The Long Journey to Immortality

Of course, her dislike of such superficial gestures was also the reason why this female cultivator from Zhongshan Academy did not follow the crowd and pledge her loyalty to her fellow disciples.

Upon hearing his disciples' statements, Daoist Yunmin did not show any joy. He merely lingered his gaze on Han Lu and the female cultivator for a moment before raising his hand to signal everyone to sit down.

“Zhong Kaige, don’t be too hasty. Let’s hear what role you can play in this matter before you express your opinion.”

Zhong Kaige had a few interactions with Daoist Yunmin during the awards ceremony of the competition, but he was clearly not as familiar with Daoist Yunmin's personality as Han Lu, and his attempt to flatter him backfired.

Zhong Kaige could hear the unspoken message from Daoist Yunmin. Slightly embarrassed, he smiled awkwardly, bowed again, and sat back down in his seat.

The other seven people also froze, inwardly cursing Zhong Kaige for showing off. Then they bowed like Zhong Kaige, sat back down, and waited for what was to come.

After everyone took their seats again, Daoist Yunmin continued with the main matter he had only mentioned halfway through.

"The favor we need from the young talents of our sect this time is not complicated. It is to have a contest with the disciples sent by the Jitian Palace. Based on the final result of the arena competition, we will decide which plan to follow to continue the friendship between the Central Plains and the Great Yu Dynasty that has been interrupted for more than 100,000 years."

Next, Yunmin explained how this arrangement was decided and informed everyone of the specific rules of the so-called friendly match.

Nothing solves problems better than a fight.

The idea of ​​seeking out outstanding disciples from their respective sects to spar a few times to determine the outcome was proposed by the Jitian Palace and agreed upon by Master Long and Daoist Yunmin.

The matter was roughly settled, but it was only finalized after two more rounds of negotiations.

The rules of the friendly match are not difficult; in fact, they are quite simple.

The two major sects in the Central Plains and the Jitian Palace each sent eight cultivators with cultivation levels below the Golden Core realm to participate in the competition.

To put each other at ease, four of the eight cultivators sent by each side will travel through a portal to the other's territory for a friendly match.

The eight cultivators on the two arenas were drawn into groups according to their affiliation and participated in a series of single-elimination arena matches.

Ultimately, the disciple who wins three consecutive matches in a particular arena will become the champion.

This approach would reassure both the Jitian Palace and the Central Plains about the safety of their respective outstanding disciples.

It can also conveniently divide the friendly match into two battlefields, and make a decision on which side to favor based on the final results of the two battlefields, and conduct a series of friendly exchanges in the future.

If both champions belong to the Jitian Palace faction, then the exchange will proceed according to the plan that favors the Jitian Palace faction.

If the two winners after fierce competition both belong to the Central Plains, then the final exchange plan will be the one that benefits the Central Plains but is still acceptable to the Extreme Heaven Palace.

If the two sides are evenly matched and each wins one match, they can shake hands and make peace, and then present the third, relatively fair solution as the final solution.

Finally, he added, "Although this friendly match was supposed to be about friendship first and competition second."

"But in reality, both sides were hoping to give the other a hard time on this matter in order to gain the initiative in the communication."

"Therefore, in order for the participating disciples to give full play to their abilities, life and death are not a concern on the stage, and only one winner is sought."

In just a few words, Daoist Yunmin clearly explained the rules.

Upon hearing that this friendly match could determine victory or defeat and even life or death, several Foundation Establishment disciples who were slightly weaker couldn't help but frown and consider retreating.

At this point, Daoist Yunmin paused, carefully observing the expressions of the elders and disciples attending the meeting.

After a moment of contemplation, making sure he hadn't missed any crucial details, he continued, "Magic treasures are blind, and this matter is life-threatening. I won't force any of you sect elites who are expected to advance to the Golden Core stage in the next few decades to participate in this matter."

"Anyone who wants to leave, just say it here and swear by your inner demons that you will not spread what you just heard, then you can leave."

"However, you won't receive any of the prizes prepared by the two champions who won this friendly match."

A generous reward will surely attract brave men. In order to encourage the disciples to give their all for the important matters of the sect and the region, neither side was stingy.

"The reward was prepared jointly by the two parties and all three parties."

"The Jitian Palace has taken out two Huangji Pills, which can help Golden Core cultivators add one Danzi pattern. One pill for each of the two champions."

"One Royal Extreme Pill is roughly equivalent to 20,000 spirit stones."

"This is a treasure that cannot be found in the Central Plains."

As a Golden Core cultivator, Daoist Yunmin naturally cared more about the Imperial Extreme Pill, which was of great use to Golden Core cultivators.

"Xuan Yang Valley has brought out the Earth Mother Spirit Liquid, a top-grade spiritual medicine that is a specialty of the valley."

"There are four portions in total, with each of the two champions receiving two portions."

"The Earth Mother's Elixir has a good effect on expanding the dantian, which is of great use to you who are in the late stage of Foundation Establishment."

"If converted to spirit stones, one serving of Earth Mother Spirit Liquid is roughly equivalent to ten thousand spirit stones."

"In addition, Xuan Yang Valley has also contributed 10,000 spirit stones as an extra reward. If a cultivator from the Central Plains wins the championship, they can take another 10,000 spirit stones into their pocket."

There is a theory that the Earth Mother Spirit Liquid has a resistance to its use, and the second time it is taken, it can only exert less than half of its effect. Therefore, in order not to lose face, Xuan Yang Valley "skimped" on the reward and added another portion of spirit stones to the prize pool.

After discussing the other two schools, Yunmin Daoist then brought up the Zhengyi School.

"Our Zhengyi Sect certainly didn't skimp on this either."

"Two hundred Yellow Dragon Pills, each worth one hundred spirit stones, which can accelerate the cultivation speed of Golden Core cultivators."

Needless to say, each champion gets one hundred goals.

"Twenty drops of undiluted Heaven-Stealing Spirit Liquid, which is roughly half a month's worth of spirit liquid production from the Heaven-Stealing Bottle."

"Using them all can quickly accelerate the growth of a large number of spiritual plants. Whether sold or used personally, they represent a wealth that is difficult to measure directly with spirit stones."

Since the Zhengyi Sect had offered the most generous rewards this time, which was a great honor, Daoist Yunmin was naturally willing to say a few more words on this topic.

"Such a reward is tempting even to me. I wish I were three hundred years younger so I could compete for it and grab it."

These were the true thoughts of Daoist Yunmin.

"Now, everyone, what do you think? Are you willing to give your all, for the sake of your sect and for the sake of the vast number of cultivators in the Central Plains, to compete with your fellow cultivators from the Extreme Heaven Palace and fight for the championship?"

Master Yunmin looked at his disciples again.

Sure enough, with such generous rewards, even the two who had just considered backing out were now excited, wishing they could emulate Zhong Kaige's earlier actions and volunteer for a chance to participate.

Chapter 593 Deploying Troops

Among the disciples present, the one who was happiest upon hearing this series of news was Zhong Kaige.

As the champion of the previous late-stage Foundation Establishment competition, Zhong Kaige believed he had firmly secured a spot in the competition.

This idea is not wrong at all.

Of the ten people present, according to the rules, Zhengyi Sect could only send four people to fight.

No matter how the filming progresses, he, the grand champion, is always present.

Naturally, he could be said to be the one among everyone present who is closest to winning the championship, and also the one who is closest to receiving the reward.

With so many rewards that even Golden Core cultivators would envy right before his eyes, it was already a testament to Zhong Kaige's composure that he didn't openly display a smile.

And Han Lu? The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, her expression a little smiling.

However, her smile wasn't about overcoming all obstacles and ultimately winning the grand prize, which would bring her a huge reward.

In fact, as a top-tier "second-generation immortal," apart from the "Royal Pill" from the Extreme Heaven Palace, the other rewards were not particularly to Han Lu's liking.

Her Qi Sea was already vast enough that taking the Earth Mother Spirit Liquid would likely not have the same significant effect as on ordinary cultivators.

Since pills can be purchased with spirit stones, it's not difficult for Han Lu to find hundreds of them.

Although the Heaven-Stealing Spirit Liquid produced by the Heaven-Stealing Bottle is rare, Han Lu has no hobby of cultivating spiritual plants, nor does she have any particularly rare, top-grade spiritual plants that are worth cultivating for thousands or tens of thousands of years.

Therefore, what are rewards that are even more important than heavyweights in the eyes of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators are just minor additions to increase the speed of cultivation in Han Lu's eyes.

What pleased her was that this friendly match between human cultivators from both the East and West could provide her with a stage to compete against many talented cultivators.

Including the series of competitions for entry and the final three matches, Han Lu optimistically estimated that she should be able to fight at least seven matches against genius cultivators of her level.

Such intense battles would give her ample opportunities to practice swordsmanship, allowing her to try to fully digest the sword intent she had pondered in her daily life through combat, just as she had when breaking through the Dot Technique, and ultimately achieve enlightenment and master a certain Dot Technique to a minor level.

Mastering the second technique to a minor level would be a significant help to Han Lu.

The potential for substantial gains is far more appealing than those "optional" rewards.

After all, Foundation Establishment cultivators like Han Lu who transcend base desires are still a minority.

The rest of the group, even the female cultivators like Han Lu who hadn't flattered Yun Min Zhenren before, were all focused on the rewards offered by the two places and three sects, hoping to win the final championship and take all the good stuff for themselves.

Sensing the fighting spirit of his disciples, Daoist Yunmin was very satisfied.

“It seems everyone wants to participate in this friendly match, to bring glory to their sect and to benefit the cultivators of the Central Plains,” Daoist Yunmin said decisively. “Then let’s start discussing the selection process now.”

"As you probably understand, this is a very simple math problem."

"According to the rules, my Zhengyi Sect can only send four people to participate in the competition."

"This means that six of the ten people present will miss this event."

"As for the methods for deciding who will participate and who will be eliminated?"

Daoist Yunmin did not want to make a one-man show and wanted to select the strongest disciples to participate in the competition, so he sought everyone's opinions.

"Elders and disciples, if anyone has a good idea, please speak up."

A moment of silence fell over the meeting room.

The five branch deans racked their brains, trying to come up with some golden words to demonstrate their "superior intelligence" in front of Daoist Yunmin, so as to pave a way for them to advance further in the future and become rotating sect leaders or rotating deputy sect leaders.

The other nine people besides Han Lu also wanted to show off their skills in front of Daoist Yun Min and see if they could "go through the back door" and use their cleverness to secure a spot in the competition in advance.

Han Lu suddenly spoke up, asking, "Sect Leader, when exactly will this friendly match take place?"

Yun Min Daoist then realized that he had indeed forgotten to mention this, so he added, "Three months later, the Jitian Palace seems to be very eager to start this exchange."

"We also hope to work with Xuan Yang Valley to separate the Seven Mountains Alliance from the Central Plains."

Then he muttered to himself, "I heard that there are at least 1,500 Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Extreme Heaven Palace. I suppose many of the disciples they sent out must have reached the Pseudo-Core stage."

Is the Celestial Palace in a hurry to act?

Recalling the information she had gathered in the Great Yu Dynasty, and remembering what Yi Qiyan's master had done a few years ago when his position in the Five Poisons Sect became unstable and he actively contacted external forces to consolidate his position, Han Lu easily understood the crux of the matter.

She thought to herself, "It's probably because the palace master of the Jitian Palace, whose ascension to the throne was somewhat illegitimate, wanted to make some achievements. That's why he hurriedly activated this teleportation gate that suddenly appeared but had been silent for more than ten years, to contact the Central Plains and hoped to bring back a lot of cultivation resources that the Great Yu Dynasty did not have, in order to win people's hearts and consolidate his position."

Thinking of this, the possibility that the Celestial Palace might use the teleportation portal to attack the Central Plains was completely erased from Han Lu's mind.

That palace master was not yet able to fully mobilize the forces within the Jitian Palace. With the wisdom that enabled him to "usurp" the throne and become the palace master, he certainly wouldn't rashly send elite troops to attack the Central Plains, leaving the interior vulnerable and making his already unstable position even more precarious.

Many hands make light work, and before long, several seemingly fair solutions were proposed.

Master Yunmin acted as the judge, pointing out the shortcomings and problems one by one.