The Long Journey to Immortality

Although worldly etiquette still prevails and it is common for people to choose their partners based on their parents' wishes and matchmakers' words, for cultivators who are detached from worldly affairs, free love is the norm.

Sure enough, Zhu Cailian had only been in the Zhengyi Sect for a year and a half when she attracted many suitors with her outstanding appearance and talent.

This Shi Wenguang was the best among these suitors, and he had already stepped into Zhu Cailian's boudoir with one foot in the door.

Upon seeing Wen Erya dressed in gorgeous attire, Shi Wenguang was stunned for a moment before Zhu Cailian reminded him to greet her, "Greetings, Thirteenth Princess, happy birthday."

"Yes, Er Ya, happy birthday." Zhu Cailian turned her head and gave Wen Er Ya her blessing.

Her long-standing education allowed Wen Erya to remain polite to Shi Wenguang, who had "taken away" her study companion.

“Senior Brother Shi? Since you are Sister Zhu’s friend, you are also my friend,” Wen Erya said, her tone slightly changing when she said the word “friend” to avoid any misunderstanding, “Come in together.”

Although Wen Erya still extended a warm invitation, Shi Wenguang, who was three years older than the female cultivators, could roughly guess how Wen Erya felt.

He pulled out the little excuse he'd used when Zhu Cailian had asked him to come here, to save face, "Thirteenth Princess, I'm very sorry, although I would love to come in and sit down and attend your birthday banquet, I'm only here to see Cailian off..."

Zhu Cailian added, "Yes, I had to drag Senior Brother Shi here. Senior Brother, did Elder Mo want to see you about something?"

“That’s right, Elder Mo has some important things to tell me,” Shi said, forcing a smile to cover up his embarrassment at lying, and apologizing repeatedly. “So I’ll take my leave first. I’m sure the Thirteenth Princess will be able to take good care of Cailian.”

After saying his goodbyes, Senior Brother Shi whispered a few words in Zhu Cailian's ear before using his lightness spell to quickly disappear from everyone's sight.

Although they didn't do anything intimate when they said goodbye, the fact that she was Zhu Cailian's sweetheart was enough to make Wen Erya "angry".

Watching Shi Wenguang's retreating figure, Wen Erya thought to herself, "At least he knows what's good for him."

Thinking this, Wen Erya took Zhu Cailian's hand as usual and led her into the courtyard.

In the brief moment of holding Zhu Cailian's hand, several thoughts flashed through Wen Erya's mind. She immediately attributed her recent emotional changes to childishness and understood why Zhu Cailian insisted on bringing Shi Wenguang to see her.

"As expected, I am still very important to Sister Zhu."

With her jealousy largely subsided, Wen Erya followed Zhu Cailian's example and began introducing Zhu Cailian to her new friends.

"Han Lu is also a disciple of my master, Elder Piaomiao, and my best friend in Dongshan Academy."

Han Lu smiled and nodded at Zhu Cailian, who returned the smile.

“Zhan Yujun…” After saying the name, Wen Erya couldn’t think of a suitable way to introduce her.

Zhan Yujun didn't care about that. She took a half step forward and extended her hand to Zhu Cailian, thus easing the awkwardness.

Following Zhan Yujun's lead, Zhu Cailian shook hands with her and said, "Zhu Cailian, your Senior Sister Wen's study companion."

Only then did the three of them become acquainted.

The four of them sat down together at the stone table and benches in the courtyard, and all three of them turned their attention to the birthday celebrant of the evening, Wen Erya.

With a wave of her hand, Wen Erya subtly illuminated all the palace lanterns that had been dark in the courtyard.

“Everyone is here, so let’s begin the feast,” Wen Erya said. “Since there are no servants to wait on us, everyone please lend a hand and help me bring the dishes to the table.”

Although they all possessed magical powers, they still chose to walk a few steps and use their hands to bring the dishes that Wen Erya had asked the canteen chef to prepare in advance to the table, since this was an occasion where etiquette was required.

With four people and twenty-four dishes, Han Lu and Zhan Yujun, these two "commoners," enjoyed a royal-level treatment.

The food was delicious, and Zhu Cailian was also a very sociable person who could liven up the atmosphere.

Several people sat around a table of dishes, chatting and eating with their chopsticks, having a very pleasant time.

A touch of jealousy combined with the bland flavors of the dishes made Wen Erya unable to resist asking Zhu Cailian about Shi Wenguang.

Zhu Cailian assumed that Wen Erya was just curious about Shi Wenguang. In addition, she wanted to introduce her sweetheart to Wen Erya, so she answered these questions quite proactively, afraid that Wen Erya would not know how good Shi Wenguang was and would mistakenly think that she was blind and had chosen the wrong person.

"Senior Brother Shi will be twenty years old in three months. He is Elder Mo's disciple from Nanshan Academy."

"I have cultivated for seven years in total, and I am now at the ninth level of Qi Refining. It will not be a problem for me to advance to the Foundation Establishment stage before the age of thirty."

"However, Senior Brother Shi is a man with dreams. He plans to cultivate to the eleventh level of Qi Refining, and then try to break through to the twelfth level, in order to have the opportunity to advance to the Golden Core stage in the future."

“He is very good to me and takes good care of me. Like this time, even though he had something to do, I insisted on going, and he didn’t complain much.”

……

Shi Wenguang was indeed a talented young man in the Zhengyi Sect. After Zhu Cailian's comprehensive introduction, Wen Erya's jealousy completely disappeared.

Now, she only hopes that lovers will eventually be united, and that Zhu Cailian can find a good home to accompany her through hundreds of years of cultivation.

Half of each dish on the table had been eaten. When Wen Er Ya saw that people were eating less, she stood up to announce the "second activity" of the banquet.

Just then, the token at her waist started vibrating unexpectedly.

Immediately afterwards, a series of rapid, rhythmic knocks sounded on the door.

The four people, including Wen Erya, couldn't help but frown, feeling annoyed by the mysterious guest who had disrupted the atmosphere of the banquet.

"Wait a moment," Wen Erya straightened her clothes, gave her three friends a smile, and said, "I'll go take a look."

Chapter Sixty: The Uninvited Guest

Seeing this, Zhan Yuyun was thinking of standing up and following Wen Erya to see who the visitors outside were, but before she could stand up, Han Lu stopped her with chopsticks holding a lobster.

"Sit down and enjoy your lobster," Han Lu said after seeing Wen Erya walk a little further away. "I guess Senior Sister Wen has already guessed who's knocking on the door. It's probably a private matter, so don't get involved."

Hearing this, Zhan Yujun also suppressed her curiosity, opened her mouth wide, and let Han Lu feed her the peeled shrimp, which she chewed quietly.

Han Lu was right. The moment she decided to open the door to see what was going on, Wen Erya remembered who else might be visiting at this time.

"I can probably guess who it is," Zhu Cailian added, seemingly trying to get closer to Han Lu and Zhan Yujun. "Do you want to know?"

Zhan Yuyun swallowed the shrimp in a few bites, then opened her mouth and said, "I want to."

Han Lu did not raise any objections.

Zhu Cailian didn't keep them in suspense and revealed the answer directly, "It's probably Er Ya's two imperial brothers."

"Those two who cultivate in the Zhengyi Sect?" Han Lu recalled the rumors she heard on her first day at the Zhengyi Sect.

“That’s right,” Zhu Cailian picked up a piece of fish and carefully removed the bones with her chopsticks. “After all, every prince wants to build a good relationship with a cultivator who may reach the Golden Core realm in fifty years and has royal blood, hoping to use that relationship to ascend to the throne.”

Looking up at Zhan Yujun and Han Lu's seemingly confused expressions, Zhu Cailian explained, "Although it sounds a bit unbelievable, that seat is incredibly attractive. It's normal to be crazy about it and try every possible method."

"Come on, eat some fish. It's very fresh. It would be a waste not to eat it."

Zhu Cailian used a spoon to divide the fish meat, which she had just removed the bones from, into portions for Han Lu and Zhan Yujun.

The three of them sat some distance from the courtyard gate, with a patch of greenery planted with various plants blocking their view.

However, while these plants can block the view, they cannot block the sound.

Even after the door was opened, the voices of the people outside and Wen Erya's voice still carried through the air, passing through their ears in fragments.

After hearing two words and the voice of a "stranger" outside the door, Zhu Cailian sighed and said, "It seems I guessed right."

"Are you very familiar with those two princes?" Han Lu asked casually.

“It’s alright, I’ve met them a few times,” Zhu Cailian recalled the time she and Wen Erya spent cultivating together in the palace. “These two princes have limited talent, and a few years ago, their minds were no longer on cultivation and seeking the Dao.”

"When they learned that Er Ya was exceptionally talented and that as long as she was patient and endured hardship, she might be able to achieve the Golden Core in forty or fifty years, they began to deliberately try to please her."

“I would return to the palace several times a year, and each time I would bring spirit stones and pills to Er Ya, things she had no shortage of.”

"He even misleads students occasionally, teaching Er Ya as a Qi Refining cultivator." Upon hearing this, Han Lu subconsciously thought of Xue Ding, who liked to act as a teacher in front of her in Moyu City.

“After several attempts, I naturally got to know them,” Zhu Cailian said with a light laugh. “They were even thinking of getting to me through this, building a good relationship with me, and asking me to put in a good word for them.”

“But I’m not stupid,” Zhu Cailian said, touching the jade chopsticks in her hand. “Erya is focused on cultivation and wouldn’t bother with these mundane matters, so I naturally won’t cause myself or her any trouble.”

Uninterested in her brother's throne, Wen Erya stood at the courtyard gate, politely answered a few questions, and then returned to the courtyard with the gifts.

"Which prince is it?" Zhu Cailian asked.

“Both of them came, as if they had arranged it,” Wen Erya said with a helpless expression. “They were quite sensible and didn’t insist on coming in to eat together, so I just gave them a few perfunctory replies.”

After Wen Erya sat down, she casually opened the gifts the two had given her.

Perhaps because they knew that Wen Erya was not lacking in cultivation resources, the gift in Wen Erya's hand was just an ordinary mortal item.

A red jade hairpin, a white jade bracelet.

Both gifts were quite valuable, but Wenya had no interest in adding them to her collection of treasures.

Looking at Han Lu and Zhan Yujun, who were usually "unrefined," Wen Erya had an idea.

To borrow flowers to present to Buddha means to give something good to the right person.

Because Zhan Yujun was wearing a pair of bracelets, Wen Erya put the white jade bracelet on Han Lu's hand.

The red jade hairpin became a gift from Zhan Yujun.

Taking the opportunity of giving a gift, Wen Erya also kindly helped Zhan Yujun tie a new hairstyle.

After declining a few times, the two of them went along with the birthday girl's wishes and accepted Wen Erya's kindness, taking the two things that she found somewhat offensive.

The matter, which had been interrupted by the unexpected arrival of the two princes, continued. Wen Erya instructed everyone to clear the table, and then brought out two items that people in the Southern Dynasty ate on their birthdays from the room.

Both are longevity noodles, and both are longevity cakes.

However, these two things are currently in the form of flour in Wen Erya's hands.

It wasn't that Wen Erya couldn't afford a chef to turn the flour into those two things, but rather that she felt it would be especially meaningful to make longevity noodles and birthday cakes with three friends on her sixteenth birthday.

The three of them had no choice but to cooperate with Wen Erya's sudden idea.

None of the four, including Wen Erya, had experience cooking.

Fortunately, Wen Erya was prepared. She had prepared four recipes and had learned how to make these two dishes from the chef well in advance.

She took the lead as the head chef, while Han Lu and two others served as assistants and kitchen helpers.

The four future Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators, like cooks, rolled up their sleeves and began to cook on the stone table in the courtyard.

Fortunately, these two things are not fancy dishes. Knowing the first five steps, you can easily create a shape.

With their faces covered in flour, the four of them worked on the dough for nearly 45 minutes following the steps on the menu before the noodles and flatbread were finally ready.

For cultivators, starting a fire is not a difficult task.

From any perspective, controlling the heat when cooking is simpler than controlling the heat when refining elixirs.

Unfortunately, Wen Erya remembered to prepare flour and a large pot, but forgot to prepare seasonings.

After a long hour of hard work, the four of them could only make do with what they had on hand, using the sauces from the dishes they had eaten before as seasonings. They enjoyed the rather unappetizing and somewhat incongruous longevity noodles and cakes.

The food wasn't very good, but everyone enjoyed it.