The Long Journey to Immortality

"That would be too hasty."

"The future is still long, and there are no other cultivators or true spirits competing with me now, so there is no need to fight a battle I cannot win."

"Besides, I didn't prepare any special gift for our first meeting. Going now would only be a loss, not a gain."

"Let's wait until we get back to Han Lu and subtly inquire about the general situation of her parents and relatives, and after we've built a closer relationship with her, we can prepare some generous gifts and then pay her a visit."

Thinking of this, Mo Zhehan felt relieved, and the unease that had been lingering in his mind vanished.

Even a Golden Core cultivator might be afraid of meeting their future in-laws for the first time.

Not to mention that the relationship is not even confirmed yet, and the father-in-law and mother-in-law have the cultivation level of the late Nascent Soul stage.

Mo Zhehan, a dating novice, felt that it was best to stay away at this point.

Upon arriving at Sanfeng Forest, the two landed slowly and simultaneously transformed back into human form.

Han Lu looked at Mo Zhehan, hesitated for a moment, and then took the initiative to say, "Mo Zhehan, thank you for taking me home. I must be very tired from the journey. Why don't you stay in Sanfeng Forest for a couple of days and rest for a while?"

Upon hearing Han Lu's invitation, Mo Zhehan, in a moment of inspiration, completely forgot his previous deep consideration and answered decisively, "Okay."

As soon as he uttered the word, Mo Zhehan regretted it, but faced with such a mandatory question, there was no "no" option in his answer.

The two flew side by side among the many phoenix trees in the Sanfeng Forest.

Han Lu wanted to introduce her family to Mo Zhehan, but found that mentioning her parents felt a bit "strange". In the end, she decided to introduce her younger brother, Feng Hong, to Mo Zhehan first.

This was indeed a good starting point, saving the two, who were also somewhat impulsive, from a lot of embarrassment.

The two chatted a lot about Han Lu's younger brother, and both of them felt much more relaxed, unlike when they had just extended and accepted the invitation.

Han Lu had flown for less than a hundred breaths when the phoenixes on their daily guard duty spotted her arrival.

A phoenix at the Transformation Realm approached Han Lu and greeted her, "Young Miss."

Because Han Lu is the daughter of the patriarch of the Illusion Phoenix Clan, many phoenixes in the Three Phoenix Forest who are not familiar with Han Lu, especially the Illusion Phoenixes, call Han Lu Miss.

Han Lu happened to recognize the phoenix that came up to greet her, and she politely replied, "Uncle Jiu, it's been a long time."

"Uncle" is just a polite way of addressing someone; it doesn't mean that the phoenix is ​​actually Han Lu's uncle.

Feng Jiu smiled and said, "If the clan leader knew that the young lady had returned home, he would be overjoyed."

"Young Miss, who is this...?" Sensing the true spirit aura emanating from Mo Zhehan, Feng Jiu couldn't immediately tell that Mo Zhehan was Zhulong.

Although the relationship between dragons and phoenixes in the wilderness is not irreconcilable, it is still quite ordinary, with only occasional interactions. To avoid misunderstandings, Han Lu quickly introduced, "Mo Zhehan, a friend I met in the Dayu Dynasty, possesses the bloodline of the Candle Dragon. He was the one who escorted me back this time."

"I was thinking of letting them stay in the woods for a few days to show hospitality. I don't think that would be against the rules."

“Of course it doesn’t violate the rules,” Feng Jiu said, thanking Mo Zhehan. “Thank you for helping to escort Miss home, Fellow Daoist Mo. Please don’t stand on ceremony while I stay in the Three Phoenix Forest these past few days.”

Mo Zhehan smiled ingratiatingly, but upon seeing Feng Jiu, he couldn't help but become nervous again.

Because Sanfeng Forest is relatively close to the Great Yu Dynasty, there are not many stubborn phoenixes there. Most of the rules left over from the True Spirit Era have been abolished. It is not too strange for dragons or other alien races to stay overnight in Sanfeng Forest because they are friends with the phoenixes.

After exchanging a brief greeting, Feng Jiu returned to her post, while Mo Zhehan continued to follow Han Lu deeper into the Phoenix Perch Forest.

A few minutes later, the two passed by a dilapidated wooden house, which Han Lu knew very well.

Han Lu didn't greet Venerable Hu Deng, who had already adapted to the monotonous life in the Three Phoenix Forest, or offer any victorious remarks. She simply glanced at him silently and pretended nothing had happened.

Mo Zhehan, however, noticed the unusual nature of the wooden house and realized that Venerable Hudeng, whose strength was no different from that of an ordinary person and who lived there, was not a true spirit.

"How come there are still mortals living here?"

Han Lu could only whisper about her grudges with Venerable Pot Lamp since her father's generation, roughly recounting this revenge story that didn't actually have much logic.

Mo Zhehan sighed, lamenting, "Many times, trouble comes knocking on our door."

As they spoke, led by Han Lu, the two arrived at the core area of ​​Sanfeng Forest.

A flock of fledglings flew in from afar, just as they were finishing their school day.

Upon seeing Han Lu, these young talents immediately surrounded her, calling her "Sister Han" affectionately.

Han Lu once showed off her skills to this generation of young talents, and coupled with her unique surname, the young talents called her that way.

Han Lu naturally prepared gifts for all of Feng Hong's classmates.

After distributing the gifts, Han Lu inquired about Feng Hong's whereabouts.

"Feng Hong? He's been kept after school."

Leaving behind a message, the fledglings flew away happily to play on their own.

"Huh?" Han Lu whispered, "What's wrong? Is it because you're not practicing diligently?"

Thinking back to the promise Feng Hong made when she left, Han Lu felt it was somewhat unbelievable.

“Perhaps it’s from a different period,” Mo Zhehan said. “Why don’t we just go and take a look?”

"Aren't you going to stay here for now?"

“No rush, no rush,” Mo Zhehan said. “I’m fine with staying anywhere.”

After saying that, Mo Zhehan shamelessly added in his mind, "It would be even better if we could live together."

Han Lu was unaware of Mo Zhehan's true feelings. Concerned about her younger brother's situation, she didn't even bother to greet her parents before hurriedly leading Mo Zhehan towards the orphanage in the Three Phoenix Forest.

Chapter 946 Early Love

There's a reason why Mo Zhehan is so concerned about Han Lu's younger brother, Feng Hong.

After careful consideration, he realized that if he only stayed in Sanfeng Forest for two days, the probability of encountering Han Lu's parents was actually not high.

After all, Feng You and Feng Rubing are both True Spirits with cultivation comparable to the late Nascent Soul stage. They spend nearly four-fifths of the year cultivating, so even when their daughter comes home, they are usually unable to "wake up" and meet her immediately.

Naturally, he is very unlikely to meet his future in-laws this time.

Compared to his highly accomplished in-laws, Mo Zhehan was convinced that Han Lu's younger brother was someone who was "easily fooled."

In the next two days, if you can present Feng Hong with a handsome, dashing, tall, and mighty image, you'll achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Kids often show off things to their parents that they don't know or understand, and naturally, Mo Zhehan's name will be mentioned at those times.

Then there would be a brother-in-law who would whisper in Mo Zhehan's ear beforehand, helping him leave a good impression on his parents-in-law.

With such a positive first impression, Mo Zhehan can naturally achieve his goals with a little more effort.

With this in mind, Mo Zhehan was determined to show off his skills in front of his brother-in-law, and ideally, make this brother-in-law, who was quite favored by Han Lu, regard him as the first choice for "brother-in-law" as soon as possible.

Han Lu and Mo Zhehan arrived at the nursery in Sanfeng Forest and, sure enough, found Feng Hong there.

At this moment, Feng Hong was being scolded in the nursery's classroom with her head down.

Beside him, there was a fledgling phoenix, equally timid and obedient, receiving admonitions.

Han Lu noticed that the phoenix next to Feng Hong was a female fledgling phoenix.

With such a combination, even before Feng Xi's disciplining voice, who was in charge of the nursery, reached her ears, she couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.

"Could it be that Feng Hong is in a relationship too early? That's not good."

Just as early romantic relationships can affect a student's studies, a purebred phoenix that falls in love too early after reaching the Transformation Realm will also have its cultivation affected.

However, unlike students, their studies are affected by being distracted and wasting time in romantic relationships.

Phoenixes fall in love too early because the relationship develops to a point of "negative distance," causing their vital essence to leak out prematurely, which hinders their cultivation.

To prevent young phoenixes of the opposite sex from prematurely tasting forbidden fruit and leaking their essence, the phoenix clan strictly enforces the rules regarding early romantic relationships.

However, the feelings between men and women cannot be explained in just a few words.

Even so, many fledgling phoenixes still try to "enjoy themselves" early on, directly cutting off their chance of eventually advancing to a level comparable to the Nascent Soul stage.

Thinking of this, Han Lu quickened her pace and activated a simple secret technique to enhance her five senses, improving her hearing, in order to find out if Feng Hong had indeed boarded the ship of love early on, just as she had guessed.

When they moved a little closer, about a hundred meters away from the childcare center, Feng Xi's words drifted into Han Lu and Mo Zhehan's ears on the wind.

Mo Zhehan didn't understand the Phoenix Language, so naturally he couldn't understand a single word.

Han Lu had no interest in helping with the translation; she was focused on eavesdropping.

Through these reprimanding words carried by the wind, Han Lu's guess was 80% confirmed.

Feng Xi, who was in charge of educating the many young phoenixes in the nursery, did discover the budding romance between Feng Hong and a female young phoenix. That's why she immediately tried to persuade him with reason and emotion, hoping to extinguish the small flame of love and prevent the son of the Phoenix Clan Chief from ending up with a bleak future.

Seeing Feng Xi, who had transformed into human form, scolding Feng Hong with an agitated expression and vehement words, Mo Zhehan was quite anxious. Only when Feng Xi had paused for a moment did he hurriedly speak up and quietly ask Han Lu what had happened.

“Feng Hong is in a relationship. The female phoenix next to him is his lover.”

Han Lu said this with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Clearly, she believed that Feng Hong's actions violated his promise to her and showed that he had not taken the matter of cultivating properly to heart at all.

Mo Zhehan is also a true spirit, so he naturally knows some of the "strange rules" among true spirits.

Hearing that Feng Hong had a partner at such a young age, he naturally understood why he was kept after school and reprimanded.

Mo Zhehan thought to himself, "I haven't even confirmed my relationship with Han Lu yet, and this underage brother-in-law already has a girlfriend? That's really amazing."

He naturally wouldn't say what he really thought.

Mo Zhehan said, "This is no small matter. It could affect your future cultivation. Han Lu, as your older sister, you have to discipline her properly."

Han Lu said irritably, "How do I discipline him? Am I supposed to go and tell my brother to keep his penis under control and not poke around indiscriminately? Or am I supposed to lecture him like Aunt Feng Xi did?"

“Look at Feng Hong’s expression right now,” Han Lu said, gesturing with her lips. “He’s not listening at all.”

At this moment, Feng Hong lowered his head, seemingly listening attentively to the reprimand, but in fact, he had a smile on his lips and was exchanging glances with his "lover," clearly conveying affection through their eyes, and did not take Feng Xi's earnest teachings seriously at all.

"However, if your parents get involved in this kind of thing, it will only incite your younger brother's rebellious emotions and may backfire."

“You, as the older sister, are the most suitable to step forward and play the good guy who looks like the villain,” Mo Zhehan analyzed.

Han Lu thought there was some truth to what he said, "But how should I educate him?"

Mo Zhehan suddenly had an idea and asked, "Can your brother speak human language?"

These words sound harsh, but they were really just asking if Feng Hong could understand them and whether he could speak the human language.

Han Lu nodded, "Of course, no problem."

Mo Zhehan confidently declared, "Leave it to me. I'll teach him a lesson and make sure he gives up the idea of ​​falling in love before reaching the Transformation Realm."

"Are you sure you can do it?" Han Lu knew all too well what a clueless lover Mo Zhehan had been. "I don't really believe it."