The Long Journey to Immortality

"Legend has it that a Nascent Soul cultivator attempted to cross that ocean to see if there was any land at the end of it."

"However, he returned in a sorry state," Mo Zhehan recalled the records in the ancient books he had read. "It is said that he often lost his way in the Endless Sea, unable to use his spiritual sense, and sometimes even his spiritual power could not circulate smoothly. In the end, it was only because he memorized the tides every month and day that he managed to find his way back to the Great Yu Dynasty after three years."

"What, Han Lu, are you interested in that place?"

Han Lu shook her head and said, "I only had a conversation with a cultivator from the East Sea..."

As she spoke, Han Lu shared her and Ku Cha Jushi's conjectures with Mo Zhehan, and concluded by saying, "I originally thought you were traveling westward from the Great Yu Dynasty and happened to meet me."

"Now it seems like all my hopes were dashed."

"Moreover, considering the situation in the Endless Sea in the western part of the Great Yu Dynasty, it is absurd to try to verify the theory of a spherical earth with this ordinary magical artifact that is not particularly special."

Mo Zhehan nodded slightly, but still comforted Han Lu, saying, "However, both places are surrounded by the ocean, so there is still some possibility that they share the same ocean."

"Perhaps one day, when you advance to the Nascent Soul stage, you will be able to fly across the endless sea, explore its mysteries, and find out whether the East Sea and that ocean are connected."

Mo Zhehan then suggested another idea: "Perhaps there's a continent in that ocean."

This conjecture reminded Han Lu of the "Ancient Cultivation Secret Realm," and she couldn't help but nod.

When the topic of that nostalgic world of technology came up again, Han Lu realized that because they didn't know each other very well to begin with, there were actually quite a few topics they could talk about.

The conversation was interesting and unprecedented, and Mo Zhehan was also engrossed in it, occasionally asking questions that added a lot of fun to the conversation.

They were having a pleasant conversation when suddenly a voice called out from afar, "Fellow Daoist, please wait!"

"who!"

The two battle-hardened cultivators instantly went on high alert.

At the same time, looking in the direction from which the sound came, Han Lu and Mo Zhehan were already prepared to transform into their true spirits or unleash their magical treasures.

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. We're here to bring good fortune to you two fellow Daoists." Seeing Han Lu and Mo Zhehan's expressions, the speaker who flew over to meet them quickly explained, afraid that a battle would break out before they could even exchange a word.

The two guests who called out to Han Lu and Mo Zhehan were both human cultivators at the late Golden Core stage. The one who remained silent, judging from his complexion and aura, was probably not far from the Nascent Soul stage.

The other party's explanation did not make Han Lu and Mo Zhehan lower their guard.

However, since the opponent was only at the late Golden Core stage, the dragon and phoenix, whose strength was higher than their cultivation level, breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Mo Zhehan said, "This is the East Sea. Where can we find kind-hearted people who bring good fortune and opportunities to others?"

The other party smiled and explained again, "I just wanted to talk business with the two descendants of the Dragon and Phoenix. Cooperating with us means you can earn spirit stones, get magic treasures, and acquire resources. Isn't that a good thing?"

Then, the cultivator who had called out to Han Lu and Mo Zhehan began to introduce himself.

"My Daoist name is Venerable Slaughter. My brother, Venerable Lingjiu, is a local cultivator from the East Sea. We have many hobbies and love to make friends. This time, we found a treasure that can only be opened with the blood of dragons and phoenixes, so we thought of crossing the boundary line to come here to seek cooperation with dragons and phoenixes."

“We are lucky. We have only been here for three days and have already found you two,” said the Slaughter Venerable, showing Han Lu and Mo Zhehan the magic weapon in his hand. “This treasure can sense the true spirit aura in the vicinity. It was this treasure that made us aware of the dragon and phoenix bloodline in you two fellow Daoists.”

"I wonder if you two fellow Daoists would be willing to discuss this matter and cooperate with my brother and me in order to open the cave and search for treasures within, for the sake of spirit stones and resources?"

The Slaughtering Venerable extended an invitation, awaiting responses from Han Lu and Mo Zhehan.

Han Lu and Mo Zhehan exchanged a glance, clearly both wanting to give it a try.

However, these few words were not enough to make the two cautious cultivators nod in agreement.

Mo Zhehan pressed, "Tell me in more detail."

Han Lu then asked a more direct question, "If you only need dragon and phoenix blood, you can just buy it in the East Sea Market or the Chamber of Commerce. Why come here to seek dragon and phoenix cooperation?"

Chapter 873 Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault

Compared to the question posed by Mo Zhehan, the question asked by Han Lu, who asked it later, was easier to answer and was shorter in length.

Therefore, the Slaughtering Venerable, who had just put the magic treasures that the red and black pointers in his hand had pointed to Han Lu and Mo Zhehan back into his storage bag, was the first to answer the question raised by Han Lu.

"May I ask your name, fairy?" the Slaughter Venerable asked politely.

Judging solely from the demeanor and bearing that the Slaughtering Taoist is currently displaying, it is difficult to associate him with his ferocious Taoist name.

Han Lu returned the greeting with a cupped hand and said, "Zhengyi Sect, True Phoenix Fairy."

"My good friend is from the Great Yu Dynasty."

Han Lu didn't know what Taoist name Mo Zhehan had given her, so she just gave him this simple introduction.

Mo Zhehan mimicked Han Lu's posture and returned the greeting of a Central Plains cultivator, "Mo Qiongzi of the Great Yu Dynasty's Extreme Heaven Palace."

Upon hearing that the two cultivators, who possessed the bloodlines of dragons and phoenixes, were of considerable importance, the Slaughtering Daoist hurriedly bowed again and offered polite compliments, saying, "It turns out that you two not only possess the bloodlines of true spirits, but are also outstanding disciples of major sects in the Central Plains and the Great Yu Dynasty. With your participation, this mission is sure to be a resounding success."

Han Lu ignored the compliment and simply repeated the question.

The Slaughter Venerable then answered Han Lu's question, "True Phoenix Fairy, the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault that my brother and I found requires the blood of dragons and phoenixes to open. However, blood that has been stored for who knows how long cannot open the treasure vault's door."

"After much thought, my brother and I decided to find a dragon and a phoenix to cooperate with and try to open the door in a more direct way."

Using fresh blood is indeed reasonable.

Although Han Lu did not know the more specific details, if the "Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault" mentioned by the Slaughter Venerable was a pair of dragons and phoenixes left to future generations, then it would be more reasonable to open it in this way, so as to avoid the wealth falling into the hands of foreign races as much as possible.

Han Lu nodded slightly and said, "I see."

After seeing that Han Lu had no objections, the Slaughter Venerable turned to Mo Zhehan, who called himself Mo Qiongzi, and said, "Fellow Daoist Mo Qiong, you come from the Great Yu Dynasty and may not be familiar with the situation in the East Sea. I will explain the origin of this treasure vault to you in detail here."

"If you listen to this and think that my brother and I are trustworthy and worth cooperating with, then you should talk to us about the price and show some sincerity."

Although the Slaughter Venerable approached Han Lu and Mo Zhehan with the intention of asking for their help, he and his brother, the Coffin Venerable, were both late-stage Golden Core cultivators, with the Coffin Venerable about to advance to the Nascent Soul stage.

He prefers fair cooperation, rather than Han Lu and Mo Zhehan demanding exorbitant prices based on their blood ties.

Mo Zhehan communicated with Han Lu telepathically, asking, "Han Lu, what do you think?"

Han Lu replied, "I'm actually not very interested in this, since I don't lack resources."

"However, if the other party's offer is reasonable, it's not unreasonable to consider it as helping others."

Although Mo Zhehan usually keeps to himself, he is a cultivator who can make his own decisions and has his own clear style of doing things.

However, because of his feelings for Han Lu, when he was with Han Lu, he preferred to consult her opinions and act according to her ideas.

Han Lu's statement differed slightly from his own thoughts, so Mo Zhehan replied, "Fellow Daoist Tulu, what you say makes sense, but please explain the situation quickly so that we can judge for ourselves. If it is indeed an opportunity as Fellow Daoist Tulu says, then cooperation is natural, and fairness goes without saying."

"I suppose you understand the character and morality of cultivators from the Central Plains who slaughtered you."

Mo Zhehan invoked the Central Plains brand to demonstrate his sincerity.

The Slaughter Venerable said, "That's right, then you two should listen carefully."

Because a real cooperative relationship has not yet been established, the Slaughter Venerable held back a lot when telling the story, and did not explain many key points, so as not to make Han Lu and Mo Zhehan regret it and suffer losses for nothing.

The so-called Dragon and Phoenix Treasury was established due to the opportunity brought about by the expansion of the human race.

With the assistance of the Central Plains human race, the human cultivators who migrated to live in the East Sea quickly occupied a sizable habitat there.

At that time, the so-called ancient cultivation era had only ended a thousand years ago. Three of those named individuals, known as the Ten Great Ancient Cultivators, had not yet ascended to immortality, and the human race was still at its peak.

Therefore, in order to have more living space, under the manipulation of certain "ambitious individuals", the East Sea Humans began to expand eastward, encroaching on the territories originally allocated to the remnants of those defeated races.

After the great war, these races had not yet recovered their strength and were naturally powerless to resist the expansion of the human race.

Ultimately, many true spirits and magical beasts were forced to migrate to the east side of the dividing line within a short span of a hundred years. Only a small number of alien races took root in the Phoenix Wing Islands under the protection of a pair of dragons and phoenixes, barely managing to survive.

This pair of dragons and phoenixes are star-crossed lovers who fell in love during the fierce battle between ancient cultivators.

Fortunately, the great war only lasted for a century, which allowed the two lovers who had fled to the depths of the East China Sea to escape the chaos of war to once again live carefree under the sun.

Through their efforts, a wonderful picture has emerged on the Phoenix Wing Islands.

Various magical beasts and true spirits live together in a seemingly friendly environment, led by the two dragons and phoenixes, resisting the pressure brought by the East Sea human race, and jointly building their home.

Unfortunately, this beauty was only fleeting.

Without the support of powerful figures, the ensuing internal and external troubles would destroy everything in an instant.

About 1,500 years after their habitat in the Phoenix Wing Islands was established, a pair of dragons and phoenixes with only a little over ten years of lifespan became aware of the crisis.

They relocated the various ethnic groups on the Phoenix Wing Islands one after another, while they themselves hid and collected the wealth they had accumulated over the years.

With proper planning, the humans who set foot on the Phoenix Wing Islands after the death of the dragon and phoenix ended up with nothing but an empty shell, while many of the magical beasts and true spirits that had previously lived on the Phoenix Wing Islands were able to leave unscathed and continue living east of the dividing line.

"The place where these two dragons and phoenixes hid their treasures is the so-called Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault."

"No one knows the exact location. All that is known is that it is near the Phoenix Wing Islands. For nearly 90,000 years, many people have searched for it, trying to find the exact location of the treasure, but all have returned empty-handed."

"A year ago, I accidentally obtained a book, which was an ancient cultivator's analysis and speculation about the location of the treasure vault."

"That cultivator was only at the Golden Core stage, but he was quite knowledgeable about this matter. Unfortunately, he lacked the strength to search for the treasure vault."

"Following the guidance in the ancient texts, my brother Lingjiu and I spent seven months finally finding the location of the treasure vault."

"We tried to open the treasure vault with the dragon and phoenix blood we had purchased, but we failed."

"That's how we found the two dragons and phoenixes."

"Fairy Zhenfeng, Fellow Daoist Moqiong, how about it? Would you like to cooperate with us to open the treasure vault and share its treasures?"

The Slaughter Venerable stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Han Lu and Mo Zhehan, hoping they would nod in affirmation.

Chapter 874 Simple Cooperation

Han Lu had seen the story of the dragon and phoenix when she was learning about and investigating the situation in the East China Sea. She knew the general outline of the story and was clear that it was not a story that Venerable Slaughter had made up at will.

This somewhat dispelled Han Lu's suspicions about the Slaughtering Venerable and the Coffin Master.

However, many things cannot be judged simply by listening to the other party's side of the story.

Han Lu glanced sideways at Mo Zhehan, and their eyes met.

Although the two hadn't spent much time together, they did have a subtle understanding of each other due to their different ways of doing things.

Having understood each other's thoughts simply through eye contact, Han Lu and Mo Zhehan did not bother to communicate using their spiritual senses.

Mo Zhehan, representing the two, gave the reply to Venerable Tulu, "Fellow Daoist Tulu, this matter is of great importance. I need to discuss it with Fairy Zhenfeng before I can give you a reply."

The Slaughtering Venerable expressed his understanding, "No rush, no rush, but please hurry up, both of you."

After all, they were now located east of the dividing line, where there were many experts. Even excluding the Dragon and Phoenix clans, there were still many powerful figures at the Nascent Soul level.

The vast majority of them harbored a natural hostility towards human cultivators.

Despite having no powerful background, even when he was with Han Lu and Mo Zhehan, who possessed dragon and phoenix bloodlines, and the four of them temporarily formed a force capable of resisting threats at the early Nascent Soul stage, his vigilance remained undiminished.