The Long Journey to Immortality

Since the story was told by a disciple of the Zhengyi Sect, Xuan Yang Valley's image in the story is naturally not very good.

These embellished stories intensified the already superficially harmonious atmosphere within the Zhengyi Sect, which was secretly vying with the Xuan Yang Valley.

While her fellow disciples were enthusiastically discussing the Deep Valley Meeting and the upcoming Grand Competition, Han Lu chose a pleasant day and once again ascended Cold Cicada Peak to engage in her special cultivation.

This is the fourth time I have come to the quiet room at Hanchan Peak.

Sitting in the quiet room, Han Lu, who had broken through two more acupoints in just over half an hour of cultivation, once again felt the cold air on Cold Cicada Peak that could affect the circulation of spiritual energy.

Whether it was due to improved cultivation or practice, Han Lu felt that she had become somewhat familiar with cultivating in this relatively extreme environment. Although the chilling aura still froze and slowed down the spiritual energy in her spiritual veins, its impact on her cultivation was much smaller than the previous three times.

Two hours later, when Han Lu walked out of the meditation room, the second spiritual vein had been opened up with a total of twenty-two acupoints, and she was only one step away from advancing to the second level of Qi Refining.

Sensing the lingering ice layer within the spiritual vein, Han Lu resisted the urge to return to the meditation room and waste the remaining two hours of cultivation, choosing instead to leave temporarily.

Back in the courtyard, Han Lu was thinking of adjusting her breathing to melt the ice layer in her spiritual veins in preparation for her next meditation session when suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Han Lu casually touched the token at her waist, removed the restrictions on the courtyard, took a few steps, and opened the door for the guests.

The visitor was a stranger.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Han Lu greeted politely. "Did you knock on the wrong door?"

"I'm from the academy," the male cultivator who knocked on the door introduced himself, then asked, "Are you Han Lu, a disciple under Elder Piaomiao?"

"Yes, what is it?" Han Lu asked the same question again.

The fellow cultivators working at the academy didn't bother with further self-introductions; instead, they got straight to the point.

He took out paper and pen and said, "Junior Sister Han, I am updating the files before the competition. Please cooperate with my work."

Upon hearing this, Han Lu, who had served at Zhengyi Gate for twenty-eight years under the identity of Feng Bailu, immediately understood the other party's intention.

The Grand Competition was a grand event for all the disciples of the Zhengyi Sect.

Such a large competition naturally needs to be divided into groups according to the cultivators' realms to facilitate the contests and determine the order of succession among fellow disciples.

As the primary organizer of the Grand Competition, the academy naturally needs to ascertain the cultivation level of each cultivator within the sect beforehand, in order to divide them into groups and arrange the competition in advance.

In addition, this kind of census-style record update can also allow universities to understand the situation of "mediocre" students within their institutions.

"I'm currently at the first level of Qi Refining," Han Lu added after saying that, "but I should be able to advance to the second level of Qi Refining before the competition."

"Is that so? Junior Sister Han is indeed a disciple valued by Elder Piaomiao," the senior brother who didn't know Han Lu praised, writing as he spoke, "Then I'll temporarily register you as Qi Refining Level 1. After you advance, Junior Sister Han must remember to go to the academy to change your records as soon as possible. Otherwise, if you are found to have hidden your cultivation level and participate in a lower-level competition, you will be severely punished."

Han Lu noticed that since becoming a beautiful female cultivator, many unfamiliar cultivators would often extend goodwill to her. In the past few months, she had thanked them more times than Feng Bailu had done in his sect over the past twenty-eight years.

Thank you, I'll remember that.

After completing the registration, the monk from the academy, following the instructions of the steward, explained the new rules for this year's competition to Han Lu.

"This is Junior Sister Han's first time participating in the year-end competition, so she may not be familiar with the rules of rewards and punishments."

"This year, due to the Deep Valley Secret Realm incident, the sect has increased the rewards for outstanding disciples at all levels."

"And the punishments for those disciples who are ranked lower will be much more severe."

"If any fellow disciples who have been stuck at a certain Qi Refining stage for three years and are unable to advance do not achieve a ranking in the top 50% in the competition, they will be expelled from the sect."

"And if you come out on top in any of the three groups at the eighth level of Qi Refining or above, you'll also be able to enjoy the same treatment as those ten 'treasure hunters'..."

The treasure hunters were cultivators from the Zhengyi Sect who had made the list of ten key Qi Refining cultivators, who were given temporary nicknames.

Perhaps realizing that these rules had nothing to do with Han Lu, the academy cultivator stopped abruptly, offering Han Lu a few words of encouragement as a senior, before moving on to knock on the door of the next cultivator.

[Author's Note] It's usually around 20 words and automatically uploaded on Fridays, but I don't know why it wasn't this time.

Chapter 86 Expanding the Armory

The Grand Examination has continued for nearly three thousand years since the Zhengyi School flourished.

Although there is no senior master in the sect who has lived for three thousand years, a series of traditions and experiences about the Grand Competition have been passed down over the long course of history.

With the university at its core, various institutions are gradually pushing forward with the preparatory work.

The already tense atmosphere of preparation for battle within the Zhengyi Sect became even more intense.

Some disciples who had thought it was too early to take the competition seriously a few months ago have finally started to take it seriously.

The cost of using the arena was too high, so many people sought out empty spaces to engage in combat with fellow disciples of the same level in a simpler way, in order to familiarize themselves with spells and improve their combat power.

The competition for numbers behind the scenes has become fierce, which has made the usually deserted clinic bustling with activity.

Some people want to take the right path, while others want to take the crooked path.

Those who are thinking about taking the right path are mostly advanced students, aiming for the rewards in the competition.

Those who think about going astray are mostly the less advanced students, who just want to avoid criticism, punishment, or even being kicked out of the sect after the competition.

Like Wen Erya's two less talented elder brothers, who were just loafing around in the sect, they started to have crooked ideas again, just like in the small competitions a few years ago, to improve their ranking in the big competition, hoping to continue to mingle in the sect as cultivators, rather than being sent back to the palace to be an eyesore of idle princes.

The saying "money makes the world go round" still applies in the cultivation world if you replace "money" with "spirit stones".

Although it was impossible to conduct power and money transactions or backroom deals during the Zhengyi Gate Grand Competition, the two princes were given "rookie" opponents to help them win several matches.

However, the two princes could still use the spirit stones in their pockets to exchange for information and bribe those opponents who had not been kicked out of the Zhengyi Sect.

Three days before the competition, after receiving the match list and confirming the opponent's name, one goes to the arena, slips a few spirit stones into the opponent's storage bag as a deposit, and bribes them.

This tactic has proven effective time and again.

After all, only a small number of cultivators can break into the top 32 or 64 and win a large reward from the sect.

Most average students would choose the dozen or so spirit stones in front of them over trying to "pursue their dreams."

While helping Wen Erya continue to act as her coach, Han Lu also devoted some of her time to practicing magic and secret arts.

Having ascended Cold Cicada Peak for the fifth time and raised her cultivation to the second level of Qi Refining, Han Lu naturally wanted to enrich her arsenal so that she wouldn't rely on the Water Ball Technique to conquer the world like she did when she entered the Dao Child Realm again.

When Han Lu cultivated the "Great Zhou Heavenly Water Condensation Technique" to the second level of Qi Refining, there were two more secret techniques in the manual that she could learn and use.

One type is used for daily cultivation and training, while the other is an offensive spell used in combat.

The former, named "Condensing Water Technique," can condense spiritual energy into spiritual liquid, which can then be placed in a specific container for use.

This spiritual liquid acts as a spirit-restoring powder to help cultivators recover their spiritual power after a great battle. It can also be taken during cultivation to increase spiritual energy intake and slightly improve cultivation speed in low spiritual energy environments.

This technique was somewhat useless for Han Lu, who had no shortage of elixirs and abundant spiritual power.

The latter is called the Water Dragon Technique.

When this spell is cast, a jet of water thicker than the main beam of the largest room in the Five Elements Mountain Academy will be sprayed out instantly.

It is a powerful water-attribute spell that requires a large amount of spiritual energy to cast.

In terms of lethality and destructive power, when Han Lu uses it now, it is almost comparable to a spell that can only be cast at the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refining.

The same applies to the consumption of spiritual energy.

Only cultivators with profound foundations in techniques like the "Water Condensation Technique" can successfully execute it at the second level of Qi Refining.

This method of using force to overcome skill is perfect for Han Lu right now.

In addition to the spells that come with the "Great Zhou Heavenly Water Condensation Technique" manual, Han Lu also plans to find some spells with water and wood attributes as a supplement.

Since she didn't have many contribution points in the token, she set her sights on Fu Chen.

She has two registered masters in the sect, both of whom can freely teach her various skills and techniques.

Han Lu felt it unnecessary to trouble Piaomiaozi with the techniques practiced by a mere Qi Refining Level 2 cultivator; Xun Fuchen, a Foundation Establishment Level 1 cultivator, was a perfect fit.

Fu Chen did not refuse Han Lu's request.

Busy with writing and preparing for the competition, Fu Chen took some of his precious time to teach Han Lu magic.

Fu Chen wasn't surprised that Han Lu had advanced to the second level of Qi Refining so quickly.

Like many others, he was unaware that Han Lu's cultivation of the "Great Circulation Water Condensation Technique" required opening so many acupoints to advance her cultivation level.

In his view, it was quite normal for a disciple of a Golden Core cultivator to cultivate faster than an ordinary cultivator.

"Junior sister, what kind of magic do you want to learn?"

This question stumped Han Lu.

When she was on Fengbai Road, she preferred to rely on the power of the spirit sword, and although she was not a sword cultivator, she was better than one.

As a rogue cultivator, Xiaoyaozi possessed a rich and complex array of techniques and secret arts, and he did not favor any particular type of technique in order to defend himself against enemies.

“Well then, little master,” Han Lu tossed the question back to Fu Chen, “what spells do you think I should prepare for the competition?”

"Tell me the spells you know first, and I'll help you fill in any gaps in your knowledge." Fu Chen guided Han Lu step by step, following his own train of thought.

Han Lu briefly introduced the several magical techniques she knew that could be used in combat.

Fu Chen would occasionally ask a few questions to find out exactly what Han Lu, the client, needed.

He even made Han Lu use the Five Elements Qi to satisfy his curiosity.

In the end, Fu Chen came to a conclusion that he believed to be correct.

"Junior sister, the spells you know are all very practical, but you are still lacking some special spells that can be used at special times."

"Alright, I'll teach you two techniques that should come in handy during the competition."

"One of them is called the Water Prison Trap."

"As the name suggests, it involves using spiritual power and spells to set up a trap anywhere. When a cultivator steps on it, it will activate a water prison, trapping them inside and making them at your mercy for a short period of time."

"Because Qi Refining cultivators can neither fly on swords nor fly through the air, this move is very practical."

"However, the strength of the water prison depends on your use of magic and the amount of spiritual power you use when casting the spell."

"In addition, it will take some effort to set up the water prison trap in a suitable location."

"A water prison trap that cannot be triggered serves no purpose other than wasting your spiritual power."

Fu Chen explained the advantages and disadvantages of the "water prison trap" to Han Lu in a few words, and then demonstrated it in front of Han Lu.

Looking at the trap, which was as big as a throne, Han Lu was puzzled. "Only a blind person would step on something this big."

"That depends on how you use it. When low-level cultivators fight, it's not just about magic power, but also about intelligence." Fu Chen pointed to his temple, not continuing on the topic, but giving Han Lu room to develop and think.

"That's a good move," Han Lu nodded. "And what's the second move?"

"The second move is also a relatively practical technique in combat between low-level cultivators," Fu Chen continued, "Ice Mirror Illusion."