The Long Journey to Immortality

Only when the Golden Core cultivator's Golden Core possesses "spirituality" can he comprehend the method to trigger the Heavenly Tribulation, thus attempting to transcend the tribulation and allowing the Golden Core and himself to be baptized by the Heavenly Tribulation, thereby paving the way for advancing to the Nascent Soul realm.

The method of awakening the Golden Core is not complicated.

One method is to rely on daily practice to nourish oneself with spiritual energy.

Secondly, they rely on external objects, such as elixirs or specific techniques and secret methods.

As a cultivator with abundant resources, Han Lu naturally possessed both qualities and pursued a two-pronged approach.

Back when she was still a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, Han Lu relied on the Thousand-Leaf Golden Lotus and the Spirit Dew Pill to pave the way for the awakening of her Golden Core.

Now, while she is in the late stage of the Golden Core realm and is engaged in daily cultivation, although she cannot feel the changes in her cultivation level or Golden Core brought about by daily cultivation, she is certain that she is definitely more efficient than other cultivators in the matter of "spiritual awakening".

"I hope... I can successfully awaken my spirit within fifty years and advance to the Nascent Soul Realm as soon as possible."

After silently reciting this to herself, Han Lu swallowed a "Golden Spirit Pill" that she used daily during her spiritual awakening cultivation, then narrowed her eyes and entered a meditative state.

Having served as the Pavilion Master for so many years, Master Kucha naturally has a thorough understanding of the Immortal Pavilion's capabilities.

About two days later, after several transmissions, information about the Slaughtering Venerable and the Coffin Venerable was sent back to the Dragon Head Islands via the communication magic artifact.

"Han Lu, the two cultivators you are looking for, Venerable Slaughter and Venerable Coffin, went to the Great Yu Dynasty through a teleportation portal three years ago," the Bitter Tea Hermit told Han Lu, relaying the information he had received.

At the portal connecting the Central Plains to the Great Yu Dynasty, the Immortal Pavilion also set up a shop, which is why the Immortal Pavilion was able to know this information.

"They actually went to the Great Yu Dynasty, and it was three years ago?" Han Lu was quite surprised.

Since the information provided by the Immortal Pavilion is as described, it naturally means that Venerable Slaughter and Venerable Coffin are still within the territory of the Great Yu Dynasty and have not returned to the Central Plains and the East Sea through the teleportation portal.

"So..." Han Lu and Mo Zhehan exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's thoughts.

Since the two are in the Great Yu Dynasty, there is naturally no possibility that they are lying in ambush outside the Dragon and Phoenix Treasury.

There's a 99% chance that nothing dangerous will happen on this trip.

If the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault is indeed located at the location told to Han Lu by the Slaughtering Venerable, and the method to open the treasure vault's door does indeed rely on the blood of the Dragon and Phoenix, then Han Lu and Mo Zhehan will surely return with a full load.

Knowing what was going on, Han Lu thanked the hermit of bitter tea.

Immediately afterwards, Han Lu purchased a detailed sea map of the East China Sea region to avoid being unable to find the entrance to the treasure vault based solely on the few secret words given to her by the Slaughter Venerable.

You must know that time changes everything, and the treasure trove has long since sunk to the bottom of the sea.

Han Lu estimated that even so, it would take her and Mo Zhehan quite a while to find the entrance to the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault once they arrived at the destination.

Without wasting any time, they boarded the ark and projected the nautical chart information from the jade tablet onto the ark's walls using a specific method.

Han Lu then began to follow the information given by the Slaughtering Venerable, piloting the Ark while searching for the islands called "Pockets" on the sea chart.

"Here."

Mo Zhehan was the first to find the target, pointing with his finger, "It's near the place where we lost track of the Slaughter Venerable last time."

"There are a total of twelve islands, forming a semi-enclosed pocket shape."

"If nothing unexpected happens, the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault is hidden in the seabed at the center of this pocket."

As soon as Mo Zhehan finished speaking, Han Lu marked the location of the Pocket Islands in red. After roughly determining the direction, she controlled the spirit boat to fly towards the Pocket Islands as quickly as possible but in a low-key manner.

Chapter 1132

At Yi Qiyan's wedding banquet, the jade tablet that the Slaughter Venerable gave to Han Lu simply explained the location of the entrance to the "Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault".

This is partly because the location of the treasure vault's entrance is difficult to describe precisely in words, and partly because the Slaughtering Venerable wanted to use this opportunity to test whether Han Lu possessed enough good fortune to secure this chance.

Besides, the Slaughtering Venerable also harbored some selfish motives.

He reasoned that if Han Lu was unable to access the treasure vault for various reasons, it meant that the vault was destined to belong to him and his junior brother, the Venerable Lingjiu. They could return in thirty or even fifty years to seek the help of other dragons and phoenixes and happily accept the resources and magical treasures in the vault.

However, with a comprehensive and accurate sea chart and the help of Mo Zhehan, a sharp-eyed assistant, the small difficulties set up by the Slaughter Venerable did not hinder Han Lu's search journey in the slightest.

Following the nautical chart, Han Lu and Mo Zhehan spent a day and a half arriving at the islands marked as "pockets" on the chart.

"Be careful," Han Lu said to Mo Zhehan from the front of the ark. "Although we are not going to make a big fuss about this trip, we can't be sure that we are being followed. Let's stay on Pocket Island for a few days first, and at the same time, look around to find the exact location of the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault, while also being wary of any potential enemies."

Han Lu was cautious and prudent, as if she would fight wits and courage even when facing thin air.

Mo Zhehan didn't mind at all; in fact, he was hoping the trip would be delayed so that he could spend more time with Han Lu legitimately.

If there's no hope for the future, then all we can do is cherish the beautiful moments we have now.

“Yes, we do need to be very careful,” Mo Zhehan agreed. “I’ll leave everything to you.”

Although Mo Zhehan is undoubtedly the leader and backbone of the younger generation in Dayu Dynasty, he is willing to give way to Han Lu and follow her obediently, acting as her right-hand man and following her commands.

The two, who have slightly different styles of doing things, get along exceptionally well at this time.

After leaving the Ark, Han Lu and Mo Zhehan did not behave in any particularly noteworthy way.

They found a spot on the Pocket Islands with good feng shui, one that could still gather some spiritual energy, to use as a temporary base.

They collaborated to build the cave dwelling and set up spirit-gathering and defensive formations.

If there were indeed cultivators watching from the sidelines, then in their eyes, Han Lu and Mo Zhehan would appear to have found a "Shangri-La" together, cultivating while planning to do things based on instinct that would also make cultivators feel relaxed and happy.

In short, it's about finding a place to secretly fight amongst themselves.

They temporarily settled in the cave, and Han Lu and Mo Zhehan pretended to stay there properly for a long time, but in reality they took turns leaving to do the tasks assigned by Han Lu.

Han Lu was responsible for keeping watch on the surroundings and searching for any potential enemies.

Mo Zhehan, on the other hand, was diving, relying on his divine sense and naked eyes to locate the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault.

Han Lu's mission had no clear good or bad outcome.

However, relying on his outstanding divine sense and the hints from the Slaughter Venerable, Mo Zhehan found the entrance to the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault hidden underwater in the pocket in the center of the Pocket Islands in just half an hour.

After finding their target, Han Lu and Mo Zhehan did not rush to act.

After all, they didn't know whether opening the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault would trigger any special events, such as countless rays of light, earthquakes, and so on.

Acting rashly will only give opportunities to stalkers who may or may not exist.

After dawdling for about ten days, Han Lu and Mo Zhehan finally made their way out, leaving in a very low-key manner, but one that would definitely be noticed if someone were spying on them.

The round trip took two hours.

Having made numerous "expressions," Han Lu was confident that if anyone was really following them, they would have been completely fooled by her and Mo Zhehan, losing track of their whereabouts.

“This should be enough for now,” Han Lu instructed. “Mo Zhehan, you lead the way.”

Without needing to waste any more words, Mo Zhehan responded softly and took the lead in casting a spiritual energy shield, enveloping Han Lu and himself together.

This allows them to break through the water flow and dive into the seabed.

Unlike the Central Plains, the East China Sea has not gradually become polluted, so the seawater here can be described as crystal clear. With the eyesight of a Golden Core cultivator, one can easily see what is happening seventy or eighty meters away underwater.

As a Golden Core cultivator, Mo Zhehan's memory was naturally excellent.

Although there weren't many landmarks on the seabed, Mo Zhehan easily led Han Lu to the entrance of the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault at the bottom of the trench about 5,000 meters deep by using the traces of spiritual energy he had left behind last time.

"It's actually in a trench?" Looking around at the trench, which didn't appear to be naturally formed, Han Lu guessed, "Could it be that tens of thousands of years ago, the pair of dragons and phoenixes deliberately sank this treasure trove to the bottom of the sea?"

"Only in this way can it be sufficiently concealed. Combined with the restrictions and formations protecting the treasure vault, it can ensure that these resources that originally belonged to the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan can eventually fall into the hands of future generations."

Han Lu's analysis was very logical and reasonable, and Mo Zhehan listened and watched and found it quite reasonable.

The two landed slowly and arrived in front of the gate.

The spell was dispelled, and the seawater surrounded the two Golden Core cultivators.

Once one's cultivation reaches the Golden Core stage, although moving in water is not as convenient as on land or in the air, one will not encounter problems such as lack of oxygen. Just like Qi Refining stage cultivators are wary of the "ice coffin" that Han Lu uses, they are afraid of water.

The Dragon and Phoenix Treasury was only a temporary storage facility for resources, so its main gate was not as luxurious and complex as the secret vault of the Zhengyi Sect.

Only dragon and phoenix reliefs were carved on the gate as decoration. Apart from that, there were only dense arrays and restrictions to ensure that even a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage could break the gate open by brute force.

“It seems there’s more to it than that,” Han Lu communicated with Mo Zhehan telepathically. “These formations also seem to contain some spatial mysteries. If we forcibly break through the gate and enter the treasure vault, the restriction formation will activate instantly, banishing the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault into the void.”

Mo Zhehan praised, "In this way, those who covet it will only end up with nothing."

"Han Lu, don't just stand there, let's open the door now."

Han Lu replied, "Okay."

With a response, Han Lu and Mo Zhehan, who were prepared, used their spiritual power to easily break open a wound on their skin.

With the help of spiritual energy, a large amount of blood converged into a line and flew into the mouth of the dragon and phoenix relief on the gate.

The originally lifeless relief came to life after smelling the bloody scent of the true spirit's blood.

The two lifelike reliefs devoured the blood provided by Han Lu and Mo Zhehan, their light gray color gradually turning into light pink, and finally into blood red.

After the dragon and phoenix reliefs had eaten and drunk their fill and let out a low cry, the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault slowly opened its doors to Mo Zhehan and Han Lu.

Chapter 1133

The doors to the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault were wide open, and no seawater poured in. Nor did the Dragon and Phoenix go mad and set up any restrictions behind the door to give any unexpected surprises to their descendants.

It's just two simple array formations and restrictions.

A barrier that isolates divine sense and light keeps the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault sufficiently mysterious.

Another measure was to provide simple protection for the treasure vault to prevent seawater from flooding in and forcing the younger generation, who were just basking in the excitement of opening the gate, to search for treasure in the water.

"Let's go, there shouldn't be any problems." Han Lu looked around, and after noticing anything unusual, she walked in front.

Mo Zhehan followed.

Once their wounds healed and they no longer provided "nourishment" to the dragon and phoenix on the gate, the gate automatically closed, once again isolating the inside from the outside and temporarily cutting off Han Lu and Mo Zhehan's escape route.

"This..." Han Lu turned her head, about to speak, but then she noticed that the restrictions and formations behind the door had a mechanism that could be activated without blood. "No wonder the Slaughter Venerable and the Coffin Venerable were able to come out of here after their blood was exhausted."

Mo Zhehan guessed, "I reckon those two must have been incredibly nervous when they saw the gate closing after they passed through it."

The two chatted and laughed as they strolled along.

The corridor behind the main gate was not spacious, probably only allowing seven or eight Han Lus to pass side by side.

Spirit stone lamps hung on the wall, and they were lit the moment the door opened. The brightness of the lamps changed depending on the type of floor tiles that Han Lu and Mo Zhehan had applied a restriction to.

As the two approached, the spirit stone lamps brightened, illuminating the path.

As the two walked away, the spirit stone lamp slowly went out, to ensure that the dragon and phoenix descendants who would return to this place many years later would not have to wander in the dark.