The Long Journey to Immortality

The person who opened the door for Han Lu was a new disciple who had only been living in the Third Academy for four months and had just been promoted to the first level of Qi Refining.

"Is Zhong Wencheng here?" Han Lu asked bluntly, feigning anger.

“He’s not here, but Senior Brother Zhong should be back soon,” the disciple replied truthfully, oblivious to Han Lu’s apparent anger. He then stepped aside and said, “Senior Sister, please come in and wait. Senior Brother Zhong is staying in that room.”

Nodding her thanks, Han Lu didn't stand on ceremony and went straight into the room, which was still empty for the time being, to patiently wait for Zhong Wencheng's return.

Chapter 157 A Man's Intuition

The end of each major training session is the busiest time for Zhong Wencheng.

As the most famous "informant" in Zhongshan Academy, he had many informants willing to risk their lives for spirit stones and money. When the Great Cultivation ended, it was time for him to "meet" with his informants and acquire intelligence from the outside world.

With the selection competition underway, the intelligence business is booming, and many fellow disciples are willing to sell intelligence for money.

After spending nearly 25 minutes longer in the training ground, Zhong Wencheng stuffed the ten pages of paper filled with ink writing into his storage bag. He pondered whether he could combine this information with his imagination to compile another "viewing materials" book, so that someone could print it out and sell it for spirit stones, thus quickly earning back the money spent on buying information.

On the way back to the courtyard, Zhong Wencheng felt his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.

"Did I not get enough rest?" Zhong Wencheng rubbed his left eye, muttering to himself, "Left eye twitching means good fortune, right eye twitching means bad luck? Could it be that this booklet will sell like hotcakes and make a fortune?"

Just then, Zhong Wencheng entered the outer gate of the Zhongshan Academy, courtyard three.

The cultivator who helped Han Lu open the door was practicing his magic in the courtyard when he happened to bump into Zhong Wencheng. He took the initiative to go up and strike up a conversation, saying with a hint of envy, "Senior Brother Zhong, you're back?"

"Ah."

“A particularly beautiful senior sister came looking for you just now, and she’s waiting for you in your room right now,” the cultivator said with a grin. “Senior Brother Zhong, you should seize this opportunity.”

Zhong Wencheng was completely confused by this. "A beautiful senior sister is waiting for me in my room?"

“Yes, yes,” the cultivator at the first level of Qi Refining wanted to say more, but found himself lacking in words, so he simply said, “You’ll know when you get inside, Senior Brother Zhong. He’s been waiting for you for almost half an hour.”

Zhong Wencheng nodded slightly, indicating that he understood, and thought to himself, "Could it be that a twitching left eye means not only good fortune in wealth but also good luck in love?"

As he imagined his dream girl, the beautiful senior sister, waiting for him in his room, Zhong Wencheng's steps quickened involuntarily.

I pushed open the door, took a couple of steps, and looked inside.

When he saw the back of the woman who was "rudely" flipping through the documents on his bookshelf, Zhong Wencheng only felt a tremor in his heartstrings, without any anger or blame.

He greeted her respectfully, saying, "I don't know which senior sister came here to find me. If you had sent me the paper sword earlier to let me know, I would have had more time to prepare and to show my respect as the host. I am very sorry that you have to wait here."

Han Lu turned around, looked at Zhong Wencheng, and smiled, "Zhong Wencheng, you've kept me waiting for so long."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Zhong Wencheng said with a smile, apologizing again. "I was busy and was delayed for a while. What is it, Senior Sister?"

"What, you don't recognize me?" Han Lu asked, somewhat surprised.

Zhong Wencheng's words were as sweet as honey, "How could a crude person like me know such a beautiful woman as Senior Sister? If Senior Sister doesn't mind the trouble, could you introduce yourself so I can remember your name?"

"No problem," Han Lu snorted coldly, "Dongshan Academy, have you heard of it?"

"Han Lu?" Zhong Wencheng repeated to himself three times, his expression gradually changing.

He then realized that the senior sister who had been waiting in his room for nearly half an hour had come to interrogate him.

Although Zhong Wencheng had never met Han Lu, how could he, who worked in intelligence, not know about this most sought-after Qi Refining cultivator in Dongshan Academy?

In less than two and a half years since he entered the Daoist sect, he has cultivated from the Daoist boy realm to the twelfth level of Qi Refining.

Not only that, he is also a disciple of a Golden Core cultivator, and won the championship title in both the major and minor competitions, making him a first-rate genius cultivator.

In just two years, she went from being a junior sister to becoming the senior sister of an ordinary outer disciple like him.

Although Han Lu is not well-known among ordinary disciples, in the eyes of an intelligence dealer like Zhong Wencheng, she is definitely a top contender in this Ancient Cultivation Secret Realm Selection Competition.

Thinking of this, Zhong Wencheng subconsciously took a few steps back, wanting to make a quick getaway.

Seeing this, Han Lu smiled slightly, waved her hand and released a burst of spiritual energy to help Zhong Wencheng close the door.

With the door closed, the man and woman were alone in the room, but apart from breaking out in a cold sweat, Zhong Wencheng didn't have any strange thoughts.

Han Lu was quite satisfied with Zhong Wencheng's current attitude, so she continued to put pressure on him according to the plan, not only to make him work for her and Wen Erya, but also to avenge the grudge caused by the rumors two years ago.

With a smile, Han Lu continued, "It seems that Junior Brother Zhong, this busy man, still remembers me?"

"I remember, I remember," Zhong Wencheng said with a fawning smile. "Han Lu, Senior Sister Han, of course I know her."

"Do you know why I came to see you?" Han Lu asked again.

Zhong Wencheng sighed, bowed directly to Han Lu, and said, "I was impulsive back then. For my own selfish desires and reputation, I fabricated stories about Senior Sister Han. I hope Senior Sister Han will forgive me."

"If you can forgive me, I am willing to serve Senior Sister Han like a dog or a horse. Senior Sister Han's affairs are my affairs, my affairs are still my affairs."

Although he was engaged in intelligence work, Zhong Wencheng had a quick wit and a storyteller's tongue.

After a few words that were half serious and half playful, Han Lu's resentment, which had dwindled over time, completely dissipated.

Han Lu nodded slightly and said, "Alright, I'm just waiting for Junior Brother Zhong to say something. I have a small request, a small favor that Junior Brother Zhong needs to do. I wonder if Junior Brother is willing?"

Zhong Wencheng knew his purpose and naturally didn't ask any more questions, so he said, "I will follow Senior Sister Han's instructions."

Han Lu pointed to the only two chairs in the room, gesturing for Zhong Wencheng to sit down and talk.

The two sat facing each other, and Han Lu explained her plans in detail, "...So, is there any problem?"

Zhong Wencheng said with a wry smile, "This is easier said than done. Senior Sister Han, could you give me some activity funds?"

Han Lu said, "You're still asking me for money? I'm already being lenient by not asking you for damages to my reputation."

"Alright, alright," Zhong Wencheng said helplessly. "I will do my best to deliver this exclusive information to my senior sister before the selection competition begins in three days."

“That’s right,” Han Lu said with a satisfied smile. “But before we get down to business, Junior Brother Zhong, there’s something I need to ask you. You have to tell me the truth.”

"Senior Sister Han, please ask."

Han Lu asked, "Do you have any real evidence to support those rumors you fabricated about me? Are they just your subjective assumptions, or were you misled by your informant?"

Zhong Wencheng scratched his head and replied, "Saying it's subjective conjecture is a bit of an exaggeration; I do have some basis for my opinion."

"Oh?" Han Lu was slightly surprised.

"My basis is my intuition from years of intelligence work within the Zhengyi Sect," Zhong Wencheng said without a hint of embarrassment.

Upon hearing this, Han Lu snorted lightly, looking disdainful.

Feeling slighted, Zhong Wencheng quickly produced some past examples of how he had accurately predicted answers by directly fabricating stories, attempting to prove that his sixth sense was more accurate than a woman's.

Finally, Zhong Wencheng sighed and murmured, "Originally, I was going to write some more bombshells about Senior Sister Han tomorrow, making up stories about her being a descendant of a true spirit and possessing the bloodline of an ice phoenix. Now it seems I won't have the chance."

Upon hearing this, Han Lu was greatly alarmed.

[Author's Note] It's dead.

Chapter 158 A Lucky Accident

While saying this, Zhong Wencheng kept a close eye on Han Lu's expression.

Despite her surprise, Han Lu, who was already performing with facial expressions, did not show her surprise on her face.

Zhong Wencheng was slightly disappointed, but he assumed that his proud intuition and sixth sense had once again deviated slightly from Han Lu's assessment.

What he said to Han Lu before was not a lie; intuition was indeed one of the methods he had always been proud of for obtaining intelligence secrets.

Zhong Wencheng claims it's intuition, but it's more like a skill acquired through practice.

By summarizing and analyzing the incomplete information in one's mind, and by making reasonable or unreasonable imaginations based on experience, one can ultimately arrive at a very likely correct answer.

Just now, Zhong Wencheng guessed that Han Lu might be a true spirit who plays among humans, which was based on his experience.

After all, in the eyes of most people, even the most powerful human cultivation genius can only open two or three spiritual meridians in a year.

Based on Zhong Wencheng's understanding of the path of cultivation, the fact that Han Lu, with her superior spiritual root talent, could maintain such a speed of cultivation improvement that even geniuses would find difficult to match, seems to suggest that only one superhuman explanation remains: "true spirit."

As for what kind of spirit it was, he was just guessing and imagining based on his own experience.

Han Lu is a female cultivator.

Among the several well-known spirits that are still active in the East China Sea and the wild regions, Zhong Wencheng's first thought was the phoenix.

Han Lu practices water-attribute techniques at Dongshan Academy.

Ice Phoenix, the true spirit of a phoenix with the ability to control wind and snow, became the only option in Zhong Wencheng's subconscious mind.

With a little artistic embellishment, the passage I just spoke to Han Lu came about.

As for fabricating Han Lu's background as the "Han family, a prominent cultivation family in the Northern Dynasty," and her "demon personality" in combat and interpersonal relationships, Zhong Wencheng made similar inferences and guesses before arriving at his conclusions. He then presented these as exclusive information to the outside world to enhance his own reputation.

Han Lu was unaware of this and thought that Zhong Wencheng really had some special sensory ability, and by sheer accident, he guessed the correct answer.

Without changing her expression, she commented, "You have a rich imagination; you're more suited to be a storyteller than an information broker."

Zhong Wencheng was quite straightforward, smiling as he said, "Thank you for the compliment, Senior Sister Han. Since you've come all this way, don't worry, I definitely won't make up any more stories for you and spread them outside."

"Even if it's fabricated, it will get your approval."

Zhong Wencheng guessed that Han Lu would devise a plan, so he deliberately spread some false information, which is why he brought up this matter to express his attitude.

This was exactly what Han Lu wanted to do.

She smiled and said, "Okay, I'm relieved to hear that. Let's talk about something more specific."

Han Lu stopped talking about the topic, afraid that Zhong Wencheng would use his intuition to expose all her secrets.

The two then continued discussing their investigation into potential challengers.

After the previous exchange, Han Lu had some concerns about Zhong Wencheng's professional competence, so she asked some more questions and looked through the materials on Zhong Wencheng's bookshelf.

After confirming that Junior Brother Zhong was not just all show and had real skills, Han Lu continued, "Then write twenty, no, thirty names on this piece of paper."

"It's the name of a challenger who has the potential to defeat the reigning champion."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Wencheng looked distressed. He picked up a pen and quickly wrote down fifteen names before starting to squeeze out the names one by one, as if squeezing toothpaste.

Han Lu and Wen Er Ya were among the initial fifteen names.

After tormenting my brain for about fifteen minutes, only thirty not-so-neat names appeared on the blank paper.

Han Lu took the paper, crossed out the last three names, then crossed out her and Wen Erya's names, and said, "Investigate the information of these twenty-five people and send it to my residence before the afternoon of the day after tomorrow."

After saying that, she didn't give Zhong Wencheng any chance to bargain, and left with another sentence.

"Get to work properly, or I might just become a vixen for real."