The Long Journey to Immortality

Entering the courtyard, in the bedroom on the second floor of the two-story building, Han Lu took out all the miscellaneous items from the storage bag and officially settled down in the Xishan Courtyard of Zhengyi Gate, ending her half-month stay.

After Han Lu settled down, Fu Chen, as agreed, taught Han Lu the "Treading Water Without Leaving a Trace" technique. Then, with his hands on his hips and his eyes looking upwards at the roof, he pondered whether he had overlooked anything more important.

Han Lu wasn't sure if the rules were the same in the East and West Mountain Academies, but she still whispered a reminder, like a newly initiated Qi Refining cultivator, "Little Master, doesn't the sect have any special arrangements regarding cultivation techniques?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Chen realized that he had overlooked the most important thing.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Fu Chen said three times before bringing up the matter Han Lu had asked, “New disciples can go to the Transmission Hall of the main academy to choose a cultivation method within the first month after entering the academy.”

“Junior Sister Han, I don’t know the grade of your family’s cultivation technique, and I’m not good at giving guidance in this area. My suggestion is that you should find an opportunity to visit Elder Piaomiao and ask your master for guidance so that he can help you choose a suitable cultivation technique.”

The "Great Zhou Heavenly Water Condensation Technique" chosen by Xiaoyaozi is definitely much better than the techniques that people can choose at will in the Transmission Hall. Han Lu asked this question only to learn the superficial techniques; she has no intention of changing her cultivation method.

To make herself appear more like a new disciple of the Zhengyi Sect, Han Lu pestered Fu Chen with a few "simple questions." Only after feeling that she had made no mistakes did she express her gratitude for Fu Chen's guidance and help over the past few hours.

“You’re welcome, it’s what I should do,” Fu Chen said, standing outside number seventeen and pointing to the hospital at the foot of a mountain not far away. “Junior Sister Han, I live there, number two in the Third Hospital. If you have any questions, you can come to me anytime.”

After saying this, Fu Chen emphasized the matter of the morning class, and only left after seeing Han Lu respond to him a few times.

This was also his first time mentoring newcomers in the inner court, so naturally he wanted to do it well.

After Fu Chen left, Han Lu surprisingly lay on the bed, lazily stretching her limbs, breathing in the air that was both familiar and unfamiliar, and recalling everything that had happened in the past few hours.

Returning to Zhengyi Sect as a new disciple was a novel experience for Han Lu, and she had many feelings about it.

After closing her eyes and resting for a while to dispel the fatigue from the flying boat ride, Han Lu nimbly got out of bed.

Just as Han Lu was debating whether she should wander around and familiarize herself with the environment of Dongshan Academy or begin her daily cultivation, the waist tag hanging on her waist vibrated slightly.

"A visitor?"

[Author's Note] Will the bionic Jiaxing people dream of giant electronic rice dumplings? As always, please vote for this story.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Visiting Friends and Rumors

The villa has twenty courtyards. Although each courtyard is separated from the others by walls and restrictions, the cultivators living in the adjacent courtyards can barely be considered neighbors.

Since they are neighbors, they may live together for decades. Naturally, some of the more sociable and active disciples will visit each other, hoping to become acquainted, chat for a while, and have more help in case of any difficulties or troubles in the future.

At this moment, the two cultivators who came to visit Han Lu together had this idea in mind: to take the initiative to knock on the door and trigger the restriction.

In the world of cultivation, it's best not to be a lone wolf, especially when someone has already "knocked on the door"—it would be extremely impolite to ignore them.

Stepping out of the courtyard, Han Lu saw two guests.

One of them looked to be about the same age as her, while the other looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

Han Lu is not good at chatting, but the guests who come to visit her are at least at the "Golden Core" level in interpersonal communication.

With just a few words, Han Lu understood the general background of the two people.

The older one is the elder brother, named Duan Mingcheng. He has been cultivating in Dongshan Academy for ten years. He is an outer disciple and his cultivation level is the fifth level of Qi Refining.

The other boy was the younger brother, named Duan Xiao. Like Han Lu, he had just entered the sect. His talent surpassed that of his older brother by a great deal. He was an inner disciple, but unlike Han Lu, he did not become a disciple of Piaomiaozi.

Duan Xiao's courtyard is number sixteen, right next to Han Lu's courtyard.

The older brother led his newly-joined younger brother to visit the neighbors; the purpose of their visit was self-evident.

Presumably, being an outer disciple, he couldn't conveniently fulfill his family's request to "take care of his younger brother within the sect" as the elder brother.

Since his younger brother had no opportunity to find a good teacher at the Golden Core stage, he thought he should see if there were any good friends among the neighbors and befriend them so that his younger brother, who had just entered the Zhengyi Sect, would not "go astray".

When Shi Xiao talks about this kind of thing, he's bound to get a few criticisms.

Duan Mingcheng didn't think it was a big deal to say these things in front of outsiders, especially to a pretty girl, but Duan Xiao felt very embarrassed.

Being near the water gives you an advantage.

Attracted and bewildered by Han Lu's appearance, Duan Xiao even felt that his older brother was worrying too much and ruining a marriage that had not yet begun.

"We're all from the same sect, not to mention we live so close together. It's normal to help each other out when we encounter minor difficulties," Han Lu said politely, offering some innocuous words.

However, Duan Mingcheng didn't take Han Lu's words as mere pretense and spoke sincerely.

"That's great, Junior Sister Han. Since you're so decisive, I won't be ambiguous either."

"If you encounter any minor troubles or problems and can't find your mentor for a while, you can come to me."

"Although I am from the outer sect, I have spent ten years in the main sect, so I can still be of some help."

Hearing that a cultivator who had practiced in the Zhengyi Sect for ten years and whose cultivation level was at the fifth level of Qi Refining wanted to help her, Han Lu smiled on the surface, but in her heart, whether from Xiaoyaozi's perspective or Feng Bailu's perspective, she felt something was strange.

Duan Mingcheng looked at his younger brother, wanting Duan Xiao to say a few words, but he noticed that Duan Xiao's gaze was a little strange, as if he had developed some special thoughts about Han Lu that normal male cultivators would have about beautiful female cultivators.

In order to prevent his younger brother from being seduced by women before completing his studies, Duan Mingcheng did not linger at Han Lu's place. After finishing his business, he pulled Duan Xiao away to visit other courtyards in the Seventh Academy.

Just then, it was almost lunchtime, so Han Lu returned to her room, used magic to liquefy water from the air, and quickly cleaned the room.

Even when it comes to using magic to clean the house, Han Lu, who is still just a novice Daoist, is more efficient and skilled than Feng Bailu, a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Stepping out of the courtyard and confirming that the restrictions were still in place, Han Lu leisurely walked towards the dining hall located between the inner and outer gates.

A mountain academy, with its inner and outer disciples, excluding the Golden Core stage elders who no longer concern themselves with worldly affairs, has at least five thousand cultivators who need to eat regularly, so the dining space cannot be small.

For example, Xishan Academy, where Fengbai Road once stayed, had three dining halls, enough to accommodate two thousand people at the same time.

The same applies to Dongshan Academy.

Han Lu had just sat down with her rice bowl, a few side dishes to her liking, and found an empty seat when several outer disciples who had just completed their initiation procedures poured into the dining hall to enjoy their first meal in the Zheng Yi Sect.

Compared to Han Lu, who had Fu Chen to help her with the trivial matters of entering the sect, the treatment of these outer disciples was much worse.

Twenty people in a group, led by an outer disciple who has been practicing for at least five years, walking around the circle is no easy feat without the aid of agility spells.

New disciples like Xue Ding from Moyu City were still wandering around various mountain academies with their senior brothers.

Those dining in the dining hall now are disciples from other cities who arrived at Zhengyi Sect earlier than the new disciples from the three northern cities.

It was lunchtime, and there weren't many empty seats in the cafeteria. Of the nearly sixty people, about half of them were sitting near Han Lu.

After running around busily, these teenagers, who had only known each other for a few hours, had become quite familiar with each other and chatted happily at the dinner table.

Although Han Lu had not cultivated any secret techniques to enhance her hearing, she could still hear the conversation of several of the teenagers with loud voices, even though she was eating nearby.

The conversation naturally revolved around the Zhengyi Sect and its upcoming apprenticeship ceremony.

During the chat, the people mentioned most often were Elder Piaomiao and Princess Thirteen.

One of them is a Golden Core Elder from Dongshan Academy who participated in this disciple-acceptance ceremony.

The other one is the most talented among the new disciples on paper, and also holds a prestigious position in the secular world.

Inspired by the two celebrities, Han Lu, one of only two people accepted as an elder's disciple this time, was also mentioned briefly.

Through these fellow disciples, Han Lu passively learned a lot more about the Thirteenth Princess.

From the perspective of seniority within a sect, the Thirteenth Princess, whose cultivation level was higher than Han Lu's and who was accepted into the Piaomiao Sect earlier than Han Lu, could be considered Han Lu's senior sister.

With this connection in mind, and given her own curiosity about the Thirteenth Princess, Han Lu didn't shy away from listening openly.

She was the youngest daughter of the Emperor of Jin and was greatly loved.

According to popular rumors, the thirteenth princess was of the highest caliber in both appearance and character.

It is said that he began formal cultivation at the age of twelve, and within just three years he had already reached the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Rumor has it that, to celebrate his daughter's entry into the Zhengyi Sect and her becoming a disciple of a Golden Core cultivator, the Emperor of Jin prepared nine superior magical artifacts as gifts to present to his thirteenth princess, the most promising child on the path of cultivation.

Inside the gate, there were also two princes cultivating, but their cultivation and talent were average, and they didn't get along very well with the thirteenth princess.

According to reliable intelligence, the Thirteenth Princess resides in the Inner Courtyard, which is the closest cultivation ground to Cold Cicada Peak.

……

"Also, I don't know which newcomer got lucky, but he was actually accepted as a disciple by Elder Piaomiao and became a fellow disciple of the Thirteenth Princess," said a new disciple who was the most talkative at the dinner table and was already showing signs of hair loss at the age of fifteen. "But Brother Li, who is clearly talented, was not accepted as a disciple by Elder Piaomiao."

Clearly, he felt that the assessment criteria for Golden Core cultivators to accept disciples were unclear, and that the disciple in question was most likely a "second-generation immortal" who had gotten in through connections.

The only inner disciple in the group, the boy called Brother Li, didn't take the matter so seriously.

"It's not that exaggerated. It's said that the person is also a genius with a top-grade water-attribute spiritual root. He is indeed a cut above me. It's normal that Elder Piaomiao took a liking to him and accepted him as a disciple."

While absorbing these rumors, Han Lu calmly finished her meal, which helped her form a more complete image of her unseen senior sister. She also noted down the appearance of the fellow disciples who were spreading rumors about her, planning to teach them a lesson when she saw them in the future competition.

As Han Lu walked out of the dining hall, she was thinking of going to Hanchan Peak to see how it differed from the other peaks in Dongshan Academy when a paper sword flew over and stopped in front of her.

Unfold the paper sword.

"Come."

After the word "come," there was an address and Piaomiaozi's signature.

"It just so happens that my master has arranged to meet me on Cold Cicada Peak."

"Seeing is believing. This time, I might be able to see for myself what kind of person this senior sister really is."

[Author's Note] If this is your first time reading my book, please rest assured that even though it's a cultivation novel written in a pigeonhole, this book will definitely be completed.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Senior Sister's Advice

On Cold Cicada Peak, there is a pool of spiritual water formed by an underground spring originating from the earth's spiritual veins. This makes the spiritual energy on Cold Cicada Peak exceptionally rich and easier for cultivators who specialize in water-attribute techniques to absorb and utilize.

Its unique natural conditions have made Hanchan Peak the most important cultivation ground in Dongshan Academy.

The residences of many late-stage Foundation Establishment disciples and several Golden Core cultivators belonging to the East Mountain Academy are all near Cold Cicada Peak.

There are even rumors that a Nascent Soul stage elder from the Zhengyi Sect who practices water-attribute techniques also has a temporary residence on Hanchan Peak.

Whenever this Supreme Elder needs to study some water-attribute secret techniques, the Cold Pool at the top of Cold Cicada Peak will be temporarily closed so that the Supreme Elder can use it at will.

On ordinary days, Cold Cicada Peak is only open to the public intermittently, and only Foundation Establishment cultivators from the inner courtyard can enter the top of Cold Cicada Peak to cultivate for a short time.

There are many reasons for this arrangement, but the two most important reasons are:

Firstly, the summit of Cold Cicada Peak is too cold, so even if Qi Refining cultivators stay here to cultivate, they won't get very good results.

Secondly, the spiritual water in this cold pool is the best diluent for the ripening green liquid produced by the sect's treasure, the Heaven-Stealing Bottle. It cannot be contaminated, and too many cultivators visiting this place would pose a certain risk.

Therefore, when Han Lu, a novice Daoist who had just entered the sect and could not even be called a Qi Refining cultivator, managed to use the water-attribute lightness technique taught by Fu Chen to quickly arrive at the foot of Han Chan Peak, she was immediately stopped by two disciples of the Enforcement Academy who were in charge of maintaining order near Han Chan Peak.

The Enforcement Academy is an institution under the Five Elements Mountain Academy, primarily responsible for maintaining order within the sect.

Some older disciples were expelled from their original mountain academies due to difficulties in making progress in their cultivation. Among them, many older disciples who were law-abiding and had good records were absorbed into the Enforcement Academy. They worked part-time and studied part-time to earn spirit stones and continue their cultivation path.