The Long Journey to Immortality

Hearing this made Zhong Wencheng panic, and he immediately shut his mouth.

Although his cultivation had reached the eighth level of Qi Refining, he was ultimately just an outer disciple.

From any perspective, her status within the Zhengyi Sect is far inferior to that of Han Lu.

If Han Lu were to deliberately target him and trip him up, he might have to leave this treasure trove that brought him countless spirit stones and wouldn't be able to live a comfortable life anymore.

Immediately, Zhong Wencheng also abandoned the idea of ​​doing things perfunctorily.

As soon as Han Lu left, several of Zhong Wencheng's fellow apprentices who knew him from within the compound filed in and started joking with him.

Some people are saying they'll be attending Zhong Wencheng's wedding banquet in a few days.

Some people are inquiring about the identity of "Zhong Wencheng's girlfriend".

They asked Zhong Wencheng to help them find a match.

Having just been threatened by Han Lu, Zhong Wencheng had absolutely no interest in joking about romantic relationships like Han Lu did.

Slightly annoyed, Zhong Wencheng drove everyone out of his room. Looking at the paper covered with names, he didn't waste a moment and quickly began searching through the bookshelf for information on the dozen or so cultivators. He planned to write a brief outline first, then use it as the core to conduct the investigation, quickly supplementing the content, and striving to complete the task ahead of schedule to deliver the "viewing guide" customized by Han Lu.

Back in her own courtyard, Wen Erya finished preparing her lessons and began tutoring Han Lu.

The names of several formidable enemies were etched into Han Lu's mind, with Wen Erya spending the most time and effort talking about Jing Jin.

After Jing Jin won the competition, he naturally became one of the "treasure hunters".

But for some reason, he was not selected for the list of seven main champions this time.

Even last-minute preparation can be effective.

In addition to strengthening theoretical knowledge, as with the upcoming competitions, Han Lu also did a simple review of the techniques and secret arts she had already mastered, trying to refine these methods for defeating enemies.

The day before the competition began, Zhong Wencheng, sporting dark circles under his eyes, handed Han Lu a "viewing guide" still smelling strongly of ink. The final rules for the qualifying tournament were also posted in front of the Five Great Mountain Colleges and announced to the public.

Besides the seven names that had been circulating for a long time and were officially confirmed as champions, the other seven treasure hunters who were not selected as the first batch of champions became the sieve for screening challengers.

They need to face at least three challengers every day. If they win three consecutive matches, they will be eligible to challenge one of the seven champions that day. If they win, they will switch places with the current champion. If they lose, they will continue to be the dice and fight three more matches the next day to find another opportunity.

Challengers like Han Lu, whose cultivation level has reached the tenth level of Qi Refining or above, need to challenge the seven eliminated champions first.

This process is random; in other words, if the challengers are not strong enough, only 21 cultivators will be qualified to issue a challenge that day.

Victory means taking their place, while defeat means completely losing the opportunity to participate in the Ancient Cultivation Secret Realm.

After winning, challengers like Han Lu will be considered as the defeated champions and will need to defeat three more challengers before they can challenge for the title, which adds a lot of variables to the challenge competition.

This selection competition lasts for seven days. Only the disciples who remain in the seven main arena positions on the last day will be qualified to enter the Ancient Cultivation Secret Realm.

Although these rules are a bit complicated, they ensure that the reigning champion is not dethroned through a series of matches or a war of attrition.

This ensures that the disciple appearing on the final list of seven will be the strongest among the Qi Refining disciples of the Zhengyi Sect.

Chapter 159 Arrangements

"Junior sister, on which day do you plan to challenge the champion?"

"It's the first day, so it'll save us some trouble if we finish this early."

Han Lu explained her thoughts clearly: "There are many fellow disciples in the sect with cultivation levels of Qi Refining Level 10 or above, at least five hundred, and the strength of the few who failed to become champions is also quite remarkable."

"The process of challenging the seven eliminated champions is random. If there are more challengers on the day, the eliminated champions may all win, and it will take more time to launch a challenge."

"I don't want to drag things out until the very end, only to miss out on this opportunity that I've been waiting for for almost two years because I didn't get a chance to participate in the final few days of the challenge."

Han Lu prefers to resolve all troublesome matters as soon as possible.

"In addition, participating in the competition early allows you to showcase your abilities to other students as much as possible."

"After all, even if you defeat the reigning champion and take his place, you may still be chosen to be challenged in the next few days."

"If you're not strong enough, you'll definitely be challenged by three or four former champions every day, turning it into a series of challenges."

"If you are strong enough, you may not even need to appear again after becoming the main champion. Everyone will avoid you and will not choose you as an opponent."

"On the first day, winning five games in a row with overwhelming force can save a lot of effort in this matter."

If it weren't for the fact that the ability to transform into a true spirit wasn't suitable for this occasion, Han Lu would have really had the urge to transform into the Ice Phoenix, enter the arena, and crush other cultivators of the same realm to win the competition.

After all, the title of True Spirit is there, and only a very few Zhengyi Sect cultivators with a strong desire for challenge would think of not challenging their fellow human disciples, but instead becoming enemies with the powerful True Spirit.

Wen Erya had a different idea from Han Lu, "But isn't it a bit of a disadvantage to take on the challenge right from the start?"

Han Lu laughed and said, "Do you think we're afraid of suffering such a small loss?"

Wen Erya thought about it and realized that this made sense.

If you can't even defeat the defeated champions in their prime, how can you talk about defeating the seven regular champions?

Based on the rules, Han Lu reminded Wen Erya, "Senior sister, we should pay attention to a few things when we take on the challenge."

"Hmm?" Wen Erya raised an eyebrow.

Han Lu suggested, "Senior sister, I think it would be best if we did the challenge on two separate days."

"What do you mean by that?"

“Think about it, Senior Sister,” Han Lu gave an example, “If we were a little less lucky, and you had just defeated a defeated champion, while I was unfortunately randomly assigned to be your challenger, then one of us would definitely lose and completely lose the opportunity to enter the Ancient Cultivation Secret Realm.”

"Siblings fighting, I'm sure you wouldn't want to see that happen either."

Wen Erya nodded in agreement and made the arrangement, "Then how about this, junior sister, you go for the challenge on the first day, and I'll go on the second day."

"Perfect timing, I can also practice using those three new magical items to increase my chances of winning this challenge."

Compared to Han Lu, Wen Erya was slightly less confident in herself and didn't think she was 100% sure she could defeat the main champion and get a spot to enter the Ancient Cultivation Secret Realm.

Han Lu said, "Okay, then it's settled. Senior Sister doesn't need to come cheer me on tomorrow. I'll find a few opponents to practice with and study the magic tools properly."

Wen Erya joked, "Then I'll wait for my junior sister to come and be my sparring partner tomorrow afternoon."

“Okay,” Han Lu readily agreed, “I’ll try to finish the battle by morning.”

The two senior and junior sisters chatted and laughed as if they had already secured two of the seven spots.

Similar scenes were also occurring throughout the Zhengyi Sect, with many outstanding disciples such as Han Lu and Wen Erya considering one of the seven spots as their own.

Some are overly arrogant and think too highly of themselves, while others are truly talented. But who will have the last laugh will have to be decided in the ring.

The next morning, when this grand event, no less than a competition, began, nearly half of the disciples of the Zhengyi Sect flocked to the Five Elements Mountain Academy.

Some participated in the competition, while others cheered for the participants. But many more simply wanted to watch the excitement from the sidelines and participate in the ancient cultivation secret realm in another way.

Unlike previous competitions, where there were always casual participants, this time the disciples of the Zhengyi Sect participating in the Ancient Cultivation Secret Realm Selection Competition were all top talents at the tenth level of Qi Refining or above, and there were many cultivators like Han Lu who had won championships in both the large and small competitions.

Naturally, participants will also enjoy a higher level of treatment.

Each arena is maintained by a Golden Core cultivator. For example, Piaomiaozi, the master of Han Lu and Wen Erya, was arranged to come here to serve in the last few days to ensure that the elite disciples of the sect would not perish on the arena due to the sect's internal sparring.

During the seven days, the three sect leaders will take turns appearing at the selection competition to watch the matches, in order to show their emphasis on this selection competition.

The Five Elements Mountain Academy also set up a rest area not far from the arena, set up a spirit-gathering array, and arranged physicians so that the disciples participating in the selection competition could quickly recover their spiritual power and heal their injuries, so that they could face each match in full force.

In addition, seven courtyards in the Five Elements Mountain Academy that were originally used to entertain distinguished guests have been cleared out. The champions of the seven arenas are required to reside in the Five Elements Mountain Academy for these seven days so that they can step onto the arena at any time to fight the challengers who have won at least three matches to gain the right to challenge.

Several smaller sects closely associated with the Zhengyi Sect also arranged for their most outstanding disciples to participate in the competition at the invitation of Master Yunmin.

Master Yunmin euphemistically called it "mutual prosperity," aiming to strengthen relationships with other sects and jointly cultivate the path of friendship.

But in reality, even the disciples from small sects who were assigned to participate in the competition did not think they could snatch a spot amidst the encirclement and suppression of so many skilled members of the Zhengyi Sect.

Everything was arranged perfectly, but when the selection competition officially began, some oversights still occurred.

The Golden Core elders of the Zhengyi Sect, who were in charge of organizing the competition, originally thought that at most a hundred elite disciples at the tenth level of Qi Refining or above would choose to sign up for the competition.

However, when the actual competition began, they were surprised to find that many disciples who could only be called "mediocre" at the tenth level of Qi Refining also wanted to participate in this competition that selected the elite of the elite.

Fortunately, the sect leader was present and a new rule was temporarily established to prevent true elites from missing out on this grand event due to the foolish reason of not being qualified to challenge.

"Disciples who have advanced to the finals of the major and minor competitions have priority in challenging others? That would save me the time of waiting."

Han Lu was overjoyed to see the newly posted regulations.

Following this, Han Lu, who was originally scheduled to challenge 53rd after registration, was able to move up her position due to this new rule.

As a "double champion" and one of the most prominent cultivators in Dongshan Academy in recent years, Han Lu is considered an elite among elites by the higher-ups of Zhengyi Sect.

"The fourth one? Consider it the first round."

Han Lu muttered something to herself and patiently waited for the match to begin.

[Author's Note] I've come up with an idea that's even more interesting than the ancient cultivation secret realm I originally envisioned, and I hope you'll enjoy it after I write it down.

Chapter 160 Establishing a Prestige

With seven undefeated champions, there can be seven matches starting simultaneously.

Han Lu, who was scheduled to appear fourth, drew a very favorable lot after a draw with seven options.

"Great! Looks like I've been having some good luck lately," Han Lu said, beaming as she looked at her upcoming opponent. "I've actually chosen one of only two Qi Refining Level 11 cultivators."

Of the fourteen treasure hunters who were designated as key trainees, only two disciples were not progressing as expected, and at this time they were still only at the eleventh level of Qi Refining.

Naturally, putting aside everything else, just looking at their cultivation levels, these two former champions at the eleventh level of Qi Refining became the two easiest targets among the seven former champions.

The man facing Han Lu was named Yin Yixing, a disciple of Xishan Academy.

Yin Yixing was only at the ninth level of Qi Refining at the time, but because he won the previous small competition and had a master dean, he was selected into the final list of treasure hunters.

This matter was somewhat controversial when the list was announced. When the selection competition started, Yin Yixing was only a Qi Refining 11th level cultivator. Many Zhengyi Sect disciples who had raised doubts at the time would start by saying "I knew he couldn't do it" whenever they brought it up.

As for why Yin Yixing, despite receiving special training from the sect and being provided with abundant cultivation resources, still failed to advance to the twelfth level of Qi Refining, Yin Yixing himself explained that his cultivation method was different from ordinary cultivation methods.

He stated that in the cultivation method he practiced, the two spiritual meridians at the eleventh and twelfth levels of Qi Refining both required opening a total of 23 acupoints to break through.

This is why he fell behind others in terms of cultivation level, becoming one of only two cultivators among the treasure hunters who did not advance to the twelfth level of Qi Refining.

This reason seems reasonable to outsiders, since most cultivation methods only require opening about eleven or twelve acupoints to open a spiritual meridian.

But this reason seems somewhat laughable when applied to Han Lu, an "alternative genius" who practices the "Great Zhou Heavenly Water Condensation Technique".

Despite this, Han Lu did not underestimate her opponent or take Yin Yixing seriously.

Being selected as a treasure hunter, Yin Yixing must be quite skilled, not to mention that his master is the dean of Xishan Academy, so his storage bag must contain a lot of magical tools and talismans.