The Long Journey to Immortality

Only in this way can we ensure that the Golden Core cultivators will not make any further modifications to the contents of the jade tablet, thus affecting the subsequent battle situation.

“Next, I will use my magic to present the information recorded on the jade tablet to everyone,” Xuanfeng Daoist stood up. “If there are no objections, then I will begin the spell.”

No one spoke up, so Daoist Xuanfeng continued, "Alright, everyone watch carefully. Don't blame me for cheating if you're not satisfied with the order of the matches later."

With a series of hand seals, Daoist Xuanfeng activated the three jade tablets that were randomly placed in the center of the table.

The information contained within transforms into text and images, floating in mid-air.

Upon seeing the information revealed in the other two jade plaques, the smile on Master Guangbo's face vanished instantly, and he froze in place.

The arrogant Taoist priest reacted even more dramatically, shouting, "Impossible! You must have cheated!"

"That's not how you planned it!"

The text that appeared on the jade tablet that Xuanfeng Daoist took out was completely different from the result obtained by Guangbo Shangren through divination.

The arrogant Taoist was momentarily at a loss and continued, "You clearly arranged for Xuanfeng Taoist to appear first, then Han Rui, and finally Zhenfeng Fairy... How did it turn out like this?"

The arrogant Taoist's shouting made him appear vulgar and crude, lacking any of the composure and politeness that a cultivator from the Central Plains should possess.

It turned out that the results shown by the jade tablets on the table were quite different from the results obtained by the Qian family through divination.

The result of the divination by Master Guangbo was that the person was Daoist Xuanfeng, Han Rui, and Fairy Zhenfeng.

But now, the result presented to everyone is Han Rui, Fairy Zhenfeng, and Daoist Xuanfeng.

The original plan was for the Qian family's top-tier horse to be matched against the Han family's middle-tier horse, the middle-tier horse against the top-tier horse, and the bottom-tier horse against the bottom-tier horse.

But in reality, it's the other way around.

Qian Jiatian's strategy of using horse racing as a reference point has failed.

Han Lu chuckled and said, "Huh? How did you know exactly how we arranged our troops? Could it be... that you made special arrangements in the room where we were discussing our strategy and overheard our discussion?"

"Arrogant Taoist, following your new rules is cheating, and you'll have to pay the price in terms of resources."

Han Lu knew, of course, that the truth was not like that; this guess was simply to tease the arrogant Taoist.

In fact, the reason for this outcome is the small tricks that Han Lu used when she was planning.

First, he let Xuanfeng Daoist and the other three do their thing.

Once the four reached a conclusion, they realized that the person had forcibly seized the decision-making power by relying on their cultivation level and status as "outside help." They then used the conclusions reached by the four to deduce the possible strategies that the Qian family might have devised, and thus targeted them.

This has led to the current effect.

Of course, Han Lu did act in this way not without solid evidence.

She also used divination techniques to easily break through the fog surrounding the "truth" shrouded by Master Guangbo, and obtained the correct result.

This series of actions is what made the arrogant Taoist's reaction so intense and exaggerated when the confrontation was announced.

The arrogant Taoist calmed down slightly, "That's not the case. It's just the result of divination, which is allowed by the rules."

The rules do not explicitly state that divination is a violation.

“Oh,” Han Lu continued, “then it’s no wonder that you are so young and arrogant. As far as I know, no cultivator has ever said that the result of divination is always correct.”

"Could it be that you believe Venerable Guangbo is the best diviner in the world, and that the results of his divinations are absolutely true?"

"This..." The arrogant Taoist seemed to have grasped the crux of the problem, "Indeed, there isn't."

"Then that's settled," Han Lu laughed. "Why is that arrogant fellow Daoist so agitated? Are you afraid that Fellow Daoist Xuan Feng will beat you black and blue and make you lose face?"

The arrogant Taoist priest would naturally not admit it.

So he simply changed the subject, saying, "I was being presumptuous, I apologize."

After saying that, he sat down again with an unpleasant expression.

Since they were already speaking, Han Lu simply took over Xuanfeng Daoist's task and read out the information on the jade tablet, announcing the order of appearance for each family when facing off against other families.

After Han Lu finished reporting the match situation, everyone noticed a few things.

Kongkong Jushi did not get to face Han Lu as he had hoped.

Surprisingly, the Lu family gained the upper hand in their confrontation with the Qian family.

The recluse of emptiness, who was at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, faced off against the arrogant Taoist who had only been promoted to the Golden Core realm for three months and whose words were more powerful than his fists.

The strongest member of the Qian family, Master Guangbo, encountered the weakest member of the Lu family, a mid-Foundation Establishment disciple.

Finally, a late-stage Foundation Establishment disciple from the Lu family faced off against a late-stage Foundation Establishment disciple from the Qian family. The third match was evenly matched, and the outcome was uncertain.

Han Lu was naturally delighted when she noticed this matchup.

"Congratulations, Master Kongkong! It seems the Lu family has a good chance of getting second place this year," Han Lu congratulated with a smile, and then sneered, "It seems some people have shot themselves in the foot."

The taciturn her composure finally broke into a smile. “I hope that Fairy Zhenfeng’s congratulations will come true.”

Hearing Han Lu's mockery, the arrogant Taoist's face grew increasingly unpleasant.

"What's going on here?" he asked the Venerable Guangbo, who was in charge of divination and troop deployment.

Master Guangbo was also somewhat bewildered. "Could it be that I'm in Mercury retrograde today, and none of the divination results are correct?"

It's too late to investigate now, and besides, Master Guangbo is his elder, so the arrogant Taoist can't ask too many questions.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he could back down when facing Xuanfeng Daoist, but he could no longer surrender without a fight when facing Kongkong Jushi.

"Don't rush to celebrate, let's fight first." The arrogant Taoist feigned composure and issued a challenge to a cultivator who was a minor realm above him.

Upon hearing this, Han Lu couldn't help but interrupt, "Then what about the duel between your Qian family and my Han family?"

"Even if you win," the arrogant Taoist priest made the decision for the Qian family.

Han Lu then looked at the Hermit of Emptiness, "Where is Fellow Daoist Kongkong?"

"The Lu family is no match for the Han family, so you win, but..." Master Kongkong said only half a sentence.

After a moment's thought, Han Lu said, "Okay, I can agree to your request, but I can't guarantee that I'll use all my means."

Upon hearing this, the Hermit of Emptiness was overjoyed. "It's nothing, it's nothing. As long as Fairy Zhenfeng is willing to condescend, I am already satisfied."

With both families voluntarily submitting, the three cultivators from the Han family were spared a battle and successfully helped their family win the championship.

The Lu family and the Qian family still need to fight a match on the stage to determine who is second and who is last.

Chapter 1166

Although not every meeting will end with a battle of wits.

However, since the three inns only serve cultivators, there are special arenas and training grounds for cultivators to fight and practice in order to keep the business running.

As the group moved on, Xuanfeng Daoist and Han Lu communicated through their divine senses and whispered among themselves.

"This is going to be a good show." Disliking the arrogant Daoist's behavior, Xuanfeng Daoist was eager to see this troublemaker get his comeuppance.

Han Lu replied, "Fellow Daoist Xuanfeng, just how strong is the Hermit of Emptiness?"

"He's probably one of the weaker cultivators in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm," Xuanfeng Daoist said without any hesitation, since they were communicating through divine sense. "Back then, Kongkong Jushi was only at the seventh rank of the Core Formation stage. He was able to advance to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm thanks to the support of his family's abundant resources and the hard work he put in for over two hundred and fifty years."

"In this lifetime, there is probably no hope of going any further."

"However, although he is not strong and his cultivation is not high, he loves to fight with others."

“In the past two meetings, he was full of enthusiasm during the battle of wits, and he wished he could fight me and Master Guangbo for three hundred rounds.”

When Xuanfeng Daoist mentioned this, he did not show the slightest contempt. "Although he has never won a single battle, I can feel the progress that Kongkong Jushi has made."

"Although Fellow Daoist Kongkong's strength is somewhat mediocre, he is still a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator. Dealing with the arrogant Daoist who has only advanced to the Golden Core stage for less than half a year should be a piece of cake and an easy task."

Although Xuanfeng Daoist was not a "professional commentator," he still bravely made a judgment based on his common sense about cultivation and his understanding of Kongkong Jushi.

Han Lu nodded slightly and replied, "In my opinion, that makes sense too."

Seeing the hint of smugness in Han Lu's reply, Xuanfeng Daoist couldn't help but have some guesses.

However, before making his conjecture, he first inquired about the Han family's own affairs.

"Fellow Daoist Zhenfeng, what method did you use just now to make Fellow Daoist Qian Guangbo's divination go wrong? And how did we manage to target the Qian family's troop deployment?"

Xuanfeng Daoist had this question ever since the match was announced, and now that he finally had a chance, he naturally wanted to ask Han Lu to find out the truth.

Han Lu replied, "It's very simple. Fellow Daoist Xuanfeng doesn't understand divination, so he may not know some basic knowledge about it."

"When performing divination, the difficulty of the divination question will affect the final result of the divination."

"In short, fate cannot tell you the correct outcome."

"Because I had done many good deeds and accumulated a lot of good karma, I was regarded by the will of Heaven as a cultivator who needed special care and help."

"Regarding my many questions, unless it is a diviner of exceptional skill, no one can obtain information about me through divination without my consent."

Hearing this, Xuanfeng Daoist finally understood. "Oh, I see. No wonder Fellow Daoist Guangbo only managed to divine the order of appearance I wrote in the jade tablet, but was unaware of the final result after your modification."

"That's right, that's exactly it." Han Lu was pleased with the brilliant idea she had just come up with.

Following up, Xuanfeng Daoist asked, "What about the Lu family? Could it be that they also have cultivators like you among them? Or..."

Han Lu didn't hide anything, "Of course, it's also because I took action."

"When I met Master Kongkong, I casually said a few words to him, inquired about his military strategy, and pointed out that he should make some modifications according to my ideas."

Han Lu sighed, "I never expected that Master Kongkong would believe me so easily and change the order of appearance on the jade tablet in his hand."

"That's why what just happened occurred."

"Upon closer reflection, it's probably because the Lu family is simply no match for the Han family that Master Kongkong is acting on my instructions."

Before they knew it, the group had arrived at the martial arts arena on the ground floor of the inn.

As with the situation at the hotel, the training ground was not open to the public that day in order to host the meeting.

The four meditation rooms where cultivators practiced their spells and the two arenas where cultivators sparred and fought were all empty.

The Han family has already secured first place, so naturally, the two Golden Core cultivators from the Han family will be the referees for these three battles.

Xuanfeng Daoist was already very skilled at this task.

He stepped onto the arena first and addressed the two cultivators standing on either side of it, saying, "After fifty breaths, we will fight in the order we just decided, best of three."

"If you feel you are no match for them, you can admit defeat directly and not waste everyone's time."

No sooner had these words been spoken than the Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Lu family who was facing off against Master Guangbo immediately raised his hand and said, "Senior Guangbo's magical power is too great; I am no match for him. Lu Yong concedes defeat."