The Long Journey to Immortality

It was at this apprenticeship ceremony that Wen Xiaonan met Helian Ren in person.

"When He Haoxia was ninety years old, he looked like an old man in his fifties. Apart from his gray hair, there were no wrinkles on his face."

"During the apprenticeship ceremony, he only brandished his sword twice, and we so-called geniuses, who were selected by the government to participate in the apprenticeship ceremony, imitated him."

"In the end, He Haoxia didn't take a liking to any of them, and the matter of taking on disciples came to nothing."

When this matter was mentioned, Wen Xiaonan felt quite regretful, only regretting that he lacked the comprehension and was not fortunate enough to become He Haoxia's last disciple.

After hearing the story, Han Lu asked another question, "What happened next? Did Helian Ren take on any more disciples?"

“No,” Wen Xiaonan replied, “Perhaps he felt that no one could inherit his mantle.”

"Is it because he doesn't have a single qualified disciple who meets his standards that he doesn't accept any disciples?" Han Lu understood the mystery behind it.

Wen Xiaonan dared not make a definitive statement. "I'm not sure either. It's said that He Haoxia held three apprenticeship ceremonies through the Southern Dynasty government."

"I think he still wants to take on apprentices."

Upon hearing this, Han Lu nodded slightly, feeling that she had a better chance.

The second matter concerns the sword techniques that Helian Ren excels at.

Wen Xiaonan recalled, "I still vividly remember the two swords that He Haoxia wielded back then."

"Even now, I still don't understand what's so mysterious about it."

"However, it should not be the application of the word-transformation technique in swordsmanship."

"I can't explain it in any more specific terms."

This answer was enough to satisfy Han Lu.

After thanking Wen Xiaonan, Han Lu hesitated for a long time before deciding to give him a feather.

Han Lu placed a white feather into Wen Xiaonan's hand, "If you encounter any trouble that you can't solve, especially if it involves cultivators, throw this feather into the fire and let it burn. I will then receive a message and come looking for you."

A promise is a promise, and Han Lu reserves the right to the final interpretation of this matter, "but I cannot guarantee that I will definitely come to help."

This gift was a pleasant surprise, and Wen Xiaonan naturally didn't fuss over it. He just felt that Han Lu was kind-hearted and not only had excellent cultivation, but also top-notch character.

After bidding farewell to Wen Xiaonan, Han Lu deliberately stayed another night in Dongyang City. Only when night fell did she quietly fly away from Dongyang City on her sword, heading west to find the last chivalrous hero she wanted to visit on this trip, Helian Ren.

[Author's Note] I suddenly remembered why I set the update time to 9:30 every day. It's because the Mortal Realm arc was also updated at 9:30 every day.

Chapter 579 Climbing the Mountain

The secluded peak where He Haoxia lived was located in the central region of the Southern Dynasties, not far from the capital of the Southern Dynasties.

If Han Lu hadn't known He Haoxia's eccentric personality and hadn't been unwilling to be the first to confront this tough opponent, she would most likely have set off directly from the Ministry of Revenue to He Haoxia's secluded residence to learn swordsmanship from this renowned hero.

Han Lu, who was looking forward to ending this mortal training as soon as possible, flew on her sword at almost her fastest speed.

In just two hours, she flew three thousand miles and found the solitary peak where the greatest swordsman of the Southern Dynasty once lived.

The mountain was as precipitous as described in the register.

As she landed at the foot of the mountain, Han Lu looked up at the mountain peak that pierced the clouds and murmured to herself, "This mountain is probably three thousand meters high, and the steepest part is actually an incredibly smooth rock face."

"The only road was opened up by someone, and even cultivators at the Dao Child Realm have difficulty walking on that mountain path."

“Right now, this road has been wrecked by Helian Ren using what appears to be magic or supernatural powers. Even if I were to use my lightness technique to try and climb the mountain on foot, it would be quite difficult.” Han Lu’s gaze drifted into the distance, landing on a section of mountain path covered in sword marks halfway up the solitary peak.

Even a great figure like Helian Ren could not truly find peace in such a secluded place.

During the first few months of his seclusion, Helian Ren was not bothered by a few junior swordsmen who were skilled in rock climbing and wanted to go up the mountain to become his apprentices.

Although climbing the steep mountain path to reach his thatched hut on the isolated peak was already a difficult task, it served as a simple screening for those who wanted to become his disciples.

However, none of those young swordsmen with great perseverance satisfied Helian Ren, the number one hero.

Therefore, Helian Ren simply destroyed the road, making the test more difficult.

In this way, he can select young people who truly possess both talent and perseverance.

However, because the test was too difficult, for the rest of the next ten years, he lived a peaceful life undisturbed, just as he had initially claimed with his "excuse".

The matter of secretly finding an apprentice with the best qualifications and perseverance was thus delayed.

Now, although ordinary people still occasionally try to climb the solitary peak along the mountain path, hoping to seek Helian Ren's teachings on the mountain, all of them end in failure.

In fact, one or two people fall to their deaths from the mountain every month.

Many people blamed Helian Ren for the deaths of these people, which made the retired Helian Ren seem increasingly aloof and cold in the eyes of the heroes.

Finally, Han Lu strained her eyes to see into the distance, even using her Cold Eyes technique, before she could finally see the thatched hut on the mountaintop through the thin layer of clouds.

As a result, Helian Ren did not cultivate the vegetable garden outside the thatched hut, and Han Lu was temporarily unable to meet this most legendary hero in the mortal world during the first fifty years of his life.

Then, Han Lu turned her attention to the two young men not far away who were eager to become her disciples.

One of the young men was skin and bones, while the other was muscular and clearly a trained fighter.

Both men carried swords on their backs, clearly skilled swordsmen.

Because Han Lu used a transformation spell to conceal herself as soon as she landed, the two heroes who were looking forward to a bright future did not notice her arrival.

Although Han Lu did not deliberately eavesdrop, she still couldn't resist her keen senses.

The two people's conversation drifted on the wind to Han Lu's ears.

The two swordsmen were discussing something simple, naturally related to Helian Ren.

They discussed whether Helian Ren would take them as his disciples after they climbed the isolated peak.

The discussion centered on whether to take the proper route up the mountain or to climb directly up the rock face.

The discussion focused on who should go first and who should go last.

Climbing such a high mountain would be as difficult for a martial arts master with no cultivation as sailing a small sail across the East China Sea to the Great Yu Dynasty.

After discussing for about five minutes, the two decided on the order of their ascent and began climbing the mountain.

Han Lu watched with great interest, curious about what outcome the two confident individuals would achieve.

The skinny one is in front.

For the first few steps, he seemed to use a lightness technique, climbing more than twenty steps in the blink of an eye.

However, the increasingly steep mountain path made it difficult for him to climb so easily, but he still maintained a steady pace.

The strong and valiant knight followed closely behind.

His ascent was even more unrestrained. Despite the numerous steps along the way, he used both hands and feet, as if walking on all fours, climbing in a manner reminiscent of a monkey.

With this posture and his strong physique, he quickly overtook his friend and rushed to the front.

These two swordsmen did possess some skill, forcing Han Lu to shed the "arrogant" label she had just attached to them.

Although the two had already demonstrated their abilities to Han Lu, Han Lu still didn't think they could successfully climb the lonely peak and reach the thatched hut where Helian Ren lived.

Therefore, she kept an eye on the two of them, ready to intervene and save the two heroes who could fall from a hundred meters in the air at any moment.

Sure enough, when the two climbed to the most difficult section at 400 meters, they encountered trouble.

The strong swordsman who was charging ahead made a mistake and was caught off guard by the smooth rock wall. He lost his balance and fell down.

He tried his best to grab onto objects around him to steady himself and prevent himself from falling further.

But the enormous impact only destroyed a few branches; it did not end his freefall.

Seeing this, Han Lu no longer hesitated and quietly made her move.

Using her weapon-controlling skills, Han Lu lifted the swordsman who was about to fall to the ground and gently placed him on the ground.

The strong swordsman, who had already prepared himself for a fatal fall, froze in terror, and the flashing memories that had just begun in his mind abruptly stopped.

The strong swordsman lay on the ground, still wondering what had happened, while his companion, who was climbing the mountain wall, had witnessed everything and knew that a kind person had come to his aid.

After shouting "Thank you, senior!" a few times while climbing the mountain wall, he, who was not as good as his companions, did not choose to push himself to continue climbing. Instead, he slowly descended the mountain to reunite with his friend who had failed but survived.

Seeing that the two were both unharmed, Han Lu stopped paying attention to them.

After dispelling the illusionary body spell on her body, Han Lu cast a lightness spell on herself before making her appearance.

Just as the two heroes were celebrating their narrow escape, they felt a gust of wind pass by them. When they looked back at the rocky mountain path, Han Lu, dressed in white, had already climbed nearly a hundred steps.

The strong, chivalrous man exclaimed excitedly, "It must have been this fairy who saved me just now!"

The challenges set by Helian Che were incredibly difficult for ordinary people, but for Han Lu, they were just basic problems that she could solve with a little effort.

Even without relying on a spirit sword or a flying magic weapon, she only took less than fifty breaths to successfully climb up the smooth rock face and the intermittent mountain path to reach the top of the solitary peak.

With a steady landing, Han Lu strolled over to the thatched hut with smoke rising from it in the distance, preparing to pay her respects to Helian Che, the former number one hero of the martial arts world.

Chapter 580 Helian Ren

Because he was just a mortal, Helian Ren did not possess extremely strong five senses.

Therefore, Helian Che, who was cooking dinner, was unaware that Han Lu had arrived.

It wasn't until Han Lu, having tidied herself up outside the door and without making a big fuss as she climbed to the top of the solitary peak, gently knocked on the door of the thatched cottage that Helian Ren realized that this cottage had welcomed its second guest in the past ten years, besides the head of the He family.

"Etc., etc."

Helian Ren's voice was dry and unlike that of a Dao Child Realm "cultivator" with a youthful face and white hair.

However, from that dry voice, Han Lu, who knew the truth, could detect a hint of excitement.

"He was probably excited because someone had finally passed the test he set and reached the top of the solitary peak, and had the opportunity to take on a good disciple."

"However, if Helian Che knew that I was a cultivator, I'm afraid most of this excitement would be gone."

Han Lu's idea was a bit presumptuous, but it was also reasonable.

Although he called out "wait a minute," Helian Che still tended to the fire at the stove for a while before slowly walking over, carrying a straw fan to fan the flames, to open the door for Han Lu.

Upon looking through the door and seeing Han Lu, a beautiful woman with an outstanding appearance and figure, standing outside, Helian Che was quite surprised.

Han Lu, on the other hand, was not shocked at all by the fact that a centenarian looked like he was in his early fifties because she already knew that Helian Ren possessed cultivation and was a Dao Child Realm cultivator.

Helian Ren looked Han Lu up and down, shook his head, and then looked into the distance to see if there was a second visitor beside Han Lu.

Only after confirming that there was no one else outside the door did he regard Han Lu as a "future apprentice" who had passed the test, and turned his attention back to Han Lu.