The Long Journey to Immortality

"Possesses the ability to carry divine memories."

"It is primarily powered by moonlight, but if a large amount of spiritual energy is poured in within a short period of time, it can also be activated and used."

"It's not exactly a powerful magic weapon," Ah Yu, who had seen many good things, finally commented, "but it's very rare. Even I've never seen one before."

After commenting on Han Lu's "Moon Pearl," A Yu darted back into her fishing rod.

"The ability to carry divine memories... is it a magical artifact that actively records memories?" Han Lu murmured, patting her chest.

Based on the information he already knew, the senior said, "It seems that your ancestor Feng Jiao must have recorded this information on her own initiative, so that future generations could refer to it."

“In that case, there must be some particularly important information hidden inside,” Senior Zhen deduced logically. “Perhaps, there might even be some earth-shattering secret.”

Senior's deduction is somewhat far-fetched, but it is not without reason.

Han Lu nodded slightly and said, "Although I can't think of any major events I could experience in the Moon Pearl and gain any opportunities or insights from them, it is still quite necessary to read through the memories left by Senior Feng Jiao completely."

Recalling the information she had found in the family genealogy, Han Lu had a very uncertain guess in her mind: "Perhaps it was because Senior Feng Jiao suffered some accusations and injustices that she could not defend herself, so she stored her memories in the Moon Pearl, hoping that her descendants would seek justice for her?"

But upon closer examination, Han Lu felt that the possibility of this conjecture was too low. "Feng Jiao is, after all, the patriarch of the Huanfeng clan, a person whose word is law. Even if she married into a foreign clan during that time of mental constraints, she shouldn't be condemned by thousands and suffer an injustice."

"Maybe it's just a simple desire to record life and leave a trace or mark on the human world for my pre-ascension self."

The latter hypothesis is more likely.

However, the truth will only be revealed after Han Lu finishes watching the remaining memories in the Moon Pearl.

After finishing her two important tasks, Han Lu did not rush to leave. Instead, she sat down comfortably next to Senior Zhen, just like when they first met, and accompanied this Nascent Soul cultivator on fishing.

Like the Six Arts, fishing is a popular leisure activity among many monks.

Forty years later, Han Lu is still a novice in this area, but her performance is much better than the first time.

The senior angler was also very willing to give Han Lu some pointers, treating her as a half-apprentice on the path of fishing.

Their relationship grew even closer, and the two fished together, chatting peacefully in neither too loud nor too soft voices.

Han Lu was curious about Senior Zhen's background, and Senior Zhen also wanted to leave some traces in this world similar to "Moon Pearl Memories" before ascending to immortality.

"Does Senior Zhen have any disciples?" Han Lu started with a rather unintelligent question.

“Of course there is,” Senior Zhen recalled. “Back when I was still in the Golden Core stage, the atmosphere of Golden Core elders in the sect taking on disciples was very strong. Everyone wanted to find a successor for their skills and lineage, and everyone wanted to cultivate a few outstanding disciples to contribute to the sect.”

"I remember when I had the most disciples, I had twenty-seven disciples cultivating under my name."

The senior looked into the distance and recalled events from more than a thousand years ago.

"Given Senior Zhen's understanding of cultivation, he must have cultivated many outstanding disciples," Han Lu asked. "Did any of them eventually advance to the Nascent Soul stage?"

"There is one, who is still serving as a Supreme Elder in the sect," Senior Zhen said with a smile when talking about his prized disciple. "Although he has been stuck in the mid-Nascent Soul stage for almost three hundred years, he still has some chance of advancing to the Divine Transformation stage."

"Although two other disciples also successfully advanced to the Golden Core stage, that was more than a thousand years ago, and they are no longer in this world."

"Han Lu, your disciple Nian Haoge has good aptitude. He has a good chance of catching up with your achievements in the future, and it is not impossible for him to eventually advance to the Nascent Soul stage."

Although he lived in a small world, Senior Zhen still paid close attention to some of the genius disciples in the sect.

Han Lu was like that back then, and Nian Haoge is like that now.

With a sigh, Senior Zhen continued, "Nian Haoge is indeed unfortunate. Born with the Dao Embryo as his foundation, he had no relatives by his side after birth."

"Legend has it that such cultivators are extremely prone to going astray."

"Han Lu, you must teach Nian Haoge more often and make sure she doesn't practice any evil arts or strange techniques, or become a reckless cultivator from the East Sea."

Upon hearing this, Han Lu couldn't help but recall the scene when she saw Nian Haoge again in Donghai. "Yes, I will definitely pay attention."

When Han Lu mentioned the cultivators from the East Sea, she thought of another Nascent Soul cultivator in her sect.

"Senior Zhen, could you tell me about Fairy Piao?"

"What do you want to hear?" Senior Zhen didn't mind muttering a few words about this fellow disciple whose cultivation was similar to his own.

"Let me tell you how Fairy Piao came to Zhengyi Sect from the East Sea," Han Lu casually started a conversation. "I heard about it from Elder Yunmin."

"It's a long story," Senior Zhen said, shaking the willow branch in his hand slightly. "Around the time I advanced to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, Fairy Piao offended several highly skilled cultivators in the East Sea and had to leave her home and come to the Central Plains to make a living."

"Initially, she wanted to join Xuan Yang Valley and become a guest elder there."

"But because the sect leader at the time persuaded her with some good conditions, Fairy Piao finally changed her mind and chose to join the Zhengyi Sect to continue her cultivation."

"It is said that immediately after Fairy Piao advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm, she went to the East Sea to resolve the grudges."

"However, by then, her enemies had long since passed away."

"It was probably around that time that Fairy Piao began to regard herself as a cultivator from the Central Plains, an elder of the Zhengyi Sect."

Chapter 1069 Nascent Soul Cultivation, Making a Firm Decision

Upon hearing Senior Zhen mention this matter, Han Lu couldn't help but laugh and said, "It seems that when it comes to revenge, how high one's cultivation level is is not important; living a long life is the most important thing."

“There is some truth to that,” Senior Zhen said, clearly recalling some of his own experiences, “but it might be more accurate to say that time can heal all wounds.”

"I had a conflict with that Nascent Soul cultivator from Xuan Yang Valley back then, and it wasn't a pleasant one between us."

"But when we met again twenty years ago, we didn't mention the unpleasantness from back then."

"We both wanted to communicate frankly and share our cultivation experiences when we were in the Nascent Soul Realm."

"This is the effect of time."

Upon hearing Senior Zhen mention another Nascent Soul cultivator, Han Lu couldn't help but feel curious, "Senior Zhen, is there only one Nascent Soul cultivator in Xuan Yang Valley?"

“There is only one now,” Senior Zhen said, “who had just advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm a hundred years ago.”

"Under normal circumstances, each sect, north or south, only has one Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. Occasionally, there will be a gap in the number of cultivators, and there will be times when there are none at all."

"Currently, it is extremely rare for the sect to have only two people, myself and Fairy Piao.

The time that Nascent Soul cultivators can spend in the mortal realm is limited, and it cannot be ruled out that some Nascent Soul cultivators may be reckless and selfish.

Those cultivators often stay in the mortal realm for only a hundred years before ascending to immortality.

Naturally, for the two major sects in the North and South, it is the norm for the sect to have only one or no Nascent Soul Realm cultivators in charge.

"Senior Piao is most skilled in swordsmanship? Forty years ago, she came to find me once and gave me some pointers on sword intent." Han Lu said, recalling her only meeting with Fairy Piao forty years ago.

Senior Zhen said, "Back when she was still in the early stage of the Golden Core realm, Fairy Piao's swordsmanship had a unique flavor, which is why the sect spared no effort to recruit her back then."

"However, since you are a disciple of Fang Lin, I imagine that as long as you master Fang Lin's swordsmanship, you will also be able to stand out from the crowd."

Senior Master meant that Han Lu shouldn't be "eating what's in the bowl while eyeing what's in the pot," but rather focus more on one's swordsmanship.

Han Lu nodded slightly, indicating that she understood.

"Please tell me more about the Nascent Soul Realm, Senior Zhen. My mother is currently trying to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm."

"Although she is an ice phoenix and you are a human cultivator, there should still be some things you can learn from each other in terms of cultivation."

Han Lu had mentioned her family background to Senior Zhen during a casual chat, and Senior Zhen was naturally not surprised that Han Lu had a mother with the cultivation level of the late Nascent Soul stage.

Senior Zhen did not deny Han Lu's statement, "Human cultivators must replenish their spiritual roots in order to reach the late Nascent Soul stage."

"For someone like you, who only has a water elemental root, you need to find the other four elements of divine materials and integrate them into your body to make them your own, so that your five elements are complete. Only in this way can you eventually advance to the late stage of the Nascent Soul stage and obtain the qualification to challenge the Divine Transformation stage."

Han Lu listened very attentively, not daring to miss a single word.

"To advance from the late Nascent Soul stage to the Divine Transformation stage, one needs to have a sufficient understanding of the laws of heaven and earth."

"For example, Fairy Piao was able to advance to the Divine Transformation Realm because she reached a certain level of understanding in swordsmanship and gained the approval of the Heavenly Dao."

"As for me, I only have a superficial understanding of space, which is why I was able to advance to the Nascent Soul Realm smoothly."

The words of the senior explained very well why he was able to build a "Shangri-La"-like little world to live in.

"Often, whether a cultivator can advance to the Nascent Soul Realm depends on whether the laws they try to understand are suitable for them," Senior Zhen explained, "just like a novice cultivator practicing a technique."

"Choosing the right cultivation method will make your efforts twice as effective, while choosing an unsuitable method will make your efforts half as effective."

Simply put, Han Lu fully understood and memorized Senior Zhen's words.

After that, the two did not discuss any complicated or profound topics, but simply chatted aimlessly.

Han Lu stayed in Senior Zhen's little world for almost three hours. In the end, she cooked a whole fish feast with the fish she caught before bidding farewell to Senior Zhen.

Before leaving, Senior Zhen told Han Lu that she could come to find her anytime and that she didn't need to worry.

This delighted Han Lu, who immediately promised to visit the Little World more often.

She was very willing to spend more time with this kind senior in the Nascent Soul Realm.

In the blink of an eye, another month has passed.

Han Lu then used the Moon Pearl on a full moon night to experience a story that happened to Feng Jiao.

She didn't find any special opportunities in this historical event; she was simply experiencing the great upheaval from the perspective of an observer, with the mindset of watching the spectacle.

Witnessing the end of the story within the Moon Pearl and successfully carrying on Feng Jiao's memory has become Han Lu's current goal.

As for opportunities that can improve one's cultivation or understanding of the laws of heaven and earth, if you encounter them, great; if not, just let them be.

With winter approaching, the Zhengyi Sect's grand competition, which is of unknown number, is about to begin again.

Having not cultivated or taken on disciples in the sect for some time, Han Lu, a Golden Core cultivator, naturally had a much easier time before the Grand Competition.

Only Qiu Peng still needs her guidance and instruction.

However, Wen Erya was temporarily away from the sect, busy searching for Zhan Yujun's daughter, Guan Feng.

Han Lu also took the initiative to help Wen Erya mentor her apprentices.

Back when Han Lu wasn't in the sect, Wen Erya helped Han Lu manage her disciples quite a bit.

Now that she had finally found a moment when Wen Erya was not around, Han Lu naturally planned to "repay her double" and show her gratitude to her senior sister for all these years.

Wen Erya had quite a few disciples, a total of twelve.

Four of them reached the Foundation Establishment stage, while the other eight were still Qi Refining cultivators.

Even the junior disciples who had become Wen Erya's disciples knew about Han Lu's relationship with Wen Erya.

Therefore, when Han Lu issued paper swords to summon everyone to her place for "last-minute prayers," none of the disciples had any objections and thought it was perfectly normal.

Pre-exam training is one of Han Lu's greatest strengths.

At such times, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to teaching her disciples and put in an even greater effort to help Wen Erya's disciples.