The Long Journey to Immortality

Han Lu's gossip instincts kicked in, and she asked curiously, "So you were asking about marriage. Who did you ask?"

Xiao Ran quickly replied, "A childhood friend of the opposite sex."

"Childhood sweethearts, right?" Han Lu reacted quickly.

"More or less, but her talent for cultivation is not as good as mine. When we last met fifty years ago, she was only at the eighth level of Qi Refining. She probably has no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage in this lifetime."

"And since I am about to advance to the Golden Core stage, it is quite reasonable to say that I am not destined to be with them."

It is possible for Qi Refining cultivators and Golden Core cultivators to form Daoist couples, but it is very rare.

Han Lu nodded. "Only opposite-sex companions who can accompany each other on the path to the pinnacle of cultivation can be called Daoist partners. It seems my water divination technique is quite effective."

Xiao Ran nodded. "I underestimated Fairy Han's divination skills before. I apologize. Next, I would like to trouble Fairy Han to help me calculate when and where I should attempt to form my core."

Han Lu casually popped a Qi-union pill into her mouth and swallowed it without chewing.

After recovering some of her spiritual energy, Han Lu said, "Okay, but this time, Fellow Daoist Xiao, please don't ask any strange questions. Although this move doesn't damage my good karma or lifespan, it consumes a considerable amount of spiritual energy."

Xiao Ran repeatedly assured him, "Definitely, definitely."

Water divination is a unique secret technique recorded in the "Great Zhou Heaven Water Condensation Technique," and naturally, the amount of spiritual power it consumes is consistent with the magical power characteristics of practitioners of the "Water Condensation Technique."

It was fortunate that Han Lu cultivated to the twelfth spiritual vein before she could establish her foundation.

Otherwise, this single Water Divination Technique would have consumed seventy percent of her spiritual power, making it impossible for her to attempt a second use of the technique after only consuming one Qi-Harmony Pill.

Once the medicinal power of the pill had completely dissipated in Han Lu's dantian, Han Lu waved her hand and scattered the characters in the basin.

Infuse spiritual energy into it once more.

This time, the water in the wooden basin had just boiled when, without waiting for Han Lu's instructions, Xiao Ran put his hand into the water.

As if to keep his promise, Xiao Ran deliberately repeated in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "I, Xiao Ran, should form my core at what time and place in Dongzhou Prefecture... I, Xiao Ran, should form my core at what time and place in Dongzhou Prefecture..."

Perhaps it is because this problem is complex and requires a great deal of calculation to answer.

Xiao Ran murmured the question nearly ten times before characters appeared in the water.

Looking at the nearly fifty characters in the water, Han Lu said, "As expected," before checking them one by one, flipping through the manual, and deciphering the code given to her by the water and spiritual power.

The fifty-character password was a little difficult for Han Lu, who was only using divination for the second time, to translate.

Holding the secret manual in one hand and a "modern pen" she casually took out of her storage bag in the other, she sketched on the paper for a while before arriving at a conclusion.

"Xiao Ran, do you have a detailed map of Dongzhou Prefecture?" Han Lu asked, holding the results.

Xiao Ran did not answer.

Han Lu then realized that she had asked another stupid question.

How could Xiao Ran, who had lost his storage bag before arriving at Jiulong Mountain, possibly have a map?

Left with no other option, Han Lu took out the rough map she had obtained not long after arriving in the Dayu Dynasty.

After finding the approximate location of Kowloon Mountain, she used her hands to gesture on the map according to the scale and direction, based on the results of divination.

"According to the divination results..."

Han Lu pointed to a blank area on the map. "In 67 days, there will be an unusual weather event with a burst of spiritual energy in the deep blue desert area 300 miles northwest of Jiulong Mountain."

"That will be the best time for Fellow Daoist Xiao to form his core."

Xiao Ran's cultivation method is a metal-elemental method, and it is most suitable for him to form his core in the desert environment, which is an earth-elemental environment.

A spiritual energy burst is a once-in-a-decade "cultivation weather" event. Under these weather conditions, the spiritual energy in the world becomes exceptionally active, which is beneficial for cultivators to form their core.

Han Lu, following the last few characters in the divination result, said, "If everything goes smoothly, Fellow Daoist Xiao will successfully form a top-grade golden core on that day."

Han Lu offered her congratulations in advance, saying, "You have reached the highest level of Core Formation and are likely to achieve Nascent Soul stage. Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Xiao!"

Xiao Ran had no doubts about the result.

“I’ve noted down the time and place, thank you, Fairy Han,” Xiao Ran said, extending an invitation. “I wonder if Fairy Han will have any free time in two months? Would you be willing to accompany me to the Deep Blue Desert to protect me when I form my core?”

When a cultivator forms their Golden Core, the clouds, ocean, sun, and moon in their Qi Sea and Dantian are absorbed into the Golden Core as nutrients to enhance its grade.

Naturally, after forming the Golden Core, a cultivator will be in a state of complete exhaustion and utter weakness for one or two hours. They will need to rely on magic arrays or close fellow cultivators to help conceal themselves in order to ensure that they are not attacked by villains during this vulnerable moment.

The fact that Xiao Ran extended such an invitation shows his trust in Han Lu, whom he had only known for less than seven days.

"Yes, I will do my best to protect Fellow Daoist Xiao."

Han Lu wanted to see with her own eyes what it was like when a cultivator formed their core, and besides, Xiao Ran, who was based in Jiang'an Prefecture, shouldn't have any enemies or adversaries in Dongzhou Prefecture.

This was not a difficult task, so Han Lu naturally did not refuse.

Chapter 290 At the Auction

Regarding the matter of Core Formation, Xiao Ran discussed the approximate itinerary for the next two months after leaving Nine Dragons Mountain with Han Lu, the "protector". They finally decided on a plan to enter the Deep Blue Desert in fifty days and use the remaining ten days to find the most suitable place for Core Formation in the Deep Blue Desert, where they would set up formations and build temporary accommodations.

With the matter of Core Formation on his mind, Xiao Ran also thought of tomorrow's auction and said, "It seems that we still need to buy a set of array flags of suitable quality tomorrow. We can set them up when we form Core to conceal our aura and prevent the monsters and ferocious beasts in the Deep Blue Desert from targeting us."

Han Lu and Xiao Ran only knew some general information about the Deep Blue Desert.

The two knew that many ferocious beasts and monsters lived in the Deep Blue Desert, and that there must be powerful monsters among them with strength comparable to the Golden Core realm.

With only Han Lu, a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, by his side to protect him, Xiao Ran's arrangement was undoubtedly cautious and correct.

Han Lu could understand the subtext in Xiao Ran's words, but she was not upset because Xiao Ran looked down on her abilities.

“Fellow Daoist Xiao is right,” Han Lu echoed. “The golden core of us human cultivators is a rare cultivation resource for intelligent demon beasts. After a Foundation Establishment demon beast consumes a high-grade golden core, it can give birth to a ferocious beast that has formed a low-grade demon core.”

"I wouldn't be surprised if such a treasure attracted a Golden Core level demonic beast when Fellow Daoist Xiao formed his core."

"It's never wrong to be more prepared."

Seeing that Han Lu did not take his underestimation of her strength to heart, just as he had expected, Xiao Ran felt even more that Han Lu was a female cultivator worth getting to know better.

Once everyone reaches a consensus, further discussions will naturally be more enjoyable.

Having achieved the pseudo-core for seven years, Xiao Ran had been planning the formation of the core almost every day, making him quite experienced.

Even just sitting face-to-face and discussing, Han Lu learned a lot about the precautions for Core Formation from Xiao Ran, especially some Core Formation techniques that circulated among cultivators of the Great Yu Dynasty, which greatly benefited her, an outsider from the Central Plains.

No cultivator would complain about having too much of this kind of knowledge about major events in the future of cultivation.

To avoid forgetting some of these points in the future, Han Lu even took notes on scrap paper with a modern pen.

This directly led to Xiao Ran becoming interested in this novel writing tool after sharing his thoughts on the matter of Core Formation.

Before leaving the ancient cultivation secret realm, Han Lu bought a lot of fountain pens and refills, so she naturally wouldn't be stingy with her friend Xiao Ran at this time.

She used a trick, lying to Xiao Ran that it was a "pen" she had found in ancient ruins and that it was very rare, before giving Xiao Ran a fountain pen and three refills as a gift.

From a certain perspective, this statement isn't exactly a lie.

Having never seen such a strange writing tool before, Xiao Ran naturally believed his friend Han Lu's words without the slightest doubt.

Awkwardly, under Han Lu's guidance, Xiao Ran held the pen and wrote a few words on the scrap paper. He felt as if he had obtained a treasure comparable to a magic artifact. He carefully put the pen away, feeling that he had once again received a great favor from Han Lu.

Just as Xiao Ran was about to ask Han Lu if there were any other strange treasures brought out from the ancient ruins, a paper sword interrupted their conversation.

The paper sword was given to Xiao Ran by Zhu Lian, a cultivator he had met a few days earlier at the gambling arena.

He said he had obtained a pot of spirit wine and invited Xiao Ran to taste it.

Although Xiao Ran wouldn't call himself a heavy drinker, he was still a connoisseur of wine.

Zhu Lian catered to Xiao Ran's interests, and the invitation she sent was something Xiao Ran couldn't refuse.

"Fairy Han, would you like to come along?" Xiao Ran invited Han Lu while holding a paper sword.

Han Lu took a sip of tea and said, "Thank you for the invitation, Fellow Daoist Xiao, but I'm not very interested in wine. Besides, having me here would spoil the drinking experience for Fellow Daoist Xiao and Fellow Daoist Zhu."

Xiao Ran assumed that Han Lu still harbored prejudice against Zhu Lian, so he defended his friend, who had only known Han Lu for two hours longer.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu Lian is not a bad person, he's just not very good-looking, a bit lecherous, and has a loose tongue..."

Halfway through his sentence, Xiao Ran himself found himself unable to continue.

He understood that such an unreliable friend was unlikely to catch Han Lu's eye, so he said no more.

Before Xiao Ran left, Han Lu gave him a special reminder because she had invited him to taste the spirit wine.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, don't forget tomorrow's auction."

Xiao Ran assured, "I will only drink three cups, and I will absolutely not interfere with Fairy Han's important matter."

Han Lu nodded, wished Xiao Ran a pleasant time, and then did not keep him any longer.

That night, Han Lu showed no signs of fatigue and once again sat on the Dharma seat, activating the Spirit Gathering Array, breathing in spiritual energy, and strengthening the Qi Sea in her dantian.

Although Jiulong Mountain is not as rich in spiritual energy as Zhengyi Sect, it is much richer than ordinary cities.

With the help of elixirs and spirit-gathering arrays, Han Lu's cultivation progress in one night was equivalent to that of three nights in Jinyuan County.

Han Lu didn't know what kind of wine Xiao Ran and Zhu Lian drank or how much they drank during their get-together. All she knew was that the next morning, when she knocked on the door of Xiao Ran's house in the courtyard, he was drunk and barely able to stay sober.

Spirit wine is brewed from spiritual plants. To mortals it is like poison, but to cultivators it is a good thing that can temporarily calm their mind and make them forget their troubles.

Using his magic, he helped Xiao Ran onto his flying carriage.

Han Lu followed Xiao Ran's occasional guiding words while driving the flying horse carriage.

Fortunately, Jiulong Mountain isn't very big, although Xiao Ran's drinking caused Han Lu to take a wrong turn while driving.

However, the two still managed to arrive at the venue before the auction began that day.

The auction was held in a circular, three-story building.

The first floor is an auction hall prepared for Qi Refining cultivators and ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, providing only seats and number plates.

The second floor consists of private rooms prepared for cultivators in the mid-stage and late-stage Foundation Establishment.

The third floor also has private rooms, but they offer significantly more privacy and space than the second floor. The third floor is only for Golden Core cultivators or distinguished guests who are friendly with Jiulong Mountain.

Although there was a clear class distinction, it ultimately provided at least one seat and a place to stay for every cultivator who wanted to participate in this auction.

After safely landing the flying chariot, Xiao Ran managed to get off with Han Lu's help. This strange pair of male and female cultivators immediately attracted the attention of the cultivators who were preparing to enter.

After getting out of the car, Xiao Ran was still muttering to himself, trying to justify his broken promise, "Han, Fairy Han, I really only drank three cups. I'm not lying, I only drank three cups."

“But, but, the cup that Fellow Daoist Zhu gave me,” Xiao Ran, relying on his pseudo-core cultivator cultivation, broke free from the spiritual power Han Lu was exerting on him to support him, and forcibly gestured a large circle with his hand, “is really too big.”

After another burp, Xiao Ran, deliberately provoked by Han Lu, collapsed to the ground, making a fool of himself in front of the unfamiliar cultivators.