The Long Journey to Immortality

The harmony with the Ice Phoenix bloodline had already brought her so many benefits; if she were to integrate a new True Phoenix bloodline, the result would be incredibly exciting just thinking about it.

Without hesitation, she was determined to acquire those five drops of essence blood, even if it meant spending all the remaining five thousand spirit stones in her storage bag.

The female auctioneer concluded, "The starting price for these five drops of True Phoenix Blood Essence is 200 spirit stones, with increments of five spirit stones. Fellow Daoists and seniors, please make your bids."

Hearing the price, Han Lu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that she could leave more spirit stones in her storage bag for the subsequent auction items.

"It seems that in the eyes of most cultivators, the essence blood of the fire phoenix is ​​not a particularly precious material. In that case, I should have a chance to acquire it at a reasonable price."

Just as Han Lu had expected, most cultivators took a spectator's attitude towards the Fire Phoenix Essence Blood, an item related to alchemy, weapon crafting, and rare supernatural abilities.

After bidding 250 spirit stones, no more cultivators in the hall made any more bids.

In the private rooms on the second and third floors, only a few cultivators were interested in the Fire Phoenix Essence Blood, sending out paper swords and participating in the bidding.

When the price of Fire Phoenix Essence Blood rose to five hundred spirit stones, Han Lu finally picked up a pen and paper, ready to participate.

Seeing Han Lu's actions, Xiao Ran was somewhat surprised. "Fairy Han, could it be that besides being able to predict the future, you are also proficient in alchemy and weapon crafting?"

Xiao Ran simply couldn't reconcile Han Lu's appearance with that of a cultivator skilled in various arts.

"No, that's not it. I'm not proficient in alchemy or weapon crafting," Han Lu said, having told lies so many times that she could easily come up with another one. "It's just that my water-attribute cultivation technique requires a fire-attribute treasure for assistance and balance, so I thought of buying this thing to use for cultivation."

Xiao Ran nodded and said, "I see. How much money is Fairy Han planning to offer?"

Han Lu smiled without saying a word, but quickly wrote numbers on a piece of paper, folded it into a paper sword, and threw it out.

The paper sword flew through the air for five breaths, spun around, and then arrived in front of the female auctioneer.

Unfolding the paper sword, the female auctioneer announced in a clear voice, "Room 217, 700."

The price suddenly soared by a full two hundred, causing some noise and discussion among the cultivators watching the spectacle in the hall.

Xiao Ran also learned from this offer that Han Lu was indeed as wealthy as he had previously thought, and was determined to obtain this treasure.

Just as Han Lu had expected, after she quoted this high price, the cultivators in the other private rooms immediately lost interest in this treasure.

Only one monk in a third-floor private room was still there, engaged in a final battle with her.

After several rounds of bidding, when the price reached 850 spirit stones, the cultivator, who was probably at the Golden Core stage, gave up his desire for the Fire Phoenix Essence Blood and withdrew from the competition.

Clearly, the other party only regarded the Fire Phoenix Blood Essence as a supreme treasure of the fire attribute, and did not value the possibility of extracting supernatural powers from it and mastering it.

Thus, this True Spirit Essence Blood, which ordinary cultivators would consider worth only around six hundred spirit stones, was acquired by Han Lu for a high price of eight hundred and fifty spirit stones.

When the small bottle was delivered to Han Lu's private room 217, she couldn't suppress her excitement no matter how hard she tried, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Opening the small bottle and smelling its aroma, Han Lu felt a surge of excitement coursing through her veins, confirming that this item was undoubtedly the essence blood of a Nascent Soul-level Fire Phoenix True Spirit.

After closing the small bottle and handing over a full 860 spirit stones, Han Lu put it away, pondering which suitable time in the next two months would be to absorb the essence blood and try to cast the Harmony Secret Technique once more.

Although this Harmony Technique might not succeed, at least having this essence blood by her side gave Han Lu the opportunity to try and the hope of success.

Seeing the barely suppressed excitement on Han Lu's face, even if Xiao Ran was stupid, he could guess that Han Lu had probably lied to him just now.

But he didn't take it to heart. Instead, he congratulated Han Lu, saying that she had spent a relatively small amount of spirit stones to get the item she wanted.

Han Lu thanked her and casually said, "This is an unexpected gain. If I can find any trace of Frost Iron or Dark Raven Mithril and buy them, then this trip will have been worthwhile."

“It should be fine,” Xiao Ran analyzed. “Dongzhou Prefecture is rich in metal materials. Although these two metals are both Golden Core level treasures, they are not particularly rare. They should make an appearance later.”

Just as Xiao Ran had said, sure enough, half an hour later, Han Lu saw the two metals at the auction.

After spending 500 spirit stones to split 100 jin of Frost Iron with another cultivator, Han Lu then bought 10.5 jin of Dark Raven Mithril for a high price of 1000 spirit stones.

In less than an hour, Han Lu had spent more than two thousand spirit stones at the auction, making room 217 a little bit of a sensation at the auction.

Han Lu made some gains, and Xiao Ran didn't leave empty-handed either.

He acquired a piece of Feng Shui Zhenwu Xirang (a type of soil) for 500 spirit stones and bought five half-broken Tianzhu Stones for 300 spirit stones.

Xiao Ran finally obtained the feng shui talisman that had been used to optimize the feng shui, gather spiritual energy, and assist in the formation of the core.

Out of curiosity, the two stayed at the auction until the very end that night, acting as outsiders.

As expected, the last item auctioned did not disappoint the two.

A beast core rated as a top-grade second-class beast was presented on stage.

Monsters can improve their cultivation level by consuming the golden cores of human cultivators, and human cultivators can naturally also forcibly raise their cultivation level to the Golden Core realm by refining monster cores.

Although Golden Core cultivators "manufactured" through such unorthodox methods lack strength—and being able to advance to the mid-stage of Golden Core is already considered a stroke of luck—they are still Golden Core cultivators after all. While their combat power is inferior to that of cultivators who have properly advanced to the Golden Core realm, they are still significantly stronger than Foundation Establishment cultivators.

For most sects that have only one or two Golden Core cultivators or none at all, this high-grade beast core is quite attractive.

In terms of value, this item surpasses a top-grade magic weapon or an ordinary spiritual artifact by several times.

After a fierce battle, the price soared to five figures.

Ultimately, the beast core was acquired by a cultivator in a private room on the third floor for a high price of 25,000 spirit stones.

Such a high price and such a treasure brought this auction to a perfect close.

Chapter 295 Sermon

The auction lasted for six and a half hours, during which nearly two hundred items were sold and changed hands.

Although so many treasures were sold, the vast majority of cultivators who came to the auction site left empty-handed. After watching the excitement for a whole day or even a few hours, they barely managed to broaden their horizons and brighten their minds, which had become dull due to the monotony of cultivation.

Cultivators like Han Lu, who not only obtained the treasures they originally wanted to find and buy, but also received unexpected surprises, are ultimately few and far between.

So, when he left the auction site and found that many cultivators had temporarily gathered at the entrance to sell their goods, Xiao Ran, who had only achieved part of his wish, couldn't help but slow down. Instead of leaving in a hurry, he pulled Han Lu aside to help him advise him, hoping to obtain a set of array flags from these cultivators for use in Core Formation.

There aren't many cultivators selling array flags, since array flags are considered a relatively uncommon type of magic item, but there are still a few stalls that sell array flags of magic item quality.

The array flags that Xiao Ran valued consisted of nine flags of a quality equivalent to a mid-grade magic item.

The nine array flags can be combined to form a total of eighteen different formations.

Two of the eighteen formations can shield against divine sense detection and conceal spiritual energy fluctuations.

After pondering for a long time and comparing prices from three different vendors, Xiao Ran finally spent one hundred spirit stones to buy this set of array flags that barely met his expectations. This satisfied him and fulfilled his wish.

In high spirits, Xiao Ran spent ten spirit stones at another stall to buy a pot of spirit wine, saying he wanted to have a small drink to celebrate.

On the way back to the courtyard, Xiao Ran invited Han Lu to drink and admire the moon to celebrate, but Han Lu refused on the grounds that she "does not like drinking".

Helpless, Xiao Ran could only lament in his heart that Han Lu did not understand the "beauty of wine" for a while, and then happily took out the wine pot again, sat on the flying carriage, took a sip, and enjoyed the pleasure that this very luxurious hobby brought to his body and mind.

Smacking his lips, Xiao Ran asked curiously, "Fairy Han, don't you have any hobbies besides cultivation? I'm very curious how you maintain a clear mind and a steadfast Dao heart when your life is so boring."

"It's probably because I advance very quickly, and I can feel the improvement in my cultivation level with each meditation session, and derive joy from it."

Han Lu's genius-like answer left Xiao Ran, who considered himself a genius among rogue cultivators, speechless.

However, recalling his own cultivation story during his Qi Refining period, Xiao Ran shook the wine bottle and realized that Han Lu wasn't just talking nonsense, but that there was some truth to it.

Back in the courtyard, Xiao Ran was thinking of going to sit in Han Lu's yard for a while, but Han Lu blocked him at the door with the goddess-like excuse of "taking a bath".

Helpless, Xiao Ran could only send out a paper sword, thinking of calling Zhu Lian, his drinking companion from the previous day, to rekindle their past romance.

Han Lu was telling the truth when she said she wanted to take a shower.

Back in the courtyard, she quickly removed her phoenix-feather robe and sat down in the empty bathtub.

Han Lu used her spiritual power to condense pure water vapor in the air, transforming it into liquid water which she then poured into the bathtub.

Then she used her magic to heat the water to a temperature she liked, boiling it in the standard way of a monk while washing her body in the way of a mortal.

At some point, perhaps it was a habit she picked up in the ancient cultivation realm, Han Lu developed a fondness for the feeling of soaking in hot water and contemplating.

That day, the things she was thinking about were not complicated.

"I wonder how loud the last time we clashed was, and whether any strange phenomena appeared out of nowhere..."

Han Lu recalled the scene a few years ago when she met Sister Feng Rubing in the Northern Dynasty and used her essence blood to perform the Harmony Secret Technique.

"At the time, I was focused on performing the secret technique and was unaware of what was happening outside."

"If the Harmony Technique will trigger celestial phenomena, then I should proceed with caution and find a secluded place to use the Fire Phoenix Essence Blood I obtained today to perform the technique and fuse bloodlines."

"If there's no major development, it would be better to try fusing bloodlines and increasing our strength as soon as possible."

Although there hadn't been many days of turmoil in the Great Yu Dynasty, the words spoken by the Taoist Master Xuyu at today's auction still made Han Lu feel uneasy.

She could sense that a major upheaval was about to occur in Dongzhou Prefecture.

Even if she isn't directly involved, she'll definitely encounter trouble while traveling, as she'll be staying in Dongzhou Prefecture for several more months.

In the Eastern Prefecture, which has two Nascent Soul cultivators and nearly thirty Golden Core cultivators, it's hard to say that she can guarantee her safety with her current strength.

To her, mastering another true spiritual power or becoming even slightly stronger when transforming into a true spirit would be of paramount importance.

After thinking for a long time, Han Lu still couldn't recall the scene when they met on that day.

For safety reasons, she chose to proceed cautiously and would try to resonate with the music after leaving Jiulong Mountain.

Try to see if you have enough good fortune to merge with the third type of True Phoenix bloodline and allow your true spirit avatar to undergo new changes.

Forcing herself to forget about the Fire Phoenix Essence Blood, Han Lu began to think about her plans for the next few days, the next half month, and the next month.

According to Jiulong Mountain's arrangements, tomorrow, the only Nascent Soul stage cultivator in Jiulong Mountain will hold a sermon on the main mountain of Jiulong Mountain.

Although Han Lu didn't think that listening to a cultivator at the early Nascent Soul stage speak in general terms would give her enlightenment or any remarkable improvement, she didn't want to be an outlier, so she would still listen in to see if she could gain anything.

Even if you gain nothing, you can still use it as a prelude to listening to Senior Fang Han's Daoist Assembly in the Moon Pearl World and getting a feel for the atmosphere.

As for what to do next...

"Although I made an agreement with Xiao Ran to protect him, it doesn't mean that I have to stick by his side for the next two months."

“I can arrange another time to meet him, find a secluded place to cultivate in seclusion for a month, consolidate my current cultivation level, settle the matter of Heming, and then reunite with him.”

Han Lu felt that this arrangement was reasonable.

Xiao Ran was also a cultivator who was used to being alone, and his emotional intelligence was not low. Han Lu thought he probably wouldn't refuse.

Seated cross-legged on the Dharma seat, Han Lu cultivated diligently for another night, striving to absorb spiritual energy and strengthen the Qi Sea in her dantian.

The next day, unlike the auction the previous day, all the guests, including the disciples of Jiulong Mountain, got up and set off as soon as the sun rose, heading towards the highest of the nine peaks of Jiulong Mountain.

The people came here not only to listen to the Dao, but also to admire the demeanor of the only two Nascent Soul cultivators in Dongzhou Prefecture, so that their hearts would be more steadfast in their pursuit of the Dao and they would have a greater desire for the supreme Dao.

[Author's Note] The exams are over, and I'm in a good mood, so I'm adding an extra chapter ahead of schedule.