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

Three days later, more than a dozen people had gathered on the Huangfeng Valley platform.

They were all disciples at the tenth level of Qi Refining, standing in groups of three or five. Some were talking in hushed tones, while others were looking around, their faces showing either nervousness or excitement.

Lu Yan glanced around, and an ordinary-looking disciple immediately caught his attention.

That's right, it's Old Devil Han.

Seemingly sensing his gaze, Han Li turned to look at him, while Lu Yan nonchalantly turned his gaze to someone else.

Han Li didn't think much of it, assuming the other party was just looking around casually.

"Junior Brother Lu!"

A voice came from the crowd. Lu Yan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties waving at him, with a cold and aloof woman standing next to him.

Chen Qiaotian, Chen Qiaoqian.

Lu Yan's heart stirred; these two were well-known figures in Huangfeng Valley.

Chen Qiaotian, in particular, is in a class of his own among the disciples undergoing this trial.

With his golden book and silver pen, he was able to defeat two Han Tianyas while carrying Chen Qiaoqian, who was a burden to him, which shows his strength.

He stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said with a smile, "Senior Brother Chen, Junior Sister Chen."

Chen Qiaotian patted him on the shoulder warmly: "Junior Brother Lu really came. When I heard that you also signed up, I thought it was someone with the same name. I didn't expect it to really be you."

He sized Lu Yan up and down, clicking his tongue in amazement: "With a lightning spiritual root and a molten metal physique, why would someone with your talent come to such a godforsaken place?"

Lu Yan smiled and said, "Isn't Senior Brother here too?"

"I had no choice," Chen Qiaotian sighed. "The family needs a certain medicine, which can only be found in the Crimson Forbidden Land, and..."

He glanced at Chen Qiaoqian behind him: "Because of some things, Qiaoqian also needs a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Lu Yan suddenly realized, "I see. With Senior Brother Chen's strength, this trip should be a piece of cake. Congratulations in advance."

"Not at all, with your strength, Junior Brother, you might need to take care of me once we're inside."

While speaking, Chen Qiaotian kept her eyes fixed on Lu Yan's expression.

A few days ago, his cousin Chen Qiaoqian was almost harmed by that scoundrel Lu Yunfeng. Although she was stopped by a mysterious person passing by, that person still managed to steal Chen Qiaoqian's Foundation Establishment Pill.

He used his connections with the Chen family to find out that among the disciples who went missing that day and were capable of killing Lu Yunfeng, only Lu Yan met the criteria, so he made a test.

Lu Yan was of course unaware of this; while Han Li and Lu Yunfeng were battling it out, he was busy purchasing goods from various interfaces.

While the two chatted, Chen Qiaoqian stood to the side without saying a word.

Her gaze inadvertently swept over Lu Yan, then quickly shifted away.

Handsome face, composed demeanor, unique spiritual root...

She subconsciously gripped her sleeve. That man surnamed Lu also possessed a unique spiritual root and a handsome appearance. He had once been just as gentle and refined, with such elegant manners...

Chen Qiaoqian lowered her eyes, took a deep breath, and forced herself to stop thinking about it.

But he couldn't help but glance at the other person again.

Lu Yan had already noticed her gaze, but pretended not to see it.

Of course he knew about Chen Qiaoqian's affair, but what did it have to do with him? He had absolutely no interest in that woman.

As someone who aspires to become the Dao Ancestor, I would not waste my time on women in the mortal realm.

To find a Daoist partner, one must at least be someone who can keep up with his pace, such as Gan Jiuzhen, Chen Ruyan, Miaofa, or Chimeng...

As for ascension, it's difficult for others, but relatively easy for Lu Yan. He just needs to find a way to get a reverse star chart when he travels to the spirit world in the future.

At this moment, the sect leader, Zhong Lingdao, came out and began feeding chicken soup to all the disciples.

After the encouragement was given, two disciples stepped forward, each carrying a tray.

One tray held several mid-grade spirit stones, and the other held a storage bag; these were the rewards for the disciples participating in this trial.

Each person can draw a superior magical artifact from the bag.

Everyone's expression turned serious. These low-level disciples without any background rarely had the opportunity to come into contact with high-grade magic artifacts. They would be lucky if they could save up enough money to buy a mid-grade magic artifact after working hard for half their lives.

Although Lu Yan looked down on these things, he still stepped forward with an expression that showed three parts expectation, three parts tension, three parts joy and one part relief.

He looked worried and rummaged through his bag, unable to make up his mind, before finally pulling out a chain.

At this moment, the people behind them couldn't wait to crowd around.

Upon seeing this, Lu Yan vacated the spot and returned to his original position.

Chen Qiaotian congratulated him, saying, "Congratulations, Junior Brother. This Xuan Iron Lock combines the functions of trapping people and defense. It seems that Junior Brother's chances of success in the forbidden area have increased."

Lu Yan returned a polite smile. "Mysterious Iron Lock? What a mediocre name. Why not change it to Nine Netherworld Lock or Nine Heavens Azure Lock?"

Just then, a whooshing sound came from the horizon.

A streak of light approached from afar and arrived on the platform in an instant.

The light faded, revealing a middle-aged man with a square face.

Li Huayuan, a Core Formation stage elder of Huangfeng Valley, was the leader of this team.

He patted the spirit beast pouch, and a beam of spiritual light shot onto the platform, transforming into a colossal creature.

It was a silver-armored horned python, over ten zhang long, covered with shimmering silver scales, and with a single horn on its head that glowed eerily.

Li Huayuan said calmly, "Come on up, all of you, and stand properly. My Silver Armored Horned Python is much faster than your flying artifacts. It will only take two days to get there."

Lu Yan curiously examined the spirit beast, concluding that it was inferior to the black dragon in the Crimson Forbidden Land. He believed that if the black dragon were properly trained, it would definitely be more powerful than this one.

The Ink Dragon was also his target this time, and he had prepared a God-Suppressing Token to subdue it when he went to get the treasure chest.

And so, the silver-armored horned python flew through the clouds and mist for two days and two nights before finally arriving at its destination.

Over the next period of time, people from all the factions except for the Hidden Moon Sect gradually arrived.

Han Lizheng and the burly man from Spirit Beast Mountain were glaring at each other, while Li Huayuan and Fuyunzi from Qingxu Sect were arguing.

Lu Yan was sizing up the disciples from the surrounding sects when Chen Qiaotian approached.

"Junior Brother Lu, since we're just killing time anyway, why don't we talk about which troublesome figures each sect has this time?"

Lu Yan nodded: "That's exactly what I was thinking."

Just as he was about to speak, another person approached from the side—it was Old Devil Han.

Han Li cupped his hands in greeting: "Senior Brother Chen, Senior Brother Lu, I apologize for disturbing you. I just overheard you two talking about discussing the situation of each sect. I wonder if I could also listen in? That way, I'll have a better understanding of the situation once I go in."

Lu Yan glanced at him; this old devil Han was quite good at seizing opportunities.

"Of course, we're all from the same sect, so naturally we should look out for each other."

He pointed to a barefoot, burly man near the Giant Sword Sect: "See that burly man picking his feet?"

Han Li nodded intently.

Lu Yan continued, "This person is skilled with a giant sword, and he has also added the legendary silver essence to the sword, making it indestructible and extremely sharp."

Han Li was shocked. He knew about silver essence, of course. It was a material even more precious than iron essence. He never expected it to appear in the hands of a Qi Refining stage disciple.

This trial was truly full of hidden talents. He was glad that he had come to ask questions so that he could prepare himself in advance.