The Long Journey to Immortality

Not to mention that traveling with three close friends makes the experience even more enjoyable.

This captivating feeling led them to extend their original three-day trip and eventually expand their itinerary, deciding to travel to the Western Regions, the East China Sea, and even the Great Yu Dynasty.

In the short time that Han Lu and Han Haocang were discussing returning home, Wen Erya and Yi Qiyan had already finalized a rough travel plan, waiting for Han Lu, a "traveler" who had been to the Western Regions and knew about the Dayu Dynasty, to help them with the details.

Wen Erya and Yi Qiyan had heard some things about the Western Regions, knew the general direction, and knew which places might be interesting and which places were worth visiting.

However, regarding the Great Yu Dynasty, apart from knowing that they could spend spirit stones to enter the Extreme Heaven Palace, which was located in the Extreme Heaven Palace through a teleportation portal, they knew virtually nothing else.

Having traveled extensively and visited many places, Han Lu has always been the "guide" for this series of trips for three.

Drawing on her knowledge of the Great Yu Dynasty and the Western Regions, Han Lu talked on and on for almost half an hour, engaging with the two and making their originally empty travel plans more substantial.

As for matters concerning the East China Sea, Han Lu herself only had a superficial understanding of them, and given her personality, she naturally didn't pretend to be an expert in front of her two friends.

It was suggested that the three of them each seek out elders in their sect who had adventured in the East Sea to inquire about the situation. After checking the information at the sect's academy, Han Lu told her two friends about her "returning home" and shared her slightly complicated feelings with them.

Returning to the Han family is different from returning to the Phoenix Clan.

Among the Phoenix Clan, there are two people she cares about, Feng Rubing and Feng You, and the maintenance of their relationship outweighs her goals.

However, apart from her mother's dying wish, there was no other reason for Han Lu to want to do this.

It's fair to say that if it weren't for her mother's dying wish, she would never have considered doing this. Even though she did indeed have blood ties to the Han family flowing through her veins.

Given her personality, she didn't want to treat this matter as a transaction, and tried to incorporate more elements of blood ties and family affection into the deal.

However, given the actual circumstances, turning this matter into a transaction would actually be to her advantage.

Under these circumstances, Han Lu would have such an indescribable, yet complex and conflicted feeling.

"This is probably similar to how I felt when I decided to temporarily leave the Five Poisons Sect." This was Yi Qiyan's opinion, though it was an imagined but inaccurate one.

"I don't quite understand, but my junior sister isn't usually a sentimental person, there must be a story I don't know about." Wen Erya, who has a happy family, naturally couldn't understand Han Lu's situation.

Because of their different circumstances, the two friends couldn't fully understand Han Lu's unusual emotions at that moment, but that didn't stop them from acting as listeners and offering Han Lu some comfort in their own way.

It's not a complicated matter. Actually, it's just that Han Lu was being a little dramatic in front of her friends, hoping to get some comforting words from them, which is why she expressed her emotions in this way.

After venting for a while, Han Lu felt much better and could now view the matter as a naked transaction without any psychological hindrance. She was determined not to get involved and to avoid creating further entanglements in the Central Plains outside the Zhengyi Gate.

Seven days later, Han Lu set off in the early morning for the north.

Unlike Han Haocang, who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, Han Lu only needed an hour and a half to complete the journey between the north and south of the Central Plains.

In fact, it took Han Lu a full hour and a half to take a detour back to her "hometown," which added some extra time.

Buried in the mountains for nearly a hundred years, Han Lu's mother's body has long since become one with the land in the mountains.

In the end, Han Lu did not choose to dig up her mother's grave. Instead, she took some soil from the grave and broke off a branch from the tree growing on the grave for transplanting.

After doing all this, Han Lu silently mourned for a hundred breaths in front of the tombstone before continuing her journey.

As a well-known family in the Northern Dynasty, with a cultivator at the Golden Core stage, the Han family wielded considerable influence in the north.

They occupied a piece of land the size of a small town, and their lives could be considered self-sufficient.

Besides the Han family, whose members number several thousand, living in this small town, there are nearly ten thousand ordinary residents working and living here.

Although the environment of this land is far inferior to that of a Feng Shui treasure like the Zhengyi Sect, it can still be considered a relatively suitable place for cultivators to practice in the mortal world.

When she arrived at the Han family residence in the North Dynasty, several "leaders" of the Han family had been waiting for her for a long time.

After everything was ready, they temporarily put aside their work and gathered in one place to cultivate and wait, fearing that Senior Han Lu might not follow the rules and arrive early, disrupting the plan and making it seem like they hadn't been hospitable enough.

When Han Lu met the three elders of the Han family who were in charge of receiving her, she couldn't feel any closeness to them, even though they were indeed related by blood.

As if it were a business matter, the three elders of the Han family led Han Lu to the Han family's cemetery and ancestral hall on the edge of the town, and began a series of rituals and procedures in accordance with the family traditions, as originally arranged.

According to etiquette, a funeral was held for Han Shishuang. Very few people attended the funeral. Apart from Han Lu and three family elders, only five close relatives who were not too distant from Han Shishuang were present.

This arrangement was incredibly restrained and perfectly suited Han Lu's wishes.

In front of the already dug grave, Han Lu sprinkled soil into the small pit and inserted the previously broken branches into the soil.

With her mid-stage Golden Core cultivation, Han Lu naturally had the ability to use her magic to help a mortal tree grow.

Under the influence of Han Lu's magic and spiritual power, the branches grew rapidly, reaching the age of three or four years in just ten breaths, and took root in the mound of earth in the cemetery.

No one inappropriately criticized Han Lu's actions as "unorthodox" or "deviant," which resulted in an oddly placed miscellaneous tree in the Han family cemetery.

Having completed all this, Han Lu followed the three elders of the Han family into the ancestral hall.

Han Lu carefully placed the memorial tablet she received in the prepared empty space.

In front of the ancestral tablet, Han Lu picked up the pen on the table in front of her and, following the other party's instructions, added her name to the family genealogy.

Han Lu's mother, Han Shishuang, was never removed from the list.

Having completed this step, Han Lu offered incense and paid her respects, thus completing the ceremony that had been delayed for nearly a century. In accordance with Han Shishuang's last wish, she sent her mother home.

Chapter 805 The Transaction

Logically speaking, after completing these two steps and fulfilling her mother's last wish, Han Lu would have no reason to continue lingering and wasting time.

However, Han Lu, who viewed this action as a transaction, set high standards for herself.

Seek a life where you can be true to yourself.

Since the Han family has already given her everything they could, she naturally has to perform well and fulfill her responsibilities according to the previously agreed-upon terms.

Or to put it more bluntly, it means "do today's work today."

This is also a way that Han Lu considers good for severing ties.

Originally, the Han family planned to arrange for several relatives who were familiar with Han Shishuang from her childhood to chat with Han Lu, giving her a sense of home and strengthening their bond.

But seeing Han Lu's state, they abandoned the "ritual" to avoid embarrassment and instead pushed Han Lu away.

After leaving the ancestral hall, Han Lu was invited to tour the town.

To be honest, apart from the stronger atmosphere of cultivation, the town where the Han family lived was not much different from other towns.

Therefore, the main purpose of this visit was to let Han Lu see the place where her mother, maternal grandparents, and maternal grandparents used to live.

The house was a small courtyard with three rooms. From the outside, apart from having just been renovated, it looked no different from other ordinary houses in Han Family Town.

Although the house had been renovated, Han Lu could still tell from the details that someone had lived there not long ago.

It makes sense when you think about it; what status do three ordinary clansmen who are unable to cultivate have in the Han family?

A hundred years have passed, and their old houses are naturally occupied by new people long ago; there's no reason for them to be empty.

If it weren't for Han Lu's visit, the old house would probably have stood in front of it for a while and looked around, and it probably wouldn't have even been renovated.

Han Lu had intended to make a sarcastic remark, saying something like "superficial" to see how the other person would respond, but just as she was about to speak, she felt it would be pointless.

"After all, it was just a show prepared specifically for me. The sincerity was there, so there was no need to embarrass them."

"Besides, the residents here weren't evicted; they were just moved to a new place. There's nothing to criticize."

Having thought these two points through, Han Lu changed her tone, saying, "Thank you all for your thoughtfulness."

Hearing Han Lu's words, the three elders of the Han family were secretly pleased, knowing that Han Lu was satisfied with this series of preparations.

At the right moment, she gave a wink to a junior colleague who had once played with Han Shishuang when they were children.

As arranged, the younger colleague understood perfectly and began to introduce the building to Han Lu, reciting lines that had been rehearsed countless times, while also recalling stories from Han Shishuang's childhood.

Han Lu seemed to be listening very attentively, and occasionally a smile would appear on her face.

However, her mind was not actually on these stories.

She began to recall what happened when she first went to the wilderness and met Fengyou.

She recalled her father telling her about the scene of meeting her mother and the stories of their time together.

Imagine that one night, a phoenix, transformed into human form and severely injured, suddenly appears outside the courtyard and is invited into the courtyard by Han Shishuang to receive treatment.

During their time healing and recovering, the two developed feelings for each other. Finally, at the woman's bold suggestion, they eloped and settled in a mountain forest in the Southern Dynasty, living a life straight out of a storybook.

Recalling these stories that had happened and were of great importance to her, she couldn't help but feel a faint sadness.

Those around Han Lu, observing the changes in her expression, assumed she was simply reminiscing about her deceased mother and didn't think much of it.

The conclusion is correct, but the derivation process is wrong. If you put it on the exam paper, you can only get half the marks.

This emotion came quickly and went quickly.

After walking around the small courtyard and visiting each room, Han Lu had returned to her usual self, and there was no longer a trace of sadness on her face.

Soon, the three elders of the Han family, following the original plan, waved their hands and arranged for the place to be given to Han Lu again, to find a place for her to live, since she might never return to this place again.

It's just superficial and formalistic, but Han Lu doesn't reject this decision that's good for both of them.

After happily accepting the "house," Han Lu and the others went to the school in the town to teach a lesson to the younger generation of cultivators in the Han family, as arranged in advance.

Of course, the Han family did not expect Han Lu to actually spout some "worldly truths" in the short and only one large class, so that those sitting below would be enlightened and suddenly understand everything.

It's just a chance to show my face to the younger generation and give them some encouragement.

Upon arriving at the school, there were about fifty Han family disciples at the Qi Refining stage sitting below, waiting for Han Lu to give them a lesson.

It should have been just a formality.

However, neither of the parties involved thought that way.

Giving lectures was not difficult for Han Lu. She was happy to share her knowledge and insights from her early cultivation stages to make the "transaction" seem fair and to give more benefits to her family, who were related to her by blood.

The Han family members who participated in this class were also quite enthusiastic.

Although the Taoist Master Jiyu had also given a few lessons at the Han family in a similar manner.

However, to the vast majority of young people with low cultivation levels, Daoist Jiyu and Fairy Zhenfeng, although both were Golden Core cultivators, were completely different.

One has no future, the other has a future.

One is relatively unknown, while the other is very famous.

Naturally, they hoped that Han Lu could use a few words to light a guiding light for them, the younger generation who stayed in the clan to cultivate and whose future was "gloomy".

Noticing the expectant and envious looks from the young people in the audience, Han Lu couldn't help but think of "Fengbai Road".

He spoke with great enthusiasm and seriousness, sharing knowledge and experience that he usually shared with his apprentices.

Unfortunately, Han Lu does not possess the Midas touch.