The Long Journey to Immortality

The courtyard where Bai Chi lived was in a very secluded location, which was very suitable for cultivators to meditate in peace, and also perfect for Han Lu to carry out her business quietly.

I passed by, dropped off my storage bag, and hurried away.

Han Lu made up her mind that if someone took the storage bag before Bai Chi found it, then Bai Chi would miss out on the "compensation" she had prepared, and she would not try to give this small opportunity to Bai Chi again.

[Author's Note] When I watched the highlights of Wu Lei's game-winning goal against Barcelona, ​​I actually teared up. It turns out I still really love football.

Chapter 425 An Opportunity, Long Qian's Whereabouts

The next morning was the time for Bai Chi's newly apprenticed Golden Core Realm master to give lessons, which took place every three months.

Although due to his own talent, even after advancing to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, Bai Chi was only nominally under the Golden Core Elder, merely a disciple in name only.

However, as a disciple, he also had the opportunity to benefit from the teachings of these senior masters.

Although it was somewhat awkward and embarrassing to sit with his fellow disciples whose cultivation levels were far inferior to his, he still felt a sense of shame and embarrassment.

However, during the year that Bai Chi studied under this Golden Core cultivator, he did not miss a single class.

Just as Bai Chi stepped out of the courtyard gate, still savoring the gains from his cultivation the previous night, he accidentally tripped over something and stumbled.

Just as Bai Chi was wondering who was carelessly littering in front of his house, he looked down and realized that a storage bag had somehow ended up at his feet.

"What happened?" Bai Chi subconsciously picked up the storage bag, looking around. "Who accidentally left it at my doorstep?"

Holding the storage bag, Bai Chi looked it over for a while, but found no markings on it, not even the words "Zhengyi Sect".

"Was it deliberately left here? Or was it given to me on purpose?"

Bai Chi quickly made another rough judgment.

This unusual situation made him wary.

Despite his caution, Bai Chi was still just a cultivator who only mingled in the Central Plains cultivation world and didn't know how treacherous people's hearts could be.

If a cultivator from the Great Yu Dynasty saw this storage bag delivered specifically to him, he would definitely assume that it contained some kind of contraband that was explicitly forbidden by the sect. As soon as he opened the storage bag, several disciples of the Law Enforcement Academy would catch him red-handed.

Or perhaps there's poison hidden inside, and he'll be ambushed by his enemies the moment he opens the storage bag.

Bai Chi wouldn't think that way, so he only hesitated for a moment before opening it out of curiosity.

Upon seeing the numerous pills and spirit stones contained in the storage bag, Bai Chi felt his blood rush to his head in an instant.

"These pills and spirit stones must be worth four or five hundred spirit stones in total." Bai Chi swallowed.

As a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was one of the poorer ones.

Aside from his magical treasures, Bai Chi's cultivation resources were barely worth a hundred spirit stones.

A surge of greed arose in his heart; his desire to advance made him want to secretly take the unclaimed item left at his courtyard gate as soon as possible.

Bai Chi had always subconsciously attributed his slow advancement to a lack of cultivation resources. Now, with such a heaven-sent gift placed before him, how could he not be tempted?

There isn't even a mark on it.

"Maybe some kind senior took pity on me and left me here."

He began to find reasons for keeping the storage bag.

In about ten breaths, Bai Chi's expression changed several times, and the internal struggle was comparable to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator fighting.

Ultimately, Shiraike chose a compromise.

"It's possible that another fellow disciple accidentally left it with me."

"I'll first post a lost and found notice in both the inner and outer vaults of Xishan Courtyard. If no one claims it within a week..."

Bai Chi rubbed his slightly flushed face. "That means this storage bag must have been placed here by a kind senior who thought I had talent."

Feeling that his approach was reasonable, Bai Chi forced himself to temporarily forget about the storage bag.

He casually hung it on his waist and set off for his master's cave to attend class.

During the short three-hour lesson, Bai Chi spent two and a half hours lost in thought.

How could a mere thought completely banish the unexpected surprise worth five hundred spirit stones from one's mind?

After class, Bai Chi didn't linger for a moment for the first time, and went to ask his master, the Wine Pot Taoist, about cultivation issues.

He rushed to the inner vault and posted a "Lost and Found" notice on the bulletin board.

As for the outer treasury bulletin board, which would be noticed by more outer sect cultivators, he selectively forgot about it.

The reason is that such a large quantity of pills and spirit stones could only be possessed by inner sect cultivators.

Therefore, posting "Lost and Found" notices only requires action within the internal archives.

The storage bag was placed there by Han Lu on purpose, so naturally, no real owner of the storage bag would appear to take away this opportunity that should have come to Bai Chi four years ago.

Finally, after dismissing the three fellow disciples who had falsely claimed the bag with various reasonable or unreasonable reasons, Bai Chi happily accepted the storage bag that could help him take another step closer to becoming a Golden Core cultivator.

In the end, Bai Chi relied on the cultivation resources given to him by Han Lu to cultivate diligently for a hundred years, but still failed to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. Only then did Bai Chi finally give up on this cultivation path that had no end and was even incomplete in process.

Compared to the other "worldline", Shirachi's post-monastic life was a full seventy years shorter.

But what kind of life brought him self-realization and greater happiness? Even he couldn't say for sure.

But this is all for later.

After tossing the storage bag to Bai Chi, Han Lu stopped caring about the matter.

Besides her daily cultivation, she began to slowly search for Long Qian's whereabouts through various channels.

Compared to the other three, Long Qian, whose whereabouts are elusive, is the most difficult to find.

Materialism also has fertile ground in the cultivation world, and many cultivators in Xishan Academy are fans of Long Qian.

Hoping to learn from his success, I will treat business as a side job to support my main job, so that my path of cultivation can be smoother.

The various rumors Han Lu received from fans made her search for Long Qian extremely slow.

Today, Han Lu heard the news that Long Qian had made a fortune in the Western Regions, earning more than a thousand spirit stones.

This is a story from a month ago.

The next day, Long Qian "flew" to the Northern Dynasty again, becoming a loser who was slaughtered like a pig.

The rumors that had been circulating for half a year were delayed for a long time before reaching the Zhengyi Sect.

On the fifth day, news of Long Qian's heroic deeds came from the East Sea.

This is the latest news, but it happened four days ago.

It wasn't until three months after Han Lu returned to the sect that she finally received definite news.

A large-scale auction will be held in Southern Xinjiang, where several rare materials obtained by cultivators from ancient cultivation realms will be sold.

As a newly emerging and somewhat famous cultivator-merchant, Long Qian naturally received an invitation as well.

He will accept the invitation to travel to southern Xinjiang to attend the auction.

"Southern Xinjiang? That's perfect."

Han Lu had also been planning to take a trip to southern Xinjiang.

She continued to use her status as her "savior" to deceive Yi Qiyan into getting closer to her, the Holy Maiden of the Five Poisons Sect.

Furthermore, he stored Xiaoyaozi in the second cave in the southern border, and took out all the cultivation techniques and resources prepared for the remnant soul of the Foundation Establishment stage who had successfully possessed him.

Although she is only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, Han Lu has already begun to consider the Golden Core stage.

Naturally, she also hoped to keep the Golden Core Realm chapter of the "Great Zhou Heavenly Water Condensation Technique" by her side as soon as possible, so as to avoid any accidents that might affect her normal cultivation.

Leaving the Central Plains for the Western Regions, the Southern Frontier, or the East Sea is a very troublesome matter for ordinary Zhengyi sect cultivators.

To protect the disciples, under normal circumstances, several reports need to be prepared, explaining the reasons, the route and time of travel, and then approved by a cultivator who is at least at the vice dean level before the trip can proceed.

However, for a highly accomplished disciple like Han Lu, it wouldn't be so difficult.

Han Lu successfully obtained permission from her master, Piaomiaozi, on the grounds of a promise to Yi Qiyan. The day after she submitted her application, she was granted permission.

[Author's Note] Some readers may feel that these chapters are not very relevant to the main plot or the protagonist, but I think these chapters can well reflect that this book is the kind of realistic cultivation novel that I imagined.

Chapter 426 Changes, Calculations

Before setting off, Piaomiaozi gave Han Lu a few special instructions, reminding her to be careful in southern Xinjiang.

Although relations between the Central Plains and the Southern Frontier have eased considerably, the Southern Frontier is still a dangerous place compared to the Central Plains, and it remains somewhat dangerous for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Han Lu didn't take it seriously. She had already made a trip to Da Yu Chao and returned safely, so she naturally wasn't worried about her personal safety in this small place in the Southern Frontier.

However, this was just a thought in her mind. In words, Han Lu repeatedly promised Piaomiaozi that she would keep a low profile and pay attention to safety.

At the time, Wen Erya, who was also present, had a different opinion from Piaomiaozi.

Because Wen Erya knew the whole story of Han Lu's trip to the Great Yu Dynasty, she had a very accurate understanding of Han Lu's strength.

She wasn't worried at all about the safety of her junior sister, who could even defeat a cultivator in the early Golden Core stage.

On the contrary, she was worried that some ignorant cultivator in the Southern Frontier might provoke Han Lu for no reason and lose their life for nothing.

However, recalling Han Lu's previous disappearance, Wen Erya still joked, "Junior sister, don't go and never come back like before, making me, Master, and the others worry so much."

"It's been eleven months since we last met, and I almost didn't recognize you when we met again."

Wen Erya didn't think carefully when she spoke, but Han Lu could hear the unspoken message.

"Does Senior Sister mean that my behavior is no longer like that of a cultivator from the Central Plains?" Han Lu thought to herself.

Some things you really think about are said in the middle of a joke.

Han Lu discovered that there really was such a thing.

After just eleven months away, her personality and way of dealing with people have changed quite a bit.

Compared to the vast majority of "honest and simple" cultivators in the Central Plains, they were indeed quite different.

It's not surprising that Wen Erya, who is most familiar with her, could notice this.

However, since Wen Erya expressed her thoughts in a joking manner, Han Lu naturally couldn't give a serious answer.

Han Lu simply gave Wen Erya a hug, using this familiar gesture to show that she hadn't changed.

The movements were familiar, but the feeling of embracing each other was not so familiar.