The Long Journey to Immortality

Chapter 606 Expedition to the Great Yu Dynasty

The Zhongshan Academy Dean Songbai Daoren, who was in charge of leading Han Lu's team, did not have a high reputation in the sect and was not liked by other elders. He was a loner.

On the one hand, it's because he belongs to the type of cultivator who is good at cultivation but not good at combat. When he was still a disciple in the Zhengyi Sect, he did not have any outstanding achievements in the major and minor competitions.

On the other hand, it was because after he advanced to the Golden Core realm, he traveled extensively outside and rarely stayed in the Zhengyi Sect. He basically did not show his face in front of the disciples and lived like a rogue cultivator.

Finally, the fact that Songbai Daoren obtained his position as the head of this branch academy in a peculiar way is one of the reasons why he has attracted controversy among the elders of the Zhengyi Sect.

It was indeed a strange thing that an elder like him, who had never held an important position in the sect before, was suddenly promoted to the position of branch dean.

There was much discussion about this matter within the sect, and because Daoist Songbai was known for his good temper, many disciples even dared to gossip about it during their leisure time.

One theory is that Songbai Daoist was the object of affection for a Nascent Soul Grand Elder in a certain sect, which is why he was able to become the Dean of a branch academy in just over a hundred years at the early Golden Core stage thanks to the "promotion device".

Another theory is that Songbai Daoist had a powerful figure assisting him outside the main gate. In order to be on good terms with that powerful figure, the Zhengyi Sect appointed Songbai Daoist to an important position, giving him control of a branch academy.

Rumors were rampant, but none of them had any real evidence.

However, because Songbai Daoren was indeed capable and managed the affairs of Zhongshan Academy in an orderly manner, he was able to remain in his position for three years despite numerous rumors and criticisms, becoming a kind and approachable branch dean in the eyes of many Zhongshan Academy disciples.

This time, the opportunity to lead the team to the Great Yu Dynasty was obtained by Songbai Daoren through his own application.

Yunmin Daoist was worried about arranging for that Golden Core cultivator to lead Han Lu and Fu Tianqiao to the Great Yu Dynasty, so he didn't think much of it and agreed to Songbai Daoist's application.

In response, the Taoist Songbai said that he hoped to go to the Great Yu Dynasty to broaden his horizons.

This action is consistent with his hobby of traveling around.

Since Songbai Daoren was leading the team, and Han Lu and Fu Tianqiao did not know where the teleportation gate to the Dayu Dynasty was, they naturally traveled by riding Songbai Daoren's flying magic weapon.

As a cultivator who spent half of his less than two hundred years of cultivation traveling, Songbai Daoren's flying magic weapon was naturally quite impressive.

Upon arriving at the gate of Zhengyi Sect, Daoist Songbai patted his storage bag and summoned the magical treasure inside.

A giant flying bird that looks like it was carved from a single piece of wood.

With a hand seal activated, the magical artifact was brought to life, and the bird opened its beak, revealing a large space inside its abdomen.

The seating and rest area is beautifully decorated, far more sophisticated than its rustic exterior.

"Come in together, just find a place to sit," said the Pine and Cypress Daoist, who entered first. "It will only take a little over fifteen minutes to get there."

Once the three entered the bird's belly, the giant bird, under the control of the Pine and Cypress Taoist, seemed to come alive. It naturally flapped its wings, took off, and in the next instant, it appeared a hundred meters away.

In terms of speed, it was nearly five or six times faster than Han Lu's Pegasus Carriage.

Even for flying magical artifacts that have no combat power, the gap between high-level magical artifacts and high-level magical tools is still enormous.

With such convenient transportation, the three of them arrived at a remote mountain forest in a quarter of an hour, just as the Pine and Cypress Taoist had said.

In order to conceal their tracks, several kilometers away from their destination, Songbai Daoren controlled a bird to land, and then together with Han Lu and Fu Tianqiao, they rode their spirit swords and flew at low altitude to travel.

When they arrived at the complex of buildings protected by a large array and built near the teleportation gate, there were still a full ten and a half hours before the agreed time to cross the teleportation gate and head to the Great Yu Dynasty.

Both the Zhengyi Sect and the Xuanyang Valley have each assigned a Golden Core elder and five Foundation Establishment disciples to reside here permanently.

Because prior arrangements had been made, the fellow disciples stationed here had already prepared to welcome Songbai Daoist and Han Lu as soon as they arrived.

Not long after Han Lu and her group arrived, three cultivators from Xuan Yang Valley also arrived outside the teleportation portal.

Although the upcoming friendly match was a one-on-one arena battle, Daoist Songbai still arranged a dinner with Elder Fan Qian of Xuanyang Valley to try and get the two groups of cultivators to become acquainted.

Two groups of elders, each leading two men and two women, sat on either side of a large round table, giving off a bit of a blind date vibe.

Among the four young cultivators present, Han Lu was the most famous. Both of the participating cultivators from Xuan Yang Valley had heard of Han Lu's name and knew some of her deeds. Meeting her today was a way of matching Han Lu's reputation with her persona.

Fu Tianqiao is a very outgoing person, so she was not shy at this moment and introduced herself in a generous manner.

On the contrary, the two male cultivators from Xuan Yang Valley were reserved and introverted.

Ni Kuan is a junior of a Golden Core elder in Xuan Yang Valley. He has been at the late Foundation Establishment stage for forty years and is only one step away from the Pseudo-Core stage.

Another one is Huang Ziqiang, who was mentioned by Elder Fan Qian during his secret meeting with Daoist Qingxu.

It is evident that in Xuan Yang Valley, the Dragon Daoist who arranged this matter believed that Huang Ziqiang's strength was no greater than that of Han Tongxuan, a female cultivator from the same sect as Han Lu. That is why he made this arrangement, allowing Han Tongxuan to stay in the Central Plains to participate in the competition.

They ate politely, all six cultivators being respectable individuals, and their conversation at the table mainly revolved around the exchange competition the following day.

After chatting for nearly half an hour, the four agreed that if they met each other on the arena after advancing, they should go easy on each other and stop short of defeat, so as not to harm the interests of the Central Plains cultivators and allow the victor to participate in the final competition in an incomplete state.

This small agreement ensured that the meal and the meeting had some positive effects.

After the meal, the six people parted ways and returned to their respective rooms to rest.

The next day, at noon, the six of them arrived in groups of three at the teleportation gate that had been protected by an illusionary magic array, ready to activate the gate and begin their friendly visit to the Great Yu Dynasty.

At the same time, two Golden Core cultivators who were originally stationed here also appeared.

Although there is a time difference between the two places, the specific time difference had been calculated during several trips, and this had been taken into account when they agreed to travel through the portal to each other's territories to compete.

While Han Lu and the others were planning to travel through the portal to the Great Yu Dynasty, the cultivators of the Great Yu Dynasty would also be embarking on a long journey to the Central Plains.

These two Golden Core cultivators were responsible for receiving these guests and leading them there.

Activating the portal is not complicated; all you need to do is provide enough spirit stones.

The farther the teleportation distance and the higher the cultivation level of the teleporting cultivator, the more spirit stones will be spent.

This portal, which appeared by chance in the Central Plains and connects the Central Plains with the Great Yu Dynasty, naturally requires a large amount of spirit stones to activate.

A Golden Core cultivator needs a full 10,000 spirit stones to make a trip, while Foundation Establishment cultivators like Han Lu and Fu Tianqiao need to spend 2,000 spirit stones each to "buy their way."

With the cost of teleporting a Golden Core cultivator so high, it's no wonder that both sides chose to send Foundation Establishment disciples to the other's territory to participate in the competition.

The spirit stones were deposited into a public account, so naturally, preparations had been made well in advance.

As a cultivator who had once visited the Great Yu Dynasty, Han Lu volunteered to be the first to teleport.

"Daewoo Dynasty, I'm back again."

Han Lu had similar experiences several times before, and she felt no discomfort whatsoever.

In the blink of an eye, he had traversed millions of miles and arrived at the other side of the continent.

Chapter 607 Old Friend

Compared to the unfortunate location of the teleportation portal in the desolate wilderness of the Central Plains, the teleportation portal located on the other side of the Great Yu Dynasty can be described as appearing in a feng shui treasure land.

The teleportation portal is located within the Jitian Palace, which is completely controlled by the Jitian Palace. This allowed the Jitian Palace to completely suppress the existence of the teleportation portal using only some very simple methods, preventing other sects and forces in other prefectures from knowing about it. This allowed them to openly and exclusively enjoy the enormous benefits that the teleportation portal might bring.

In addition, in order to make proper use of and safeguard this teleportation portal, the Jitian Palace built a magnificent palace complex centered around it.

So when Han Lu stepped out of the portal and landed on the jade brick floor, seeing the rooms decorated mainly with gold, silver, and leather, she immediately thought she had gone to the wrong place and arrived at the palace of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Not far in front of Han Lu, several cultivators were looking at her with different expressions of curiosity.

Needless to say, these cultivators were the Extreme Heaven Palace cultivators who were about to travel through this teleportation portal to the Central Plains to participate in the friendly match.

Being in a room with so many strangers for a moment, even Han Lu, who had been to the Great Yu Dynasty before and greeted the cultivators of the Extreme Heaven Palace, felt at a loss.

Fortunately, the cultivators from the Jitian Palace who were in charge of receiving Han Lu and the other guests who came to the Dayu Dynasty reacted quickly, stepped forward a few steps, and greeted Han Lu.

"May I ask your name, sir?"

The voice sounded familiar, and Han Lu looked closely and realized it was indeed someone she knew.

"Oh? Isn't this Senior Wenren Mu?" Han Lu bowed and said with a smile.

Upon hearing Han Lu's words, Wenren Mu suddenly remembered the Central Plains cultivator who had unexpectedly appeared in the Great Yu Dynasty more than ten years ago, and exclaimed with delight, "It's Han Lu! Long time no see!"

When will we be able to return to the Central Plains?

Han Lu maintained the look that Feng Yufei had helped her with, which was quite different from her outfit when she left Dayu Dynasty. No wonder Wenren Mu didn't recognize her at first glance.

"By another stroke of luck, I spent half a year returning to the Central Plains."

While chatting and laughing, Han Lu followed Wenren Mu to the side, making way for the disciples of Jitian Palace to travel to the Central Plains through the teleportation portal.

As agreed, one person came and one person went. After Han Lu arrived at the Jitian Palace, it was naturally the turn of one of the disciples of the Jitian Palace to go to the Central Plains.

"To be honest, I was quite worried about your safety when we parted ways," Wenren Mu said with a smile. "I didn't expect that you would return to the Central Plains smoothly in just half a year and have even advanced to the late stage of Foundation Establishment. It seems that Fairy Han is also a cultivator with great opportunities."

Wenren Mu did not inquire about what kind of opportunity Han Lu had encountered to return to the Central Plains so smoothly.

"Thanks to Senior Wenren, if it weren't for his help, I would have wasted a lot of time on my journey and wouldn't have been able to strike it lucky and return so soon."

The two chatted and laughed, which surprised the disciples of the Jitian Palace and the elders who were leading the team to the Central Plains. They were surprised that Wenren Mu would recognize Han Lu, a cultivator from the Central Plains.

Despite the unexpected turn of events, the journey to the Central Plains proceeded according to procedure.

A cultivator from the Jitian Palace with a full beard stepped forward and entered the teleportation portal that had been activated by the elders of the sect, heading towards the Central Plains.

Remembering that only a few people in the sect knew that she had once been to the Great Yu Dynasty, Han Lu hurriedly told Wenren Mu in advance to avoid becoming too familiar with him and exposing the matter.

Wenren Mu was somewhat puzzled by Han Lu's decision to conceal this experience, but he didn't ask further. He simply promised Han Lu that he would help her keep it a secret.

Therefore, when Wenren Mu chatted with Han Lu afterward, he did not act as familiar as before, but rather like a nodding acquaintance who had just met and exchanged names.

A short while later, after the bearded cultivator crossed the portal and arrived in the Central Plains, a second cultivator from the Central Plains also arrived at the Extreme Heaven Palace through the portal.

“A stroke of genius.”

Han Lu waved to Fu Tianqiao, who was still standing in front of the teleportation gate, feeling a little dizzy from her first attempt at teleportation.

Hearing Han Lu's call, Fu Tianqiao, who was somewhat lost, found her way and went down the steps in front of the teleportation portal to Han Lu's side.

"Senior Sister Han, who is this senior...?"

Han Lu introduced Wenren Mu to Fu Tianqiao. The introduction was very simple, only stating his name, cultivation level, and mission in coming here.

With Han Lu acting as a bridge, Wenren Mu, who was originally supposed to be "welcoming guests," quickly became acquainted with Fu Tianqiao.

One person left, and another person came. Before long, the six cultivators from the Central Plains arrived in the Great Yu Dynasty, while the five cultivators sent by the Extreme Heaven Palace to the Central Plains also arrived in the Central Plains, hundreds of thousands of miles away.

Once everyone had arrived, Wenren Mu took the initiative to ask Han Lu, the first contestant to arrive in Dayu Dynasty, to introduce them one by one.

After everyone learned each other's names, Wenren Mu spoke, representing the Jitian Palace to welcome the cultivators from the Central Plains. He said a series of polite words and explained the arrangements for the next few days.

According to the agreement between the Jitian Palace and the Central Plains faction, the actual friendly match will only last for two days, and the teams from both sides who arrive at each other's territory through the teleportation portal will only stay for three days.

Therefore, apart from the two days of the agreed-upon battle, there was only one day for both sides' cultivators to move around freely.

A day is neither long nor short.