The Long Journey to Immortality

"Han Lu, a rogue cultivator." Han Lu placed ten spirit stones in front of the referee's seat next to the arena and introduced herself to her opponent who had just stepped onto the stage.

The cultivator standing not far from Han Lu lingered his gaze on Han Lu's chest for a moment before stammering, "Zhong Hong of the Fengyue Sect."

The Fengyue Sect is located not far from Jiulong Mountain, and is a cultivation force that has long supported Jiulong Mountain.

Zhong Hong came to Jiulong Mountain to participate in this grand ceremony with the sect leader.

Despite his cultivation being only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, he held a high position within the relatively small Fengyue Sect. In fact, due to his age, he was even regarded as a rising star by the sect leader of Fengyue Sect.

At this moment, having seized the opportunity to compete with Han Lu, he was being stared at by other "lecherous men" below the arena, just as he was being subjected to the envious and jealous gazes of his fellow disciples in the sect.

If gazes had warmth, Zhong Hong would surely be on fire by now.

Zhong Hong wanted to exchange a few pleasantries, but he found himself at a loss for words.

It's best to keep quiet for now and speak again after the betting match is over.

"If I win, and generously return these ten spirit stones to Fairy Han, will she fall in love with me?"

Before Zhong Hong could come up with an answer to his own question, the bet was announced to begin.

Perhaps because Han Lu, with her outstanding temperament, appearance, and figure, was standing on the arena, the cultivators who were originally watching from several nearby arenas all gathered around the arena where Han Lu was.

Therefore, the light barrier formed by the spiritual energy provided by the audience at the edge of the arena appeared exceptionally solid.

Han Lu didn't pay attention to these minor differences. She simply took out "Qing Shuang" from her storage bag, held it in her hand, and recalled the details of her sword control during her battle with Xiao Ran a few days ago, as well as the sword insights she had learned from Fang Lin.

Seeing that Han Lu was just standing there and did not take the initiative, Zhong Hong, who had wanted to show his gentlemanly demeanor, was a little helpless.

Zhong Hong said, "Fairy Han, if you don't want to take action, then please forgive my rudeness."

After saying that, Zhong Hong, without waiting for Han Lu's response, patted his storage bag and summoned his magic weapon.

After all, according to Zhong Hong's plan, he had to win first and show off his skills in front of Han Lu before there would be anything else to talk about.

The magical artifact that Zhong Hong took out was a paper umbrella, a low-grade seventh-rank magical artifact.

Infusing his spiritual power, Zhong Hong skillfully unfolded the paper umbrella and tossed it into the air.

Under Zhong Hong's control, the paper umbrella floated in the air. The paper umbrella, which was originally only of normal size, expanded to five times its normal size in just three breaths.

The open umbrella seemed capable of blocking out the sun and moon.

Clearing his throat, Zhong Hong introduced, "Fairy Han, my spirit umbrella is called the Heaven-Covering Umbrella. You'd better be careful."

After saying that, the large umbrella that was floating in the air covered Han Lu, who was still standing idly with her sword not far away.

Han Lu slightly raised her head and glanced at the large umbrella that seemed to be pressing down on her like Mount Tai. Holding her sword, she showed no intention of dodging.

The umbrella completely covered Han Lu.

After "capturing" Han Lu, Zhong Hong moved his fingers, and the giant umbrella closed, completely trapping Han Lu inside.

Seeing this, many audience members were slightly disappointed. "Sigh, I thought she was a fairy with good looks, a great figure, and great powers, but I didn't expect her to be just a pretty face."

Xiao Ran was also puzzled, wondering why Han Lu didn't make a move.

Just as everyone was discussing the matter and the referee was about to announce the end of the match and tell Zhong Hong to quickly retrieve his magic weapon, an unexpected incident occurred.

Chapter 285 Breakthrough (Part 1)

The umbrella suspended in the air seemed to be having an epileptic seizure, trembling incessantly.

Upon seeing this, several cultivators below the stage exclaimed in surprise. The little worry that had been on Xiao Ran's face completely disappeared. He felt that he had already predicted what would happen next.

As the owner of the Sky-Covering Umbrella, Zhong Hong could naturally sense what the Sky-Covering Umbrella was going through at that moment.

He made a hand seal and shouted, "If you want to escape from the Heavenly Umbrella, Fairy Han, you'd better practice for another ten years."

Several streams of azure spiritual energy were unleashed by Zhong Hong, gathering in the air and condensing into a ball before landing on the sky-covering umbrella with lightning speed.

After receiving a new supply of spiritual energy, the umbrella seemed to have taken some kind of magic pill, its aura greatly increased, and the umbrella surface also radiated bursts of light outward.

The paper umbrella, which had been swaying precariously, gradually stabilized in the air.

Seeing this, Zhong Hong breathed a sigh of relief, put his hands behind his back in a cool pose, and began to boast to the paper umbrella, "Although my Sky-Covering Umbrella is only a low-grade magic weapon, it has trapped and killed three early Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even my master praised this magic weapon highly."

"Fairy Han, don't waste your energy inside."

"Say 'I surrender' and I'll let you out."

"This umbrella has the power to erode the sea of ​​consciousness. If you stay inside for too long, I can't guarantee that you won't have any aftereffects when you come out."

Zhong Hong spoke casually, clearly considering himself the victor in this bet.

Just as Zhong Hong was waiting for Han Lu to beg for mercy, a crisp metallic clang rang out from inside the paper umbrella.

Before Zhong Honglian could even change his expression, a beam of azure light pierced through the paper umbrella, tearing a gap in the canopy.

"Good!" Xiao Ran couldn't help but shout "Good!" as soon as he saw the broken umbrella.

Immediately afterwards, a golden beam of light flew out from the gap and landed back on the arena.

As the light faded, the figure within was none other than Han Lu.

Having been trapped inside the umbrella for nearly twenty breaths, Han Lu's eyes remained clear, and even her clothes were completely undamaged.

Zhong Hong looked at Han Lu, who was standing not far from him as if nothing had happened, and the broken umbrella, and his face darkened. He thought to himself, "What's going on?"

The audience members below the stage were also discussing it animatedly.

"Could it be that the clothes worn by Fairy Han are also some kind of high-grade magic treasure?"

"This Fairy Han's swordsmanship is superb; she actually broke through the treasure directly!"

"I think Fairy Han probably didn't intentionally let herself be covered by the umbrella."

……

Shaking her longsword, Han Lu spoke to her opponent Zhong Hong on the arena for the first time.

Han Lu was in high spirits after successfully using the "Point Word Technique" sword technique to break Zhong Hong's magic weapon.

She laughed and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhong, your 'Heaven-Covering Umbrella' is overrated. It can't even withstand a single sword strike from me. How can it be called 'Heaven-Covering'?"

A voice in the audience chimed in, as if they were treating the gambling arena like a stage for a theatrical performance, asking, "What should it be called?"

Someone chimed in, "It's already broken, just call it a broken umbrella and that's it."

A burst of laughter came from below the stage, clearly indicating that many audience members were happy to see Han Lu in the lead.

Hearing the grating laughter, Zhong Hong's expression grew increasingly unpleasant, as if he had eaten excrement.

Licking his dry lips, Zhong Hong took a deep breath to calm himself before reluctantly speaking, "Han Xianzi's swordsmanship is quite good. Even if my Sky-Covering Umbrella is repaired, I'll need to change its name."

The umbrella has only a small hole, which has caused it to lose 50% of its magical power. As long as Zhong Hong can find suitable materials and spend nearly 20 or 30 spirit stones, he can repair the magic weapon. It is not a major loss.

After saying that, Zhong Hong waved his hand and took the "dejected" umbrella lying on the ground into his hand, then put it back into his storage bag.

Zhong Hong's performance made Han Lu think more highly of her opponent.

"Fellow Daoist Zhong has a good temper."

"You flatter me," Zhong Hong said indifferently. "I'm not that petty; I wouldn't get angry at someone as lovely as Fairy Han."

"Does Fellow Daoist Zhong have any other methods? If not, why not try my spirit sword again?" Han Lu ignored Zhong Hong's reply and continued to focus on the duel.

In terms of resources, Zhong Hong's family was far more substantial than that of Lin Jin and Tang Sifan, whom Han Lu had defeated in Yuxi County.

Besides this "sky-covering umbrella," there were indeed two low-to-mid-grade magic artifacts lying in his storage bag.

However, he had already witnessed Han Lu's swordsmanship, and he didn't want to let Han Lu test his magic weapon on him again.

So Zhong Hong replied, "I am not an unreasonable person. Now, Fairy Han, why don't you let me see your skills?"

"My methods?" Han Lu shook the longsword in her hand again. "I only have this one spiritual sword. Fellow Daoist Zhong, please take a good look."

Zhong Hong had no idea that Han Lu had come to the gambling arena only to hone the longsword in her hand.

He assumed that Han Lu had become disrespectful to him after breaking through his "sky-covering umbrella," and after hearing these words, he felt a surge of anger and thought of making Han Lu's spirit sword return empty-handed, and retaliating in another way.

Zhong Hong specializes in wood-attribute techniques and has unique insights into defensive spells.

Among the cultivation techniques that Zhong Hong mainly practices, there is also a protective technique that is comparable to the level of protection of the Golden Core realm.

Seeing Han Lu throw away the spirit sword in her hand, Zhong Hong quickly mobilized the spiritual power in his dantian and silently recited the incantation to circulate it.

A thick cyan light curtain appeared in front of Zhong Hong.

Looking at the light screen, Han Lu felt as if Zhong Hong had transformed into a spirit tree with a lifespan of ten thousand years, rooted on the arena, exuding an air of immovability and endless vitality.

Han Lu was delighted, thinking to herself, "This is more interesting. If I could break through this defense using only the sword intent of the Point Word Technique..."

Thinking of this, Han Lu recalled the scene of Xiao Ran fighting on the gambling arena that day. She imitated him and used the sword light in her hand to attack at will, testing the waters first.

The light blue sword light landed on the cyan light screen, only causing slight ripples, and had no effect on Zhong Hong who was casting the spell.

Han Lu, who had considerable experience in magical combat, was able to deduce the general information about Zhong Hong's technique based solely on this.

Normally, she would definitely use illusion magic to break the spell.

In addition, transforming into an Ice Phoenix and using force to overcome skill is also a simple method.

But at this moment, at her own behest, all she could use was this one spirit sword.

Looking at Zhong Hong, who remained motionless behind the light screen, Han Lu felt that she had arrived at an extremely crucial moment.

This was the crucial moment that determined whether she could break through the bottleneck in a short period of time and advance the "Seven Kill Sword Technique" to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

[Author's Note] I'm still a little short of Miss Shadow breaking the 1,000-subscriber mark. Once Miss Shadow reaches 1,000 subscribers, I will add an extra chapter as promised.

Chapter 286 Breakthrough

While Han Lu was pondering a solution on stage, Xiao Ran was also deep in thought below the stage, watching Zhong Hong's spell.

He temporarily put himself in Han Lu's shoes, pondering whether he had a clever way to defeat the enemy using a soft sword.

Xiao Ran, a pseudo-core cultivator, naturally had a way to defeat the enemy.

But this did not prevent him from praising Han Lu's opponent, Zhong Hong.

"This technique is quite good. Although Zhong Hong is only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his skill level is comparable to that of a late Foundation Establishment cultivator or even a Pseudo-Core cultivator."

Based on his understanding of Han Lu's skill level over the past few days, Xiao Ran intuitively felt that Han Lu should be unable to break through Zhong Hong's defensive spell.