The Long Journey to Immortality

Both sides expressed their opinions and analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the two options.

In the end, it took no more than five minutes before they decided to proceed with the second method.

Qingxu Daoist himself also preferred the second method, "After all, the cultivators of the Seven Mountains Alliance are not good-for-nothings. Directly exchanging ideas here would still carry some risk of exposure. It would be better to spend more manpower and resources to carry out the matter on the small island in the East China Sea, so as to keep this matter a secret for a while longer."

After determining the general direction, the two each took a jade token and pondered what preparations needed to be made, what supplies needed to be prepared, and assigned tasks to their respective sects for the next two months, arranging everything in an orderly manner.

The details here are quite complicated. Fortunately, Qingxu Daoren had accumulated a lot of administrative experience during his years as the branch dean and received guidance from Yunmin Daoren, which enabled him to think about everything comprehensively.

After negotiating for nearly fifteen minutes, the jade tablets held by the two had already recorded a considerable amount of information.

After Fan Qian said, "That's enough for now," the two stopped taking notes, each preoccupied with how to return to their sect and secretly coordinate various matters.

One by one, preparations for the exchange between East and West were raised and discussed in the secret room.

Finally, the question of which four disciples should be sent as "hostages" to the Great Yu Dynasty to win the championship for the Central Plains was put on the table.

The common goal of the two major sects in the Central Plains is to win both the East and West championships, or at least retain one of them.

Although they could still profit from trading and exchanging information using the Jitian Palace's plan, who wouldn't want to make an extra profit on such an important matter?

The disciples to be sent to the friendly match have been basically finalized, and how to arrange the formation has become one of the ways to improve the final result.

Chapter 601 Secret Meeting (Part 2)

Because the friendly competition is divided into two regions, East and West, four of the eight cultivators, including Han Lu, who represent the Central Plains cultivation world, must travel through the portal to the Great Yu Dynasty to participate in the competition.

Playing away from home not only affects the cultivators' performance but also introduces many unpredictable factors.

These variables include both good and bad.

This friendly match wasn't exactly about friendship; killing your opponent in the ring was perfectly acceptable.

If cultivators from the Central Plains were to compete with cultivators from the Great Yu Dynasty in the Central Plains region, even if they lost, the probability of being killed would still be somewhat lower.

However, if a cultivator from the Central Plains is defeated in the Great Yu Dynasty, there is a very high chance that he will be killed on the arena and become a tool for the Great Yu Dynasty's Jitian Palace to establish its prestige.

This is one of the worse variables in going to Daewoo to participate in the competition.

Yes, that's available too.

For the vast majority of cultivators in the Central Plains, the Great Yu Dynasty was a place they had never set foot in.

Carrying a large amount of spirit stones and materials, they arrived ahead of the two major sects and, while participating in the friendly matches, traded with cultivators from the Great Yu Dynasty, making a fortune and obtaining many resources that were not available in the Central Plains.

This is clearly a very beneficial thing for an individual cultivator.

Even if one doesn't have enough capital to exchange for desired magical treasures or valuables, one can still broaden their horizons and venture into the Western lands, a place that many Nascent Soul cultivators from the Central Plains have never set foot on.

This is definitely a rare experience for a cultivator whose cultivation level is only in the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Many long-lived cultivators harbor a dream of traversing every corner of the world, and this is an excellent opportunity to realize that dream.

Ignoring the danger of dying in the ring, even considering the cost of activating the portal, it's basically a free trip.

However, these advantages and disadvantages are ultimately based only on the individual cultivator.

When the two cultivators, Qingxu Daoren and Fan Qian, discussed the matter, although they had to consider the personal interests of their disciples, they still needed to put the interests of the Central Plains first.

The fundamental goal of the team's strategy was to win both championships in the two locations.

Although neither side has yet fully decided which disciples will participate in the East-West Friendship Tournament, they still communicated the confirmed information before making a final decision.

The Zhengyi Sect decided to send Han Lu, who had the shortest time to advance to the late Foundation Establishment stage, to the Central Plains.

In order not to appear ignorant, Fan Qian had to spend a lot of time listing Han Lu's achievements and merits in the Central Plains and in the Zhengyi Sect after hearing the names of Han Lu and the other two, and praised Yun Min Daoist for choosing Han Lu as the right person to fight.

Xuan Yang Valley has already confirmed that it will send two cultivators to participate, and Qing Xu Dao Ren has heard of both of them.

One of them was named Huang Ziqiang. He had already been a cultivator at the Pseudo-Core Realm ten years ago and was already a master who could fight two opponents at once in Xuan Yang Valley.

After Huang Ziqiang advanced to the Pseudo-Core Realm, it is said that he spent the last ten years wandering around the East China Sea, and even fought with a "fake" Golden Core cultivator.

It should be noted that the East Sea is far more chaotic than the Central Plains. Even a Golden Core cultivator who has fused with another's Golden Core possesses combat power far exceeding that of an ordinary late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The outcome is unknown, but judging from Huang Ziqiang's ability to escape unscathed, return to the Central Plains, and represent Xuan Yang Valley in this friendly match, it is clear that this pseudo-core cultivator has already developed the ability to rival a Golden Core cultivator in the early stages.

The other person was a female cultivator named Han Tongxuan, a member of the Han family, a mortal cultivation family in the Northern Dynasty.

He was exceptionally talented and advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage at the age of twenty, making him a renowned genius in Xuan Yang Valley.

He is only fifty-five years old now, and has already advanced to the late Foundation Establishment stage for ten years.

At this rate, advancing to the Golden Core stage before the age of eighty and becoming a Golden Core elder of Xuan Yang Valley will not be a problem.

In terms of achievements, Han Tongxuan is not as good as Huang Ziqiang, but she has still made some contributions.

Even when she was still in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, her family arranged a "political marriage" for her.

Although Han Tongxuan's fiancé was a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator with excellent character and appearance, she looked down on him completely, even calling him a piece of trash to his face and tearing up the engagement.

How could a man of principle tolerate this?

Whether the engagement can continue is another matter, but we must save face.

Thus, this male cultivator in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage fought against Han Tongxuan.

Although Han Tongxuan was a cultivation level lower than her opponent, she won the battle with overwhelming force, causing the man to lose all face and dignity.

The male cultivator was unconvinced and shouted, "Don't underestimate a young man's potential!" He then made a five-year promise.

But five years later, the outcome remained unchanged.

Even though the male had advanced to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he was still no match for Han Tongxuan, who was in the mid stage of Foundation Establishment.

Thus, relying on these two great victories that transcended realms, Han Tongxuan stepped over the somewhat famous Nan Fang and became a cultivator among the younger generation of Xuan Yang Valley who was recognized for both strength and potential.

When Han Lu first became famous, she was often compared to Han Tongxuan in Xuan Yang Valley.

Since the comparison was made with people from Xuan Yang Valley, the conclusion should have been that they were evenly matched. However, in the end, Han Tongxuan was considered to be superior to Han Lu because of her longer cultivation time.

It's ironic that a cultivator famous for his rapid advancement in cultivation surpasses his juniors simply because of his "longer cultivation time."

Whether in terms of battle record, cultivation level, or reputation, the two cultivators currently confirmed by Xuan Yang Valley are celebrities among the younger generation in the Central Plains.

According to Qingxu Daoist, these two were most likely handpicked by the Dragon Valley Master, which is why they were confirmed to participate in this friendly match so early.

Knowing the approximate strength of the troops dispatched by both sides makes negotiations and exchanges much easier.

In just a few words, after confirming that neither side had a particular desire to send disciples to the Great Yu Dynasty, the matter of one side sending two people to the Great Yu Dynasty was quickly settled.

As for who each side should send to the Great Yu Dynasty, conducting a selection process to compare strengths would be too complicated and increase the possibility of exposure.

With the candidates not yet fully determined, the two sides could only agree on a few rules.

Comparatively speaking, the champion of the "Central Plains Region" is more important, and the strongest of the four cultivators sent by Xuan Yang Valley stayed in the Central Plains to "defend the title".

The strongest cultivators of the Zhengyi Sect need to cross the portal to the Dayu Dynasty and compete for the championship on their territory.

As for the other cultivators, they can do as they please.

This arrangement is somewhat unfair to the Zhengyi Sect.

But there was nothing they could do. Xuan Yang Valley was stronger than Zheng Yi Sect, so suffering such a small loss was perfectly acceptable.

After the final matter was discussed, the two sect envoys "reviewed" it one last time to confirm that everything was correct before leaving the secret room one after the other to return to their sects to report back.

The following day, two Golden Core cultivators from Xuan Yang Valley and Zheng Yi Sect appeared on a small island in the East China Sea, not far from the Central Plains. At their decision, this small island was chosen as the venue for the Central Plains division of the "East-West Friendship Tournament".

Subsequently, a large amount of supplies were carried and transported to the island by the cultivators, and some ordinary craftsmen were also invited to work on the island at high prices.

The once uninhabited island is now bustling with activity.

Chapter 602 Ranking, Xianyu Ji

Because of the friendly match, Fu Tianqiao, who had only played against Han Lu once before, got in touch with Han Lu.

Although their team battle in the secret realm wasn't particularly intense or exciting, it still allowed both sides to acknowledge each other's strength.

Upon meeting again, a few simple words were enough to create a sense of mutual appreciation between the two.

Fu Tianqiao was naturally outgoing and friendly.

When Han Lu and she were both selected to participate in the East-West Friendship Match, the two couldn't help but get together to maintain secrecy.

After a brief discussion, they reached an agreement to serve as each other's sparring partners, training and preparing together for the competition in a little over two months, and trying to improve themselves as much as possible in this short period of time.

Because of her impulsive actions, Han Lu missed at least two opportunities to spar with late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, which she deeply regretted.

However, if one could spar with a powerful cultivator like Fu Tianqiao several times a day, one could make up for the losses and find more opportunities to exchange skills.

The predicament Han Lu faced after advancing to the late Foundation Establishment stage is a common problem for the vast majority of cultivators in the Central Plains.

Because of differences in talent, many cultivators find it difficult to find a sparring partner of equal strength among their friends. For example, Wen Erya, who is currently only in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, cannot improve Han Lu's skills even when she tries her best during sparring sessions.

The Central Plains are a stable environment, and cultivators love peace, so there are naturally not many opportunities for them to practice and fight with fellow cultivators.

In this environment, the Seven Kill Sword Technique, which requires a lot of practical experience to master and comprehend, becomes more difficult to cultivate.

When Han Lu learned that Fu Tianqiao was so eager to train with her, she was more than happy to do so.

She only hoped that through her battles with Fu Tianqiao, she could master the "Transformation" technique and reach a minor level of proficiency, thereby enhancing her combat strength and enabling her to compete with the top geniuses in the Extreme Heaven Palace with greater power.

To maintain secrecy, Han Lu and Fu Tianqiao's training took place at Fu Tianqiao's residence.

Compared to the sensitive area where Han Lu lived, Fu Tianqiao's small, secluded courtyard was a relatively quiet place within the Zhengyi Gate. Strangers like Han Lu frequently came and went without attracting attention.

Fu Tianqiao, who became a disciple of Zhongshan Academy, naturally practiced an earth-attribute cultivation method.

During training, in order to hone her understanding of swordsmanship and the principles of swordplay, Han Lu spent 70% of her time fighting using simple sword control techniques.

According to the Five Elements theory, the Earth element has a certain degree of restraint over the Water element.

As Han Lu's opponent, Fu Tianqiao, despite the difference in skill between them, didn't end up in a bad situation. Their back-and-forth exchanges, with Han Lu holding back, still yielded some training results.

Practice once every three days, for two hours each time.

Before the Zhengyi Sect finalized its fourth participant, Han Lu and Fu Tianqiao sparred nearly a hundred times. Han Lu, who seemed to have transformed into a sword cultivator, won ninety percent of the matches by extensively using her spirit sword to defend herself.

Fu Tianqiao was quite helpless about this, but there really wasn't any good solution.

Fortunately, she did learn a lot of useful things from each failure; otherwise, even an "optimist" like Fu Tianqiao would have found it difficult to persevere and keep trying despite repeated setbacks.

Fu Tianqiao gained a lot, but Han Lu did not achieve her expected goals.