The Long Journey to Immortality

Zi'e nodded, "It's just that the rules are slightly different. It's quite a coincidence that many things from the Central Plains are also found in the East."

"If it weren't for the fact that the Central Plains is dominated by human cultivators and there are no traces of other races, when I first arrived in the Central Plains, I would have mistakenly thought that there was a teleportation error and that I had not yet left the Eastern Lands."

Zi'e tossed her hair, recalling the time when she first came to the Central Plains.

Han Lu and Xuan Chengzi did not discuss why there were many similarities between the Eastern Lands and the Central Plains, but continued to discuss the chess game.

After chatting for about fifteen minutes, Xuan Chengzi finally revealed the purpose of his visit after solving the puzzle set up by Han Lu.

"This time, I came with Fellow Daoist Zi'e to find Elder Zhenfeng, mainly for a very important matter."

"I remember Elder Zhenfeng visited the Great Yu Dynasty several times, and had a few friends there?" Xuan Chengzi asked knowingly.

Han Lu nodded and smiled, "By chance, I did spend some time in the Dayu Dynasty, and I even traveled there with my mother for more than three months."

"As for close friends, I would say I have a few."

Several faces flashed through Han Lu's mind, with Mo Zhehan's face lingering the longest.

Han Lu casually straightened a few pieces on the chessboard that were not accurately positioned on the cross lines, and asked, "What, do you want me to go to the Great Yu Dynasty with Fellow Daoist Zi'e to deliver the message Fellow Daoist Zi'e brought?"

Han Lu had already guessed the task he was going to give her before Xuan Chengzi could explain in detail.

Xuan Chengzi nodded and said, "More or less, but I'm also part of this trip."

"The three of us, including you, me, and Fellow Daoist Zi'e, will travel together to the Great Yu Chaoji Heavenly Palace."

"After all, the Great Yu Dynasty has many experts. If there is a fierce battle with the Eastern Land in the future, even if the Extreme Heaven Palace is not the main force, it will definitely play a great role in this critical moment of life and death for the human race."

"It is quite necessary to communicate early on."

Chapter 911 Mission to the Great Yu Dynasty

Han Lu nodded in agreement, "Elder Xuancheng is right."

"Although I don't know exactly how many cultivators above the Golden Core Realm are in the Great Yu Dynasty's Extreme Heaven Palace, nor do I know where the final point of contact between the two worlds will collide and merge."

"But in any case, based on the current friendly relationship between the Central Plains and the Extreme Heaven Palace, and the fact that they are both human cultivators."

"They certainly cannot and will not stand idly by."

Although Han Lu did not have the concept of a "community of shared future for mankind," she was well aware that such an event was destined to be a major crisis for the entire ethnic group.

Just like in the ancient cultivation era, the Eastern and Western human races fought side by side at that time, and finally won the great war.

If, this time, the cultivators from the two worlds were to clash, without the assistance of the cultivators from the Great Yu Dynasty, Han Lu was certain that the final outcome would not be what the cultivators from the Central Plains would be happy to see.

Zi'e remained silent.

She had long been aware that she was being used as a "tool".

Although she was an avatar of a powerful being from the East, Zi'e had already decided to "betray" the East under these circumstances, seeking only a peaceful and stable life.

Therefore, actively cooperating with the Zhengyi Sect in propaganda, "selling out the Eastern Lands" became Zi'e's only task in the near future.

Seeing that Han Lu's thoughts on this matter were in line with the sect's, Xuan Chengzi did not do any further ideological work, but simply told Han Lu some more detailed arrangements.

"This was not a spur-of-the-moment arrangement. Two cultivators who have frequently traveled between the Central Plains and the Great Yu Dynasty as messengers over the past ten years have already laid out a scout and leaked the news to two powerful figures in the Jitian Palace."

"Although we will only be able to meet with the deputy palace master of the Jitian Palace on this trip, with Fellow Daoist Zi'e and Elder Zhenfeng present, we should be able to convince the Jitian Palace that such a calamity will indeed occur a thousand years from now."

"At that time, the Jitian Palace will act as a bridge to meet and exchange ideas with the leaders of several major sects in the Great Yu Dynasty."

"It should take about six months to achieve the purpose of this mission to the Great Yu Dynasty."

This operation was planned by Xuan Chengzi before his "retirement," and he was the primary architect of the plan.

With the arrangements made, Han Lu had no objections, but based on her experience living in the Da Yu Dynasty, she raised some minor concerns.

"The major and minor sects in the Great Yu Dynasty do not obey the orders of the Jitian Palace like the major and minor sects in the Central Plains do to the Zhengyi Sect and Xuanyang Valley."

"Not only that, the change of the Palace Master of the Extreme Heaven Palace decades ago caused controversy and directly implicated the opposition faction that was openly and secretly opposed to the current Palace Master."

"If we consider the timeline, if these opposition groups wanted to stage a coup, it would likely be within the last ten years or so."

“The deputy palace master who communicates with us may not necessarily be a supporter of the palace master.”

"Elder Xuancheng, we should make sure we understand each other's intentions before we take any action, lest we waste our efforts and cause trouble in the end."

Han Lu had doubts.

There was nothing she could do; the Extreme Heaven Palace was her home turf, and there were many cultivators there whose cultivation levels far surpassed hers.

Upon hearing this, Xuan Chengzi was slightly surprised. "I have indeed heard that there are some voices in the Jitian Palace opposing the current Palace Master. Is it really as serious as you say?"

Han Lu nodded and told Xuan Chengzi about what happened when she was stranded in the Dayu Dynasty.

Having served as the head of the Zhengyi Sect for thirty years, Xuan Chengzi was far more sensitive to such matters than Han Lu.

Sure enough, when Han Lu told Xuan Chengzi about the opposition forces forming cliques outside, Xuan Chengzi's face also showed some worry.

"It seems that handling this matter satisfactorily is not as simple as we thought."

“However…” Looking at Han Lu, Xuan Chengzi had a good idea. “Elder Zhenfeng, aren’t you familiar with the disciple of the Palace Master of Jitian Palace? When we get there, let’s ask that acquaintance of yours about the situation first.”

"Presumably, as disciples of the Palace Master, even those cultivators who focus solely on cultivation, they should know something about the situation within the Extreme Heaven Palace."

"With his guidance or even his direct help in making connections, this matter will definitely be much easier to accomplish."

"At least they won't spend a lot of time talking but end up communicating with the opposition and doing useless work."

Xuan Chengzi's idea was good. Han Lu pondered for a moment and thought it was feasible, so she nodded and said, "Leave this to me."

Han Lu's gaze lingered on the chessboard beside her for a moment before she asked, "When do we depart?"

Xuan Chengzi understood the meaning behind Han Lu's actions.

Xuan Chengzi moved the small jar of white characters next to him to his side and said, "Let's do it in half a month. We two strong contenders for the first Zhengyi Sect Chess Tournament, Zhenfeng Fairy and I, can't afford to miss the chance to win the championship because of official business."

Hearing this, Han Lu chuckled and said, "Elder Xuancheng really understands my feelings."

"Come, come, after we finish discussing business, why don't we take this opportunity to have a couple of matches? Just like a friendly sparring session before a big or small competition."

Xuan Chengzi said, "It's an honor, an honor. Then I'll trouble Fairy Zhenfeng a little longer today."

Han Lu nodded slightly, then looked at Zi'e, "Fellow Daoist Zi'e, how are you? Will you watch from the sidelines, or will you return first?"

“Going back would be boring anyway, so let me watch and learn from this, and see what the similarities and differences are between Go in the Central Plains and Go in the East.” Zi’e moved a chair over and sat down.

This was said in a "mild" way, but it was simply because Zi'e was required to restrict her movements and was not allowed to walk alone in the Zhengyi Gate.

Xuan Chengzi didn't leave; if she did, it would be against the rules, and she would inevitably be punished.

Although Han Lu was unaware of the situation and had no intention of testing her, Zi'e was not foolish enough to do anything that violated the contract at this time.

It was still early, so Xuan Chengzi and Han Lu fought fiercely for three rounds before Xuan Chengzi left.

In the end, Han Lu won one game and lost two. Her wins were by only two points, while her losses came when she resigned in the middle of the game.

Despite the slight difference in skill level, Han Lu lost, but she gained a lot from the experience and felt that it served as effective pre-match training.

Xuan Chengzi was quite polite, and said humbly as he left, "I won by luck. If I have a chance to fight Elder Zhenfeng next time, I hope that Elder Zhenfeng will show me mercy as he did today."

Five days later, the chess tournament at Dongshan Academy began.

Since there was no preliminary selection process, almost every disciple who knew a little about Go enthusiastically signed up for the competition, hoping to show off their skills.

On the day of the competition, nearly three hundred disciples participated.

With the audience included, the scene was no less deserted than during the smaller competitions, with so many cultivators gathered together.

Elders like Han Lu did not receive any special treatment. They participated in the competition like outer disciples, competing round after round, relying solely on their chess skills to compare themselves with others.

The competition lasted for three days, and Han Lu, with her extraordinary intellect as a Golden Core cultivator and her long-accumulated and improved chess skills, fought her way to the finals.

The final match was between Han Lu and a Qi Refining disciple of Piaomiaozi.

The two played for five innings before a winner was decided.

Taking advantage of the tireless nature of Golden Core cultivators, Han Lu was one step ahead and made a comeback after losing the first two games, winning three games and earning herself another title.

Chapter 912 Changes

Although it was planned that we would set off together for the Great Yu Dynasty in half a month.

However, Han Lu provided additional important information.

Before setting off, Xuan Chengzi had to consult with the Qingxu Sect Master and other strategist elders in the sect who were in charge of this matter, so as not to make a mistake in the first few steps and ruin the whole thing.

After going back and forth a bit, some time was wasted.

Twenty days after Han Lu's meeting with Xuan Chengzi, Xuan Chengzi finally received clear instructions and developed a relatively mature, complete, and well-considered diplomatic plan.

Only after making thorough preparations did he lead Zi'e to find Han Lu again.

Having made preparations in advance, Han Lu had already arranged everything.

Several key disciples met one by one.

All kinds of supplies were distributed again.

He also assigned tutoring tasks to his two senior disciples to prevent his new disciples from being thrown into disarray by the upcoming minor competition.

At Han Lu's residence, the three of them had only just met and shared a cup of tea when Xuan Chengzi explained the general results of their discussions over the past few days before setting off together, without wasting any more time on trivial matters within the sect.

Xuan Chengzi had already handed over the dragon-shaped ark artifact that belonged exclusively to the Zhengyi Sect Master to Qingxu Daoist. This time, the means of transportation carrying the three of them was just an ordinary magical ark.

Looking at this vehicle alone, no one would guess that it carries three cultivators with the strength of the Golden Core stage.

From Zhengyi Gate to the teleportation portal connecting the Great Yu Dynasty and the Central Plains, the three of them flew in the air for only an hour and a half.

More than fifty years later, Han Lu returned to this place and was truly shocked by the changes in this desolate wilderness.

Looking down from the air, seeing countless cultivators and mortals who had established villages and markets here, Han Lu couldn't help but sigh, "Did we come to the wrong place?"

The secret of the teleportation portal was made public, and the trade between the Great Yu Dynasty and the Central Plains gradually expanded from being limited to the two major sects to benefiting the entire cultivation world of the Central Plains.

Thus, in order to facilitate the trade of goods between East and West, a market spontaneously formed outside the portal.

More than twenty years ago, a new technology was researched and developed, which reduced the number of spirit stones required for a single teleportation from five thousand spirit stones to two thousand spirit stones.

The reduced travel costs significantly increased the merchants' profit margins, making this originally ordinary market increasingly prosperous and bustling.

Not to mention, because of the "toll" barrier, only cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage or above would visit this market.