The Long Journey to Immortality

Upon hearing the Empress's name once, Han Lu knew who Wen Erya was going to find.

"Oh, it's Wen Qing. Senior Sister, are you going to investigate her political achievements? It's been almost five years now. Indeed, that's enough time to see if she's really the rough diamond we think she is, capable of becoming an emperor."

Wen Erya nodded and said, "That's right, that's what I think too."

"If it doesn't work, discovering it earlier will give us more time to consider backup plans, so we won't be caught off guard and make hasty decisions later."

"Of course, I also need to go and see my elder brother to see if he still remembers our agreement, and give him a good talking-to so that nothing goes wrong in this regard."

For the sake of the ordinary Wen Dynasty, Wen Erya went to great lengths, fearing that the great legacy her father had inherited and carried forward from his ancestors would be ruined by her momentary mistake.

Han Lu only needs to get involved in family matters once.

Naturally, she didn't mention accompanying Wen Erya on this trip at this time.

With her two friends leaving one after the other in a short period of time to pursue their "home," Han Lu couldn't help but think of her own home in the wilderness, recalling her thirty-year promise, and pondering in her heart.

"In the next few years, will you look for another opportunity to go home and visit?"

Chapter 894 Seeking the Purple Trail

Just three days after Han Lu went to Xuan Chengzi's office to report the situation and "discussed the situation over green plums and wine," the first batch of three Zheng Yi Sect disciples who were dispatched to investigate the situation in the western mountain villages of the Southern Dynasty all returned safely to the sect.

The three were tasked with investigating the ins and outs of this "beast attack" incident and trying to find out the origin of the monster that attacked the mountain people and cultivators.

One task is difficult, and the other is easy.

The three cultivators did a good job on the simple task. After returning to their sect, they only spent a quarter of an hour organizing the materials before producing a report of nearly ten pages, clearly explaining the two attacks that had occurred.

They were completely clueless about the second, slightly more difficult task.

Not only did they fail to find the monster that committed the two crimes again, but they also failed to find even the slightest clue.

The report written by the three was passed through a third party and delivered to Xuan Chengzi's desk immediately.

If Han Lu hadn't conveyed the importance of this matter to Xuan Chengzi a few days ago, Xuan Chengzi would most likely have only arranged for the outer gate of the Zhengyi Sect near the mountain village to strengthen its defenses and station a few disciples nearby for low-level security and protection.

That's it.

But now that he knows this purple monster is far more destructive than ordinary Golden Core level demon beasts, Xuan Chengzi can't help but feel uneasy. He is afraid that the elusive purple monster will bring disaster to the mortal world, making his final two years of retirement uneasy and plunging the originally peaceful mortal world of the Southern Dynasty into chaos.

They already had a plan, and now, after receiving the latest intelligence, they claim that all they need to do is identify the specific cases and follow the prescription.

Picking up a pen, dipping it in ink, Xuan Chengzi began writing orders on a piece of paper.

Although the actual situation is still somewhat unclear, Genseiko does not want to sit idly by and watch things develop in a worse direction before taking action.

Two sect elders had already been assigned to handle this matter, and this time Xuan Chengzi arranged for one of them to personally take charge and mobilize manpower to find the purple monster first.

The paper sword was launched, and the one who received the order was a female elder from the Zhengyi Sect, the White Fairy.

Compared to Han Lu or the Seven Flower Fairy, the White Fairy's talent for cultivation and opportunities are much inferior.

He has cultivated Taoist arts for over three hundred years, yet he still only has the cultivation level of the early Golden Core stage.

However, she was also a renowned teacher in the Zhengyi Sect, and she had personally trained two Golden Core cultivators, one of whom even surpassed the other in cultivation, just as Han Lu surpassed Piaomiaozi in cultivation and Bai Xianzi in cultivation.

Although she is not good at cultivation, Fairy Bai is a master at fighting magic.

While not invincible in the early stages of the Golden Core realm, ranking among the top is certainly not a problem.

Back when the Ancient Cultivation Secret Realm had just emerged, she and the Wine Pot Daoist were responsible for reconnaissance and fought the initial battles.

This shows that the White Fairy is quite capable, and at least deserves the reputation of being intelligent.

With such a well-rounded Golden Core elder in charge of this matter, Xuan Chengzi can rest assured.

Having given prior notice and hinted that the matter was not as simple as it seemed, Fairy Bai naturally took the official order from the sect leader very seriously.

Not only did he decide to personally take action and use his divine sense to search for the whereabouts of the unknown monster near the scene of the incident, but he also decided to lead four of his Foundation Establishment disciples along with him.

All four are at least in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. Paired up, they can help Fairy Bai a lot in this mission.

They were well-prepared and mobilized their troops.

Only three hours after the three disciples who were the first to go to the scene of the incident returned to the sect, Fairy Bai led four disciples to ride a magic shuttle of magical artifact level and flew towards the western part of the Southern Dynasty.

On the flying shuttle, the White Fairy casually manipulated the magical artifact to keep it flying steadily, while explaining the situation and assigning tasks to the four disciples who had come with her on business.

The disciples had all cultivated under the White Fairy's tutelage for at least fifteen years, and were extremely familiar with their master, so their communication and collaboration were naturally smooth and seamless.

Based on the locations of the two attacks, the White Fairy delineated a general area where an unknown ferocious beast might be hiding and divided the area into three parts.

She personally oversaw the search and investigation of the area that occupied 70% of the total area.

The remaining two areas were then assigned to the four disciples, who divided them into two groups to handle the tasks.

Based on the images of the ferocious beasts sent back by the eyewitnesses, the images were distributed to the four disciples.

Although the purple monster in the picture differed slightly from the actual creature, the White Fairy believed that finding it should not be a problem.

Finally, the White Fairy also warned her four disciples to be careful.

"This demonic beast is unknown, but its strength is probably very close to the Golden Core realm."

"Your main focus should be on discovery; avoid initiating combat or alerting the enemy."

"Report the target to the authorities."

"The rest of the matters will be handled by me and the other elders in the sect."

In a short while, the four Foundation Establishment disciples sitting on the flying shuttle understood the purpose of their trip and how to carry out the mission assigned and arranged by the sect.

After finishing discussing the serious matters, Fairy Bai spoke in a lighthearted tone about the rewards given by the sect.

Upon hearing that they would receive at least 500 spirit stones as a reward for successfully completing the task, three of the four Foundation Establishment disciples beamed with delight, as if the spirit stones and materials were already in their pockets.

Only one person had a rather serious expression.

"Senior Brother Liu, what are you thinking about?" A fellow disciple who was on good terms with this serious-looking disciple patted Liu Gan on the shoulder and teased, "Could it be that you've struck it rich somewhere and now look down on these spirit stones and materials?"

Liu Gan forced a smile and said, "Junior Brother Wu, I don't have that kind of luck. I just feel that with such a generous reward, this matter is likely to be fraught with difficulties and won't be so easy to resolve."

The cultivator addressed as Junior Brother Wu smiled and said, "With Master here, this matter will surely be resolved smoothly. You and I just need to do our best."

"I hope so, I hope so," Liu Gan said with a smile, echoing, "With Master here, there will definitely be no problem."

Even so, Liu Gan still had a nagging thought in his mind, secretly warning himself to be extra careful, lest he lose his life over a trivial matter in these peaceful times.

Starting from Zhengyi Gate, it took only three hours to reach the edge of the circle drawn by the White Fairy on the map.

The five disembarked from the flying shuttle, and the four disciples flew around on their swords, listening to their master's final instructions.

Flying through the air, the white fairy, dressed in flowing white robes and possessing a beautiful face, truly had the air of a fairy.

"You four be extra careful, and report to me every night by sending paper swords."

Although three of the four felt it was unnecessary, they still said "Yes, sir."

Seeing this, the White Fairy waved her hand and announced the disbandment.

The five people split into three groups and flew in three directions to search for the unknown ferocious beast that was hiding somewhere, trying to pull it out of the vast mountains and forests.

Chapter 895 Attack

The White Fairy's four disciples were all her most accomplished students.

Liu Gan is Bai Xianzi's current eldest disciple, with a cultivation level in the late Foundation Establishment stage. Although his best result in the competition was only in the top thirty-two, he is quite talented in cultivation.

Li Gan, who is cautious and always on his guard, is the disciple of Fairy Bai who is most likely to form a Golden Core and advance to the Golden Core realm in the next few decades.

The fellow disciple who partnered with Li Gan in the search was the one who chatted and joked with him on the flying shuttle. His name was Wu Changqing, and he had a cultivation level of mid-Foundation Establishment.

Although it has only been five and a half years since Wu Changqing advanced to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, he has achieved considerable skill in combat.

In the previous competition, he made it into the top eight in the arena competition, which has become his capital to boast about his skills.

Arranging these two familiar yet unrelated disciples together shows that Fairy Bai did put some thought into this matter and made the best possible arrangements.

When two people work together, there will always be one leader and one being led.

Because of their relationship, differences in cultivation level and seniority, Li Gan naturally became the leader of the two-person team.

Stepping on his spirit sword, Wu Changqing approached Li Gan and asked, "Senior Brother Li, where should we begin our search?"

Recalling Master Bai Xianzi's arrangements, Li Gan, holding a map, pointed to the area they were responsible for on the map and said, "Let's first go to the dozen or so villages and small towns nearby to inquire about the situation and further refine this area."

"Let's see if we can get any more specific information before trying to expand the search."

“We are not like our master, who is a Golden Core cultivator and can use his divine sense to search every inch of land over a wide area.”

"It's better to prepare more before doing any work, so as to avoid doing useless work."

Li Gan was clear-headed and knew very well that Foundation Establishment cultivators like himself and his junior brother were not good at this kind of work.

Upon hearing this, Wu Changqing quickly took out a jade pendant magic weapon and showed it to Li Gan, saying, "Senior brother, this is a low-grade magic artifact that I obtained a few years ago. It can help me extend my divine sense by thirteen or fourteen meters."

"Holding this treasure and flying at low altitude should be of great help to our mission."

Upon hearing this, Li Gan was delighted and said, "That's right, that's right. When it comes time to find the whereabouts of that ferocious beast, we'll have to rely on you, junior brother."

Wu Changqing laughed and said, "Leave it to me."

Li Gan and Wu Changqing quickly found their rhythm, while the other two disciples of the White Fairy also performed well.

The specific circumstances will naturally differ depending on the area being managed.

The area under the responsibility of the two disciples did not have many obstacles. Most of the land in the area was farmland and it was quite a distance from the two mountain villages where the two attacks occurred.

Therefore, the two adopted a more direct search method, relying more on ordinary means to find traces rather than directly locating the specific location of the unknown ferocious beast.

With a two-pronged approach and the addition of Fairy Bai, these five cultivators were several times more efficient than the three disciples initially dispatched.

In just one day, 30% of the area designated by the White Fairy had been searched, and neither of the groups had found any trace of the purple monster.

That evening, apart from the White Fairy, both teams of disciples chose to stay and rest in a nearby mountain village.

After all, they were just Foundation Establishment cultivators. Putting aside the issue of energy and physical strength, at night, in the dark, they had no way of seeing clearly whether there were any suspicious demonic beasts nearby.

Rather than wasting your energy, it's better to rest for a while and recharge.

Li Gan and Wu Changqing settled in a village called "Night Fox Village".

The cultivators from the Central Plains are all upright individuals, and when they reside abroad, they will voluntarily pay gold and silver as lodging fees.