The Long Journey to Immortality

After making their choices, the array in front of Han Lu flickered for a moment before returning to silence.

"Is this alright?" Han Lu was a little worried about this situation, as she didn't have a deep understanding of formations. She was afraid that she might make a mistake and damage the restrictions or formations in this place.

The formation was not set up by Daoist Qingxu, nor did he understand its operating principles. However, because he had performed similar operations several times, Daoist Qingxu was still considered an "authority" in this regard.

He reassured her, "Elder Zhenfeng, there's no need to worry. This formation is designed this way."

"Next, just follow my instructions, touch the True Spirit Totem again to activate the array, and use the small arrangement within to operate the Stealing Heaven Bottle to take out the accumulated spiritual liquid."

Han Lu nodded, "Please enlighten me, Sect Leader."

"By the way, do you have a suitable container to hold the spiritual liquid?" Qingxu Daoist suddenly asked.

Han Lu asked, puzzled, "Which type of vessel is most suitable?"

The Taoist Qingxu replied, "It just needs to be unrelated to plants."

"What about curling?" Han Lu habitually chose her favorite vessel.

Master Qingxu nodded, "This is acceptable."

Upon hearing this, Han Lu quickly conjured a curling stone with a lid in the air.

It's only the size of a palm, but that size is enough to hold ten thousand drops of spiritual liquid.

"good."

After praising the evidence, Qingxu Daoist then handed Han Lu a jade tablet.

Han Lu was already very familiar with the process.

After reading the method for controlling the formation contained in the jade tablet, he immediately destroyed the jade tablet to prevent the information from being leaked.

Following the instructions in the jade tablet, she touched the spirit rhinoceros beast, peacock, and serpent totem in front of her in turn to reactivate the formation that had just rested for a moment.

"Next..."

After the formation was fully activated, Han Lu made a hand seal, directing the formation set up by the senior members of the Zhengyi Sect to work for her. It helped her, as a Golden Core cultivator, to activate the Stealing Heaven Bottle in front of her and extract all the spiritual liquid that had naturally accumulated inside.

The array activated, and specks of light converged on the dull black bottle located on the stone platform in the center of the array.

As Han Lu poured nearly a third of her spiritual power into the bottle, a structure resembling a lever was created between her and the Stealing Heaven Bottle.

Now, she can rely on the power of a Golden Core cultivator to activate this supreme treasure, which even a Nascent Soul cultivator would find difficult to use.

Following the instructions in the jade tablet, Han Lu slowly circulated the spiritual power that had been injected into the formation.

Immediately afterwards, a faint blue light appeared inside the black body of the Stealing Heaven Bottle.

"Is this the form of the spiritual liquid inside the bottle?"

Han Lu muttered something to herself and then stopped thinking about it, focusing on using the technique she had just mastered.

After a hundred breaths, the light blue glow gathered into a ball, flowing within the Stealing Heaven Bottle along with the slightly trembling stone platform.

After completing the task of gathering the spiritual liquid accumulated in the Heaven-Stealing Bottle, Han Lu's next task was to tilt the bottle slightly to collect and store the spiritual liquid.

Pouring out a treasure like the Heaven-Stealing Bottle is not as simple as pouring out an ordinary teacup or teapot.

In reality, the Heaven-Stealing Bottle, which weighs only three ounces, becomes as heavy as a boulder weighing tens of millions of pounds once activated.

Without the aid of an array, even if Han Lu tried her best, she would not be able to move this treasure that had not yet recognized its owner.

Nearly a third of the spiritual energy was spent on the formation, and the Stealing Heaven Bottle, which contained the spiritual liquid that could stimulate the growth of countless spiritual plants, tilted slightly.

At just a small angle, the spiritual liquid in the bottle flowed out under the guidance of the array.

Although Han Lu was standing about ten steps away from the Stealing Heaven Bottle, it did not prevent her from using her artifact manipulation skills to control the temporarily unclaimed spiritual liquid.

Similar artifact manipulation techniques would be quite difficult for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to perform, but they were incredibly easy for Han Lu.

The entire elixir was controlled without missing a single drop.

It transformed into a light blue stream in the air and flew continuously into the translucent ice pot in Han Lu's hand.

In just five breaths, Han Lu successfully poured all the spiritual liquid into the ice pot.

Carefully closing the lid and drawing out the remaining spiritual energy from the array, Han Lu finally severed her connection with the Heaven-Stealing Bottle, ending her first "close encounter" with this treasure.

How are you feeling?

Qingxu Daoist did not immediately inquire about the state of the spiritual liquid, but instead asked Han Lu how she felt about controlling the treasure.

Han Lu squinted her eyes and took a moment to catch her breath before answering.

"I only controlled this magic weapon with the help of the formation for less than a hundred breaths, and I already felt more tired and exhausted than when I fought against two late-stage Golden Core cultivators."

"Aside from that, I don't have any other particular feelings."

Han Lu spoke the truth and did not exaggerate.

Master Qingxu breathed a sigh of relief, "Elder Zhenfeng's skill is indeed profound."

"Back then, when Sect Leader Xuan Chengzi led me here to collect spiritual liquid, I was dizzy for a full hundred breaths before I came to my senses."

"This treasure is not something that Golden Core cultivators like you and me can control at will."

After a pause, Daoist Qingxu continued, "Since Elder Zhenfeng can now control this magic weapon with ease, I can confidently entrust this task to you."

"Once a month, Elder Zhenfeng can keep five drops of the spiritual liquid obtained each time as a reward."

"Please send the remaining spiritual liquid to the Lingzhi Master, who will be responsible for its allocation and distribution."

Lingzhi Miaoren was naturally recognized by Han Lu, so the next task was neither complicated nor difficult for her.

With her hand firmly gripping the handle of the ice curling stone, Han Lu took advantage of the little time before leaving the cave to ask Qingxu Daoist a few more questions about the Stealing Heaven Bottle.

"Sect Master Qingxu, how did such a precious treasure fall into the hands of my Zhengyi Sect?"

"I remember that when our founder established the Zhengyi Sect, he was only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm."

"Why do you possess such a treasure? And why can you wield it so freely?"

"Could the sect leader please enlighten me?"

Han Lu had always been quite curious about this matter, but there were no detailed records of it in the various libraries of the sect.

She had long heard that Daoist Qingxu was fond of history and chess, and now that he had become the sect leader, he should know many of the more secretive things.

Therefore, she took this opportunity to ask questions to satisfy her curiosity and, incidentally, to increase her understanding of the sect and the black Heaven-Stealing Bottle.

[Author's Note] Time flies by so fast, week after week.

Chapter 1061 Questions and Answers

Just as Han Lu had expected, Qingxu Daoist, who had become the sect leader, still maintained some of the hobbies he had developed during his past cultivation.

The addition of a "chess competition" to the sect's grand competition is an example of this.

The same applies to continuing to uncover the secrets in historical records after having access to some secret manuals and collections.

In addition, as the sect leader, Daoist Qingxu had communicated with many "seniors" in the sect several times, so he naturally knew most of the questions raised by Han Lu.

These questions were not secrets, so Qingxu Daoren happily shared his research findings with Han Lu.

"Elder Zhenfeng's two questions are good, and I do indeed know the answers."

Daoist Qingxu looked at the Stealing Heaven Bottle not far away and said, "Back then, the Central Plains was not as peaceful and harmonious as it is now. It can be said to be the most chaotic period since the end of the Ancient Cultivation Era."

"Heroes emerge in times of chaos, and the founder of the Zhengyi School was one of the most outstanding heroes in those chaotic times."

"Even with only the early stage of Nascent Soul cultivation, he has already achieved several victories against cultivators of higher realms."

"You have to understand that most of the cultivators at that time were veterans of countless battles, so such a record was even more remarkable."

After a brief introduction, Qingxu Daoist finally answered Han Lu's question in detail, "As far as I know, it was a meteorite from outer space that fell from the sky and brought the treasure of the Heaven-Stealing Bottle to our mortal realm."

Therefore, it is generally speculated that this treasure comes from the upper realm.

Finally, he added his own opinion, "I think there's a 70% chance."

Master Qingxu pointed to the stone wall above their heads.

When this topic came up, Han Lu was no longer sleepy.

She then brought up the theory of Senior Hao Cuixing to explain the matter.

Master Qingxu listened very attentively, nodding repeatedly in agreement with this somewhat unconventional theory.

"When the meteorite landed," Daoist Qingxu continued recounting history from ten thousand years ago, "it naturally attracted the attention of countless cultivators."

"At that time, no cultivator discovered the Heaven-Stealing Bottle hidden deep inside the meteorite, and regarded it as an ordinary meteorite."

"Because that meteorite was mainly composed of rock rather than iron, it was considered useless."

"Aside from attracting some attention when it first landed, it has been lying quietly in the ground, with no presence whatsoever."

"However, our sect's founder noticed the extraordinary nature of this meteorite, which was about the size of this cave. He moved it back to the cave and eventually found the Stealing Heaven Bottle hidden deep in the center of the meteorite."

In a few words, Daoist Qingxu got off to a good start, explaining why, in that chaotic era, the founder of the Zhengyi Sect was able to obtain this treasure with only the cultivation of the early Nascent Soul stage.

"Sect Master, how did our patriarch know that this meteorite contained such a priceless treasure as the Heaven-Stealing Bottle?"

Upon hearing this, Han Lu had another question.

Master Qingxu replied, "This question can be answered together with the previous one."

"As far as I know, it was because our ancestor had a fortuitous encounter that he sensed the spirit within the Heaven-Stealing Bottle, a treasure of such great importance, and was able to find this extremely well-hidden treasure with the guidance of the spirit."

"Afterwards, after finding the Heaven-Stealing Bottle, it was only with the help of the artifact spirit that I was able to use this treasure with my Nascent Soul cultivation."

"Because the Stealing Heaven Bottle is useless in battle, the patriarch was able to hide this treasure very well, keeping it a secret from outsiders."

"Relying on this treasure to cultivate spiritual plants and refine elixirs, one can quickly advance in cultivation."

"It was only after advancing to the Nascent Soul Realm that the existence of this treasure was made public in order to attract disciples and strengthen the sect."

At this point, Han Lu's question was finally fully answered.

“So it was because of the artifact spirit, no wonder,” these words raised another question for Han Lu, “What happened after that? After the patriarch ascended to heaven, was the artifact spirit still inside the Heaven-Stealing Bottle?”

"After that, did any elders in the sect speak with the artifact spirit again?"

Han Lu's question was a little crude, but it was very apt, and Qingxu Daoist was able to understand it.

"I don't know that very clearly," Qingxu Daoist said, not trying to be mysterious or to brush Han Lu off with a few words. "I only know that if we can fully control this treasure, producing more than three hundred drops of spiritual liquid a month should not be a problem."