The Long Journey to Immortality

After a night of cultivation, the luster of the eight low-grade spirit stones on the throne had dimmed considerably.

Han Lu did a simple addition and subtraction in her mind, "The spirit stones on the throne can probably keep me going for about forty hours."

Thinking of this, Han Lu subconsciously opened the storage bag and looked at the spirit stones inside, and couldn't help but sigh.

"With no income and no expenditure, even with so many spirit stones, I should still carefully consider how to manage them, otherwise, I'll definitely run out of resources."

After standing up and stretching a bit, Han Lu felt sticky all over, so she called over a waiter and paid some copper coins to have a bucket of hot water prepared for her.

It took Han Lu a full half hour to barely manage to clean herself up in the wooden tub.

After changing into clean clothes, she came out of her room and into the lobby to enjoy breakfast. Her face was burning hot.

Han Lu realized that, at present, taking a bath was ten times more difficult than opening up acupoints and spiritual meridians.

[Author's Note] Sorry, I posted the wrong chapter earlier.

Chapter Eighteen: The Daoist Apprentice, Cultivating Secret Techniques

Those whose magical power is still shallow and who have not advanced to the first level of Qi Refining are not worthy of being called cultivators.

"Dao Tong" is a term used in the cultivation world to refer to many cultivators who possess spiritual power but have not yet advanced to the first level of Qi Refining.

The number of Taoist children was enormous.

Many of them are young people who are just starting out and have just embarked on the path of cultivation.

But most of them are middle-aged or elderly people with extremely poor talent who have barely managed to open a few acupoints but have no hope of opening spiritual veins.

The "child" in "Dao Tong" refers to the cultivator's magical power and cultivation level on the path of cultivation, which is like that of a child, rather than referring to their age.

These young Taoist disciples were better than ordinary mortals, and could barely cast one or two spells, but they were still far inferior to the most ordinary cultivators.

Daoist disciples confined to sects can become helpful assistants to the vast majority of cultivators.

Many of the Taoist disciples scattered throughout the secular world, with their abilities surpassing those of ordinary people, will cause trouble in this peaceful and prosperous era.

This puts young Daoist disciples in an awkward position in both the cultivation world and the secular world, forming, along with older cultivators like Feng Bailu, the two most notorious problem groups in the cultivation world.

The two major sects during the Northern and Southern Dynasties also considered joining forces to solve these two problems.

However, after much research, it was discovered that the fundamental reason for the emergence of these two groups was that the cultivators lacked talent.

In the end, the two major sects could only choose to restrain the young disciples and older cultivators under their tutelage, let these "troublesome" individuals scattered throughout the mortal world do as they pleased, and instructed the Northern and Southern Dynasties to pay more attention.

Now, Han Lu, who has just broken through the first acupoint, has turned from one kind of trouble into another in just one month.

Although she is no longer troubled by her talent, due to the nature of her cultivation techniques, she is destined to hone her skills in the cultivation world for some time as a "Daoist disciple".

After breakfast, Han Lu did not return to her room to rest or continue her cultivation. Instead, she asked the shopkeeper if there was a pharmacy nearby, where it was, and how to get there.

She had only just opened one acupoint, but Han Lu had already begun preparing for the next stage of her secret technique training.

The "Great Zhou Heavenly Water Condensation Technique" records many secret techniques and methods, one of which can be used even during the novice stage of a Daoist.

When one cultivates the "Great Zhou Heavenly Water Condensation Technique" and opens the first spiritual meridian and connects the twelve acupoints, one can try to use a secret technique called "Cold Moon Cold Eyes".

When "Cold Moon and Cold Eyes" is used, it can increase a cultivator's eyesight.

According to the manual, once the Cold Moon Cold Eyes technique is mastered to a minor degree, it can be seen through with just a glance the crude illusions set up by some Qi Refining stage cultivators.

Vision is also one of the most relied-upon abilities for cultivators in the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages when they engage in combat.

There's nothing that can be done; it's just that the spiritual consciousness of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators cannot leave their bodies.

Therefore, this secret technique can be said to be very practical.

However, cultivating the Cold Moon Eye technique is a bit troublesome. It requires wiping the eyes with medicine and persisting for a period of time before one can use this secret technique.

The recipe for the potion is written in the Water Condensation Manual; they are all common, ordinary medicines that can definitely be bought in Ink Rain City.

Han Lu estimated that she would be able to open up all twelve acupoints in one to two months.

Therefore, he thought of preparing the medicine as soon as possible in order to prepare for the cultivation of the secret technique.

It should be noted that newly joined disciples of the Zhengyi Sect are subject to a one-year confinement period, during which they are not allowed to leave the sect's premises.

If we wait several months to deal with this, just purchasing the medicine will be much more troublesome than doing it now.

The innkeeper has been running the inn in Moyu City for over twenty years. Although he hasn't set foot in every corner of the city, he knows the shops around the inn very well.

With exaggerated gestures, the innkeeper pointed out three pharmacies near the inn to Han Lu, and then even recommended one he occasionally frequented.

"It's a bit far, but the store is big, and I've seen some of the medicines you just mentioned there."

"Really? Thank you so much."

Hearing this, Han Lu thanked her softly, then borrowed paper and pen to write down the ingredients for the medicine.

She doesn't mind walking a few extra steps if she can buy all the medicine at once and avoid having to explain things to anyone.

Following the shopkeeper's directions, Han Lu strolled through two streets as if taking a walk after a meal, and finally found the pharmacy the shopkeeper had mentioned.

The shop is quite large, occupying two floors and three storefronts.

There were many customers coming and going from the shop to see a doctor and get medicine. If the sign were removed, Han Lu would definitely think it was one of the big restaurants in Moyu City from a distance.

"It seems that there are several good doctors working in this shop. No wonder the shop owner would travel two blocks to come here for medical treatment."

After entering the pharmacy and waiting for a while until the five elderly people who had come together for medical consultations left, it was Han Lu's turn.

"Get the medicine, twenty doses, please." Han Lu handed over the prescription she had just written at the inn.

"So many?" The doctor was somewhat surprised. He picked up the prescription, glanced at it, and muttered, "They're all medicinal herbs for improving eyesight and maintaining health."

Hearing that it was for dispensing medicine, the doctor glanced at the prescription and didn't ask any further questions, then casually beckoned an apprentice over.

After the apprentice heard the doctor say that he needed to get twenty doses of medicine, he called two more assistants. The three of them then took the prescription and a small scale and ran to the pharmacy to get to work.

I waited in the lobby for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Han Lu used the ten taels of silver he had been holding for a long time to exchange for twenty packets of medicinal herbs, each packaged according to weight, and several medicine bottles for holding the medicine.

The medicine needed to cultivate the Cold Moon Eye does not require special methods or utensils for brewing. It can be prepared like making tea by simply steeping the herbs in hot water according to the proportions and dosages to allow the medicinal power to be released.

So simple. Han Lu returned to the inn, asked the owner for some hot water, closed the door, and busied herself with her tasks.

I encountered a few minor problems the first time I tried it.

Perhaps because it was her first time using her delicate hands to work, Han Lu accidentally spilled most of a dose of medicine.

In the end, only nineteen bottles of pale blue liquid were made from the twenty portions of herbs.

After cleaning the floor, Han Lu looked at the nineteen bottles in front of her and started calculating in her mind.

"One dose of this medicine, when diluted, can be used to wipe a cultivator's eyes thirty times, and so on..."

"These medicines should last me for almost two years."

As for whether to prepare more potions for cultivation after running out, Han Lu has not yet decided.

According to the description of the Cold Moon Cold Eye Secret Technique in the "Water Condensation Manual", it takes ten or even twenty years to master it, and the effects are not as amazing as when it is only partially mastered.

After her reincarnation, Han Lu's goal was the supreme Dao, so she naturally wouldn't want to waste too much time on this secret technique that was difficult to improve and had little effect.

After the medicine cooled down, Han Lu took out a small amount from one of the small bottles and diluted it with well water from the backyard of the inn in a certain proportion. She then splashed the water with her hand to test it.

When Han Lu applied the eye drops, she only felt a slight coolness.

After fiddling with the washbasin for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Han Lu finally straightened up and touched her face, which was still dripping with medicine.

"It feels no different from washing my face with cold well water."

She blinked and looked out the window.

"Your eyesight seems to be better than before?"

"But it's probably just psychological."

"Could it be that I'm wiping my eyes wrong?"

Thinking it over, Han Lu dried her hands, took out the cultivation manual from her storage bag, and read it twice more.

She was relieved after confirming that she had not made a mistake.

"It says that you need to keep washing your eyes for half a month before there will be obvious changes, so there's no need to rush it."

After tidying up the room, Han Lu sat cross-legged on the Dharma seat again, immersing herself in the "tedious" practice.

Just like how top students love doing problems, Han Lu, now a genius, has an incredibly strong desire to cultivate and improve her cultivation level.

Han Lu set herself a rather ambitious goal: "I need to unlock at least five key points before taking the introductory test."

Chapter Nineteen: The Spiritual Energy Channel, Day of Accepting Disciples

A complete spiritual vein is composed of acupoints and channels through which spiritual energy flows.

After opening the first acupoint, Han Lu's daily cultivation task was to establish a spiritual energy channel from the opened acupoint to the next unopened acupoint.

This matter is somewhat similar to military campaigns and conquests.

One is to attack the city, and the other is to open up the vital points.

One is to establish food routes and supply lines, and the other is to open up channels for spiritual energy.

This isn't difficult.

After all, water dripping wears away stone.

No matter how poor a cultivator's talent is, as long as they are willing to spend time, they will eventually be able to introspect and see the spiritual energy channels within their body gradually taking shape.

It doesn't feel like opening up acupoints.

You might spend a year or even several years studying diligently and still end up with nothing.

Even so, exceptionally talented cultivators will open up spiritual vein channels much faster than other mediocre ones.

Now, as Han Lu sits on the Dharma seat in meditation, she once again truly feels the difference between genius and mediocrity.

Since it involves "building roads and bridges," manpower, financial resources, and the environment become factors affecting the speed of construction.

With her exceptional Qi perception and the aid of a spirit-gathering array, Han Lu was able to breathe in and exhale more spiritual energy during her cultivation, giving her more "laborers" to work harder and sweat more when opening up spiritual energy channels.

The body with exceptional talent after reincarnation is the perfect construction site for opening up channels of spiritual energy.