The Long Journey to Immortality

The Luoxia Guqin in front of Xiao Hao was purchased from a Foundation Establishment cultivator a few days ago. It was only of the lower eighth grade quality, but it still cost him eleven spirit stones.

This guqin can help Qi Refining cultivators unleash mental attacks targeting the soul, which is the fundamental reason why Xiao Hao was willing to spend a lot of money to buy it.

In Xiao Hao's view, ordinary Qi Refining cultivators could not possibly master the techniques and secret arts of soul defense.

With his mastery of the ancient zither and magical implements, he is sure to shine in the competition and achieve consecutive victories.

When Xiao Hao bought the guqin, the Foundation Establishment cultivator kindly gifted him five sets of musical scores.

When using spiritual power to play different musical scores, different soul attack effects will be produced.

Xiao Hao is currently playing the only piece of music that this tone-deaf man, who has almost no musical talent, has managed to memorize in the past few days.

“1155665,4433221…” Following the fingering he had memorized, Xiao Hao awkwardly plucked and pressed the strings.

The sound of the guqin echoed through the air within the barrier of the arena, naturally reaching Han Lu's ears.

Han Lu indeed didn't know any spells or secret techniques to defend against soul attacks, but when she saw Xiao Hao just playing the zither and casting spells, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Not only did it dispel the Five Elements Qi on its body, but it also slowed down its movement speed slightly.

Han Lu now seems more like she's taking a relaxing stroll to the accompaniment of music than fighting in a ring.

"By now, Han Lu must be dizzy and unable to move on the ring."

The piece of music played by Xiao Hao has the effect of making opponents dizzy, seeing stars, or even fainting, making it quite suitable for use in a competition.

It will not cause irreparable damage to the souls of fellow disciples, and it will also lead to victory.

The best of both worlds.

Thinking of this, Xiao Hao slowed down the speed of his playing, diverting some of his attention to raise his eyes to see what Han Lu looked like now.

To everyone's surprise, when Xiao Hao saw Han Lu's clear and bright eyes, he was so shocked that he lost control of his clumsy fingers and pressed the wrong note.

"What? It had no effect at all? Was I playing too slowly?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Hao's hands moved even faster, flying rapidly across the seven strings of the guqin.

Half of Xiao Hao's spiritual power was poured into the guqin, and the other half into his ten fingers.

With all its might, the sound even formed faint, light-colored ripples in the air as it hurtled towards Han Lu.

In this situation, an ordinary cultivator would have already fallen for Xiao Hao's tricks and been defeated.

However, possessing the true spirit bloodline of the phoenix, she was not affected by the sound of the guqin in the slightest.

In Han Lu's ears, everything now was just Xiao Hao, this clumsy performer, playing a not-so-pleasant piece of music.

The cultivators watching from below arena number ten were also full of questions.

Protected by the arena's restrictions, they could only hear the songs and would not be harmed.

"What, you've switched from magic duels to talent shows?"

"This piece of music makes me want to sleep."

"Can't you just play properly?"

"Will this beautiful woman be performing a dance to the music later?"

……

When Han Lu strolled up to Xiao Hao, he had also exhausted all his spiritual power. Using the Luoxia Guqin, which had fallen to the ground without spiritual support, as a crutch, he barely managed to stand on the arena.

Looking at Han Lu, Xiao Hao, knowing he was powerless to fight her, asked unwillingly, "Senior Sister Han, why doesn't my music work on you?"

Han Lu naturally wouldn't tell Xiao Hao the correct answer at this time. She made up a story, "It's probably because you played so badly."

After speaking, Han Lu simply concentrated her spiritual energy into her right hand, increasing her power several times over in a short period of time.

Grabbing Xiao Hao by the collar, Han Lu threw him, along with his instrument, off the stage.

Xiao Hao flew for about seventeen or eighteen meters in the air before crashing into the barrier at the edge of the arena and falling to the ground.

Touching the defensive barriers of the arena is considered being knocked out of the arena.

The match ended, and the restrictions on the arena were lifted immediately after everything happened. The academy monks who acted as referees stood outside the arena, recording the results with a pen while announcing the outcome.

"Han Lu wins."

[Author's Note] Daily updates, available on Fridays, with a slight delay in daily updates.

Chapter Ninety-Two: Senior Sister Han

After the first round of the competition ended, Han Lu did not linger at the arena for too long. After confirming that the academy cultivators had not registered the results incorrectly, she left immediately.

That morning, Han Lu only had one match.

Xiao Hao, who had been thrown face-first by Han Lu, was filled with doubt.

He didn't believe Han Lu's answer.

Even as the doctor examined his injuries, he kept thinking about the battle he had just fought.

"It must be that Han Lu. As a disciple of a Golden Core Elder, she must have some magical treasures or talismans that can protect the soul and defend against soul attacks, which is why my plan failed."

"That must be it."

"If there are any problems in the next match, I will go and settle accounts with the senior brother who sold me the guqin."

After undergoing the examination, Xiao Hao looked resentful and watched two more fights by the arena before leaving.

Having figured out the answer to the problem, Xiao Hao considered it an accident and resolved to use his lunch break to practice the piece he had just played again, hoping to avoid a similar situation in the afternoon's competition.

Xiao Hao was quite lucky to deduce the correct approach from the wrong answer.

Having won the first game in a strange way, Han Lu didn't feel anything particularly special.

She simply felt she was lucky, and at the same time, she became even more interested in the bloodline within her.

Both from Xiaoyaozi's words and from the strange battle just now, it is proven that Han Lu does indeed possess the bloodline of a true spirit called "Phantom Phoenix" in Xiaoyaozi's words.

As for where this bloodline comes from.

Han Lu pondered this question in the cave, but had no clue.

Now, as Han Lu sits in the courtyard, petting her cat, she still has no clue about the problem.

Han Lu discovered that she knew very little about her own background.

Although she lived in seclusion in the mountains for nearly 14 years with her mother, her understanding of her mother was almost as good as that of her father, whom she had never met.

Aside from knowing that her mother came from the Northern Dynasty and eloped with her father to that mountain forest, and that her mother's surname was Han, Han Lu knew nothing else.

However, between her father and mother, Han Lu felt that the true spirit bloodline within her was more likely from her mysterious father.

"Could it be that I was conceived because a cultivator with true spiritual bloodline eloped with my mother?"

"Or perhaps my father was simply a powerful spirit who took human form, played among humans, and had an intimate encounter with my mother?"

Thinking too much about things that lack information and evidence can be a real headache.

Her mother's background in the Northern Dynasties and her surname Han became the only clues Han Lu possessed.

After thinking for a moment, Han Lu gave up on pursuing the matter further.

"Perhaps I will be able to find the answer when I advance to the Golden Core stage."

Han Lu had no intention of researching matters related to "True Spirit" with her mere Qi Refining Level 2 cultivation. What she should be doing now was peacefully enjoying the benefits that her bloodline had unintentionally brought her.

During lunch, the starkly different expressions on the faces of the various disciples of the Zhengyi Sect in the dining hall gave Han Lu a deeper understanding of the saying "some are happy, some are sad."

The cultivators who took the lead and won the first or even the second match were all smiles, chatting and laughing with their equally victorious companions.

Those cultivators who lost the first match or even the second match entered a state of "self-isolation," their faces filled with sorrow.

Eating in silence became the only thing they wanted to do in the canteen.

Fortunately, the competition has only just begun.

Otherwise, some cultivators with weaker mental fortitude might burst into tears over their lost livelihoods, venting their sadness.

In the afternoon, Han Lu also went to the Dongshan Academy's arena area early.

On the first afternoon, she has two matches to play.

They are located in arena number three and arena number seven, respectively.

Having participated in many major competitions, Han Lu was quite experienced. She first checked which stage she was assigned to on each of the two arenas before choosing to wait on stage number seven, where she was scheduled to be the third to appear.

The competition lasted three days, and each Zhengyi Sect disciple had to participate in at least seven matches. The entire schedule was very relaxed for individuals, but it was quite tight for the behemoth that was Zhengyi Sect.

In the first two and a half days, the academy needed to complete all the students' first seven matches with the assistance of various departments.

In the last half day, the sect not only had to determine which disciples needed to participate in the additional matches, but also had to arrange the match schedule and complete the competition within half a day to determine the "useless" and the disciples who would ultimately participate in the top 64 at each level.

In the second round of the competition, a total of 640 Qi Refining cultivators from various realms who advanced to the second round will be gathered at the Five Elements Mountain Academy. Under the watchful eyes of many fellow disciples, dozens of Golden Core elders, and three sect leaders, they will fight for honor and rewards.

In the second round, Han Lu encountered a cultivator from the East Mountain Academy who was inexplicably troubled.

Once on stage, during the identity verification process, Mo Mingchou took the initiative to greet Han Lu, saying, "Hello, Senior Sister Han."

"Okay, okay." Han Lu looked at the other person's face and felt that the cultivator named Mo Mingchou looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.

Seeing Han Lu's expression, Mo Mingchou guessed that Han Lu didn't remember him at all, so he quickly introduced himself to ease the awkwardness.

“A few months ago, I was a bit arrogant and carried away. I went to Senior Sister Han’s courtyard with some fellow disciples, thinking of challenging her.”

This remark reminded Han Lu of when she had last seen this mysteriously sorrowful man.

He was one of the cultivators who, after witnessing Han Lu's true talent and skills during the challenge that day, lost heart and surrendered.

"Oh, it's you," Han Lu said. She felt that their first meeting that day was not pleasant, and she didn't want to bring up the past and reopen old wounds. She simply said, "Today we can have a proper fight."

“Yes,” Mo Mingchou recalled the scene when he received the paper sword. “At that time, I was a little surprised to see Senior Sister Han’s name. I wondered if there was someone with the same name as Senior Sister Han. I didn’t expect that Senior Sister Han was indeed a high-ranking disciple of Elder Piaomiao. I didn’t expect that in just a few months, she had cultivated from the Dao Child Realm to the second level of Qi Refining.”

"It truly proves the saying, 'A scholar should be viewed with new eyes after three days of separation.'"

Han Lu was a little uncomfortable with Mo Mingchou's straightforward praise and flattery.

She was familiar with only a few cultivators, among whom Zhan Yuyun, the only one who should call her senior sister, always addressed her by her given name.

The inexplicable sorrow made Han Lu feel comfortable by calling out "Senior Sister Han" a few times.

Fortunately, the academy's cultivators had already verified the identities of the two, stepped down from the arena, and reminded them to prepare for the match.