Mortal: Starting with the Golden Jade Book

"Haha, that's right. It's not easy for pseudo-spiritual root cultivators to survive. If you can really break through to the Foundation Establishment stage one day, I'll have a great backer. It won't be a loss."

Lin Zui smiled nonchalantly. To him, a Foundation Establishment Pill that he had no use for at this stage was not as important as a favor from the future Heavenly Venerable Han.

Although he hadn't figured out what he wanted Han Li to do, he figured it was better to leave himself an escape route; it couldn't hurt.

"Senior brother, I've taken the Foundation Establishment Pill. Please accept the rest of the items in this storage bag. Although there's nothing of great quality, there are at least a few bottles of foundation-strengthening and vital energy-nourishing pills, which may be of some help to you."

Han Li handed over Senior Brother Lu's storage bag. This time, Lin Zui did not refuse. He took it, glanced at it, and remained calm.

Having lost the Foundation Establishment Pill and the Azure Dragon Banner, a top-grade magic artifact, Senior Brother Lu's remaining possessions were truly insufficient. All things added up, they were probably only worth five or six hundred spirit stones, which did not arouse Lin Zui's interest at all.

However, since the favor had already been given, there was no need to fuss over such a small matter. He accepted the gift, but then suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, Junior Brother Han, did you receive your exit token from the Hundred Machines Hall before leaving the valley?"

"Yes, that's the rule of the sect, and I will naturally abide by it. Is there a problem?"

Han Li asked in confusion.

"It's not a big problem, but this guy surnamed Lu isn't entirely without connections. If someone investigates later and finds out that you and I left the valley these past few days, they might suspect us."

Han Li was startled, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it was quite possible.

"What are you planning to do, senior brother?"

"Have you told anyone else about your departure from the valley?"

"To be honest, Senior Brother, I left the valley this time to prepare for the Blood Forbidden Trial six months from now. I need to buy some magical artifacts and treasures that will help improve my strength. I'm too busy trying to keep it a secret from others, so how could I let anyone else know?"

Han Li hesitated for a moment, but still chose to tell the truth.

"That makes things easier. I have a good relationship with Senior Brother Yu, the steward of the Hundred Machines Hall. I can ask him to help erase the record of our trip out of the valley. Unless the sect's higher-ups investigate thoroughly, they won't be able to find anything on us."

"Although this Senior Brother Lu has good aptitude, he is just a low-level disciple. Huangfeng Valley probably wouldn't go to such lengths for someone like him."

When Lin Zui told Han Li that he could use his connections to erase their records of leaving the valley, Han Li was overjoyed. This would greatly reduce the chances of them being exposed.

"What you say is very true, senior brother. Then I will trouble you."

"It's alright, but..."

Lin Zui nodded, then, as if remembering something, looked at Senior Sister Chen, who was already delirious and began to writhe incessantly not far away.

"What should we do with this Senior Sister Chen? I don't know much about pharmacology. What are the properties of this Hehuan Powder? How much of what happened earlier will she remember?"

When Han Li heard that Lin Zui was worried about this, he smiled indifferently.

"Don't worry, senior brother. I know a bit about this aphrodisiac. It works very quickly and can make the victim completely fall into lust, as if in a dream. Even if they hear certain sounds, they will not be able to correspond to reality, let alone remember our faces."

"That's good. After all, Senior Sister Chen is the apple of the Chen family's eye. If we were to kill her, the Chen family might make a big fuss about it."

Lin Zui glanced at Han Li and sighed with feigned regret.

"It's a pity that Ms. Lin doesn't know how to detoxify. Otherwise, we could have helped her detoxify from the aphrodisiac before we left. After she woke up, she could have left on her own. With no outsiders knowing, the Chen family would probably choose to suppress the matter out of consideration for Chen Qiaoqian's reputation. Then we would have no worries at all."

"That's not difficult. I have some knowledge of alchemy and medicine making. A simple aphrodisiac powder is no problem for me. Senior brother, you can rest assured and leave it to me."

Seeing that Han Li had indeed taken the initiative to accept the task of rescuing Senior Sister Chen, Lin Zui felt much more at ease.

His two experiences of being punished for intercepting others' schemes made him very cautious about changing Han Li's fate. This was also one of the reasons why he didn't accept the Foundation Establishment Pill. Now, if he lets Han Li help Senior Sister Chen get rid of the Hehuan Powder poison, the plot won't be much different from the original story.

As for that favor...

Han Li himself is willing, so it can't be that this will trigger a plot-driven death, right?

A moment later, the two cleaned up the traces of the battle and left in two different directions.

Lin Zui returned to Huangfeng Valley to handle the exit record, while Han Li carried the delirious Senior Sister Chen to a safe place and began to detoxify her.

As for what method he would use to detoxify, and whether he would collect interest after detoxification as in the original story, that was not Lin Zui's concern.

……

As time passed, as expected, Senior Brother Lu's disappearance did not cause much of a stir in the valley. After the enforcement disciples conducted a routine inquiry without any results, no one paid much attention to it anymore.

Seeing that no one came looking for them, Han Li and Lin Zui were completely relieved and put the matter out of their minds, returning to their own busy lives.

More than a month later, the Blood Forbidden Trial officially began. In order to obtain more Foundation Establishment Pills, Han Li participated in this trial, just like in the original story.

Lin Zui had no interest in or concern for this. While continuing to study his formation, he instructed Senior Brother Wang and the others to help him find some techniques and secret arts that would be helpful in actual combat.

After his battle with Senior Brother Lu, Han Li realized that his combat skills were too one-dimensional. If he couldn't use talismans to gain the upper hand, he would likely fall into a passive position.

Unfortunately, most of the secret techniques that can be cultivated during the Qi Refining stage of the "Five Elements Transformation Technique" are auxiliary. The only one related to combat, the Primordial Divine Light, is just a defensive secret technique similar to a spiritual energy shield, and it can only be cultivated after reaching the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Left with no other choice, he could only pin his hopes on finding something acceptable in Yellow Maple Valley or through the market.

He stayed in Yuelu Hall for several days and was extorted for dozens of spirit stones by the old man surnamed Xu. He saw many so-called secret techniques, but none of them were usable.

Just as he was struggling with this decision, Manager Liu, who was in charge of market affairs under Lin Zui, told him some news.

"Master, there will be a rare item auction at the Seven Star Tower in six months, specially prepared for Foundation Establishment cultivators. If you can attend, you will definitely find what you want."

"Rare Item Auction!"

Lin Zui's heart skipped a beat, but then he became somewhat annoyed.

"You said it was specially prepared for Foundation Establishment cultivators, but I'm only at the fifth level of Qi Refining. How could I possibly go there?"

"Master, there is no need to worry. The so-called special preparation for Foundation Establishment cultivators is just a threshold to prevent too many unqualified people from sneaking in. Qi Refining cultivators with rich wealth and powerful backgrounds can also participate. If Master is interested, I can try to get you a spot."

Manager Liu said respectfully.

"If Master does not wish to be too conspicuous and expose his identity, I can also provide magical artifacts to conceal his cultivation aura and even change his appearance."

"Oh, there's such a thing? If so, I'm actually quite interested."

Lin Zui raised an eyebrow, quite satisfied with Manager Liu's thoughtfulness and attentiveness.

"In that case, go and prepare. I will come to find you in six months."

"yes!"

With the matter of the secret technique settled, Lin Zui no longer bothered to search for it. However, since he was going to participate in the auction, he naturally needed to prepare more of his wealth.

In the days that followed, he began producing large quantities of basic and advanced talismans and handed them over to Steward Liu for sale.

It must be said that as the manager in charge of market affairs, his efficiency was much higher than that of Senior Brother Wang. Under the banner of the Yellow Maple Valley sect, no matter how many items were sold, no one would suspect anything.

Thus, after several months of making and selling talismans, Lin Zui's wealth increased rapidly. At the same time, with the blessing of the Spirit Void Array in his body, his cultivation level unknowingly reached the peak of the fifth level and touched the threshold of the sixth level.