The Long Journey to Immortality

As long as she holds the title of Elder of the Zhengyi Sect and is under the protection of the Immortal Pavilion, she will certainly not suffer an "unjust accusation" because of those unfounded speculations and accusations.

Traveling at various stops, it took Han Lu a full five and a half days to return from the Star Islands to the Dragon Head Islands, where she reunited with her friends who had been waiting for her on the island.

As soon as Han Lu arrived, Yi Qiyan, while eagerly inquiring about Han Lu's specific situation, hurriedly sent out a paper sword to summon Lü Zhi.

So far, the so-called plan has only been implemented in its first phase.

There is also a second phase of the plan waiting to be implemented.

As the protagonist of this second phase of the plan, Lü Zhi should naturally know everything that happened with Han Lu as soon as possible, so as to make arrangements and kick away the stool under the feet of Lan Ya Gongzi, whose neck was already tied with a rope.

He died in complete darkness, without knowing why, thus ending his future prospects in Dongweng's shop.

Upon receiving the paper sword, Lü Zhi and his friend Kong Qiaosheng rushed over immediately.

When they arrived at Han Lu's residence, the three of them were dividing up the materials and magical artifacts that Han Lu had already checked and found to be without problems, laughing and drinking the "wine of victory."

Looking at the abundance of supplies, Lü Zhi feigned distress and asked, "Fairy Zhenfeng, I contributed a lot to this matter and even spent an extra 20,000 spirit stones for Qiyan. I wonder if there's any share of these spoils for me?"

Because of Yi Qiyan's involvement, Han Lu did not discuss the rules for dividing the "spoils of war" with Lü Zhi before launching her revenge operation.

However, because Han Lu had been thinking about this matter for a long time on the way back, when Lü Zhi brought it up jokingly, Han Lu took it seriously and immediately gave what she considered a reasonable answer.

"Fellow Daoist Lü, the information you provided this time was extremely accurate, and you deserve a lot of credit. Naturally, a lot of these things are yours."

Han Lu glanced at her two friends' expressions, and seeing that they didn't seem to have any objections, she continued, "These magical treasures all belong to Fellow Daoist Lü."

"In total, it amounts to about forty or fifty thousand spirit stones, which should be enough to compensate Fellow Daoist Lü for his losses."

After explaining which specific materials were being allocated, Han Lu then explained the reasons for this allocation.

"After all, Fellow Daoist Lü is a member of the Immortal Pavilion. These obviously stolen goods must have many ways to be laundered. In any case, they can be of value in your hands."

"But for us three sisters, although we are outsiders, our skills in this area are ultimately inferior to Fellow Daoist Lü's."

"If we use them directly or keep them away and carefully store them, there will be risks or we will waste the value of these magical treasures."

That would be such a shame.

After hearing Han Lu's words, Lü Zhi made no attempt to hide his elation and burst into loud laughter.

After laughing for a while, he put all the magical treasures that Han Lu had pointed out into his storage bag and said, "Fairy Zhenfeng is truly meticulous, intelligent, powerful, and her personality and appearance are all top-notch."

"If Qi Yan hadn't been so charming and captured my heart, I might have really fallen for someone else."

The temperament of cultivators from the East Sea is completely different from that of cultivators from the Central Plains.

Hearing Lü Zhi's exaggerated words, Yi Qiyan put down what she was holding and pinched Lü Zhi's arm hard.

The young couple's playful banter had everyone present laughing, and they all joked about their relationship.

Wen Erya asked when they would get married, while Han Lu asked when she could be the godmother of their child. Kong Qiaosheng then "threatened" to tell Lu Zhi's past love story, ruining this relationship that even made him, a married man, jealous.

The atmosphere was harmonious, congenial, and joyful, a stark contrast to the scene a few days ago when they had lost 20,000 spirit stones.

The nearly 90,000 spirit stones of resources were divided up, and even Kong Qiaosheng obtained several valuable spiritual plants, making a small profit.

Everyone got a share of the "spoils of war," but in the end, the "penalty for breach of contract" that Lan Ya Gongzi gave to Han Lu was all given to Yi Qiyan under Han Lu's arrangement.

"Yi Qiyan, consider this my wedding gift," Han Lu joked. "Next time you get married and have a banquet with Fellow Daoist Lü, I'll be coming empty-handed."

These words made Yi Qiyan blush slightly, and she said, "This matter is still far from settled, Han Lu, don't talk nonsense, I dare not take this."

"Okay, okay," Han Lu didn't want to break up the couple. "Just pretend I'm talking nonsense, drunk and having a fit of hysteria. You can take it."

"Without you, so many resources would not have reached our hands."

Although the words were phrased in a roundabout way, everyone understood their meaning.

Yi Qiyan then stopped refusing and softly said "thank you" to Han Lu.

After all the spoils, big and small, were divided up, the room finally quieted down a bit.

Lü Zhixian asked the first question, and Han Lu once again used the storytelling skills she had learned from storytellers to tell her story after she left the Dragon Head Islands.

As the planner and instigator of this event, Han Lu not only participated in the entire process, but also had a meticulous and thorough grasp of the overall situation.

Coupled with his vivid narration, he transformed into a black-skinned man and gave a lifelike performance, making the four audience members feel as if they were witnessing Lan Ya Gongzi's humiliation and exasperation firsthand.

Amidst laughter, Han Lu reverted to her usual demeanor and continued, "There's still considerable room for development in this matter."

"How much damage can it ultimately inflict on that effeminate young master?"

"We'll have to rely entirely on Fellow Daoist Lü."

"You certainly have more experience than us in how to fan the flames and how to turn a small matter into a big one."

"Don't let everyone down."

Lu Zhi nodded confidently and said, "Actually, I'm a good person, a very kind person, but there's nothing I can do. Who told that Young Master Lan Ya to provoke me first, and then let me, with my good connections, find out about his shameful deeds?"

The "justification for war" created during the defeat a few days earlier came in handy at this moment.

Chapter 851 Stirring Up Trouble

Han Lu believed that Lü Zhi was an expert in this field, so after finishing the story, she did not offer any grand pronouncements or give any advice. Instead, she shared her tips and tricks for both distancing herself from the situation and making things escalate quickly.

After discussing the matter of "revenge," Lü Zhi took out the two golden pills that Han Lu had entrusted to him before leaving.

Through clandestine channels, Lü Zhi managed to replace the two Golden Core cultivators with beast cores, which were useful to human cultivators.

Acquiring the beast core was undoubtedly the biggest gain for Han Lu and her companions on this trip.

Because she had no shortage of merits in the sect, Han Lu generously distributed the two golden pills to her two friends.

Yi Qiyan took the slightly inferior one, which could be used as an extra gift to assist in returning the Five Poisons Token.

Wen Erya could take the slightly better one and either donate it back to the sect to earn contributions, or keep it for herself and give it to a disciple she liked but who had limited talent in the future. It would be a good option.

Han Lu felt there was no problem even if she resold it directly.

In this matter, Lü Zhi handled it perfectly, convincing Han Lu that he was a good match for Yi Qiyan.

To avoid suspicion and prevent rumors of "revenge" from spreading as soon as the three of them finished their short period of seclusion and were wandering around the Dragon Head Islands, Han Lu and the other two remained obediently huddled in the courtyard of the inn belonging to the Immortal Pavilion.

They busy themselves with their own affairs, patiently waiting for time to pass, hoping to "emerge from seclusion" at the most opportune time and enjoy the most succulent fruits.

After finishing their business, Lü Zhi shared a passionate kiss with Yi Qiyan in front of everyone before happily leaving to attend to important matters and plan the second phase of their revenge scheme.

The events of the next few days proved that Han Lu had not trusted the wrong person; Lü Zhi was indeed quite adept at this.

As the young master of the Immortal Pavilion, he was indeed able to fight several impressive victories on his home turf when he held the initiative.

The day after Han Lu returned to the Dragon Head Islands, some rumors began to circulate on the islands.

The message was positive, saying that Dong Weng's shop had made a big deal.

Several magical treasures that were originally quite popular but had been unclaimed in the store have disappeared from the shelves, which must have found a buyer willing to spend a lot of spirit stones to purchase them.

Although such positive news also touched on the classified incident of "the looting of resources," it only touched on it superficially and was not suitable for suppression by various means.

With rumors circulating and no obstacles in sight, these whispers spread smoothly among a large number of cultivators, thanks to Lü Zhi's encouragement.

Many cultivators who had initially favored those magical treasures but hadn't yet decided to purchase them couldn't help but feel regretful. At the same time, they secretly wondered which wealthy person had managed to acquire all these treasures.

Then, a day later, several more messages about Dongweng's shop appeared.

It is said that the Dongweng shops on the Dragon Head Islands are full of experts. I wonder if they have discovered some ruins or treasures. They are likely to make a fortune and find a great bargain.

The news was based on hearsay, but it was still widely discussed.

Many cultivators even inquired about information from familiar managers while shopping at Dongweng's shops, hoping to acquire any valuable items that might exist in the ruins and treasure vaults at a lower price as soon as possible.

Faced with these messages, some people in Dongweng's shop finally realized that something was wrong.

However, since it was obvious that many late-stage Foundation Establishment and Golden Core experts were out searching everywhere, in order not to expose the scandal, the Dongweng Shop on Dragon Head Islands simply went with the flow and admitted to the matter based on the rumors, trying to cover up the trouble and completely hide it.

The idea was good, and it did have some effect, but it also drew the attention of many cultivators who were initially skeptical and indifferent to the matter to Dongweng's shop.

Once the heat was just right, Lü Zhi decided to lift the lid and let everyone watching Dong Weng's shop see exactly what had happened.

They found a shill with whom they had a good relationship, gave him plenty of spirit stones, and asked him to help them put on a show.

One day, shortly after the news spread, the young master of the Immortal Pavilion was pestered by a boring cultivator to inquire about the Dongweng Shop.

"Go away, go away," Lu Zhi said impatiently to the nanny's questioning. "How could I possibly know anything about Dong Weng's shop? Even if I did know, I couldn't tell you."

As this news spread, a group of followers who already loved to follow Lü Zhi naturally came to ask him for the details.

Whether it's out of pure curiosity or a desire to profit from this information, it's all part of the experience.

When these people offered to help without prior notice or consultation, Lü Zhi cleverly seized an opportunity, pretending that he had learned the truth through the information network, and then revealed it to them.

"You're just listening to people spouting nonsense outside. Where are there any ancient ruins? Have you seen any? It's all just talk."

Upon hearing this, the henchmen knew that Lü Zhi was probably holding some big news, so they followed up with a barrage of flattery, easily getting Lü Zhi to reveal his secrets.

"I don't know the specifics very well, but I can tell you a few things."

"The escorts and protectors from Dongweng Shop, along with all the experts from the Chamber of Commerce, were mobilized because of a robbery. Dongweng Shop lost some items a while ago."

"I have no idea what was lost or who stole it."

"But it's said to be related to that dead duck."

"Hmph, once I investigate and find out if he really has something to do with that duck, he'll be in big trouble. I'll throw a three-day, three-night feast to celebrate and spread everything I know."

Finally, in keeping with the theme and echoing what he had said a few days earlier, Lü Zhi said, "Not only that, I will also spread the word and let everyone in the East China Sea laugh at that dead duck."

Such words naturally made Lü Zhi the focus of attention once again in the eyes of the gossipy cultivators, after his previous setback.

Many people also began to doubt because of his words as the young master of the Immortal Pavilion, wondering if there were any hidden stories behind the Dongweng Shop incident, and whether the story was really as Dongweng Shop denied.

However, not everyone is like Lü Zhi, who knows the inside story.

Thanks to the efforts of Young Master Lanya and the other monks from the Dongweng Merchants' Shop, no one uncovered the truth.

However, with Lü Zhi there, the lid on Dong Weng's shop was destined to be unable to be kept closed.

Three more days passed, and late at night, Lü Zhi excitedly distributed paper swords and invited his friends to his residence to celebrate.

Just as this inexplicable celebration began, he announced to the public the "truth that had been uncovered over three days."

"Dong Weng's shop was robbed of nearly 200,000 spirit stones worth of materials and magical treasures. He's currently busy searching for the culprit to clean up the mess."

"And that dead duck was the main person in charge."