The Long Journey to Immortality

Master Yunmin picked up the conversation and continued, "Han Lu, tell me your story in detail. What exactly happened during the few hours you were here?"

"Yes, Sect Master."

After responding, Han Lu began to recount the story that unfolded after Wen Erya left.

The deer part was not erased.

Linglu had promised Hanlu not to reveal that she was a true spirit, and Hanlu naturally wouldn't erase the enormous contribution that this temporary outside helper had made in this matter.

As for the scene where the phoenix and deer fight against the purple monster, Han Lu deleted most of it.

She devoted most of her attention to the short story of the spirit sword descending and killing the purple monster.

Compared to Yunmin Daoist, who had only served as the sect leader for a little over ten years, Venerable Qingyang knew more about his opponent, Xuanyang Valley.

At his request, Han Lu described in great detail the spirit sword that flew in from the north to save the day.

"It's a white spirit sword with some blue patterns and a tassel. Although I didn't look closely, the tassel seems to be just a mortal ornament."

Even with this somewhat vague description, Venerable Qingyang recognized the owner of the spirit sword.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Venerable Qingyang reached a conclusion.

"It seems that Xuan Yang Valley has gained another Nascent Soul Realm cultivator."

Upon hearing this, Daoist Yunmin's expression froze.

Clearly, he was the last person who wanted to make a name for himself during the remaining fifteen years of his tenure as sect leader.

Venerable Qingyang continued, "As far as I know, the spiritual sword that Han Lu just described used to belong to Qing Pingzi, a Nascent Soul cultivator from Xuan Yang Valley."

“When I had just advanced to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, he was already at the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, one of the strongest cultivators in the Central Plains.”

"Now, five hundred years have passed, and I never expected that he has already advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm."

"I just don't know when it happened."

"I wonder how many more years he will stay in this mortal realm for the sake of Xuan Yang Valley."

Hearing this, Daoist Yunmin still harbored some hope and said, "Venerable Qingyang, perhaps Han Lu's judgment is wrong, and it was just that Qing Pingzi, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, came to help?"

“That’s unlikely,” said Venerable Qingyang. “Fellow Daoist Yunmin, you’ll understand what I mean if you successfully advance to the Nascent Soul Realm.”

There is a world of difference between cultivators in the Nascent Soul Realm and those in the Divine Transformation Realm.

"The difference between these two realms is very different from the difference between the Golden Core realm and the Nascent Soul realm."

"What that spirit sword did here is a miracle that could only be accomplished by a master of the Nascent Soul Realm."

Venerable Qingyang was convinced that Qingpingzi had advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Seeing that Venerable Qingyang had said so, Daoist Yunmin no longer had any doubts. He just sighed inwardly and continued to concern himself with the matter of the purple monster.

After Han Lu finished telling her story, the group took turns asking for details.

When they learned that Han Lu had thoroughly explored the area, they all praised her for her thoughtful consideration.

Despite the praise, Han Lu was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator after all. Several Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators were still worried that Han Lu had not done a good enough job and had made some oversights, which could lead to the next outbreak.

Han Lu expressed her understanding, saying that she would have made the same decision if she were in the position of Daoist Yunmin or Venerable Qingyang.

And so, this nameless hill suffered once again.

Thanks to the efforts of several cultivators, the small mountain was turned upside down, and almost all of its vegetation was destroyed.

With the arrival of spring, if farmers are willing to cultivate the land intensively, they will surely have a good harvest.

With the matter resolved satisfactorily, Han Lu and Wen Erya did not return with the elders of the sect, but instead left together to support the disaster relief efforts in the front lines of the epidemic area.

After spending about a day in the disaster area, Han Lu and Wen Erya successfully used their magic to cure nearly two hundred patients.

However, due to the unstable control of the plague in the early stages, nearly 70,000 patients were still waiting for treatment, and nearly 3,000 patients still lost their lives every day because they could not wait for the cultivators' treatment techniques.

As lives were lost before her eyes, Han Lu tried her best to remain calm, but it was impossible for her not to feel any emotion.

Although many patients recovered with the help of the monks and left the temporary isolation sanctuary, the corpses burned on the spot outside the sanctuary and the cries of many dead before their deaths still filled the sanctuary with an atmosphere of despair.

On the second day after Han Lu arrived in the epidemic area, suddenly, a divine thought transmission from Qingxu Daoist entered her mind.

"Dear disciples of the Zhengyi Sect, fellow practitioners, officials and doctors of the Southern Dynasty, quickly bring the patients around you outside the shelter."

“Take all patients out of the shelter.”

The leader has spoken, and no one questions the reason for doing so.

The monks at the three centralized quarantine sites used spells or took direct action to carry the patients out of the quarantine area from the small huts.

Ordinary people, on the other hand, help with some auxiliary tasks.

This inexplicable action touched a nerve with some celebrities.

Someone started shouting, "I'm not dead yet! Don't abandon me! Don't burn me! I want to live!"

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

But the wave had barely begun to rise when it was suppressed by the Golden Core cultivator in charge of the quarantine station at this shelter using magic.

About ten minutes later, nearly 60,000 patients still infected with the plague were taken outside the quarantine facility.

Having received word from his fellow disciples that the mission was complete, Daoist Qingxu, following the instructions given by the sect's Supreme Elder, casually activated a talisman that had just drifted into his hand from the horizon.

The talisman burned completely in front of Elder Qingxu.

Nothing unusual happened.

Just as Elder Qingxu was wondering, a sun shower suddenly fell from the sky.

A sudden downpour soaked everyone, including the cultivators.

Having been dragged out and subjected to such suffering for no reason, many patients with mild symptoms couldn't help but want to curse and swear.

But when they tried to speak, they were surprised to find that the blisters on their bodies had disappeared after being caught in the rain.

"I'm cured! I'm cured!" The patient, who had just been crying and saying he didn't want to be burned, started cheering and jumping for joy, thanking the unexpected rain that had cured his illness.

In the blink of an eye, all the mortals who had been infected with the plague recovered their health.

After casually drying the "medicine" on her hair, Han Lu felt a strange sensation in her heart.

"Was it a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator from the Zhengyi Sect who made the move?"

Chapter 497 The Plague Ends

If someone unaware of the story of the purple monster from the Northern Dynasty heard Han Lu's conjecture, they would definitely think she was talking nonsense.

How could a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage meddle in such mundane matters?

Not to mention, others might question her, "How did you, a mere mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, conclude that this heavy rain was caused by a Nascent Soul cultivator? Perhaps it was a late-Nascent Soul cultivator who made the move."

Therefore, Han Lu had no one to ask, so she could only ask herself this question and take what she thought was 70% or even 80% likely to be true as fact.

Han Lu couldn't help but wonder what this Nascent Soul cultivator from the Zhengyi Sect was thinking when he cast spells to bring rain and heal the sick.

"It's probably because a fellow cultivator of the same realm from the north intervened in this matter, and he didn't want to fall behind."

"After all, a Nascent Soul cultivator who has reached the Nascent Soul stage and has stayed in the mortal realm for hundreds of years must be concerned about their sect."

"Naturally, it is quite normal to take action in the face of a plague that could affect the development of the Zhengyi Sect in the next twenty years."

Following this line of thought, Han Lu suddenly realized that she had been too "naive" in thinking about cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage.

She could only sigh, "Only a fish can know the joy of fish," and peacefully joined the other Foundation Establishment cultivators in checking the physical condition of the patients around them, trying to completely resolve the plague within a day after the Nascent Soul cultivators intervened.

There were quite a few patients, and testing each one individually took a considerable amount of time.

It took the monks a full three hours at the three isolation shelters to help the patients, who were originally infected, complete their physical examinations.

When someone at the Nascent Soul stage takes action, the result is naturally that they all remain healthy.

Upon receiving the good news from various places, Master Qingxu made a very excited announcement.

"With the intervention of Zhengyi Sect, Xuanyang Valley and other sects, the plague that had been spreading in the southwestern region of the Southern Dynasty for a month and a half was completely defeated in just six days."

Although the plague was ultimately defeated thanks to this heavy rain, Qingxu Daoist believed that his decent performance should be noticed by the sect.

For him, the successful resolution of this matter was a great achievement. This would greatly benefit his status within the sect.

Although Qingxu Daoren's talent is slightly better than Piaomiao Zi's, his chances of achieving the Nascent Soul stage are still slim.

He prefers to make contributions within the sect, gain more cultivation resources by improving his status, and then use these resources to try to advance further in his cultivation.

This is the path that Daoist Yunmin follows.

This is true for the vast majority of cultivators in sects.

The event has come to a successful conclusion; everyone is going home to their own families.

Led by the Golden Core cultivators from the three locations, all the Zhengyi Sect cultivators returned to their sect together.

Sitting on the flying boat, Han Lu and Wen Erya were absolute stars, the center of attention.

At the debriefing meeting after cleaning up the mess, the Golden Core cultivators had already told the Zhengyi Sect disciples involved in the plague incident a rough summary of what happened in the Northern Dynasty.

A great deal of information was cut.

He basically just told the disciples that Han Lu and Wen Erya had found the source of the plague in the Northern Dynasty and were working with the sect elders to eradicate it.

Not even a shadow of a Nascent Soul cultivator appeared.

It sounds simple, but Han Lu and Wen Erya's achievements are still known to their fellow disciples.

This achievement further enhanced the reputation of the two individuals, who were already somewhat famous within the Zhengyi Sect.

It can be said that he made a great splash.

However, compared to the remarkable achievements made in this incident, what the disciples of the Zhengyi Sect who participated in the plague incident cared about and envied the most was...

These were the numerous rewards that Han Lu and Wen Erya received from the sect for their military achievements.

Fifty Spirit Gathering Pills, one thousand spirit stones, a mid-grade magic weapon, and a full three thousand contribution points.

This wealth, comparable to that of an ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, was stuffed into Han Lu and Wen Erya's storage bags as a reward by the sect.

In addition, since Han Lu and Wen Erya are both talented cultivators with a great chance of advancing to the Golden Core Realm, the sect specially gave them two Heaven-Mending Pills.

The Heaven-Mending Pill is a rare elixir that enhances the efficiency of a cultivator's Core Formation. It can fetch around two hundred spirit stones in the market.