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

As soon as Miao He finished speaking, Qin Chongxiao immediately chimed in, his tone unhurried: "Speaking of which, according to the information we received from our Star Palace, the Suanni Clan seems to be searching for someone everywhere with a portrait of them."

As he said this, his gaze drifted towards Lu Yan, intentionally or unintentionally.

Lu Yan's heart skipped a beat. A portrait? It seemed these people already knew the demon race's target was him.

Those polite words just now, like "the Jiao Clan is looking for something" and "what is the Suanni Clan doing?", were just a way of testing me.

They're both seasoned foxes, so neither of them will speak bluntly; they'll just observe how he says it.

Since things had come to this point, Lu Yan stopped pretending.

"Since they've come to me," he put down his teacup, his tone calm, "then leave the matter of the Suanni tribe to me, Lu."

The entire hall fell silent instantly.

Elder Jinxia paused, her teacup still in her hand. The other Nascent Soul cultivators exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes filled with shock.

Qin Chongxiao and Wei Jinghong of the Star Palace exchanged a glance, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.

They thought Lu Yan would shirk responsibility, play dumb, and try to shift the blame to someone else.

After all, who would want to provoke the Suanni Clan? They are the strongest demon clan in the outer sea, with two level-ten great demons guarding them. Even the Star Palace is unwilling to provoke them easily.

If it were anyone here, they would have already found a place to hide. Why would they willingly walk into the line of fire?

But Lu Yan just happened to crash into it.

Elder Jinxia opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.

He'd lived for hundreds of years and seen all sorts of daring people, but never anyone this audacious. That was the Suanni clan, not some stray cat or dog!

Master Miaohe swallowed hard, secretly relieved: Luckily, this Fellow Daoist Lu was willing to step forward, otherwise this hot potato would most likely have fallen on their shoulders.

He quickly cupped his hands in greeting, his tone incredibly sincere: "Fellow Daoist Lu, your righteousness is truly admirable! This humble Daoist is deeply impressed!"

The other Nascent Soul cultivators echoed this sentiment.

They were full of flattering words like "Fellow Daoist Lu is truly selfless" and "Fellow Daoist Lu is a model for humanity."

What I was really thinking was: This Fellow Daoist Lu must have cultivated too fast and messed up his brain, right? But it's fine, he's willing to go and die, which suits me just fine, it's better than us going.

Silver Moon transmitted her voice, "When did you become so selfless? This isn't like you."

Lu Yan replied, "I want to extract the demon soul of the Suanni King and make it into a puppet for the Empress. There are a total of three level-ten demons in the outer sea: two from the Suanni clan and one from the Jiao clan, which is enough to make three puppets for the Empress."

The voice of the Great Evolution Divine Lord echoed within the Soul-Nourishing Wood, tinged with excitement: "Brilliant! I told you long ago, with my abilities and all these good things you have, dealing with a level ten demon is no problem at all. So what about the Suanni King? We'll take him down just the same!"

Elder Jinxia suppressed her shock, coughed, and tentatively asked, "Fellow Daoist Lu, are you really going to deal with the Suanni Clan alone? Those are two level ten demons..."

Lu Yan waved his hand: "I know what I'm doing."

Elder Jinxia breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Since Fellow Daoist Lu is so determined, I, on behalf of the Red Light Sect, will fully support you! Please feel free to ask for anything you need!"

Master Miaohe rolled his eyes and added, "The Biyun Sect is also willing to do its part."

The other Nascent Soul cultivators also expressed their opinions, each one passionate and fervent, as if they had just been rejoicing that they weren't the ones who didn't have to exert themselves.

Since Lu Yan is going to his death anyway, a few polite words won't hurt him.

Qin Chongxiao of the Star Palace stroked his beard, his face radiating righteousness: "Fellow Daoist Lu's actions are truly exemplary for the human race. Although the Star Palace is far away in the Inner Sea, we are willing to provide some support. Fellow Daoist Lu, please just ask, and the Star Palace will do its utmost."

He said nice things, but in his heart he was plotting:

The two saints' cultivation went awry and they can't leave Tianxing City. I came to the outer sea this time just to take it easy and avoid making a move if I can.

It would be wonderful if Lu Yan were willing to take on the Suanni clan.

Otherwise, if I mishandle things and accidentally mess up the open sea, I'll definitely face the consequences when I get back.

Unfortunately, this Fellow Daoist Lu is incredibly powerful, even daring to confront the Golden Flood Dragon King head-on. Since I can't confront him directly, I can only try to appease him first.

Wei Jinghong stood expressionless, but his thoughts were similar to his senior brother's: Stay calm, stay calm. If this Fellow Daoist Lu were to turn hostile, even all the people present combined might not be able to defeat him.

Lu Yan took in everyone's expressions, a slight smile playing on his lips: "In that case, I, Lu, will accept your offer without hesitation. I do indeed have quite a few things I need."

The next second, he unceremoniously pulled out a list.

Everyone took the list, looked down at it, and their expressions were all quite interesting.

The list was densely packed with dozens of items, each a rare material, whose combined value would bankrupt a medium-sized sect.

Lu Yan glanced at everyone's faces and said in a low voice, "What? Were you all just making fun of me? Fine, you broke your promises, and so will I. You figure out the Suanni clan's matter yourselves. I'm heading back to the Inner Sea now."

As he spoke, he stood up, making a move to leave.

"No, no, no!" Elder Jinxia was the first to react, quickly standing up to stop him. "Fellow Daoist Lu, please calm down! Please calm down! This is not a joke, absolutely not a joke! It's just that these materials... are indeed precious. Please allow us a few days, just a few days!"

Master Miaohe quickly echoed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead: "Yes, yes, yes, please give us a few days. These things take time to gather; they can't be produced in a short time. Fellow Daoist Lu, rest assured, I guarantee with the reputation of the Biyun Sect that you will not leave empty-handed!"

The other Nascent Soul cultivators also spoke up one after another, their tone sincere, as if afraid that Lu Yan would back out.

Although the items on the list are precious, everyone can still manage to collect them if they grit their teeth.

If we fail to hand over the people, and the demons of the outer seas launch an attack and breach Qiyuan Island, the losses will far exceed what this list can provide.

Lu Yan then stopped, turned around, and sat down again.

"Then I, Lu, will await your good news."

After everyone dispersed, Lu Yan, led by a Foundation Establishment disciple of the Red Light Sect, moved into a temporary cave dwelling.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the voice of True Immortal Tianfu resounded leisurely, tinged with a hint of amusement: "You little rascal, you've got quite the schemer. Under the guise of dealing with the Suanni Clan, you got these old fogies to gather materials for you. If you had to find these things yourself, who knows when you'd have a chance to collect them all. Now, they've done the work for you."

Lu Yan didn't reply, his gaze falling on the list on the table.

Some of those materials were used to refine the Taiyi Huaqing Talisman, and the other part was used to refine the Jiutian Yingyuan Talisman.

Once these two talismans are forged, they can be used for both offense and defense.

The Taiyi Purification Talisman allows him to completely conceal his aura, so even a Nascent Soul level expert might not be able to detect him.

The Nine Heavens Responding Origin Talisman is even more remarkable, as it grants him the ability to temporarily control the lightning-attribute elemental energy of heaven and earth.

What does this mean? It means that the power of his thunder magic will at least double, and the lightning power of the Great Brahma Thunder King Technique will no longer be a simple physical enhancement, but will be able to draw upon the power of heaven and earth to suppress others.

Although his cultivation level at the early stage of Nascent Soul was far inferior to that of a true Nascent Soul cultivator, his ability to manipulate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was still far behind.

But with the few treasures he possesses, dealing with the mere outer sea monsters is no problem, and he might even be able to make a fortune.