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

Six months later, in the Demon Beast Abyss.

The Sky-Splitter Cloud Shuttle hovered above the boundless sea, and Jiang Xingzhou pointed ahead with a solemn expression.

"arrive."

Lu Yan stood up and looked into the distance.

The sea here takes on an eerie, deep black hue, like a wound gnawed by a giant beast. The water is still, lifeless, like a mirror, reflecting the hazy gray sky.

Scattered white mists floated on the sea surface; they were not ordinary water vapor, but rather a dense condensation of yin energy that sent chills down the spine.

At the edge of the abyss, the seawater suddenly breaks off, as if cleaved by a knife, revealing a bottomless dark rift below.

The crevice is dozens of miles wide, with steep rock walls on both sides. The rock walls are covered with dark green seaweed and unidentified soft-bodied creatures, emitting a faint fluorescent glow.

A chilling wind surged from the depths of the crack, carrying with it a strong, salty stench and the faint roars of demonic beasts.

Lu Yan stood at the edge of the crevice, looking down.

dark.

Pure, all-consuming darkness.

Even with his current spiritual sense, he was unable to reach the bottom.

The darkness seemed to have a life of its own, weakening his consciousness layer by layer, making it increasingly blurred the deeper he went.

Jiang Xingzhou said in a low voice, "That place is on the side wall of the abyss, about three thousand feet deep. The clam spirit is guarding the entrance to the cave."

Lu Yan nodded, his gaze calm.

In the past six months, his transformation has been nothing short of dramatic.

The introduction to "Mirror of Myself: The Mysterious Divine Technique" went surprisingly smoothly.

This secret technique requires cultivators to temper their minds and character in the mortal world in order to use their hearts as a mirror to see all things.

Lu Yan transmigrated through two lifetimes, experiencing the turmoil of the mortal world in his previous life and cultivating immortality in this one. Coupled with the trials of the mortal world in the dream of Nanke, his complex nature far surpasses that of ordinary people, which ironically makes him fit the essence of this secret technique.

He used Yin Sha Tea to aid his cultivation every day, and his divine sense, as fine as silk threads, condensed into a clear mirror in his sea of ​​consciousness.

On the day the mirror was completed, his spiritual consciousness surged by several times.

As a result, he also benefited from the Great Evolution Technique, and naturally broke through to the fourth level. His spiritual sense was now no less powerful than that of an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

The refining of the Jiao Yuan Pearl was a natural process, and his cultivation level rose from the mid-stage of Core Formation to the late-stage of Core Formation, his magical power more than doubling.

As for the Heavenly Yang Gilded Needle, the rare and precious materials in Wen Tianren's storage bag came in handy.

Lu Yan spent half a month infusing the Thunder Force of the Bone-Cleansing Golden Thunder into the needle, re-tempering it and not only repairing the cracks but also improving its quality.

The needle's surface is faintly shimmering with golden thunder patterns, making it far more powerful than before.

Lu Yan snapped out of his thoughts and adjusted his equipment.

The Four Symbols Coiled Dragon Belt was tied around his waist, the Frost Pearl hung in his sleeve, the Heavenly Sun Gilded Needle was hidden in his dantian for nurturing, and he had all the necessary items: the Azure Fan, the Purple Thunder Hammer, the Soul-Sweeping Mirror, the Fire-Separating Mirror, and the Spirit-Capturing Gourd.

Jiang Xingzhou suddenly sighed.

"Brother Nie, there's something I've been thinking about all the way here, I should tell you now."

Lu Yan looked at him: "Fellow Daoist Jiang, please speak freely."

Jiang Xingzhou looked ashamed: "That ruin... I'm afraid we can't get in. The people we teamed up with before are either dead or scattered. Without a formation master to break the restrictions, it's just wishful thinking to get in."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I've thought about it. I'll go back and cultivate first, and then we can talk again after I've formed my Nascent Soul. If Brother Nie is interested, I'll give you the location of the ruins and all the information. You can try your luck there."

Lu Yan nodded: "In that case, I shall accept your offer without hesitation."

Jiang Xingzhou took out a jade slip from his storage bag, entered all the information about the ruins into it, including its location, the distribution of restrictions, and the notes left by his father, and then handed it to Lu Yan.

"They're all inside."

Lu Yan took it, scanned it with his divine sense to confirm it was correct, and then put it into his pocket.

Jiang Xingzhou cupped his hands and said, "Brother Nie's great kindness is deeply appreciated. I would never dare to reveal a word about today's events, Wen Tianren's death, or the Jiao Yuan Pearl to any outsider. I swear by my inner demons that if I break this vow, may I be struck down by heaven and earth, and may my cultivation never advance an inch."

Lu Yan nodded: "Go ahead."

Jiang Xingzhou bowed again, turned around, and rode his magical artifact, slowly rising until it disappeared into the sky.

Lu Yan floated alone above the abyss, surrounded by darkness.

He looked around and found a nearby reef, from which he leaped down.

It's time to use these fragments to add a few more trump cards to your deck.

-------

The spirit realm, the abyss.

The blood dragon was coiled in the cave, with a pot of Yinsha tea on the stone table in front of it.

He took a swig, smacked his lips, and then remembered what happened that day.

That damned human cultivator vanished from right under his nose using some kind of evil method.

He racked his brains for years but still couldn't figure out how the other party had escaped.

Later, although Mu Qing rewarded him with a pot of Yin Sha tea, he still couldn't get over the anger in his heart.

A dignified Void Refining Blood Flood Dragon was tricked by a Foundation Establishment stage human. How can he face people after this gets out?

He grew angrier the more he thought about it, took another swig, and slammed the teapot heavily onto the stone table.

"Give it to me!"

Blood Dragon's eyes widened suddenly, and he abruptly turned his head.

The stone table was empty; the teapot was gone.

A chilling wind blew through the cave, and there wasn't a single ghost in sight.

------

A hidden cave in the Ghost Spirit Sect

Deep within the cave, on a warm jade bed, two figures sat facing each other.

Wang Chan's eyes were tightly closed, the veins on her forehead throbbed slightly, and her internal energy flowed as she attempted to break through the final barrier to the Core Formation realm.

Yan Ruyan sat opposite him, pressing her palms against his, and channeling her own magical power into his body to assist him.

Wang Chan should have broken through to the Core Formation stage many years ago.

Back when he was breaking through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, some damned person knocked him down from behind with a brick, robbing him of everything, leaving him with not a single hair.

That injury was quite serious, and it took a long time to recover.

He was later arrested again at Yanjiabao. Although the seven factions did not dare to do anything to him because of his status as the young master of the Ghost Spirit Sect, the Ghost Spirit Sect paid a considerable price for it.

As time went by, the matter of forming the core was delayed until now.

What bothers him even more is that he still doesn't know who the person who threw the bricks at him that day was.

The elders Wang Tiansheng and Wang Tiangu personally examined him and found only that he had been fed the Forget-Dust Pill; they found nothing else.

The person appeared out of thin air and disappeared just as suddenly, leaving not a trace behind.

So many years have passed, but Wang Chan still cannot understand.

The frustration of not even knowing who your enemy is is even worse than being beaten up.

but……

Wang Chan spared a moment of her attention, gritting her teeth as she silently repeated that name in her heart: Lu Yan.

He later verified through various channels that the person who had tipped off the Seven Factions and caused him to be besieged in Yanjiabao was this man named Lu Yan.

This person is said to have exceptional talent, possessing a unique lightning-attribute spiritual root. He disappeared after establishing his foundation in Yellow Maple Valley, vanishing before the war even began.

"Don't let this young master find you..."

Wang Chan thought viciously to herself, her magical power carrying a hint of malevolence.

And that brick-breaker, don't let me find him either.

Neither of them can escape.

Yan Ruyan sat opposite Wang Chan, watching the unpredictable expression on her face, and felt secretly worried.

This mental state... I hope I don't go astray during my breakthrough.

Just then.

A figure appeared in the cave without warning.

Wang Chan and Yan Ruyan opened their eyes at the same time, and were shocked.

"who!?"

Before he finished speaking, Lu Yan had already swung the Nine Mountains Soul-Suppressing Brick in his hand.

Snapped!Snapped!

One person, one brick; clean and efficient.

Wang Chan rolled her eyes and collapsed onto the warm jade bed.

Yan Ruyan didn't even have time to utter a sound before she also fainted.

Lu Yan shook the dust off his hands and began rummaging through drawers and cabinets.

Storage bags, hidden compartments, mechanisms under the bed... After a thorough search, the total amount of spirit stones was just over 5, plus a few bottles of ordinary pills and a few magic artifacts of average quality.

Lu Yan's face grew increasingly dark as he looked at the small amount of food in his hand.

Is this all the combined wealth of the young master and his wife of the Ghost Spirit Sect?

He glanced at the unconscious Wang Chan, then at the meager spoils in his hand, and grew angrier the more he thought about it.

Why would someone so poor cultivate immortality?

Lu Yan tore a piece of cloth from Wang Chan's clothes, dipped it in ink, and wrote two characters in a crooked manner.

Poor bastard.

Then he stuffed the Forget-Dust Pill into Wang Chan's mouth, covered his face with a piece of cloth, and left a few footprints on his body.

He turned and disappeared into the void.