The Long Journey to Immortality

Han Lu felt flattered and overwhelmed by the invitation extended by the Palace Master of the Extreme Heaven Palace.

However, she remembered her identity and did not give a positive or negative answer on the spot.

In her reply, she first praised the Jitian Palace and the Dayu Dynasty, and clarified the necessity of exchanges between cultivators from the East and West. However, she said that she would have to return to the Central Plains to consult with Sect Master Yunmin before she could give a final answer.

Han Lu handled the situation well and gave a proper answer, which earned her a few quiet compliments from Songbai Daoren and Fan Qian.

Han Lu's answer slightly surprised the Celestial Venerable, and he gained some points for Han Lu because of her somewhat politician-like response.

After expressing his positive support and welcome for exchanges between East and West, Venerable Zhetian went along with it, instructing Han Lu to remember to consult Daoist Yunmin after returning to the Central Plains.

If Daoist Yunmin truly wanted to improve relations between the East and West, and allowed Han Lu to stay at the Jitian Palace for half a year or a year, Han Lu wouldn't mind.

The Celestial Master did not interfere in Han Lu and Mo Zhehan's relationship. Based on his own love history, he chose to respect free love.

Finally, the Venerable One of Heaven, in his capacity as an elder, inquired about Han Lu's injuries and chatted with her for a few moments before letting her leave.

When Han Lu left the viewing platform with Elder Songbai and Elder Fanqian, she received her reward, marking the end of this East-West exchange competition.

The only remaining question is how the Central Plains region will fare.

However, this had little to do with Han Lu. As the champion of this competition, she could leisurely begin her one-day rest period, freely moving around the Jitian Mansion as a cultivator from the Central Plains.

Before coming to the Great Yu Dynasty, Han Lu specially prepared some cultivation resources unique to the Central Plains, intending to take this opportunity to make a small fortune and accumulate wealth for herself.

At the same time, we should see if we can find some miraculous medicines in the resource-rich Great Yu Dynasty to prepare for the formation of the Golden Core.

Of course, she did not forget Wenren Mu's instructions.

On the third day in the Great Yu court, Han Lu specially took some time to meet Wenren Ou.

Several years have passed, and Wenren Ou has advanced to the early stage of Foundation Establishment. The childishness on his face is gone from when he "ran away from home".

It took Han Lu 15 minutes to live up to Wenren Mu's trust.

Acting as a mouthpiece, she conveyed what Wenren Mu was reluctant to say to Wenren Ou, barely managing to make Wenren Ou understand the intentions of her genius father and temporarily abandon the idea of ​​finding a suitable "companion" for Wenren Mu.

Han Lu's outstanding performance in the exchange competition also played a significant role in this.

While watching the competition, Wenren Ou was so excited by Han Lu and his fellow disciples' performance that he wished he could devote a hundred times more effort to cultivation. Naturally, he had no time to care about which fairy his father was looking for as a spouse.

In this way, Wenren Mu was able to escape a bit and no longer have to worry about his son.

In return, on the evening of the third day, Wenren Mu acted as a guide, leading Han Lu to stroll through the night market of Jitianfu.

With Wenren Mu's help and her own reputation gained in the exchange competition, Han Lu's transactions with the night market vendors went exceptionally smoothly.

She successfully exchanged many specialties from the Great Yu Dynasty at relatively low prices, and under Wenren Mu's guidance, she purchased some pills and artifacts that were beneficial to the formation of the Golden Core.

That evening, after bidding farewell to Wenren Mu and returning to the residences of the cultivators from the Central Plains, just as Han Lu was contemplating spending the last few hours of her time in the Great Yu Dynasty in meditation, news arrived from the Central Plains.

The message was sent by Paper Sword, and the recipient was Elder Pine and Cypress.

Holding the paper sword, Songbai Daoren first whispered a prayer and muttered a few words before unfolding it so that Han Lu and Fu Tianqiao, who were surrounding him, could see the words on the paper sword.

The paper sword contained little information, simply reporting the results of the Central Plains Friendship Match.

"Winning the championship in the autumn tour."

[Author's Note] A few words on a related topic for the next book: Currently, 9% of my interest is in the cyberpunk self-marriage and twin stories I mentioned before. I've discovered that I'm still suited to writing self-marriage stories and giving out some sweet moments; it's quite interesting.

Chapter 641 Return to the Central Plains

Autumn trip.

This was the second time that the three cultivators from the Central Plains Zhengyi Sect had heard the name of this female cultivator from the Jitian Palace.

Holding the paper sword, Pine and Cypress Daoist sighed, looked at Han Lu, then at the four characters "Autumn Journey to Win the Championship" on the paper sword, and said.

"After seeing you win the championship, Han Lu, I thought we could achieve a great victory and win two championships in a row, gaining a huge advantage in the East-West exchange. I didn't expect that the Jitian Palace is also full of talented people. Qiu Xing has not only defeated Xianyu Ji and two other Xuan Yang Valley cultivators, but also turned the tide like you."

"However... this is also good. If we each take a step back, it will allow this mutually beneficial exchange to continue for a longer period of time."

Although Elder Songbai and Elder Fanqian had only sat on the viewing platform for several days after arriving at the Jitian Palace and had not ventured deep into the palace, they still learned through rumors and their own observations that there were undercurrents within the Jitian Palace and that the position of the Zhetian Venerable was not secure.

In his view, if the Central Plains gained too much advantage in the exchange between East and West, who knows what unexpected things might happen.

This current situation is actually conducive to the progress of the matter.

Not to mention, if the Celestial Venerable is ousted from power by his "political enemies" a hundred years from now, a relatively fair solution would allow the exchange to continue, without having to hold another exchange competition and renegotiate.

Having said both the good and the bad, Han Lu and Fu Tianqiao had nothing more to complain about.

Fu Tianqiao inquired about the situation of the two Xuan Yang Valley cultivators, while Han Lu asked Songbai Daoist about his return to the Central Plains after another journey.

Perhaps it was because Han Lu's eventual victory inspired and motivated the two Xuan Yang Valley cultivators that the two already powerful late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators have basically emerged from the "shadow of defeat".

Huang Ziqiang, in particular, has even decided to apply to come to the Jitian Palace for an exchange before advancing to the Golden Core Realm, thinking that he can hone himself in the cultivation environment of the Great Yu Dynasty, which is far more dangerous than the Central Plains, and improve his strength to a higher level.

Regarding Han Lu's question, Songbai Daoren stated that the final itinerary could only be determined after coordination with Jitian Palace.

Although the three-day visit had already been scheduled, both the East and the West had expressed their goodwill through their respective actions.

However, due to the initial distrust, the "hostage" status of the visiting monks remained.

Returning to the motherland is not a simple matter. Proper communication and coordination, as if the two groups were in sync when they set off, are essential for a happy ending for all.

It wasn't until noon the next day that Han Lu and the others received the news and, led by Wenren Mu, arrived once again at the main hall where the teleportation portal was located.

This time, there were many important figures seeing them off, including even a Nascent Soul cultivator.

It was called a farewell, but to be precise, it was actually welcoming back the disciples of the Jitian Palace who were heading to the Central Plains.

According to Wenren Mu, the Nascent Soul cultivator who arrived at the teleportation gate was none other than the master of the female cultivator named "Qiuxing," Venerable Jing.

Besides Wenren Mu and Venerable Jing, several other people from the Jitian Palace came to see them off upon hearing the news.

Chai Tianjiao, Wu Jiayue, Dong Fengyu, and Mo Zhehan were all in the farewell party.

As the saying goes, "no fight, no friendship," and the group formed a shallow friendship with the four Central Plains cultivators on the arena, a friendship that resembled that of competitors.

Of the four, Chai Tianjiao and Dong Fengyu were the most uninhibited.

With a drastically changed personality, Chai Tianjiao is using her actions to draw a line between herself and her former self.

Dong Fengyu, whose nature was similar to that of cultivators from the Central Plains, naturally wanted to have a few more words with his fellow cultivators before parting ways.

On the contrary, Mo Zhehan, who is usually carefree, seemed a little "shy" at this moment.

He was very confident and articulate in front of Huang Ziqiang, but he stammered and hesitated in front of Han Lu, barely managing to utter a single word.

"Han Lu, see you again someday."

Mo Zhehan's thoughts were written all over his face, and Han Lu could easily understand them.

But King Xiang was interested, but the goddess was not. At least in the present and foreseeable future, this was destined to be a one-sided love.

The chances of meeting again in the future are slim, and Han Lu, who had lied, was unwilling to further hurt this cultivator from the Great Yu Dynasty with whom she had a fairly good relationship.

"Okay, see you next time."

Hearing Han Lu's answer, Mo Zhehan was overjoyed, but he tried his best not to show it on his face.

Dong Fengyu, who was standing to the side, heard everything clearly and knew that Han Lu's words had a hidden meaning. He shook his head slightly, obviously not optimistic that his "idiot junior brother" could win the beauty's heart.

The appointed time arrived shortly afterward.

This time, the portal was activated first from the Central Plains direction to initiate the teleportation.

The first person to emerge from the portal was a female cultivator.

He was dressed in a blue robe, had short hair, and his appearance was seven parts similar to that of the Venerable Jing.

"Autumn Journey".

"mother."

The two female cultivators, who both appeared to be in their early twenties, addressed each other as mother and daughter and embraced in public. Although they had not seen each other for only three days, they were as excited as if they had been separated for a hundred years.

It was only through the way Venerable Jing addressed Qiu Xing, who had won the championship in the Central Plains, that Han Lu realized their relationship was far closer than that of master and disciple.

Seeing Qiu Xing return first, Han Lu also stepped forward, intending to teleport away as originally planned.

Unexpectedly, just as she left the queue, Qiu Xing broke free from Venerable Jing's embrace and came to stand before her.

"Is it Fellow Daoist Han?"

Han Lu nodded, having already guessed what Qiu Xing was going to say to her.

Sure enough, Qiu Xing's next words were exactly what Han Lu had guessed.

"Fellow Daoist Han defeated Senior Brother Mo to win the championship, which is truly impressive. I look forward to having a match with Fellow Daoist Han someday in the future."

Qiu Xing's words were rather polite; he didn't directly issue a challenge, saying he wanted to have a contest to see who was the most powerful among the younger generation in the East and West.

Since the other party had said so, Han Lu, who was also curious about Qiu Xing, naturally wouldn't back down.

"Fellow Daoist Qiu must be a formidable opponent to have overcome all obstacles and won the championship in the Central Plains. I also look forward to the day when I can have a friendly match with Fellow Daoist Qiu and enhance our friendship."

Qiu Xing took the initiative to extend his hand, and Han Lu reacted quickly by extending her right hand to shake his.

The two exchanged greetings and farewells in a manner that didn't seem like a first meeting between female cultivators.

Before leaving, Han Lu didn't hesitate. She only glanced at her friends from the Extreme Heaven Palace for a moment before turning back and quickly walking into the activated teleportation portal.

In the blink of an eye, the world before Han Lu's eyes changed.

The magnificent palace has been transformed into a desolate wilderness.

Han Lu, the "hero," was the first to return, and the cultivators on the other side of the Central Plains teleportation portal naturally offered their congratulations.

Daoist Yunmin and Daoist Long from Xuanyang Valley were both present.

The promised rewards from both sides were presented to Han Lu, the champion, in front of all the Jitian Palace cultivators who had not yet left the Central Plains.

If it weren't for the need to keep it a secret from the Seven Mountains Alliance, the delighted Daoist Yunmin would have loved to throw a grand celebration banquet to commemorate this rare moment when the Zhengyi Sect was at the top of the cultivation world in the Central Plains.

The journey was orderly and efficient, and soon all six cultivators returned to the familiar land of the Central Plains.

With the portal closing, the exchange between East and West has temporarily come to an end.

Aside from leaving three scars on Han Lu's face and adding three items from the three major sects to her storage bag, perhaps only those three battles and the unique feelings she had when she was alone with Mo Zhehan are worth remembering a hundred years later.

[Author's Note] The king is interested, but the goddess is not. In the next chapter, XXX years will have passed. How many years will have passed this time?