The Long Journey to Immortality

"Sister, is your cooking good?" Feng Hong found it hard to give "sister's cooking," which she had never tasted before, the same high rating as "mom's cooking."

Even though her younger brother looked down on her, Han Lu wasn't angry and didn't argue with the child.

"Don't worry, once you've tried it, you'll probably be begging me to cook for you from now on."

Boasting that her skills were comparable to those of top chefs in ordinary restaurants, Han Lu was confident that with her abilities, combined with excellent ingredients and a rich array of spices, she could definitely conquer the taste buds of Feng Hong, who ate stewed meat for two out of three meals a day.

The result was just as Han Lu had expected.

Feng Hong can't be considered a gourmet, although her mother, Feng Rubing, has raised her standards for food.

But the dishes Han Lu cooked were indeed very much to the liking of her younger brother.

In fact, Feng Hong spared no praise, exaggerating Han Lu's cooking skills to the point that they were even better than Feng Rubing's.

Of course, Han Lu's culinary skills are no match for Feng Rubing's.

Feng Hong lied through his teeth, mainly because he felt that compared to his mother, who could only help cook one or two meals a month and spend a long time cultivating, he was more satisfied with his sister, who had been by his side recently.

[Author's Note] Epic's gift of GTA 5 boosted the new subscriptions for Los Santos, which is pretty good.

Chapter 711 When Will You Return?

With her cultivation progressing smoothly and the addition of a loving and caring older sister who cooks exceptionally well, Feng Hong felt that she was the happiest phoenix in the world, without exception.

With his childlike nature, he naturally showed off to his friends quite a bit.

Every now and then, Feng Hong would invite her close friends to her home to show off her older sister like a collector showing off his collection.

It must be said that Han Lu is indeed gentle and approachable, and she always makes Feng Hong's inexperienced companions feel at home.

In addition, she possessed a charming quality that was different from the wild phoenix.

This directly led to Han Lu's soaring popularity among the young phoenixes of Sanfeng Forest. Despite not having appeared in Sanfeng Forest for over thirty years, she became a prominent figure among the young phoenixes.

Feng You was delighted with this outcome and even hoped that Han Lu would become closer to the people of the Three Phoenix Forest.

Besides having more young phoenix children, it would be best to find a few friends of the same and opposite sexes to truly settle down in Sanfeng Forest.

After all, what parent wouldn't want their children by their side?

Not to mention, according to the succession system of the Phoenix Clan, Han Lu is the first successor to the position of the Phoenix Clan Chief.

In Feng You's view, Han Lu will most likely inherit his position in the future.

It would be beneficial to get to know the people in the Three Phoenix Forest better.

The mention of an heir gave Feng Hong a headache.

Neither Han Lu nor Feng Hong seemed like an excellent successor to the clan leader, not even as good as themselves.

Fortunately, both of their children are still young, with promising futures and great potential. Otherwise, Feng Hong would be worried about whether he and Feng Rubing should try harder to have a few more children.

To avoid making Han Lu and Feng Hong bear heavy responsibilities they cannot handle in the future, creating unwanted entanglements, and causing them to lose themselves because of their clan.

Judging from this perspective alone, Feng You may not be an excellent clan leader, but he is certainly developing in the direction of an excellent father.

And what about Han Lu?

She could naturally sense her father's thoughts.

Being a dutiful daughter, she didn't mind spending some time making friends in the Three Phoenix Forest, making herself more like a phoenix with human blood, rather than just a human cultivator with phoenix blood.

Mutual tolerance and a spirit of understanding and consideration for one's loved ones enabled Han Lu's family to quickly achieve their ideal family life.

If Feng Hong weren't still unable to transform into human form, Feng Rubing and Feng You would even have considered taking their two children to the mortal world of the Great Yu Dynasty to seek fun and achieve the small accomplishment of "the whole family traveling together".

Although it couldn't be done that way, under Feng You's guidance, the four phoenixes still transformed into their true spirit forms and took a long trip in the wilderness. Just like the true spirits of the Simulacrum era teaching their descendants hunting and combat skills, they found some demonic beasts for Feng Hong, allowing him to try hunting under the protection of his parents and sister, and gain some knowledge that he could not learn from the nursery and meditation.

Under her parents' command, Feng Hong swooped down into the herd of beasts, grabbed one with her feet, flew back to her parents to claim credit, and then released it with a smile.

It really does have a bit of a bird-hunting feel to it.

However, when Feng Rubing tried to test Feng Hong's understanding and application of his supernatural powers, Feng Hong failed to satisfy his parents.

His past laziness and carelessness in neglecting his studies meant that although he was a phantom phoenix, he was not particularly skilled in illusion magic.

Even with Han Lu's help, and after a month of diligent study, he still couldn't catch up on the lessons he had missed over the past ten years.

Not to mention that Bing Feng Ru Bing, who doesn't really understand illusion magic, also set up a difficult problem to test her.

She had her son try to hypnotize a low-level beast, making it believe it was a fish and jump around on the ground in the manner of a fish.

This was far too difficult for Feng Hong, whose strength was only equivalent to the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

He tried his best but failed, only managing to make a beast have the illusion that it had fallen into the water.

Seeing the beast writhing on the ground as if it were suffocating, and Feng Hong's miserable expression, Han Lu and her parents all burst into laughter.

Feng You casually shattered Feng Hong's supernatural power and released the beast that had suffered for no reason.

Feng Rubing, who was already concerned about Feng Hong's cultivation, was given another good spur by Feng You, who hoped that his son could be as positive and motivated as his daughter.

Being treated like "the neighbor's kid" didn't make Han Lu feel smug at all. Instead, she defended her younger brother, using his recent good performance as evidence.

Han Lu even quipped, "A son is like his mother," which helped Feng Hong pass this impromptu test.

Han Lu really enjoyed going out with her family, a slightly novel but family-friendly activity that suited her phoenix identity.

This was something she had always longed for, something that even those who cultivated to the Nascent Soul or Divine Transformation realms in the Central Plains could not obtain.

She felt incredibly comfortable when she was with her family. Even just watching, standing, or listening filled the small void in her heart, giving her a sense of happiness and satisfaction that she could not obtain from anywhere else.

After playing around, Sifeng found a scenic spot to rest for a while.

During their "camping picnic," Han Lu and Feng Rubing transformed back into human form, took out cooking utensils and ingredients from their storage bags, and cooked dishes together.

This was a rare opportunity for Feng Rubing to be alone with Han Lu after Han Lu came to Sanfeng Forest.

Having reached a crucial stage in her cultivation, and with the "earnest expectations" of her clan spurring her on, Feng Rubing had no choice but to spend a great deal of time on cultivation.

Even with the most reasonable time management, Feng Rubing couldn't possibly balance both ends under these circumstances.

The two worked together to cook, and Feng Rubing spoke intermittently, whispering these private words between mother and daughter to Han Lu.

From daily life to spiritual practice, we talk about everything.

On certain issues, Han Lu is more able to open up to Feng Rubing than to Feng You.

However, there were only so many good questions. As they chatted, Feng Rubing couldn't help but ask a slightly sad question.

"How long do you plan to stay in Sanfenglin this time? Half a year? A year?"

This was the first time Han Lu had been asked this question since returning home in April.

She silently demonstrated her superb knife skills on the loofah in her hand with her "ice blade," and it took her some time before she spoke, answering the question she didn't want to face directly.

"I'll probably stay for another year, maybe another year and a half."

"Is it urgent?"

"It's nothing important, but I promised my friend that I would protect her when she forms her core, so I can't go back on my word."

"Hmm, how do you plan to get back? Do you want me to walk you home again?"

Han Lu understood Feng Rubing's subtext, and although she originally wanted to try returning on her own, she did not refuse Feng Rubing's kindness.

"Okay, thank you, Mom."

"It's nothing, come on, come help me with a small favor."

……

In just a quarter of an hour, a sumptuous meal was successfully cooked and served.

The family reunited, sitting on the boundless plains, feeling the warm winter sun, enjoying delicious food, chatting and laughing with their loved ones, and having a wonderful time.

Chapter 712 How to Return

Sitting cross-legged alone in the room, Han Lu looked worried.

Feng Rubing's simple question left Han Lu feeling uneasy after returning home from a family outing.

Just like Feng Rubing, who had to focus more on cultivation rather than spending time with her family because of the pressure of her clan needing a "master to oversee things".

As for Han Lu, where does the conflict between her "life and career" lie?

Having grown up in the Central Plains, her social circle is entirely within the Central Plains.

He was a disciple of the Central Plains Zhengyi Sect, and his friends were also practicing in the Central Plains.

She had long been accustomed to life in the Central Plains and to that unique atmosphere of cultivation.

While Han Lu was in the Central Plains, her relatives lived in the wilderness.

This resulted in a disconnect between Han Lu and her family's living environment, creating an unbridgeable spatial distance that left her unable to be in two places at once.

Fortunately, Sanfenglin is not far from Dayu Dynasty; otherwise, Han Lu might still have a serious ideological gap with her family.

Han Lu naturally did not want to see this situation.

At least she still prefers to spend more time with her family and doesn't want to be a wanderer away from home for too long.

But the Central Plains were not a place she could easily give up.

He has deep bonds with many friends, acquaintances, and teachers, including Wen Erya.

There are also reasons why she cannot be separated from the sect. Han Lu is not someone who likes to owe favors. Whether it is Feng Bailu or Han Lu, the Zhengyi Sect has been kind to both of them in cultivating them.

Although Han Lu has indeed made great contributions to the Zhengyi Sect, she feels that she still owes the sect something and needs to spend more time and effort to repay it.

The contradictions involved are almost irreconcilable.

For someone like Han Lu, visiting relatives back and forth like this is ultimately just a temporary measure.

Since ancient times, loyalty to the country and filial piety have been mutually exclusive.

This statement is about 70% accurate when applied to Han Lu.

Suddenly opening her eyes, Han Lu looked out the window and gazed at the bright moon in the sky through the sycamore grove. A sense of melancholy spread throughout her body.

"We have to find a way to solve this."

Han Lu sighed, pursed her lips, and muttered to herself, pondering how to resolve the matter.