The Long Journey to Immortality

Before parting ways with the Five Poisons Sect, Han Lu did not mistreat Mao Ningyu, her dedicated guide.

"Here, these ten spirit stones are your reward for helping me search for treasure these past two days," Han Lu said generously, handing over ten spirit stones. "Also, although this matter isn't particularly confidential, please keep it a secret for me."

Overjoyed to receive the spirit stones from Han Lu, Mao Ningyu quickly promised, "Thank you, senior. I will definitely not tell anyone about your matter."

Han Lu nodded slightly, then parted ways with Mao Ningyu and went to Yi Qiyan's residence to say hello to her hostess who had been hosting her in the southern border region.

When Han Lu arrived at Yi Qiyan's residence, Yi Qiyan was training spirit insects in the courtyard.

It was the first time Han Lu had ever seen a cultivator training insects, so she stopped and watched intently for a while.

Perhaps because it sensed the aura emanating from Han Lu not far away, the Sunflower Insect paused, making its normally fluid movements of attack and supernatural powers less smooth.

Thus, Yi Qiyan naturally noticed Han Lu's arrival.

As if to test the effects of using Han Lu's blood to train the sunflower insects over the past few days, Yi Qiyan suddenly shouted "Be careful" at Han Lu and then made a hand seal to command the spirit insects to attack Han Lu.

The method for training the spirit insects is correct, but the time frame is still too short.

This time, the Sunflower Insect performed slightly better, but it still stopped half a meter away from Han Lu and flew back to Yi Qiyan's side.

Seeing her carefully nurtured spirit insect perform so poorly in front of Han Lu, Yi Qiyan felt quite helpless.

Chapter 443 Yi Qiyan's Mental Barrier

Despite being attacked again, Han Lu showed no sign of anger towards Yi Qiyan.

She understood that Yi Qiyan only wanted to see how effective it was to cultivate spirit insects using her blood, and had no malicious intent.

So, seeing that Yi Qiyan had experienced a small setback, Han Lu chose to go over and comfort her.

She said, "Yi Qiyan, this time is much better than last time. It seems that the training method you chose is very good."

"Maybe in a few years, when we meet again, your Xiao Jin won't be afraid of me anymore, and will even take the initiative to get close to me as you wish."

Yi Qiyan nodded, then shook her head. "That's true, but I've already used half of the blood you gave me to reach this level... Thank you for the compliment."

Perhaps realizing that her words seemed to imply something inappropriate, Yi Qiyan immediately stopped herself from speaking.

Han Lu saw Yi Qiyan's behavior and understood why she took back what she had said halfway through.

Although she wouldn't mind being generous again and giving some blood to Yi Qiyan, Han Lu still reached a tacit understanding with Yi Qiyan.

From this perspective, Han Lu and Yi Qiyan are actually a very suitable pair to be friends.

The topic became awkward, so Han Lu quickly changed the subject, bringing up the matter of asking the guide for help in finding the lost item, while also expressing her gratitude to Yi Qiyan for not worrying about the matter.

"Mao Ningyu is a good guide. With her help, I was able to find the mysterious cave I was looking for in just two days," Han Lu said. "This time, I owe a lot to you, the Holy Maiden, for your help."

"Next time you come to the Zhengyi Sect, don't look down on me because I'm just an inner disciple. If you need any help, just say so."

Yi Qiyan didn't stand on ceremony. As soon as Han Lu finished speaking, she asked for a favor, "Then let's not delay. I need your help right now."

Han Lu was quite surprised, but she only asked, "What is it?"

"Fight me." Yi Qiyan said bluntly.

"Fight?" Han Lu retorted. "Right now, in the Five Poisons Sect, fight me?"

Yi Qiyan nodded slightly and explained the reason for her request, "Recently, I have gained some insights into the Daoist tradition I inherited from the ancient cultivation secret realm, so I want to find a suitable opponent to compete with and test my current strength."

"Perfect timing, Han Lu, you're right here. I think you'd be a suitable opponent."

"I think I'll gain a lot from fighting you."

As she said this, Yi Qiyan couldn't help but recall the one-sided duel she and Han Lu had engaged in in the ancient cultivation secret realm without Han Lu's knowledge.

Then, Yi Qiyan added, "By the way, I'll show you the differences between the Taoist methods of the Southern Frontier and those of the Central Plains."

"Are you sure?" Yi Qiyan thought Han Lu was a good opponent, but Han Lu didn't think Yi Qiyan could fight her to a standstill. "I'm already in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and you? You should only be in the early-Foundation Establishment stage."

“I’ve just learned some advanced techniques from ancient cultivators,” Yi Qiyan said, feeling that she was capable of fighting Han Lu. “If you don’t transform into a true spirit, I think I can still put up a fight with you.”

Yi Qiyan was unaware of Han Lu's background, nor did she know that Han Lu had also received the complete inheritance of ancient cultivation in the ancient cultivation secret realm.

She simply deduced from common sense that the reason Han Lu had defeated her last time was due to the true spirit's restraint over low-level spirit insects.

Now, she is making this request partly because, as she said, she wants to test her abilities, and partly because she wants to get back at him.

As a highly talented and prominent saintess of the Five Poisons Sect, Yi Qiyan's twenty-year cultivation journey had been smooth sailing, except for a stumble against Han Lu. It was hard for her not to consider being defeated by Han Lu as a "mental obstacle," and she hoped to find an opportunity to resolve it.

Since Yi Qiyan had said so, Han Lu, who hadn't made a move in a long time, decided to go with the flow and accept Yi Qiyan's challenge.

“Alright, but I want to make a few points clear before we start,” Han Lu emphasized, “We’re just having a friendly spar, and we’ll stop when we’ve made our point.”

After advancing to the Foundation Establishment realm, a cultivator's self-control and resilience have improved significantly compared to the Qi Refining realm.

The phrase "stop when you've reached the point" is no longer just empty talk.

Yi Qiyan nodded.

During the short time she spent with Han Lu, she found that Han Lu got along very well with her.

She didn't want to ruin the tacit friendship she had just established with Han Lu over such a trivial matter.

"As for the rest," Han Lu originally wanted to lay down some rules, but found that it didn't seem necessary to set too many rules when sparring with a smart person like Yi Qiyan, "the only rule is that I won't transform into a true spirit."

Yi Qiyan nodded again, "Yes, this is the most important one."

Although Yi Qiyan was very confident in the techniques she had learned from Gu Xiu, she still did not think she could defeat Han Lu, who was already in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and had transformed into a True Spirit.

Once the rules were set, the specific time and place for the fight would naturally be up to Yi Qiyan, the Holy Maiden of the Five Poisons Sect.

“There’s no rush,” Yi Qiyan said, feeling that she needed to spend a few more days cultivating the spirit insects so that her favorite sunflower-eyed insects wouldn’t be completely useless in the battle. “Let’s set it for five days from now.”

“It’s perfect that you stay at the Five Poisons Sect for a few more days so I can treat you well,” Yi Qiyan explained her reasoning. “It also gives you a few days to browse through the books in my Five Poisons Sect’s library.”

Yi Qiyan still remembered that Han Lu wanted to find two books on formations to read.

Han Lu wasn't in a hurry to return to the Central Plains, so she didn't object to Yi Qiyan's arrangements.

“Okay, then I’ll have a few more days to prepare.” Han Lu verbally showed Yi Qiyan ample respect.

Talk is one thing, doing is another.

For the remaining days, Han Lu spent all her time in the Five Poisons Sect's library, except for her daily cultivation.

It must be said that the Five Poisons Sect, as the largest sect in the southern border region, which has ruled this not-so-small area for nearly 10,000 years, possesses a collection of books that is not much inferior to that of the Zhengyi Sect.

In fact, the Five Poisons Sect has a larger collection of books than the Orthodox Sect in many obscure subjects.

In the library, Han Lu not only spent a lot of time on books on formations, but also specifically looked through some books on poison techniques.

Although the True Spirit is resistant to poison, it is not immune to all poisons. She felt that she should take this opportunity to learn more about poisons, so that she would not be victorious on the front lines, but be knocked to the ground by poison from behind due to a moment of carelessness.

In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.

Han Lu arrived as promised and met Yi Qiyan on a fighting stage within the Five Poisons Sect.

Chapter 444 Removing the Mental Barrier, Fighting Han Lu

Han Lu did not make much preparation for this sparring match, which she thought would not be too suspenseful, in the five days. Yi Qiyan, on the other hand, spent almost all of the five days preparing for this sparring match with Han Lu.

On one hand, Yi Qiyan is the one who can defeat Han Lu, and she naturally needs to take this hard-won opportunity to compete with Han Lu seriously if she wants to get rid of her mental block.

On the other hand, Yi Qiyan's lack of understanding of Han Lu's strength is also the reason why she would go to such lengths for a sparring match that Han Lu believes she has no chance of winning.

In Yi Qiyan's opinion, Han Lu was able to pass through layers of selection and enter the ancient cultivation secret realm mostly because she was a true spirit.

Yi Qiyan had fought Han Lu once in the ancient cultivation secret realm and knew the power of a true spirit.

She felt that the higher-ups of the Zhengyi Sect must have known about this, which was why they arranged for Han Lu, a human disciple with true spiritual bloodline, to be one of the Qi Refining cultivators entering the ancient cultivation secret realm.

Putting aside her identity as a True Spirit, Yi Qiyan, the Holy Maiden of the Five Poisons Sect, estimated that Han Lu would not be her match during the Qi Refining stage.

The logic behind this is clear and simple.

Yi Qiyan believed herself to be exceptionally talented, possessing the best and most abundant resources in the Southern Frontier, and a large number of magical treasures. Under such circumstances, there was no reason why she could not defeat an ordinary inner disciple of the Zhengyi Sect.

Following this logic, Yi Qiyan progressed step by step, concluding that she should be able to fight Han Lu, who had "casually" advanced to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, to a standstill.

In just over a year, she advanced from the early stage of Foundation Establishment to the middle stage. To say that Han Lu's foundation is very solid and her cultivation is extremely profound? Yi Qiyan didn't believe it.

In fact, when Yi Qiyan met Han Lu that day, she still put herself on the advantageous side in the hypothetical battle before the sparring match.

Despite several days of nurturing, my beloved sunflower worms haven't made any progress.

However, after winning the match against Han Lu, Yi Qiyan felt that she had a 60% or even 70% chance of winning.

So, before the match even started, the two, who had just met and were chatting as friends, subconsciously considered themselves the victors of the match.

Before the sparring match, Han Lu took the initiative to ask about Yi Qiyan's sunflower-eyed worm.

"Yi Qiyan, how is it? Is the cultivation of the spirit insects working?"

Yi Qiyan had no need to hide this from Han Lu. On the contrary, she hoped that Han Lu, the true spirit, could offer some valuable advice from a "zoological" perspective.

After exchanging a few words, Han Lu generously plucked two feathers and gave them away as a gift.

"These feathers are also imbued with my aura, so they should be useful for cultivating spirit insects."

"You might as well try placing this feather in the dwelling place of your sunflower worm."

"Perhaps, after spending several months together, he will no longer fear the aura of the true spirit and will become a formidable warrior."

Han Lu's deduction was reasonable and well-founded, and Yi Qiyan felt that it was quite possible, so she did not refuse Han Lu's kindness and happily accepted the two white feathers that Han Lu handed over.

After giving the "goose feather," Yi Qiyan and Han Lucai started talking about their sparring match again.

Han Lu was very satisfied with the location arranged by Yi Qiyan for the sparring session.

As a saintess, Yi Qiyan naturally had a separate place for training, cultivation, and practicing magical artifacts and spells.

The sparring match took place here that day.

It was quiet and no one was watching.

Under such circumstances, Han Lu was able to happily bring out some of her most secret tricks.

After exchanging a few more words and reiterating the rules set a few days earlier, the two went to one side of the ring.

"Ready?" Without a referee, Yi Qiyan took the initiative to ask.

"It's ready, anytime is fine." Han Lu had already decided which moves she should use at the very beginning of the sparring match.