The Long Journey to Immortality

Upon seeing that it was Han Lu, Elder Taicang was somewhat surprised that Qingxu Daoist had revealed to Han Lu that he knew nothing about his whereabouts.

“It is… Elder Zhenfeng,” Elder Taicang recognized Han Lu and returned the greeting with a cupped hand. “Elder Zhenfeng did not return to the Wilderness. I heard from the sect leader that you would not return for more than ten years. I did not expect to see Elder Zhenfeng here today.”

The fact that a sect elder has been away from the sect for an extended period of time does not need to be deliberately spread; it will naturally be known to the other elders.

An elder as renowned as Han Lu naturally attracts a lot of attention with her every move.

Back then, almost the moment Han Lu returned home, Elder Qi learned of her departure.

Han Lu raised her hand and used her magical artifact manipulation technique to "pull" another chair from a short distance away to her side.

"Elder Taicang, please sit down," Han Lu gestured for him to sit before taking her seat. "I returned to the sect early mainly to advance to the late stage of the Golden Core realm."

"Although there are many ancient books among the Wild Phoenix Clan, they mainly discuss the cultivation of true spirits."

"If I want to draw this last Dan pattern beautifully, I still need to ask the sect for help."

"So I simply came back ten years early."

Elder Taicang was slightly surprised to hear that Han Lu shared the same goal as him in coming here.

However, what surprised her the most was Han Lu's cultivation speed.

"Drawing the final pill pattern? Elder Zhenfeng, if I remember correctly, you're only a little over a hundred years old, and you're already about to advance to the late Golden Core stage?"

Han Lu replied, "I'm exactly 108 years old this year. Besides a little bit of talent, I've also had some good fortune, but it's nothing to mention."

“As far as I know, no cultivator can match the speed of a fairy,” Elder Taicang exclaimed. “Today, I have truly broadened my horizons.”

Han Lu simply smiled and didn't try to be modest anymore.

Sure enough, before Han Lu could speak, Elder Taicang said, "Elder Zhenfeng, it's perfect timing. I've also been searching for this kind of method and technique. If you don't mind that my cultivation is only average, why don't you let me exchange a few words with you?"

"Elder Taicang is my senior, and his knowledge far surpasses mine. Of course, I would be more than happy to have him."

"Thank you, Elder Taicang."

Elder Taicang smiled and said, "Elder Zhenfeng, you're too kind. We learn from each other and make progress together. I should also thank you."

After exchanging pleasantries, Elder Taicang picked up one of the twenty jade tablets selected by Han Lu and shared his experiences and insights gained from several visits to the library to consult ancient texts.

It must be said that Elder Taicang was a very typical cultivator from the Central Plains.

Although the progress on the path of spiritual cultivation is slow, it is very solid.

Conversing with a cultivator like Elder Taicang about ordinary topics wouldn't yield any extra gains, but Han Lu was able to obtain a lot of useful information when discussing the topic of advancing from the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm to the late-stage—a topic Elder Taicang had been working on for many days.

You say one thing, I say another.

The two elders of the Zhengyi Sect chatted happily, taking in the many classic books in the library.

Although they had only been exchanging ideas for half an hour, Han Lu felt that what she had gained in that half hour was definitely more than what she had learned by studying alone in the library for a hundred days.

In addition to the most direct experience and techniques for drawing the final Dan pattern, Elder Taicang also introduced Han Lu to two kinds of spiritual pills and plants that could assist in drawing the final Dan pattern.

One type of elixir is called "Spirit Dew Elixir," which is made primarily from the morning dew collected from a hundred kinds of spiritual plants.

Taking this kind of pill can help cultivators to allow more spiritual power to penetrate into the golden core through the pill pattern when drawing the final pill pattern, thus playing a nourishing role and increasing the efficiency of the golden core's life form during the later stages of cultivation.

Because the ingredients used in its preparation are unusual and difficult to find, Elder Taicang had only seen a trace of this pill in the old records of the inner treasury.

Another spiritual plant is called "Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus," which is a tonic for strengthening the body and has a direct and obvious effect.

However, only the thousand-petaled golden lotus that is over a thousand years old can provide assistance to cultivators who are about to advance to the late stage of the Golden Core realm.

This kind of spiritual plant is slightly easier to find; it is even grown in the medicine garden of the Zhengyi Sect.

"However, those few thousand-petaled golden lotuses will need another two hundred years to reach the age of a thousand-year-old medicinal plant. Unless I use the spiritual liquid in the Heaven-Stealing Bottle to accelerate their ripening, these spiritual plants in the sect will not be of any help to me."

Elder Taicang conducted a thorough investigation, but due to limited resources, he was unable to acquire either of the two valuable items that would benefit his current cultivation.

Chapter 1022 Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus

Although Elder Taicang had cultivated for three times as long as Han Lu, he had no "background," no connections, and was not a cultivator with outstanding strength, so the accumulation in his storage bag was not much, far less than Han Lu's.

Faced with this lack of resources, Elder Taicang had few options but to hope for a stroke of luck that would allow him to purchase one of the items at a low price, thus increasing his chances of advancing further when he reaches the late stage of the Golden Core realm.

However, what was a problem for Elder Taicang was not a problem for Han Lu.

Although the first item, "Spirit Dew Pill," is rare, she believes she can find it in the East Sea Immortal Pavilion and purchase it with some spirit stones.

It has few uses and the materials used are rather unusual. According to Han Lu's guess, it costs at most a thousand spirit stones per stone, which would not be a burden for her at all.

The second item, "Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus," is available within the sect.

Faced with the problem of insufficient years, Elder Taicang was helpless, but Han Lu had a brilliant solution.

"Speaking of the spiritual liquid from the Heaven-Stealing Bottle," Han Lu carefully chose her words, devising an excellent plan, "Elder Taicang, how about we cooperate?"

Upon hearing Han Lu's words, Elder Taicang said nervously, "Elder Zhenfeng, this Stealing Heaven Bottle cannot be stolen. Even if you and I cooperate, or even if three more fellow Daoists join us, it is impossible to temporarily obtain this item."

Han Lu's eyes widened in surprise. "Elder Taicang, what are you thinking? When did I say I was going to steal the bottle?"

"Could it be that you've ever thought that way? That's a serious crime."

"Oh..." Elder Taicang realized what was happening and said slowly, "It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding, Elder Zhenfeng, please don't misunderstand."

"I misunderstood. I never intended to do such a wicked thing."

"Continue, Elder Zhenfeng, how do you plan to cooperate?"

Elder Taicang tried to hide his embarrassment and steered the conversation back to Han Lu's cooperation plan.

Han Lu was just joking; she didn't think that Elder Taicang, who was known for his uprightness in the sect, would have such an outrageous "suicide" plan.

“This is what I’m thinking,” Han Lu said, “Fellow Daoist Taicang…”

Han Lu changed to a more intimate way of addressing her.

"Fellow Daoist Taicang must have quite a few contribution points. Exchanging them for two seven-petaled golden lotuses that are six or seven hundred years old shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Elder Taicang replied, "Barely."

Elder Taicang has done a lot for the sect in his daily life, and having been a member of the sect for a long time, he has indeed accumulated some "wealth".

“However,” Elder Taicang said, “this Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus is not old enough, so it is of no use to cultivators like you and me who are close to the late stage of the Golden Core realm.”

"Could it be that the True Phoenix Fairy..." Elder Taicang also used a more intimate term, "possesses a considerable amount of Heaven-Stealing Bottle Spirit Liquid?"

“That’s right,” Han Lu said with a smile, taking out a small, palm-sized, slender-necked white porcelain bottle from her storage bag. “There are about a hundred drops in here.”

"I don't know exactly how many years it can make precious spiritual plants mature quickly, but I think it should be more than enough."

"If it's really not enough, I can go to the sect leader to exchange for or buy some. It shouldn't be a problem."

“However…” Han Lu was not very familiar with Elder Taicang. Although she wanted to be a good person, she did not want to be taken advantage of. “This extra part, Fellow Daoist Taicang must bear half of it.”

Hearing Han Lu's somewhat tempting proposal, Elder Taicang fell into thought.

After a moment's consideration, and taking into account the number of spirit stones in his storage bag, Elder Taicang decisively agreed to the cooperation plan that would give him a slight advantage.

According to Han Lu's estimate, she would likely lose about two or three thousand spirit stones in this transaction.

Han Lu felt it was a worthwhile deal to use these few spirit stones to form a good relationship with a promising fellow disciple.

After chatting for a few more minutes, at Elder Taicang's suggestion, the newly proposed plan was put into implementation.

Whether the elixir in Han Lu's hands could bring the two Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotuses, which were six or seven hundred years old, to the level of a thousand years old, the two decided to consult a professional first.

There is a huge medicinal herb garden in the Zhengyi Sect. The elder in charge of managing this medicinal herb garden happens to be an acquaintance of Elder Taicang. Naturally, the professional that Han Lu and Elder Taicang sought out was this fellow disciple.

Having managed the Zhengyi Sect's medicinal garden for over 150 years, this elder of the Zhengyi Sect, who called himself the "Miraculous Man of Lingzhi," naturally knew the effects of the Heaven-Stealing Bottle Elixir perfectly.

Elder Taicang led Han Lu to the medicine garden, which was only a hundred breaths' flight distance from the Five Elements Mountain Academy.

Upon meeting Elder Lingzhi, Elder Taicang first made a token introduction for Han Lu, and after a few casual words, explained the purpose of their visit.

The question was not difficult, and Elder Lingzhi answered it with ease.

"The Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus is not the most top-grade spiritual plant; a single drop of the Heaven-Stealing Bottle's spiritual liquid is enough to accelerate its growth over ten years."

"Although the closer one gets to the threshold of a thousand years, the less effective the spiritual liquid becomes."

“But as you said, to ripen a Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus that is six or seven hundred years old to the age of a thousand, it would probably…” Lingzhi pondered for a moment before giving a precise figure, “It would probably require fifty drops of spiritual liquid.”

Since the experts have said so, the hundred or so drops of spiritual liquid in Han Lu's small bottle should be more than enough for the two of them.

Upon hearing this, Elder Taicang was overjoyed. He looked at Han Lu and smiled, "Fairy Zhenfeng, this is truly a great thing."

Han Lu nodded slightly, equally pleased.

Elder Taicang looked at his acquaintance, Lingzhi Miaoren, and continued, "I would appreciate your help in accelerating the ripening process. With your skill in cultivating spiritual plants, you should be able to help Fairy Han save some of the spiritual liquid consumption."

He had thought that the genius would help, but he never expected that his old friend of over a hundred years would back down on this matter.

"No, no, no, this spiritual liquid is too precious. It sounds like the two of you are going to use a hundred drops of it in one go. If anything goes wrong, I can't afford to compensate you."

Lingzhi Miaoren suggested, "How about this? The spiritual liquid is not difficult to use. I will teach Elder Zhenfeng how to use the spiritual liquid, and you two can use it to water the Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus."

"how?"

Han Lu could understand Lingzhi Miaoren's concerns.

"Is it really that simple?" she asked.

Lingzhi Miaoren said, "Of course, disciples who help take care of the spiritual plants here only need a quarter of an hour to master the skill of using diluted spiritual liquid to irrigate spiritual herbs and flowers."

"With Elder Zhenfeng's wisdom, there's definitely no problem."

Upon hearing this, Han Lu no longer hesitated and said, "Okay, then I'll do it."

Lingzhi Miaoren then handed a token to Han Lu.

Just as the genie said, the method of using the spiritual liquid was very simple, and Han Lu mastered it in an instant.

Immediately afterwards, Elder Taicang, who was in charge of spending "contribution points" to purchase spiritual plants, went with Lingzhi Miaoren to the medicine garden to select "Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus".

Han Lu followed closely behind.

Everything was proceeding smoothly according to Han Lu's plan.

Chapter 1023 Golden Lotus Formation

This is Han Lu's second visit to the herb garden.