The Long Journey to Immortality

Therefore, Han Lu never mistreated herself during her daily practice.

Each time she cultivates, she takes a Spirit Gathering Pill to enhance the effect of her cultivation.

In the past month or so, she has taken a total of thirty Spirit Gathering Pills.

With most of the Spirit Gathering Pills in her storage bag used up, Han Lu needed to buy some more to prepare for unforeseen circumstances, lest her cultivation speed be slowed down by external factors.

Compared to Yuxi County, where Han Lu first temporarily resided when she arrived in Dayu Dynasty, Jinyuan City was much more prosperous.

The city walls were nearly five meters higher than those of Yuxi County, and the city area was three times the size of Yuxi County. Even the size of a few villages on the outskirts was comparable to that of Yuxi County.

This prosperity is not limited to the mortal world; it also exists in the cultivation world.

The large population of Jinyuan City means that there are quite a few cultivators associated with the city, not to mention the local cultivation families of Dongzhou Prefecture who are based in Jinyuan County. In terms of the number of cultivators, Jinyuan County usually has nearly ten times more than Yuxi County.

Not to mention the 2000th anniversary celebration held here on Jiulong Mountain.

As the city closest to Jiulong Mountain, many cultivators who attended the ceremony or were just there to join in the fun, like Han Lu, generally chose this city as their temporary base.

Countless cultivators who were originally active in the areas outside Jinyuan County of Dongzhou Prefecture, or even outside Dongzhou Prefecture, gathered in Jinyuan County.

Naturally, the arrival of so many foreign cultivators made this already prosperous city even more bustling during this period.

After browsing around and seeing the numerous shops selling cultivation resources, Han Lu even had the illusion that she could collect all the pills and materials she needed in Jinyuan City without having to attend the ceremony at Jiulong Mountain.

However, illusions are just illusions; not everything in this county town will be put on the shelves for sale.

After taking a stroll around, Han Lu tried her best to keep a low profile, only putting nearly five hundred Spirit Gathering Pills into her storage bag.

Apart from that, Han Lu gained nothing.

There wasn't a single True Essence Gathering Pill in any of the shops throughout the entire Jinyuan County.

Where did the True Essence Gathering Pills go? They were all bought by Nine Dragons Mountain.

Jiulong Mountain arranged for Lin Jin and Tang Sifan to go to other counties in the prefecture to purchase pills and supplies, and naturally they would not forget to search for cultivation resources in Jinyuan City, the city closest to Jiulong Mountain.

It's worth mentioning that while Han Lu was browsing around, she discovered that many shops selling cultivation resources were also buying invitations to the Jiulong Mountain celebration.

Three spirit stones per sheet, the price is quite fair.

However, Han Lu, whose wealth in her storage bag included at least six or seven figures of spirit stones including those magical treasures and artifacts, naturally didn't care about such a small amount of spirit stones.

For safety reasons, he did not sell the other two stolen items in the storage bag to increase the possibility of his bad deeds being exposed.

He secluded himself in his room in Jinyuan County, diligently cultivating his spiritual practice, occasionally venturing out to gather elixirs and materials.

Han Lu's regular and peaceful life continued for nearly half a month.

Aside from the cloud sea in her dantian becoming thicker, she made no breakthrough.

However, the path of cultivation is inherently long; it would be strange if one could advance in realms every few days.

Seven days before the official start date of the celebration, Han Lu left Jinyuan County, shamelessly taking the invitation she had snatched from Lin Jin and Tang Sifan to the event.

Chapter 271 Fairy, Please Wait

Along the way, there were quite a few cultivators traveling with Han Lu to Jiulong Mountain.

For such a grand ceremony, Jiulong Mountain naturally sent out invitations throughout Dongzhou Prefecture, inviting cultivators and independent practitioners from various sects to attend.

The entire Nine Dragons Mountain sect has only about four thousand cultivators practicing there, but for this ceremony, nearly a thousand cultivators will come from Dongzhou Prefecture or even outside Dongzhou Prefecture to attend the event at Nine Dragons Mountain.

Regardless of whether they were friendly sects, ambivalent sects, or even sects with a hint of hostility or hostility, Jiulong Mountain sent out invitations to all of them, friend or foe.

Many independent cultivators who were somewhat well-known in Dongzhou Prefecture were also included.

It's not uncommon for people like Lin Jin and Tang Sifan to carry invitations with them when making purchases, and to hand them out casually.

Whether the other party comes or not is their business.

This is a stage to showcase Jiulong Mountain's strength to the outside world. In any case, as long as this grand event is well organized, Jiulong Mountain will benefit from it.

Most of these independent practitioners also attend the gathering in groups.

Sects participating in the event as a group often traveled in large groups, with at least seven or eight people sharing a single flying artifact.

Even though it was still almost half an hour's flight away from Jiulong Mountain, Han Lu could already feel the atmosphere of the grand event.

"With so many cultivators attending this celebration, I should be able to buy those rare materials that I can't find in the shops in the county town at the grand event's trade fair."

Just then, a strange voice rang out from not far behind Han Lu, "Fairy, please wait."

Immediately afterwards, a streak of light far surpassing Han Lu's flight speed swept past her, startling her so much that she subconsciously changed the direction of her spirit sword's flight.

A sense of crisis inexplicably arose in Han Lu's heart. Her flying speed did not decrease, but she had already placed her hand on her storage bag and was even ready to activate her cultivation technique and transform into a true spirit in broad daylight.

To everyone's surprise, this streak of light was not malicious.

The light purple light slowly dissipated, revealing a male cultivator flying on a sword.

He looked to be in his thirties or forties, with long, flowing hair that wasn't tied up, but his beard was shaved so thin that only a wisp of stubble remained.

This style of dress gives off a mature yet unrestrained vibe.

The cultivator flew around Han Lu on his sword for a full circle before finding the "channel." He then stopped beside Han Lu at a speed relatively stationary with her, stepping on his spirit sword.

"Fairy, I apologize for disturbing you." Although his actions were somewhat rash, this cultivator spoke with considerable politeness.

Han Lu noticed that the other party hadn't let their guard down and asked, "What is it? Is there something you need, fellow Daoist?"

Sensing the spiritual energy emanating from the other party, and based on Han Lu's extensive knowledge among Foundation Establishment cultivators, she judged that this cultivator who had inexplicably called out to her was probably in the late Foundation Establishment stage, a realm above hers.

"Something's up, something's up," the cultivator who called out to Han Lu said repeatedly. "My name is Xiao Ran. May I ask if the fairy is going to Nine Dragons Mountain to attend the 2000th anniversary celebration of the Nine Dragons Mountain sect?"

Han Lu replied in a lukewarm tone, "Yes, why?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran's face lit up with joy. "May I ask your name, fairy?"

"Han," Han Lu replied.

"Is Fairy Han a single person? Is there an invitation?"

"Why are you asking this?" Han Lu asked back.

Xiao Ran replied, "Fairy Han, I also wish to attend the grand event held at Nine Dragon Mountain. I wonder if you could take me with you?"

Upon hearing this, Han Lu realized that Xiao Ran had inexplicably called her over just for this matter.

Facing Xiao Ran, whose cultivation surpassed hers, Han Lu lowered her guard slightly and replied, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, you don't have an invitation?"

“No,” Xiao Han shook his head. “Although I am from Dongzhou Prefecture, I usually stay in Jiang’an Prefecture. I am not well-known in front of Jiulong Mountain, which is why I did not receive an invitation from Jiulong Mountain.”

"I only have one invitation here," Han Lu said, fearing that Xiao Ran was trying to snatch it from her. So she pointed out a way for Xiao Ran, "Fellow Daoist Xiao, you can go to Jinyuan City. There are many shops there that sell invitations for five spirit stones each."

Buying for three spirit stones and selling for five, both mortal merchants and cultivators were adept at this shrewd business strategy.

Upon hearing the price of five spirit stones for each invitation, Xiao Ran looked distressed and said, "Fairy Han, I know about this, but unfortunately, I don't have a single spirit stone on me right now."

"Furthermore," Xiao Ran explained, "didn't the fairy know that an invitation sent to a rogue cultivator allows them to bring one more person to the ceremony?"

"Huh? Is that so? You can bring one more person to the ceremony?" Hearing this, Han Lu suddenly understood why the independent cultivators traveling with her were all in groups.

I'm afraid that even lone cultivators who usually work alone will take the invitation to Jinyuan County and sell their qualifications to find a "companion" to earn some spirit stones.

Therefore, it is understandable that Xiao Ran found Han Lu among the many independent cultivators who flew on swords.

It's because Han Lu not only looks kind, but she's also all alone.

"I, Xiao, do not like to lie. There is indeed such a thing. Otherwise, I would not have shamelessly come to seek help from you, Fairy." When he needed something from someone, Xiao Ran smiled and did not have the slightest appearance of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Despite this, Han Lu did not let her guard down and asked in return, "But Fellow Daoist Xiao, you said you don't even have a single spirit stone on you? What's going on?"

Xiao Ran was slightly annoyed when he mentioned the matter, and said awkwardly, "I was careless for a moment and lost the storage bag."

Upon hearing this, Han Lu's face froze.

Xiao Ran didn't want to talk about such a shameful thing anymore, but said angrily, "If that little thief dares to open my storage bag and let me feel the aura of my magical artifacts, I will definitely rush over and cut off that little thief's hand to teach him the lesson of not touching other people's things."

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, what about your spirit sword?"

"This is a soft sword, which I keep close to my body," Xiao Ran explained.

Although the reason for the lost storage bag was somewhat absurd, Han Lu judged from Xiao Ran's expression that he was probably not lying.

To prevent Han Lu from refusing, Xiao Ran offered her some more benefits, saying, "There will be a gambling competition before the ceremony, and I will participate."

"If everything goes smoothly and I win some spirit stones and magic artifacts, I will give Fairy Han at least five spirit stones."

Xiao Ran saw this grand event as an opportunity to quickly accumulate wealth again before retrieving his storage bag.

Han Lu naturally didn't care about the paltry profit of just five spirit stones.

What she valued was that by bringing Xiao along, she would no longer be going to Jiulong Mountain alone, becoming an anomaly among the rogue cultivators.

In addition, one can also form a good relationship with this late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, which will be beneficial when one is active in the Nine Dragons Mountain.

Considering all these factors, and the good impression Xiao Ran left on her, Han Lu decided to be a good person for once.

She said, "Alright, Fellow Daoist Xiao, just follow me. When we get there, I'll use an invitation to bring you inside."

Xiao Ran was overjoyed and said, "Thank you very much, Fairy Han."

[Author's Note] In the Investiture of the Gods, Shen Gongbao would always call out, "Fellow immortal, please wait."

Don't ask simple questions like why the protagonist agreed. What if someone gets angry and attacks you if you don't agree? There are people coming and going around, so you can't just transform into a spirit and fight them.

Chapter 272 Xiao Ran Travels Together

And so, with Han Lu's nod, Xiao Ran temporarily became Han Lu's companion.

The two kept a short distance apart and flew together on their swords towards Jiulong Mountain.

Perhaps to express his gratitude to Han Lu, or perhaps simply because Han Lu was beautiful and he wanted to get closer to her, Xiao Ran showed no signs of being a "senior expert" and took the initiative to get closer to Han Lu.

The two chatted back and forth, and Xiao Ran inquired about the origin of Han Lu's invitation.

"Fairy Han, how did you get this invitation?" Xiao Ran knew that he had heard of Han Lu's name before.

Han Lu lied casually without even blushing, "I helped a disciple of Jiulong Mountain with a small favor. He happened to have a few invitations, so he gave me one."

“No wonder Fairy Han didn’t know that the invitation allowed her to bring an extra person,” Xiao Ran helped Han Lu fill in a small gap in her previous statement. “What is Fairy Han going to Nine Dragon Mountain for this trip? To meet friends and broaden her horizons?”

As a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, Xiao Ran applied his understanding of early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators to Han Lu.