The Long Journey to Immortality

Hearing that so many disciples had bet their spirit stones on Chai Tianjiao, the Golden Core elder's expression was somewhat complicated.

He was pleased that the sect would earn a considerable amount of spirit stones after this arena competition.

The worry is that Han Lu will likely make it to the finals and compete with Mo Zhehan for the championship, which is not good news for Jitian Palace.

But the deed is done, and there's nothing he can do about it. All he can do is further refine the next bet and try to gain greater benefits for the sect and himself.

Because there are only three matches that day, even the first match has a full 15 minutes of preparation time.

After the draw, Han Lu returned to the lounge and did not chat with Fu Tianqiao to pass the time.

She simply sat there cross-legged, calming her mind and patiently waiting for time to pass and for the competition to begin.

Chai Tianjiao is quite different from Han Lu.

Compared to the calm and collected Han Lu, Chai Tianjiao was filled with excitement for the upcoming arena match.

Although he had never gotten along with Dong Fengyu, he had to admit that Dong Fengyu's fighting style and the magical weapons he used subtly restrained him, which meant that he had never been able to defeat him for a long time.

Even in this selection competition, Chai Tianjiao was still defeated by Dong Fengyu.

Coincidentally, Han Lu defeated Dong Fengyu and advanced to the second round.

In Chai Tianjiao's view, if he could defeat Han Lu and advance to the finals, he could indirectly wash away the shame of his long-standing defeat to Dong Fengyu and vindicate himself.

With such a motivation, Chai Tianjiao felt confident that when he stood on the ring later, his blood would be boiling and he would be able to unleash 120% of his strength to teach Han Lu a lesson.

After a quarter of an hour, both sides walked out of the lounge and stood on one side of the ring.

As Elder Huo, acting as the referee, finished his countdown, the duel between Han Lu and Chai Tianjiao truly began.

[Author's Note] Mount & Blade is really fun! I'm looking forward to aesthetic mods for Mount & Blade 2, as well as other story mods. Of course, I'll also try out any GHS mods if they're available.

Chapter 623 Beyond Reach

Han Lu quite admired Chai Tianjiao's unique fighting style.

In the Central Plains, even in Xiaoyaozi's memory, she had never seen any cultivator fight with such "desperation" as Chai Tianjiao.

For most cultivators who cherish their lives, defeating their opponents is not the most important thing; ensuring their own safety is paramount.

After all, what cultivators pursue is not killing a few other cultivators on the path of cultivation.

Living longer and going further is what the vast majority of cultivators hope for.

Although Han Lu was certain that even two Ni Kuans might not be able to defeat her, she was still shaken by Ni Kuan's miserable performance on the stage yesterday.

Therefore, when she learned that she was going to face Chai Tianjiao, she had already made up her mind to suppress him with a relentless offensive, not giving Chai Tianjiao any chance to fight back.

She just wanted to advance to the finals cleanly and decisively, in the best possible condition, rather than suffering a pyrrhic victory that would add even the slightest uncertainty to the finals that would take place in the afternoon.

Following this tactical approach, the moment Elder Huo finished the countdown and announced the start of the match, Han Lu patted her storage bag, summoned a magic weapon, and launched the first wave of attack against Chai Tianjiao.

A red handkerchief flew out, slowly deforming and enlarging in the air, descending from above towards Chai Tianjiao, who was not far away.

Han Lu hadn't used this magic weapon for quite some time. Facing Chai Tianjiao, who was known for his strong and unyielding style in the battle, Han Lu chose to use softness to overcome hardness, using this Luo Pa magic weapon as the vanguard.

Han Lu used her magic weapon much faster than Chai Tianjiao had imagined. He had originally planned to strike first, but after only half a breath, he decided to first break Han Lu's magic weapon and then switch from defense to offense.

Unaware of the magical power of Han Lu's treasure, Chai Tianjiao, relying on his habitual thinking, regarded this Luo Pai treasure as a treasure with the effect of trapping enemies. He summoned the spirit sword from his storage bag and used "scissors" to cut the "cloth".

Chai Tianjiao's reaction was exactly what Han Lu expected.

She made a series of hand seals, and the originally open handkerchief immediately twisted into a long rope, instantly transforming into a magical artifact resembling a "long whip".

One end of the whip coiled around the spirit sword that Chai Tianjiao was wielding, while the other end lashed out directly at Chai Tianjiao, who was standing on the arena.

This is Han Lu's new use of this magical artifact.

A few simple controls made this magic weapon, which was mainly used to "trapped enemies," more offensive.

Seeing the cloth whip lashing towards him and hearing the sharp sound of it cutting through the air, Chai Tianjiao did not hesitate at all. He immediately used his lightness technique to leap to the side more than ten meters away, avoiding its sharp edge.

As expected of an experienced cultivator, Chai Tianjiao's approach was absolutely correct.

While this method of using Ropa significantly enhances its offensive capabilities, it also reduces its flexibility.

When whipped, the long whip could not change its direction of attack like a spirit sword, and Chai Tianjiao easily dodged, so the long whip struck empty air.

"Snapped!"

With a crisp crack, a whip mark appeared on the arena.

The arena is reinforced with restrictions, and only attacks at the Golden Core level can cause it even the slightest damage.

The strike Han Lu just delivered with her Luo Pa Long Whip was clearly comparable to a strike from an ordinary Golden Core cultivator.

Looking at the whip marks on the ground, Chai Tianjiao felt no emotion.

He created distance and ignored the spirit sword that was still entangled by Han Lu's robe, focusing on unleashing his own techniques to launch a thunderous counterattack against Han Lu.

Unexpectedly, after reciting just two lines of the incantation, another chill ran down his spine.

In his haste, he turned around, took out a giant magic shield from his storage bag, and held it in front of him.

A magical sword appeared behind him at some unknown time and launched a sneak attack.

"clang!"

The spirit sword clashed with the giant shield, and the two sides fought to a standstill.

Chai Tianjiao could clearly feel that the giant shield, which was connected to his mind, was damaged by the attack just now, but the spirit sword that launched the sneak attack at the right time still failed to break through the shield's defense and go any further.

This spirit sword was naturally released secretly by Han Lu.

Seeing that her planned sneak attack had failed, Han Lu was not discouraged. She just snorted and thought to herself, "This Chai Tianjiao may not be that strong, but he is indeed very experienced in combat."

The sneak attack with the spirit sword was only the second part of this series of interconnected schemes.

The fact that Han Lu wielded a spirit sword so "lifelessly" naturally indicates that she had focused her attention on other things.

Just as Chai Tianjiao flashed out from behind the shield and used the gauntlet magic weapon he had just put on to knock the spirit sword away, Han Lu's next wave of attacks followed.

The temperature plummeted, and countless snowflakes rushed towards Chai Tianjiao.

At this moment, Chai Tianjiao looked at Han Lu again and realized that Han Lu's appearance was very different from when she first stepped onto the stage.

Her skin was snow-white, her hair was white, and her blue pupils emitted a deep blue light.

Chai Tianjiao had seen many similar tricks and methods. At this moment, he did not know that the wave of extreme cold and snow attacking him was a true spiritual power, so he hurriedly dealt with it in the same way as dealing with ordinary water-attribute spells.

Three walls of fire rose up in front of Chai Tianjiao, blocking him from the swirling snow and ice. Then, countless rays of light emanated outward from Chai Tianjiao.

He wasn't just on the defensive; he was also ready to counterattack, pulling the battle, which had been one of constant back-and-forth attacks, back to his familiar rhythm.

But when the wall of fire came into contact with the pure white ice and snow, Chai Tianjiao on the field was dumbfounded, and the audience, including the Golden Core cultivators and Nascent Soul cultivators on the viewing platform, also showed surprised expressions.

The raging flames did not hinder the ice and snow at all when they touched.

The ice and snow were not weakened in the slightest; on the contrary, they completely froze the raging fire.

However, this freezing method does not freeze the rootless fire, but rather completely freezes the air in the space where the flame exists.

Thus, the bizarre scene of ice burning with fire appeared on the arena.

Chai Tianjiao, who thought that three walls of fire would be enough to block Han Lu's ice and snow attack, hurriedly tried to dodge again using his lightness technique, which was superior to that of ordinary cultivators.

Unfortunately, the attack range of the swirling ice and snow was so vast that it completely enveloped and covered him, freezing him solid.

Only when he stood against the ice and snow did Chai Tianjiao realize the uniqueness of Han Lu's move.

He intended to use a secret technique to strengthen his body and then use brute force to break through the ice that was freezing him from the inside and escape.

But Chai Tianjiao found that being in this chilling aura not only made his body stiff and difficult to control, but even the environment in his mind's sea of ​​consciousness turned into a blizzard.

The direct consequence of this change was that his thinking became sluggish and his consciousness became blurred.

"It even incorporates methods of attacking the soul?"

Quickly realizing what was happening, Chai Tianjiao hurriedly mobilized his spiritual power and activated the jade ring on his left index finger to protect his sea of ​​consciousness.

This action had a slight effect; he quickly regained his clarity of mind and was able to continue trying to use the secret technique to break the ice.

Han Lu observed Chai Tianjiao's every move and was confident that Chai Tianjiao could not break through the ice in ten breaths.

She used the Ice Phoenix Divine Power to summon frost and ice, intending to temporarily control Chai Tianjiao.

The real winner is yet to come.

Chapter 624 Relentless Pursuit

Most cultivators in the Great Yu Dynasty possessed some form of external martial arts skills.

The main reason is to enrich their combat methods and improve their ability to withstand attacks.

Even among the cultivators of the Jitian Palace, the "ivory tower" of the Great Yu Dynasty, most were like this.

Cultivators like Chai Tianjiao, who frequently engage in hand-to-hand combat and are often covered in wounds, naturally also practice external martial arts. As a disciple of a Nascent Soul elder, he naturally obtained a high-grade external martial arts technique from the Extreme Heaven Palace.

By using a secret technique, one can conjure up the strength of seven tigers and three elephants out of thin air, thereby strengthening the body and enhancing physical power in a short period of time.

However, such a powerful secret technique requires a large amount of spiritual energy to be used, and there is a side effect of overeating and consuming ordinary food to replenish energy within a day after the technique ends.

However, casting this secret technique twenty breaths into the battle is just right for the current situation.

Using his secret technique, Chai Tianjiao's body inside the ice block grew larger, and his muscles increased dramatically.

If he were naked at this time, others could clearly see the tiger and elephant markings on his chest and back, and know what kind of amazing secret technique he was performing.

The power of the seven tigers and three elephants that appeared out of nowhere made the ice block that trapped Chai Tianjiao no longer indestructible.

With a sudden burst of force, the surface of the ice block cracked in just three strokes, and the numerous cracks caused the ice block, which was originally a single piece, to crumble and disintegrate in an instant.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, Chai Tianjiao finally broke through the ice.

Looking at Han Lu, who was reciting incantations not far away, Chai Tianjiao thought to himself.

"Han Lu is a female cultivator, so she certainly doesn't know anything about external martial arts. Getting closer to her and preventing her from using her magic weapons or spells will definitely increase our chances of winning."

Without a moment's pause, he suddenly pushed off the ground with his right foot and shot towards Han Lu like an arrow.

It seems they intend to replicate the heavy blow Mo Zhehan delivered to Huang Ziqiang, and have the same story unfold on Han Lu.