Mortal: Starting with the Golden Jade Book

"not good!"

Senior Brother Lu was extremely anxious and could no longer care about dealing with Lin Zui in the shadows. He poured all his magic power into the Azure Dragon Banner, and the Azure Wind Dragon roared and fearlessly charged towards the sky full of sword light.

However, the blade light formed by intermediate talismans is not as simple as it looks on the surface. Each seemingly ordinary blade light has the power to rival that of a primary or advanced spell.

After barely shattering dozens of sword lights, the wind dragon began to lose its strength. As the subsequent sword lights cut it like being slowly sliced ​​to death, it was quickly stripped of its flesh and severed from its bones and tendons, eventually turning into specks of spiritual light and dissipating into the air.

After eliminating the Wind Dragon, the remaining sword light continued its momentum, heading straight for Senior Brother Lu.

"puff……"

Senior Brother Lu spat out a mouthful of blood. With the Azure Dragon Banner broken, he also suffered a considerable backlash. Seeing this, he dared not linger any longer. He threw out several mid-to-high-level magic artifacts to block behind him and turned to flee in another direction at high speed.

But he forgot that he was facing more than just Han Li as an opponent.

A dozen or so talismans suddenly shot out from the forest, blocking Senior Brother Lu's escape route. Senior Brother Lu hurriedly dodged, but was still hit by two of them. He immediately felt his feet go weak, as if he were sinking into a quagmire. It also seemed that some invisible threads were wrapped around his body, and his speed was immediately reduced.

Mud Swamp Talisman! Spider Web Talisman!

Two ordinary, low-level talismans, things that Senior Brother Lu would never normally pay attention to, have now become his life-threatening objects.

By the time he broke free of his restraints and tried to escape, it was too late. In the brief delay, all the blades formed by the Thousand Blade Talisman had already reached him.

Realizing there was no way out, Senior Brother Lu could no longer suppress his resentment.

"Who? Who dared to plot against me? I'll be damned even as a ghost—"

If it weren't for this despicable villain lurking in the shadows, how could he have ended up in this state? Ironically, he doesn't even know who the other party is, and he can't even find anyone to take his life.

The roar was cut short as the blade flashed past, shattering his last protective aura and slicing him into pieces of flesh that scattered on the ground!

Han Li breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the Thousand Blade Talisman in his hand, which had exhausted its spiritual power and turned into a ball of fire, feeling extremely distressed.

However, this was not the time to dwell on these losses. He retrieved the Panlong Shield and Xuan Tie Flying Shield that had fallen to the side, turned around, and cupped his hands towards a deserted corner in the forest, saying, "I wonder which fellow Daoist came to our aid? Please show yourself."

After Han Li finished speaking, the forest was quiet for a moment, then footsteps sounded, and a figure suddenly appeared. Who else could it be but Lin Zui?

"You are... Senior Brother Lin?"

Han Li's gaze sharpened, and he immediately recognized who the person was.

Two years ago, he entered the valley as the winner of the Ascension Tournament. Although he was given a Foundation Establishment Pill, he was quickly targeted because of his poor aptitude.

This senior brother Lin had privately reminded him and suggested that he trade away the Foundation Establishment Pill to avoid being caught in the crossfire, and that he could also exchange it for some cultivation resources.

Although they didn't become close friends afterward, he always remembered this kindness. He never expected that he would receive such a helping hand from the other party today, even though he hadn't had a chance to repay the favor.

"Hehe, it's been two years since we last met. I didn't expect Junior Brother Han's cultivation to progress so rapidly. He's already at the eleventh level of Qi Refining. I really don't deserve to be called your senior brother."

Lin Zui shook his head and smiled bitterly, his eyes filled with envy for Han Li's cultivation level.

"Senior brother, you're too kind. If I hadn't listened to your advice that day and handed over the Foundation Establishment Pill in time, I might have been targeted and ambushed. How could I have cultivated in peace for so long? Today, I am truly grateful for your help. I don't know how to repay you."

Han Li bowed respectfully.

"Junior brother, there's no need to worry. I just happened to be there. I was resting here after returning from an outing when I noticed someone approaching, so I hid. When I saw that it was Junior Brother Han, I wanted to show myself, but I was afraid of causing unnecessary misunderstandings, so I gave up. Little did I expect that I would witness such a grand spectacle..."

Lin Zui looked at Senior Brother Lu, who was lying dead with no trace of his body, with disdain on his face.

"This Senior Brother Lu was always arrogant and disdainful of others, but I never expected him to be so despicable. He deserved to die like this."

"Yes, Junior Brother was forced into this situation. If he didn't fight back, he would definitely be silenced by this person."

Han Li put on an act that said, "I didn't want this to happen either, he forced me to do it," as if he had suffered a great injustice.

Lin Zui naturally didn't take it seriously, looking at him with scrutinizing eyes and speaking with a teasing tone.

"Oh, is that so? In my opinion, it's true that Junior Brother was forced, but not entirely out of helplessness, is it? The reason you were forced to waste a precious intermediate-level talisman to kill him, wasn't it for the two Foundation Establishment Pills in his storage bag?"

Han Li's expression shifted as his thoughts were exposed. He gripped the magic weapon in his hand tightly, and several unpleasant ideas flashed through his mind. However, after weighing the options, he abandoned the idea of ​​killing the witness.

Firstly, I really don't want to do something like repaying kindness with enmity; secondly, I'm not entirely confident.

Although the other party was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, for some reason he always gave him a feeling of being unfathomable and fearless. Moreover, although the other party acted very close, he always kept a distance from him, clearly still wary.

In addition, he had just gone through a great battle and was greatly exhausted. Under these circumstances, unless he used the Heavenly Thunder Spear, he really had no confidence that he could kill him in one blow.

If it manages to escape, then there's no point in staying in Yellow Maple Valley anymore; we'll have to flee immediately, and forget about the Blood Forbidden Trial afterwards.

Given his aptitude, the chances of him successfully establishing his foundation with just two Foundation Establishment Pills are extremely slim. This is why he risked entering the Crimson Forbidden Land. Only by obtaining enough spiritual herbs for refining Foundation Establishment Pills in the forbidden land can he refine enough of them himself. Therefore, he will not break off relations unless absolutely necessary.

Qian chuckled a few times, and Han Li could only nod in agreement.

"Since Senior Brother Lin has figured it out, then I, Han, will not hide it anymore. That's right, I am indeed after those two Foundation Establishment Pills. There's no other way, my spiritual root aptitude is too poor. Even if I could obtain one or two pills by participating in the Blood Forbidden Trial, I wouldn't have much confidence in establishing my foundation. Now that I've come across them, I naturally can't let them go."

As he spoke, Han Li made a gesture in the air, and the storage bag was snatched away. He took out the two Foundation Establishment Pills, looked at them, and then pushed one of them in front of Lin Zui.

"However, without your help, even if I had won, I would likely have been seriously injured. Therefore, I am willing to share these two Foundation Establishment Pills equally with you. What do you think?"

Han Li felt a pang of pain in his heart, but in order to shut up his senior brother Lin, he had no choice but to reluctantly part with one of his own.

To everyone's surprise, Lin Zui looked at the Foundation Establishment Pill in front of him, but instead of accepting it directly, he thought for a moment and then pushed it back.

"Junior Brother Han, there's no need for that. I have no intention of using this to blackmail you. My junior brother and I are both pseudo-spiritual roots, how could we not know the difficulties of cultivating pseudo-spiritual roots? Since we have encountered an opportunity, we should naturally do our best to seize it. If it were me, I would have done the same."

"Senior brother, I just..."

Han Li wanted to explain, but Lin Zui waved his hand to stop him.

"Junior Brother Han, this Foundation Establishment Pill can only be taken by those who have reached the late stage of Qi Refining. I am only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, so it is useless to me. You should keep it. If you feel bad about it, consider it a favor you owe me. If you can successfully establish your foundation with this extra Foundation Establishment Pill in the future, you won't have to worry about not having a chance to repay me."

Han Li was taken aback. He had considered that the other party might make various demands, but he never expected that the other party would give up the Foundation Establishment Pill that he had already obtained.

That's a Foundation Establishment Pill! Which Qi Refining cultivator wouldn't treasure it? Even if his cultivation level isn't high enough to use it now, he can always save it for later.

Just because he and I are both pseudo-spiritual root cultivators, he handed over the Foundation Establishment Pill?

That's incredibly generous!

But judging from the other party's attitude, it didn't seem like they were joking. Unconvinced, Han Li declined a few more times, but seeing that the other party's attitude remained unchanged, Han Li finally gave up.

He put away the two Foundation Establishment Pills and bowed to Lin Zui.

"In that case, I will not refuse any longer. I will remember this favor from Senior Brother Lin. In the future, if you need anything, I will do my best to help you."