The Long Journey to Immortality

While it may not be as grand as the inner treasury of the Zhengyi Sect, the variety of magical treasures here is far greater.

After searching for about fifteen minutes in "Fairy Treasure Mountain," Han Lu finally found a pair of puppets she liked.

These puppets are of second-grade magical artifact quality, and they are shaped like a boy and a girl who are seven or eight years old.

The boy and girl are both very cute, unlike other puppets which have grotesque faces. They are pleasing to the eye and make people like them.

"Giving this gift also subtly carries the wish for early birth of a son and a daughter... It's quite appropriate."

The intention behind choosing this magical artifact called "Twin Puppets" was obvious, and the Bitter Tea Hermit immediately guessed Han Lu's purpose.

It wasn't stated directly, but the hermit of bitter tea was happy that his son and daughter-in-law had such a good friend.

Before parting, Han Lu once again urged the hermit of bitter tea not to reveal her whereabouts.

After the hermit of bitter tea repeatedly assured her, Han Lu used her illusion magic again to conceal her whereabouts and quietly leave.

In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed.

After quietly cultivating in the inn for six and a half days, checking the invitations and the simply wrapped puppet gifts in his storage bag to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything important, he headed to the venue for today's wedding banquet right on time.

Of course, Han Lu didn't forget to change the style of her phoenix feather dress before leaving.

Only after changing into a gorgeous gown that she wouldn't normally wear does she look like a proper guest attending a wedding banquet.

The wedding banquet had not yet begun, but the banquet outside the hall had already been set up in the early hours of the morning.

The banquet was divided into two sections: one for ordinary people and one for monks.

Faced with delicious food and fine wine, almost all the mortals living on the Dragon Head Islands came to dine.

The cultivators were somewhat reserved, but still more than a thousand of them joined the grand event.

Flying low over the chaotic crowd, Han Lu spotted Wen Erya and Kong Qiaosheng standing at the entrance of the hall, greeting guests as best man and maid of honor.

It had been almost twenty years since they last met, and Kong Qiaosheng had already advanced to the Golden Core realm.

Although he was already married and had children, as Lü Zhi's best friend, he was still honored to serve as the best man.

The groomsmen and bridesmaids have very simple tasks before the wedding banquet begins: checking invitations and maintaining order at the entrances and exits.

"This...this is not the custom in the Central Plains."

Wedding customs in the East China Sea differ from those in the Central Plains, which caused Han Lu's plan to surprise her friend to fall through.

Slightly annoyed, Han Lu did not intend to sneak into the venue by other means.

After all, doing so might trigger the arrays and restrictions set up around the hall, potentially ruining a friend's wedding.

Han Lu didn't want to do something wrong with her good intentions.

Left with no other option, Han Lu took out the invitation from her storage bag and walked toward Wen Erya and Kong Qiaosheng, who were standing at the entrance of the hall.

It did not make its debut in a bizarre or quirky way.

Han Lu simply walked up and greeted Wen Erya, who had just finished greeting other guests and was facing away from her.

She said, "Senior sister, I'm here."

Chapter 1031 Repaying Kindness

Returning the greeting with clasped hands, the Venerable Lingjiu thanked him again, saying, "My recovery is all thanks to the help of Fairy Zhenfeng."

"I am disturbing you today for two reasons, firstly, to express my gratitude for Fairy Zhenfeng's help."

"Secondly, it's to discuss the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault with the fairy again."

Hearing this, Han Lu perked up and asked, "Didn't you two successfully enter the treasure vault? Are there still resources or magical treasures inside that you two haven't taken?"

The Slaughtering Venerable continued, "Not only that, in fact..."

The Slaughter Venerable told Han Lu about what happened after he parted ways with his senior brother, Mo Zhehan, and Han Lu that day.

To avoid being followed, the two took a detour for nearly half an hour after parting ways with Han Lu and the other person before heading straight for the location of the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault.

Just as Kong Qiaosheng later guessed.

Nearly 80,000 years have passed, and the world has changed dramatically. The Dragon and Phoenix Treasure House has long since sunk to the bottom of the sea along with the island.

The Slaughtering Venerable found a possible location for the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault in a book, which led him to search for it at sea and eventually find the vault containing countless treasures.

With the blood provided by Han Lu and Mo Zhehan, the Slaughtering Venerable, who was attempting to enter the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault for the second time, successfully opened the treasure vault's gate and entered with the Coffin Venerable.

What he didn't expect was...

The treasure vault is protected by far more than just this one layer of restrictions.

Although the door has been opened, the various resources hidden in the treasure vault still require the bloodline of dragons and phoenixes or other means that only the true spirits of dragons and phoenixes can use to break the restrictions and retrieve the treasures.

Thus, the Slaughtering Venerable, who had finally managed to enter the treasure vault, became an unlucky fellow who entered a mountain of treasures but could not get a single penny.

The remaining dragon and phoenix blood he held was barely enough to break through another restriction and retrieve some more resources or magical artifacts.

Fortunately, Venerable Slaughter's purpose in searching for the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault was clear: to find a good medicine to cure his senior brother, Venerable Lingjiu.

Therefore, he spent the last of his dragon and phoenix blood on a restriction protecting a pill called "Soul-Clearing Pill".

The Soul-Clearing Pill is one of the few pills from the ancient cultivation era that can break most spells and supernatural powers that confuse the mind.

Based on this, the Venerable Slaughter judged that this kind of elixir might be helpful for his senior brother, the Venerable Lingjiu's, condition.

There was enough blood to just break the seal.

After the nine Soul-Clearing Pills were given to the Spirit Coffin Master in three doses, this cultivator, who had suffered a mental breakdown and confused consciousness due to a mishap in his cultivation, finally returned to normal after a hundred years.

The mission was accomplished, but the vast treasures in the vault still made the Slaughtering Venerable, who had spent a large sum of spirit stones to cure his senior brother's ailment, envious.

Over the years, he and his senior brother, Venerable Lingjiu, have spent a considerable amount of time traveling to the east of the East China Sea to seek a dragon and phoenix for cooperation.

Unfortunately, he couldn't find another "good phoenix" like Han Lu, which caused him some trouble, difficulties, and even injuries.

This series of setbacks led the Slaughtering Venerable to believe that it was the will of Heaven to stop his greed from growing further, so he simply chose to give up. Taking advantage of the wedding of Lu Zhi, the young master of the Immortal Pavilion, he came to the wedding site to wait for Han Lu, thinking of returning the opportunity that should belong to Han Lu to her.

Han Lu was caught off guard by this generous gift.

"Is this true? I don't need to pay any price?"

Master Lingjiu readily agreed, “Of course not. In my and my junior brother’s opinion, this treasure vault should rightfully belong to you and Mo Qiongzi.”

"But... why isn't Fellow Daoist Mo Qiong here today? Aren't you good friends with him?"

Han Lu explained, "Fellow Daoist Mo Qiong is from the Great Yu Dynasty. Although he is my friend, he is not familiar with the two cultivators attending the wedding today, so he was not invited."

Nodding slightly, Master Lingjiu overlooked this minor flaw, "Then telling Fairy Zhenfeng alone shouldn't be a big problem, since entering the treasure vault requires the combined power of the dragon and phoenix."

"I imagine that if we were to enter the treasure vault in the future, Fairy Zhenfeng would definitely travel with Mo Qiongzi."

"Then my junior brother and I have done a good deed in accordance with the will of Heaven."

Han Lu, whose relationship with Mo Zhehan is currently quite complicated, did not refute this statement, but rather thought it made a lot of sense.

"Indeed, those two fellow Daoists, the location of the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault is..."

The most crucial part is certainly not explained through direct dialogue.

The Slaughtering Venerable presented a jade tablet and gave Han Lu a wink.

Han Lu understood; the map of the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault's location was inside this jade tablet.

After receiving the jade pendant, Han Lu calmly and carefully examined it.

After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the jade pendant, she did not check it immediately, but instead put it directly into her storage bag.

Han Lu smiled and explained to the Slaughtering Venerable and the Coffin Venerable, "The wedding is about to begin, and I don't want to be distracted by the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault during my friend's wedding."

Upon hearing this, Venerable Lingjiu laughed heartily, “I understand, I understand. More than a decade ago, my junior brother and I were indeed full of ideas about the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Trove.”

The Slaughtering Venerable added, "Having seen the many treasures stored inside, how could one not be captivated and unable to forget them?"

"I admire the composure of the True Phoenix Fairy..."

As he spoke, the Slaughtering Venerable took out a wine cup from his storage bag and beckoned a servant to refill it.

The Venerable Lingjiu then took out a wine jar.

Two late-stage Golden Core cultivators toasted her, and Han Lu quickly finished the tea in her jade cup and asked the servant to refill it.

"Thank you for your great kindness, Fairy Zhenfeng. May you achieve success in your cultivation and reach the Nascent Soul stage soon." The toast from Venerable Slaughter was very simple.

Compared to his junior brother, the tall and imposing Venerable Lingjiu, who was also quite forthright in his actions, used more refined language.

However, the content is the same old thing in a new guise, still revolving around the matter of cultivation.

Han Lu thanked them one by one and clinked glasses with the two.

The Slaughtering Venerable and the Coffin Venerable then took the initiative to find an excuse to leave, regarding drinking this cup of wine as the final step in "repaying the debt of gratitude."

Back in her seat, smacking her lips, Han Lu savored the taste of the spirit wine while pondering how to bring up the matter with Mo Zhehan, and when she should try to explore the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault with him.

Just then, another acquaintance came to visit.

A cultivator dressed in a robe different from those of the Central Plains and the East Sea strode over to Han Lu's table, picked up a teacup that was already on the table, and gulped down some tea.

After putting down his teacup, the monk, who had arrived in a hurry, noticed Han Lu sitting quietly at the table, watching him.

"Han Lu?! What brings you here?" Xiao Ran asked in surprise.

Han Lu seized on the loophole in Xiao Ran's words and joked, "What, I have an invitation, can't I come?"

Chapter 1032 Reunion with Xiao Ran

“Of course, what I mean is…” Xiao Ran filled in the gaps, “What I mean is, Han Lu, why are you back?”

“I remember you told me that you would stay in this wilderness for at least thirty years, and it’s only been a little over twenty years.”

"What's wrong? Has something happened in the wilderness? Or is there some other urgent matter?"

When Xiao Ran saw Han Lu, he was not as calm and composed as before; instead, he seemed a little guilty.

Xiao Ran couldn't explain this strange feeling, nor was he willing to try to explain it based on his own deductions.

Faced with her friend's concern, Han Lu didn't think much of it and said with a smile, "I just came back because I knew Yi Qiyan and Lü Zhi were getting married."

"It's a pity that I was delayed on the road, otherwise I would have been able to make it to the wedding banquet in southern Xinjiang."