The Long Journey to Immortality

Han Lu casually tucked the Moon Pearl back into the cleavage between her chest and carefully stored it away.

The two sword moves Fang Lin had used were still replaying in her mind.

Struggling to maintain that nascent, inexplicable understanding, Han Lu pushed open the door, lightly leaped, and jumped into the backyard of the inn.

With a pat on her storage bag, Han Lu pulled out a silver-gray sword of the spirit treasure level. Like an ordinary female knight-errant who possessed no spiritual power whatsoever, she began to wield the sword in the courtyard.

It was called sword dancing, but it was actually just an imitation of Fang Lin's two sword moves.

Han Lu thought she should first learn the form, and then understand the meaning from it, gradually comprehending the mysteries of these two sword moves.

Because the two sword techniques were not connected, Han Lu's movements when wielding the gray sword in the backyard naturally appeared clumsy and awkward.

The spirit sword was swung, stirring up gusts of sword wind.

However, Han Lu's surging sword strokes were no match for the sword wind generated by Fang Lin's casual sword swings.

Although both of them were wielding the same sword.

Fang Lin's sword wind could cut through the thick hide of a Foundation Establishment Realm demon beast, but Han Lu's sword wind could only barely knock off a few withered leaves from the tree, and could not even cut the branches.

Chapter 336 Calculation

Although the poor imitation did not achieve significant results.

But through repeated attempts, Han Lu was able to express the sword intent in her mind that she couldn't put into words through action and with her sword.

With a surge of sword wind, Han Lu cut down withered leaves and used these leaves, which were flying around in the air, as targets to test her second sword move.

Compared to the first sword move that unleashes a powerful sword wind to kill enemies, Han Lu prefers the second move. Naturally, she spends more energy and effort practicing and comprehending the profound meaning of the second sword move.

Naturally, Han Lu's second imitation was even more impressive.

The withered leaves falling from the bare branches danced almost haphazardly, but Han Lu always managed to pinpoint their location with her spirit sword, causing them to land on the blade.

As a magic weapon of the Spirit Treasure level, although the silver-gray longsword in Han Lu's hand can only unleash its full power when wielded by a cultivator at or above the Nascent Soul Realm, this does not mean that it is not sharp when it exists as an ordinary longsword.

On the contrary, it reached the legendary level of being able to cut through magical artifacts like mud and sever hair with a breath.

These withered leaves, knocked down by Han Lu's sword wind, simply brushed against the silver-gray blade and naturally separated into two pieces as they drifted downwards by gravity.

Move, stop, move, stop.

After several repetitions, about 70% of the few withered leaves fell to the ground after Han Lu neatly cut them open.

Leaning against her sword, Han Lu stared blankly at the fallen leaves on the ground, muttering to herself, "What kind of technique is this?"

The seven words in the Seven Kill Sword Technique seemed to have no relation to this move, leaving Han Lu somewhat confused.

Fortunately, she not only inherited Fang Lin's martial arts techniques, but also his experience.

Some passages and phrases that Han Lu had seen in the experience passed down by the senior Fang Lin appeared in her mind.

"Senior Fang Lin said that swordsmanship is ever-changing, but it is far less than the variations and intricacies of these seven words."

"If that's the case, this move is probably something that Senior Fang Lin comprehended after advancing to the Nascent Soul realm."

Han Lu speculated, "Perhaps, besides the sword technique represented by this sword move, there are many other fragmented new elements. Only after partially comprehending these elements and reaching a minor or major mastery level can the Seven Kill Sword Technique undergo a transformation, allowing cultivators to advance from the Nascent Soul Realm to a higher realm?"

Han Lu's series of conjectures were reasonable and seemed very reliable.

Therefore, Han Lu stopped worrying about what "formula" she had heard of was used in the problem, and instead focused on figuring out the structure of the formula, learning it, and trying to apply it.

She tried again, but this time she was still a bit off; only half of the fallen leaves were accurately predicted to fly the correct routes by Han Lu.

"Is it because my mind was distracted?" Han Lu felt that her previous thoughts had interfered with her synchronization with the sword move.

As Han Lu was carefully holding the sword, reflecting and thinking, applause suddenly rang out.

A strange male voice, accompanied by applause, rang out from not far from Han Lu, "Fairy, your swordsmanship is superb, and your sword is also excellent. May I have the honor of appreciating this peerless sword?"

Han Lu turned around and found a young male cultivator who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old.

He had no beard, and his clothes were more luxurious than those of ordinary cultivators. His hair was tied up in a neat bun, which made him look like a cultivator from a major sect.

As for cultivation level, Han Lu could only determine that he was probably not a Foundation Establishment cultivator. As for the specific Qi Refining level of this young man, Han Lu, who could not use her divine sense to detect, could not make an accurate judgment.

"No need," Han Lu said, slightly annoyed at being abruptly interrupted and losing that mysterious feeling. She casually put the valuable item, worth at least seven figures in spirit stones, back into her storage bag. "It's just a piece of scrap metal, so I won't bother your hands, fellow Daoist."

Han Lu's tone was unfriendly, and her words were laced with sarcasm, which surprised the young man, who was momentarily at a loss for words.

Seeing him standing there in a daze, Han Lu guessed that this young man was not only going out for training for the first time, but also trying to strike up a conversation with a girl for the first time.

She didn't bother with the low-level cultivator who had come up to her, casually tidied her long, wine-red hair, and turned to go back to her room.

Seeing that Han Lu was about to leave, the young man quickly said, "Fairy, I think your broken copper and iron sword is quite good. I'm willing to offer thirty spirit stones to do business with you. What do you say?"

Spend thirty spirit stones to buy a spirit treasure? And it's a spirit treasure that the ancient cultivator Fang Lin once used?

Han Lu almost burst out laughing when she heard this.

However, these words also dispelled her guess that the young cultivator had recognized the spirit sword in her hand as a precious spiritual treasure.

"Although this sword is just scrap metal, I like it very much. I'll have to take my leave now." After saying that, Han Lu imitated the flying posture of a Golden Core cultivator and flew to the second-floor corridor, returning to her room.

"Then I'll raise the price, fifty spirit stones as..." Upon seeing this move, the young man immediately swallowed the rest of his words.

He regarded Han Lu as a senior in the Golden Core realm.

In reality, it was just a display of the True Spirit's powerful physique, a mere high jump from a standing position.

Looking at Han Lu's tightly closed door, and then glancing back at the fallen leaves in the courtyard, the young man said with relief, "So she is a senior in the Golden Core Realm. No wonder her swordsmanship is so superb."

"If it were those old hags, their heads would probably have separated from their bodies by now, wouldn't they?"

"I wonder if they're from Dongzhou Prefecture? I remember there are only a few female cultivators in Dongzhou Prefecture."

"Not only is she good-looking, but she also has a good temper. She should be under 100 years old."

Han Lu had no idea what the boy was thinking. She had already satisfied her wish by letting him know to stop bothering her.

After meditating cross-legged in the room for a while, Han Lu summarized the sword techniques she had learned from Fang Lin that night, trying to come up with a conclusion that she could use freely.

"The first move should be related to the Splitting Technique, but I have too little understanding of it, and even if I use a magical artifact to perform it, I cannot imitate it."

"The second move is a technique whose word is unknown."

"But for some reason, I was able to imitate it in a certain way."

"This move seems to rely on calculation."

"Although I can imitate it quite well, I haven't even scratched the surface yet."

"After all, whether they are ferocious beasts or cultivators, they all have minds and can think and adapt."

"To accurately predict their next move and strike the sword where it should strike is infinitely more difficult than splitting a few fallen leaves."

……

After reflecting and contemplating, Han Lu finally summarized and comforted herself.

"It's been a small success. If all else fails, I can just watch that section again next month, a hundred or a thousand times, and I'm sure I'll gain new insights and understanding."

Han Lu was lost in thought when suddenly another sound came from outside the window.

It's the elderly couple from last night.

Chapter 337 To My Desire

"Immortal Master, save me! Immortal Master, save me!"

The elderly couple were crying and kowtowing at Han Lu's window, begging for help.

This behavior was completely different from how the two of them had peacefully fallen asleep under the protection of the firelight given to them by Han Lu when the sun had just risen.

The elderly couple's cries and pleas for help attracted a crowd of onlookers on the street.

Passersby pointed and whispered curiously, wondering what had happened to the elderly couple and what kind of monk lived in the room corresponding to the flashing window.

Hearing the cries, Han Lu frowned and thought to herself, "It's only a half-hour round trip, how did it turn out like this?"

She slightly opened the window, which only made the elderly couple cry out even louder.

The sound attracted the young cultivator who had just exchanged a few words with Han Lu in the courtyard.

He stepped forward and asked the two elderly people why they were crying.

Seeing that the young man was dressed as a monk, the elderly couple, desperate for a cure, sought his help.

Han Lu pricked up her ears and, following the wind, understood what had happened during the nearly half an hour she had been practicing her sword.

The elderly couple were the original inhabitants of this small village, and they made a living by weaving to earn money.

However, just yesterday, three cultivators who had fled from a neighboring prefecture to the small village occupied their home and drove the two of them out under the pretext of asking for lodging.

This is what caused them to become homeless, forcing them to lean against the walls of small inns and spend the night by the roadside, under the window of Han Lu's room.

Fortunately, Han Lu had a kind heart and casually added a flame to help them keep warm, allowing them to spend a sleepless night peacefully.

This cold early spring night will not show mercy just because the two are old and frail. A serious illness or even death is entirely possible.

With Han Lu's small help, the two elderly people finally managed to get through the night, and they thought the cultivator who had taken over their house would leave.

Unexpectedly, these cowards who were afraid to fight other cultivators turned out to be the ones who "strike hard" when bullying mortals.

Not only did they shamelessly continue to occupy the elderly couple's home, but they also threatened the couple with their lives, demanding that they provide services to them free of charge.

This so-called service is certainly not the kind of service that an 18-year-old girl could provide.

The three monks only asked the old couple to not only provide them with a house to live in, but also to take care of their daily needs, provide them with food and drink for free, and treat them like servants.

This was unacceptable to the elderly couple who had suffered an undeserved misfortune.

Coincidentally, the favor Han Lu had casually bestowed yesterday inspired them, which led to this scene: they came to Han Lu's window and cried, hoping that Han Lu, whom they considered a kind-hearted cultivator, would once again show mercy and help them drive away the three cultivators who had intruded on their peaceful life.

However, these words could only be spoken in their hearts. When "telling stories" to the young cultivator, the old couple naturally described their situation as as tragic as possible, hoping to arouse the young man's compassion and have the senior expert sitting in the room hear them and lend them a hand.

Sure enough, this kind of story is incredibly impactful for young people venturing out of the mountains for the first time.

If it weren't for the fact that three cultivators had taken over the old couple's home, this young man would have already drawn his spirit sword and set off to seek justice for the two elderly people.

Limited ability, but full of enthusiasm.

Thinking back to the story, last night, Han Lu, whom he mistook for a Golden Core cultivator, had already helped him with a small favor.