The Long Journey to Immortality

Is there any cultivator in this world who understands the way of the sword better than Gu Xiufang Lin?

Maybe, but it's definitely not him.

With this in mind, Jin Zhenren had the above questions.

Han Lu nodded and then explained, "Indeed, Senior Fang Lin imparted his cultivation techniques, experience, and some special sword moves and formations in the ancient cultivation secret realm in a special way."

"However, these things are too profound for me right now, and I can only understand a part of them."

"To advance to a higher level in the Seven Kill Sword Technique taught by Senior Fang Lin, one must have a profound understanding of the way of the sword."

……

Following that, Han Lu briefly introduced the "Seven Kill Sword Technique" to Master Jin, explaining the seven-word formula summarized by Senior Fang Lin, as well as her current achievements in this field.

This is mainly to facilitate the communication that follows, and also to let Master Jin know which direction he should focus his efforts if he really wants to be Han Lu's master for a while.

Jin Zhenren was naturally quite excited to hear such ancient cultivation secrets from Han Lu, secrets that ordinary people would never hear.

He was particularly captivated when he heard the seven-word mantra, muttering to himself but not being able to make out a single word.

This sounded as if he had heard the "truth" from Han Lu that was meant to destroy his values.

Seeing that Jin Zhenren seemed to be possessed, Han Lu kept quiet for the time being, lest she say something "provocative" that would drive this inexperienced Golden Core cultivator even more insane.

After a while, Jin Zhenren came to his senses and spoke clearly, sighing, "Indeed, even after ten thousand years, Senior Fang Lin's understanding of the sword is countless times greater than that of an unknown nobody like me."

"If the path of swordsmanship is a high mountain, then Senior Fang Lin has already seen the road to the top and has reached the halfway point."

"And I was trying to climb up the steepest part of the rock face."

After expressing his feelings, Jin Zhenren understood why Han Lu wanted to find a master to guide and inspire her.

"Indeed, classifying them in this way means that each cultivator with some understanding of swordsmanship will have different insights, and there is indeed value in exchanging ideas with each other."

"If we follow Senior Fang Lin's explanation of the word technique, I am now..." Jin Zhenren was somewhat unconfident when evaluating himself, "I should say that I have some understanding of the Collapse word technique, and perhaps I can teach you a little in this regard."

Upon hearing this, Han Lu was overjoyed.

Jin Zhenren was able to understand her words so quickly and explain his swordsmanship using word techniques.

Clearly, the claim that he has some understanding of the "collapse" technique is not an exaggeration at all.

"Then I'll thank you in advance. If Elder Jin ever needs anything next time, please don't hesitate to ask." Han Lu's words were just polite formalities.

Jin Zhenren understood that this was just a polite remark. "It's nothing. Being able to hear Senior Fang Lin's invaluable advice from you, Han Lu, makes my small contribution worthwhile."

"We owe each other nothing."

"This place is only suitable for chatting and drinking tea, not for discussing swordsmanship. Let's find another place to talk."

As he spoke, Jin Zhenren led Han Lu to the training room in his residence, intending to demonstrate his most proud sword moves and techniques to Han Lu, in order to express the rudimentary meaning of the "Collapse Technique".

Jin Zhenren used a giant sword.

Han Lu noticed that the giant sword was only a high-grade magic weapon.

Before the demonstration, Jin Zhenren said, "It's probably because he was using a giant sword that he was able to understand some of the mysteries of the 'boom'."

As he spoke, Jin Zhenren casually conjured up a giant rock.

"Han Lu, demonstrate your spelling technique first."

Han Lu didn't hesitate and took a step forward, condensing her spiritual energy at her fingertips.

With golden light blazing in her eyes, Han Lu used her finger as a spiritual sword, employing her understanding of the Dot Technique to stab the paper sword, which was imbued with spiritual power, into one of the countless red dots on the stone.

When Han Lu's slightly long fingernails touched the surface of the boulder, she precisely controlled the movement of her muscles, preventing the spiritual sword formed by her fingers from moving forward even an inch.

However, when Han Lu withdrew her hand, a hole the size of Han Lu's middle finger appeared on the boulder, while the rest of the boulder remained completely undamaged.

The hole runs through the boulder; it's clear that Han Lu "pointed" it out earlier.

"Brilliant, brilliant!" Master Jin clapped his hands and cheered. "After watching this move, I understand the difference between a point and a thrust."

Han Lu didn't say much, but simply stepped aside to allow Jin Zhenren to use his skills.

Master Jin said, "Now I will."

As he spoke, Jin Zhenren decisively raised the greatsword and wielded it like an ordinary swordsman. He did not activate the spiritual sword with spiritual power, but simply swept it across the area where Han Lu had already punched a hole in it.

The blade of the greatsword struck the boulder, producing a dull thud.

Immediately afterwards, as if another force had been injected into the boulder, the boulder split open from the inside out, collapsing into countless tiny pebbles scattered on the ground.

"Probably so."

[Author's Note] A lot has happened in the live streaming world. Starting from April 2016, it might be interesting to write another book about Sister Lu.

Chapter 566 Mutual Assistance

Attacking a single point in a blunt and clumsy manner caused widespread destruction, a phenomenon that was seven parts similar to the "Collapse Technique" that Han Lu had imagined.

However, knowing the answer does not mean that Han Lu can deduce the solution process.

In fact, during the process of one person demonstrating and the other observing, Jin Zhenren gained far more than Han Lu.

Both possessed genuine skills, and naturally, amidst the scattered rock fragments, Han Lu and Jin Zhenren quickly reached an agreement. They decided to exchange ideas and teach each other the sword techniques they were proficient in over the next few days, aiming to achieve mutual benefit and common progress.

The fact that a Golden Core cultivator and a Foundation Establishment cultivator formed a "study group" was quite shocking, even though the cultivator paired with the Golden True Person was Han Lu, who had won the Grand Competition three times in a row.

This Golden Core cultivator, Jin Zhenren, will surely become a laughing stock.

Jin Zhenren was well aware of this, but he didn't care.

In his eyes, Han Lu's identity and future potential were enough for him to regard her as an equal.

Pairing up with cultivators of the same level to learn from each other, especially the swordsmanship he cares about most, what's there to be "shy" about?

With just a few words, the two of them had everything arranged.

For the next few days, Han Lu visited Jin Zhenren's house every day.

The two became friends through swordsmanship and taught each other in their own way.

Each session lasted two hours, for a total of seven days.

Whether one can understand and master sword intent depends on one's comprehension.

Fourteen hours is more than enough. If you don't understand anything, then even if you try for another fourteen or twenty-eight hours, it won't help.

In order to better learn the profound meaning of Jin Zhenren's swordsmanship, Han Lu even specially transformed her spiritual sword into the shape of a broadsword and a giant sword during training.

Since the goal is to learn the profound principles of swordsmanship, it is inevitable that they will spar with each other.

Initially, Jin Zhenren only treated Han Lu as a very powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator, and only used five-tenths of his strength during their sparring.

But soon, after several sparring matches, he realized that even if he gave it his all, he could only put up a fight against Han Lu.

However, Han Lu seemed to have energy left to spare during the battle.

Jin Zhenren felt quite helpless about this, feeling that being a Golden Core cultivator was too frustrating and regretting why he was just a few breaths short when he formed his core.

If he had become a mid-grade Golden Core cultivator, he wouldn't be bullied by a Foundation Establishment female cultivator who had only been cultivating for twelve or thirteen years at this point.

During their mutual learning and exchange, Piaomiaozi inquired about their situation.

When Piaomiaozi learned that Han Lu was getting along well with Jin Zhenren and had learned something useful, he was relieved.

He only jokingly reminded Han Lu not to "betray the sect" before continuing to concern himself with the affairs of the academy.

With no hope of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, Piaomiaozi had long since changed his life goal to becoming a high-ranking member of the Zhengyi Sect, cultivating many outstanding disciples capable of advancing to the Golden Core or even Nascent Soul stage, and realizing his dream from his early days of cultivation through his disciples.

Seven days passed quickly.

Han Lu did not grasp the true meaning of the "Collapse" technique, and Jin Zhenren also did not learn the basics of the "Point" technique.

Both of them had anticipated and were mentally prepared for this outcome.

"In any case, it's at least a good start. Maybe in a future battle, I'll have an epiphany and be able to integrate all the knowledge in one go."

Jin Zhenren was used to failure, so he naturally spoke up to comfort Han Lu, this prodigy.

Han Lu nodded and thanked him again, "Thank you for your guidance these past few days, Elder Jin. I have learned a lot and hope that Elder Jin can make a breakthrough in the future and advance further in his cultivation."

Like Piaomiaozi, Jin Zhenren was a genuinely good person in Han Lu's eyes.

Having enjoyed a pleasant time together, it would be most fitting to offer a blessing to Jin Zhenren, who aspires to advance further towards the Nascent Soul Realm.

Immediately afterwards, Han Lu sought help from Master Jin, "Elder Jin, if I wish to further refine my swordsmanship and gain some new insights, I wonder if there is any senior expert in the sect who can lend me a hand?"

When this matter was brought up, Master Jin thought for a while before sighing and saying, "Han Lu, although there are many cultivators in the Zhengyi Sect who are also skilled in spirit swords and whose strength far surpasses mine, in my opinion, they are not suitable to be your master. Even if they were, they probably wouldn't be able to teach you anything useful."

"Why?" Han Lu asked, puzzled.

Master Jin sighed deeply and poured out his heart to his disciple Han Lu, whom he had become acquainted with.

"Because when they were figuring out how to improve their combat power, they didn't focus on the art of swordsmanship itself."

Instead, they focused their energy on finding a higher-grade, faster, and sharper spirit sword.

"Spending on external things such as using more spiritual power to control swords."

……

Jin Zhenren, whose behavior was quite old-fashioned and had a touch of ancient cultivation, was clearly "angry" about this phenomenon for a long time. When he and Han Lu accidentally talked about the topic, he couldn't help but blurt it all out.

After venting his frustrations, Jin Zhenren felt much better, but he was slightly embarrassed and out of sorts in front of Han Lu.

He apologized repeatedly, saying, "I'm sorry, Han Lu, I got a little too excited, but what I said just now was from the bottom of my heart."

"It's alright, it's alright," Han Lu understood the meaning behind Jin Zhenren's words and how he felt at that moment. "Elder Jin, you two are kindred spirits, I understand your thoughts."

Master Jin smiled with relief, "That's good. In short, I don't recommend that you seek out other cultivators in the sect to learn swordsmanship. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator like Venerable Qingyang probably can't help you."

"Then what should I do?" Han Lu understood; clearly, Jin Zhenren already had an answer.

Master Jin revealed a meaningful smile and said gently, "Why not go and take a walk in the mortal world? You should be able to gain something from it."

"Mortal?" The first thing that came to Han Lu's mind was the mortal swordsman who had fought against her, a second-level Qi Refining cultivator, on the arena more than ten years ago and called her a witch.

"You want me to go and learn swordsmanship from a skilled swordsman among the common people?"

Master Jin said, "That's right."

He explained his reasoning for this suggestion: "Although many swordsmen in the mortal world also focus on finding a good sword or enhancing their swordsmanship by improving their physique and strength, a large number of swordsmen devote their energy to understanding the way of the sword."