The Long Journey to Immortality

The courtyard follows the architectural style of the Central Plains, emphasizing a grand and high-class atmosphere.

Thanks to the invitation obtained from the Five Poisons Sect, Han Lu, who was attending the auction alone, was able to occupy a courtyard large enough to comfortably accommodate thirty people during the auction.

In front of the flower stand in the courtyard, there were twenty ordinary servants waiting to take care of Han Lu's daily life for the next few days.

"Greetings, Miss." After the female cultivator leading the way introduced Han Lu, all the servants bowed in unison.

This service was originally intended to serve about a dozen people from a sect. The entire pomp and circumstance fell on Han Lu alone.

This grand gesture caught Han Lu, who was used to a frugal life, somewhat off guard.

However, she did not refuse such high-class service at the level of a "Nascent Soul cultivator".

Han Lu was still thinking about the "gift-giving" matter. "With such a grand gesture, if I invite Long Qian here to discuss business, he certainly won't have any doubts."

With a wave of his hand, the twenty servants dispersed in an orderly fashion, each going about their own business.

After the servants left, Han Lu casually called out to the female cultivator who had led the way and asked her about Long Qian.

However, Long Qian was not well-known in the Southern Frontier, and this female cultivator had never heard of such a person in this valley.

"Alright, go down now." Han Lu waved her hand expertly again, then pondered how to find the person in the valley.

After the female practitioner from southern Xinjiang bid farewell, she moved into a small house next to the courtyard where Han Lu lived.

These next few days, she will need to be on standby again, ready to be at Han Lu's beck and call at any time.

[Author's Note] The previous chapter taught everyone a lesson: when hiring a tutor, don't hire a top student from a prestigious university.

Chapter 433 Searching for People in the Valley

Enjoying the privileged treatment reserved for representatives of medium-sized and large sects and Golden Core cultivators, Han Lu did not become complacent and quickly turned her attention to the matter of "paying back debts".

There were more people attending the auction than she had expected.

She didn't want her plans to overcome her mental obstacles to be shelved because she couldn't find the unassuming Long Qian in the crowd, and she would have to find another opportunity to complete them.

Fortunately, she managed to find a magical artifact in the secret vault.

The beast's eyes, which could help Foundation Establishment cultivators project their divine sense, came in handy at this moment.

Sitting upright on the stone bench by the pond in the courtyard, Han Lu held the Beast Eye in her hand, silently recited the incantation, and unleashed its power.

The beast's originally pure white eyes changed after sensing the spiritual energy poured into them.

A deep blue, pupil-like pattern appeared in the white beast's eyes. If one were to see it for the first time, it would surely send shivers down one's spine.

This is a miraculous change that occurred after Han Lu completely refined the beast's eyes over the past two and a half months.

Since Han Lu refined this treasure, blue eyes have appeared whenever she activates it.

The appearance of the blue eyes not only gave this treasure some "divine soul integration ability", but also made its ability to assist in the external release of divine sense by 30% higher than when Han Lu first possessed this treasure. This made what was a somewhat useless magic weapon for ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators a magic weapon comparable to a spiritual artifact in the hands of Han Lu, who had extraordinary divine sense.

Han Lu had not heard of this change from the Seven Flower Fairy.

She guessed that the strange changes in the beast's eyes were probably related to the true spirit bloodline within her.

However, this was just speculation, and she didn't want to delve into it further.

With the help of the beast's eyes, Han Lu's divine sense was successfully deployed. In just a short while, Han Lu had completely detected the situation within a hundred meters with her divine sense, and she had a complete grasp of every blade of grass and every tree.

However, Han Lu also noticed that when her divine sense spread out and extended to the edge of other courtyards, it was blocked by a restriction, creating a black area that could not be detected or observed.

“There are at least ten Golden Core cultivators in the valley right now. The organizers really do need to set up some restrictions to block divine sense,” Han Lu had anticipated all of this. “However, these restrictions should only be set up in the area where the distinguished guests are staying and in the auction venue. As for the ordinary roads and the residences of ordinary cultivators…”

Han Lu raised her eyebrows, held her beastly eyes, and walked more than fifty meters towards the street.

As she thought, such complex methods are not something everyone can enjoy.

The monks who entered the valley with silver invitations did not receive such good treatment.

The temporary shops between the buildings lacked even the most basic protective measures.

Nodding slightly, Han Lu temporarily severed her connection with the beast's eye. "Alright, in that case, even if Long Qian stays in his room for the three days leading up to the auction, I'll still find a way to locate him."

Not only that, there are many Golden Core cultivators here, and even if the cultivators here have good spiritual senses and can sense that someone is scanning over them, they will not find it strange.

Knowing what was going on, Han Lu immediately moved the Moon Pearl and the beast eye to a different spot to avoid becoming the center of attention while carrying that strange beast eye.

After completing all this, Han Lu used her supernatural powers to slightly adjust the size of her top before walking out at a leisurely pace.

Sandwiched between two soft mounds, the beast's supernatural powers were not affected in the slightest.

Once outside, not far from where Han Lu lived was the road leading to the main venue of the auction.

But since she was only looking for someone, she naturally headed towards crowded places.

“Long Qian is not the kind of person who likes to stay in her room and cultivate.”

"He must have come here with the intention of making money through business."

"So, if you want to find him, you should still go..."

After pondering for a moment, Han Lu decided to first search the idle market area that was spontaneously set up by the participating cultivators.

If there's no success, then make another trip to the living quarters of the monks who received the silver invitation.

The seemingly idle market that Han Lu noticed was not actually organized spontaneously by the cultivators participating in the auction, but rather thrived under the deliberate guidance of the organizers.

After all, an auction cannot just be an auction. The many cultivators who will be spectators at the final auction need to have something to do, money to earn, and money to spend for the auction to be truly successful.

Many of the monks who received invitations to this valley actually came primarily because of this event.

Even Long Qian was the same.

It's very convenient to find people using your divine sense.

Although it had been more than four years since Han Lu last saw Long Qian, she still remembered what Long Qian looked like.

Han Lu was confident that with the help of the beast's eyes, she could "see" every Foundation Establishment cultivator walking around in the deep valley in just one or two hours, and find the unsuspecting Long Qian among them. It didn't seem difficult at all.

But even though I'm looking for someone, I still need to stroll around the market.

Han Lu didn't want to stand out too much among the group of cultivators busy with business, so she would occasionally stop in front of some cultivators who had set up stalls to see if she could find some treasures with her rudimentary level of appraisal skills.

This is no easy task.

After all, most cultivators who are qualified or willing to spend spare money to come here know a thing or two about appraisal.

The chances of good stuff getting buried here are slim.

The truly good stuff, even at these street stalls, is mostly well-known and priced accordingly, leaving no chance for anyone to find a bargain.

Han Lu felt quite helpless about this. She couldn't "turn stones into gold" like Long Qian had in the legends that had been passed back to the sect. So she could only honestly shop in the market and look for some materials and resources unique to the Southern Frontier to make up for the lack in her storage bag.

What are the unique cultivation resources in southern Xinjiang?

Those must be poisonous insects, monsters, poisonous creatures, and spiritual plants of all sizes.

Half of the shops and stalls in the market display one of these four items, especially poisonous insects.

Many cultivators from the Southern Frontier were hoping to sell these poisonous insects they had cultivated to wealthy but inexperienced cultivators from the Central Plains and Western Regions for a good price.

Meanwhile, cultivators from the Western Regions and the Central Plains were also hoping to bring back this item, which was full of the unique characteristics of the Southern Frontier, and make a small profit by taking advantage of its scarcity.

With mutual exchange of needs, and under the organizer's standardized management, spirit stones flowed constantly in and out of the market, with occasional large transactions involving spirit stones in the thousands.

In terms of scale and influence, it probably surpasses many large-scale trade fairs and auctions.

Han Lu spent a quarter of an hour strolling through the market, buying only some rare poisonous items as an accumulation and not lavishly displaying her status as a second-generation immortal.

Soon, after Han Lu's divine sense had slowly searched two-thirds of the entire market area, a Central Plains cultivator who resembled Long Qian came into Han Lu's "sight".

Unsure? No problem.

Without a second thought, Han Lu quickened her pace and moved closer to him.

She wanted to take a closer look and find out the truth.

[Author's Note] Monster Hunter Iceborne PC is officially launched, it's time for another enjoyable hunting session.

Chapter 434 Contact

In the images obtained from the divine sense scan, Han Lu discovered that the cultivator who resembled Long Qian had a 70% resemblance in appearance and features to Long Qian.

Such a resemblance was enough for her to pay close attention. She took a few steps closer and used her eyes and ears to judge, through some details, whether this cultivator who resembled Long Qian was indeed Long Qian.

"If all else fails," Han Lu thought, when she was only seven or eight steps away from the suspected target, "I'll just ask her directly. Anyway, Long Qian doesn't recognize me now."

Han Lu had many ideas in mind, but she chose to remain silent and observe first, looking for the right opportunity to talk to Long Qian, so that everything she had planned could proceed smoothly.

The cultivator Han Lu discovered who resembled Long Qian was a shop owner who had set up a temporary store along the street.

Using temporary shops along the street is a minor privilege that only monks with silver and gold invitations can obtain.

Those monks who attended the auction with bronze invitations could only set up stalls on the roadside like ordinary street vendors.

From this perspective, the cultivator who resembles Long Qian does fit the description of Long Qian entering with a silver invitation.

As Han Lu approached, the cultivator was discussing business with another cultivator from the Southern Frontier. Han Lu, like any ordinary onlooker, stood three or four meters away, quietly observing the every move of this cultivator who resembled Long Qian.

The buyer and seller are engaged in a heated debate over a magical artifact worth two hundred spirit stones.

The deal has been basically finalized, and both sides are working hard to sell the magic artifact at the original price of two hundred spirit stones.

The other side is trying to get a discount and save a dozen or so spirit stones.

After all, for the vast majority of Foundation Establishment cultivators, a dozen or so spirit stones is not a small amount.

Only a few cultivators can afford to spend money like Han Lu, using the Dharma seat and spending spirit stones to cultivate every day.

Saving money wherever possible is the true principle.

As for the demeanor and face of cultivators, even in the "peaceful and friendly" Central Plains, they are insignificant compared to spirit stones when discussing business.

After listening for a while, Han Lu roughly figured out what the two cultivators were arguing about.

The cultivator who was talking about Long Qian, because of his distinctive quirks and voice, made Han Lu realize that the shop owner she was talking business with was none other than Long Qian, her roommate from Fengbai Road four and a half years ago.

Four and a half years have passed. Although Long Qian's cultivation level is still at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, his appearance and temperament have changed a lot from before.

Although she was a Foundation Establishment cultivator and could control her metabolism to maintain her figure, perhaps due to her temperament, Long Qian, who was not thin to begin with, looked even more plump.

And because he had been working hard for three and a half years, wandering around doing business.