The Long Journey to Immortality

Chapter 143 Forbidden Cave

That heart-stirring feeling was the fundamental reason why Han Lu stayed at the Yan Yang Sect ruins and stood in front of the forbidden cave.

If Song Zhengqi hadn't told a story about a Golden Core cultivator mysteriously disappearing in a forbidden cave, Han Lu might have already entered it, relying on her intuition to seek her destiny.

After all, Han Lu was also a cultivator, and like most cultivators living in this peaceful era, she cherished her life and would not risk her life casually.

Although she took the initiative to part ways with Wen Erya, Han Lu, standing in front of the cave facing the cold wind, had not yet made up her mind completely.

"However, if we have such a feeling, it would be a great pity not to take the initiative to make contact and instead choose to leave."

He channeled his spiritual power and unleashed the Cold Eyes Secret Technique.

Han Lu's eyes, now tinged with a blue light, gazed into the dark cave.

The Cold Eye Divine Skill, which had always worked on the arena, was thwarted in this situation that could stump even a Golden Core cultivator.

Despite using her secret techniques, Han Lu still couldn't see through the darkness that seemed to fill a cave, and couldn't glean even a tiny bit of useful information from it.

Standing there hesitantly, Han Lu subconsciously grabbed the Moon Pearl in her hand, feeling it rhythmically pulsating in her palm, trying her best to convince herself that she was unwilling to take the crucial step.

Is there any danger in this cave? Of course there is. Golden Core cultivators have perished here before. Han Lu is self-aware enough to know that her magical power is not even comparable to a single finger of a Golden Core cultivator.

Is there an opportunity involved? Judging from Han Lu's current bloodline perception, there is.

Is it worth risking your life for this opportunity?

"It's clearly not worth it."

Han Lu muttered to herself and subconsciously took a half step back.

Compared to Feng Bailu standing in the third stone chamber, Han Lu now possesses more and is no longer capable of making risky decisions that threaten her life.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, an accident occurred.

Perhaps sensing Han Lu's retreat, the forbidden cave, which had finally found its "destined one," seemed to have come to life.

A gust of "evil wind" blew out of the cave, sweeping Han Lu into it.

Han Lu subconsciously used her "Five Elements Qi" to defend herself, but it was to no avail.

Although she was being carried by the "evil wind" towards a forbidden cave that she was reluctant to enter, Han Lu was overjoyed.

"This must be the right opportunity."

Based on the fact that the cave had taken the initiative to invite her, Han Lu believed that what awaited her in the cave was good fortune, not misfortune.

Captured by the evil wind, Han Lu flew into the cave. It was as if a black cloth had been draped over her eyes, and she could not see anything.

However, the pitch-black state of the cave is not because light cannot penetrate it, but because it has been altered by magic and restrictions to create an illusion for those who are spying from outside the cave.

After Han Lu was swept along by this "evil wind" for nearly ten breaths, she arrived inside the barrier that blocked divine sense and light, and everything suddenly became clear.

Of course, the temperature inside the cave is much lower than at the cave entrance or in places like Yanzhao.

Fortunately, Han Lu mainly cultivated water-attribute techniques and had already reached the ninth level of Qi Refining; otherwise, she would probably be shivering from the cold and unable to move her hands and feet.

Following the evil wind, the mysterious cave within the Flame Sun Sect's territory was revealed to Han Lu in its entirety.

It was so cold that the cave ceiling was covered with stalactites and icicles.

The surrounding rock walls were already cracked from the freezing, but the groundwater that seeped into the cave through the cracks froze immediately due to the extremely low temperature inside the cave, forming an imperfect bond with the rocks.

There was a faint blue light deep inside, suggesting the presence of a great treasure.

Perhaps because the cave's layout was too exquisite and sophisticated, Han Lu's cold, piercing eyes, which had just reached the beginner level, were completely unable to see through the cave's unique arrangement.

In Han Lu's eyes, this cave was not much different from any other cave in the deep mountains and forests.

The shielding of light, the restriction on divine sense, and the blocking of the path all served to temporarily cut off Han Lu's escape route after confirming that this "destined person" had temporarily cut off Han Lu's way out. The evil wind then temporarily put Han Lu aside.

Han Lu fell from a height of two meters, landing steadily on her feet. Holding her breath, she looked around, hoping that a "mature" voice would ring in her ears or in her mind.

But nothing like that happened.

Turning her head to look at the darkness, Han Lu sighed.

There was no other way; having already come in, there was no reason to leave. Han Lu could only grit her teeth and brave the biting wind that seemed to freeze her face solid as she walked deeper into the cave.

Unable to fly and unwilling to use her flying artifacts in this narrow cave, Han Lu found it quite difficult to walk through the frost-covered cave.

She slipped with almost every step. If she hadn't been quite agile and careful while walking, she might have already fallen headfirst and cracked her skull before she even saw what the blue light at the end of the cave was.

Feeling the increasingly lower temperature in the air, the increasingly abundant spiritual energy, and the ever-brighter, ethereal blue light before my eyes.

Han Lu's breathing became rapid.

She didn't consider herself an adventurous person, but the idea of ​​unraveling a secret hidden for five thousand years was far more exciting than she had imagined.

Suddenly, a fork in the road appeared in front of Han Lu.

Looking at the road that also emitted a blue glow, Han Lu silently memorized the word "right" and chose to continue along the road on the right.

Inside the cave, all Han Lu knew was that she was walking forward step by step, holding onto the ice wall.

The cold slowed her thinking and made her less sensitive to time.

After an unknown amount of time, Han Lu was surprised to find another fork in the road in front of her, forcing her to make a choice.

After a moment of silence, Han Lu summoned the golden sword from the Thunder Bamboo Sword, made a mark near the fork in the road, and then continued on the right-hand path.

Unexpectedly, after walking only about twenty steps, they appeared in front of Han Lu at a fork in the road.

Han Lu checked the intersection but did not find the marks she had made earlier.

"Could I have fallen into some kind of illusion or maze?"

Muttering to herself, Han Lu pondered a solution.

Suddenly, she remembered why she was interested in this forbidden cave and the possible reason why the evil wind in the cave had invited her in. An idea immediately came to her mind.

After returning the way she came, Han Lu silently circulated the "True Phoenix Manual" mental cultivation technique within her body. The pain returned, but Han Lu's expression, which was somewhat numb from the cold, did not change in the slightest.

Han Lu fully transformed her right arm into a spiritual form, holding it out horizontally to serve as a compass, guiding her on her path.

"Right, that's right."

"This time it's to the left."

"This time, it's probably the right side; the feeling is stronger there."

……

After making nearly ten choices at different paths, Han Lu, relying on her intuition to choose a direction, finally arrived at the core area of ​​the Jingdi Cave.

They found the source of the eerie blue light deep within the cave.

Upon seeing the scene before her in the not-so-large stone chamber, Han Lu involuntarily opened her mouth wide in astonishment.

Chapter 144 The True Spirit Appears

While Han Lu was standing in the stone chamber with her mouth agape in surprise, Wen Erya and Song Zhengqi also received good news.

Compared to searching for treasures in the ruins of the Yan Yang Sect, which had long since fallen into ruins, finding a merchant and spending money to purchase pill formulas is an infinitely simpler thing to do.

Although Song Zhengqi was a cultivator, he was very knowledgeable about many mundane matters in Yanzhao.

After leading Wen Erya to Yanzhao City, he easily found the residence of the Hu family merchant who specialized in ginseng among the buildings all covered in white snow.

As a businessman, one naturally considers the world one's home.

However, as one of the most successful merchants in Yanzhao City, the Hu family has already established itself as a clan in this extremely cold place.

Although the head of the Hu family was busy traveling elsewhere during this cold winter, people were still living and working in the Hu family mansion in Yanzhao City.

Perhaps because they possessed the Cold-Repelling Pill, the Hu family members were not as afraid of the cold as other Yanzhao people. As soon as the heavy snow stopped, several children, wearing only a single layer of clothing, were playing and frolicking in the courtyard, treating the Yanzhao snow as toys.

The arrival of Wen Erya and Song Zhengqi was not too surprising.

The Hu family already had a business selling cold-repelling pills, so it was perfectly normal for customers to come to them to buy the pills.

After explaining their purpose, the deal was quickly finalized.

The pills were clearly priced, but the formula was a closely guarded secret of the Hu family. Even though Wen Erya pleaded with them and offered a lot of gold, silver, and spirit stones to buy them, the Hu family was unwilling to sell them.

Finally, with no other choice, Wen Erya had to spend gold and silver to temporarily purchase only elixirs.

The journey from Zhengyi Gate to Yanzhao is long, and even by flying, it would take nearly a week to make a round trip.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, and without even knowing whether the Cold-Repelling Pill would work, the wealthy Wen Erya bought five hundred Cold-Repelling Pills in one go, purchasing half of the Hu family's winter stock.

"Senior Wen, why did you and Senior Han buy these Cold-Repelling Pills?" Song Zhengqi asked curiously.

Wen Erya had no intention of explaining in detail to Song Zhengqi, and simply replied perfunctorily, "It's a secret."

After storing the ten porcelain bottles filled with cold-repelling pills into her storage bag, Wen Erya did not wander around the icy world of Yanzhao with Song Zhengqi any longer.

The two of them went straight back to Tangmen and patiently waited for Han Lu to return.

While completing her mission in Wenerya, Han Lu, deep within the forbidden cave, witnessed something she had never seen even in the Moon Pearl World.

In the center of the small stone chamber was a block of ice that almost completely filled the entire chamber.

Han Lu could clearly sense that the ice block was not formed from frozen water, but rather from spiritual energy.

The ice was radiating a chilling cold, which was the reason why this cave and even the entire Yanzhao region were colder than other northern regions of the Northern Dynasty.

But what shocked Han Lu was not just the ice block, but what was inside the translucent ice block.

Rubbing her facial muscles, Han Lu muttered to herself, "Speaking of which, I've never seen Feng Yang or Feng Jiao transform back into their true spirit form in the Moon Pearl World."

"That is, in Xiaoyaozi's memory, he witnessed my consciousness transform into the True Spirit Phoenix."

"I've always been quite curious about what it would be like when the true spirits like Huanfeng appear in the real world."

"I never expected to see this here."

Gazing at the enormous white phoenix, which seemed to be trapped inside a huge block of ice and curled up, Han Lu recalled the term "Nine Phoenixes" that she had heard countless times.

“This white phoenix should be an ice phoenix,” Han Lu recalled the words she had seen in ancient books, “a true spirit of a phoenix that remained neutral during the final great war of the ancient cultivation era.”

"Most of their innate abilities are related to water and ice. Legend has it that the purest ice phoenixes can also master innate abilities related to space."

"In terms of supernatural powers, Ice Phoenix ranks in the middle to upper range among the Nine Phoenixes."