The Long Journey to Immortality

The conversation was somewhat aimless, and the topic was mainly led by the hermit of bitter tea.

Han Lu knew that this was mostly a way for businessmen to build rapport before discussing important matters with "strangers."

Indeed, she found it difficult to guess from these "preludes" what important matters the hermit was going to discuss with her next.

All I can do is answer each question one by one, sincerely express my thoughts, and respond to the questions raised by Master Kucha.

Han Lu felt that her answer was quite appropriate, especially in the last part, where she even felt that she shared the same view as the Bitter Tea Hermit.

They chatted excitedly for a long time about the hypothesis that "the world is round," and the Bitter Tea Hermit even shared several experimental conjectures for "verification and measurement" with Han Lu.

"The two cultivators each possess a magical artifact that can determine their approximate relative positions; one is on the eastern side of the East Sea, and the other is on the western side of the Great Universe..."

"If the cultivators of the East Sea sense another token to their opposite east, it means that we live on a sphere."

“Taking a shortcut and opening up a trade route to the east became a feasible thing to do.”

They were having a pleasant conversation and their relationship was gradually becoming more familiar when the Bitter Tea Hermit suddenly changed the subject and started talking about things happening around him.

"A few days ago, I troubled Fairy Zhenfeng with a small private message from my son."

Han Lu said, "It's nothing. That young master Lan Ya provoked us. Lü Zhi and I were just retaliating."

Remembering the words she used when talking to Lü Zhi yesterday, Han Lu took the initiative to defend Lü Zhi.

The hermit of bitter tea had no relation to Han Lu, so naturally he wouldn't preach any profound principles to Han Lu at this time, as he would to Lu Zhi.

"Judging from what Fairy Zhenfeng said, it seems she thinks my son is not bad after all?"

Upon hearing this, Han Lu assumed that the Bitter Tea Hermit regarded her as Yi Qiyan's "elder" and wanted to discuss their marriage with her.

Naturally, seeing things from this perspective, after experiencing these two weeks of troubles, Han Lu, who had already changed her opinion of Lü Zhi, naturally said only nice things.

"Lü Zhi is not bad..."

After listing Lü Zhi's several obvious advantages, Han Lu analyzed Lü Zhi's family background and briefly introduced Yi Qiyan's situation to the Bitter Tea Hermit.

Finally, she added, "The two are clearly a match made in heaven, a perfect couple."

Only then can the matchmaker's job be considered complete, helping friends to find each other.

After hearing Han Lu's praise, the Bitter Tea Hermit did not express his opinion, but his gaze lingered on Han Lu's face for a long time.

Feeling a little uneasy under the gaze of the Bitter Tea Hermit, Han Lu asked, "What's wrong, Senior? Do you think Qi Yan and Lü Zhi aren't suitable to be together?"

“It is suitable, but in my opinion there is a more suitable candidate. I wonder what Fairy Zhenfeng thinks?” asked the Bitter Tea Hermit.

Upon hearing this, Han Lu asked, "Who? Do I know them?"

As Han Lu said this, she already had the answer in her heart. No matter how outstanding the female cultivator was in the words of the Bitter Tea Hermit, she had to belittle her and defend her friend's hard-won love.

"Of course I know him," the Bitter Tea Hermit said shamelessly. "I wonder if Fairy Zhenfeng thinks you and my son are destined to be together?"

Chapter 856 Exchanging Resources, Opportunity on Xuan Turtle Island

The answer is no.

Han Lu had never even considered such a thing.

Hearing such an awkward and somewhat abrupt question, Han Lu finally understood why Kong Qiaosheng had described Ku Cha Jushi as a "good pavilion master, bad father" the day before.

Even after her son finally found true love, she still considered greater interests and arranged a marriage for him haphazardly.

This is not typical of a "good master, bad father" situation.

After all, even Lü Zhi could see the benefits of marrying Han Lu.

After learning about the backgrounds of Han Lu, Yi Qiyan, and Wen Erya, the Bitter Tea Hermit, as the Pavilion Master, was plotting to legitimately secure the position of Pavilion Master for his son's future.

Having a strong and capable female companion as a powerful ally is undoubtedly the icing on the cake, and can bring endless benefits to the Immortal Pavilion.

Han Lu's answer to this unpleasant question was firm, leaving no room for the Bitter Tea Hermit's imagination whatsoever.

"Senior, isn't it a bit rude of you to ask this question?"

“Lu Zhi is quite good. He is currently in a passionate relationship with my best friend. I have no intention of stealing his love and marrying him.”

If it weren't for the fact that Master Kucha held a very high position in the East China Sea and had left a good impression on Han Lu before, she might not have even said those two words and would have just turned around and left.

Since the hermit of bitter tea knew that his question was somewhat presumptuous and impolite, he did not take Han Lu's blunt response to heart.

He simply sighed softly, muttered "What a pity," and then stopped talking about it, as if nothing had happened.

Once again discussing the revenge plan from a few days ago, the Bitter Tea Hermit asked Han Lu if she needed his help, either to launder the stolen goods and exchange them for spirit stones, or to help with the appraisal so that Han Lu could make the most of them.

In order to make things difficult for Dongweng's shop, the list of materials provided by "Qin Fairy" was indeed not what Han Lu really wanted.

At this moment, the hermit of bitter tea offered to help, and Han Lu naturally cooperated by giving him a chance to apologize with spirit stones.

Han Lu took out several items that were indeed unnecessary and handed them over to the expert in appraisal, Master Kucha, for appraisal and valuation.

The prices were all determined, and they were the approximate market prices of these materials on that list.

With such a great deal in front of her, Han Lu didn't hesitate to exchange all the things she didn't need for spirit stones, making the most of the Bitter Tea Hermit who had just offended her.

As for appraising magical artifacts, Han Lu simply took out a few artifacts that she had seized from the three cultivators, including Bai Hu Sanren, and asked Ku Cha Jushi to take a look.

She did not expect that Layman Kucha could create methods for using these magical treasures in such a short time.

It would be enough to allow her to use these magical treasures more freely and to understand their specific supernatural powers and abilities.

However, the ending was unexpected.

I don't know if it's because these magical treasures, although of high quality, are too "shallow" in their supernatural powers, or if the Bitter Tea Hermit, the master of the Immortal Pavilion, is indeed a master of appraisal.

In just a quarter of an hour, the hermit of bitter tea gave three incantations to help Han Lu use these three magical treasures and unleash their full power and supernatural abilities.

Encountering a cultivator so skilled in appraisal for the first time, Han Lu was filled with amazement at the wonder of this miscellaneous discipline, and exclaimed from the bottom of her heart, "Senior has a discerning eye. No wonder you were able to help the Immortal Pavilion grow so much stronger in the past hundred years."

As their contact deepened, Kong Qiaosheng's assessment became increasingly accurate.

After discussing their personal matters, the Bitter Tea Hermit, who had never been to the Wilderness before, began to inquire about the situation there from Han Lu, the True Phoenix Fairy whose home was in the Wilderness, just like any other cultivator.

However, unlike ordinary cultivators, Master Bitter Tea is mainly concerned with which resources the Wilderness is rich in that the East Sea lacks, and which true spirits and magical beasts are not found in the East Sea.

Clearly, they are focused on business rather than on local customs and traditions.

Two hours passed between Han Lu's arrival at the Immortal Pavilion, her sitting in the reception room, and her departure.

After chatting with the Bitter Tea Hermit for a long time, putting aside the brief unpleasantness and the nearly eight thousand spirit stones that had newly appeared in her storage bag, Han Lu still felt that she had gained a lot in the past two hours.

Before leaving, Han Lu even made a small agreement with the hermit of bitter tea, and received a magical tool for simple long-distance positioning.

When Han Lu goes to the Great Yu Dynasty or returns to the Wilderness, she can try to activate the magic weapon to help the Bitter Tea Hermit and herself verify their grand vision of whether this world is a "sphere".

This move can not only help Han Lu answer the difficult question she raised as a child, but also provide reliable evidence for Ku Cha Jushi's idea of ​​continuing to expand the Xiange business to the east.

After all, even the Bitter Tea Hermit, who was in charge of the Immortal Pavilion, could not arrange for a cultivator to boldly head east, cross the vast East Sea, and search for a coastline that might belong to a certain prefecture of the Great Yu Dynasty without any evidence.

Such an approach would be counterproductive and would also damage his prestige within the Immortal Pavilion.

Only by clearly identifying the target before aiming and firing can the business legend of XianGe continue.

After meeting with the hermit of bitter tea, Han Lu and her two companions finally finished dealing with all their trivial matters on the Dragon Head Islands. However, the three of them did not rush to leave, but continued to travel around the Dragon Head Islands with Lü Zhi and Kong Qiaosheng.

There was no other way; in order to avoid suspicion and conceal the fact that Han Lu was not in the Dragon Head Islands, she had been "in seclusion" for almost half a month.

The original plan was completely delayed because of this, so it can only be made up for after it is resolved at this time.

Although the journey was not diminished, the presence of Lü Zhi and Kong Qiaosheng, two cultivators born and raised in the East China Sea, added a unique charm that outsiders could not experience when traveling in the East China Sea.

Therefore, the return to the Central Plains will definitely be delayed considerably.

This time, Han Lu's apprentices will probably have to rely on the help of their two senior brothers and sisters, Qiu Peng and Nian Haoge, to prepare for the competition and strive for a good ranking, just like in previous years.

During their trip, Yi Qiyan inadvertently revealed that Han Lu was a disciple of Gu Xiufanglin.

Coincidentally, a few days ago, Lü Zhi also heard the news about Xuan Turtle Island, so he brought it up as a topic of conversation, and lamented that Han Lu hadn't gone there sooner, otherwise she might have been able to find a little bit of opportunity from that sword mark by relying on the inheritance of the other party's swordsmanship.

After saying this, seeing the three women's surprised expressions, Lü Zhi sensed something unusual.

Kong Qiaosheng reacted quickly and hurriedly asked, "Han Lu, you three weren't exactly on Xuan Turtle Island at that time, were you?"

"It's hard to say, but we did visit Xuan Gui Island during our trip."

Lu Zhi continued, "So what I just said casually was actually the truth?"

"Perhaps," Han Lu never expected that her momentary contemplation that day would cause such a commotion. "When I saw the sword mark that day, I did feel something with it, but I can't say for sure whether I found any opportunity in it."

Yi Qiyan suddenly spoke up, suggesting, "Why don't we just have a fight and see?"

Chapter 857 The Sword Cuts Off the Lovers

"Let's have a fight?" Han Lu, who was experienced in combat but not actually warlike, didn't react for a moment.

“Yes, let’s have a fight,” Although they are not yet married, Lü Zhi is already somewhat able to understand Yi Qiyan. “Qiyan means that Han Lu, you should have a match with us and use the swordsmanship you inherited from Senior Fang Lin.”

"Let's see if there's any progress or change compared to before we came to the East China Sea."

"If so, it must be because they obtained some inexplicable opportunities and gained immense benefits on Xuan Turtle Island."

“If not, consider it a chance to strengthen friendship,” Lü Zhi said with a smile. “There’s a saying that goes, friendships between cultivators are forged through fighting.”

"Besides," Lü Zhi turned his head slightly, looking embarrassed, "I also want to have a match with Fairy Zhenfeng."

By changing the form of address in his last sentence, Lü Zhi's intentions were practically written all over his face.

After listening to Lü Zhi's words, Han Lu rested her chin on her hand and seriously considered this suggestion that seemed like a joke.

Upon arriving in the East Sea, Han Lu experienced two battles in total. However, in one battle, she only used her speed to pursue the enemy, while in the other battle, aside from setting up formations to create momentum and using illusions, she didn't even use any magical artifacts.

Let alone knowing whether the opportunity she encountered by chance on Xuan Turtle Island was truly obtained by her.

Even if the addition of five pill patterns would improve her combat power, Han Lu had no idea how much.

Therefore, it seems that practicing with friends is a good suggestion, achieving multiple benefits at once.

“That sounds good, we can give it a try,” Han Lu readily agreed. “However, you are only at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, so sparring with you seems a bit inappropriate.”

Lu Zhi thought about it and realized that it was indeed true.

If Han Lu were to use him to test her sword...

Even if he goes all out, he probably won't be able to withstand a single blow.