The Long Journey to Immortality

Wen Erya explained, "No, it was I who broke the rules."

"A violation?" Han Lu began to understand.

Wen Erya touched her hair, feeling a little embarrassed for breaking her promise.

She first praised Han Lu again, and then explained, "When I was fighting with my weapon just now, although I tried very hard to control myself, in order to fight my junior sister to a standstill, I still couldn't help but use some of the spiritual power from my second spiritual vein."

Before a cultivator reaches the Foundation Establishment stage, the spiritual veins within their body are independent of each other, yet they are interconnected.

When using spiritual power, it is illogical to only use the spiritual power from one spiritual vein.

In the heat of battle just now, it's understandable that Wen Erya unintentionally broke the rules.

“According to the agreement we just made, you win, Junior Sister,” Wen Erya stepped forward, counted out eight spirit stones, and stuffed them into Han Lu’s hand. “I keep my word, so all twenty spirit stones are yours.”

Although the victory was somewhat illogical and the ending was so unfair, Han Lu still accepted the spirit stones with a clear conscience.

After all, rules are rules, and by following the rules set for this competition, she did indeed win.

Although she won and earned spirit stones, Han Lu showed no joy on her face.

With her low cultivation level, she had already discovered a major fatal weakness, and a sense of crisis arose from her heart.

[Author's Note] Please vote with monthly tickets, swords, and recommendation votes.

Chapter 47 Han Lu's Rice Shortage and Fu Chen's Troubles

However, he has only just opened twelve acupoints, and not even a single spiritual meridian has fully formed in his body.

With her shallow magical power and low spiritual realm, Han Lu truly embodied the proverb, "Even a clever cook cannot make a meal without rice."

Was she a skilled cook? Of course she was.

Possessing 600 years of cultivation memories from the rogue cultivator Xiaoyaozi, she has the equivalent of nearly 500 battles under her belt, many of which were life-or-death duels.

Even disregarding Xiaoyaozi's memories, Feng Bailu alone experienced no fewer than a hundred low-level cultivator competitions within the Zhengyi Sect.

These two fortunes have given Han Lu combat experience and skills that far surpass those of low-level cultivators currently practicing in the Zhengyi Sect.

Even a cultivator like Fu Chen, who has been involved in the Zhengyi Sect for nearly thirty years.

In terms of combat experience, adaptability, and resilience, none of them can compare to Han Lu now.

Does she have any rice now? She definitely doesn't.

How many spells does a mere Taoist disciple know, and to what extent can he utilize the superior magical artifacts in his hands?

For the past month, Han Lu has focused her attention on improving her cultivation level, and she only has two or three simple techniques that she can use.

Although she possessed excellent magical artifacts like the Thunder Bamboo Sword, Han Lu's current spiritual power was already at its limit, allowing her to control and utilize them as she had during her battle with Wen Erya.

There was no rice, no noodles, and certainly no chicken, duck, fish, or meat.

Even if Han Lu, this clever woman, had a thousand ideas in her mind and dozens of ways to break the deadlock, she would still be powerless to use them, just like before.

It's like playing rock-paper-scissors with someone.

You're Doraemon, all you can produce are stones.

Even if Doraemon is incredibly smart, a cat-shaped robot from the 22nd century, he still can't beat Nobita, who failed his third-grade exam, in this game.

Nobita may be slow-witted and not very bright, but he has five fingers on his hands, which allows him to use the cloth.

On her way back to the courtyard, Han Lu kept thinking about this problem, wondering if there was a way to solve it in a short time.

"Should I exchange the monthly allowance I'll receive in a couple of days for contribution points and use them at the Transmission Hall to return a few Daoist Novice level technique manuals?"

Disciples in the Zhengyi Sect can freely choose to receive a monthly supply of spirit stones and pills, or exchange a portion of these resources directly for resource points, which can then be used to exchange for items within the sect.

For disciples like Han Lu who are Golden Core cultivators and are registered disciples, the sect will also deposit ten contribution points into her account when distributing supplies each month.

The Hall of Transmission of Skills contains numerous secret manuals.

There are at least twenty, if not thirty, water and wood attribute spells available for cultivators at the novice level to practice.

Because these cultivation techniques require a lower level of cultivation, they naturally do not require many contribution points and can be exchanged for.

Exchanging for a cultivation manual such as "The Complete Seven-in-One Water Attribute Techniques" or "The Twelve Techniques Every Daoist Child Must Know" is not a problem.

With Han Lu's comprehension, she would be able to learn all these techniques within a few days.

In this way, Han Lu's immediate crisis can be easily resolved.

"Or perhaps I should seek guidance from my master or senior brother Fu to learn water and wood elemental magic?"

The martial arts techniques in the Transmission Hall are not to be spread at will, but this rule does not apply between masters and disciples within the sect.

Both Fu Chen and Piao Miao Zi can master it and freely teach Han Lu their techniques and secret arts.

One of them is a cultivator in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and the other is a cultivator in the early stage of Golden Core. They know at least fifty kinds of spells, among which there must be spells that can help Han Lu at this time.

"Or perhaps I could ask Senior Sister Wen to teach me a thing or two?"

Han Lu still remembers the origin of her book, "The Five Elements Qi".

As the apple of the royal family's eye, Wen Erya must have possessed many magical manuals.

Given her relationship with Wen Erya, she should be able to borrow a few books. At the very least, she could symbolically spend a few spirit stones to trade with Wen Erya without much trouble.

In this way, the problem can also be solved.

Back in the courtyard, Han Lu took off her outer robe and sat cross-legged on the cool Dharma seat. Just as she was thinking of agonizing over the issue for a while longer, another voice seemed to rise in her heart, dispelling the inexplicable sense of crisis.

Han Lu blinked at the room where she was all alone, rubbed her forehead, clicked her tongue, and said as if suddenly realizing something, "I was worrying unnecessarily."

"I am now a disciple of a Golden Core cultivator and am cultivating in the Zhengyi Sect."

"Aside from the annual sect competition, there are almost no opportunities to fight or compete with others, let alone to test one's magical power against another."

"My cultivation level is currently low, and I have no intention of foolishly running around to gain experience and cultivate."

"I know fewer spells, so I can't fight enemies across different realms."

"It's not a big deal."

"Besides, with good talent, I can advance quickly. Maybe by this time next year, I will have reached the third or even fourth level of Qi Refining. At that time, I will have a lot more methods at my disposal."

These reasons for self-consolation are based on reality, and upon careful analysis, they are all reasonable, well-founded, and convincing.

At least, Han Lu felt that using this to refute Xiaoyaozi, this nervous rogue cultivator, wasn't a big problem.

Only a rogue cultivator like Xiaoyaozi would be so preoccupied with fighting, while the two disciples of the Zhengyi Sect, Feng Bailu and Han Lu, could grow up peacefully in the cradle of the Zhengyi Sect.

This symptom, which Han Lu called "the aftereffects of Xiaoyaozi's possession," came on quickly and went away quickly, but it still gave Han Lu a sense of urgency and motivation to move forward.

For the next three days, Han Lu would set aside an hour each day to accompany Wen Erya in what she called combat training.

Although Wen Erya's combat skills were still somewhat immature and her experience was slightly lacking, and her fighting style was not very reasonable, her win rate was rising rapidly after she started using magical items in the competition.

There was nothing they could do; Wen Erya possessed numerous magical artifacts, all of which were of superior quality.

An ordinary Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator is considered lucky to possess one mid-grade 6 or higher magic tool; where would one find a cultivator like Wen Erya who possesses so many top-grade 3 magic tools?

After achieving a ten-game winning streak in the first two days, Wen Er Ya decisively increased the difficulty of the battle on the last day.

Several Qi Refining Level 6 and 7 cultivators whom he had some prior acquaintances with were recruited from Dongshan Academy to serve as his opponents for intensive training.

Taking on a challenge beyond one's level is still a bit difficult for Wen Er Ya at the moment.

With the protection of numerous magical tools and Han Lu's meticulous guidance over the past three days, Wen Erya, who had made significant progress, still managed to secure two impressive victories against her five senior brothers.

This series of victories gave Wen Erya enough confidence. At least, in her daily interactions with Wen Erya, Han Lu no longer noticed any worry or anxiety on Wen Erya's face.

While things were fine with Wen Erya, problems arose with Fu Chen.

That day, Han Lu was at a loss when she saw Fu Chen, who had taken the initiative to come to her door for some unknown reason.

"Young master, what's wrong?"

“Junior Sister Han,” Fu Chen said listlessly, “I’m feeling a bit lost and would like to have a chat with you.”

"Alright," Han Lu wasn't in a hurry, so she brewed a pot of hot tea with the fine tea leaves that Wen Erya had given her as a thank-you gift, and served it to Fu Chen. "Little Master, what would you like to talk about?"

"Junior Sister," Fu Chen addressed her in a more intimate way, "why do you cultivate immortality?"

Chapter Forty-Eight: Copying Book Reviews

Han Lu had seen Fu Chen in this state before, and he was a common cultivator.

Based on the questions raised by Fu Chen, Han Lu guessed that something major must have happened to him.

Han Lu guessed, "It's probably because their closest relative passed away in the last few days."

Even Qi Refining cultivators have a lifespan that is much longer than that of ordinary people.

Once a cultivator reaches the first level of Qi Refining, their body, nourished by spiritual energy, can slow down aging. In these peaceful centuries, there have been countless centenarians with Qi Refining cultivation.

Upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, a cultivator forms a Qi Sea within their body, and their lifespan further increases with the improvement of their cultivation level.

The vast majority of Foundation Establishment cultivators can witness more than 70,000 sunrises and sunsets. A small number of Foundation Establishment cultivators who have opened up several acupoints that increase lifespan can even live for up to two hundred years.

The false core in the Qi Sea gathers all the solid spiritual energy in the Qi Sea like a magnet attracting iron filings, condensing it into a golden core. The golden core cultivator completely sheds the mortal body and gains the ability to fly, extending his lifespan by several hundred years.

Even with a weakened foundation and a naturally short lifespan, Xiaoyaozi could still have a lifespan of three hundred years at the Golden Core stage. For ordinary Golden Core cultivators, living for six or seven hundred years is not a problem at all.

As for how long a Nascent Soul cultivator can live, Han Lu and Feng Bailu did not know, but based on Xiaoyaozi's lifespan, they deduced that as long as they did not use secret techniques that damaged their lifespan or fundamental nature, a Nascent Soul cultivator could live freely in this world for two thousand years without any problem.

Even low-level cultivators can live to be a hundred years old. Naturally, the separation from their mortal relatives becomes a major problem for these low-level cultivators.

After his mother passed away, Feng Bailu became a lonely man, and he was unaware of the feelings he had gone through.

However, he witnessed Yuan Xin, who had just entered the early stage of Foundation Establishment after ten days of seclusion, turn from joy to sorrow due to the death of a loved one.

Thinking of this, Han Lu composed herself for a moment and asked the young master who had taken good care of her since she arrived at Zhengyi Sect, "What happened?"

“Nothing happened,” Fu Chen’s voice sounded slightly tired. “I just wanted to ask a question.”

Hearing this, Han Lu knew that if she didn't answer the question, Fu Chen most likely wouldn't tell her the truth or explain what had happened.

So she abandoned the comforting words she had just prepared and instead pondered how to answer this simple yet complex question.

Why cultivate immortality?

Asking this question to different monks will likely yield different answers.