The Long Journey to Immortality

Coincidentally, Duan Xiaoxuan was the kind of cultivator who was fond of cultivation and combat, and the topic that Qiu Peng wanted to talk about was exactly what she wanted to discuss with Qiu Peng as soon as possible.

So, before the two even stepped off the stage, they were already close together, exchanging enthusiastic conversations and discussing their gains and losses during the battle.

Thus, in Han Lu and Mo Zhehan's view, their disciples had clearly already become acquainted.

“That’s good,” Han Lu also hoped that Qiu Peng could have another cultivator to accompany him, just like her two best friends.

Qiu Peng clearly misunderstood Han Lu's meaning when she praised him.

He took Han Lu's words as a compliment on his impressive performance in the ring.

At the same time, Mo Zhehan encouraged Duan Xiaoxuan and assigned her a task.

“Xiaoxuan is a cultivator from the Zixiao Sect. It would be safer for her to accompany you to that mine,” Mo Zhehan made up a reason. “After all, you come from the Central Plains. If you go there with my ‘letter of introduction,’ you might encounter difficulties.”

"With Xiaoxuan by your side, you should be able to resolve these unnecessary little troubles."

"This way, Xiaoxuan can also see a cultivator forming their core and get a feel for it from afar," Mo Zhehan patted the shoulder of the disciple beside him and pushed her toward where Han Lu was standing. "When Xiaoxuan forms her core ten years later, she will have more experience."

"Han Lu, you must take good care of Xiao Xuan."

When he said his last words, Mo Zhehan's eyes held a meaningful look.

Han Lu smiled and reached out to help Duan Xiaoxuan, who was walking towards her, saying, "Don't worry, we'll be back in a few days."

Qiu Peng, standing to the side, couldn't hide his smile; his thoughts had even drifted from the matter of Core Formation to Duan Xiaoxuan.

After spending about a day at the Zixiao Sect, Han Lu and her group resumed their journey.

This time, the three-person team became a four-person team, with Duan Xiaoxuan, who grew up in the Jitian Palace of Jitian Mansion, becoming the guide and helping Qiu Peng, who was piloting the ark, to point the way.

Han Lu and Feng Ruyi tacitly refrained from disturbing Qiu Peng, who was experiencing his first romance.

The two phoenixes nestled inside the ark and, for the first time, began to discuss some more interesting and private matters.

Feng Ruyi was curious about the lives of the true spirits in this world.

Han Lu was also curious whether the phoenixes in the Eastern Land were also divided into nine types, and how they differed from them.

When Han Lu talked about the life of the phoenixes in the Three Phoenix Forest, Feng Ruyi showed her longing and yearning.

Looking at this kinsman who was originally a stranger but is now gradually becoming familiar, Han Lu vaguely felt that there must be some sad reasons why she was arranged to come to the Central Plains.

Although she longed for a peaceful life, Feng Ruyi did not deny her hometown.

She reminisced about her life from childhood to adulthood, trying her best to select the beautiful things that Han Lu could praise and say them aloud.

A pair of phoenixes sat on the magical ark, opening their hearts to talk about things that were not important but were comforting and pleasant.

It only took three hours to get from the Zixiao Sect to that soon-to-be-abandoned mine.

When Han Lu and her group arrived at the mine, there was still a day and a half before the optimal time for Core Formation.

There were two Golden Core cultivators present, along with the "letters of introduction" from Duan Xiaoxuan and Mo Zhehan.

With the East-West relations in full swing, Han Lu and her group entered the heart of the mine without any problems.

Three disciples of the Extreme Heaven Palace have already gathered here, hoping to take this opportunity to successfully form their core.

Among them, only one received the same treatment as Qiu Peng, having a Golden Core Realm master by his side to experience this most important moment for cultivators in the mortal realm.

"Qiu Peng, let me do another detailed divination for you and help you choose a good place to form your core."

As she spoke, Han Lu summoned a mist of water with one hand and used her water divination technique, which she had mastered to a high level.

Guided by the water flow, Han Lu found the most advanced Core Formation site among the three mines.

Naturally, all three Core Formation sites have already been occupied and occupied by cultivators from the Extreme Heaven Palace.

Instead of abusing her power, Han Lu chose to help her disciple pay a toll for passage.

In exchange for helping one of the resource-poor cultivators from the Extreme Heaven Palace to make extensive preparations for Core Formation in another mediocre Core Formation site, Han Lu found a Feng Shui treasure land for Qiu Peng.

"Let's work together," Han Lu said, returning to Qiu Peng's side and calling on Qiu Peng and Duan Xiaoxuan to cooperate. "Listen to my instructions, everyone work together."

Of course, Han Lu could do this job by herself.

However, in order to give her disciple a greater sense of participation, create some opportunities for him, and incidentally pass on some experience to Duan Xiaoxuan, she chose to cooperate.

With many hands making light work, everything Qiu Peng needed for his Core Formation was arranged in less than a quarter of an hour.

Chapter 1105

The group sat down on the ground, and Han Lu fulfilled her promise to Mo Zhehan by passing on her experience and knowledge in this area to Duan Xiaoxuan in the newly prepared Core Formation Ground.

These things were already old news to Qiu Peng, but he still listened very carefully and asked questions at appropriate times, trying his best to act as a teaching tool so that Duan Xiaoxuan could learn more and more from them.

It must be said that Qiu Peng has high emotional intelligence. It seems that through his brief contact with Duan Xiaoxuan, he learned what this woman from the Great Yu Dynasty was interested in and how to try to win her heart.

In the short half-hour that Han Lu was teaching, the relationship between Qiu Peng and Duan Xiaoxuan progressed rapidly.

It is worth mentioning that while everyone was waiting for the best time to form their core, a third Golden Core cultivator, besides Han Lu and Feng Ru, unexpectedly came to visit.

The reason for his visit was not surprising; it was because he recognized Han Lu.

“I still vividly remember the fierce battle between Fairy Han and Senior Brother Mo on the arena,” the cultivator who called himself Pu Dan Dao Ren recalled. “I often talk about that battle with my disciples.”

"Back then, for some reason, I had complete confidence in Fairy Han's combat power, and I actually bet all twenty spirit stones in my storage bag on Fairy Han's side."

"Back then, some of my friends laughed at me quite a bit," Pu Dan Dao Ren recalled with a smile, "but in the end, I won a lot of spirit stones, while they were frustrated and lost everything."

"Speaking of which, I owe my current success to Fairy Han's brilliant performance back then."

Feng Ruyi was unaware of Han Lu's past experience and was quite curious, so she asked, "What kind of wonderful performance was it? Tell me about it."

As everyone listened to Pu Dan Dao Ren's slightly exaggerated description and Han Lu's simple and honest additions, they reminisced about the glorious past Han Lu had left behind in the Ji Tian Palace.

The small conversation that Pu Dan Dao Ren came forward to exchange was just a minor interlude during Qiu Peng's Core Formation, meant to liven up the atmosphere.

Knowing that they weren't actually very close, Pu Dan Dao Ren left after expressing his feelings, without causing Han Lu and the others any trouble.

After setting up several more warning formations around the perimeter, Han Lu and the others closed their eyes to rest and patiently waited for the right time to form their core.

Everything was consistent with the results of the deduction and calculation.

As night fell, a burst of spiritual energy appeared in the mining area.

By the evening of the second day, the spiritual energy in the air had become so concentrated that it brought joy to the cultivators' minds and bodies.

Although Qiu Peng, as a cultivator with a water-attribute spiritual root, is more suited to forming his core in the evening or at night.

However, because of the large amount of spiritual energy in its body, it usually takes one and a half or even two days to form a core, so the exact time when it begins is not particularly important.

"Master, I'm going." Qiu Peng swallowed and asked Han Lu for permission.

Han Lu nodded slightly and said, "Keep it up."

Qiu Peng nodded emphatically and used his sword-flying skills to fly into the spirit-gathering array that had been set up beforehand.

After Han Lu helped activate the formation, he sat cross-legged on the throne in the center of the formation.

He swallowed the elixirs and liquids he had prepared in his storage bag.

Once the medicinal effects had fully taken hold, Qiu Peng began to follow the method of forming a core, activating the solidified spiritual energy within his dantian to form a false core. Using this false core as a foundation, he attempted to take what mortals would consider a step "crossing the gap between immortals and mortals."

All the spiritual energy around him was gathering at the spot where Qiu Peng was sitting, providing a boost to the cultivator who was supplying the pseudo-core with spiritual energy to help it transform into a golden core.

"Let's wait patiently," Han Lu said casually after staring at Qiu Peng intently for a while and confirming that he should be fine. "It should take a day or two."

"Xiaoxuan, tell me about your master."

Han Lu started a conversation, hoping to help the three people protecting her spend these three days in a more relaxed and leisurely manner.

Duan Xiaoxuan and Mo Zhehan are actually related by a distant relationship; Duan Xiaoxuan is a relative of Mo Zhehan's master.

In addition, she had good talent, which is why she became Mo Zhehan's apprentice.

Although they are not related by blood, Mo Zhehan treats Duan Xiaoxuan more like an older brother treats his youngest sister.

Duan Xiaoxuan did not disappoint Mo Zhehan's careful cultivation; her cultivation progressed rapidly, and she was not much inferior to Mo Zhehan back then.

With such a well-matched master and apprentice pair, Han Lu asked Duan Xiaoxuan for her opinion on Mo Zhehan, and naturally received countless positive comments.

In addition, Duan Xiaoxuan also had the idea of ​​helping her master to matchmake because she knew a little about Mo Zhehan and Han Lu's "relationship".

While it wouldn't be accurate to say she "had ulterior motives," Duan Xiaoxuan clearly had "ulterior motives" towards Han Lu.

However, Han Lu noticed Duan Xiaoxuan's little scheme almost immediately after just a few words.

Not knowing what to say, she simply offered no further explanation and let Duan Xiaoxuan lavish praise on Mo Zhehan.

After several shifts in topic, the three of them ended up talking about the wilderness.

Han Lu devoted considerable space to this topic that both Feng Ruyi and Duan Xiaoxuan were quite interested in.

He talked on and on for about two hours before stopping.

In the blink of an eye, a day and a half had passed, and Qiu Peng, who was in the process of forming his core, had reached the most crucial moment.

With two Golden Core cultivators protecting them, no villains dared to disturb them.

The final outcome of this trip will depend entirely on Qiu Peng's usual preparation and performance on the day; there are no other excuses for failure.

"Qiu Peng," Duan Xiaoxuan said, looking at Qiu Peng who was still meditating with his eyes closed not far away, "he should be able to form a first-grade golden core."

With much guidance from Han Lu, Duan Xiaoxuan's understanding of the Golden Core formation process has deepened considerably. She can now make a rough judgment about a cultivator's Golden Core formation time based on the time it takes for the cultivator to form it.

Han Lu nodded slightly and said, "Now is probably the critical point for breaking through from a second-grade Golden Core to a first-grade Golden Core."

"Success or failure hinges on this one move."

At this moment, the weather phenomenon of spiritual energy bursting out was nearing its end, and Qiu Peng had already absorbed most of the spiritual energy in the surrounding air.

At this moment, the amount of spiritual energy remaining in Qiu Peng's dantian became the key to determining the outcome.

At this point, Qiu Peng was like a candle flickering in the wind, clinging to life with only his unwavering devotion to the Tao.

His promise to Han Lu to cultivate a first-grade golden elixir became one of the driving forces that kept him going.

20%...

One-tenth...

Half-finished...

At this moment, the medicinal power remaining in Qiu Peng's body from the spiritual plants he had previously ingested exerted its final effect, pulling Qiu Peng, who was already on the "edge of a cliff," back to safety.