The Long Journey to Immortality

"The gray-robed man before me is the evil thought that was extracted from Chai Tianjiao when he experienced the 'dream' illusion I cast. Because the secret technique I used at that time was too crude, the evil thought was not completely extracted from his body but remained in his sea of ​​consciousness."

"Is this one of the reasons why Chai Tianjiao is in this state?"

Han Lu, transformed into a phoenix, revealed an expression she had never shown in this state before.

“In that case,” Han Lu said with a wry smile, “rather than saying that the gray-robed Chai Tianjiao in front of us is the root of the problem, I would say that she is the culprit who brought this matter to the fore.”

"I am so concerned about this matter, it seems that it is the will of Heaven to make up for the mistakes I made in the past and to let me do good deeds from beginning to end."

Thinking of this, Han Lu simply transformed back into human form and stood in front of the gray-robed Chai Tianjiao.

"I wonder if this evil thought has its own consciousness," Han Lu murmured to herself. "If it does, I can persuade it to disperse on its own, and it can also strengthen Chai Tianjiao's sea of ​​consciousness."

"If all else fails, we can simply devour it, which would also solve the problem completely."

Two paths lay before Han Lu, but which one she chose was not up to her.

Chapter 921 Negotiation Conditions

"Hey, hey," Han Lu spoke up, addressing the silent, grey-robed Chai Tianjiao, "Are you conscious? Do you recognize who I am?"

Han Lu wanted to figure out whether Chai Tianjiao in front of her had any self-awareness and whether she was the kind of person who could be communicated with and guided.

I wonder if it's because I've been walking alone in this desert of consciousness for too long.

The gray-robed Chai Tianjiao spoke in a somewhat hoarse voice, "I know her. She's Han Lu from the Zhengyi Sect. She's the one who caused me to end up in this state."

"What, did you chase me all the way here to kill me?"

Hearing Chai Tianjiao's reply, Han Lu breathed a sigh of relief.

Her thinking wasn't complicated at all.

Since it was her small mistake that caused Chai Tianjiao to suffer so much, she naturally wanted to try to make amends while solving the problem.

Persuade this evil thought to willingly disperse itself and empower Chai Tianjiao's consciousness.

This was the compensation Han Lu envisioned for Chai Tianjiao.

"Whether to go all out or not is up to your decision," Han Lu said politely as she discussed business with the other party.

Chai Tianjiao snorted coldly and said, "What's your explanation?"

Han Lu reasoned with her and appealed to her emotions, saying, "Because of your existence, Chai Tianjiao's sea of ​​consciousness has been damaged, and her cultivation has stagnated for a long time."

"If you disperse voluntarily, this place will be able to return to peace. Not only that, it can also help strengthen Chai Tianjiao's sea of ​​consciousness and atone for the mistakes she has made over the past few decades."

Upon hearing Han Lu's words, Chai Tianjiao laughed loudly, and after a long while, he replied, "My fault? I think it's your fault."

"If you hadn't used illusion magic on the arena that day to separate my soul from my original body, how could this scene have come to this?"

"If anyone is wrong, it is you who has made the biggest mistake."

Despite his disheveled appearance, Chai Tianjiao in the gray robe was actually quite shrewd. He easily saw through the flaws in Han Lu's words and launched a counterattack.

Hearing this, Han Lu was speechless.

Chai Tianjiao pressed his advantage, "Kind-hearted Fairy Han, what method will you use to atone for your sins?"

"Chai Tianjiao wasted almost thirty years of her life because of you."

"If it weren't for you, she would probably have already advanced to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, and wouldn't be in this situation where she is being bullied by her peers in the sect."

"This kind of mistake cannot be resolved with just a few words."

Han Lu gritted her teeth and, relying on her status as the Illusionary Phoenix, which granted her absolute power within her sea of ​​consciousness, unleashed her force against the gray-robed Chai Tianjiao.

"What you said is true, I do want to make amends for my mistakes."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't be wasting my breath talking to you here."

"I will kill you in one gulp, then send down sweet dew here. In no time, the wounds here will be completely healed, and Chai Tianjiao will be restored to health."

The gray-robed Chai Tianjiao removed his hood, fully revealing his facial features. "Is that so? Then I can't cooperate with you, my enemy."

"If I let you have your way, I'll be extremely uncomfortable."

Feeling confident that he had found Han Lu's weakness, Chai Tianjiao became even more emboldened.

Barefoot people aren't afraid of those wearing shoes; he wasn't afraid of being killed by Han Lu, he simply didn't want Han Lu to have her way.

Hearing this made Han Lu somewhat annoyed.

Han Lu said, "It seems you want to negotiate with me?"

"You are currently in the sea of ​​consciousness, and you are just a thought, not even as good as a remnant soul."

Even if you take whatever you want from me, what can I give you in return?

"Help you get rid of Chai Tianjiao? I can't do that. With your soul strength, you'd probably be completely destroyed as soon as you left her body."

"Give you spirit stones, pills, and magic weapons? You have no use for them, and you have no chance to use them."

Chai Tianjiao laughed and said, "Han Lu, what you said makes some sense, but that doesn't stop me from negotiating with you."

"I think you're willing to negotiate with me, right?"

"After all, there is a need for atonement."

Chai Tianjiao continued to use that word that Han Lu didn't like to hear, trying to provoke her.

With a sigh, Han Lu said, "Okay, then what do you want?"

Chai Tianjiao grinned wickedly and asked, "Han Lu, you can transform into any shape in your sea of ​​consciousness, right?"

A sense of foreboding arose in Han Lu's heart, and she nodded, saying, "What? I really can."

Chai Tianjiao said, "That makes things easier. I want you..."

Chai Tianjiao pointed to his lips and said, "Transform into Jia Yue's appearance, kiss me, and then say to me affectionately, 'I love you.'"

Upon hearing this condition, Han Lu squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, "Chai Tianjiao, don't go too far. Believe me or not, I'll kill you right now and solve the problem once and for all."

Chai Tianjiao could guess Han Lu's bottom line and didn't take Han Lu's threats seriously at all.

"What's wrong? This doesn't cost you anything. You've fulfilled my request and helped me achieve my wish, so I'll just go and die willingly."

Then, gazing into the distance, he said, "Don't worry, I will also tell you, who has transformed into Jia Yue, what I've never had the chance to say before: I love you."

"No one but me will remember this."

When Chai Tianjiao said this, the sadness on his face touched Han Lu.

After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Okay."

"However, your last sentence was incorrect, and I will remember it for you."

Upon hearing this, when Chai Tianjiao turned his gaze to Han Lu again, he saw Wu Jiayue standing just a step away from him.

"I love you."

Chai Tianjiao's mind was captivated by those familiar acting skills.

He said hesitantly, "Jiayue, I love you too."

Within their sea of ​​consciousness, the lips of the two beings remained in contact for a long time before finally separating.

The moment their lips parted, Han Lu transformed back into her original form.

Chai Tianjiao, draped in a gray robe, instantly "committed suicide" as agreed, turning into fragments and disappearing from Chai Tianjiao's consciousness.

Immediately afterwards, Han Lu transformed into a phoenix and used her spiritual power to summon a shower of dew in the desert.

In areas where rain falls, the clay transforms back into desert gravel, restoring its original appearance.

When the clouds and rain dissipated and the desert returned to silence, Han Lu also left Chai Tianjiao's sea of ​​consciousness and returned to the real world.

Looking at Chai Tianjiao, who was still sitting cross-legged on the bed with a smile on her face, experiencing the second illusion, Han Lu put her hand to her lips, hesitated for a moment, and then symbolically wiped away non-existent saliva.

"I'll help you remember." After muttering to herself, Han Lu found a seat and waited patiently.

In her view, the outcome was already decided.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and Han Lu, who had been squinting, suddenly opened her eyes.

She made hand seals and chanted incantations, transforming herself into a semi-realistic spiritual state once again.

With a single word, "Receive," a dark green aura returned from Chai Tianjiao's body to Han Lu's.

Along with this news, it was also announced that Han Lu's "unlicensed medical practice" of Chai Tianjiao was about to end.

Chapter 922 A Lie Made in Kind

After sitting in the room for a while, estimating that Chai Tianjiao would wake up from the illusion in about fifteen minutes, Han Lu decided to have Wu Jiayue, who had cared about Chai Tianjiao all these years, come to witness this moment.

"Perfect, it also allows me to convey the love that the pushover has for her." Han Lu couldn't help but touch her lips again, wondering what kind of feelings she had back then to agree to such a harsh and rude request.

Taking out the second-to-last working mechanical pencil from the storage bag, Han Lu quickly wrote two lines of small characters on the plain paper made using the new method.

He explained the background and extended an invitation to Wu Jiayue.

Just as she was about to use her magic to fold it into a paper sword, Han Lu realized that she did not know Wu Jiayue's presence, nor did she know which area or courtyard Wu Jiayue lived in in Qingcheng Palace.

"Forget it, let's ask Mo Zhehan for help. It'll be a good opportunity to call him back."

Picking up her pen again, Han Lu added a few more words and quickly sent it out, lest Wu Jiayue miss the moment when Chai Tianjiao regained consciousness, causing this hastily conceived medicine to arrive late and miss the best opportunity to enhance its efficacy.

The paper sword was launched, and a response came in less than a hundred breaths.

Mo Zhehan replied with a paper sword and hurriedly went to find Wu Jiayue.

Because of their brief collaboration back then, the four cultivators did not become good friends in the past fifty years, but they could be considered nodding acquaintances, and their relationship was not as distant as it was at the beginning.

Over the course of fifty years, Mo Zhehan had interacted with Wu Jiayue seven or eight times, so he knew where Wu Jiayue lived.

After making the visit and explaining his purpose, Mo Zhehan successfully led Wu Jiayue to Chai Tianjiao's residence in just a few words.

Temporarily dispelling the formation, Han Lu invited the two into Chai Tianjiao's "boudoir".

Mo Zhehan and Wu Jiayue were quite surprised to see Chai Tianjiao sitting cross-legged on the bed, dressed in women's clothing.

This was the first time either of them had seen Chai Tianjiao dressed like this.

For some reason, Wu Jiayue, who had previously been somewhat skeptical about the final efficacy of Han Lu's offer to help Chai Tianjiao cure her illness, developed an inexplicable trust in Han Lu after seeing Chai Tianjiao dressed in women's clothing.