The Long Journey to Immortality

"No, no, no," Han Lu said jokingly, "I'm just naturally optimistic and generous, and I won't be affected by low-level illusions at the Qi Refining level, not even illusions or secret techniques cast by magical tools."

Upon hearing this, Lu Liangcai assumed that Han Lu was just bragging and exaggerating.

"Then let's give it a try, Junior Sister Han. Listen to my Gu God Bell and see how many rings you can withstand."

After speaking, Lu Liangcai channeled most of his remaining spiritual power into the Gu God Bell in his hand, fully activating this fourth-grade magic tool and unleashing its maximum power.

Chapter 166 Teasing

Compared to poison techniques, which are difficult to control and more likely to cause death, Lu Liangcai prefers to use illusion techniques in battle during friendly sparring and competitions among fellow disciples within the sect, such as large and small competitions.

Therefore, illusion magic was used much more frequently than poison magic in his arsenal.

In terms of proficiency and skill, illusion magic is naturally superior to poison magic.

The magic weapon Gu Shen Bell that Lu Liangcai is currently using is a treasure he obtained from the inner treasury after winning the championship of the fourth level of Qi Refining. It has accompanied him in battles for many years.

After coming into Lu Liangcai's hands, the Gu God Bell has made many contributions. It can be said that this magic tool, which is quite useful against Qi Refining cultivators, is one of the reasons why Lu Liangcai was able to stand out from countless elites in the Zhengyi Sect.

Although it is only of the middle fourth grade quality, the Gu God Bell has defeated many cultivators with higher grade magic tools by relying on its elusive soul attacks.

Therefore, when the Gu God Bell, which was invincible on the arena, appeared in Lu Liangcai's hands, Han Lu was prepared and did not show the slightest surprise.

On the arena, Lu Liangcai used the Gu God Bell no less than twenty times, and Han Lu naturally saw the introduction of this magical artifact in the "Viewing Guide".

Han Lu didn't know everything about this magical artifact, but she did know its approximate power and effects.

Knowing that he was unlikely to be a match for Han Lu in a debate, Lu Liangcai gave up the idea of ​​arguing with Han Lu.

Instead of empty talk, let's let our actions speak for themselves.

"jingle."

As the bell rang, one-tenth of Lu Liangcai's spiritual power dissipated, and he looked slightly tired.

Even through the protective barriers of the arena, the audience below could feel as if their hearts were being squeezed and kneaded after hearing the not-so-crisp ringing.

And what about Han Lu, who is located in the arena and is the main target of this bell's attack?

She acted as if nothing had happened, and even looked more energetic than when she dealt with the deadly flower poison.

Seeing this, Lu Liangcai was not surprised.

He knew all too well the power of the Gu God Bell.

He didn't think that an opponent of Han Lu's caliber, who was also well-prepared, would collapse so easily after hearing just one ring of the bell.

"jingle."

Lu Liangcai shook the Gu God Bell in his hand again. This time, nearly 20% of his spiritual power was drawn from his body and poured into this signature magical artifact.

He was panting heavily, his body slightly slumped, clearly nearing his limit and having no strength left to continue.

Having used so many poison and illusion techniques in succession, Lu Liangcai, whose spiritual power was not particularly abundant to begin with, had very little spiritual power left in his body.

"He should be lying on the ground by now," Lu Liangcai thought to himself.

After taking three breaths to adjust his breathing, Lu Liangcai straightened up and looked at Han Lu not far away.

The scene he imagined did not appear before his eyes.

On the contrary, Han Lu remained unaffected, standing there without showing any signs of being affected by the illusion.

She even clapped her hands when Lu Liangcai looked at her, jokingly saying, "Senior Brother Lu, it would be more melodious if you rang the bell more rhythmically."

Hearing Han Lu's sarcastic words, Lu Liangcai almost fainted from anger.

Unfortunately, he had very little spiritual energy left in his body.

He thought to himself, "Damn it, I fell for Han Lu's trick and was provoked. Otherwise, I would have used the Gu God Bell right away and shaken it four times. I'm confident I could have taken down even my senior brother who is in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."

Despite his complaints, Lu Liangcai did not completely lose his fighting spirit.

On the contrary, Han Lu's repeated provocations only fueled his fighting spirit.

If this weren't just a competition and not a life-or-death struggle, he would definitely have risked his life to ring the Gu God Bell a third time and teach Han Lu a lesson.

With a pat on his storage bag, Lu Liangcai quickly pulled out a pill and swallowed it, trying to use this brief moment to quickly recover his spiritual power.

While doing these things, Lu Liangcai kept a close eye on Han Lu's every move.

But to his surprise, Han Lu seemed to be an outsider and had no intention of launching a surprise attack.

Han Lu's idea was simple: since everything was under her control, she would win in the most spectacular way possible.

The option of a swift and decisive victory is now gone.

She naturally chose to win by "teasing" her opponent, in order to deter potential challengers.

Han Lu was more than happy to let Lu Liangcai recover some of his spiritual power so that the performance could be extended and expanded, so she naturally wouldn't launch a "sneak attack" at this time.

“What’s wrong, Senior Brother Lu?” Han Lu continued to add fuel to the fire, “Do you still have the energy to ring the bell? If you feel tired, why don’t you rest for a while and listen to me play a piece called ‘High Mountains and Flowing Water’ for you?”

Although "High Mountains and Flowing Water" is a guqin piece, it has a unique flavor when performed on a wooden xiao.

After saying this, Han Lu took out her paulownia wood flute from her storage bag with a rather elegant gesture.

Seeing this, Lu Liangcai's expression changed slightly. He quickly took out two calming talismans from his storage bag and stuck them on his waist. At the same time, he silently recited the incantation, held his breath, and prepared to resist the illusion spell cast by Han Lu.

Lu Liangcai, who prides himself on being the best in illusion and poison among the Qi Refining cultivators of his sect, has no intention of being defeated head-on by Han Lu, his challenger, in his most proficient areas.

Seeing Lu Liangcai's tense and wary expression, Han Lu couldn't help but chuckle before placing the wooden flute to her lips and slowly beginning to play.

Han Lu can now be considered to be proficient in music, and the tunes she plays are naturally much more pleasant to listen to than Lu Liangcai's monotonous bell sounds.

When the song ended, many audience members applauded, while Lu Liangcai on stage was completely bewildered, wondering why he hadn't been affected by the music's illusion and hadn't experienced any discomfort whatsoever.

"Is it because Han Lu's illusion skills are too poor?"

Looking at Lu Liangcai's expression, Han Lu easily read his thoughts and said, "Senior Brother Lu, I only said I was going to play a beautiful tune for you, I didn't say I was going to cast an illusion on you, why are you so scared?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Liangcai realized that he had been manipulated by Han Lu.

Unfortunately, how much spiritual power could he recover in the time it takes to play just one song?

Lu Liangcai is still like a skilled cook without rice to cook, lacking spiritual power to fully unleash his skills on the arena.

Feeling that she had done enough, and to avoid being labeled a "witch" again, Han Lu decided to stop while she was ahead. Her expression suddenly turned serious. "Since Senior Brother Lu wants to try my illusion magic, I can't let him down. But I must remind you, Senior Brother Lu, if you fall under my illusion magic, you will most likely be asleep for seven days and seven nights, and you might miss the entire selection competition."

Upon hearing this, Lu Liangcai hesitated.

Han Lu's two boasts both came true, so this time it's clearly not unfounded either.

If Lu Liangcai were to truly fall into a coma for seven days and seven nights, he would lose not just one match, but the entire selection process.

Judging from the battle just now, his tricks and tactics were ineffective against Han Lu, so there's nothing shameful about him surrendering.

With this in mind, Lu Liangcai made a decisive decision.

"Junior Sister Han is more skilled; I have lost."

After saying this, Lu Liangcai jumped off the stage and surrendered under the astonished gazes of the crowd.

Han Lu gracefully bowed to Lu Liangcai, accepting the victory offered to her.

Thus, without bloodshed, after a round-robin-style arena match, Han Lu successfully became the first challenger to defeat the reigning champion and temporarily gained the qualification to enter the Ancient Cultivation Secret Realm.

Chapter 167 Building Momentum

Compared to Yin Yixing, who was the first to be defeated by Han Lu, Lu Liangcai was much luckier.

As the defeated champion, Yin Yixing had a chance to challenge Han Lu again in a "revival match" after losing to her. However, due to the cold entering her body, she was unable to fight anyone for a short period of time. If nothing unexpected happens, she can be said to have completely missed the opportunity of this ancient cultivation secret realm.

Lu Liangcai, though teased by Han Lu and feeling quite annoyed, had no way to vent his frustration.

However, in this turn-based combat, he only expended some more spiritual energy and suffered no other losses.

Even the "Seven-Day Lullaby" that Han Lu had intended to give him at the end did not play on the stage.

In this way, although Lu Liangcai was defeated by Han Lu, he can continue to participate in the selection competition as the defeated champion.

Once he defeats three more opponents using his powerful poison and illusion techniques, he can challenge the reigning champion.

Recalling the various stories from their battle, Lu Liangcai felt as if he had been manipulated by Han Lu.

Watching Han Lu's retreating figure as she stepped off the stage, Lu Liangcai thought to himself, "Han Lu seems to be my nemesis; it's best to avoid her."

Although he had a grudge against Han Lu, Lu Liangcai made up his mind the moment he left the ring that even if he got the right to challenge her, he would not call on Han Lu's name to fight her again.

Having figured this out, Lu Liangcai was more inclined to choose the one among the six champions who was not good at dealing with poison and illusion techniques, so that he could return to the ranks of the seven.

After her victory, Han Lu went to find the referee as usual, but to her surprise, she had just stepped off the stage when she saw Wu Hu Jushi waving at her and inviting her to meet.

As a member of Dongshan Academy, Han Lu naturally could not ignore the invitation from the Dean of Dongshan Academy.

She quickly stepped forward, bowed to the hermit of Wuhu, and said, "Greetings, Abbot."

"No need for formalities," Han Lu said, her smile barely concealed as she triumphed. "Han Lu, you did a great job. You not only won the title of champion for yourself, but also brought glory to our Dongshan Academy. When you get back, I'll have the treasury send you a few more spirit stones and some pills that you'll need after you reach the Foundation Establishment stage. After you come out of the ancient cultivation secret realm, you must not neglect your cultivation."

"I look forward to sitting with you in thirty years and calling you Fellow Daoist Han."

Han Lu was somewhat flattered by the Five Lakes Hermit's exaggerated vision. "Dean, this is what I should do. However, the position of champion may still be subject to change. After all, the selection competition has only just begun. In the next seven days, there is no guarantee that some powerful fellow disciple will knock me off the champion's throne."

"What's the harm? We can fight back after we lose," Wuhu Jushi suggested to Han Lu. "Lu Liangcai's strength is undeniable; he'll probably be back in the main champion position in the next couple of days."

"If you lose, just go and fight him again."

As Lu Liangcai followed the wind, he heard the Five Lakes Hermit's joke, and a sweat broke out on his back.

He didn't want to be humiliated by Han Lu in the ring again.

Han Lu chuckled twice in agreement and said, "Then I'll listen to the dean."

It's not good to mock someone in front of a loser, so Wuhu Jushi slightly suppressed his smile and asked Han Lu about the story of their recent magical duel.

Han Lu answered the questions posed by the hermit of the Five Lakes fluently.

When asked why he wasn't afraid of poison, he said it was because of his special constitution and the poison-resistant properties of the cultivation method he practiced.

When asked why she wasn't afraid of illusions, Han Lu boasted about the effects of the Moon Pearl, attributing all the blame to it.

Finally, the Hermit of the Five Lakes asked, "Han Lu, does the illusion you mentioned at the end, that you would sleep for seven days and seven nights after being hit, really exist?"

“Yes, there are,” Han Lu said honestly on the matter. “However, those who are affected may not sleep for seven days and seven nights. But if a Golden Core cultivator like the Dean is there to treat them, they can wake up from their dream in half a day at most.”