The Long Journey to Immortality

Chapter 909 Long Time No See

Three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Through her daily diligent cultivation, Han Lu finally completed the solid foundation laid by the "Danwen prototype" outlined by the Huangji Pill, and drew one of the Danwen prototypes into a complete Danwen, thus successfully adding the eighth Danwen to her Golden Core.

By sheer chance, Han Lu managed to catch up with Xuan Chengzi, a genius who had been cultivating in the sect for a hundred years longer than her, and they became equals in cultivation.

During these three years, in addition to Han Lu's improved cultivation, many other things happened.

The biggest personal matter was that Yi Qiyan successfully settled down in the Southern Frontier again with the help of the Five Poisons Token, and extended an invitation to her two friends as agreed.

As luck would have it, Lü Zhi's journey from the East China Sea to the Southern Frontier coincided with the same day that Han Lu and Wen Erya also traveled to the Southern Frontier.

This caused Lü Zhi's plan to enjoy some quality time with Yi Qiyan to fall apart before it even began.

Not only that, teasing the young couple has become one of Han Lu and Wen Erya's daily activities.

Although they were often teased and left feeling awkward, their relationship grew warmer with the help of Han Lu and Wen Er Ya, and they even rekindled the feeling of when they first met.

Neither Han Lu nor Wen Erya had any experience in relationships, but both of them could tell that Yi Qiyan and Lü Zhi were not far from getting married.

Perhaps when one of them advances to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm and temporarily loses the short-term goal of improving their cultivation level, they will hold a grand banquet and take the final step.

In official matters, as an elder of the Zhengyi Sect, Han Lu naturally bears the greatest responsibility for the sect's change of leadership.

Although Xuan Chengzi had announced this matter to the public well in advance and given a specific time.

However, when Xuan Chengzi truly relinquished his heavy responsibility and handed it over to his successor, it still caused a small ripple within the Zhengyi Sect.

A week before stepping down, Hyun Seong-ja sought out Han Lu again to discuss the possibility of her succeeding him.

The story was exactly the same as the last one, except that Xuan Chengzi made a slight concession and proposed the possibility of making Han Lu the next sect leader.

This approach is similar to what Xuan Chengzi did when he first came to power.

First, Daoist Yunmin will take over, and then Xuanchengzi, the popular candidate, will succeed him.

It was similar to the methods used by Han Lu and Wen Erya in the mortal Southern Dynasty.

Wen Er Ya's elder brother went too far, while Wen Qing went abroad to study and accumulate prestige, waiting for a ten-year period before ascending the throne and ruling the world.

During this conversation, Genseiko spoke from the bottom of his heart.

If it were anyone else, any cultivator who even slightly harbored the desire to become the leader of the Zhengyi Sect would have immediately agreed.

Unfortunately, Xuan Chengzi telling Han Lu these things was like "casting pearls before swine".

Han Lu, who had already planned her future, wasn't even tempted for a moment.

In the end, the conversation between the two ended much like their first conversation, except that Han Lu became the first sect elder to know the next sect leader of the Zheng Yi Sect after this conversation.

This time, it was the Dean of the East Mountain Academy, Daoist Qingxu, who took over the power of sect leader from Xuanchengzi.

Upon hearing the news, Han Lu's first reaction was, "Not bad."

It must be said that Qingxu Daoren's ability to rise through the ranks within the sect from a role similar to Bai Xianzi was partly due to Han Lu.

If it weren't for Han Lu's hard work in dealing with the plague back then, Qingxu Daoist would most likely not have been promoted by Xuanchengzi to become the dean of Dongshan Academy.

If Han Lu hadn't contributed to capturing the purple monster, Qingxu Daoist wouldn't have become Xuanchengzi's top candidate at this time.

When Han Lu learned of this, she could imagine that for at least the next thirty years, with the help of her acquaintance, Daoist Qingxu, she would live comfortably within the Zhengyi Sect.

And when the moment of departure may come, the personal relationship between them will make the moment happen more smoothly and effortlessly.

In the first year after Qingxu Daoren became the head of the Zhengyi Sect, he did not make any major moves or implement any reforms like Xuanchengzi.

If it weren't for the matter of the purple monster, which led him to travel around the Central Plains, the Western Regions, and the Southern Frontier under various strange pretexts for a period of time, some elders who had just emerged from seclusion probably wouldn't have noticed that Xuan Chengzi had already stepped down and yielded his position.

Following Xiao Gui Cao's rules.

Therefore, it is not difficult for those who care about this matter to understand why Xuan Chengzi would choose the seemingly unremarkable Qingxu Daoist as his successor.

Almost all the rules established during Xuan Chengzi's term of office have been preserved.

Only a small number of rules that were deemed outdated during the thirty-year operation period were improved or directly deleted in response to the calls from sect disciples and elders.

This action earned Qingxu Daoist a lot of praise as soon as he took office.

Apart from the minor ripples caused when the initial selection was announced, the transition of power within the Zhengyi Sect was incredibly smooth, and moving from one victory to the next seemed not so far off.

That day, Han Lu practiced the Six Arts at her residence as usual, trying to harmonize her mind.

It had only been three months since she successfully drew the eighth Dan rune. For a time, even she felt a little tired of cultivation and spent more time on things other than cultivation.

Coincidentally, in response to the disciples' requests, Master Qingxu will organize another branch-level chess tournament before the annual grand competitions to enrich the disciples' cultivation life and provide a new stage for many disciples who are not good at fighting to showcase themselves.

As an elder of the East Mountain Academy, Han Lu was naturally invited to exchange chess skills with the disciples of the branch academy and get closer to them.

Just as one needs to practice actively before participating in a competition, Han Lu also seriously carried a chessboard and chess manual in order to prepare for the chess competition. She tried to improve her chess skills quickly through some training, so as not to be defeated by the disciples of Dongshan Academy on a chessboard where only black and white pieces win.

It must be said that Han Lu's chess skills have improved considerably since her match with Wen Erya in the carriage years ago.

Although Han Lu is not yet able to have three children like she did back then, having two is no problem for her now.

This is partly due to Han Lu's diligent study and practice, and partly due to her improved cultivation and enhanced mental abilities.

Just as Han Lu was concentrating on transing the score and pondering the way to victory amidst the intricate interplay of black and white, someone came to visit.

When the servants brought the two distinguished guests over, Han Lu hurriedly got up to greet them.

"Elder Xuancheng," Han Lu said with a smile, "It's been a long time. You must have come today to play chess with me and exchange skills, right?"

Xuan Chengzi was also somewhat famous in the sect for his chess skills, so Han Lu's joke was appropriate.

“That is indeed the intention,” Xuan Chengzi said, turning to the side and pointing to the female cultivator beside him. “However, the main purpose of this visit is to introduce Elder Zhenfeng to a new friend and to discuss an important matter.”

Xuan Chengzi sat down in the seat next to Han Lu, and the female cultivator who did not know Han Lu did not treat herself as an outsider, and even looked at the black and white chess pieces on the chessboard with great interest.

"Who is she?" Han Lu wondered.

Chapter 910 New Identity

The female cultivator following behind Xuan Chengzi was a stranger to him. He had only met her once in the sect and did not even know her name.

The female cultivator's appearance was only average, barely scoring seven out of ten, far inferior to Yi Qiyan.

Furthermore, given that he had only just reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment, it seemed strange that he would accompany Xuan Chengzi to visit Han Lu.

After all, even if Xuan Chengzi lost his title as sect leader, he would still be an elder in the Zhengyi Sect who was quite likely to advance to the Nascent Soul Realm.

It seemed rather inappropriate for this female cultivator, who was not a disciple of Xuan Chengzi, to be accompanying him on his visit to Han Lu.

However, after Han Lu impolitely scanned the female cultivator with her divine sense, she vaguely guessed Xuan Chengzi's purpose and learned the true identity beneath the female cultivator's exterior.

Han Lu's expression changed slightly. With a casual gesture, she closed the door and activated the array restriction.

For Han Lu to treat this woman with such seriousness, this seemingly ordinary female cultivator must be a top-tier figure.

"Oh? Elder Zhenfeng, do you recognize me?"

The female cultivator's voice was sweet and gentle, which softened one's heart.

With such a voice, one would immediately think he is an easy-going cultivator.

Han Lu chuckled and said, "We barely managed to have a fight, but it's been three years since we last met, how could I have forgotten you, fellow Daoist?"

"Fellow Daoist Zi'e, could this body have been stolen from some cultivator again?"

Han Lu's last sentence was somewhat harsh, but it still revealed her current attitude towards Zi'e and served as a small warning.

Zi'e said, "How could that be? I was imprisoned in the Zhengyi Sect for three years to atone for my sins."

"Having finally received a grace of acquittal and release a few days ago, why would I do something so forbidden?"

"To be honest, this body was found for me by the sect leader of Qingxu Sect."

"It's said to be the corpse of a deceased member of a cultivation family? I don't know the specifics."

Zi'e explained a few words to Han Lu quite seriously.

Although, if you look closely, there are quite a few cultivators in the Zhengyi Sect who have more power and strength than Han Lu.

However, Zi'e was still most "afraid" of Han Lu, regarding her as her nemesis. When facing her, she was much more polite than when facing other Zhengyi Sect cultivators.

This might be Stockholm syndrome.

Knowing the inside story, Xuan Chengzi explained, "It's like this, it was actually just a deal with the Qian family, a mortal cultivation family."

The Qian family was merely a moderately powerful cultivation family in the Southern Dynasty of the Central Plains. The strongest cultivator in the family was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage, which was the original owner of the body that Zi'e had taken over.

He had lived for over two hundred years, but a few years ago his lifespan ended and he died in the family's secret chamber.

In order to maintain the Qian family's influence, when the Zhengyi Sect learned of the news and took the initiative to come to them, the Qian family was very "happy" to hand over the corpse of their "ancestor" and let it become Zi'e's new home.

Of course, when they approached the Qian family, the Zhengyi Sect did not reveal the existence of Zi'e in the slightest.

He only asked to borrow the corpse for a short time and promised many benefits.

Although there is a saying in the Central Plains that the dead are the greatest, the Qian family still agreed to the Zhengyi Sect's somewhat "rude" request for the sake of the family's prosperity.

"Our ancestor must have hoped that he could make more contributions to the Qian family after his death," said the head of the Qian family.

The transaction resulted in a win-win situation for everyone.

The Qian family acquired a large amount of resources, and the young members of the family gained a bright future. In the future, more members will have more opportunities to advance to the late Foundation Establishment stage or even the Golden Core stage, bringing glory to the family.

The Zhengyi Sect also obtained a suitable body for Zi'e to reside in, allowing this "monster" who came from the East to the Central Plains to appear in the sunlight as a human cultivator, accompanied by the Zhengyi Sect cultivators. Thus, with "good intentions," he helped the Zhengyi Sect prepare for the calamity that would come a thousand years later.

The race to which Zi'e belongs has no gender distinction. They are already satisfied with a host who has reached the late Foundation Establishment stage, so they are not picky.

"I see. This is indeed a good thing." Han Lu's attitude changed slightly, and she praised the sect's actions.

Hearing Han Lu's praise, Zi'e felt much more at ease.

Having resolved the minor misunderstanding deliberately created by Han Lu, the atmosphere in the room became much more relaxed. Xuan Chengzi even deliberately interrupted the important matter that he had not yet fully finished discussing, and chatted with Han Lu and Zi'e about the game of Go for a few minutes.

Compared to Han Lu's Go skills, Xuan Chengzi, who lived for over a hundred years, was slightly better.

Being Han Lu's teacher is a little difficult, but giving Han Lu a few pointers is no problem.

It was quite a surprise to Han Lu that Zi'e, who came from another world, also knew Go.

Although the skill level is somewhat lacking, it is by no means at the level of a beginner.

"Does the Eastern World also have Go?"