Mortal: Starting with the Golden Jade Book

The Seven Mysteries Gate.

God Hand Valley.

The night was silent.

In a simply furnished wooden hut, a dark-skinned boy of about ten years old lay on the bed, fast asleep.

Suddenly, the door was gently pushed open, and a figure walked in silently.

The boy gave a soft hum, as if sensing something. Upon seeing this, the newcomer took out a talisman and slapped it at him, and the boy quickly fell silent.

Beginner Level 2: Calming Talisman.

Although it's the lowest-grade talisman in the cultivation world, it's still enough to let a mortal boy get a good night's sleep.

Even if this young man will one day become the mighty Han Tianzun, the Old Demon Han, who will shake the three realms, at least for now, he is still just a mortal.

The newcomer's name was Lin Zui. He was only fifteen years old, but he had already been in this world for three years.

Ever since he confirmed that this was the mortal world and that he was just a useless person with five spiritual roots, he had been looking forward to this day.

The purpose, of course, was the Heavenly Bottle on Han Li's body.

Although taking this thing could potentially bring him great karmic consequences, he couldn't care less about that now.

Who told him that his spiritual root aptitude was so poor, even worse than Han Li's? And he didn't have a system. If he just honestly cultivated like this, he would probably only reach the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining in his entire life.

After going through so much trouble to travel to another world, is it just to be a nobody for the rest of my life?

How could Lin Zui be content with this?

After much thought, the only thing that could possibly defy fate was the Heavenly Bottle.

As long as one can obtain this heaven-defying treasure and replicate it in the same way, even if one cannot ascend to the immortal realm, being a powerful figure in the mortal world for several hundred years would be a worthwhile life.

Fortunately, he traveled to the Yue Kingdom, and after making many inquiries, he finally found the location of the Seven Mysteries Sect.

I was worried that I had traveled too late and Han Li would have already left.

When he sneaked into Divine Hand Valley with a sliver of hope, he was surprised to find that Han Li and Zhang Tie had not yet entered the sect.

Fortunately, Doctor Mo was already here, which meant that Han Li and his companion were not far from entering the sect. So, Lin Zui simply hid inside the Seven Mysteries Sect and waited patiently.

Although he only had the cultivation level of the third level of Qi Refining, with the help of some minor spells, it was still easy for him to hide among a group of mortals.

During this time, he also searched for traces of the Heavenly Bottle in various parts of the Seven Mysteries Sect, but naturally, he found nothing.

Clearly, this is an opportunity unique to Han Li; no one else could possibly find it.

Left with no other choice, he could only give up for the time being and wait patiently for the right person to arrive before looking for another opportunity.

This wait lasted for more than a year.

Even today, Han Li, who has been a disciple for more than half a year, unintentionally picked up this inconspicuous bottle from an inconspicuous pile of grass.

After trying to open it again, he was disappointed and put it away for the time being. Little did he know that Lin Zui, who was hiding in the shadows, had seen everything.

"Han Li, don't blame me, I need it more than you do!"

Lin Zui sighed inwardly and searched Han Li's body for a while before finding the small emerald green bottle.

His gaze lingered on Han Li's neck for a moment, hesitating whether to simply kill him to prevent future troubles.

However, after thinking about it, I gave up the idea.

After all, he is a chosen one of destiny. If you really kill him, who knows if a giant hand will suddenly appear from the sky and crush you with a single finger?

Forget it.

Shaking his head, Lin Zui turned to leave, but suddenly felt a chill in his hand.

Lin Zui looked down.

The Heavenly Bottle in his hand had somehow begun to emit a soft green light, and wisps of strange energy were continuously flowing into Lin Zui's body through his palm.

Lin Zui was startled. Wasn't the Heavenly Bottle only good for accelerating the ripening of spiritual herbs? What was going on?

Lin Zui hadn't figured it out, but naturally he didn't dare let this thing of unknown origin enter his body.

He hurriedly flung his hand away, trying to throw the Heavenly Bottle aside, while simultaneously channeling his spiritual power to try and block the aura.

Unexpectedly, the bottle seemed to be stuck to Lin Zui's hand, and he couldn't shake it off no matter what he did. In the blink of an eye, the shimmering green light on the bottle became dazzling, and the energy surged into Lin Zui's body like a flood.

The spiritual power that Lin Zui had painstakingly mustered was instantly shattered and routed by this tide.

Lin Zui groaned, and before he could react, his meridians were already riddled with holes from the brutal impact.

What's going on?

Lin Zui was stunned by this sudden turn of events.

What does that mean?

This cheat can only be used by Han Li, and no one else can touch it, right?

I barely got my hands on it and hadn't even had a chance to enjoy it before karma struck?

In a short while, Lin Zui's body was filled with this strange aura. However, the speed at which the aura flowed into his hands did not decrease but increased, and he soon felt a swelling sensation throughout his body.

"Damn it, stop! I can't take it anymore!"

Lin Zui broke out in a cold sweat, suddenly remembering the rabbit in the original story that burst after being fed spirit liquid by Han Li.

Am I going to burst from being so full?

Damn it...

I don't want to die!

And it shattered all over the ground...

That's so ugly...

"ah--"

Just as Lin Zui felt he was about to explode and die, a golden sphere in his sea of ​​consciousness suddenly shone brightly. Then, a suction force came, and the violent, inexplicable energy within his body suddenly found an outlet, rushing madly towards the golden sphere in his sea of ​​consciousness.

"This is……"

Lin Zui's eyes widened; the change had happened so fast that he had no time to react.

He naturally knew about the golden sphere in his sea of ​​consciousness, and at one point he even thought it was his system.

Unfortunately, despite trying various methods, they couldn't get the golden ball to react at all, and gradually they gave up hope.

To my utter surprise, it actually reacted to the impact of the Heavenly Bottle's aura today.

Lin Zui felt a glimmer of hope. Although he didn't know what the golden ball was, it seemed to be the only thing that could save his life.

Time passed slowly, feeling like a second had gone by, yet also like an eternity.

The aura emanating from the Heavenly Bottle finally weakened, but the golden sphere's absorption speed increased rapidly.

Finally, with a soft thud, the Heavenly Bottle fell from Lin Zui's hand, its light dissipated, and it returned to its previous color.

The golden sphere emitted a dazzling golden light within Lin Zui's sea of ​​consciousness, its shape constantly changing like water, eventually transforming into the form of a thick book.

The book contains several strange characters, ancient and solemn, as if they contain the supreme Dao.

Lin Zui was certain he had never seen this kind of writing before, but for some reason, the instant he saw those words, he instantly understood what they were—

Money!

阙！

Jade!

book!

Lin Zui was shocked.

This...this is the Golden Jade Book? Something left behind by a legendary immortal?

In the original story, Han Li only obtained a few pages, yet he already dominated the Spirit Realm. As for me...

A whole book?

Lin Zui stared in disbelief at the dazzling books in his sea of ​​consciousness. Under this light, his previously damaged meridians began to repair and expand, and his magical power was rapidly restored. He even broke through his previous cultivation level in an instant, reaching the fourth level of Qi Refining.

However, Lin Zui had no time to pay attention to this change in cultivation level.

My mind raced as I frantically tried to recall what had just happened. After a long while, I finally managed to form some vague guesses in my mind.

The Golden Jade Book in his sea of ​​consciousness was probably sealed, which is why it had no effect no matter how he tried.

But just now, perhaps stimulated by the aura of the Palm Heaven Bottle, which is also a treasure passed down from the True Immortal Realm, the Golden Jade Book finally reacted.

After absorbing and devouring a large amount of extremely high-level energy, it finally broke the seal and revealed its true form.

As for why it appeared in his sea of ​​consciousness, and why he was able to understand the supposedly profound Golden Seal Script and Silver Tadpole Script without a teacher?

I don't know.

Surely it's impossible that I'm the reincarnation of that true immortal?

Lin Zui shook his head self-deprecatingly.

If that's the case, then my reincarnated self would have a really bad reputation.

With five spiritual roots, let alone achieving Mahayana ascension, even reaching the Foundation Establishment or Core Formation stages is a slim hope. Even if they obtained such a heaven-defying treasure, they would have no use for it.

He remembered that the cultivation techniques on the few pages of jade book that Han Li obtained in the original work all required one to reach the Nascent Soul and Void Refinement stages before they could be practiced. To him, that was nothing but a castle in the air.

"No... Han Li only got a few pages after all. Maybe there are cultivation techniques on other pages that low-level cultivators can practice?"

Lin Zui's mind immediately became active, and he quickly mobilized his divine sense to probe into the jade book. Instantly, a large amount of information appeared before Lin Zui.