The Long Journey to Immortality

The arriving male cultivator was named Zhong Kaige. He was the champion of the late Foundation Establishment stage in the previous competition and was a genius cultivator who was on par with Han Lu in Dongshan Academy.

In fact, if it weren't for Han Lu's sudden emergence and meteoric rise to this position in just over a decade, Zhong Kaige would definitely be a top contender among the disciples of the Zheng Yi Sect to advance to the Nascent Soul realm in the eyes of the Golden Core elders.

In the last Secret Realm Science Competition, Zhong Kaige did not fight Han Lu in the Secret Realm, which became a regret for many Zhengyi Sect disciples after the last competition.

Even though Han Lu was only in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage at the time, almost everyone considered the two to be at the same level and wanted to know which of these two genius cultivators was more powerful.

However, it was this very method of comparison that made Zhong Kaige unhappy with Han Lu, and he kept plotting to have a fight with her.

"Senior Brother Zhong." Han Lu cupped her hands in greeting. She only knew the other's name and had never spoken to him before, so her greeting was rather dry in the face of Zhong Kaige, who looked like he wanted to fight her right now.

Qingxu Daoist knew that the two disciples had no personal relationship, so he was not surprised by Han Lu's cold response.

Given the urgency of the situation, he currently has no plans to act as a go-between for the two disciples that Dongshan Academy is most proud of, to connect and strengthen their relationship.

After the two finished their brief greetings, Daoist Qingxu said impatiently, "Alright, now you two come with me to the Five Elements Mountain Academy for a meeting."

Although Zhong Kaige had the same questions as Han Lu, he did not speak.

Qingxu Daoist flew through the air, while Han Lu and Zhong Kaige followed behind the Dean of Dongshan Academy on their spirit swords.

Twenty more breaths passed, and the two arrived at the Five Elements Mountain Academy.

Because Han Lu and Zhong Kaige were two of the three winners of the previous competition, they had the right to fly around the sect as disciples using spirit swords. Therefore, the three-person team led by Daoist Qingxu of Dongshan Academy arrived at the conference room after being invited by Daoist Yunmin.

The three greeted each other in unison, and Yunmin Daoist responded in different ways.

"Sit in Qingxu."

"Han Lu, how have you been lately? I heard from Piaomiaozi that you've taken on a disciple?"

Zhong Kaige simply nodded slightly, indicating that he should find a seat next to Qingxu Daoist.

Han Lu did not elaborate on this topic, but talked at length about and boasted about her close relationship with Daoist Yunmin.

She simply replied, "Sect Master misunderstood. I only made a promise in the mortal world last time, agreeing to help a chivalrous man take care of his daughter. That's why I gave some pointers to one of my junior sisters a few times. It doesn't count as trying to establish a relationship."

“That’s right. If all the disciples could help each other like you, Han Lu, then the Zhengyi Sect would definitely have a few more Golden Core elders.”

"You flatter me, Sect Leader," Han Lu said modestly.

The last time a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator in the sect advanced to the Golden Core stage was five years ago, and he only formed a mid-grade Golden Core. Daoist Yunmin was quite worried about the "shortage of talent".

Fortunately, Han Lu and other Foundation Establishment cultivators with exceptional talent like Zhong Kaige are still cultivating within the sect.

Looking ahead fifty years, the number of Golden Core cultivators in the Zhengyi Sect will only increase, not decrease.

After waiting for about a hundred breaths, the other four branch deans finally arrived at the conference hall with their most outstanding late-stage Foundation Establishment disciples from their respective academies.

Once everyone was in place, Yun Mindao began to speak.

The first sentence startled Han Lu.

"Disciples, Dean of the branch, today we are going to talk about our friendly exchanges with the Great Yu Dynasty Heavenly Palace."

Chapter 591 Friendly Exchanges

"The Great Yu Dynasty?"

Upon hearing this term, the expressions of the fifteen cultivators in the conference room, excluding Daoist Yunmin, varied.

The five deans of the branch schools looked slightly nervous.

Although the five deans took office at different times and had access to different levels of sect secrets, they still knew about the Great Yu Dynasty.

In their view, bringing up this "dangerous" place at such an urgent meeting was certainly not a good thing.

Of the ten disciples who followed the branch dean to the conference room, apart from Han Lu, the other nine all looked puzzled.

This is something that an ordinary Foundation Establishment disciple would not know about in the cultivation civilization of the wild west.

Master Yunmin noticed the expressions on everyone's faces and suddenly realized that explaining this matter to the fifteen people present was somewhat complicated and difficult.

To avoid leaving the disciples confused, Daoist Yunmin had to spend some time giving a brief introduction to the Great Yu Dynasty and the Jitian Palace that ruled it.

"The Great Yu Dynasty is a geographical name for the cultivation civilization in the western region of China, which is similar to our Central Plains, as described in ancient books."

"It is located in the western part of the wilderness. Even if a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage has a smooth journey, it will take a full month to travel from the Central Plains through the Western Regions and the wilderness to reach the Great Yu Dynasty."

"The area of ​​the Great Yu Dynasty is about 150 times the size of the Central Plains, but the number of cultivators and mortals living in it is 300 times that of the Central Plains."

"The largest cultivation force in the Great Yu Dynasty is the Extreme Heaven Palace that I just mentioned."

"As far as I know, there are at least sixty Nascent Soul cultivators and nearly five hundred Golden Core cultivators in the Extreme Heaven Palace."

"And in the Great Yu Dynasty, there are at least a hundred Nascent Soul cultivators in total."

"In terms of the number of high-level cultivators alone, the Great Yu Dynasty has ten times that of the Central Plains."

……

Although Daoist Yunmin had not prepared in advance, he still systematically introduced the situation of "Da Yu Dynasty" and "Ji Tian Palace" to everyone.

A series of explanations comparing the Central Plains with the Great Yu Dynasty made it easier for everyone to understand the level of existence of the "Jitian Palace that ruled the Great Yu Dynasty".

The five deans were not entirely aware of the situation of the "Da Yu Dynasty" and the "Ji Tian Palace", so they also gained something from listening to the lecture.

The other nine Foundation Establishment disciples, apart from Han Lu, were opened up to a new world by Yun Min Daoist's words in just a quarter of an hour.

Upon hearing of the existence of such a distant and powerful cultivation civilization, the shock they felt was not much different from that Han Lu felt when she first learned of the immense power of the Great Yu Dynasty.

And what about Han Lu? There were also new discoveries.

She discovered that when Daoist Yunmin introduced the Dayu Dynasty and the Jitian Palace, he mentioned many details that she had never mentioned to Daoist Yunmin before.

This situation led her to make a judgment.

"Could it be that Daoist Yunmin, or the Zhengyi Sect, has some secret dealings with the Jitian Palace and the Dayu Dynasty? That would create this information gap."

Combined with the fact that she had suddenly summoned the branch dean and nine other outstanding late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators to this meeting, Han Lu felt that she had roughly guessed the purpose of Yun Min Daoist's meeting.

"Could it be that some secret matter requires us ten to compete against the genius disciples of the Great Yu Dynasty's Extreme Heaven Palace?"

Such a secretive sect, which could be considered a major event in the Central Plains, suddenly involved her and nine other disciples. Only such a reason could make sense.

Sure enough, after explaining these two "terms", Daoist Yunmin symbolically asked everyone if there were any questions, and then got to the main topic of this emergency meeting, explaining why he had called the deans of each branch academy and their outstanding disciples to this meeting.

"About ten years ago, not long after the ancient cultivation secret realm appeared, a teleportation portal connecting the Central Plains and the Great Yu Dynasty appeared in the wilderness."

Upon hearing this, Han Lu was startled.

She was the one among the sixteen cultivators present who knew the most about how powerful the Great Yu Dynasty and the Extreme Heaven Palace were.

The sudden appearance of a portal that shortens the distance between two places is definitely a threat to the Central Plains cultivation world, which has been peaceful for more than three thousand years.

Even more significant and obvious than the looming threat of annihilation that could fall upon them at any moment.

The other deans, who were unaware of the teleportation portal, reacted similarly to Han Lu.

Because of their high positions, they think and see much more than ordinary disciples.

Daoist Qingxu even got excited and asked, "Sect Master, could it be that the Extreme Heaven Palace is about to attack?"

But as soon as he said it, Qingxu Daoist realized he had made a foolish mistake.

If the Jitian Palace has indeed mobilized a force of Nascent Soul cultivators to attack the Central Plains through the teleportation portal, then why would Daoist Yunmin be here, meeting with five Golden Core cultivators in charge of sect administration and ten late-stage Foundation Establishment disciples?

Matters related to the Great Yu Dynasty are certainly important, but judging from the current situation, they are unlikely to be dangerous.

After realizing what had happened, Daoist Qingxu breathed a sigh of relief and said with a forced smile, "Sect Master, it was my rashness."

After he finished speaking, he sat up straight and became a quiet listener.

Yunmin Daoist didn't care about this matter, after all, he knew very well that Qingxu Daoist had only been the branch dean for a few years, and he had only just learned about the teleportation gate from him.

It's perfectly normal to not think things through properly for a moment.

He did not answer Qingxu Daoist's question, but continued, "I have also discussed this teleportation gate with Long Daoist of Xuan Yang Valley. In the end, we decided to keep it, but to guard it carefully, so that the Great Yu Dynasty will not use this teleportation gate to launch a war against the Central Plains, just as Elder Qingxu said."

Yunmin Daoist did not mention to the others that the three Nascent Soul cultivators, including Wanghan Jushi, had been exiled to the Central Plains.

"About half a year ago, the portal was activated, and two cultivators from the Extreme Heaven Palace came to the Central Plains with friendly intentions, seeking to exchange ideas."

"The content of the exchange is not complicated. First, it involves exchanging resources, following certain rules and regulations to exchange unique cultivation resources."

"Secondly, we will exchange ideas on Taoist practices and recreate the stories between the two human races of the East and West during the ancient cultivation era."

Six months ago was exactly the time when Daoist Yunmin asked Han Lu a question.

Combining this with the information, Han Lu finally understood why Sect Leader Yunmin had asked her about the situation of the Great Yu Dynasty.

Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle. Only by having a clearer understanding of the Great Yu Dynasty can you better engage in friendly exchanges with them and seize opportunities to benefit your own side.

"Since it is a process of communication and negotiation, it naturally requires a back-and-forth process."

"Over the past six months, messengers from both sides have been exchanging messages. Master Long of Xuan Yang Valley and I have made considerable efforts for the benefit of the Central Plains, and finally, a result was reached the day before yesterday."

Business is not that simple; there are always profits and losses, and nobody wants to lose out in barter transactions.

Furthermore, the techniques, secret arts, and even insights related to Taoism are closely guarded secrets of each school. To openly communicate with someone you haven't known for long requires a process of mutual trust or a sufficient exchange of benefits.

These are the things that Daoist Yunmin and True Man Long fought with the Jitian Palace, or rather the Dayu Dynasty, for.

“There are three options in total,” Daoist Yunmin said, his gaze sweeping across the faces of his ten disciples. “One of them is advantageous to the Central Plains.”

"One is advantageous to the Celestial Palace."

"Giving one back would be relatively fair, allowing both sides to be reasonably satisfied."

"As for which option will be selected, that's up to you all."

[Author's Note] To borrow the setting from Steel IV, although the military strength of the Celestial Palace is very strong, its cohesion is terribly low, so it will not launch a war.

Chapter 592 Generous Rewards

Although Daoist Yunmin had not yet explained what the ten disciples present were to do, Zhong Kaige, eager to make a good impression on the sect leader, quickly stood up from his seat, bowed, and said, "Whatever arrangements the sect leader makes, disciple Zhong Kaige will do his best to serve the Central Plains and the sect."

Zhong Kaige's statement made the other disciples, who had wanted to hear more before replying, feel extremely uneasy.

Of the nine people, only Han Lu and another female cultivator did not stand up to express their opinions or utter such high-sounding words.

Han Lu felt it was unnecessary and was not worried at all that Daoist Yunmin would be displeased by it.

The other female cultivator, however, sensed that the matter was not as "friendly" as Daoist Yunmin had previously expressed, and became wary.