The Long Journey to Immortality

Nearly forty years later, the medicine garden at Zhengyi Gate remains exactly the same as it was in the past.

The medicinal herb garden, which covers nearly a thousand acres, is divided into several areas.

In the twenty larger areas, twenty kinds of spiritual plants that are most common in the cultivation world are planted.

These are all spiritual plants needed for refining the Meridian Opening Pill and the Spirit Gathering Pill, and each type was planted on at least fifty acres of land.

In each area, at least two disciples with a cultivation level of Qi Refining Level 5 or above are responsible for taking care of these spiritual plants every day.

The spiritual liquid produced by the Stealing Heaven Bottle is the source of the Zhengyi Sect's confidence in cultivating so many spiritual plants.

It is precisely because of this mature system of "rapidly ripening" low-level spiritual plants that the Zhengyi Sect was able to grow and thrive, find its own foundation, and become the second largest sect in the Central Plains.

The remaining area is divided into small blocks, some about an acre in size, and others only about a hundred square meters.

The plants grown here are all of a slightly higher quality.

The number planted depends on the value, demand, and difficulty of cultivating these spiritual plants.

The Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus, which was requested by Han Lu and Elder Taicang, is planted among them.

The last area is a row of greenhouses protected by arrays and restrictions.

The crops grown there are all top-quality, rare spiritual plants, personally tended by the Lingzhi Master.

Most of the spiritual plants in these greenhouses are over a thousand years old. They are only used when Nascent Soul or Divine Transformation cultivators in the sect need them.

This trip was not to lead Han Lu and Elder Taicang on a tour of the garden, so Lingzhi Miaoren led the two straight to the area where the Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus was planted.

Having scouted the area well in advance, Elder Taicang's information was entirely accurate.

In the small pond in the Zhengyimen medicinal garden, there are probably nearly three hundred thousand-petaled golden lotus plants.

The oldest of these medicinal plants is only a little over 800 years old, and there are only three of them.

The younger plants, about thirty years old, number nearly a hundred.

After inquiring about the prices one by one, and with the guidance of the ethereal hermit, Elder Taicang finally selected two beautiful Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus plants to purchase.

Elder Taicang felt a pang of pain after paying out a full 50,000 contribution points.

Watching his old friend, who was using his skills to relocate the Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus, Elder Taicang first looked at Han Lu, then at the Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus, and carefully instructed, "Fairy Zhenfeng, this spiritual plant cost me all the contribution points I've earned in the last hundred years. You mustn't waste it."

Han Lu said confidently, "Don't worry, my spiritual liquid is no cheaper than your Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus. I will definitely be serious and careful, and I certainly won't ruin our good deed."

After transplanting the two Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotuses chosen by Elder Taicang, Lingzhi Miaoren said, "Elder Zhenfeng, now we can use the spiritual liquid to accelerate their ripening."

"You can get clean water directly from there. Be careful to control the mixing ratio and the watering rate. Don't rush it."

"By the way, the Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus is aquatic, so the watering needs to be calculated carefully. Getting the proportions wrong will waste a lot of spiritual liquid."

Lingzhi Miaoren was also afraid of seeing Han Lu ruining good things, and felt sorry for her.

Han Lu nodded slightly, recalling the method taught in the jade tablet. She took a few steps and took a bucket of water from a water vat that had been there for who knows how long.

This water is rainwater that has been purified of impurities. In the Zhengyi Sect, it is used to mix with spiritual liquid before irrigating spiritual plants.

Using her magical abilities to carry the bucket, Han Lu used her divine sense to measure the amount of water in the trough where the two Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotuses, which had been moved from the pond, were temporarily residing.

"It is recommended to use a ratio of spiritual liquid to water of one thousand when watering high-grade spiritual plants... therefore..."

Han Lu was quite good at math, and she quickly calculated the approximate mixing ratio.

Using her magic, Han Lu conjured a completely leak-proof ice bucket and poured half of the purified water she had retrieved into it.

Immediately afterwards, she took out the small bottle containing the Heaven-Stealing Bottle's spiritual liquid and used her artifact manipulation skills to separate thirty-five drops from it, mixing them into the clean water in the ice bucket.

The spiritual liquid, which originally emitted a faint glow, lost its "magical appearance" after being mixed with clean water.

Even with her eyesight, Han Lu couldn't tell what was different about the water in the ice bucket.

"Alright, I'm going to water it now."

After muttering something, Han Lu manipulated the ice bucket, pouring the mixed spiritual liquid inside into the water tank where the two Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotuses were located at a very small angle.

The mixed liquid in the ice bucket was mixed again with the clean water in the sink.

As the mixed spiritual liquid in the ice bucket slowly drained away, the one-to-one ratio that Han Lu wanted was finally achieved.

"Nothing happened." Elder Taicang watched from the side, his eyes wide, looking anxious.

Lingzhi Miaoren, who was already used to this scene, remained unfazed, but secretly praised Han Lu's arithmetic skills in her heart.

About ten breaths later, the Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus growing in the water tank finally showed signs of change.

The two golden lotus flowers, which originally had only seven or eight hundred leaves, sprouted countless new leaves in the blink of an eye.

In addition, the lotus leaves, which were already fully grown, gradually turned golden yellow at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Seeing this, Elder Taicang finally breathed a sigh of relief and secretly cheered.

After a hundred breaths, the medicinal plant, which was originally over eight hundred years old, had suddenly gained over a hundred years of age.

The thousands of lotus leaves are golden, making it clear to anyone who looks at them that this spiritual plant must be extraordinary.

Seeing this, the shrewd Lingzhi hermit quickly picked the thousand-petaled golden lotus, which was already a thousand years old, to prevent it from continuing to absorb the "spiritual elixir" in the water tank and hindering the growth of another similar plant that was not yet fully grown.

Because Han Lu's calculations were perfect, the medicinal effects of the mixed elixir were completely exhausted after the Lingzhi Wonderful Man picked a golden lotus.

Another golden lotus remained at the age of over nine hundred years, its rapid growth coming to an abrupt halt.

"Okay, let's continue," Han Lu murmured, cheering herself on.

Using the same trick again, this time Han Lu took less purified water and only ten drops of spiritual liquid.

Mix again and repeat the previous steps.

Soon, another Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus, which was only over seven hundred years old, also matured completely under Han Lu's care.

After being simply tended to by the sage Lingzhi, the two golden lotuses were delivered to Han Lu and Elder Taicang respectively.

Holding the golden lotus in both hands, Elder Taicang quickly put it into his storage bag before repeatedly expressing his gratitude, feeling grateful for the stroke of luck he had encountered today.

Unlike Elder Taicang, Han Lu was not as careful. She held the golden lotus and looked at it for a long time before putting it away.

"Thank you for your help, Elder Lingzhi." Han Lu pondered for a moment, then took out three Yellow Dragon Pills as a token of her gratitude.

Upon seeing that it was Huanglong Dan, Lingzhi Miaoren did not stand on ceremony.

After accepting the pills, he also gave Han Lu a few pointers, teaching her the techniques for taking the Thousand-Leaf Golden Lotus to ensure that the hard-earned Ganoderma lucidum would exert its full medicinal effect.

Chapter 1024 Taking Medicine, A Myriad of Life in the Southern Dynasties

Han Lu sat upright on a Dharma seat, silently circulating her cultivation technique, drawing patterns on the surface of the golden elixir.

It was slightly different from my usual practice.

This time, in addition to taking the Yellow Dragon Pill, which is beneficial for Golden Core cultivators, she also held a Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus leaf in her mouth.

The medicinal properties of the Thousand-Petaled Golden Lotus come from its thousands of golden leaves.

When a Golden Core cultivator is cultivating, they only need to hold a golden leaf in their mouth and infuse it with spiritual power to activate its medicinal properties. This will help the cultivator strengthen their Golden Core during cultivation, thus laying a good foundation for reaching the Nascent Soul stage and undergoing tribulation.

With the help of Han Lu's spiritual power, a golden leaf no bigger than a thumbnail turned into a golden liquid, flowing down Han Lu's esophagus into her abdomen, and finally seeping into her dantian, gathering on the surface of her golden core.

The golden liquid flowed and rolled smoothly on the surface of the golden pill.

The liquid enveloping Han Lu's golden core, along with each stroke of her brush as she drew the core's patterns, seeped into the core, slowly nourishing it and exerting its "expensive" medicinal effects.

After only forty-nine strokes, the liquid produced by the golden leaf was completely consumed and merged into the golden elixir.

Before drawing the cinnabar pattern again, Han Lu temporarily broke out of her meditative state and took another golden leaf before continuing.

Two golden leaves were used up in one cultivation session, but Han Lu could already vaguely sense the changes in the golden core in her dantian under the influence of the Thousand-Leaf Golden Lotus.

She believed that once all the thousand golden leaves on the golden lotus were used up, she would be able to lay a solid foundation for the future by the middle stage of the Golden Core realm.

Han Lu always plans ahead and prepares in advance, which is one of the reasons why she has been able to progress so smoothly on her second journey of cultivation.

After practicing at home for a day, Han Lu left the sect once again.

Before heading to the East China Sea for a surprise attack and attending the wedding banquet, there was one more place she needed to visit.

Starting from Zhengyi Gate, Han Lu flew for about half an hour before arriving at the capital of the Southern Dynasty.

Having not set foot in the mortal world of the Central Plains for nearly twenty years, the great changes that had taken place in the capital caught Han Lu's eye.

"This street has been completely renovated, using cement and soil mixed according to the proportions described in 'Common Sense,' making it smooth and solid to walk on, and vehicles can drive much more smoothly on it..."

"The city is much cleaner than before," Han Lu said, probing underground with her divine sense. She understood the reason for this. "A simple underground sewage discharge network has been built. No wonder the environment is so clean and hygienic."

At the end of every street in the capital, there was a simple public toilet managed by a dedicated person, which was one of the reasons why excrement and urine were no longer in the public eye.

However, compared to these localized changes, the biggest change that Han Lu noticed was that the buildings in the imperial city had become "taller".

Originally, because there was a lack of good timber for building houses near the capital of the Southern Dynasty, most buildings in the city, except for the palace and city walls, did not exceed three stories.

The only buildings that are more than 15 or 16 meters above the ground are a few towers built by monks.

However, nowadays, many multi-story buildings constructed using new technologies and materials have appeared in cities.

Han Lu could see quite a few of the nearly 30-meter-high buildings.

Han Lu estimated that if it weren't for the existence of the imperial palace as a "landmark," perhaps a building fifty or sixty meters high would have been successfully built with the help of cultivators and would stand tall among the new buildings in the Southern Dynasty's imperial city.

"Such a large-scale operation must be fueled by government forces. It seems that Empress Wenqing has begun to implement her grand plan."

Based on what she saw, Han Lu judged that her and Wen Erya's choices back then were probably not wrong.

But whether it's really as she thinks, she still needs to make a trip in person to meet Wen Qing, listen to her report, and find out what policies and orders Wen Qing has issued over the years and what results they have achieved.

In order to ensure that she was not completely unaware of the true situation when receiving reports, Han Lu took advantage of the daytime to conduct secret investigations throughout the imperial city.

Although she had already reached the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, Han Lu was still quite cautious when traveling in the mortal world. Just like when she helped Wen Erya choose the heir to the throne, she visited various places in a very low-key manner.

Listening to tea drinkers discuss politics in a teahouse.

Listen to whether Wenqing has suppressed free speech or implemented any high-pressure policies such as "don't talk about state affairs".

Listen to whether there are still any chaotic phenomena in ordinary people's lives, and whether grassroots officials can truly govern the grassroots in an orderly manner after the reforms, as Wen Qing promised back then.

Visit the shops along the street and inquire about their income and profits.

Let's examine whether the fundamental factors determining national development and social stability are truly as prosperous and upward-looking as they appear on the surface.

Finally, Han Lu also tried to find the so-called "slums" in the capital, to observe the lives of the poor from a perspective that was not condescending, and to see the big picture from the small details, so as to know whether the warmth was really as promised back then, and to bring a happy life to every ordinary person in the Southern Dynasty.