The Long Journey to Immortality

This passive situation made the six cultivators, who usually considered themselves superior in magical power, feel frustrated.

Finally, the tall cultivator could no longer bear it. He knew that continuing to passively take the beating would only result in defeat. In desperation, he disregarded the fact that he had not yet discovered the flaws in the sword formation and decisively used a secret technique to sound the horn for the six-person counterattack.

A pair of fleshy wings emerged from behind the tall cultivator, and then feathers sprouted from his face, and his hands transformed into eagle claws.

Relying on these fleshy wings, this tall cultivator broke free from the protection of the magic and traversed between bolts of lightning.

Suddenly, he reached out with his claws into the black void and captured Han Lu's spiritual sword.

Upon seeing this, the other five cultivators either spoke out or cheered in their hearts.

Wen Erya and Yi Qiyan's expressions changed slightly.

"broken!"

Chapter 552 Desperate Counterattack

The tall cultivator's sudden attack gave the other five people hope of breaking the formation.

None of the five were fools. With their companions setting an example, they knew perfectly well which choice was the right one.

Originally, the other five people, who had planned to protect themselves as much as possible and break through the formation with the help of the team, also used their respective strengths and no longer held back in their attempts to break through the formation.

It wasn't that the group was being selfish; it was simply that less than a week after leaving the secret realm, the arena competition would begin again.

If you are seriously injured in the secret realm, even if you win first place in the secret realm event, you will not be able to achieve good results in the arena event.

This is certainly not something that can satisfy these elites.

But now, it's clearly impossible to avoid getting injured.

A defeat here would be an outcome they could not bear.

The five cultivators switched from defense to offense, spreading out to try and break the formation.

Chaos erupted within the sword formation.

Noticing the change in the group's behavior, Han Lu, who had been expressionless just moments before, was overjoyed.

All six were elites within the sect. Together, they were locked in a stalemate for a long time. Although she could eventually defeat them, it would require a great deal of her spiritual energy.

Previously, Han Lu had already noticed that two of the cultivators in the ark were restless and thinking of forming an alliance to see if they could stage a scene of eighteen against three, killing the "female bandit".

However, this matter is only in the process of brewing and is still some distance away from erupting.

However, if Han Lu and the other two suffer too much loss in this battle, even if they manage to seize more than fifty Spirit Rhinoceros Pearls, it will only increase the greed of the restless protected ones.

Besides showing kindness, Han Lu also had the idea of ​​"making an example of someone" when she called the passengers on the Ark to come out and watch the battle.

The faster and more ruthlessly the chicken is killed, the more fear the monkeys will naturally develop in their hearts, and the less likely they will dare to act recklessly.

Therefore, the battle has now turned from a stalemate into a swift victory, and Han Lu, who believes she has a 99% chance of winning, is naturally overjoyed.

Upon pinching, the spiritual energy sword that had just been held by the tall cultivator's eagle claws instantly transformed from a fraction of one into ten thousand, turning into particles of spiritual energy that slipped away like water through the large gap between the eagle claws.

After slipping away, the spirit sword reformed its form and continued to serve as the core of the sword formation, disappearing from the sight of the six cultivators.

The six of them, who had just been holding back their strength, thinking of working together to destroy the spirit sword, were suddenly dumbfounded.

Especially the cultivator who had used a secret technique to transform into a half-human, half-eagle form, bared his teeth, his charred feathers standing on end, extremely angry.

Seeing the spirit sword "disengage," Wen Erya and Yi Qiyan breathed a sigh of relief and praised Han Lu's performance repeatedly through the Mystic Art of Gathering Thoughts.

"Han Lu, that was a brilliant move to lure the enemy in deep!"

"Junior sister, what is your sword made of? It's incredibly powerful. No wonder you're a disciple of Senior Fang Lin."

Unintentionally, it yielded good results, and Han Lu and her two companions would not let this opportunity pass them by.

The six opponents were, after all, elite cultivators from the sect. Han Lu was worried about being caught off guard and thus only instructed all the spirit swords to focus on guiding and condensing the power of thunder during the upcoming battle.

The heavy responsibility of the attack fell on Yi Qiyan's shoulders; all the lightning bolts had to obey the command of the magic weapon in Yi Qiyan's hand to launch the attack.

This experience was quite novel. Although she had never rehearsed it in training, Yi Qiyan readily agreed and took on this important task.

With a little arrangement, the lightning in the sword formation was reorganized and launched a fierce attack on the six people who had scattered and were trying to fight back.

She had never fought such a fierce battle in her life. Yi Qiyan wished she could use all her strength to ensure that every bolt of lightning was in place, to surround and attack the six cultivators in the formation, and to electrocute them all within the formation.

Perhaps it was because Yi Qiyan disliked a female cultivator named Gui Haichan, or perhaps it was part of the original plan; in any case, Gui Haichan received special attention, and 60% of the lightning in the sword formation rushed towards her.

Seeing at least sixty bolts of lightning striking from both sides, Gui Haichan panicked. She was about to call for help from her companions when she realized that the six of them had been completely separated within the sword formation, and no one could help her in the short term.

He barely managed to cast a spell and use an earth-attribute magic weapon to defend himself.

But faced with so many thunderbolts, Gui Haichan was defeated in an instant.

An electric current passed through her body, causing her to lose consciousness instantly. Her vision went black, and she fell off the spirit sword.

Freefalling from a height of two thousand meters, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be smashed to pieces upon landing, with no chance of survival.

Upon seeing this, Wen Erya quickly cast a spell to capture Gui Haichan and her magical treasures, then casually sent them out of the magic array and into the ark for temporary imprisonment.

They tackled the problems one by one, and the cleanup was completed even faster than Han Lu had imagined.

The sword formation had only been in place for five minutes when Han Lu still had nearly 30% of her spiritual energy remaining. Yi Qiyan had already manipulated the lightning to shoot down the "birdman" in the formation who had nimbly dodged three waves of lightning attacks with his wings.

This was the last enemy in the sword formation; the rest had long been defeated and imprisoned in the ark.

As a phoenix, Han Lu showed ample goodwill towards this cultivator who might have some blood relation to her.

Catching the birdman, who had been completely electrocuted to a dark brown color, Han Lu first used magic to treat his external injuries, and then generously put a healing pill into his mouth, which had already transformed back into human form.

After all this was done, Han Lu sent him to the Ark and temporarily imprisoned him.

As the sword formation dissipated, the cultivators who had been watching the battle realized that a major battle had ended.

Some quick-witted people clapped repeatedly, cheering for Han Lu and the other two.

Han Lu was very decisive and directly addressed the crowd, "I haven't forgotten my promise. Everyone, come back to the Ark with us first, and we'll divide the Spirit Rhinoceros Pearls and share the fruits of victory later."

Han Lu's gaze lingered for a moment on the faces of the two cultivators in the crowd.

With guilty consciences, the two naturally dared not meet Han Lu's gaze. They pretended to praise Han Lu and her two companions for their "great abilities" along with their teammates, while silently erasing their thoughts of forming alliances and launching a "rebellion," fearing that Han Lu would discover their scheme and cause them to lose the opportunity to gain an advantage and share the profits.

Everyone returned to the ark in high spirits. Han Lu and the other two quickly and efficiently completed the body search, placing a total of sixty-seven Spirit Rhinoceros Beads on the ground of the ark.

True to her word, Han Lu distributed the eighteen Spirit Beads without hesitation to the onlookers who hadn't contributed a single bit in the battle.

The remaining forty-nine Spirit Beads naturally ended up in the hands of Han Lu and the other two.

Despite receiving small favors and incurring a slight loss from the exchange of the Spirit Rhinoceros Pearls, the group was "deeply grateful" to Han Lu and the other two.

Some even took the initiative to report and expose the plot, pointing out which two of the eighteen people had previously contacted others on the ark, plotting a "rebellion".

One stone stirs up a thousand waves. After one whistleblower emerged, the other passengers on the ark also began to report and expose him as corroborating evidence, hoping to gain merit in front of Han Lu and earn a few more Spirit Beads.

Pointed out by the crowd, the two of them naturally stepped forward and repeatedly admitted their mistakes, hoping that the three powerful Han Lu would show mercy.

Han Lu was naturally aware of these people's ulterior motives.

He raised the object high and then gently lowered it, offering only a reassurance and not pursuing the two individuals' "reckless behavior."

By combining firmness and gentleness, and nipping any potential turmoil in the bud within the Ark, Han Lu and the other two used the tokens to send the six kind-hearted people who had come to deliver the Spirit Rhinoceros Pearls back to their sect.

[Author's Note] I'm scared; it feels like I'll be writing until 2021. There's a reason why no one writes cultivation/transformation novels anymore. The arena part will be omitted to within two chapters, and then I'll quickly advance towards the Golden Core realm.

End of Chapter 553

The three returned to their room on the ark, took out all 262 Spirit Rhinoceros Pearls, and arranged them on the wooden floor of the ark.

The crimson spirit bead shimmered with light, bringing joy to the three of them.

The enormous number "262" already accounts for a quarter of the total number of Spirit Beads in the secret realm.

Furthermore, the number of Spirit Beads that Han Lu and her two companions currently possess is more than double that of the previous champions of the Secret Realm Exams.

Even Han Lu and her two companions, who had always approached the competition with caution, felt that having so many Spirit Beads should be enough for them to secure the championship in this subject.

Wen Erya, who always believed in making money through harmony, took the initiative to offer her advice.

"Junior sister, Yi Qiyan, how about this: let's quit while we're ahead, and for the next six hours or so, find a safe place to hide, set up an array, and wait for them to come to us."

"If anyone is unreasonable and comes looking for us, then we will take care of them."

"If no one comes to provoke us, let's spend these last six hours peacefully to avoid any unexpected events."

"After all, the grand competition of the arena department is just a few days away."

"Both my junior sister and I are aiming to excel in both competitions and ultimately achieve the top ranking."

"If you suffer injuries that are difficult to heal in a short time while fighting with others in the secret realm, it would not be worth it."

Wen Erya explained the cause and effect clearly. Yi Qiyan, who originally came here to "play" with Han Lu and Wen Erya, would naturally not ruin Han Lu and Wen Erya's competition plan just for her own enjoyment.

Han Lu, on the other hand, had an indifferent attitude.

After all, with so many Spirit Beads around, no matter how you look at it, it's enough to guarantee them at least a top-two finish in the Secret Realm course.

Such results are already sufficient.

Han Lu nodded and smiled, "What Senior Sister said makes a lot of sense."

"You can't see into someone's heart. Now that only eighteen fellow disciples have been put on the Ark, they've already started to have evil thoughts and want to turn the tables on us."

"If we add seventeen or eighteen more, someone might actually rise up and try to seize all the Spirit Pearls in our hands."

"Many ants can devour an elephant."

"Although we are stronger than elephants, the other disciples sitting in the ark are just as powerful as ants."

"It's best to be careful; we must take precautions."

"The solution that my senior sister suggested is a perfect one."

The strongest member of the team was Han Lu, who was also the backbone and nominal captain. Naturally, her words carried significant weight, bringing this topic, which was already beyond dispute, to a close.

After a brief division of labor, Wen Erya announced their decision to the other fellow cultivators on the ark.

Yi Qiyan, on the other hand, piloted the ark to find a propitious place nearby to set up camp.

Han Lu, having expended a lot of spiritual energy in the previous battle, took advantage of this free time to swallow two pills and meditate to recover.

Battles could break out at any moment, and Han Lu, as the main combatant, needed to maintain her fighting strength at all times so that the three of them could steadily protect the Spirit Rhinoceros Pearl.