The Long Journey to Immortality

Summoning everyone before her, the Seven Flower Fairy introduced the general rules of the "Treasure Selection Meeting" to them.

"Enter in order, with a half-cup of tea's time between each entry. Jing Jin, you're first, followed by Zhuge Ling." Fairy Seven Flowers called out the names of the top performers at the tenth and ninth levels of Qi Refining.

With this arrangement, Han Lu was naturally placed second to last to enter.

Han Lu didn't feel anything special. After all, there were many magical artifacts in the Five Elements Mountain Academy's inner treasury, and quite a few high-grade ones. Even if there were seven or eight people ahead of her, she would definitely be able to choose a magical artifact she liked once she entered the inner treasury.

"Each person has half an hour to choose from the inner treasury. Because the magical items in the inner treasury are all covered with restrictions, those magical items can only be put into the storage bag you just received."

"Select it and put it in. When there are two magical items in the storage bag or when the time is up, the restriction will be automatically triggered and you will be teleported out."

"The rules are that simple."

"I'll send Jingjin in later. The rest of you should think carefully about what type of magical artifacts you want to take from the inner treasury."

"It's okay if it's not suitable. Don't hesitate and end up with nothing."

……

The Seven Flower Fairy kindly gave him a few reminders before waving to Jing Jin.

As a cultivator at the twelfth level of Qi Refining, Jing Jin had been cultivating in the Zhengyi Sect for a full ten years since he was fifteen years old, so he was naturally familiar with these rules.

Although he was scheduled to be the first to enter, by noon he had already figured out his general goals and had an overall plan.

In his view, as long as nothing unexpected happens in the inner treasury, he should be able to choose his favorite magical artifact and bring it out in the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

A beam of light flew out from the token in the Seven Flower Fairy's hand, completely enveloping Jing Jin.

The Seven Flower Fairy said, "Let's go, let's just walk in."

Without hesitation, Jing Jin walked towards the gate of the inner treasury, which was covered with restrictions.

The door remained closed and the restrictions were not activated, yet Jing Jin passed through the door with his physical body and entered smoothly.

After watching Jing Jin leave, the other nine people turned their attention back to themselves.

Although everyone had considered the question raised by the Seven Flower Fairy beforehand, they still hesitated before the inner treasury gate, fearing that they might waste this best opportunity to improve their strength and obtain magical artifacts due to a lack of careful consideration.

"Han Lu, what are you planning to choose?" Wen Erya asked.

Han Lu feigned mystery and said, "It's a secret."

As expected, plans don't always go as expected. Jing Jin was captivated by the numerous magical artifacts and implements in the inner treasury and did not follow his original plan to quickly enter and exit.

Just as Wen Erya was about to enter the inner treasury to select a treasure, Jing Jin finally chose his desired magical artifact and was teleported out by the restriction.

[Author's Note] The live-streaming genius, Los Santos, and Miss Shadow are just one step away from 3000, 2000, and 1000 average daily subscriptions, respectively. When these three books reach these three small milestones, each book will have an extra chapter added.

If you think my writing is alright and you like this writing style, you can try reading some of my older books (Miss Shadow's writing is terrible, I suggest you don't read it), you might be pleasantly surprised. (Self-promotion)

Chapter 115 Treasure Selection Meeting

Having obtained the magic weapon he desired, Jing Jin couldn't wait to demonstrate it to everyone under the guidance of the Seven Flower Fairy.

Although he had already reached the twelfth level of Qi Refining, Jing Jin did not use his special privileges to retrieve two mid-grade magic artifacts from the inner treasury and put them into his storage bag.

On the contrary, in order to successfully pass the selection and enter the Ancient Cultivation Secret Realm two years later, he specially chose two high-grade magic tools as rewards for winning this competition.

Jing Jin planned to use a second-grade spirit sword as the core of the sword formation.

The other ritual implement was a glass lamp, of the highest grade.

Time passed slowly, and the cultivators entered one by one, most of them lingering in the inner treasury until the very last moment before choosing the magic treasures they valued.

Once outside the inner treasury, the disciples who had obtained the precious treasure could not hide their smiles.

Soon, it was Han Lu's turn to enter the inner vault to select treasures.

The Seven Flower Fairy took out the token again and used her magic to grant Han Lu a "pass" to enter the inner storage area where magical treasures were stored.

Seeing that the Seven Flower Fairy had cast a spell on her, Han Lu strode forward and "crashed" into the inner treasury door.

As Han Lu passed through the barrier, she felt dizzy and her vision was obscured by a rainbow of light.

Once the discomfort subsided and the light faded, she entered the core area of ​​the Five Elements Mountain Academy's inner treasury.

This was the first time Han Lu had ever seen nearly a thousand magical artifacts displayed on a storage shelf.

A warehouse is, after all, just a warehouse. Although it is tidier and brighter, it is not like an academy where cultivation manuals are stored, with a piece of paper next to them to give a simple introduction to the magical treasures.

However, the numerous magical artifacts were at least arranged in a general category, so that Han Lu and the others wouldn't be overwhelmed and have no clear target when choosing magical treasures.

On the storage shelf directly in front of Han Lu, there are spirit swords. If you want to find a suitable spirit sword, you should wander among these shelves.

Looking further afield, Han Lu could also see several high-level champions of the Grand Competition walking among the storage shelves, selecting magical treasures; Wen Erya was among them.

Wen Erya was holding a golden broadsword and studying it.

Before the competition began, due to the tight schedule, Wen Erya had spirit stones but failed to find a suitable metal-attribute spirit sword as Han Lu had suggested.

Therefore, she thought of taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make up for her shortcomings and find a good metal-attribute spirit sword to protect herself.

She lifted a strand of hair that had fallen down due to the teleportation, slightly obscuring her vision.

After quickly identifying the direction, Han Lu headed straight for the area where the "treasures" were displayed, searching for the magical artifact she desired.

Although there was plenty of time, it wasn't enough to allow Han Lu to stand still, daydream, and waste it.

Having made plans in advance, Han Lu walked briskly in front of the storage shelves as if she were reading a book, only glancing at the various magical artifacts for a moment.

With her heart set on someone, Han Lu knew exactly what she wanted and needed.

She wanted to find two magical artifacts in the inner treasury that could unleash the true spiritual bloodline within her.

After walking nearly thirty steps between the two rows of storage shelves, Han Lu finally stopped in front of a magical artifact.

Han Lu's gaze fell on a charred black wooden flute on the storage shelf.

With no one to explain or label the artifact, Han Lu could only rely on her limited, albeit discerning, eyes to determine whether the wooden flute before her was one of the magical treasures she desired.

Picking up the wooden flute, Han Lu compared its length to her forearm, and then played with it like a calligraphy brush, rotating and twirling it between her fingertips and palm.

Generally speaking, most musical instruments are related to the soul and are largely compatible with the Phoenix Bloodline within Han Lu.

As for whether the potential of one's bloodline can be activated and used in combat, Han Lu couldn't give a definitive answer.

After playing with it for a while, Han Lu found the wooden flute, which was slightly longer than her slender forearm, to be quite comfortable to hold.

"Let's test the intensity."

The strength Han Lu mentioned was not the power of the magic tool, but the sturdiness of the wooden flute.

Gathering a little spiritual energy at her fingertips, Han Lu gently flicked the surface of the wooden flute twice with her right index finger.

That makes sense, but Han Lu has no idea how to appraise treasures.

Her approach is more like picking a watermelon at a market, judging its ripeness by the sound it makes.

Hearing the two crisp sounds from the wooden flute, Han Lu nodded slightly and whispered, "It's quite sturdy. Besides being able to be played, it might even be used as a spirit sword."

Han Lu was connecting the wooden flute in her hand with Wen Erya's Soul-Locking and Suppressing Tower, imagining herself suddenly throwing the wooden flute into the air and then wielding it like a spirit sword.

Feeling good, Han Lu slightly rolled up her sleeves and, imitating the movements of others playing the flute, picked up the wooden flute in her hand, puffed out her cheeks, and blew air.

Two sharp, high-pitched notes came from the wooden flute, causing Han Lu to subconsciously frown and move the flute away from her mouth.

Han Lu, who couldn't play the flute, was very frustrated.

But for some reason, she quite liked this wooden flute.

Unfortunately, with her current abilities, she has no idea whether this wooden flute is the magical treasure she is looking for.

Although it has not yet been recognized as a master, this does not prevent Han Lu from infusing it with spiritual power.

Based on a rough estimate and judgment of the amount of spiritual energy that the magical artifact could hold, Han Lu muttered to herself, "It's probably a top-grade third-rank magical artifact, which is acceptable."

The best quality doesn't necessarily mean the most desirable; what matters most is finding the right fit.

"Since... let's just leave it for now," Han Lu said, perhaps because of her good luck in the competition, she was now somewhat superstitious about fate. "This magic weapon is just what I'm looking for, maybe it's the kind of magic weapon I want."

"At the very least, it should be a magical artifact capable of casting illusions and launching soul attacks."

Having found another reason to choose this wooden flute, Han Lu stuffed it into the storage bag she had previously obtained from the academy's cultivators.

"I'll go find another magical artifact that can help me cultivate on Cold Cicada Peak," Han Lu said, taking another step forward. "If I could find an artifact that can actively activate my bloodline and allow me to release my true spiritual power during the Qi Refining stage, that would be even better."

"If all else fails, we'll find a flying artifact to make up for our shortcomings."

Han Lu had high expectations for the second magic weapon, but she was not incapable of accepting a mediocre result.

Han Lu was never the kind of cultivator who relied excessively on magical artifacts.

However, looking at the countless magical treasures before her, she was confident that she could find a suitable one to use for herself.

Sure enough, not long after, another magical artifact caught Han Lu's eye.

It wasn't because the artifact was particularly strange or beautiful, but because Han Lu felt a connection to it simply by being near it.

Chapter 116 Treasure Selection Meeting (Part 2)

Han Lu looked at the crimson gem that was half the size of her fist, subconsciously licked her slightly dry lips, and thought excitedly, "This feeling... could it be that I've won the lottery?"

Suppressing her excitement, Han Lu did not rush forward to pick up the gem.

She made a gesture by deliberately taking half a step back.

After feeling the boiling blood and heart-pounding sensation within her body lessen somewhat, she took another step forward.

Han Lu could clearly feel the veins in her fingertips trembling slightly, as if a tiny cut would cause millions of drops of blood to gush out.

"There's no doubt about it, it must be something good related to the true spirit bloodline within me."

Han Lu wiped her hands on her clothes to remove non-existent sweat before taking two quick steps forward, standing in front of the crimson gem, and picking it up.

When Han Lu's hand was about to touch the crimson gem, she felt as if she were about to grab a piece of burning coal. Even from a distance, she could feel the intense heat emanating from the crimson gem.

Take a deep breath.

Han Lu stretched her hand forward slightly and held the gemstone completely in her hand.

Clutching the gemstone, Han Lu looked surprised.

The gem that was just gushing out heat felt like ice in her hand.