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

The bearded man frowned: "Ghost Mist? I naturally know about the three great calamities of the Chaotic Star Sea: Ghost Mist, Heavenly Wind, and Demonic Beasts. But what does this have to do with the Great Jin Dynasty?"

Lu Yan smiled and said, "This ghostly mist has existed for a long time, but I'm afraid most people don't know its true identity."

The bearded man asked curiously, "Do you know?"

"The Ghost Mist is the legendary true spirit, Rahu. Rahu has its own world within its body and often wanders around the human realm. Starting from the Chaotic Star Sea, passing through the Ghost Mist, one may be taken by Rahu to other cultivation worlds."

The bearded man stared wide-eyed, speechless for a long time.

"You mean... you want me to crawl inside Rahu's belly and go to the Great Jin?"

His expression changed from shock to anger.

He felt that Lu Yan was playing him. Putting aside whether the ghost mist was the legendary true spirit or not, even if it was, what kind of existence was the true spirit?

A terrifying creature in the Mahayana stage; he, a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, wouldn't even be enough to fill a gap between someone's teeth.

"Are you kidding me?" The bearded man's voice turned cold.

Lu Yan waved his hand, his tone unhurried: "This Rahu has a spirit-severing aura within its body. Ordinary cultivators who enter it cannot use spells and are no different from mortals. But it is no problem for a body cultivator like you."

He paused, then continued, "Moreover, as a powerful being at the Mahayana realm, it's impossible for Rahu to specifically target us mere Nascent Soul cultivators."

It has its own internal world, its own ecosystem. If a few small insects occasionally crawl in, it won't even notice. Otherwise, how did I get here?

The bearded man stroked his chin, his eyes gleaming. He understood what Lu Yan meant; the other party had emerged from the ghostly mist, which was why his origins couldn't be traced.

"You mean, that's how you got here?"

Lu Yan smiled without saying a word, which was taken as tacit agreement.

"As long as you enter Rahu's body and find a place called Storm Mountain, you can escape Rahu. After you come out, you don't know where you will be. You might be in Tiannan, Dajin, Wulonghai, or Tiansha Continent, or some other weird place."

Lu Yan continued, "Moreover, there are people living inside Luo Hou's body. Those cultivators who mistakenly entered it have multiplied and formed their own villages."

Inside, there are also many legacies left behind by cultivators who mistakenly entered Rahu's body. If you're lucky, you might even find some good stuff.

The bearded man's expression was unpredictable, and he remained silent.

The other party has put it this way, with reason, evidence, and details, so it doesn't seem like something made up on the spot.

More importantly, he no longer has anything to leverage against the other party. The deal is done, and the other party has simply walked away, leaving him with no recourse.

Do we really have to go through the ghost fog?

The bearded man pondered. Even if he didn't go, he would have no other choice when his time was up. Rather than waiting to die on the island, he might as well take a gamble.

"Alright," the bearded man said in a deep voice, "I'll trust you this once."

Lu Yan smiled slightly and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "In that case, I shall take my leave."

He turned and rode away on the waves, his white robes fluttering in the sea breeze, disappearing into the vast ocean in the blink of an eye.

The bearded man stood on the reef, watching the figure gradually disappear into the distance. He clutched the jade slip containing the Vajra Technique in his hand, and then touched the spirit beast pouch at his waist, where the Blood Jade Spider was lying quietly.

"Rahu..." he murmured to himself, looking up at the distant horizon where the sea met the sky, his gaze complex.

A few days later. In a market town on a certain island.

Lu Yan walked with his hands behind his back on the bluestone street. On both sides were low shops selling pills, magical artifacts, and materials for demon beasts, but there were only a few scattered shops.

The market was small, and most of the cultivators coming and going were at the Foundation Establishment or Core Formation stage. Occasionally, one or two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators would pass by, glance at him, sense his unfathomable aura, and quickly lower their heads and take a detour.

Yinyue spoke in her mind: "What are you doing in this lousy place? There isn't even a decent stall here."

Lu Yan continued walking, his gaze sweeping over the signs along the street, and casually remarked, "According to the information I've gathered, Wan Tianming of the Wanfa Sect is currently in this area."

Yin Yue was taken aback: "Wan Tianming? That mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, the sect leader of the Myriad Laws Sect?"

"Um."

"Why are you looking for him?"

Lu Yan's lips curled slightly: "Selling things."

Silver Moon asked curiously, "What do you sell?"

"Blood Jade Spider Eggs".

There was a moment of silence in his mind. Silver Moon said softly, "Brother Lu, you're too wicked."

Lu Yan paused, "How am I broken?"

"You sold the Blood Jade Spider to Barbarian Beard so he could go to the Void Heaven Palace to retrieve the cauldron. Now you're selling spider eggs to Wan Tianming. If Wan Tianming also takes the Blood Jade Spider to the Void Heaven Palace, spends all his resources to raise it, and finally manages to bring it to adulthood, only to find that the Void Heaven Cauldron is long gone, wouldn't he be furious?"

Lu Yan continued walking forward, his tone indifferent: "That's none of my business. I'm just selling spiders, who cares about the Void Heaven Cauldron or anything like that?"

"What if they ask you about the Void Heaven Cauldron?"

"Who knows? Maybe the Ice Soul Fairy came back and took the cauldron away." Lu Yan said without changing his expression.

Within her mind, Yin Yue remained silent for a long time: "Brother Lu's ability to fabricate lies is becoming increasingly sophisticated."

Lu Yan smiled slightly but did not reply.

He walked into a teahouse at the end of the market, found a seat by the window, ordered a pot of spiritual tea, and waited patiently.

Silver Moon spoke again, her tone tinged with schadenfreude: "If Wan Tianming and Barbarian Beard knew the truth, do you think they'd come after you to your death?"

"There are still more than forty years before the Void Heaven Palace opens. This time is enough for me to cultivate the Brahma Saint Dharma Image. When I hold the Sea-Pacifying Spear, I will not be afraid of Wan Tianming, or even if Wan Sangu comes."

"……Too."

Yin Yue paused, then suddenly burst out laughing: "But speaking of which, your trick was really cunning. You fooled two Nascent Soul cultivators, one with the barbarian beard and the other with Wan Tianming. When the Void Heaven Cauldron is gone, they'll be staring at each other in the Void Heaven Palace. Just thinking about that scene is hilarious."

Just then, Lu Yan's gaze paused.

At the end of the street, three figures were walking towards the teahouse.

Lu Yan's lips curled slightly: "They're here."

The leader was dressed in a scholar's robe, with a refined and scholarly appearance. He was none other than Wan Tianming, the head of the Wanfa Sect.

He was accompanied by an elderly man in a green robe, with a kind face and a composed gait.

The other person wore a straw hat and a coarse gray cloth outfit, held a palm-leaf fan, had a thin face, but sharp eyes.

It was Tianwuzi and Mutengzi.

The three walked and talked in hushed tones. Wan Tianming would stroke his beard and chuckle from time to time, Tian Wuzi would nod slightly, and Mu Tengzi would occasionally chime in with a word or two. They seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation.

A moment later, footsteps came from the stairs. Wan Tianming was the first to step onto the second floor. He glanced around and chose an empty table by the window.

Tengoko and Mutōko followed closely behind and took their seats.

Wan Tianming ordered a teahouse waiter to bring a pot of fine tea, and personally poured a cup for each of them, saying with a smile, "My two fellow Daoists have come from afar. I, Wan, will offer you a cup of tea instead of wine."