded by surging spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy within the dantian had reached its peak, and the liquefied spiritual energy was circulating wildly in the meridians, solidifying with each cycle.

After ten years of arduous cultivation, with the guidance of Master Tianfu, the assistance of the Great Evolution Technique, and the aptitude of the Thunder Spirit Root, he has finally reached this point.

Outside the cave, the vortex of spiritual energy spun faster and faster, almost draining the spiritual energy of the world.

The entire small island was trembling slightly, and huge waves several meters high rose on the sea, crashing against the rocks on the shore.

The thunder in the sky grew more and more frequent, and lightning flashed in the dark clouds, as if something was brewing.

suddenly.

A thick bolt of purple lightning cleaved down from the clouds, striking the mountain peak where the cave was located.

Han Li's heart tightened.

But the next second, he saw that the lightning did not cause any damage. Instead, it seemed to be pulled by something and disappeared into the cave along the mountain.

After the lightning struck, the vortex stopped spinning, and the spiritual energy in the world gradually returned to calm.

Sunlight streamed through gaps in the clouds, bathing Xiaohuan Island in a golden glow.

Inside the cave, Lu Yan slowly opened his eyes.

Inside the dantian, a golden pill the size of a longan fruit floated quietly, emitting a faint lightning glow.

The surface of the golden pill faintly crackled with electric arcs, occasionally making a popping sound.

Core Formation Stage.

He finally crossed that threshold.

The voice of Master Tianfu echoed from within the Soul-Nourishing Wood, tinged with amusement: "Not bad. With your current strength, you probably have few rivals among those of the same level."

Lu Yan smiled, stood up, and stretched his limbs.

Outside the cave, the sun shone brightly.

He pushed open the door and went out, and saw Han Li standing on the shore not far away, looking up at the dark clouds that were gradually dissipating in the sky.

Han Li turned his head, and their eyes met.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother Lu." Han Li cupped his hands, his tone calm: "Ten years of arduous cultivation have finally yielded fruitful results."