The Long Journey to Immortality

Han Lu didn't keep them in suspense and started by talking about what she had gained.

"I found a guest room in Xuanxuan Village where the phantom phoenix had stayed temporarily."

“In that guest room, I found a piece of hair left behind by the phantom phoenix, as well as some spiritual energy.”

"With these two tokens, a diviner like Erya should be able to perform divination to determine the approximate location of the other party, and then plan to track, capture, or eliminate them."

After sharing her gains and her thoughts on how to utilize them, Han Lu then telepathically communicated with Daoist Qingxu, explaining how she had used her methods in Xuanxuan Village to obtain such a substantial harvest.

After transmitting seven or eight sentences in his voice, explaining the situation in detail, Qingxu Daoist was already laughing out loud in his heart.

"Han Lu, you did a good job," Qingxu Daoist said, though he was talking about official business, he addressed Han Lu by her real name to express his feelings. "Since that phoenix left Xuanxuan Village a month ago, there's no rush to use the two tokens you found to locate her."

"First, sit down and watch the competition. After the competition is over, I will invite you and Elder Wen to come to my place to try to use these two things to divine the whereabouts of that phantom phoenix."

Master Qingxu knew very well that rushing this matter would not yield any results.

Since that's the case, it's better to put it aside for now and wait until the most important event, the Grand Competition, is over before organizing forces to deal with this "explosive symbol" buried in the Central Plains.

"Yes, I will listen to the sect leader. If there is anything I can do to help during future searches, please don't hesitate to ask." Han Lu was as eager as ever to participate in these field missions in order to repay the sect and have less guilt and remorse when she left the Zhengyi Sect.

“That’s natural,” Qingxu Daoren already had a rough list in mind. “Han Lu, you are of the same kind as that phantom phoenix from the East. Whether you capture, kill, or subdue her, you will have a place to use your skills in whatever way you deal with her.”

"However, I will not arrange for you to handle this matter for the next month. You should prepare well for the sparring match with Elder Xinshan."

Although he was the sect leader, Daoist Qingxu still distinguished between close and distant relatives.

Qingxu Daoist did not like Xinshan Jushi, a "recluse" who rarely participated in sect affairs.

Naturally, in order to remain as neutral as possible, Qingxu Daoist hoped that Han Lu could win.

Although Han Lu didn't take Xinshan Hermit seriously, she was slightly apprehensive about whether she could defeat him with the strength of a human cultivator alone.

"Sect Master, of course I have taken this matter to heart," Han Lu said, not one to back down. "In fact, I already have a general idea of ​​how to deal with Elder Xinshan."

"Tell me about it," Qingxu Daoist asked curiously.

"It's not a secret," Han Lu replied, "It's thanks to the spirit sword."

Qingxu Daoist recalled the spirit sword and sword formation that Han Lu used when she fought Xianyu Ji the day before, and he had more confidence in Han Lu.

"That's a good idea. It fits that inexplicable rule you and Elder Xinshan set together."

Qingxu Daoist had no "racial discrimination" and did not believe that the power Han Lu obtained through bloodline did not belong to her.

After offering a compliment, Qingxu Daoist said some words about "harmony brings wealth," hoping that the two could bury the hatchet after a friendly spar.

Han Lu dared not make any guarantees, "No matter what the outcome is, it all depends on Elder Xinshan's performance."

"I don't have the weird habit of deliberately running into obstacles."

Master Qingxu expressed his understanding, saying, "I will also help mediate, and I hope you can reconcile with Elder Xinshan."

"Aside from having a bad temper and not liking to communicate with people, he has no other flaws."

After saying a few kind words, Master Qingxu changed the subject and asked about "Kongdu".

"Kong Du has good talent, but he is unlucky. He was unable to participate in the two minor competitions for various reasons, and he has encountered difficulties again in this major competition."

"I felt sorry for him and admired him greatly, so I took pity on him and accepted him as my disciple."

“If I were in the sect, he would follow me in cultivation.”

"If he had not yet advanced to the Golden Core Realm when I left the Zhengyi Sect, I would ask my disciple Qiu Peng to take care of him."

"In that case, it shouldn't violate the sect's rules, right?"

With a brief explanation, Han Lu successfully arranged for Kong Du of Zhongshan Academy to become an apprentice of Elder Zhenfeng of Dongshan Academy through Qingxu Daoist.

On the second day of the competition, Wen Erya and Xiao Ran continued their lively conversation, but this time they did not leave Han Lu out in the cold.

Although Han Lu only had one grand-disciple participating in the competition, the fact that Wen Er Ya's many disciples were still fighting on the stage meant that the three of them always had topics to discuss about the competition.

With Han Lu involved, the interactions between the three became less ambiguous and more serious.

The second day's matches were much more exciting than the first, with more evenly matched duels taking place on the stage.

In particular, the duel between the highest group, where several disciples at the eleventh and twelfth levels of Qi Refining competed on the arena, finally piqued the interest of the Golden Core cultivators on the viewing platform.

Even Nian Haoge would occasionally open his eyes to watch the battle, and at certain times join Han Lu and the other two in their "chat group" to express his opinions and feelings.

Hongtong continued to win in the two matches on the second day.

After winning every battle, they successfully advanced to the top four in the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Judging from the performance of Guan Hongtong and his three other potential rivals, Han Lu was convinced that her grand-disciple had a great chance of winning the championship and bringing honor to herself.

Chapter 1092

Some are happy, some are sad.

When a few disciples of certain elders perform well, the disciples of other elders will naturally perform slightly worse in the competition.

Meanwhile, the three outer disciples at each level became highly sought-after by the elders.

Some elders who still have the capacity but lack outstanding disciples have begun to consider setting aside their seniority and taking the initiative to recruit them.

Although the disciples' performance in the competition has no effect on the elders' status in the sect or the "benefits" they receive each month, most elders see it as a matter of face.

It's like parents comparing their children to those of other parents.

If a disciple has high cultivation, performs exceptionally well in the competition, and ultimately achieves the Golden Core stage, then the master will feel proud and "become superior to others."

The sect strongly supports this kind of competition.

After all, it doesn't require the sect to spend extra resources, yet it allows more talented people to receive careful cultivation, which is a wonderful thing.

If Han Lu's newly accepted disciple, Kong Du, is able to participate in this competition, he will certainly stand out, if not advance to the top four.

Gaining the favor of a Golden Core Elder and being accepted as a disciple is not a pipe dream.

However, it is unlikely that he could form such a "master-disciple relationship" with Han Lu.

The greatest joy in becoming an apprentice is naturally to become an apprentice of a cultivator you have admired since childhood.

After the competition ended that day, Han Lu symbolically performed another "qi-regulating treatment" on Kong Du, and then, in her authoritative capacity, announced that the hidden dangers in his body had been completely eliminated and that he could leave.

Han Lu had no intention of sending Kong Du away, and Kong Du also wanted to stay with his master for a few more days to cultivate.

Therefore, after some discussion, Han Lu made some changes to her arrangements for Kong Du.

On the third day of the competition, Kong Du will watch the battle with his senior brother Qiu Peng, receiving instruction from Qiu Peng while watching, just like Han Lu disguised as the "Fairy of the Qin" that day.

Kong Du will stay with Han Lu for at least five days, where Han Lu will personally guide him.

Once Kong Du has completed all the procedures for moving to Dongshan Academy and has been assigned an inner disciple residence, he will leave Han Lu's place and enjoy the high-level treatment of an inner disciple, living and residing on his own.

With a few days left to train her apprentices, Han Lu naturally made some minor changes to her training plan.

That evening, she first had a "sparring" session with Kong Du in the training room to assess the new disciple's combat strength, and then formulated a more precise training plan based on the various strengths and weaknesses that Kong Du displayed during the training.

Play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses.

Han Lu wasn't in a hurry. Her plan for Kong Du was to advance to the Foundation Establishment Realm within five years with the cultivation level of the twelfth level of Qi Refining, laying a solid foundation for the future.

Once you become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you can make a name for yourself in the Foundation Establishment realm's grand competition.

This arrangement is not forced or rushed; in fact, it can be said to be quite lenient, far less demanding than Han Lu's requirements for Nian Haoge.

Kong Du was well aware of his own limitations and had no objections. He simply worked harder and more diligently during his cultivation, hoping to complete the task ahead of schedule and receive a few words of praise from his idol.

Like any other cultivator, Kong Du, a native of the Central Plains, aimed to advance to the Golden Core realm.

With exemplary figures like Senior Sister Nian Haoge already existing in Han Lu's lineage, he naturally hoped to achieve success, bring honor to his ancestors, and give his cultivation path a proper conclusion.

The third day of the competition was also the last day of the Qi Refining Realm competition.

The huge arena that Han Lu used to spar with Xianyu Ji on the first day came in handy.

To make the battles in the ring more realistic, the final match of each weight class will be held on this ring.

Therefore, the tricks and techniques for fighting in the ring that Han Lu summarized could no longer be used.

The contest between the two cultivators on the arena was closer to their fundamental strength than to some "test-taking skills".

This is a test for the participating disciples, but it also makes the already exciting competition even more interesting.

The unique venue rules also made the final winner of this competition even more deserving of the "championship title," a truly well-deserved honor.

This was coupled with the "more rewards" promised by Daoist Qingxu at the start of the competition.

This year, the teams that advanced to the semifinals have a much stronger desire for the final championship than in previous years.

At this point, besides watching the excitement, Han Lu was naturally most concerned about her grand-disciple Hong Tong.

In Han Lu's opinion, although Hong Tong's performance was only average, it was still quite good.

"Although he may not be able to advance to the Golden Core Realm, it should not be a problem for him to become famous in the sect and become a cultivator who cultivates both internal and external skills in the future."

When Wen Erya asked Han Lu to evaluate her grand-disciple, this was her answer.

Compared to Han Lu's grand-disciple, Wen Erya, whose disciples have not yet "born" a Golden Core cultivator, has higher requirements for them.

She placed high hopes on the only two disciples who advanced to the final four.

In addition, Wen Erya regarded her three disciples, who had already reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, as "treasures".

She arranged for the three to form a team and bestowed upon each a mid-level or higher magical artifact, hoping that they would perform well in the competition.

Even if we don't compare it to the "feat" she and Han Lu accomplished when they first participated in the competition, they at least managed to overcome obstacles in the secret realm and achieve a top-five ranking.

Xiao Ran, on the other hand, although he has been a member of the Zhengyi Sect for almost ten years, has not yet taken on a single disciple.

It was thanks to his enthusiasm for sect affairs that he helped the sect's treasury handle at least three matters, big and small, every year; otherwise, even the introducer, Han Lu, would have been gossiped about behind her back by some elders.

Even after joining the sect, Xiao Ran retained the temperament of a rogue cultivator and was not interested in taking on disciples.

In his view, taking on apprentices is like dating.

He only wanted to find a suitable disciple to inherit his mantle, rather than casting a wide net like other elders.

This kind of thinking has a certain ancient cultivation style.

Back in the ancient cultivation era, due to the scarcity of cultivation resources and the absence of sects, most cultivators treated the matter of accepting disciples with this attitude.

It's an exaggeration to say that one expects disciples to help "take care of one's old age and see one off in death" like family, but almost all ancient cultivators hoped that their disciples could fully grasp and carry forward what they had learned in their lives.