The Long Journey to Immortality

This small achievement has kept all three of them optimistic about the intensive training that is likely to last for two months.

After returning home, Wen Erya completed the move in just fifteen minutes and temporarily moved into Han Lu's courtyard, just like Yi Qiyan.

Living together as a family would indeed help strengthen their bond and facilitate the practice of secret arts.

With repeated practice over a long period of time, this not-so-complicated secret technique was naturally mastered quickly by the three talented individuals.

Han Lu's spiritual power, which surpassed that of ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators, played a crucial role.

Under her guidance, even during battle, the "Hundred Thoughts Gathering" secret technique can be maintained for about ten minutes.

At this rate, by the time of the grand competition, this secret technique will definitely be able to meet the three's needs for information communication during the duel, becoming a major boost to their performance in the competition.

As for tactical coordination and tricks, with the help of communication techniques, the three, who already had some coordination, quickly formed a "false" tacit understanding.

On the arena, the three were able to combine their spells and magical artifacts to create effects greater than three or even four.

However, these tactical combinations may not be effective when fighting against others in secret realms, and it will take time to verify their effectiveness.

Zhong Wencheng's "explosive information" only finally reached Han Lu's hands a month before the competition began, after being revised and supplemented once.

While delivering the documents, Zhong Wencheng complained to Han Lu quite a bit.

He boasted about how much effort, time, and spirit stones he had spent to gather the information Han Lu needed, as well as intelligence on the teams that might pose a threat to Han Lu in the competition.

Han Lu was also decisive. After quickly flipping through the two hundred pages of the notebook, she gave Zhong Wencheng a full two hundred spirit stones and reiterated the promise she had made earlier.

With the materials in hand, Han Lu felt she had completed 95% of the preparations for the competition.

Wen Erya moved out of Han Lu's place, and the training sessions the three of them had agreed upon were changed from once every two days to once every seven days.

Everything is ready except for the final push. Once the theme of the secret realm is announced, we can spend the spirit stones in our storage bags on the necessary supplies and declare that the last five percent has been successfully completed.

As the time drew near and the grand competition was about to begin, many rumors began to spread within the sect.

Especially regarding the theme of the secret realm in this Foundation Establishment Realm competition, even Han Lu, who rarely goes out, has heard five or six different versions of it through various means.

Some say that this year's grand competition will take place in the underwater world, so the disciples of Xishan Academy who practice fire-attribute techniques can just relax and go to sleep.

Some disciples selling magical artifacts claimed that the previous rumor was the truth, and also peddled a magical artifact called "submarine," saying that using this artifact would allow one to travel unimpeded underwater.

……

Han Lu basically let these rumors go in one ear and out the other, not believing them at all, and just thinking that these rumors were made up by some ill-intentioned fellow disciples to cheat people out of spirit stones.

In the last month, occasionally tutoring Zhong Wencheng became a break from Han Lu's daily practice.

It must be said that this intelligence broker went to great lengths to keep himself in Zhengyimen, a place "full of spirit stones".

He sought out several secret techniques and spells, and spent money to acquire two mid-grade magical artifacts.

When Han Lu was tutoring him in cultivation and instructing him on combat techniques, he was a hundred times more attentive than when he usually listened to evening lessons.

After four tutoring sessions, totaling four and a half hours, Han Lu still couldn't guarantee that Zhong Wencheng would be able to achieve a high ranking in the competition with her help.

However, in her view, it was already a foregone conclusion that Zhong Wencheng would not be kicked out of the sect because of his poor performance.

The Qi Refining Realm competition begins seven days before the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators' competition.

Over four days, more than 20,000 Qi Refining cultivators from the entire sect took turns competing to determine the winners of each minor realm.

Zhong Wencheng even advanced to the third day of the competition, and won another match on the grand stage under the spotlight before being eliminated in the second round.

His ranking among the top 64 at the eighth level of Qi Refining not only allowed him to remain safely within the sect, but also earned him a small reward.

Just half an hour after the Qi Refining Realm award ceremony, many Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators gathered at the entrance of their respective mountain courtyards' inner vaults, waiting for the announcement of the secret realm theme that would begin in three days.

[Author's Note] A symbolic return to work... One day of work every five days. Happy.

Chapter 517 Secret Realm Theme

In front of the inner storehouse of Dongshan Academy, about fifteen or sixteen Foundation Establishment disciples were gathered around the notice board, eager to know the theme of the secret realm exploration course three days later.

Their thinking was very simple.

That is to obtain first-hand information in front of the inner warehouse as soon as possible, know the theme of the secret realm, deduce what supplies need to be prepared, and rush to other places to buy the supplies before the price of the required supplies rises.

After all, most ordinary cultivators don't have their storage bags full of spirit stones, and even at this time, they try to save as many as possible.

Besides, even if you can't use it all yourself, you can still make some spirit stones by reselling it secondhand.

It's a profitable deal with no losses.

The group waited for about fifteen minutes.

An inner treasury steward, who had just returned to the East Mountain Courtyard from the Five Elements Mountain Courtyard, finally emerged from the inner treasury's backyard with a notice in his hand.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats, and several cultivators who were familiar with the manager even took the initiative to move closer, wanting to know the answer to the riddle a few seconds earlier.

"Boss Lü, what kind of secret realm is it this time? Tell your brother about it in the future."

"Is it going to sea or to the sky this time?"

……

Several cultivators tried to get on their good side and inquire about the news.

Getting down to business, the Qi Refining cultivator, jokingly referred to as Boss Lü, didn't say a word, but simply walked silently and posted the notice on the bulletin board according to the rules.

They left as soon as they finished their business, without lingering even for a moment.

This indifferent attitude made the Foundation Establishment cultivators a little embarrassed. One of them, who was narrow-minded, muttered to himself, "What's with this Qi Refining cultivator acting so arrogantly just because he's the manager of the inner treasury?"

However, the group quickly took two steps at a time and joined the other Foundation Establishment disciples who had arrived early to wait in front of the notice board.

The newly posted notice contained only three lines of text.

"The Foundation Establishment Realm Secret Realm Test will be held in three days, and in six days."

"Both themes are about the wilderness, so I hope all disciples will prepare in advance and pay attention to safety."

The so-called "Wilderness Theme" roughly means that Foundation Establishment disciples will enter a secret realm full of demonic beasts and spirit beasts to explore, search for Spirit Rhinoceros Pearls, and take tests.

When they saw this extremely dangerous topic appear again in the Grand Secret Realm test, many disciples' expressions changed.

A few warlike individuals were excited. In the Central Plains, opportunities to fight against numerous strange and monstrous beasts were rare, let alone experience the "barbaric" flavor.

The vast majority of them were timid and afraid, secretly cursing the sect elders who had set this theme.

Some quick-thinking individuals had already figured out what supplies they should prepare to improve their team's ranking in the secret realm.

"Healing pills, magical artifacts effective against demonic beasts, cultivation techniques..."

Several cultivators muttered incantations, some directly entering the inner treasury to try and use their contribution points to exchange for these crucial resources from the sect, while others quickly left to find a market to purchase resources.

The news of the Grand Competition's secret realm theme being confirmed spread through word of mouth among the Foundation Establishment disciples and many others who arrived at the inner treasury later and saw the announcement.

In just one hour, the prices of many cultivation resources increased by 30%.

When Han Lu learned from Wen Erya that the theme of this secret realm was "wilderness", her mood couldn't help but feel a little unpleasant.

If you put all the cultivators in the sect, from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul, together, in terms of understanding and familiarity with the "Wilderness," there might not be more than a handful of cultivators who could surpass Han Lu.

Not to mention that the environment of the secret realm is full of artificial traces and is quite different from the real wilderness.

This naturally disappointed Han Lu, who was eager to take this opportunity to experience "other flavors".

Wen Erya, on the other hand, was beaming with joy; she was probably the one among the three who cared most about the final result.

Upon learning that they were going to venture into the illusory wilderness, she could almost picture the three of them leaving the secret realm with a large number of Spirit Beads.

"Junior sister, you have the bloodline of a true spirit," Wen Erya said excitedly. "When you see any demonic beasts or spirit beasts in the secret realm, wouldn't they surrender obediently as soon as you release your true spirit aura?"

Han Lu nodded, then shook her head. "Senior sister, you forgot? Master said that there will be Golden Core elders lurking in the secret realm to observe and monitor."

"I don't want to reveal that I possess the bloodline of a true spirit for the time being."

Upon hearing this, Wen Erya clicked her tongue and said, "Oh, I almost forgot about that."

"But it's alright, the three of us are probably the best at this kind of head-on confrontation."

"If we really encounter those secret realms that require a lot of puzzle-solving and formation breaking, we'll have a headache for a while."

Yi Qiyan chimed in, "Erya is right."

"Based on the results we've achieved through nearly two months of intensive training, and the incredible tactical maneuvers and teamwork we've developed, this type of secret realm is perfect for us."

Yi Qiyan danced wildly, as if she were casting spells to fight a monster.

After spending nearly two months together, Wen Erya and Yi Qiyan have become much closer. Just by looking at how they address each other, Wen Erya calls Yi Qiyan even more affectionately than she does Han Lu.

Han Lu somewhat understood the jealous feeling that Wen Erya and Yi Qiyan had when they first met.

Overall, this news is good news, really good news.

Wen Erya and Yi Qiyan asked Han Lu what items were needed for this "true spirit".

The problems that might be encountered in the secret realm are so straightforward that the preparations are naturally nothing special.

Han Lu simply suggested to her two friends that they could find a technique to contract with a monster and see if they could find some opportunities in the secret realm to capture a rare monster or spirit beast that suited their taste.

As for elixirs and magical treasures, all three of them have them, so there's no need to prepare anything special.

This allowed the three people, who had been prepared to be busy for three days, to have some free time.

Although they were well prepared, the three of them still did some last-minute cramming during those three days, thanks to Wen Er Ya's active organization.

The three of them rehearsed each of the seven tactical routines they had practiced to perfection three times in Piaomiaozi's training room, which finally put Wen Erya, who was suffering from pre-exam syndrome, at ease.

During these last three days, everyone cultivated in the Zhengyi Sect. The Foundation Establishment cultivators who still had some ambition were all caught in a "busy state." Even if they had nothing to do and lacked short-term goals, they would unconsciously wander around the five markets in the sect, thinking about how to increase their combat power a little more through "spending money" so that they could improve their final ranking.

Three days, or thirty-six hours, passed in the blink of an eye.

Early in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, Wen Erya couldn't wait to knock on the gate of Han Lu's courtyard.

With Wen Erya being so proactive, Han Lu, though she still wanted to sit in the courtyard for a while and check the time before entering, had no choice but to keep up with Wen Erya's pace, and the three of them set off ahead of time.

The three-person team's destination was the inner vault of Dongshan Academy, where the portals to the secret realm were located in the inner vaults of various academies.

Chapter 518 Departure

Two quarters of an hour earlier than the meeting time, Wen Erya led Han Lu and Yi Qiyan to the inner warehouse of Dongshan Courtyard.

Although only about 1,500 of the nearly 27,000 disciples of the Zhengyi Sect are at the mid-Foundation Establishment or early-Foundation Establishment stage, it would still be somewhat crowded if they were all crammed together to enter the secret realm through the teleportation array.