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

Lu Yan looked down at the Thunder Stone in his hand.

The stone lay quietly in his palm, lightning reflecting off his face.

He carefully put away the Thunder Stone, then took out the Wolf Head Jade Ruyi, and heard intermittent sleep talking coming from inside.

"Silver Moon Dao Ancestor, Your Dharma Arrival Over All Heavens..."

Lu Yan was taken aback.

"For a thousand autumns and ten thousand years, commanding all immortals..."

"Brother Lu? What Brother Lu... This Dao Ancestor doesn't know him... Commanding the immortals..."

Lu Yan's lips twitched.

A commotion also came from within the Soul-Nourishing Wood. The Celestial Talisman Master wore a mysterious smile.

"I am... the number one cultivator in the True Immortal Realm..."

Lu Yan's eye twitched.

"A mere Dao Ancestor... dares to discuss the Dao with me?"

Master Tianfu's voice was impassioned, as if he were dreaming of something extraordinary: "Once I have refined the three great divine talismans... the Immortal Realm will bow down, and the Dao Ancestor will submit... Hahaha..."

Lu Yan watched as a spirit of an artifact and a remnant soul talked in their sleep, and remained silent for a long time.

"Are they all dreaming?" he muttered to himself.

Three months later.

Deep within the cave, lightning flashed.

Lu Yan sat cross-legged on a futon, with a dark blue nine-sided hammer floating in front of him.

The hammer is entirely dark blue, like a solidified deep sea or a compressed thundercloud.

Each of the nine facets is engraved with a lifelike image of a deity, each one so vivid it seems alive.

Two Kui dragons are entwined around the hammer handle, their claws gripping the hammer body, their heads facing each other, each holding a thunder pearl in its mouth.

The Kui dragon is entirely blue, with scales as fine as silk, and two golden gems embedded in its eyes, which shimmer faintly in the lightning.

Lu Yan bit his tongue, spitting his last mouthful of blood onto the hammer.

The deep blue hammer suddenly trembled, and the nine sides of the magic mirror lit up simultaneously, with lightning shooting into the sky.

Then, everything returned to calm.

Nine Heavens Hammer.

It became.

Lu Yan reached out and grasped the hammer handle; it was heavy, as if he were holding a mountain.

As spiritual energy was injected, the lightning patterns on the hammer lit up, and the nine Dharma images lit up in succession. The lightning spread from the hammer head to the handle, and from the handle to his arm, enveloping his entire body in a golden lightning light.

He stood up and waved gently.

Boom!

A golden bolt of lightning shot out from the hammer and struck the stone wall of the cave.

The protective barrier shone brightly, causing the entire cave to tremble.

A large pit, about ten feet deep, appeared on the stone wall. The pit walls were as smooth as a mirror, and lightning crackled around the edges.

Lu Yan glanced at the pit, then at the hammer in his hand, and a smile crept onto his lips.

In the days that followed, Lu Yan went to the market and bought a bunch of materials. After returning, he took Silver Moon out of the Wolf-Head Jade Ruyi and refined it into the Nine Heavens Heaven-Slaying Hammer.

From then on, Silver Moon became the spirit of this hammer. As long as the magic weapon is not destroyed, she will not die no matter how serious her injuries are.

For the next year, he went into seclusion to practice the Thunder Sacrifice Technique.

On this day, as usual, Lu Yan nurtured the Nine Heavens Hammer in his cave while simultaneously practicing the Vajra Technique and the Thunder-Refined Golden Body.

In the past, the three went their separate ways and did not interfere with each other. But today, for some reason, the golden core in the dantian suddenly trembled, and the lightning on the hammer suddenly lit up.

A thought struck him, and he unleashed his full spiritual power.

The first Dharma image on the hammer suddenly shone brightly, and a phantom flew out from the hammer, growing larger in the wind and transforming into a golden Dharma image over ten feet tall, standing in front of Lu Yan.

The Dharma image was majestic, holding a thunder hammer, and surrounded by electric lightning.

Before he could react, the Dharma Image suddenly took a step forward and merged with him.

Lu Yan shuddered, his body rising to a height of about ten feet, his clothes stretched taut.

His skin was covered in dense golden lightning patterns, his bones crackled, his muscles bulged, and his whole body was filled with explosive power.

He looked down at his hand, which had grown a whole size larger, and the lightning in his palm had solidified into a tangible form, like a layer of golden armor.

Physical fitness has doubled.

He tried throwing a punch, the air exploded, and another large crater appeared on the cave wall.

Silver Moon peeked out from the hammer, staring at his appearance for a long time before exclaiming, "Brother Lu, you... you've transformed?"

Lu Yan ignored her, feeling the surging power within his body, and a slow smile appeared on his lips.

The Vajra Technique, the Thunder-Forged Golden Body, and the Nine Heavens Heaven-Slaying Hammer. These three were originally unrelated, but unexpectedly, they have created such a synergy in his life.

He withdrew his Dharma form, his body returned to normal, and the golden lightning around his body gradually faded away.

The image on the hammer face dimmed and returned to its original appearance.

"I never expected such a change to happen. Could it be that the materials used to refine the magic weapon were too good and caused some kind of change? Or is it related to my special physique?" Lu Yan murmured, his eyes gleaming.

This is only the first image. There are nine images on the hammer in total. I wonder what it would look like if they were all lit up.

Time flies, and another twenty years have passed.

Lu Yan's cultivation has reached the peak of the mid-stage Core Formation realm.

As soon as he stepped out of his cave after his seclusion ended, a phonograph landed in front of him.

Han Li's voice came from the talisman, saying that he had gone.

Lu Yan shook his head and smiled. He counted the spirit stones in his storage bracelet and remained silent for a long time.

He had successfully crafted his natal magic weapon, but he was now completely broke.

It's worth mentioning that recently, all three of his spirit beasts have advanced to level six.

"Brother Lu, you're going bankrupt!" Silver Moon poked her head out from the hammer, gloating.

Lu Yan ignored her, tied the storage bag back around his waist, and stood up.

"Go out and get your money."

------

Tianxing City, the largest city in the human realm.

Lu Yan suppressed his cultivation to the early stage of Core Formation and formed a long queue at the entrance, overhearing the discussions of several cultivators.

"Oh dear, what's wrong with these demons? We've been attacked seven times along the way."

"Who knows? The Star Palace doesn't seem to care about this."

Lu Yan frowned and walked towards the two people in the group, one fat and one thin, who were complaining: "Gentlemen."

Upon seeing that the newcomer was a Core Formation cultivator, the two immediately bowed respectfully: "Senior, may I ask what advice you have for me?"

"I wouldn't call it a meeting with a teacher," Lu Yan smiled gently. "I've been in seclusion for many years, so I'm unaware of what's happening outside. From what you two just said, it seems this demonic beast has invaded the inner sea?"

The tall, thin cultivator respectfully said, "Senior, you may not know this, but about five years ago, a group of demons secretly infiltrated one of the twenty-four islands of the Star Palace, destroyed the formation, and caused a large number of demon beasts to enter the inner sea. It is said that even the two saints were alarmed."

Lu Yan frowned. Invading the Inner Sea? Isn't this a plot from an anime? Is this world a mix of novels and anime?

Another cultivator lowered his voice and said, "I heard that the Jiaolong Clan seems to be behind this. They've infiltrated the inner sea, apparently looking for someone. The attacks that have happened in recent years have all been a cover-up."

The tall, thin cultivator scoffed, "It's all just hearsay. What could possibly be in the Inner Sea that would make the Jiaolong Clan pay such a high price?"

Hearing their conversation, Lu Yan's heart skipped a beat. The Golden Flood Dragon King's spear seemed to still be in his storage bracelet; could it be aimed at him?

No way?