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

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Xingzhou had been waiting for a while next to the teleportation array in Tianxing City.

Three people stood beside him. One was an elderly man with white hair and a thin face, who stood with his hands behind his back, gazing calmly into the distance.

A cold-faced woman, with an ice-blue short sword hanging at her waist, leaned against a pillar with her arms crossed, closing her eyes to rest.

A burly man, carrying a large flag on his back, crossed his arms and tapped his feet lightly on the ground, as if keeping some kind of rhythm.

The burly man stretched his neck and casually asked, "Brother Jiang, is that fellow Daoist you mentioned still coming? He won't stand us up, will he?"

Just as Jiang Xingzhou was about to speak, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Something happened on the way, sorry to keep you waiting."

The four turned to look, and a man in black walked over, his steps neither hurried nor slow; it was Lu Yan.

He hadn't been idle this past month either; he had reached the fifth level of the Vajra Technique and broken through to the third level of the Great Evolution Technique. His aura was even more composed than it had been a month ago.

Jiang Xingzhou breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went to greet him: "Brother Nie, you've finally arrived. Come, let me introduce you."

He first looked at the white-haired old man: "This is Fellow Daoist Xie Changyuan, who is proficient in all kinds of restriction formations."

Xie Changyuan nodded to Lu Yan without saying anything.

Jiang Xingzhou then looked at the cold-faced woman: "This is Fellow Daoist Liu Xiyue."

Liu Xiyue gave a faint "hmm".

Finally, the burly man carrying the flag spoke up, his voice booming: "I am Tie Mohe."

Lu Yan returned the greetings one by one.

"Everyone's here, let's go." Jiang Xingzhou stepped into the teleportation array first, and the others followed in turn.

The booming sound of the teleportation array rang in their ears, and the light of the spirit stones grew brighter and brighter, engulfing the figures of the group.

As the light faded, a bustling scene came into view.

Although Qiyuan Island cannot compare to Tianxing City in terms of prosperity, it has its own unique charm.

Jiang Xingzhou led the group through the streets and headed straight for the dock.

Along the way, people recognized him and greeted him with clasped hands, which he returned one by one.

Dozens of ships of various sizes were moored at the dock, the most conspicuous being the three-story ship to the east, which was entirely black and covered with restrictions.

"This is my family's boat," Jiang Xingzhou said, inviting the group to board.

"The normal sailing time from Qiyuan Island to Bitao Island is three days."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yan asked, "Fellow Daoist Jiang, aren't we going directly to the ruins?"

Jiang Xingzhou smiled and explained, "Bitao Island is my family's residence. Two other fellow Daoists from the clan have arrived first. We will meet there and then go to the ruins."

Those two fellow Daoists are old acquaintances of my father; one is proficient in restrictive formations, and the other excels in healing and deciphering. With them on board, our chances of success on this trip are much greater.

Lu Yan nodded without asking any further questions.

The cabin was quite spacious, and Jiang Xingzhou arranged a private room for everyone and had spiritual tea and fruits served to them.

One day later.

Lu Yan sat cross-legged on the bed, not cultivating, but simply closing his eyes to rest.

Yinyue peeked out from his arms, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then whispered, "Brother Lu, I have a question for you."

"explain."

"You weren't like this before," Silver Moon said with a hint of doubt in her voice.

"You've always avoided or pushed away these kinds of treasure hunts whenever possible."

Lu Yan opened his eyes, glanced at her, smiled slightly, and did not answer.

Yin Yue waited for a while, but when he still didn't speak, she got impatient: "Say something!"

"There's not much to say." Lu Yan leaned against the cabin wall and spoke slowly, "Cultivating immortality is inherently defying the heavens. If you only seek stability, when will you ever rise to prominence?"

Yin Yue was taken aback, feeling that it was strange coming from Lu Yan.

Little did she know that Lu Yan had learned divination in Liu Qi's dream and knew that there was no great danger in this trip, which was why he got involved.

However, neither Yin Yue nor Tian Fu Zhenren knew about these things, as they were both dreaming at the time.

Silver Moon wanted to ask more questions, but suddenly the ship shook violently.

boom!

The entire ship rocked violently, and teacups rolled off the table and shattered.

Lu Yan grabbed the edge of the bed to steady himself, and Yin Yue shrunk back into his arms in a flash.

A roar came from outside: "What's going on?!"

Lu Yan pushed open the door and went up to the deck in a few steps.

A thick fog had risen over the sea, enveloping the entire ship from all directions, making it impossible to see anything more than ten paces away. The lantern at the bow shone dimly in the fog, its light not reaching very far.

Jiang Xingzhou was already standing on the deck, his brows furrowed.

Xie Changyuan stood beside him, his white hair fluttering in the sea breeze, his face solemn.

Liu Xiyue drew her short sword and stood at the stern, warily scanning her surroundings. The Iron Maha banner was in hand, blocking Jiang Xingzhou's path.

"What is it?" Temoka asked in a deep voice.

No one answered.

The ship shook again, more violently than before, and the wooden planks on the deck creaked as if something was hitting the bottom of the ship.

Lu Yan walked to the ship's railing and looked down. The fog was too thick, and he couldn't see anything on the sea. He used his divine sense to probe downwards, but as soon as his divine sense touched the water's surface, it was repelled by a cold, eerie force.

"There's something underwater," he said.

Xie Changyuan nodded and said in a deep voice, "There's more than one."

Before he could finish speaking, the ship shook violently for the third time. This time, the force of the tremor was astonishing; the entire ship was almost lifted out of the water. Tie Mohe staggered and nearly fell, only managing to regain his balance by slamming the flag onto the deck.

"Water is taking in from the bottom of the boat!" Liu Xiyue's voice came from the stern, still cold but with a hint of tension.

Lu Yan turned and walked towards the stern of the ship, but stopped abruptly after taking only two steps.

Deep within the thick fog, something was moving. It wasn't a ship, nor a person, but the fog itself. The white mist seemed alive, slowly swirling, growing faster and faster until it gradually formed a massive vortex, dragging their ship towards its center.

"It's a formation." Xie Changyuan's voice was a little dry. "We've stumbled into someone else's formation."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a burst of laughter echoed from the depths of the thick fog.

The laughter came from all directions, making it impossible to discern the source.

Jiang Xingzhou's face turned pale, and the Iron Maha Banner was held horizontally in front of him.

The fog churned, and seven or eight ships appeared indistinctly, surrounding them.

On the first ship, a round, fat man stood, twirling two iron balls in his hands, and looking over with a smile.

Jiang Xingzhou gritted his teeth and called out that name: "Yun Tianxiao!"

The fat man chuckled and cupped his hands in greeting: "Young Master Jiang, how have you been?"

Several other people stood beside him. One of them was a woman in black robes, pale-faced with purplish-black lips, surrounded by a sweet, metallic scent. Her cultivation level was clearly at the late stage of Core Formation.

An old man in a green robe, with a gaunt face and a token hanging from his waist, was also at the late stage of Core Formation.

There were also two burly men in black, their auras calm and composed, neither of them uttering a word; both were in the mid-stage of Core Formation.

On the ship behind the five people, there were dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators standing.

Upon seeing the old man in the green robe's token, Jiang Xingzhou exclaimed, "Qingyang Sect?"

Lu Yan's expression shifted. How could the Qingyang Sect be here? Had his killing of the Qingyang Sect's young master been discovered?