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

Without even thinking, Lu Yan felt a sudden dizziness.

The spot instantly became empty.

Linghu Laozu's eyes widened like copper bells, and his mouth remained agape for a long time. He rubbed his eyes and looked around again.

Nobody's here. There's really nobody here.

A man in black appeared out of nowhere right under his nose, and then vanished just as suddenly.

There was no escape light, no fluctuation of spiritual energy, and just... that was it.

This was the first time in all his years that Linghu Laozu had encountered something like this.

He circled the room twice and then used his divine sense to scan the surrounding area for miles, but found nothing.

"That's a ghost."

The third stop.

The world spun around.

As soon as Lu Yan regained his balance from the dizziness, a strong smell of blood filled his nostrils.

Beneath their feet lay a scorched grassland, riddled with deep craters and broken fragments of magical artifacts. In the distance, shouts of battle shook the heavens, and bursts of multicolored spiritual light exploded in the air, leaving limbs and severed bodies scattered across the ground.

Not far ahead, several people stood back to back in a circle, desperately trying to fend off enemies surging in from all directions.

Those people wore strange robes, carried bone staffs and banners, and their spells were inexplicably eerie.

Muran Fashi.

And those few people.

Lu Yan glanced at the scene and a thought struck him.

The first man was burly and wielded a long sword, its blade gleaming like a rainbow.

He was covered in blood, his left arm hung at his side, and there was a deep wound on his chest that exposed the bone; he was clearly at his last gasp.

Li Huayuan.

Behind him were three others: two female cultivators dressed in the robes of the Hidden Moon Sect, and a scarred, burly man from the Transformation Blade Dwelling.

The four stood back to back, each bearing injuries and exhausted, their bodies covered in countless wounds.

The number of Mulan warriors besieging them was roughly twenty or more.

Each of them is at the Core Formation stage.

The five at the very front exuded an aura as steady as a mountain, clearly indicating they were in the late stage of Core Formation.

They moved slowly and deliberately, like cats playing with mice, occasionally unleashing a magical spell that would leave the four of them scrambling to react.

Li Huayuan deflected the bone spikes flying towards him with a single sword stroke, panting heavily, his face as pale as paper.

He could no longer lift his left arm and could only hold the sword with one hand; his spiritual power was also almost depleted.

"Brother Li, I can't hold on any longer!" The scarred giant from Huadao Village cleaved through a streak of blood with his blade, his voice hoarse: "I'm afraid I'm going to die here today!"

One of the female cultivators from the Hidden Moon Sect remained silent, gritting her teeth and desperately urging her magical artifact to work, her eyes filled with despair.

Her protective aura was already crumbling and could shatter at any moment.

Li Huayuan remained silent, staring intently ahead.

He knew in his heart that he probably wouldn't be able to leave today.

With over twenty Core Formation cultivators, including five late-stage Core Formation cultivators, this force would be utterly ineffective against even a larger force, let alone their few remaining soldiers.

He was simply unwilling to accept it. He had cultivated for hundreds of years, finally reaching the threshold of the mid-stage Core Formation realm, only to die here…

Just then.

boom!

A bolt of purple lightning descended from the sky, striking a mage in the early stage of Core Formation on the left side of the head.

Before the man could even scream, he was engulfed by lightning. His protective aura shattered like paper, and he instantly turned into a charred corpse, lying stiffly on the ground.

The attacking mages were all taken aback, and retreated, looking warily at the sky.

Li Huayuan and the other three were also stunned and looked up.

A figure descended from the sky and landed in front of him.

He was dressed in black, wearing a bamboo hat, and his entire body was shrouded in six layers of silver light, obscuring his face.

But that aura, at the mid-stage of Core Formation, possessed a lightning-attribute spiritual power so pure it was terrifying.

The man turned around and looked at Li Huayuan through the silver light barrier, his tone carrying a hint of a smile.

"I didn't expect to run into someone I know here."

Li Huayuan's pupils contracted as he stared intently at the man's face.

The illusion technique dissipated, revealing a young face.

He recognized him.

"You...you are..." Li Huayuan's voice trembled, "Lu Yan?"

Lu Yan nodded and smiled at him: "Uncle-Master Li, it's been a long time."

Li Huayuan's mouth was open, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Lu Yan, Lei Wanhe's disciple, was the guy who disappeared before the demonic invasion. Everyone in Huangfeng Valley thought he had run away, and no one had seen him since.

But now, he's actually here?

Mid-stage of Core Formation.

Li Huayuan's mind went blank, and he was completely stunned.

He remembered clearly that the first time he met Lu Yancai, he was only at the Qi Refining stage, and later he was at the Foundation Establishment stage after entering the Crimson Forbidden Land.

All things considered, it's been no more than a decade or so.

More than ten years.

From Qi Refining to Mid-Stage Core Formation?

Li Huayuan had cultivated for hundreds of years before finally reaching the mid-stage of Core Formation!

"How...how old are you this year?" Li Huayuan's voice was weak.

Lu Yan thought for a moment and said, "Thirty-five."

The scarred, burly man from Huadaowu behind him gaped so wide his mouth could fit an egg, and after a long pause, he finally managed to utter, "Thirty...thirty-five?"

The two female cultivators from the Hidden Moon Sect exchanged a glance, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.

Thirty-five years old, mid-stage of Core Formation.

Is this guy even human?

Li Huayuan took a deep breath, then another, feeling his Dao heart tremble.

He had cultivated for hundreds of years and considered himself to be quite talented, one of the best among his peers.

Compared to this young man in front of him, he has wasted his life all these years.

"We can catch up later." Lu Yan turned around and looked at the menacing Muran mages, his tone calm: "Let's get rid of these flies first."

There are still more than twenty Core Formation mages left on the other side, including five late-stage Core Formation mages.

The bald, burly man at the head of the group stared at Lu Yan, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a fierce glint.

"You ambushed and killed one of our men, and you really think you're so tough?" The bald, burly man sneered, slamming his bone staff down heavily. "Kid, you overestimate yourself."

He glanced around and shouted sharply, "He's all alone! Attack him together, kill him first!"

More than twenty Core Formation cultivators shouted in unison, unleashing a barrage of spells and magical artifacts upon Lu Yan.

Blood, black mist, bone spurs, and poisonous banners blotted out the sky, darkening the heavens.

Li Huayuan's expression changed drastically: "Be careful!"

Before he finished speaking, Lu Yan's figure suddenly disappeared from the spot.

Lightning Release Technique.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Dozens of spells simultaneously struck the spot where he had just stood, blasting a crater several meters deep. Dust and gravel flew everywhere, and the crater remained empty.

"Where is he?" A mage looked around in surprise and uncertainty.

"above."

A faint voice came from above. The mage looked up sharply and saw a silver figure appear.

No, it's not human. It's a spirit beast.

With a flash of silver light, the black dragon descended from the sky, its several-zhang-long body crashing into the crowd. With a sweep of its tail, it sent two mages flying.

"A level five demonic beast?!" a mage exclaimed in surprise.

Before the words were finished, a flash of red light appeared, and the Illusionary Phoenix landed on the head of the Ink Dragon. With a flap of its wings, flames surged around its body, making it resemble a small sun.

Level 5, it's Level 5 again.

Two level-five demonic beasts.

The bald, burly man's expression changed, and he shouted sharply, "Stop them! Don't let them break through our formation!"

Five late-stage Core Formation cultivators attacked simultaneously, two lunging at the Ink Dragon and two at the Illusionary Phoenix Sparrow, with the bald giant providing support from the center.

The auras of the five late-stage Core Formation cultivators erupted simultaneously, barely managing to suppress the momentum of the two demonic beasts.

"There are only two monsters. We'll wear them down!" the bald, burly man shouted.

As soon as he finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of a dark figure flashing out from behind the monster.

Lu Yan.

While the five people's attention was focused on the spirit beast, he activated his lightning escape technique at full power and plunged directly into the group of more than twenty ordinary mages.

"Stop him!" the bald giant roared, but was forced back by the black dragon's tail.

Lu Yan rushed into the crowd, and a silver needle flew out from his sleeve.

The needles are as fine as hairs, entirely silver-white, and swell when the wind blows, transforming into a rain of needles that blankets the sky and shoots in all directions.

Talisman Treasure, the Void-Slaying God Needle.