The Long Journey to Immortality

At this moment, she was still a hair's breadth away from completing her twelfth Dan rune.

She estimates that it will take her at most another year and a half to complete it, which will allow her to successfully advance to the late stage of the Golden Core realm.

Three more years passed, and Han Lu's cultivation progress was slightly slower than she had predicted.

One reason for this is that she was laying the groundwork for her cultivation in the later stages of the Golden Core realm, seeking a solid foundation.

In addition, the final cinnabar pattern was more difficult to draw than she had imagined.

Depicting the cinnabar pattern using the outline of the imperial cinnabar is not much simpler than drawing the cinnabar pattern in the blank space.

It's the same technique of water milling.

If it weren't for Han Lu possessing sufficient resources, allowing her to consume a Yellow Dragon Pill for assistance during each cultivation session, and the fact that the cultivation paradise of Hanchan Peak in Dongshan Academy was so conveniently accessible to her, it would be difficult to imagine her achieving this.

Otherwise, it would probably take another three to four years to complete the task and paint the golden elixir with twelve elixir patterns.

That night, Han Lu sat upright in the quiet room atop Cold Cicada Peak, enjoying the abundant spiritual energy within, breathing deeply to provide a continuous source of nourishment for the ongoing cultivation in her dantian.

She sensed that she was about to complete the final cinnabar pattern, which was why she had made such a big fuss, hoping to make it to the next level in one fell swoop.

As the same Dan pattern, which had been drawn nearly ten thousand times, finally took shape, Han Lu, at the age of one hundred and eighteen, successfully advanced to the late stage of the Golden Core realm, becoming a high-level cultivator who was among the elite in the Golden Core realm.

He was able to advance to the late stage of the Golden Core realm before he was even 120 years old.

If Han Lu's achievements were to become public, they would likely make most self-proclaimed geniuses feel ashamed and wish they could destroy all the words they used to praise their talents.

Despite her cultivation level increasing by a small realm, Han Lu didn't feel anything special this time.

"I just feel that once the pattern composed of the twelve Dan patterns is completed, each Dan pattern will be able to exert an additional 20% of its effect."

"Apart from that, it seems that the only change is that the spiritual energy in the dantian has increased slightly."

Han Lu recalled seeing descriptions of the late Golden Core stage in ancient texts and thought to herself, "No wonder many books regard the late Golden Core stage as an artificially defined but not actually existing cultivation level."

"A late-stage Golden Core cultivator does not show significant improvement compared to a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator."

"No wonder that when I fought against Layman Xinshan that day, I didn't find that his being a little higher than me gave him any advantage."

After sitting cross-legged in the quiet room for a quarter of an hour, breathing in spiritual energy, Han Lu finally opened her eyes and spat out her golden core.

The translucent sword pellet is now covered with raised patterns. These patterns, when pieced together, form the twelve pill patterns that Han Lu created during her cultivation in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

Because Han Lu possessed abundant spiritual energy and a solid foundation when she formed her Golden Core, her Golden Core was slightly larger than that of other cultivators.

Looking at the remaining blank space on the golden core, and the small space to draw the thirteenth core pattern, Han Lu suddenly had an idea.

"What if we drew a thirteenth cinnabar pattern on it?"

"Will the resulting Nascent Soul be even more powerful?"

"Will it cause other changes to the Golden Core?"

"Or even upgrade the grade of the sword pellet spirit sword by another level?"

As she imagined it, Han Lu was captivated by this charming idea.

[Author's Note] The money I made from investing in funds this year is almost catching up with the money I made writing this book. I really don't know if it's because of the significant decline in subscriptions this year, or because of the good stock market performance.

Chapter 127 of the first phase

Besides attempting to draw the thirteenth Dan pattern, Han Lu had a plethora of creative ideas about cultivation suddenly come to mind.

There was even an idea to draw golden elixir patterns on beast cores.

This is nothing short of a fantasy.

However, she had no interest in trying any of these creative, bold, and ambitious ideas that lacked precedent and experience to draw upon.

Han Lu is currently on the road to advancing to the Nascent Soul Realm and even the Divine Transformation Realm.

There is absolutely no need to gamble your future like a gambler who only has one chip left.

"If I were to write my memoirs in the future, I would record this idea and leave it for future generations to try."

Calming herself down, Han Lu stopped overthinking, lest she act impulsively and make a terrible mistake she would regret.

The news that Han Lu had successfully advanced to the late stage of the Golden Core realm did not spread immediately.

Only a few of her disciples and Xianyu Ji, who had been the sect leader for nearly ten years, came to congratulate her after hearing the news.

At the celebration held at Han Lu's home, Han Lu shared many of her spiritual experiences with Xian Yuji.

The most important aspect is, of course, the unique way of using Huangji Dan.

Upon hearing the news, Xianyu Ji was overjoyed and hoped to exchange more spiritual liquid for the Imperial Pill in the next official transaction with the Jitian Palace.

This is intended to allow the elders in the sect whose future prospects are bleak to advance to the late Golden Core stage earlier, thus laying the groundwork for them to successfully pass the tribulation and eventually advance to the Nascent Soul stage.

Han Lu also shared her insights from her mid-stage Golden Core cultivation at this time.

Compared to Han Lu's two disciples, Qiu Peng and Nian Haoge, Xianyu Ji, who was neglecting his cultivation due to official duties and was still working hard for the sixth Dan rune, was the one who reaped the most rewards at this time.

As everyone toasted and congratulated Han Lu on her further progress, they also brought her a lot of news.

As the sect leader, Xianyu Ji was undoubtedly the most well-informed cultivator in the Zhengyi Sect.

Although cultivation sects are not as riddled with holes as "governments" or "royal palaces".

However, Xianyu Ji is still willing to share some unimportant secrets with his close friends.

"Han Lu," in private, at Xianyu Ji's request, Han Lu and he still addressed each other by their first names, instead of adding titles that would only create distance between them, "Do you still remember Elder Xinshan, who fought with you more than ten years ago?"

Han Lu nodded and said, "Of course I remember."

She raised her hand and gently cupped it to Xianyu Ji.

The wine in the cup was a spiritual wine that could not intoxicate a Golden Core cultivator at all. It was slightly sweet and was one of the few "spiritual wine drinks" that Han Lu could describe as her favorite.

The crystal glasses clinked together with a crisp sound.

"I still remember back then... when Daoist Qingxu asked me to recommend a few sect leaders, he recommended him." Han Lu brought up an interesting story that she had kept from Xianyu Ji in the past.

Xianyu Ji, who had a similarly indifferent attitude towards wine, only took a small sip before continuing, "Elder Xinshan will attempt to transcend tribulation next month and advance to the Nascent Soul Realm."

This is big news for the Zhengyi Sect.

"Wow!" Han Lu was quite surprised. "I remember Elder Xinshan was only a little over three hundred years old. How could he have already reached the Golden Core stage and the ability to summon heavenly tribulations and attempt to advance to the Nascent Soul stage?"

Han Lu's disciples and grand-disciples present also pricked up their ears, listening with great interest as Sect Master Xianyu, whom they often saw but rarely interacted with, spoke about some important matters in the sect.

Han Lu glanced at Nian Haoge, who was sitting to her left, out of the corner of her eye.

Sure enough, Nian Haoge's expression was now solemn, clearly recalling the story of his "father's" failed tribulation back then, which he had heard from Han Lu.

Xianyu Ji explained, "This is because Elder Xinshan's cultivation method has a unique secret technique regarding the awakening of the Golden Core."

"With this secret technique, Elder Xinshan, who was about 270 years old when he advanced to the late stage of the Golden Core realm, was able to successfully make his Golden Core spiritual in just 50 years."

Han Lu nodded slightly and said, "So, in a month, the sect will organize another observation session to watch Elder Xinshan undergo his tribulation?"

Xianyu Ji swirled his wine glass. "Elder Xinshan refused my request and only privately invited a few friends to help protect me as I secretly undergo my tribulation."

Hearing this solution, Han Lu was initially a little surprised, but after thinking about it carefully, she realized that the person undergoing tribulation was Elder Xinshan, and she felt that there was nothing strange about it.

"Did he refuse the sect's offer of help?" Although Han Lu had reconciled with Elder Xinshan, she still didn't quite approve of some aspects of this fellow elder.

"No," Xianyu Ji said with a hint of helplessness. "I will send the Xiaoyao Umbrella over in a few days. I hope Elder Xinshan can successfully overcome his tribulation and become the first elder to successfully advance to the Nascent Soul Realm during my term."

Generally speaking, the Zhengyi Sect can produce a Nascent Soul Realm Supreme Elder every 150 years. If the sect can add a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator while the sect leader is in office, this is considered an achievement and will affect the sect leader's allowance after "retirement".

Cultivators with extraordinary talent always appear in large numbers. Therefore, during the term of a sect leader, the number of elders with the qualifications and willingness to attempt to trigger the Heavenly Tribulation to advance to the late Golden Core stage of the Nascent Soul realm varies, and it is unknown how many will ultimately succeed in overcoming the tribulation.

During the more than seventy years that Qingxu Daoren and Xuanchengzi served as sect leaders, it was a time when the Zhengyi Sect was producing a great number of talented individuals, with geniuses flocking to the Golden Core realm to undergo tribulations.

Over the course of seventy years, four cultivators at the late Golden Core stage actually attempted it.

Of these four cultivators, only one successfully advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm, while two of the other three failed, their cultivation regressing to the mid-Golden Core stage.

Nian Haoge's father, Elder Haoge, was the best among the four. He was the first among this group of cultivators to undergo tribulation, the first to fail, and the only unlucky one to die under the lightning tribulation.

The probability of 41% is less than 50% under normal circumstances, which is the biggest regret during the tenure of Qingxu Daoren and Xuanchengzi.

none of them.

Although Xianyu Ji didn't particularly care about the exact amount of the allowance after adding or subtracting points according to the rules, he still hoped that the sect could have more Nascent Soul Realm elders.

Even Elder Xinshan, who was somewhat selfish and not particularly concerned about sect affairs.

Xianyu made a wish in a low voice, "I hope Elder Xinshan can change his personality after advancing to the next level."

"I hope so," Han Lu replied dismissively.

Han Lu firmly believed that a person's nature is hard to change.

During the subsequent banquet, everyone chatted freely, without regard to social status, sharing interesting stories they had heard.

They drank and joked around until late at night before finally breaking up.

A month later, the results of Xinshan Jushi's tribulation reached Han Lu's ears.

The ending wasn't good, but it wasn't the worst either.

Xinshan Jushi failed to overcome his tribulation but was fortunate enough to survive.

His cultivation level did not decline, but he lost a hundred years of his lifespan due to the lightning tribulation.

Upon hearing the news, Han Lu didn't offer much comment, only letting out a sigh for Xinshan Jushi, who was also a cultivator.

[Author's Note] Thank you all for your hard work in 2020. Happy New Year!

Chapter 1128

Faced with the hardships and setbacks on the path of cultivation, Han Lu empathized with Xinshan Jushi's failure and felt regret.

Whether from the perspective of the sect, Xinshan Jushi personally, or Han Lu, Xinshan Jushi's failure to transcend the tribulation is a tragic event.

Fortunately, Layman Xinshan did not invite the sect elders to witness the event, otherwise the matter would have spread widely, briefly filling the Zhengyi Sect with an atmosphere of sorrow.

Nothing is more heartbreaking for cultivators who are still seeking enlightenment and walking the path of cultivation than the pain of failing at the last minute.

"Alas, what a pity," Han Lu sighed inwardly. "Although Xinshan Jushi is not a good person and his morality is not as outstanding as that of ordinary cultivators from the Central Plains, his strength is still remarkable."

"Even with the help of the Free and Easy Umbrella, I never expected that it would be no match for the lightning tribulation. I barely managed to save my life."