The Long Journey to Immortality

Although every cultivator uses the magical space-expanding tool of storage bags, it's likely that not a single cultivator in the entire Central Plains region could actually unleash offensive spells or secret techniques related to space.

Even in the ancient cultivation era, this was the case, even considering the numerous true spirits, demonic beasts, and spirit beasts.

Therefore, the purebred Ice Phoenix is ​​definitely a top-tier true spirit, superior to the Illusion Phoenix with the bloodline that Han Lu possesses.

Han Lu circled the ice block, her right hand, still in its spiritual form, unconsciously stroking it as she murmured, "That evil wind just now was clearly deliberately released by someone to invite me here. If that's the case..."

"This ice phoenix should still be alive."

As soon as Han Lu finished speaking, the ice phoenix, which was imprisoned in the ice, suddenly opened its eyes.

The bright blue eyes, as big as Han Lu's fist, really startled Han Lu, and she quickly withdrew her hand.

His azure eyes swung halfway around before finally managing to focus on the spot where Han Lu was standing.

Staring at her with those eyes, Han Lu didn't dare to breathe loudly, let alone speak or greet the other person.

Perhaps because it realized that the guests it had invited had arrived, the ice blocks that were imprisoning the Ice Phoenix began to melt rapidly.

A large amount of chilling spiritual energy dissipated into the air, further lowering the temperature of the already extremely cold cave.

Han Lu subconsciously took half a step back, raising her Five Elements Qi to prevent her flesh and blood from being frozen by the cold air.

The ice block was too huge, and the newly awakened True Spirit Ice Phoenix was clearly still in a state of "exhaustion".

The process, from the melting of the ice to the complete release of the ice phoenix from its confinement, lasted nearly 50 minutes.

The ice phoenix, no longer covered by ice, spread its wings in the stone chamber, shook off the last ice particles from its feathers, and let out a long cry to the sky, as if announcing to the world that it had returned.

Sensing that the surrounding environment had improved slightly, Han Lu, who had already exhausted 70% of her spiritual power, withdrew her Five Elements Qi and looked at the Ice Phoenix, who was stretching its body. She was looking forward to hearing what this True Spirit, who had invited her into the cave and could barely be considered a fellow clansman, wanted to tell her.

As the owner of this cave, Bingfeng naturally did not forget Han Lu, the guest who had just arrived.

It opened its mouth and let out two phoenix cries.

Seeing that Han Lu only looked puzzled and did not answer its question, it instantly understood the reason.

Immediately afterwards, a deep blue light shone again in the cave, completely enveloping the enormous true form of the Ice Phoenix Spirit.

In just a few breaths, Han Lu could no longer clearly see the Ice Phoenix's true form.

After a while, the ice phoenix, which had turned into light, gradually shrank.

Finally, when the light faded, a tall, voluptuous, and exquisitely beautiful mature woman dressed in a light blue palace gown appeared before Han Lu.

"Young man, what time is it now?"

Is Feng You still alive?

Chapter 145 Feng Rubing

What time is it now?

Han Lu looked slightly worried when she heard this question.

Although the Ice Phoenix Spirit's question was somewhat vague, Han Lu could still understand that it wanted to know what year it was, and most likely, how long she had been "frozen" in this cave.

This question is both difficult and easy to answer.

It was easy for Han Lu to know the specific year; she knew that this year was the 783rd year of the Southern Jin Dynasty and the 1344th year of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Answering those two questions about time is easy, but getting the Ice Phoenix True Spirit, which has probably been cut off from the outside world for thousands of years, to understand is a very difficult task.

After a moment's hesitation, Han Lu decided to say a few more words.

"May I ask how to address Senior Ice Phoenix?"

Ice Phoenix True Spirit introduced herself as "Phoenix Like Ice".

"Senior Ru Bing, it is now the 783rd year of the Southern Jin Dynasty and the 1344th year of the Northern Wei Dynasty. It has been about five thousand years since the Yan Yang Sect was destroyed."

When Han Lu touched the area, she realized that the Ice Phoenix True Spirit had already "settled down" in the cave when the Yan Yang Sect had designated it as a forbidden zone, which is why she added that sentence.

But clearly, the added sentence had no effect whatsoever.

Because the Ice Phoenix True Spirit had lived in the ice for too long, it had forgotten many things. It took a while before it remembered some things that happened before it entered the cave.

“The Flame Sun Sect? Oh, so it’s the sect that established its gates outside this cave,” Feng Rubing said. “Those small sects usually don’t last more than a few hundred years, which means…”

"It must have been nearly five thousand years since I arrived here?"

Han Lu didn't know the correct answer, so she could only agree, "I guess so."

"What about Feng You? Where is he now?"

Han Lu looked embarrassed and said, "I'm sorry, Senior Ru Bing, I have never heard of the name Feng You."

"You possess the bloodline of the Illusionary Phoenix, yet you do not know who Feng You is?" Feng Rubing was somewhat surprised. "When I was forced to hide here, Feng You was a prominent figure in the Illusionary Phoenix clan. He had already reached the Nascent Soul stage of a human cultivator when he had just come of age."

"Five thousand years have passed. If nothing unexpected happens, Feng You has most likely become the patriarch of the Illusion Phoenix Clan."

"You don't know him?"

Based on Feng Rubing's introduction of Feng You, Han Lu guessed that the two of them probably had a deeper relationship.

Han Lu judged in her heart, "They're either lovers or enemies."

Regardless of their relationship, Han Lu genuinely did not know who this fellow clansman named Feng You was.

Even the reclusive cultivator Xiaoyaozi, who was active in the East Sea region, had no memory of this true spirit.

With a helpless expression, Han Lu explained, "Senior Ru Bing, although I possess the bloodline of the Illusionary Phoenix, I grew up in the Central Plains as a human. I am unaware of the various stories within the True Spirit Realm, and naturally I have never heard of the Senior Feng You you mentioned, nor do I know where he is or whether he is dead or alive."

After hearing Han Lu's explanation, Feng Rubing stopped wasting her time and pressed Han Lu, a junior with only the ninth level of Qi Refining, for information about Feng Yang.

After finding out Han Lu's name, Feng Rubing casually conjured two ice chairs in the cave and invited Han Lu to sit down.

"I've been in this cave for a full five thousand years. Come and tell me about the Central Plains. What's the situation in the Central Plains now? Which human sects are leading the cultivation world in the north and south?"

The division of the Central Plains into North and South was formed tens of thousands of years ago. However, Feng Rubing, who has been isolated from the world for five thousand years, is naturally not completely out of touch with it. Han Lu can answer this question calmly.

As Han Lu spoke, Feng Rubing commented, occasionally asking follow-up questions to get Han Lu to elaborate.

Starting from the south and moving to the north, Han Lu first talked about the cultivation world in the Southern Dynasty, which she was relatively familiar with, before bringing up the north.

After spending more time describing Tangmen and Yanzhao, Han Lu then introduced the general situation of regions outside the Central Plains, such as the East Sea, the Southern Barbarians, and the Western Regions.

Finally, Han Lu brought up the matter of the ancient cultivation secret realm, ending with this most recent major event in the Central Plains region as her answer to the question.

The answer was quite detailed, and in just about half an hour, Feng Rubing, who had lived in the ice of the cave for more than five thousand years, roughly understood the current situation of the cultivation world.

However, Feng Rubing's question was clearly quite meaningful. Seeing that Han Lu did not mention a certain name she wanted to hear, she took the initiative to ask, "Have you ever heard of that bastard Zhenling Daoren?"

“True Spirit Taoist? No, I’ve never heard of him.” Han Lu shook her head.

As soon as Han Lu finished answering, Feng Rubing realized that the question she had asked was incredibly stupid.

"That's true. Five thousand years have passed. Even if that bastard's cultivation reached the Nascent Soul stage, he would have ascended to the Spirit Realm long ago. How could he still leave his mark on this world?"

Upon hearing this, Han Lu asked curiously, "What, Senior Ru Bing, is this True Spirit Daoist your enemy?"

“That’s right,” Feng Rubing, who hadn’t spoken for over five thousand years, felt a strong urge to confide in Han Lu, a junior of the same clan. “Back then, I was injured by him. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been hiding here, circulating the ‘True Phoenix Manual’ to simulate the Nirvana of the True Phoenix. I spent thousands of years recuperating, and I was only barely awakened just now because I sensed your presence.”

Han Lu's gossipy nature ignited, and she continued to inquire, "I wonder what Senior Ru Bing's cultivation level is, and what True Spirit Daoist's cultivation level is?"

"Me? I'm roughly equivalent to a human cultivator at the late Nascent Soul stage. That bastard's cultivation was only at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, but he had a secret technique to suppress true spirits. Otherwise, how could I have been no match for him, beaten so badly that I had to flee in a sorry state and even suffered serious injuries?" Feng Rubing was clearly annoyed when she mentioned this story of her enemy from a thousand years ago.

Anyone who is defeated by a cultivator with a lower cultivation level would not feel much better than Feng Rubing.

"I wonder how you came to have a grudge against that bastard?" Han Lu asked again.

Feng Rubing rolled her eyes, showing no trace of the demeanor of a senior expert, and complained to Han Lu, "I usually keep a low profile, but that bastard came to me on his own initiative."

"They said they were doing some kind of research, trying to create human cultivators with true spiritual bloodlines, and they wanted to borrow my body."

"They said they wanted me to give birth to a hundred babies to propagate the true spirit bloodline, and after a hundred years they would let me leave freely."

"How could I agree to that? So naturally, we started fighting."

"Who knew that bastard was skilled in martial arts and seriously injured me. I barely managed to escape and eventually found this place to hide completely."

Feng Rubing's face was full of resentment, clearly blaming all the five thousand years she had wasted on that True Spirit Daoist.

Listening to Feng Rubing's story, Han Lu felt a chill run down her spine.

She was incredibly grateful that this whimsical Taoist master was a figure from thousands of years ago.

Otherwise, if someone with such cultivation were to seek her out, she would probably be the mother of countless children.

After finishing talking about the unpleasant things, Feng Rubing started talking about the pleasant things. She expressed her gratitude to Han Lu, "Han Lu, thank you so much. If it weren't for the phoenix aura on your body that awakened me from my Nirvana state, I'm afraid I would have slept here until I died."

After all, Jiufeng was not the legendary phoenix god, and the Nirvana Rebirth Secret Technique recorded in the True Phoenix Treasure Book was only half-baked and flawed.

Feng Rubing chose this method to recover back then out of desperation; she never expected that she would almost fall into eternal sleep within this block of ice.

Although Han Lu didn't know what she had done to deserve such a favor from this ancestor from a thousand years ago, she could feel Feng Rubing's gratitude.

“Senior,” Han Lu stood up from the ice chair and bowed, “I came here unintentionally. In fact, I don’t know how I woke you up. Senior Ru Bing, there’s no need for thanks.”

“That won’t do. Don’t call me ‘senior’ anymore. Just call me Sister Ru Bing,” Feng Ru Bing said, striking a pose.

Since Feng Rubing had made such a statement, Han Lu, who had already ventured into the forbidden area with the intention of seeking opportunities, stopped pretending and called out "Sister Rubing," waiting for Feng Rubing to give her an answer and decide how to repay her great kindness.

It should be noted that Feng Rubing is a true spirit at the Nascent Soul stage. Even if she were to leak out a little benefit from her feathers, it would be enough for Han Lu, a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining, to enjoy.

[Author's Note] Some people can still guess the plot. Failure 233.

Chapter 146 The Secret Technique of Harmony

Feng Rubing hadn't decided what reward to give to the younger generation.

She looked at Han Lu and asked, "Is there anything you want?"

The pleasant exchange earlier convinced Feng Rubing that Han Lu wouldn't make unreasonable demands.

She had to ask directly to make the gift achieve its intended purpose.

Han Lu thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I don't lack magic weapons or spirit stones now, but there is something that has been bothering me."

"Tell me about it." Feng Rubing was very curious about what kind of troubles a Qi Refining cultivator like Han Lu had.

Han Lu replied, "Sister Ru Bing, I am currently cultivating at the Zhengyi Sect in the Southern Dynasty. There is a cultivation treasure land there with active water-attribute spiritual energy, called Han Chan Peak."

"My physique and cultivation method are special. One day of rest on Cold Cicada Peak is equivalent to ten days of cultivation elsewhere."