The Long Journey to Immortality

Unfortunately, Wen Er Ya's excitement didn't last long.

When the two returned to their sect from the North Sea, a letter from home was delivered to Wen Erya.

Han Lu, who was standing nearby, was curious about what was written in the letter.

But seeing Wen Erya burst into tears after holding the letter for only a moment, Han Lu could roughly guess what was written inside.

“Junior sister,” Wen Erya, a Golden Core cultivator, said mournfully, wiping away her tears, “my father has passed away.”

Chapter 768 Coup?

Everyone dies eventually, and cultivators are no exception.

In the Central Plains, most cultivators die of old age.

In the Great Yu Dynasty, most cultivators died in accidents.

However, no matter what, a cultivator is destined to die one day if their cultivation cannot advance any further.

Although Wen Erya's father was a mortal emperor, he also possessed cultivation and could be considered a cultivator by a narrow margin.

With his cultivation at the fourth level of Qi Refining, coupled with a large number of elixirs and medicines that have the function of prolonging life, Wen Erya's father was able to live at least one or two decades longer than ordinary Qi Refining cultivators.

But eventually, there will still be a day when he passes away.

Having already prepared herself, Wen Erya cried for a moment before temporarily hiding her sorrow back in her heart.

Holding the letter, she read it again, and suddenly her gaze sharpened as she noticed something amiss.

"What's wrong?" Han Lu noticed the change in Wen Erya and couldn't help but feel uneasy, so she asked.

“Something seems off,” Wen Erya handed the letter to her friend, pointing at it with her hand. “Junior sister, take a look at this part.”

Han Lu took the letter and her gaze fell on the spot that Wen Erya was pointing to with her finger.

Wen Er Ya's letter was written and sent by the Queen.

The content is not extensive.

He simply informed Wen Erya's father of the sudden death of the emperor of the Southern Dynasty and urged Wen Erya to return home quickly to arrange the funeral.

Apart from that, it did not explain who would inherit the throne, nor did it provide any other useful information.

Han Lu carefully read the short passage that Wen Erya was pointing to and discerned some of its subtext.

"Senior sister, does this mean you need to go back and take charge of the overall situation?" Han Lu noticed the word "handle".

Wen Erya nodded and explained to Han Lu the series of court rituals after the emperor's death. Finally, she concluded, "As a cultivator who is practicing outside, even if I have advanced to the Golden Core Realm, I should not be too involved in this matter, let alone preside over the funeral."

“So…” Wen Erya carefully chose her words before proposing a somewhat startling idea, “Perhaps there’s something fishy about Father’s death?”

Upon hearing this, both women swallowed hard.

In this world, immortals and mortals coexist. Wen Erya's father, the emperor of the Southern Dynasty, was undoubtedly an important figure.

If, as Wen Erya said, such an important person died in an accident, then this would be a very big deal.

Han Lu spoke up, comforting her, "Senior sister, maybe you're overthinking it, or you're being too sensitive."

"Perhaps your father's will stipulated that you, an outsider who could not and would not think of inheriting the throne, should handle his affairs after his death, thus ensuring that his will was carried out smoothly."

"Actually, there's nothing strange about it at all."

Han Lu's words made sense, but once this scheming idea flashed through Wen Erya's mind, it became impossible to shake off.

She began to examine the letters, searching for more clues, trying to rule out, or rather, prove the truth of this conjecture.

Wen Erya read the letter word by word seven or eight times. Although she gained nothing from it, it opened up her mind and she did find some evidence.

"If you do the math, Father should only be a hundred and twenty years old now..."

"It is said that five years ago, our sect also sent an elder to give my father another longevity pill."

“If we calculate it this way,” Wen Erya said, adding and subtracting with her hands in the air, “Father should have at least ten more years before his lifespan ends.”

"To die so suddenly without leaving a will... that's really strange." Wen Erya frowned, increasingly feeling that her previous terrifying guess was somewhat plausible.

Hearing this, Han Lu also rested her chin on one hand and fell into deep thought, thinking about how to help Wen Erya solve her problems.

"Why don't we hurry back? It's only a half-hour journey, and we'll know the truth in no time..." Han Lu had just said this when she suddenly had another idea.

"Senior sister, how about we do a divination?"

Wen Erya's eyes lit up at Han Lu's suggestion.

Before figuring out the situation and figuring out a solution, rushing back to the capital is not the best option.

After all, this is a family matter, and even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes. How could Wen Er Ya, who only returns home once a year, possibly accept this without any clear information?

However, if one can rely on divination to answer their questions, then one can make the best choice based on more information, no matter what.

Whether Wen Er Ya is overthinking it or not, there's nothing suspicious about it.

It was indeed a "usurpation murder".

Wen Erya was able to prepare in advance, and upon returning to the capital, she immediately "handled" the funeral with the swift and decisive methods of a Golden Core cultivator, while ensuring that the Wen family's orders from the Southern Dynasty continued smoothly.

The suggestion was good, and Wen Erya immediately took out her abacus and began to make arrangements.

The movements were fluid and graceful, but the result was not satisfactory.

Because it involved life and death, and was closely related to Wen Erya herself, even using the divination techniques inherited from Senior Wang Han, Wen Erya still could not get a result.

“There’s a thick fog before us, so we can’t see the truth,” Wen Erya summarized the divination results in her own words. “Junior sister, why don’t you give it a try?”

Without hesitation, Han Lu began to try to use her not-so-good divination skills to relieve Wen Erya's worries.

Having gained nothing, both Golden Core cultivators felt a sense of defeat for the first time.

"Never mind," Wen Erya said anxiously, not caring about finding out the situation, only thinking about getting home as soon as possible. "Senior sister, we are both Golden Core cultivators. Although this kind of thing is troublesome, we can still handle it in the end."

"Let's go back first, find the Empress and find out what's going on, and then make a plan."

Having advanced to the Golden Core Realm, Wen Erya felt that even if she thought that someone plotted against her to usurp the throne, they would not be able to carry out their schemes.

Although this action was somewhat reckless, it didn't pose a major problem.

If it were just Wen Erya alone, she might still feel a little uneasy.

But with Han Lu, who had seen it all, by her side, she felt that this approach would be foolproof.

This is the only feasible solution at present. In addition, this is Wen Erya's family matter, and she can make all the decisions. Han Lu naturally has no objections.

"I'll follow your instructions, Senior Sister. But," Han Lu reminded her, "no matter what the final result is, don't let this cause you any mental block or hinder your cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Wen Erya nodded slightly. "Advancing to the Golden Core stage means completely breaking away from the mortal world. After dealing with this matter, apart from returning home every few years to accompany my mother, I will not set foot in the capital again."

Wen Erya sent a paper sword to Xuan Chengzi explaining the situation. Without waiting for a reply, she and Han Lu boarded the ark and sped towards the capital of the Southern Dynasty.

In the capital, all was in a state of peace and prosperity, and news of the Southern Dynasty emperor's death did not spread.

In this urgent situation, the two Golden Core cultivators disregarded all procedures and immediately concealed their tracks, flying directly into the palace.

Chapter 769 Overthinking it?

Wen Erya's relationship with her father is somewhat complicated.

As a cultivator practicing in the Zhengyi Sect, Wen Erya didn't actually spend a lot of time with her father.

Even when he was young and living in the palace, he spent most of his time cultivating with his master, Master Lan, or growing up under his mother's care. He might not see his father even once a week.

However, Wen Erya's father, the emperor of the Southern Dynasty, favored her greatly due to a series of coincidences and Wen Erya's enormous potential.

Wen Erya's father only obtained power from his grandfather and ascended the throne when he was nearly forty years old.

That year happened to be the year Wen Erya was born. Based on certain superstitions, Wen Erya's father naturally regarded her arrival as a sign from heaven and doted on her.

Wen Erya's father also valued her outstanding talent in cultivation and the fact that she might be able to help the Wen family dynasty continue after advancing to the Golden Core and Nascent Soul realms.

Providing Wen Erya with sufficient resources for cultivation became one of the strategies of Wen Erya's father in governing the country.

Of course, the affection Wen Erya's father had for her mother was also one of the reasons why Wen Erya was so favored.

Although Emperor Wenerya's father did not express his love over time, he showed his affection for his daughter Wenerya through material things.

Wen Erya responded by returning home for the Chinese New Year every year, striving to improve her cultivation while maintaining her earthly bond with her parents.

Although they lacked opportunities to express or vent their feelings for each other, they were indeed hidden in their hearts and truly existed.

This is why Wen Erya shed tears upon learning of her father's death, her second tear after forty or fifty years.

Upon entering the imperial city, the two Golden Core cultivators did not touch any restrictions or formations, nor did they trigger any alarms.

Expanding her divine sense, Han Lu suggested taking the initiative to find the Empress to ask about the situation, but Wen Erya said that she should first go to her master to discuss it.

The master Wen Erya mentioned was not Xiaoyaozi, but Lan Daoren, who had enlightened her.

"I'll go find my master first; I trust him more."

Lan Daoren served as a worshipper in the Southern Dynasty court. Although he was not the chief because his cultivation level was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment and he came from the north, he gained many privileges for his meritorious service in teaching Wen Erya, and even his residence was located on the edge of the palace.

It's normal to trust Lan Daoren, but there's another story behind Wen Erya's distrust of the Empress.

As an emperor, Wen Erya's father naturally had three wives and four concubines, enjoying the blessings of having multiple wives.

The current empress is the second empress.

The first empress passed away twenty years ago. Her marriage to Wen Erya's father was a political one, and they did not have a deep emotional bond.

The current second wife is, in layman's terms, true love. When Wen Er Ya inherited the throne, her father had the idea of ​​making her his empress, but he ultimately gave up due to numerous obstacles.

Wen Erya's mother was like a "lover" in this large family, living away from home, but she maintained an emotional bond with the head of the family.

This empress naturally bullied Wen Erya's mother in front of Wen Erya when Wen Erya was young, using court rules.

This naturally left Wen Erya with a stereotypical impression of being "scheming" and "petty".

Such a queen, in front of Wen Er Ya, was naturally less credible than Lan Dao Ren.

Since this matter concerned Wen Erya's family affairs, Han Lu naturally followed Wen Erya's arrangements in everything.

Without pressing further, Han Lu simply nodded in agreement with Wen Erya's suggestion, and the two of them traveled together to Lan Daoren's residence.

At night, Master Lan was practicing his cultivation.