The Long Journey to Immortality

A hint of seriousness appeared on his face, which barely matched his handsome appearance.

With a light leap, he stepped onto the ring, making a not-too-loud sound that just "woke" Han Lu.

The two locked eyes and saw the fighting spirit in each other's eyes.

Chapter 164 Poisonous Fog

Although Han Lu was the challenger and Lu Liangcai was the champion, when they met, it was Lu Liangcai who greeted them first.

"Greetings, Junior Sister Han. I never expected that you would be the one to spar with me. I am truly honored." Although this was only the first time he had met Han Lu, Lu Liangcai had indeed heard of her name long ago, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they had known each other for a long time.

Han Lu, sitting cross-legged on the ground, felt a little embarrassed. She realized that she couldn't fly and couldn't stand up from the ground in a cool way.

After a moment of contemplation, as if she had finished circulating her cultivation technique, she came up with an idea. She took out a sheathed wooden sword from her storage bag, used the wooden sword as a "crutch," and leaned on the sword to sit up from the ground, barely managing to maintain her expert demeanor.

After standing up, Han Lu returned the greeting and said, "Senior Brother Lu, you are too kind. I have heard of your great name in Dongshan Academy. It just so happens that I was lucky this time and won three games in a row, which earned me the right to challenge. I would like to take this opportunity to compete with you and see if I, Han Lu from Dongshan Academy, am more powerful, or if you, Lu Liangcai from Zhongshan Academy, are more powerful."

Han Lu's words were full of provocation, but Lu Liangcai was not angered by these subtle hints. He smiled and said, "Alright, I hope Junior Sister Han can do her best so that I can verify and confirm my current capabilities."

Having acquired several excellent magical artifacts, Lu Liangcai was somewhat unsure of his current strength.

With the matter of the ancient cultivation secret realm right before his eyes, he naturally wanted to unleash his potential and adjust his combat state through several evenly matched battles, while also figuring out his current strength, who he could defeat, and who he should run away from immediately upon encountering them.

"Of course, I will do everything in my power to secure this position to enter the ancient cultivation secret realm." Han Lu put the wooden sword in her hand back into her storage bag to keep it in her possession, preparing in advance for the upcoming challenge battle.

Lu Liangcai was a married man, and he guessed that his little darling was watching his match somewhere in the audience. In order to avoid suspicion, he didn't want to have too much interaction with Han Lu, the beautiful female cultivator.

Thus, the two on the stage stood facing each other at a distance of nearly thirty steps, both silent, as if gathering their strength and waiting for the moment when the match would begin to erupt.

The two lead actors arrived, but the two referees were late.

The academy cultivator made a special trip to the logistics department to retrieve several spirit stones in preparation for replacing the arena's restrictive formation, to prevent the arena from collapsing again due to the fierce battle between the two.

The Golden Core Elder went to the viewing platform to symbolically consult with several high-ranking officials, report the competition results, and invite them to come and watch the battle up close.

After all, Han Lu's challenge against Lu Liangcai was the first challenge match against the reigning champion, which was quite significant.

Finally, the East Mountain Academy's Dean, Wuhu Jushi, and the Central Mountain Academy's Dean, Feipin Daoren, agreed to travel together. Together with the Golden Core cultivator who was acting as the referee, they arrived at Arena Number Eight and watched the battle from the sidelines, cheering on the cultivators from their respective academies.

Because she won the championship in the Qi Refining Ninth Level group in the small competition, Han Lu had some interaction with the Dean of the Mountain Academy, Wu Hu Jushi, and exchanged a few polite words, but that was the end of it.

On the contrary, Wuhu Jushi felt more affection for Han Lu.

Upon arriving at the arena, the Hermit of the Five Lakes sent out a divine thought, transmitting his voice in a secret, one-on-one manner to cheer Han Lu on directly in her mind.

The abbot's enthusiasm made Han Lu somewhat embarrassed, so she turned around, dropped her air of superiority, and respectfully bowed to the Hermit of Five Lakes to express her gratitude.

The referees were in place, the distinguished guests had arrived, and the two contestants were fully prepared. This time, however, the Foundation Establishment cultivator from the academy didn't even have the right to participate in the countdown.

The Golden Core cultivator, who was originally just there to keep watch, took the initiative to ask Han Lu and Lu Liangcai if they could compete, and then began to recite numbers.

This left the academy student feeling frustrated, though he dared not speak out against it.

"3, 2, 1, Go!"

As the match began, the two on the stage, quite in sync, neither used any magic but instead simultaneously took out the same magical artifact.

Lu Liangcai took out a white treasure bottle that was no bigger than the palm of his hand.

Han Lu, however, took out the Moon Pearl.

Han Lu already knew all of Lu Liangcai's moves before the match, so she wasn't worried about his little tricks.

Therefore, Han Lu had the idea of ​​"acting" to conceal the help her bloodline power provided in the battle, so as to avoid causing trouble or accidents.

Han Lu symbolically poured spiritual power into the Moon Pearl, causing it to light up and emit a faint glow, as if she were brewing some extraordinary supernatural power.

Meanwhile, Lu Liangcai silently recited an incantation at the other end of the arena, activating his magical artifact.

Soon, the mouth of the bottle in his hand widened slightly, and a large amount of pink smoke quickly emanated outwards.

The pink smoke quickly filled the space within the magic circle's restriction, instantly enveloping both of them.

If someone else had used this trick, Han Lu might have thought it was just a smokescreen, but Lu Liangcai was renowned, and Han Lu knew without a doubt that the pink smoke was some kind of poisonous gas or mist.

Seeing Lu Liangcai use his poison technique, Han Lu quickly took out a Cold-Repelling Pill from her storage bag and swallowed it, pretending that she had taken a specially prepared antidote.

The Qi Refining cultivators watching the battle couldn't see the two on the stage because the poisonous fog obscured their vision; even Lu Liangcai was no exception.

However, the three Golden Core cultivators who were watching nearby did not have this problem.

Upon noticing Han Lu's act of swallowing the pills, the Filthy Taoist looked troubled, while the Five Lakes Hermit beamed with joy.

After the poison technique was completed, Lu Liangcai's voice rang out on the arena, "Junior Sister Han, my poison mist is all-pervasive. Simply holding your breath won't stop the toxins from invading."

Upon hearing this, Han Lu indeed felt slightly dizzy.

However, she was not affected by the dizziness; she simply recited the incantation and circulated the True Phoenix Manual.

Although the poisonous fog only had a slight effect on Han Lu if her true spirit bloodline was not activated, she dared not be careless, for fear of failing at this most crucial juncture.

In the blink of an eye, several feathers transformed into true spirits reappeared on her arm, and even Han Lu's buttocks felt a slight pain, as if phoenix tail feathers were about to grow out at this moment.

With his blood vessels activated, the dizziness he had just experienced from inhaling a small amount of poisonous mist vanished instantly.

Sensing the changes in her body, Han Lu was certain that her judgment was correct; Lu Liangcai was indeed the most suitable person for her challenge.

Several Golden Core cultivators witnessed Han Lu's changes, but Lu Liangcai remained completely unaware.

Following his usual practice, he dispersed the poisonous mist for a minute before activating the bottle again to retrieve all the carefully prepared poisonous mist.

The pink poisonous mist returned to the bottle.

When Lu Liangcai saw Han Lu, who was standing not far from him and smiling at him, he was so startled that he almost dropped the precious bottle in his hand.

"What's going on? The poisonous fog isn't working on Junior Sister Han?"

Chapter 165 Provocation

Poisoning is the type of magic that Lu Liangcai is most skilled in.

With the white jade porcelain bottle in his hand, his superb poison skills, honed during the Qi Refining stage, made him invincible in several major and minor competitions.

This was the first time Lu Liangcai had ever seen Han Lu completely unaffected by the poisonous fog.

"What's going on?" Lu Liangcai asked with a dark expression, pondering to himself, "Could it be that Junior Sister Han possesses a protective technique that can completely block the poisonous mist from seeping in, or perhaps she specially prepared a detoxifying pill, which is why she was able to completely block the poisonous mist I unleashed?"

Looking at Lu Liangcai's expression, Han Lu guessed what he was thinking.

In order to demonstrate her strength, Han Lu abandoned her usual humble habits and took the initiative to provoke others on the ring.

"Senior Brother Lu, the smoke just now was quite beautiful. Do you have any other colors?"

Han Lu's question immediately made Lu Liangcai's blood pressure rise.

With an increasingly gloomy expression, Lu Liangcai said in a low voice, "Junior Sister Han wants to see the poisonous fog that can be detected? Then come on."

Based on Han Lu's behavior, Lu Liangcai guessed that Han Lu possessed some kind of antidote, which was why she was so arrogant.

As for powerful protective techniques that surpass the Qi Refining realm, these were not among his considerations.

Lu Liangcai knew that even a Golden Core cultivator using protective qi could not completely resist the poison technique that had just been used and keep it out.

As a master of poisons, he was also an expert in toxicology. Based on the theory of the mutual generation and restraint of toxins, and combined with practical experience, Lu Liangcai activated the white jade bottle again, used his poison technique to summon bursts of green mist, which once again covered the arena.

While activating his magical artifact, Lu Liangcai thought to himself, "Junior Sister Han, if you want to break my Bewitching Powder, you must take a pill containing Azure Grass to detoxify. Then I will use Green Smoke Poison to make the Azure Grass in your body react with my poisonous mist, making the poison even more poisonous. Let's see what you do then."

Lu Liangcai's tactics were entirely correct, but his judgment on why Han Lu avoided poisoning was fundamentally flawed.

This time, Lu Liangcai deliberately let the green smoke poison linger on the arena for a while before withdrawing it.

When the smoke cleared, Han Lu reappeared in front of him.

Han Lu coughed twice on purpose and said, "Senior Brother Lu, the smoke just now didn't smell good. Could you give me a floral scent instead?"

This blatant provocation enraged Lu Liangcai.

At the height of his success, he naturally couldn't tolerate Han Lu being so smug in front of him.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the Five Lakes Hermit and the Fierce-Impoverished Taoist watching from below the stage, and then subconsciously touched the storage bag at his waist, recalling whether he still had the antidote for the deadly poison in the storage bag.

After confirming that he could perform freely on the stage without harming Han Lu's life, Lu Liangcai suppressed his anger and asked again, "Junior Sister Han, since you want something that smells good, then I'll give you something that smells good. However, this poison might kill you if you smell it. Do you want to try it?"

"Let's give it a try," Han Lu said with a smile. "Do as you please. There are two deans watching from below the stage. I'm sure Senior Brother Lu also has the antidote in his storage bag. I also want to experience Senior Brother Lu's deadly poison and taste what it tastes like."

Han Lu was telling the absolute truth.

She also wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, with several Golden Core cultivators watching and protecting her, to find out just how strong her body would become after activating her True Spirit Bloodline.

Lu Liangcai snorted coldly and said, "Then I'm coming."

Although Han Lu only mentioned the word "fragrance" to make her words more interesting when she was being provocative, the only lethal toxin that Lu Liangcai possessed was indeed extracted from several kinds of poisonous flowers.

To obtain these toxins, Lu Liangcai, from a modest background, spent a considerable amount of time traveling throughout the Central Plains.

Due to the rules of the competition, Lu Liangcai kept this flower poison away after it was made.

Now, with the opportunity to demonstrate this painstakingly crafted flower poison in front of everyone, Lu Liangcai even felt a little excited, as if being able to poison Han Lu at this moment was the greatest affirmation of his achievements in poison techniques.

Compared to the previous two types of potent toxins, this time, the poisonous mist emanating from the small white jade bottle in Lu Liangcai's hand was much more discreet. Not only was the quantity small, but the color was also pale. If Lu Liangcai hadn't used his spiritual power to envelop it and send it to Han Lu, cultivators with poor eyesight wouldn't have been able to detect the presence of these deadly toxins in the air.

With the various poisonous mists no longer obscuring his vision, Lu Liangcai was finally able to see clearly what methods Han Lu had used to counter his poison techniques.

The audience members below the stage were also curious, watching Han Lu intently, looking forward to her performance.

A pale, poisonous mist drifted toward Han Lu, who calmly took a deep breath and inhaled it.

These deadly flower toxins circulated through Han Lu's body, causing her to feel slightly dizzy for a moment, but no other abnormalities occurred.

Feeling perfectly fine, Han Lu deliberately rubbed her forehead, which wasn't sweaty, with the back of her hand, and said to Lu Liangcai, who was looking at her in astonishment, "This fragrance is truly delightful. Senior Brother Lu has excellent taste."

Hearing Han Lu's provocative words, Lu Liangcai felt an urge to vomit blood.

"Damn it," Lu Liangcai cursed inwardly, "I've fallen for Han Lu's provocation. Since she chose me as her opponent, she must have learned some secret technique specifically for dealing with poison. No wonder she's not afraid of the several poisonous mists in my hand."

Lu Liangcai looked up at Han Lu, who was smiling at him, suppressed his anger, and decided not to be stubborn or force himself to win with poison techniques to fight Han Lu for this pride.

“Junior Sister Han is indeed formidable. It seems she has made considerable preparations for this arena match,” Lu Liangcai said, putting away the white jade bottle and taking out a handbell. “If you can counter my poison techniques, can you counter my illusion techniques?”

Upon hearing this, Han Lu smiled even more broadly.

She put away the True Phoenix Technique and smiled, "To be honest, Senior Brother Lu, I am actually better at dealing with illusions than poison techniques."

Lu Liangcai casually asked, "Oh? Did Junior Sister Han obtain some excellent Mind-Cleansing Talismans?"