The Long Journey to Immortality

Qiu Peng accepted the book and then reported to Han Lu about the few daily necessities he was missing.

Although Qiu Peng was still an unofficial member of the Zhengyi Sect, he did not ask Han Lu to request the daily necessities that Qiu Peng lacked in her own name from the inner sect.

After sending a letter with a sword in hand and giving Qiu Peng a few more instructions, Han Lu set off again.

This time, she was going to find Nian Haoge and her master, Piaomiaozi.

While bringing Nian Haoge back to her side, she also used her connection with the master in charge of the academy to find out which promising young talents in Dongshan Academy were still unmarried, so that she would not miss out on a gem when choosing a disciple, nor would she steal the disciples of other elders and cause them resentment.

Having a divine sense that can be extended over a wide area, there will be no more trouble finding someone in a mountain courtyard.

Flying through the air, Han Lu casually used her divine sense to search the entire Dongshan Academy, and found Nian Haoge's whereabouts in just a moment.

At this time, Nian Haoge was sparring with his fellow disciples on the arena at Dongshan Academy.

"Perfect, let me see just how much strength Haoge really has now."

Concealing her presence, Han Lu quietly arrived at the Dongshan Academy's arena area.

Influenced by Han Lu, and with his "unusual" background, Nian Haoge can definitely be considered a warmonger.

She has to spend a lot of time every month sparring and fighting with others to keep her mind clear.

Although the grand competition two years ago had only just ended, there were still quite a few Foundation Establishment stage disciples of the Zhengyi Sect exchanging techniques and competing in combat on the arena.

As the fifth-place finisher in the previous competition, Nian Haoge naturally attracted a lot of attention from his fellow disciples.

Many Foundation Establishment disciples, much older than Nian Haoge, gathered around the arena, watching Nian Haoge compete against his fellow disciples. They hoped to learn some useful combat skills from him and longed to have the opportunity to go on stage and compete with Nian Haoge later.

On the arena, Nian Haoge's battle with another senior brother who was at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage was reaching a fever pitch.

When practicing the Seven Killings Sword Technique, Nian Haoge naturally relied more on the power of the spiritual sword in combat, making each move extremely aggressive.

This allows Nian Haoge to always suppress his opponents with a continuous barrage of attacks, gain the upper hand, and finally find the loopholes left by his opponents' mistakes in their haste to achieve final victory.

Naturally, winning through such means makes the scene of Nian Haoge battling with others quite spectacular.

This is one of the reasons why many cultivators gather around the arena.

Han Lu remained hidden to the side, hoping that after nearly three years, she would see something new and different in Nian Haoge.

Nian Haoge did not disappoint Han Lu.

She once used sword formations, which she wasn't particularly skilled at, in combat.

Although her total spiritual power was less than Han Lu's, the spiritual power swords she separated were also deadly weapons, and the sword formation she set up naturally had considerable power.

Just when Han Lu thought that Nian Haoge's opponent was no match for her, she did not expect that the battle would last for a full quarter of an hour, with both sides evenly matched.

Back and forth they went, and although Nian Haoge's offensive was like a surging river, his opponent remained as steady as a rock, showing no sign of panic or mistake.

Through conversations among the onlookers, Han Lu learned that Nian Haoge's opponent was among the top sixteen in the advanced Foundation Establishment group of the previous competition, and was also a cultivator of considerable strength.

"It seems that Haoge's current strength is roughly equivalent to that of a slightly more powerful mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator."

Han Lu was slightly disappointed by this judgment.

It was just a friendly sparring match, a fierce battle. Nian Haoge couldn't defeat her opponent, and she had used up half of her spiritual energy. So, without any psychological burden, she took the initiative to throw down her sword and admit defeat, and walked off the stage on her own.

Just as she was thinking about recovering some spiritual power and finding a suitable opponent to fight, Han Lu suddenly released the spell on her body and called out "Haoge" from afar.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Hao Ge's expression, which had been somewhat dejected due to his defeat, immediately changed.

She looked in the direction of the sound, quickly took a few steps, crossed the crowd, and greeted, "Sister Han, you're finally back."

In front of outsiders, Han Lu maintained the demeanor of a senior expert, simply smiling and saying, "Yes, I just got back less than two hours ago."

When speaking to Nian Haoge, Han Lu was very direct: "Haoge, I'm looking for a few disciples to guide and instruct. Would you like to join?"

Nian Haoge replied without hesitation, "Master, I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

It's like providing a pillow when you're sleepy.

While cultivating alone, Nian Haoge discovered that he had vaguely entered a bottleneck period in combat. He truly needed guidance from a cultivator with high cultivation and rich experience like Han Lu in order to break through the fog and see the sun and moon.

"Okay, then pack your things first. You'll be staying at my place for the next six months to cultivate."

"Oh, by the way, I also found you a junior brother, who is also in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and he's staying with me too."

"I'm going to the academy first. Before I go home, you can get to know him better."

Han Lu's words caused Nian Haoge to misunderstand. She thought that Han Lu had taken in another disciple with great abilities, and her fighting spirit was ignited.

“Alright, Master,” Nian Haoge said with a hidden meaning, “I’ll go and get to know my junior brother now.”

After seeing Nian Haoge off, Han Lu used her lightness technique to walk along the mountain path towards the academy, just like an ordinary disciple.

Unfortunately, Piaomiaozi was not on duty at the academy at that time, and only a disciple in charge of the academy's daily affairs received her.

Chapter 723 Recruiting Disciples

As an elder who hasn't been very active in the sect in recent years and doesn't have a particularly imposing appearance, ordinary disciples of the Zheng Yi Sect would usually only see Han Lu as a senior sister, and some might even call her junior sister.

However, within the Dongshan Academy, Piaomiaozi would mention Han Lu every now and then, letting the cultivators in the academy know that Piaomiaozi had spent about forty years "cultivating" a sect elder.

When Han Lu came to find Piaomiaozi, even though she did not introduce herself, she was recognized by the official in charge of the academy and received sufficient treatment.

When the other party heard that Han Lu had come to borrow the list of disciples of Dongshan Academy to read and select a few suitable low-level Qi Refining cultivators to take as her disciples and train them carefully, he not only took the initiative to send over a set of jade tablets containing the list, but also accompanied her, actively recommending a few "young talents" and answering the questions Han Lu asked.

Han Lu knew without a doubt that the person who made the recommendation must be someone with a certain "relationship" or "connection" with this manager.

This was an unspoken rule within the sect. Han Lu didn't expose him; instead, she listened attentively and, following the manager's instructions, opened the jade tablet to read the information of those connected individuals, trying to find a young person truly worthy of being taken as a disciple.

Unfortunately, although this manager was conscientious in his work, he was still too concerned about spirit stones and money.

Although several disciples of Dongshan Academy on his list of acquaintances possessed some talent and ability, none of them met Han Lu's standards for accepting disciples.

This made the manager's expression slightly unpleasant.

Having missed the opportunity to make money through referrals, he couldn't help but subtly complain a couple of times, even in front of a Golden Core elder.

"Elder Zhenfeng, your requirements for accepting disciples are a bit too high."

"In recent years, the sect leader has been encouraging the Golden Core elders to recruit disciples. Most of the Qi Refining disciples with some strength and talent in the various branches have already joined the ranks of a Golden Core elder."

"The few I just mentioned are among the most outstanding outer disciples. If they perform well in this competition, they may also be granted the title of inner disciple and become a disciple of an elder."

"Why don't you reconsider?"

The manager's words actually had some effect.

Han Lu nodded slightly and said, "You're right, the standards I set before were indeed a bit too high."

"This trip was originally about finding gold hidden in the sand, but not to mention, the other elders also managed to collect a batch of it."

"If you're too concerned about the purity, you really won't be able to find gold."

Upon hearing this, the steward was overjoyed and said, "Elder is wise. Why don't you take another look? I'll also help you flip through the roster and find some good candidates."

Han Lu nodded slightly and took out five low-grade spirit stones, saying, "Help me out well, this is a small reward. If many of the people you help me select are to my liking, there will be other rewards."

Five low-grade spirit stones may not seem like a large sum, but to receive such a reward for such a small matter, Han Lu was already associated with the word "generous" in the manager's eyes.

With a different perspective, Han Lu's feelings towards the seven young people recommended by the manager did indeed change.

Previously, I was picky, hoping to find a perfect apprentice among them.

The current focus is on identifying strengths, hoping to find a promising apprentice who is worth nurturing.

"This...he cultivates diligently, and his spiritual root quality is not low."

"Well... your family has abundant resources, so you can save a few elixirs by using them here."

"This... his talent is average, his effort is average, but he has had many opportunities, and he also has some connection with an elder in the sect."

……

Looking at the problem from a different perspective, Han Lu felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.

Indeed, most of the remaining outer disciples were no better than "sand," and there were no true talents among them.

Even so, out of the twelve people recommended by the manager, Han Lu only selected two young people to enter the candidate pool.

This result gave Han Lu a slight headache.

Holding her forehead, she thought to herself, "Could it be that I have no choice but to wait until June and find talented people from among the newly recruited disciples?"

After tidying her loose hair, Han Lu gently pushed a strand of wine-red hair aside, picked up the jade pendant, and began to cast her net wide, hoping to catch a big fish.

After all, although the disciples recommended by the steward were quite reliable, she still needed to personally screen them before she could feel at ease.

It must be said that the Zhengyi Sect is very serious and rigorous in managing the information of its disciples.

Just like when selecting talents to enter the ancient cultivation realm, the branch dean can find out the specific situation of each disciple through the academy's "student registration management" system.

Now, Han Lu can also rely on the detailed information recorded in the jade tablet to have a general understanding of each outer disciple who is cultivating in Dongshan Academy.

Why "approximately"?

There are many outer disciples, but few have the opportunity to stand out.

There isn't much information worth recording on the jade plaque; after subtraction, we can only get a general idea.

Most of the information is intuitive but superficial.

This disciple's talent was as described when he entered the sect.

How did this disciple perform in both the major and minor competitions?

How much progress this disciple makes in his spiritual practice each year?

This inevitably made it difficult for Han Lu to conduct in-depth research.

After going back and forth, Han Lu read through the five jade tablets nearly ten times before adding two young disciples who had only been in the sect for two years to the "candidate list".

"Sigh," Han Lu sighed inwardly as she put down the jade token, "These four seem alright, but they'll most likely only ever reach the Foundation Establishment stage in their lifetime..."

Han Lu is strict with herself, and naturally she is also very strict with her disciples. She wishes that every disciple who becomes her disciple could eventually advance to the late Foundation Establishment stage and have the potential to break through to the Golden Core stage.

However, upon further reflection, Han Lu realized that her "strictness" seemed unnecessary.

"Alright, let's just take them all as nominal disciples, train them a little, provide them with resources, and help them advance to the Foundation Establishment Realm as much as possible. As for their future development, we'll leave that to fate."

Having made this plan, Han Lu stopped thinking about it.

After memorizing the names and information of the four people again, he personally went to recruit them one by one.