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

He looked at Yuan Yao and Yan Li and said calmly, "Following me is very dangerous. I've offended countless people; aren't you afraid?"

Yuan Yao and Yan Li exchanged a glance and shook their heads simultaneously.

"My life was saved by you, senior." Yuan Yao said calmly, "Let alone enemies, we are not afraid of mountains of knives or seas of fire."

Yanli nodded in agreement, her lively expression unusually subdued, and said earnestly, "Rogue cultivators are often bullied and have lowly lives. It's our good fortune that you're willing to take us in. No matter how many enemies we face, we'll fight to the death."

Lu Yan smiled slightly and nodded: "Then I, Lu, will accept your offer."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the two faces: "Follow me, I can't guarantee anything else, but reaching the Core Formation stage is a minimum. As for the Nascent Soul stage, as long as you're willing to put in the effort, you might have a chance in the future."

Nascent Soul.

These two words struck Yuan Yao and Yan Li like a thunderclap.

These two Foundation Establishment stage cultivators didn't even dare to dream of forming their core, let alone reaching the Nascent Soul stage.

But for some reason, these words sounded incredibly believable coming from Lu Yan.

Yuan Yao's heart suddenly raced, and a charming smile curved her lips: "Senior, you can't go back on your word."

Yanli was so excited she almost jumped up, her face beaming with a radiant smile: "Nascent Soul! Senior, you said it! We've got it all figured out!"

The two looked at each other and saw an irrepressible excitement and anticipation in each other's eyes.

Lu Yan turned around: "Let's go, let's settle down on Sea Ape Island first, I still have some things to take care of."

Three streaks of light rose from the sea and swept southward.

Yuan Yao and Yan Li followed behind Lu Yan, one on each side. The sea breeze fluttered their clothes, and both of them had a look of relief at surviving a disaster and an indescribable expectation on their faces.

Yuan Yao glanced at Lu Yan's profile, and her heart raced even faster.

She lowered her head, but couldn't help but smile.

Sea Monkey Island.

Lu Yan carved out a cave in the center of the island, set up several layers of restrictions, and released several demonic beasts from his spirit beast bag.

The Ink Dragon, the Illusion Phoenix, and the Mysterious Tortoise each found a corner to lie down.

Lu Yan ignored them and went to the insect chamber first.

Although it's called an insect chamber, it's actually a small stone chamber carved out at the very back of the cave, surrounded by restrictions on all sides.

He patted the spirit beast bracelet, and a bunch of golden beetles flew out, crawling around on the ground, looking rather listless.

Gold-eating bug.

After raising it for so many years, it's still this small.

Lu Yan squatted down, looking at the little insects, and felt speechless.

Without the Heavenly Bottle to accelerate the growth of the Rainbow Grass, these insects simply wouldn't grow big, and their reproduction would be incredibly slow. Over the years, they've remained the same few as before, without even doubling in number.

Silver Moon couldn't help but ask, "How long will it take to raise this?"

"When we get to the Mulan Grasslands, we'll just snatch the mature Gold-Devouring Insects from the Tuwu people," Lu Yan said. "We'll destroy their souls, and give the remaining bodies to my insects to eat. Let's see if they can't advance then!"

Yin Yue spoke up: "Brother Lu, you've certainly got a good plan. Does this guy have a grudge against you?"

"No." Lu Yan stood up: "But their gold-devouring insects are destined to be mine."

Silver Moon: "..."

Lu Yan then took out seven or eight demon cores from Wu Chou's storage bag, all of them level five or six. He casually tossed them all to the Ink Dragon, the Illusion Phoenix Sparrow, and the Profound Origin Turtle.

Upon exiting the insect chamber, Yuan Yao and Yan Li were already waiting outside the cave.

Lu Yan called them over and handed each of them a storage bag.

"There are enough pills for Foundation Establishment stage cultivators inside for you to use for a while. There are also some magical artifacts, all of which are loot I robbed on the road. Be careful when using them so that no one sees them."

The two women: "..."

Finally, he took out two Dust-Reducing Pills, one for each person.

Yuan Yao and Yan Li received the Dust-Clearing Pill, their eyes lighting up.

They went out to sea for this very thing, almost risking their lives, and now look what happened, they got it without doing anything.

"Thank you, young master." Yuan Yao smiled charmingly and put the pill into her storage bag.

Yanli also sweetly called out "Young Master".

Lu Yan watched them finish packing and nodded: "I'm going into seclusion for a few years, or even more than ten years. You can cultivate on the island yourselves, but don't go too far."

After saying that, he turned and entered the deepest secret chamber of the cave. The stone door closed, and all the restrictions were lifted.

Yuan Yao and Yan Li exchanged a glance, and without pausing, they opened up two cave dwellings on the island and settled in.

Days passed by like this.

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the past ten years, both of them have improved their cultivation levels considerably, reaching the late Foundation Establishment stage. They've lived a relatively peaceful life, but the only thing they can't understand is...

"Senior Sister," Yuan Yao suddenly asked one day, "why are there no spirit stones in the storage bags that Young Master gave us?"

Yanli paused for a moment, thought about it, and realized that there really wasn't one.

"...Did you forget to put it in?"

The two exchanged a glance, both thinking it unlikely.

Yuan Yao wondered, "Could it be that he doesn't have any spirit stones himself?"

Yanli smiled, finding it unlikely: "How could a late-stage Core Formation cultivator not have spirit stones? He must have forgotten."

-----

Ten years later.

Sea Monkey Island.

Inside the secret chamber of the cave, Lu Yan sat cross-legged, his spiritual light contained within him, his aura deep and profound.

After twenty years of arduous cultivation, he has touched the threshold of Nascent Soul formation, the realm of False Nascent Soul.

Only one final step remains before the nascent soul can be formed.

However, over the years, he has used up almost all of his pills.

In the years that followed, he had to rely on dual cultivation with Yuan Yao and Yan Li to maintain the slow growth of his cultivation. Although the effect was far less than that of elixirs, it was better than nothing.

"No one can be this poor," Silver Moon murmured in her mind.

Lu Yan ignored her.

Yuan Yao and Yan Li haven't been idle these past few years either. With Lu Yan's guidance and resource support, the two of them have both broken through to the Core Formation stage.

Yuan Yao is in the mid-stage of Core Formation, while Yan Li is in the early stage of Core Formation.

The three spirit beasts also lived up to expectations; the Ink Dragon, the Illusion Phoenix Sparrow, and the Mysterious Origin Turtle all cultivated to the peak of level six and could break through to level seven at any time.

That day, Lu Yan summoned the two into his cave.

As soon as Yanli entered, she casually grabbed his arm and clung to him, asking with a grin, "What's wrong, young master? Want to cultivate together again?"

Yuan Yao moved closer from the other side, her slender fingers tracing circles on his chest. She looked up at him, a charming smile playing on her lips: "Young Master, you've been exceptionally diligent in dual cultivation these past few years. Are you plotting something mischievous again?"

Lu Yan let them linger, and smiled, "I'm going into seclusion."

The two women paused simultaneously.

"Seclusion?" Yanli released his arm and blinked.

"Yes." Lu Yan nodded: "It's time to form your Nascent Soul."

Yuan Yao and Yan Li exchanged a glance, their eyes simultaneously brimming with barely suppressed joy.

Their men are about to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

Over the years, they had watched Lu Yan progress step by step from the late stage of Core Formation to the nascent Nascent Soul stage, knowing that this day would come sooner or later, but when they actually heard it, they couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

Yanli was so excited she almost jumped up: "Young Master, you're finally about to form your Nascent Soul!"

Yuan Yao smiled, her eyes crinkling, her beauty captivating. But she quickly composed herself and said earnestly, "Young Master, please rest assured and go into seclusion. Leave everything on the island to us."

Lu Yan nodded and continued, "From now on, you will be in charge of the restrictions and formations on the island. During my seclusion, no one is allowed to approach Sea Ape Island."

"I will also leave the three spirit beasts behind to help you protect the island. A level six peak demon beast is no match for an ordinary Core Formation cultivator. If you really encounter a powerful enemy, take them and hide in the cave. The restrictions can hold for a while."

Yuan Yao and Yan Li nodded repeatedly, their expressions solemn.

Lu Yan paused, then changed the subject: "You two are now Core Formation cultivators, so it won't do if you don't have decent magic weapons."

He took out two items from his storage bracelet: a crimson ancient mirror and a blue feather fan.

"These two ancient treasures should be enough to deal with ordinary Core Formation cultivators."

The two women accepted the ancient treasure, their eyes brimming with undisguised joy; they had heard of the legendary ancient treasures of the primordial era.

"You're so kind, young master," Yuan Yao said softly.

Yanli fiddled with the mirror for a while, then suddenly looked up, blinking at Lu Yan: "Young Master, how long will you be in seclusion?"

"It will take at least three to five years, and at most ten years," Lu Yan said.

Yanli gave an "oh," put the mirror into her storage bag, then casually leaned over, hugged his arm, and said with a grin, "Before you go into seclusion, young master, would you like to... relax a bit?"

Yuan Yao also pressed herself against him from the other side, tracing circles on his chest with her fingers, looking up at him with a hint of coquettishness in her eyes: "Yes, we've run out of elixirs these past few years, relying entirely on dual cultivation to keep going. Now that we're in seclusion, we won't be able to see you for several years, young master."

Lu Yan glanced at Yanli on his left, then at Yuan Yao on his right, remained silent for a moment, and then a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"...Alright then."

Outside the cave, a gentle sea breeze caressed the shore, and waves lapped against the rock.