The Long Journey to Immortality

The other part will be made into ordinary ornaments and pendants as celebratory souvenirs and given to disciples within the sect.

Seeing Lin Jin's dejected look, Junior Brother Tang couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong, Senior Brother? Does this small place not sell True Essence Gathering Pills?"

“Yes, there are,” Lin Jin said, taking out a small porcelain bottle from her storage bag, “but there are only these two.”

"Huh, that's all?" Junior Brother Tang Sifan asked doubtfully. "Although Yuxi County is at the bottom of Dongzhou Prefecture, it shouldn't be this poor, right? The only shop in the county town that sells cultivation pills only has two True Essence Gathering Pills for sale?"

Lin Jin shook her head and recounted the story that happened between her and Han Lu.

After hearing the story, Tang Sifan couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Senior Brother Lin, you've been single for too long, and you've gotten confused when you see a beautiful woman."

Lin Jin didn't lie, and shamelessly said, "Yes, this Fairy Han is quite beautiful. If she had a different face, I would definitely pretend to be a cultivator from Nine Dragons Mountain and snatch all eight True Essence Gathering Pills."

Tang Sifan asked curiously, "How beautiful is that Fairy Han who was fighting with my senior brother for something?"

"She's probably ten times prettier than Senior Sister Yu," Lin Jin said, pointing to a reference point.

Upon hearing this, Tang Sifan laughed and said, "Isn't she as beautiful as a fairy? No wonder Senior Brother Lin couldn't control himself in front of that Fairy Han."

“However…” Tang Sifan said, “Master instructed Senior Brother to bring at least five True Essence Gathering Pills back to the sect. Now we only have two with us. What should we do?”

Lin Jin was also a little worried. "I was thinking, should I talk to Fairy Han again, explain my difficulties, and offer a higher price to buy three more pills from her?"

"Or we could go to the nearby sects, large and small, and buy pills from them in the name of Jiulong Mountain."

"With some time, we should be able to make up for the shortfall of these three pills."

Tang Sifan shook his head. "This is troublesome. Senior Brother might not only be unable to earn spirit stones from this, but he might also have to spend some spirit stones to complete the task."

Tasks like procuring supplies on behalf of one's master are the best opportunities for "embezzlement".

Jiulong Mountain gave Lin Jin and Tang Sifan fifty spirit stones as activity funds.

After completing the sect's mission, the extra spirit stones would naturally end up in their pockets.

But now, after all this trouble, the two of them might have to spend one or two spirit stones to get the remaining three pills, lest they fail to complete the mission and be punished when they return to the sect.

Lin Jin said helplessly, "Junior brother, this is all my fault. If it requires me to pay out of my own pocket in spirit stones, then I will pay for it all."

Tang Sifan rubbed the white jade in his palm with two fingers and chuckled, "Senior brother, I have a good idea that can save us a lot of spirit stones and still allow us to complete the sect's mission."

Lin Jin's heart tightened, and she said, "Junior Brother Tang, you wouldn't be thinking of..."

Lin Jin clenched her fist, giving a subtle hint.

Tang Sifan nodded and said, "Senior brother, we've done this kind of work before, why are you like this? Three years ago, wasn't that spirit sword magic weapon you had snatched from a rogue cultivator with me?"

"What, this time, with that fairy Han's ethereal beauty, you can't bring yourself to do it?"

This question stumped Lin Jin, who replied slowly, "Isn't it because Master instructed us not to tarnish the reputation of Jiulong Mountain while we're away?"

Tang Sifan disagreed, saying, "Well done, it won't cause any harm. After all, dead people can't speak ill of Jiulong Mountain."

Lin Jin was still somewhat hesitant. "Why not try diplomacy first, then force? I have a few invitations here to invite rogue cultivators to attend the ceremony at Nine Dragons Mountain. If we meet again, we can use the invitations to negotiate first. If that doesn't work, then we can do as you suggested, Junior Brother."

Tang Sifan was already imagining the scene of putting the remaining thirty spirit stones and Han Lu's property into the fundraising storage bag, and casually said, "I'll follow your instructions, senior brother. But in the next two days, we need to find out where that Fairy Han is, otherwise we won't be able to take action."

"Presumably, Fairy Han is only staying in Yuxi County for a short time, and she will probably leave in a few days."

"That will be our best chance to strike."

Lin Jin said, "Does Fairy Han intend to stay here permanently?"

"Then why don't you invite her out? Use the name of Jiulong Mountain and make a fuss about the invitation."

"Great idea! Junior brother is truly a genius!" Lin Jin praised.

Tang Sifan modestly replied, "It's just a little bit of cleverness."

As for whether the two of them could defeat Han Lu, who was also in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, they had not considered this matter.

In their view, how could a mere rogue cultivator or a disciple of a cultivation family be a match for a disciple of Nine Dragons Mountain?

Han Lu, who was cultivating in seclusion back at the inn, was unaware that a mysterious conspiracy had befallen her.

Immersed in cultivation, Han Lu secluded herself for three full days before waking up from her meditative state.

Feeling the abundant spiritual energy within her body, Han Lu felt it was time to find a place to test the many magical artifacts in her storage bag, so that she could select a few that she could handle and bind them to her for use in any battles that might come next.

“Choosing four or five magical artifacts is enough,” Han Lu thought to herself. “Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Besides, if these four or five artifacts can’t defeat the opponent, then adding ten or twenty more similar items won’t solve the problem.”

There are places in the city specifically for cultivators to practice spells and wield magical artifacts, but Han Lu felt it wasn't appropriate for her to do that there.

After all, such a place is certainly not private enough, and if someone saw her taking out more than a hundred magical artifacts from her storage bag, it would definitely cause unnecessary trouble.

"Why not find a secluded spot outside the city and set up a simple magic array to conceal the fluctuations of spiritual energy? That would be more convenient and less troublesome."

Thinking of this, Han Lu put away the Dharma seat, went to the hotel lobby for a meal, and asked the waiter about the general situation outside Yuxi County.

Upon learning that the eastern part of Yuxi County was densely forested and sparsely populated, Han Lu did not hesitate to choose that place as the "testing ground for magical artifacts".

After leaving Yuxi County through the East Gate, Han Lu flew on her sword for a full quarter of an hour before finding a secluded spot.

After using her magic to destroy the forest and clear a clearing, she took out the dozens of array flags given to her by the sect and set up a simple array on the clearing.

Although the formation is only at the Qi Refining Mirror level, it is more than enough to conceal spiritual energy fluctuations.

Chapter 259 Testing the Treasure

After completing a series of preparations, Han Lu took out the first magical artifact from her storage bag, ready to test it out.

Having received the swordsmanship inheritance of Fang Lin, the number one swordsman, from the ancient cultivation secret realm, Han Lu was eager to possess a suitable spiritual sword artifact as soon as possible, so that she could freely use the swordsmanship she had learned from Senior Fang Lin in battles.

Therefore, she took out the spiritual swords and magical artifacts from her storage bag one by one from the beginning, simply recognizing them as her masters instead of refining them completely, and then activated and controlled them on this temporarily cleared open space.

As the most widely used, common, and beloved ritual implement among monks.

Han Lu obtained a total of twenty-seven sets of spiritual swords and magical artifacts from the ancient cultivation secret realm.

These spirit swords come in various attributes and are all of medium to high quality. They are high-end items that could sell for at least four hundred spirit stones in the magic weapon shops of the Great Yu Dynasty.

However, since these spirit swords currently belong to Han Lu, she had no psychological barriers when choosing them, and simply wanted to find the spirit sword that best suited her.

It is suitable for one to use alone to perform sword control techniques.

It might be suitable for me to use in performing the sword formation I learned from Senior Fang Lin.

These two types of spirit swords are Han Lu's main targets.

The first spirit sword Han Lu took out was a short sword, only as long as her forearm, but the blade was very wide, and it was engraved with many patterns that Han Lu couldn't understand at all, but which seemed to have strange effects.

Summoning an ice blade, Han Lu cut her right index finger, dripping a little blood onto the "crafted short sword," and infusing it with a little spiritual energy.

After simply refining and binding it to its master, he casually tossed it into the air and began to test the power of this strange short sword from all angles, showcasing his sword-wielding skills.

Because she learned some appraisal techniques from the Zhengyi Sect, Han Lu also had some experience in testing magical artifacts.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, she roughly understood the power of this "crafted short sword" and the purpose of the strange runes engraved on its blade.

"This spirit sword is probably a top-grade magic weapon."

"In terms of attributes, it's metallic."

"It is a spirit sword suitable for casting spells."

"The runes on the sword have the effect of enhancing lightning magic."

……

"Although the Seven Kill Sword Technique is a metal-elemental cultivation method, it contains very little information about spiritual sword techniques."

"I should seek out an unstoppable spirit sword as my weapon for wielding weapons and killing enemies in my daily life."

Han Lu, much like a "tech anchor," commented on various aspects of the Spirit Sword after the evaluation was completed.

If she were to test several more swords, she might be able to add a comparison step to this summary stage to assess the merits of each sword and determine whether it suits her.

Han Lu mentally gave the spirit sword a passing grade of "6" before putting it back into her storage bag. She then took out a second spirit sword.

The second spirit sword is a longsword.

It is about two meters long, but the blade is slender, making it look more like a flying magical artifact made in the shape of a sword than a spiritual sword used for combat.

However, Han Lu had extra expectations for this strangely shaped spirit sword.

This is because it is one of the few magical artifacts in Han Lu's storage bag that has reached the highest quality.

Although the difference in supernatural power among high-grade magical artifacts is not significant, there are still some differences.

Han Lu felt that this strange giant sword should bring her some unexpected joy.

Sure enough, when Han Lu used the spirit sword in the open space, she found that the water-attribute spirit sword was unexpectedly compatible with her main cultivation technique, "Great Zhou Tian Condensing Water Technique".

As the longsword flies through the air, each move easily generates sword light and cold light, allowing Han Lu to unleash her true spiritual powers.

Looking at the flowers, plants, and trees around her covered in frost, Han Lu smiled broadly. In just a moment, she felt that this spirit sword was a match made in heaven for her.

She then used the spirit sword as a medium to perform two water-attribute spells. Han Lu nodded in satisfaction, regarding it as the main choice.

"Very good, this will be the spirit sword for now."

"We'll test the spirit sword later. Let's look at the other types of magical artifacts now."

After pondering for a moment, Han Lu took out two magical artifacts from her storage bag that might be somewhat related to practical illusion techniques and tested them one by one, hoping that with the help of these artifacts, her illusion techniques could play their due role in battles against Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Foundation Establishment cultivators have developed many more ways to defend against illusions.

Some Foundation Establishment cultivators who are gifted in their spiritual abilities, even those in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, are able to reach the Sea of ​​Consciousness and defend against illusions from the inside out.

Feng Bailu was one of those cultivators with special talents.

The vast majority of Foundation Establishment cultivators can also do this when their cultivation reaches the Pseudo-Core stage, which is the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.

Therefore, Foundation Establishment cultivators are not as helpless and powerless as Qi Refining cultivators when faced with illusions.

Han Lu tried out a bamboo flute, a magic instrument of the upper third grade, and a hand mirror, a middle fourth grade.

However, since she had no one to whom she could cast illusions, she could only test a few points, so she was not particularly satisfied with either of the two magical artifacts that appeared excellent to outsiders.

Just as Han Lu was preparing to test the third guqin (a type of zither), she noticed that someone seemed to be spying on her.

A sense of foreboding arose in her heart, but Han Lu's expression remained unchanged as she called out loudly, "Which fellow Daoist is lurking around here suspiciously? Afraid to come out and see me?"

Seeing that Han Lu had already discovered them, Lin Jin and Tang Sifan, who had been secretly observing them for about half a cup of tea's time, walked out confidently.

Because Han Lu had no way to hide her whereabouts in Yuxi County, the two of them easily found out where Han Lu lived a few days ago and began to monitor her residence.