The Long Journey to Immortality

"Let's just hold this series of battles in my training room. The restrictions there are strong, and with me and the five branch deans guarding it, it should be foolproof."

Han Lu, who originally intended to use Zhong Kaige as a test subject, suddenly changed her mind.

"Sect Master, how about this," Han Lu suggested, taking advantage of her close relationship with Daoist Yun Min, "Right here, I will cast an illusion spell. If Senior Brother Zhong can withstand it, then I will consider myself defeated."

"If Senior Brother Zhong can't even withstand one of my moves, then there's no need to go through all this trouble and fight in the arena. Wouldn't it be better to just exchange rankings?"

The anger that arises from being looked down upon by fellow disciples whom one considers inferior is not easy to suppress.

Han Lu's words were too arrogant, which made Zhong Kaige furious. His voice became more ferocious. "Junior Sister Han, I don't like hearing you say that. Do you think you can look down on all the experts in the sect just because you won a few low-level competitions by chance?"

Han Lu smiled and said, "Senior brother, you flatter me. I just want to save time and avoid a big fight that could damage our relationship."

"Besides, my idea would be of great benefit to you, Senior Brother."

"Junior sister, I keep my word. I said I would use illusion magic to launch an attack, and I will not break my promise. Senior brother, you just need to be on guard."

"Could it be that Senior Brother thinks he can't withstand my attack and is afraid of losing face in front of the elders?"

Han Lu's simple provocation made Zhong Kaige, who was already filled with anger, obediently take the bait.

"Alright, as long as the sect leader agrees, I'll accept this move."

By handing the decision-making power over to Daoist Yunmin, it was no different from simply agreeing to Han Lu's plan.

Yunmin Daoist was also curious about what kind of method Han Lu would use to defeat the enemy in one move. Since he was already close to Han Lu, he naturally wouldn't refuse her request.

“Interesting, interesting. Then let’s do as Han Lu says.”

Daoist Yunmin had no objections, and naturally, the others had no particular thoughts either.

Everyone was quite curious about what tricks Han Lu would use to defeat her opponent in one fell swoop.

Only Fu Tianqiao, who had once fought against Han Lu in the secret realm, recalled the story from a few years ago and his inexplicable defeat. He planned to observe from the sidelines this time and see clearly what Han Lu's miraculous illusion was all about.

Han Lu bowed and thanked Daoist Yunmin for his "enlightenment," then said, "Senior Brother Zhong, don't be careless. I won't hold back. Get ready quickly."

Although he was quite angry at Han Lu's arrogance and contempt, Zhong Kaige had cultivated Taoist magic for over sixty years and knew that the most important thing to resist illusions and attacks on the soul was a clear mind.

After silently reciting two incantations, Kaige finally regained her senses and hurriedly began to make arrangements, thinking of how to calmly and steadily catch Han Lu's moves, and slap Han Lu in the face hard, making her regret her arrogant behavior.

Zhong Kaige took out three talismans and stuck them on his waist.

He then took out two magical artifacts specifically designed to defend against attacks on the soul, activated them, and made them float in front of him.

Finally, Zhong Kaige recited a few incantations, forming two defensive barriers within his sea of ​​consciousness.

Only then could he complete all his defensive arrangements against soul attacks, and look at Han Lu with a confident expression.

"Junior Sister Han, I'm ready."

Leaning back in his chair, Zhong Kaige felt absolutely certain of success.

Chapter 596 Slamming the Table

Han Lu watched Zhong Kaige's series of actions and realized that this senior brother was indeed quite skilled.

A few years ago, Zhong Kaige won the final total score championship in the late Foundation Establishment group. Although Han Lu helped him eliminate many strong competitors in the secret realm, the strength he has shown now is at least at the level of the top four, and he is also a figure in the sect.

However, even so, Han Lu still didn't think Zhong Kaige could withstand a single move from her.

Because she had decided to use every means at her disposal to see how well she could perform when she relied on her True Spirit Bloodline to unleash her True Spirit Divine Powers after advancing to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Han Lu looked around and her gaze inadvertently fell on the coffee table to her right.

Han Lu had a brilliant idea.

She suddenly decided against using her magic weapon to launch an attack, and instead used an even more exaggerated defense to knock Zhong Kaige down in one blow.

Before launching the attack, Han Lu spoke again, "Fellow disciples, my soul attack may slightly affect you. I hope you can take some precautions to avoid damaging your consciousness and affecting your future challenges."

Several fellow disciples who already disdained or even despised Han Lu's series of arrogant remarks almost all muttered to themselves, "Meddlesome."

However, despite their words, they still honestly implemented at least one method of protection.

In particular, Fu Tianqiao, apart from not using consumables like talismans, has done exactly what Zhong Kaige, the main character, did.

Watching Fu Tianqiao act with bated breath, Zhong Kaige couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Is it really that exaggerated?"

Seeing that everyone was ready, Han Lu nodded slightly before she began to use her skills.

She silently recited the incantation, and the True Phoenix Manual was activated, controlling a large amount of spiritual energy to circulate within her.

In the blink of an eye, Han Lu, who had not transformed into a true spirit for a long time, once again used her semi-true spirit transformation technique.

Only under such conditions can Han Lu unleash her full power when using her divine soul attack.

In the blink of an eye, Han Lu's appearance and demeanor underwent a dramatic change.

Her once sparse, wine-red hair had burst into flames, freed from the hair tie, and now fluttered freely in the still room.

Han Lu's deep black eyes also changed color in her semi-spiritual state.

Amber replaced black, constantly casting illusions, as if looking directly into those eyes would steal one's soul.

Regular and mysterious facial markings climbed from her neck to her face. The originally light gray markings changed regularly among seven colors in sync with the rhythm of the spiritual energy within Han Lu's body.

An astonishing aura, approaching or even reaching the Golden Core level, emanated from Han Lu, and coupled with the change in her appearance, it made people want to give way.

Even the Golden Core Elder Qingxu Daoist, who was sitting next to Han Lu, couldn't help but lean back, afraid of being touched by the unfathomable fiery hair.

This astonishing change left the onlookers, who were already full of doubts about Han Lu, completely dumbfounded.

Fu Tianqiao also slightly opened her mouth, exhaling cold air. In her heart, she compared the Han Lu she saw today with the Han Lu she saw two years ago, and sighed inwardly, "Is this...is this Han Lu's full strength?"

Having completed all this, Han Lu's gaze sharpened, and she glared at Zhong Kaige, who was not far away.

Avoiding Han Lu's gaze, but facing this astonishing aura, Zhong Kaige subconsciously gripped the armrests of the chair, pressed his back against the backrest, and tried his best to maintain the relaxed posture he had just been in.

An ominous premonition arose in his heart, and a ripple stirred up his recently calmed mind.

"Senior Brother Zhong, catch it!"

Just as everyone was wondering why Han Lu was about to unleash her power without taking out any magic weapon, Han Lu's next move made everyone's already slightly agape mouths widen even further.

Han Lu did not use any hand seals or complicated methods to transform the spiritual power in her body into a soul attack technique to attack Zhong Kaige.

The coffee table that Han Lu had glanced at earlier came in handy at this moment.

A tea table made of ordinary cedar wood could only sell for a mere three taels of silver, but at this moment, it replaced a magical artifact that could sell for a thousand spirit stones as the medium for Han Lu to unleash her soul attack.

Raising her right hand, Han Lu suddenly slammed it onto the smooth surface of the coffee table.

The teacups on the coffee table remained motionless, but a muffled thud was heard. When this sound reached the ears of everyone present, it transformed into a sharp phoenix cry under the influence of the true spiritual power.

Upon hearing this phoenix cry, a vast ocean in Zhong Kaige's sea of ​​consciousness from Dongshan Academy suddenly surged with towering waves hundreds of meters high, shattering the thin layer of magical light barrier before it could even withstand half a breath.

In Zhong Kaige's sea of ​​consciousness, the weather changed dramatically, instantly transforming from a clear sky into a storm.

At the same time, the two magical artifacts in front of Zhong Kaige instantly turned black, lost their spirituality, and fell to the ground.

The three talismans at Zhong Kaige's waist turned to ashes and disappeared.

A mouthful of blood spurted from Zhong Kaige's mouth. Immediately afterward, his eyes lost their luster, and he slumped into the chair, sliding down the slightly curved backrest to the ground, finally landing face-first on the bluestone floor in a "dog-face-shit" pose.

What about the others? The other bystanders, who weren't even at the eye of the storm, weren't much better off.

Three of the nine men, like Zhong Kaige, coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.

The remaining five people all felt dizzy and barely managed to stay conscious.

Only Fu Tianqiao, who was well-prepared, showed a slight change in expression but did not experience any further adverse reactions.

The Foundation Establishment disciple's reaction also drew in the six Golden Core cultivators present.

Among the six, the Dean of Zhongshan Academy, who was the youngest and weakest, was the one most affected among the Golden Core cultivators.

His forehead veins bulged as he barely managed to stay upright and avoid embarrassing himself in front of everyone.

The other five Golden Core cultivators, even the sect leader Yun Min who was behind them in cultivation, changed their expressions just like Fu Tianqiao. They did not act as if nothing had happened in the storm caused by Han Lu "slamming the table".

Her hand fell and then rose again, causing Zhong Kaige to cough up blood and fall to the ground. Han Lu immediately deactivated her semi-spiritual transformation state and regained her usual radiant appearance.

Coming to his senses, Daoist Yunmin had no intention of announcing the outcome of the battle. He quickly stepped forward and helped Zhong Kaige up.

He stuffed a pill into Zhong Kaige's mouth, and then cast two healing spells in quick succession.

Seeing that Zhong Kaige's ashen face had regained some color, he breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his seat.

The other Golden Core cultivators were not idle either, each taking charge of healing one of their disciples.

In the blink of an eye, Zhong Kaige, who had been utterly defeated by Han Lu's soul attack, and his three other Foundation Establishment disciples were all healed.

A Golden Core cultivator is a Golden Core cultivator after all; in a short time, he healed most of the injuries in the four people's sea of ​​consciousness.

After regaining their senses, everyone who was still conscious turned their gazes to Han Lu, who was sitting upright in a chair with her eyes closed, resting.

Daoist Yunmin was inwardly applauding Han Lu's divine soul attack that she had just unleashed.

Chapter 597 Standing Out

It's not surprising that Daoist Yunmin has such thoughts.

Ultimately, the so-called East-West friendly match only results in two championship spots, and in the struggle for dominance and advantage in East-West exchanges.

There are only two champions, so naturally only the most skilled disciples can compete fiercely to win them.

The logic behind cheering for Han Lu's one-hit victory over Zhong Kaige is not complicated.

Zhong Kaige is an outstanding individual, one of the top late-stage Foundation Establishment disciples in the Zhengyi Sect, and a candidate who, in the eyes of Daoist Yunmin, has a good chance of competing for the championship.

Han Lu, on the other hand, was able to defeat her enemy with a single blow. Even using the simplest comparison method, it can be determined that Han Lu's strength far surpasses that of Zhong Kaige.

If Han Lu were to participate in the competition, it would only be a good thing for the Zhengyi Sect and for the Central Plains.

In fact, Daoist Yunmin was hoping that Han Lu's table-slamming move would have knocked the Golden Core cultivators present to their knees, which would have shown that Han Lu's strength was comparable to or even surpassed that of ordinary early-stage Golden Core cultivators, making the championship easily within her grasp.

The other elders and disciples who were still conscious did not possess the same strategic thinking and overall perspective as Daoist Yunmin.

They focused more on Han Lu herself and Zhong Kaige.

Master Qingxu was quite nervous, fearing that Han Lu might go too far and cripple Zhong Kaige, causing Dongshan Academy to lose a spot in the competition.

The others looked at Han Lu, who was sitting in her seat with her eyes closed, resting and recovering her spiritual power, as if she were a monster.