The Long Journey to Immortality

With her love life going smoothly, Wen Er Ya's face was radiant, and she only hoped to witness one of her apprentices lift the trophy in this competition.

That evening, Daoist Qingxu distributed paper swords and summoned seven cultivators from his sect to discuss how to deal with this malevolent phoenix lurking in the darkness.

As one of the insiders, Han Lu was naturally among those invited.

Chapter 1086 The Hermit of Xinshan, A Heavy Responsibility

Including Han Lu and Qingxu Daoist, there were a total of eight Zhengyi Sect elders gathered in a secret room in the Five Elements Mountain Academy on this day.

The elders of the Zhengyi Sect who were invited to discuss this matter were naturally the backbone and core members of the sect.

They are either skilled cultivators like Han Lu, or former high-ranking officials like Xuan Chengzi.

Arriving a quarter of an hour early to enter the secret room, Han Lu discovered that among the other seven people, there were quite a few familiar cultivators.

Yunmin Daoist, Xuanchengzi, and Xianyu Ji were all among those invited. They were all fellow Daoists who were familiar with Han Lu and could talk to her.

Of the other three, two had interacted with Han Lu during the competition and could barely be considered nodding acquaintances.

There was only one elder who looked to be no more than two or three hundred years old and had a late-stage Golden Core cultivation level. Han Lu had never seen him before and did not know his background.

However, with so many familiar faces present, this issue...

After a moment's thought, Han Lu finally chose to send a telepathic message to Xuan Chengzi rather than to Yun Min Daoist.

"Wenshan," Han Lu asked telepathically, "what is the name of the elder sitting to your right?"

“It’s normal that you don’t recognize this fellow Daoist Han Lu beside me,” Xuan Chengzi said, not surprised that Han Lu didn’t recognize the cultivator beside him. He introduced him to Han Lu through telepathy, “He calls himself Xinshan Jushi and is an elder of Nanshan Academy. His favorite thing to do is to cultivate in seclusion and he doesn’t care much about the affairs of the sect.”

"He doesn't like to participate in the sect's public activities on a regular basis, and he only shows up occasionally, even during the grand competition."

"It's quite a coincidence. During the last competition, one of Elder Xinshan's disciples was a strong contender for the championship. He was watching the competition from the viewing platform, and it just so happened that you were in the Wilderness."

"You've been in and out of the sect by mistake, which is why you haven't gotten to know him all these years."

Han Lu received the telepathic message and nodded slightly, "No wonder I've never seen Elder Xinshan in the sect before."

Han Lu labeled Xinshan Jushi as a "traditional monk".

Immediately afterwards, Han Lu asked telepathically, "Judging from Elder Xinshan's aura, he must be close to the Nascent Soul Realm."

Xuan Chengzi replied, "That's right. According to Elder Xinshan himself, he can try to transcend the tribulation in at most five years."

"That's why he's not enthusiastic about sect affairs, but he still accepted the invitation to come today."

Han Lu joked, "No wonder Elder Xinshan looks so tired and exhausted, showing no concern for this matter."

Just then, Layman Xinshan let out a big yawn, completely unlike what a Golden Core cultivator should look like.

As the former sect leader of the Zhengyi Sect, Xuan Chengzi naturally preferred cultivators in the sect who were enthusiastic about sect affairs, and his evaluation of Xinshan Jushi was generally mediocre.

Han Lu complained, and he echoed without hesitation, "Yeah, I guess Elder Xinshan's visit is just a formality. If there are any trivial matters to arrange, we'll still have to rely on you and the others."

"By the way, Han Lu, I saw you running around during the competition today. I suppose you already know what we're here to discuss. Tell me a little bit about it."

Although Xuan Chengzi was the first elder to enter the secret chamber, he was unaware of the perilous situation that was unfolding today.

Han Lu was about to answer, but noticed that Daoist Qingxu was about to speak, so she simply transmitted her voice, "The matter is a bit complicated. Sect Master Qingxu is about to speak, so it would be more appropriate for him to explain it."

Han Lu's words were clear, and Xuan Chengzi naturally understood what she meant. He stopped asking questions and patiently waited for Qingxu Daoist to reveal the answer.

Seeing that everyone had arrived by the deadline, Daoist Qingxu didn't waste any time and got straight to the point.

"During today's grand competition..."

Qingxu Daoist briefly described Han Lu's discovery during the competition, emphasizing the two's conjectures about the matter, and sought advice and opinions from the crowd.

"Everyone, please feel free to speak your mind," Qingxu Daoist said at the end, hoping that the other elders present could offer some constructive suggestions.

However, having just learned of such a major event, even the most astute elder was unable to give an immediate response.

A brief silence fell over the secret room. Finally, Qingxu Daoist called out Han Lu's name, "Han Lu, you witnessed this matter firsthand and provided so much information. Half a day has passed. Do you have any new thoughts?"

Han Lu sat up slightly and replied, "I do have some ideas..."

“I think we must send someone to Xuanxuan Village. It’s the only valid intelligence we have right now. If we go there, we might find some clues left by that phantom phoenix that may have come from the Eastern Land.”

"If we don't find what we're looking for there, then it will be quite difficult to find the Illusionary Phoenix, which may have come from the Eastern Land, in the Central Plains or even a wider area. The hope can only be described as slim."

Han Lu was not optimistic about finding Huan Feng, who was attempting to attack the Zhengyi Sect, and didn't know why.

Han Lu's statement was echoed by Xianyu Ji, who said, "Based on the current intelligence, this seems to be the only option."

"The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light; the situation is not optimistic."

"By the way," Xianyu Ji also suggested, "I think we should screen the disciples within the sect who have been living abnormally lately, to see if that Illusionary Phoenix is ​​controlling other disciples and trying to do something malicious to our sect in other ways."

Xianyu Ji's second half of his statement was approved by Qingxu Daoren.

With a clearer topic, the other elders, besides Layman Xinshan, also expressed their own views.

After one round, a clear screening process and scope were established.

“Alright, this matter needs to be carried out in secret. I will have the inner treasury bring over the list of qualified disciples in a moment,” Qingxu Daoist instructed. “Tomorrow, all elders except Elder Zhenfeng will disguise themselves as disciples and mingle among the spectators.”

"We will test each person on the list to prevent similar incidents from happening again."

The measures taken during today's competition were merely a stopgap measure. Only by following the procedures proposed by Xianyu Ji can we ensure that everything goes smoothly.

"As for Elder Zhenfeng, take some time these next few days to visit Xuanxuan Village and take a look around."

"You are also a phoenix, so I think you should be able to get more information than the other elders by conducting the investigation."

"If not, there's nothing we can do. We'll just have to do our best."

Daoist Qingxu didn't think he could find any clues in Xuanxuan Village, or even find the phantom phoenix directly.

This was exactly what Han Lu had expected.

"Yes, Sect Master." As the next task approached, Han Lu, seated, pondered how to begin this difficult mission—a task whose success would greatly benefit the situation, while failure would be insignificant.

Chapter 1087 Provocation

The eight people discussed the matter in the secret room for about half an hour. After reaching a preliminary conclusion, Qingxu Daoist announced the adjournment of the meeting.

However, although the meeting was over, Han Lu and Xinshan Jushi were kept behind by Qingxu Daoist.

"Elder Zhenfeng, let me introduce you," Qingxu Daoist didn't intend to entrust Han Lu and Xinshan Jushi with anything important; he simply wanted to act as a go-between and introduce the two sect elders. "Xinshan Jushi."

In short, Qingxu Daoren does not add a lot of detailed descriptions like Xuanchengzi would when introducing himself in private.

“Elder Xinshan,” Qingxu Daoist introduced in Han Lu’s place, “this is the True Phoenix Fairy.”

Equally simple.

Han Lu and Xin Shan exchanged a glance, neither of them able to discern much enthusiasm in the other's eyes.

"Hello." They said in unison, both greeting each other with the simplest gesture of clasping their hands in a gesture of mutual benefit.

Seeing that the two elders in the sect who were currently the last hope to reach the Nascent Soul realm did not like each other, Daoist Qingxu was somewhat disappointed.

All the words I had prepared were suddenly useless.

Qingxu Daoist could only say, "You two have a great chance of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage in the future, and the events of a thousand years from now will most likely be related to you."

"We can also get to know each other more often and exchange ideas on Taoist principles, just like making friends."

Qingxu Daoist spoke frankly. Although he did not have a good impression of cultivators like Xinshan Jushi who were too self-centered, Han Lu still cooperated and said, "I have indeed heard of Elder Xinshan's great name. I know that when Elder Xinshan was still a disciple, he was one of the most prominent figures in the sect. I would be more than happy to have more exchanges with Elder Xinshan and make progress together."

Han Lu's attitude was proper, which pleased Qingxu Daoist, and he smiled and nodded.

But when Qingxu Daoist heard Xinshan Jushi's reply, the smile on his face froze.

“No interest,” Xinshan Jushi yawned and said indifferently, “Although Elder Zhenfeng is exceptionally talented and has outstanding combat power, I do not have the True Spirit Bloodline. It would be of no benefit to me to communicate with Elder Zhenfeng; it would only be a waste of time.”

Perhaps noticing the change in Qingxu Daoist's expression, Xinshan added a symbolic sentence, "Thank you for your kindness, Sect Master."

Xinshan Jushi's words almost made Han Lu, who always considered herself a "heartthrob," choke on her saliva.

If it weren't for the fact that they were fellow disciples and that Daoist Qingxu was present, Han Lu, who was usually quite well-mannered, would have even wanted to confront Layman Xinshan directly and tell him to stop beating around the bush and to speak clearly.

Han Lu wasn't stupid; she certainly understood the subtext in Xinshan Jushi's words.

The meaning is simple: Han Lu relies solely on his true spiritual bloodline, and I, the great genius Xinshan Jushi, look down on him.

Qingxu Daoren cursed Xinshan Jushi inwardly, but quickly spoke up to smooth things over, lest his good intentions turn into malice.

Just as he was about to speak, Han Lu had already drawn her sword.

"Oh, Elder Xinshan, do you mean you think you can defeat me just by using magic weapons and spells?" Han Lu felt much better after saying this, and then became even more aggressive, "Do you want to have a match?"

Tensions were high, and the situation in the secret room was developing in a direction that Qingxu Daoist did not want to see.

"Stop, stop."

Master Qingxu hurriedly stepped in to mediate, but when he tried to speak again, he found himself unsure of what to do.

Xinshan Jushi was rude first; asking him to apologize would only escalate the conflict.

However, if they were to target Han Lu, who has a relatively better temper, it would be seen as taking sides.

Faced with a dilemma, Daoist Qingxu decided to take an unconventional approach.

So, Qingxu Daoist, in a fit of desperation, said, "If you want to have a match, I support you, but you are not allowed to have a match in private. You can only have a match if I am present as the referee."

Unable to act as a peacemaker, Daoist Qingxu simply intervened in this inexplicable incident, hoping to use his own power to control the intensity of the conflict and determine who was superior, thereby truly resolving the conflict.

"How about we set a date sometime in January?" Master Qingxu suggested the date.

After glaring at Han Lu, Xinshan Jushi said, "I have no problem, but even if Elder Zhenfeng uses his true spirit techniques, I don't think I will lose."

Han Lu continued to insist on her previous statement, "No need, I can take you down using only ordinary methods."

Neither side would yield, so Daoist Qingxu mediated, suggesting, "How about we have one match under each of the two rules?"

Han Lu and Xinshan Jushi said in unison, "Okay."

Although they didn't get along and even fought as soon as they met, Han Lu and Xinshan Jushi often shared a tacit understanding.

In order to maintain fairness and impartiality, Qingxu Daoist, who had originally intended to keep Han Lu for a few more words, allowed the two of them to leave together.

He only spoke a few more words of advice before Han Lu left, also about the mission to search Xuanxuan Village.

"Elder Zhenfeng, please be careful when you go to Xuanxuan Village."