The Long Journey to Immortality

If you ask Feng Bailu this question, he will answer that it is because he is following his mother's last words before she died.

If you ask Xiaoyaozi this question, his answer will be quite ambitious, because he cultivates and seeks truth because he yearns to possess power beyond that of ordinary people.

The pursuit of longevity, the desire for revenge, and other such answers will all appear after this question.

However, this problem unexpectedly became a difficult one for Han Lu.

For more than a month after Han Lu's "birth," she lived a life more akin to going with the flow.

In addition, the fabricated background of her family made Han Lu feel somewhat burdened when answering this question.

When these two are combined, the problem becomes a difficult one.

After hesitating for a moment, Han Lu decided to give Fu Chen a slightly far-fetched and nonsensical answer.

“It’s probably…” Han Lu pointed to the sun outside the window, “I want to know what this sun is.”

Upon hearing this, Fu Chen was taken aback; he had never heard a similar answer before. "What do you mean?"

“A desire to understand the unknown makes me willing to sit cross-legged in my room to cultivate,” Han Lu said, picking up a few more questions that Feng Bailu had pondered while wandering and feeling lost at night. “When I was a child, I would always ask my parents other questions, such as what is the sun in the sky? What is the moon? Why is there sunrise and sunset? Where does the water come from and where does it go?”

Why do earthquakes happen? Why does it rain and snow?

“They always tell me that I will know the answers when I become a Golden Core cultivator, able to fly through the air and walk freely in this world.”

"That's why I thought about becoming a cultivator."

"That makes perfect sense," Fu Chen nodded slowly, "Junior Sister, you really are quite extraordinary."

"However, if I may be frank, I doubt that even the Golden Core elders in the sect can answer these questions."

“Then I will cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage,” Han Lu replied. “I believe I can find the answers to these questions.”

Her answer brought back some of the feeling from sixteen years ago, on the night when Feng Bailu had just advanced to the tenth level of Qi Refining.

At that time, Feng Bailu, who was already 29 years old, was at a turning point in his life and needed to make a major decision.

Should they choose to directly attempt to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage, or try to open the eleventh spiritual vein before advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage?

That night, after a night of wild thoughts under a sky full of stars, Feng Bailu chose the former when the sun rose.

This choice caused Fengbai Road to be delayed for a full sixteen years during its initial construction phase.

But he knew that if he didn't make this more realistic and practical choice, he would more likely spend his life as a Qi Refining cultivator.

"And you, young master? You look worried, has something happened?"

Fu Chen looked at Han Lu and suddenly couldn't understand why he, a man in his forties, would impulsively come to Han Lu, a girl who was only sixteen years old, to confide in her.

"It's nothing serious, I'm just a little confused."

"Feeling lost? That's normal," Han Lu tried her best to act like a sixteen-year-old girl. "I think I felt lost when I was asking those questions earlier."

Fu Chen explained, "My confusion is a little different from yours."

He coughed, revealing the answer: "Actually, I was experiencing some writer's block."

"Kaven?" This was the first time Han Lu had heard this term. "What does it mean?"

"I'm writing a novel, and I have to submit four drafts every month. The day after tomorrow is the third draft deadline of this month, but I'm currently creatively exhausted. My train of thought has reached a dead end, and I can't write a single word. This is writer's block."

After hearing Fu Chen's explanation, Han Lu was speechless, thinking to herself, "I thought something serious had happened."

Based on Fu Chen's explanation, Han Lu finally understood why Fu Chen was in this state.

Seeing Han Lu's nonchalant expression, Fu Chen expressed his understanding.

After all, only those who have experienced it can know the pain involved.

"To be honest, junior sister, the reason I came here to chat with you is actually to find inspiration."

Fu Chen's novel has about a hundred chapters. The protagonist in the novel has finally advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage, found his father's killer, and avenged his deep-sea grudge.

However, after successfully avenging himself, the driving force that had been propelling the protagonist forward also disappeared, and the protagonist naturally fell into a period of confusion.

The protagonist is confused. Since it was just a hobby and Fu Chen didn't have a proper outline or detailed plan, he naturally fell into confusion as well.

Initially, Fu Chen didn't intend to make a name for himself or achieve anything significant, so now he can only take things one step at a time.

Only when he can't see the road clearly does he think of seeking out energetic young people like Han Lu, hoping to find inspiration from her.

"Did you find it?"

“I’ve found a little bit,” Fu Chen pointed to his head, “and have some ideas. Providing the protagonist with an unknowable goal to pursue is actually a pretty good idea.”

However, Fu Chen's visit this time did pique Han Lu's interest in his books.

"Young master, how about this? Lend me a few books so I can read your stories. Maybe I can give you some good advice?"

Fu Chen thought it was a good idea, and he really wanted to see if Han Lu would like the story he wrote, and whether he could cultivate a beautiful female fan for him.

Fu Chen took a set of seven books out of his storage bag and placed them on Han Lu's desk.

Fu Chen took a sip of tea and said generously, "Junior Sister, this is for you."

Having accepted Fu Chen's gift, Han Lu, drawing on her own experience reading supernatural tales, offered another practical suggestion.

“Little Master, aren’t there quite a few fellow disciples in Dongshan Academy who know you’re writing a book and are your fans?” Han Lu suggested. “Just like I said before, only after reading your story can I give you good advice.”

"Instead of waiting for me to finish reading the seven books you gave me, I might as well ask the opinions of those existing book lovers."

Upon hearing Han Lu's brilliant idea of ​​"copying book reviews," Fu Chen's eyes lit up.

After thanking him repeatedly and drinking the good tea in his cup in one gulp, Fu Chen went to find those "die-hard fans" at Dongshan Academy.

Han Lu, however, was reminded of the question from before and murmured as she gazed at the sunlight outside the window, "Then what exactly is this sun?"

Chapter 49 Supply Reduction

I gained a strange motivation to move forward from Fu Chen.

With the help of elixirs and spirit stones, Han Lu opened two more acupoints in the next three days, bringing the total number of acupoints opened in her body to fifteen.

He had only practiced for one month and thirteen days, yet he had opened up fifteen acupoints.

At a speed of opening up a single acupoint in almost three days, Han Lu is probably the only one in the current cultivation world who can achieve such an incredible feat.

It's important to know that it typically takes an ordinary cultivator half a month to open up a single acupoint. Some fools may even need a month or two to make any progress.

Han Lu's speed was five to ten times faster than that of ordinary cultivators.

If this news were to spread and become known, almost all the Qi Refining cultivators in the five major academies of the Zhengyi Sect would likely cast envious glances at Han Lu.

That day, Han Lu had just finished her cultivation, consolidating the newly built spiritual energy channel, and was planning to try to open the sixteenth acupoint during her later intensive cultivation when a paper sword flew in from nowhere and entered the small courtyard where she lived.

Forbidden and obstructed, the paper sword could only hover and linger in the air above the courtyard, intermittently emitting a tearing sound to remind the recipient.

Han Lu, who was changing clothes in front of the mirror, noticed the paper sword outside the window.

He reached for his identity badge with his left hand and touched it lightly twice.

With the restriction lifted, the paper sword was able to fly into the room through the open window and land in front of Han Lu.

Looking at the paper sword, Han Lu wasn't in a hurry to open it. She simply continued to slowly change her clothes in front of the mirror, secretly wondering, "Is it a letter from my little master or Senior Sister Wen?"

The paper swords sent by Golden Core cultivators cannot be blocked by the ordinary restrictions set up by the sect in the courtyard.

Among the cultivators Han Lu knew, whose cultivation level was higher than the fifth level of Qi Refining, only these two would send messages to her via paper sword.

Wearing a light, thin blouse made of blue gauze, Han Lu skillfully tied her hair into a simple, drooping bun with a ribbon about one finger wide in front of the mirror.

After confirming that she wouldn't embarrass herself by going out dressed like this, she took the paper sword in front of her and unfolded it.

The letter was sent by Fu Chen.

"Junior sister, thank you so much for your suggestion. I have found inspiration for the next step in the story."

"Today is your thirtieth day since you came to Zhengyi Sect, which is also the day when the sect distributes supplies every month."

……

In the latter part of the letter, Fu Chen explained to Han Lu once again that inner disciples needed to go to the inner treasury to collect supplies and briefly described the steps involved.

Fu Chen knew that Han Lu spent almost three-quarters of her time diligently cultivating in her courtyard every day, so he was worried that his junior sister might forget about this trivial matter. That's why he specially sent a message to remind her, so that Han Lu, who was focused on cultivation, wouldn't miss out on these few spirit stones and pills, which would affect her cultivation.

After reading the letter, Han Lu casually placed it on the table, then patted her storage bag and took out a small bottle.

Han Lu took out the wad of cloth that had been stuffed into the mouth of the small bottle, caught it in her palm, and poured it out twice, but not a single pill rolled out.

"It seems that the little master's reminder came at just the right time. The Meridian Opening Pills I received when I entered the sect have just run out."

The pills left behind by Xiaoyaozi had limited potency, and Han Lu only used them during her daily cultivation. Whenever she needed to open up her acupoints or break through minor bottlenecks, the Meridian Opening Pills distributed by her sect were her first choice.

Just in time, she had made several breakthroughs in the past few days, and she had swallowed all the fully potent Meridian Opening Pills.

Having confirmed this, Han Lu decided to make a trip to the inner treasury before her major cultivation, not for the four spirit stones, but for the few meridian-opening pills.

When Han Lu arrived at the inner treasury, there were already more than a dozen fellow cultivators queuing up. She obediently stood at the end of the line and waited patiently.

Distributing spirit stones and pills to disciples is one of the ways that sects and gangs in the Central Plains region win over their disciples and build sect cohesion.

Because the Zhengyi Sect of the Southern Dynasty possesses the sacred artifact, the Stealing Heaven Bottle, which can accelerate the growth of low-level spiritual plants, the number of low-level spiritual pills distributed each month is much greater than that of other sects.

The Xuan Yang Valley of the Northern Dynasty, on the other hand, is located on a vast spirit stone mine and controls nearly three-fifths of the spirit stone resources in the Central Plains. As a result, the disciples of Xuan Yang Valley receive fewer pills and more spirit stones from the sect each month.

Leaving aside the two top-tier sects, the situation of the other sects is about the same.

They were short of money and wished they could break their spirit stones and pills into pieces and distribute them to their disciples.

Standing at the back of the line, Han Lu casually took out Fu Chen's novel and read it while waiting in line to pass the time.

The disciples who received supplies from the inner treasury were all inner disciples, either exceptionally talented or with cultivation reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

Therefore, there weren't many people queuing up early, and the queue was well-organized.

Even so, occasional arguments could still be heard from the front of the line.

Han Lu, who was originally standing at the very end of the line with her book in her hand, could only hear the gist of what was being said.

But when Han Lu reached the middle of the group and the disputes occurred repeatedly, she finally learned what had happened.

"It seems like the spirit stone supply is less this month?"

A few snippets of conversation drifted into Han Lu's ears, leading her to this conclusion.

The fellow disciples who were ranked before and after Han Lu were also quite concerned about this, and several fellow cultivators who came together discussed it extensively.