The Long Journey to Immortality

Since Han Lu had already said that, Li Haoqiong naturally didn't bring up the petty things he had done in a moment of impulse.

"Junior sister, your future is bleak. I, your senior brother, will wait for you to advance to the Golden Core stage twenty years from now to attend your ascension banquet."

After saying that, Li Haoqiong bowed to Han Lu, jumped off the arena, and went to find the academy cultivator in charge of this arena to settle the bill.

Chapter 465 Changing one's mind

Li Haoqiong left the arena, but Han Lu still spent a few moments on the stage reflecting on the battle.

Clearly, after this sparring session with a cultivator of the same realm, Han Lu's desire to explore the possible existence of the spirit fox bloodline within her body has diminished considerably.

Although external skills are her weak point, she should work on improving them.

But as it turns out, even in her weakness, she has surpassed many cultivators of the same level. Even if this cultivator has practiced some external martial arts techniques, he is still not as good as her in this aspect.

Therefore, it seems somewhat unnecessary to spend energy on aspects that are unlikely to yield results.

Recalling the final rounds of hand-to-hand combat, Han Lu completely forgot the sudden idea she had when she left the Moon Pearl World and decided to devote her energy and time to cultivating the True Phoenix Manual for the foreseeable future.

"I think that if I could use the True Phoenix Manual more skillfully and explore the phoenix bloodline in my body more deeply, I would definitely be able to further strengthen my physique and give me the strength to fight against cultivators who are proficient in external martial arts."

"We'll see..."

Han Lu was still thinking about Li Feng's bloodline. "Senior Li Feng in Phoenix Perch Forest is definitely not a man who goes back on his word. Once I advance to the Golden Core stage, I will be able to obtain his essence blood to try and obtain the third type of phoenix bloodline."

"Once successful..." Han Lu imagined herself transforming into a true spirit, draped in black feathers, using close combat skills to fight others, "The effect would only be better than developing the extremely rare spirit fox bloodline."

"The success rates of the two are worlds apart."

Although there is only one three-winged true phoenix besides her in the Phoenix Clan, four-winged true phoenixes are extremely rare even in the True Spirit Era.

But when Han Lu left the holy land, she had a vague premonition that her path of merging bloodlines would not end in the next step.

This premonition was so strong that it filled Han Lu, who had been enjoying smooth sailing in recent years, with confidence in the matter of He Ming and Li Feng's bloodline.

As Han Lu stood "foolishly" on the stage with her eyes slightly closed, reviewing the previous exchange and lost in thought, the spectators below the stage groaned in despair.

The "Brother Wang" who temporarily set up the gambling den happily exchanged gambling tickets for a few gamblers who were "betting on Han Lu".

Compared to Han Lu, Li Haoqiong, who has cultivated for a longer period of time, is a favorite in this bet.

Naturally, his defeat allowed "Brother Wang," who ran the betting operation, to make a fortune.

In the blink of an eye, this impromptu, risk-free business deal earned Brother Wang seven or eight spirit stones and some Qi-refining pills.

Judging from his efficiency in making money, if "Brother Wang" takes the right path and develops properly in the future, he may become a business figure like Long Qian.

Following the "command" of the battle power stone, he bet on Han Lu, which turned "Second Brother's" two spirit stones into five.

However, despite his victory, he was not among the jubilant gamblers.

On the contrary, he won the spirit stones by making a judgment based on the third brother's combat power stone, but after earning the spirit stones, he complained about the strategist who had helped him a lot.

"Third brother," the second brother said, holding the spirit stones with a displeased look, "Why didn't you say so earlier? If I had known that Senior Sister Han's combat strength was three times higher than that hyped-up Senior Brother Li, I would have definitely bet all my assets on Senior Sister Han."

After complaining about his friends, he started to feel sorry for himself.

"This Senior Sister Han is beautiful and famous. She was said to be the first place winner in the last competition. She must be a top expert and an unparalleled genius. Why did I bet one spirit stone on her?"

Seeing his roommate looking like a typical gambling addict, the third brother didn't know what to say while holding the battle power stone.

Just as he was thinking of saying a few words of comfort, he noticed that Han Lu lightly leaped up from the ring and walked straight toward him.

Seeing this, the third brother quickly put away the battle stone and respectfully bowed to Han Lu.

As they drew closer, the third brother realized that Han Lu really was after him.

Han Lu had noticed the junior brother who was gesturing at her and Li Haoqiong with a strange stone when she used her Beast Eye technique on the arena.

After that, she kept a close eye on what this junior brother said and did.

Having returned from the ancient cultivation realm, Han Lu developed a strong interest in this "novel" item. After learning the general purpose of the stone in her junior brother's hand from a few words, she decided to ask him for more details.

"Junior brother," Han Lu said politely, "how should I address you?"

The third brother said, "Greetings, Senior Sister Han. My surname is Hu and my given name is Jian."

"Junior Brother Hu, the magic weapon you just used can test a cultivator's cultivation level? If I'm not mistaken, you should only be at the third or fourth level of Qi Refining." Han Lu observed Hu Jian's aura and judged his approximate cultivation level.

Hu Jian was slightly surprised to hear that Han Lu had come to him to inquire about the magical artifact, the Battle Power Stone.

However, upon closer examination, it's understandable that Han Lu, whose combat power is three times that of Li Haoqiong, would have the leisure to pay attention to the situation below the arena.

With a bit of a show-off in mind, Hu Jian once again took out the Battle Power Stone and introduced this interesting new magic weapon to Han Lu.

Han Lu listened attentively, occasionally asking questions and seeking Hu Jian's help to answer them.

In less than a hundred breaths, Han Lu already knew more about the battle power stone than Hu Jian's roommate.

When Han Lu learned that the Battle Power Stone was so magical, judging a cultivator's combat strength based on their general combat power rather than their cultivation level, she even had the idea of ​​spending spirit stones to buy it.

However, when she learned that the battle power stone was only an "experiment" and that the test results were not accurate enough, only able to measure the battle power of cultivators below the Golden Core realm, she gave up the idea.

However, this is somewhat pointless for her; there's no need for her to be shameless, act like a bad person, and do bad things.

After all, Hu Jian had such connections to acquire this wondrous magic weapon, so he must be a cultivator with a background and family. Han Lu didn't think that just a few spirit stones could steal someone else's treasure.

Hu Jian breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that Han Lu had no intention of "forcibly taking" him.

Originally, he had already planned that if Han Lu took the initiative to buy or ask for it, he would give away this beloved magic treasure with a mix of reluctance and acceptance.

Seeing that Senior Sister Han was not only highly skilled but also of impeccable character, Hu Jian took the initiative to tell Han Lu the information about the weapon-refining master.

"The master said that in three years at most, he will be able to refine a higher-level combat power stone, which may be able to measure the combat power of a senior at the Golden Core level."

"If Senior Sister Han really likes it, why not go and find that master in a few years?"

"With Senior Sister Han's charm and the addition of spirit stones, it shouldn't be a problem for her to purchase a combat power stone from the master."

Upon hearing this, Han Lu was overjoyed. She noted down the information Hu Jian had provided and planned to find an opportunity to visit that master to see if she had any affinity with such a wondrous magical artifact.

"Oh, right," Han Lu asked before parting, "Junior Brother Hu, how about I borrow this battle power stone for a day? I'll exchange it for a nice magic item."

"It's alright, Senior Sister, feel free to use it. Just be careful when you use it." Since it was just a loan and there was even a magic weapon as a gift, Hu Jian naturally didn't refuse.

After handing over the combat power stone, Hu Jian also explained its general uses and the numerical meanings represented by the combat power symbols.

After learning the skill on her own, Han Lu took the battle power stone and left the arena, eager to go home and find a quiet place to test it out.

It's like a child who has just received a new toy.

Chapter 466 Self-Testing Combat Strength

Although Hu Jian only had a superficial understanding of the Battle Power Stone in many aspects, and the words he used when answering Han Lu's questions and introducing it were often quite vague, Han Lu still managed to deduce its general principle based on the effects of the Battle Power Stone.

Normally, even if a cultivator below the Golden Core realm deliberately hides their strength and conceals their aura, there will still be a faint spiritual energy emanating from their body.

The amount of this overflowing spiritual energy, whether more or less, should be the basis for the Battle Power Stone's evaluation of a cultivator's combat power.

This is why the data obtained from the combat power stone is more accurate during battle, and the numbers obtained are also higher than those obtained outside of battle.

As for why only cultivators below the Golden Core realm can be measured in terms of combat strength, Han Lu felt it was easy to understand.

Golden Core cultivators have protective qi around their bodies.

This protective energy naturally possesses the ability to block divine sense detection and prevent the leakage of one's aura.

If a Golden Core cultivator's divine sense talent is slightly lacking, they may not even be able to detect the presence of other Golden Core cultivators.

It would be strange if such a magical artifact, which even Qi Refining cultivators can use with ease, could detect the combat power of a Golden Core cultivator through Qi.

No wonder, this is just a prototype, a preliminary version.

"In this light, these combat power stones should be called spirit power stones, as they simply measure a cultivator's combat power based on the amount of spirit power they possess."

"No wonder Hu Jian said the results were not accurate enough."

"After all, besides spiritual power, many other factors determine a cultivator's combat strength."

"This combat power stone certainly can't know what kind of magical treasures are hidden in a cultivator's storage bag, whether the cultivator has learned any extremely powerful techniques, or whether the cultivator has rich combat experience or skillful combat techniques."

Although this battle power stone is currently flawed and more for show than practical use, it's easy to imagine that the Golden Core realm weapon-refining master will make some improvements to it in future works, making this so-called battle power stone more worthy of its name.

However, for Han Lu, who was thinking of using the battle power stone to measure her approximate combat strength, this was enough.

Holding the battle power stone, Han Lu originally wanted to send out a paper sword to ask Wen Erya to experience this novel thing with her. However, after thinking that Wen Erya's battle power mainly came from her many magical treasures, Han Lu stopped herself from having this idea.

"I want to test the waters, get a rough idea, and then take this combat power stone to Senior Sister Wen to add some fun for her."

Just like the relationship between Han Lu, Wen Erya and Zhan Yujun in the past, Han Lu felt that as her cultivation level increased, the number of times she met with Wen Erya gradually decreased.

The relationship between the two is subtly drifting towards estrangement.

Han Lu was slightly worried about this, but she felt that Wen Erya, who possessed top-grade spiritual roots and abundant resources, would definitely not be left behind by her like Zhan Yujun.

Mentioning Zhan Yujun reminded Han Lu of the story of the raccoon demon.

However, she often goes into seclusion for three to four days at a time to cultivate herself, so she really doesn't have the mind to keep any pets anymore.

Han Lu didn't even think about getting the raccoon demon back. She only hoped that the raccoon demon could bring enough joy to Zhan Yujun and get along well with her friend in her place.

Back in the courtyard, Han Lu activated all the restrictions.

Unlike her semi-spiritual abilities, which she could openly display on the arena, Han Lu wanted to keep her true spirit bloodline and even her status as a member of the Phoenix Clan a secret for a while longer, to avoid attracting any unnecessary trouble.

Her stepmother's experience made her quite vigilant, fearing that while her cultivation was still only at the Foundation Establishment stage, another pervert similar to "True Spirit Daoist" would come knocking on her door.

With everything ready, Han Lu took out the combat power stone, which was still warm from the previous combat power test.

Following the method she learned from Hu Jian, Han Lu fiddled with the battle power stone for a while, and after confirming that it was activated, she meditated for a while before pointing the battle power stone at herself.

Sensing the presence of spiritual energy, the battle stone began to operate, and after a short while, it produced a symbolic result.

Based on the information Hu Jian had provided, Han Lu quickly translated the number represented by the symbol.

"Three thousand nine? Hu Jian just said I had three thousand seven when I first stood on the arena," Han Lu speculated, looking at the battle power stone. "Could it be because I just fought with Senior Brother Li on the arena, and my spiritual energy surged?"

Three thousand nine, this is a number that surpasses the values ​​of the vast majority of ordinary late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Han Lu could only explain that she had advanced from the twelfth level of Qi Refining to the Foundation Establishment Realm, and her dantian had expanded to its limit. Even though it was not completely filled with "water," its quantity already surpassed that of many cultivators who had reached the late Foundation Establishment Realm.

"What happens after a semi-true spirit is formed?"

As she circulated her cultivation technique, golden facial patterns appeared on Han Lu's face, and a pair of luminous wings appeared behind her. Her phoenix feather robe, which originally resembled ordinary clothing, began to radiate light due to the "True Phoenix Manual" technique, and its appearance also evolved in the direction of phoenix feathers.