The Long Journey to Immortality

After embracing tightly for about five breaths, Han Lu felt she had expressed herself clearly and said, "I'll definitely be back in half a month at most."

It only takes a day and a half to fly from Zhengyi Gate to Southern Xinjiang, and Han Lu estimated that even if too much time was wasted searching for Long Qian.

It's already a miracle that this trip took ten days; she's incredibly slow.

After another round of chatting and laughing, Han Lu promised to bring back some "local specialties" from the Western Regions before waving goodbye to the two.

After all, it was only a short separation rather than a life-or-death parting, and Piaomiaozi and Wenerya were mainly seeing each other off because of their relationship.

Han Lu's mode of transport was still the same Pegasus carriage that she had chosen from the inner treasury during the last competition.

A mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator uses a magic artifact of the magic tool level to travel.

This mode of travel is quite in line with Han Lu's promise to Piaomiaozi to "keep a low profile".

Sitting on the flying chariot, Han Lu controlled the magical artifact to keep the flight stable and prevent it from deviating from the course. At the same time, she pondered what she should do after finding Long Qian and what "compensation" she should give to this cultivator-merchant who had already made a fortune.

Compared to the other three, Long Qian, who was not lacking in cultivation resources, became the companion who found it most difficult to choose the compensation items to give.

Unlike the other three.

Long Qian's desire for material things is on a higher level.

If Han Lu simply sends out 500 spirit stones as compensation, then this compensation would be too insincere.

After all, if the rumors were disregarded, Han Lu believed that Long Qian's net worth was at least seven or eight thousand spirit stones.

Compared to Long Qian's rapid accumulation of wealth, a mere five hundred spirit stones are nothing.

After much deliberation, Han Lu decided to give away the numerous materials and spiritual plants she had collected from the Great Yu Dynasty as compensation.

These things were not uncommon in the Great Yu Dynasty, but they were rare in the Central Plains.

Things are valued for their rarity, and Han Lu felt that these items would be very suitable as gifts for merchants who wanted to sell rare and valuable goods.

"But how should we send it out?"

Being unfamiliar with the place and its people, Han Lu's actions were somewhat constrained.

Han Lu came up with many ideas on and off, but as they were almost at southern Xinjiang, she still felt that these methods were somewhat lacking.

Compared to the other three, Long Qian, who has been navigating the cultivation world for three years, can definitely be considered a seasoned veteran.

It would indeed be somewhat difficult to get this done smoothly in front of him.

Feeling that she didn't have a good solution at the moment, Han Lu finally decided to try a different approach.

"Anyway, Long Qian doesn't recognize me now, so I'll just show up in front of him, do business with him using these things, and let him rip me off comfortably. Wouldn't that get the job done?" Han Lu had an idea. "Maybe Long Qian will be even happier that way."

"After all, he became a merchant more for the thrill of earning spirit stones."

"There must be nothing that gives a businessman a greater sense of satisfaction than making money by ripping people off."

The more Han Lu thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

The general plan has been set, but the details still need to be added.

After spending half an hour, Han Lu finally finished preparing everything not far from the sect where Yi Qiyan was located.

Han Lu decided that when she met Long Qian a few days later, she would play the role of a naive second-generation immortal, a young lady who had slipped out of a large family to make her way in the world.

"A cunning merchant ruthlessly fleeces a naive, inexperienced young lady from a cultivation family who desperately needs spirit stones, selling the spirit stones in her storage bag at an extremely low price..."

"It's somewhat like a typical plot in a cultivation novel," Han Lu summarized, adding, "It's a bit melodramatic, but perfectly fitting."

"I suppose that, faced with such enormous profits, Long Qian, who is already a businessman, wouldn't think too much and would secretly chuckle to himself as he completed this unequal deal."

Han Lu imagined the scene a few days later where Long Qian would be "manipulated" by her, and couldn't help but look forward to their reunion.

However, upon further reflection, it seems somewhat inappropriate.

After all, Long Qian had been out there for three and a half years and was much more shrewd than the other three. The lies she fabricated were not easy to fool, not to mention that the lies were combined with Han Lu's mediocre acting skills.

"However, we should first go find Yi Qiyan and ask this local about the situation in the Southern Frontier. After finding out the exact location of the cave that Xiaoyaozi set up in the Southern Frontier, then we can worry about removing the mental barrier."

Everything has its order of priority. The thing Han Lu is most anxious about right now is to quickly gather the treasures of the cave that Xiaoyaozi prepared for the "reincarnated remnant soul" in the Foundation Establishment stage.

Lowering the altitude slightly, Han Lu took out the map of southern Xinjiang that she had prepared in advance from her storage bag and chose a slightly more winding route.

She spent three hours avoiding a sect that was not very friendly to cultivators from the Central Plains before finally arriving at the first stop of her trip to the Southern Frontier before sunset.

The Five Poisons Sect.

Chapter 427 Five Poisons Sect

Based on the territory occupied by the Eastern Human Race at the end of the Ancient Era.

The Central Plains, the Western Regions, and the Southern Frontier were actually one entity.

The three regions split up for various reasons and each went its own way.

If we go back 100,000 years, most of the cultivators who have some fame or reputation in the cultivation world of the three regions are related by blood.

Unfortunately, when the independence movement was making its way, southern Xinjiang didn't benefit at all.

The Western Regions can be considered peacefully independent, and although there are fewer cultivation resources in that area, it still has a large territory and population.

The Central Plains was the core area of ​​the eastern human race, with a large population and abundant resources, which is why the Central Plains has been superior to the Western Regions and the Southern Frontier for tens of thousands of years.

And what about southern Xinjiang?

When they were trying to gain independence, because they were close by, they were not only beaten up by the cultivators from the Central Plains, but also had their basic resources plundered by the armies of mortals.

Finally, although it successfully "remained single" a thousand years after the first independence movement due to internal political changes in the Central Plains, it was severely weakened.

Not only is the population, land, and resources scarce, but the number of high-level cultivators is also far less than in the other two places.

This has resulted in Southern Xinjiang, despite its quiet development over tens of thousands of years, consistently ranking at the bottom among the three regions in every category.

This situation caused immense headaches for cultivators born in the southern borderlands who longed to ascend to the spirit realm.

This also forced them to try some new things, leading the Southern Frontier onto a cultivation path that was slightly different from that of the Central Plains.

This includes cultivation techniques, combat methods, and the relationship between mortals and cultivators.

The biggest difference between the Southern Frontier and the Western Regions and the Central Plains lies in the relationship between cultivators and mortals.

If the Western Regions clan system is the closest to the mortal world, and the Central Plains sects' open recruitment of disciples is slightly inferior, then the cultivators of the Southern Frontier can be said to be completely separated from mortals.

Because cultivation resources in the southern border region are extremely scarce.

Therefore, the idea of ​​using the best steel where it's needed most is deeply ingrained in the minds of the cultivators in the Southern Frontier.

The cultivators of the Southern Frontier used their spiritual power, which far surpassed that of ordinary people, to fabricate lies, create fictitious gods, establish religions, and control ordinary people by controlling religious puppets.

All newborn children born to mortals receive blessings from the gods.

The blessing process is led by cultivators who conduct a preliminary examination of the newborn's talent for cultivation.

If there's no talent, then return it to its parents.

If someone is gifted, they declare the newborn to be the "son of God" or to have some other higher or lower religious status, in the name of the gods.

In this way, newborns are taken away from their birth mothers and incorporated into their own religious system at an early age, receiving comprehensive guidance from childhood and being trained to become monks.

Benefiting from the extremely southern Xinjiang-oriented religious doctrines and the presence of two Nascent Soul cultivators from the sect.

With a history of at least 50,000 years, the Five Poisons Sect naturally became the religious organization that controlled most of the southern Xinjiang region at that time.

While various religions, large and small, are fighting tooth and nail over the faith and support of a single village.

The Five Poisons Sect can then happily spread its doctrines everywhere, seeking out loopholes and weaknesses in the doctrines of smaller sects to attack, thereby rescuing ordinary people in the southern border regions who have been brainwashed by "inferior religions" and bringing them into the embrace of the Five Poisons Sect.

And from these ordinary newborns, they select those with outstanding talents and nurture them carefully.

Yi Qiyan, who once entered the ancient cultivation secret realm with Han Lu, was one of the best in this system.

Within the Five Poisons Sect, Yi Qiyan was known as the Holy Maiden and enjoyed a considerable status.

Because of this, she did not know who her real biological mother and father were, only that the Five Poisons Sect had raised and supported her.

This approach has enabled the limited cultivation resources in the southern border region to cultivate as many and as many outstanding cultivators as possible.

Whether this lack of "humanistic care" is right or wrong, nobody knows.

Han Lu was merely curious about the cultivation system in Southern Xinjiang and had no intention of changing this cruel practice.

Furthermore, since she came to the Five Poisons Sect to visit a friend, she naturally wouldn't do anything annoying out of boredom.

The "Children of God" in the Five Poisons Sect all live on the highest mountain in this small area of ​​southern Xinjiang.

To show respect, Han Lu voluntarily changed to walking when she was not far from the mountain courtyard.

It was an unknown day, but the mountain path of the Five Poisons Sect was crowded with mortals who came to worship.

With no other option, Han Lu could only follow the flow of people and slowly climb the steps.

After walking along the mountain path for about fifteen minutes, Han Lu was finally able to see the Five Poisons Sect's mountain gate in the distance.

Outside the Five Poisons Sect's mountain gate is a plaza platform where five statues stand. These are the gods fabricated by the Five Poisons Sect for mortals to worship and venerate.

Before each of the five statues, a strangely dressed monk held a buoy and performed spells for the believers.

These cultivators are only at the Qi Refining stage.

The spells used were merely visually appealing or the most basic healing spells.

But it is more than enough to convince mortals, who have been fooled for decades, that this is the power of the gods and that faith can heal wounds.

Fortunately, mortals are the lowest level of existence in the Five Poisons Sect's system and are not allowed to enter the area of ​​the mountain gate, which is why Han Lu was able to leave the crowd after entering the square.

As soon as she stepped out of the crowd, Han Lu, this oddball, was discovered by the cultivators of the Five Poisons Sect.

Anyone could tell that Han Lu's attire indicated she was no ordinary person from the Southern Frontier. Naturally, a Southern Frontier cultivator dressed as an ordinary cultivator soon came forward to greet her and led Han Lu, this fellow Daoist who had come to visit, aside, so as not to tarnish this religiously significant ceremony.

"Fellow Daoist, what brings you to my Five Poisons Sect?" Although Han Lu's arrival was somewhat untimely, the Five Poisons Sect cultivator was still very friendly towards her.

"My name is Han Lu from the Zhengyi Sect. I've come to the Five Poisons Sect to visit a friend."

"The Zhengyi Sect?" Upon hearing this term, the cultivator from the Southern Frontier felt a chill run down his spine.

Because of its size, the Five Poisons Sect had to openly rival the two major sects in the Central Plains.

In reality, the Five Poisons Sect's leadership had a fairly good relationship with various sects in the Central Plains.

The Five Poisons Sect often stepped in to mediate and resolve conflicts between small sects in southern Xinjiang and those in central China.