The Long Journey to Immortality

"His performance was completely different from before."

After answering Han Lu's question, the middle-aged man added, "However, Immortal Kong Du completed his task extremely well. These are just some minor flaws. Please, Fairy Qin, do not report this to the sect, lest Immortal Kong Du be punished."

Han Lu felt a little more favorably toward this disillusioned cultivator who had failed on his path to immortality, finding him to be kind-hearted.

“Don’t worry,” Han Lu reassured him before continuing, “During the days Kong Du was there, did anything strange happen in the village? Or did any other strangers arrive?”

Han Lu's question wasn't vague, but because she concealed her true intentions, the middle-aged man's answer this time was somewhat evasive and off-topic.

“A group of grain merchants came to our area around those days. There were three of them, two men and one woman.”

"In addition, two families of distant relatives from the village came to visit, a total of five people. Three of them had been to the village a few times before, and two children, who were only seven or eight years old, were visiting Xuanxuan Village for the first time."

……

After rambling on about many useless things, the middle-aged man in the Dao Child Realm finally brought up something that Han Lu was interested in.

"By the way, on the morning that Immortal Kong Du left, some people in the village heard a strange bird song, which was very pleasant."

Han Lu was certain that the bird's cry was the cry of that malevolent phoenix.

He comforted himself, "At least I'm sure my previous judgment was correct. This matter is indeed related to another phantom phoenix. That phantom phoenix was indeed active near Xuanxuan Village during that time period. Also, perhaps it discovered Kong Du's identity as a disciple of the Zhengyi Sect at noon that day, which is why it cast illusions on him."

"Whether it's to gather intelligence, to simply create an explosion, or to steal the Heavenly Bottle," Han Lu couldn't make a clear judgment, "In any case, they have ill intentions."

This confirmed one of the most practical conjectures, and Han Lu gained some insights from this trip.

Noticing the change in Han Lu's expression, the middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief and subconsciously touched the slightly raised wound on the back of his head.

"When did you get injured on your head?" Han Lu raised her hand and used her healing magic to heal the scar on the back of the middle-aged man's head in just three breaths.

The middle-aged man said dejectedly, "I forgot too. A month ago, I suddenly woke up one day and found a lump on my head."

"Thank you for helping me heal, Fairy Qin."

"It's nothing," Han Lu noticed a clue, "You said you forgot how you got injured?"

The middle-aged man nodded.

Without hesitation, Han Lu raised her hand again, this time directly casting an illusion.

The mere Dao Child Realm cultivator was caught off guard in an instant.

His limbs went weak, and the middle-aged man, who had been leaning forward, naturally slumped towards the direction where Han Lu was sitting.

Using the techniques of controlling the weapon, the middle-aged man can maintain his balance.

Han Lu slowly twisted her wrist, muttering, "Could it be because that phoenix blatantly transformed into human form and showed itself in this village, and even used illusion magic on this young Taoist boy, trying to erase his memory?"

"Did the young Taoist priest injure his head when he naturally fell to the ground after being subdued?"

The inference is somewhat far-fetched, but it is still a possible line of thought.

Han Lu entered a semi-true spiritual state, activating the Illusionary Phoenix Bloodline within her body, and directly invaded the consciousness of this middle-aged Daoist boy.

With his shallow cultivation, the middle-aged man's sea of ​​consciousness was completely chaotic, and he couldn't discern anything.

But precisely because of this, even the malevolent phoenix found it difficult to completely erase or alter the middle-aged man's memories.

Upon entering the sea of ​​consciousness, Han Lu easily discovered the part of the memory that had been concealed, and once again witnessed the methods she had seen in Kong Du's sea of ​​consciousness.

"Hehe," Han Lu chuckled to herself, "I've caught you red-handed."

Chapter 1090 Hair Loss

Saying it's a fox's tail is somewhat inaccurate, but changing it to "phoenix tail" would make Han Lu, who is also a phoenix, feel awkward.

Continuing to refer to the clues she had found as "the fox's tail," Han Lu muttered to herself, "But even if I catch the fox's tail, what can I gain from these clues? And with the information I've obtained, how can I truly find the trail of that phantom phoenix?"

Within the middle-aged Daoist boy's sea of ​​consciousness, Han Lu fell into a brief period of contemplation, and after ten breaths, she made a decision.

"In short, let's first break through this supernatural power that's trying to cover up the memory, and see what this young Taoist has discovered that led to this kind of spell being cast on him."

Han Lu decided to take it one step at a time and analyze the specific circumstances.

The reason why that phoenix would use methods to modify memories instead of killing people is quite simple.

Using a spell on an insignificant mountain Taoist boy that could only be detected by invading his sea of ​​consciousness and killing him to silence him were both trivial matters to Huan Feng, who was at least at the Golden Core stage.

In comparison, the former is less likely to expose its whereabouts, and it also utilizes the Illusionary Phoenix Divine Power.

If it were Han Lu, she would also make the same choice if she had no other option but to choose between the two.

To avoid causing unnecessary harm to the young Taoist who was likely to provide crucial information, Han Lu carefully broke the spell that concealed his memories within his sea of ​​consciousness.

It took a full hundred breaths for the deliberately hidden memory to finally see the light of day again.

"let me see."

In this chaotic sea of ​​consciousness, Han Lu inhaled the smoke that symbolized that memory, and she was able to read that hidden memory.

In his memory, the middle-aged Taoist boy warmly received a merchant who came to Xuanxuan Village to buy grain and led him to the most luxurious room on the third floor of the village office.

Unexpectedly, while he was communicating with the God of Wealth of Xuanxuan Village and trying to open the door to his guest room, he encountered trouble.

A kind of restriction inexplicably appeared on the guest room door, and the triggered restriction directly "repelled" the middle-aged Taoist boy and the merchant.

The two landed hard and immediately fell into a coma due to the restrictions.

The middle-aged Taoist boy suffered the head injury at this time. It differed slightly from Han Lu's guess, but it was not a big deal.

When the middle-aged Taoist boy woke up, his memory of that part of the story with the merchant had been erased.

Without a "watch" to keep track of time, the two did not notice the inexplicably missing hundred breaths.

The middle-aged Taoist boy was simply curious as to why he and the merchant were lying on the ground and why he had an extra wound on his head. Then, following the hint of the phoenix, he led the merchant to another second-class room.

With the truth revealed, Han Lu thought excitedly, "It seems that the phantom phoenix is ​​quite particular, having quietly occupied the most luxurious guest room in Xuanxuan Village. It must have been staying there for at least a day or two."

"If she hadn't expected that a cultivator like me, who also possesses the bloodline of the Illusionary Phoenix, would have tracked me down here, she might have left some clues, traces, or even other things in that room."

"Even if it's just a wisp of aura, as long as I can capture it and carefully preserve it, and hand it over to my senior sister for divination, I might be able to find the new hiding place of that phantom phoenix."

Han Lu had a thousand thoughts running through her mind, but she found a clear line of reasoning and felt that if everything went smoothly, she would be able to complete this task that neither she nor Daoist Qingxu had high hopes for.

Without further hesitation, Han Lu used a similar method to hide the memory again before leaving the middle-aged Taoist boy's sea of ​​consciousness.

When the middle-aged Taoist boy awoke from his daze, Han Lu took the initiative to say, "I'll go wander around the village by myself; you don't need to come with me."

After saying that, Han Lu took out three ounces of fine tea leaves and a low-grade spirit stone from her storage bag. "This is a thank-you gift. Please accept it as you see fit."

Without waiting for the other party to thank her, Han Lu, who hadn't ridden her spirit sword in a long time, left through the open window in the standard posture of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

After circling in the air, Han Lu concealed herself once more, quietly sneaking into the most luxurious guest room on the third floor of the village office, just like Huan Feng, whose gender, name, and birthplace were still unknown.

A cultivator is a cultivator after all; they are better at cultivation than other matters.

Acting as a scout or assassin naturally falls under the category of other tasks.

It's quite normal that a phoenix that could possibly have come from the East, being a true spirit, wouldn't want to build a temporary cave dwelling in the wilderness.

When Han Lu entered the guest room, it was even more understandable that the other party had chosen such a luxurious room as their place of stay.

Although the furnishings and decorations in the room were far from those of the Southern Dynasty's imperial palace, they were comparable to those of a second-tier restaurant or inn in the capital.

Living here is much more comfortable than being a "cave phoenix" in a mountain cave.

Standing in the center of the room, Han Lu used her divine sense to "scan" the surroundings, paying particular attention to the bed that the phantom phoenix might have touched.

Geese leave their mark as they fly by; even cultivators unconsciously reveal their aura when they move, and the phoenix is ​​no exception.

Cleaning the room with ordinary methods won't remove this smell.

In fact, the villagers of Xuanxuan Village believed that this room was unoccupied, and the bed had not been made for some time.

Therefore, Han Lu easily discovered the traces left by the phoenix in this guest room, relying on the keen senses of a Golden Core cultivator.

Approaching the double bed inside the room, Han Lu reached out and picked up a long hair from the bed. "Ha, looks like it's a female phoenix too."

Upon handling the long hair, Han Lu could feel its resilience; it was definitely not the hair of an ordinary person.

Hair loss is not uncommon among cultivators. Many bald cultivators simply shave their heads to appear bald because they are troubled by hair loss.

Whether you're rich or a monk, you might experience hair loss that's incurable, so ordinary people should take good care of their hair.

Like Han Lu, she sometimes loses long hair while showering.

She would always collect these hairs, planning to use them as materials for refining weapons in the future.

And now, the hair in Han Lu's hand is almost certainly from that phantom phoenix.

“If we give this hair to a skilled diviner like my senior sister for divination, we should be able to find out the approximate location of that phantom phoenix. Maybe…” Han Lu optimistically predicted, “maybe it will only take half a year or a year to resolve this trouble that may have been sent by the Eastern Land.”

Carefully storing the black hair, which was about the length of Han Lu's forearm, Han Lu then used her abilities to capture the traces of spiritual energy left behind by the phantom phoenix in the area.

With these two "tokens" in hand, Han Lu was confident that the matter would go perfectly.

[Author's Note] So, cherish your hair.

Chapter 1091

After completing her mission, Han Lu lingered in Xuanxuan Village for a while before returning to Zhengyi Gate.

During her brief stay, Han Lu left some things at Xuanxuan Village Middle School.

Two very basic beginner's manuals and a bottle of meridian-opening pills.

By hiding these two items in a way similar to "treasure hunting," Han Lu hoped to leave behind a "chance encounter" in this place, waiting for a destined person to find them, thus adding a new change to Xuanxuan Village.

When they returned to Zhengyi Gate, less than an hour had passed since Han Lu left.

When Han Lu arrived late and appeared on the viewing platform, Qingxu Daoist was quite surprised.

"You're back so soon? Did you not find anything? Or were you just late and haven't gone to Xuanxuan Village to investigate yet?" With two possibilities in mind, Daoist Qingxu immediately sent a telepathic message to Han Lu to inquire about the situation.

Daoist Qingxu transmitted his voice, "Elder Zhenfeng, what's this? You've returned?"

Based on his understanding of Han Lu, Qingxu Daoist ultimately gave Han Lu, who was always active in sect affairs, the guess that she had "gained nothing".

"Not bad," Han Lu transmitted her voice, excitedly reporting her results to Daoist Qingxu, "I just went to Xuanxuan Village and made some gains."

Although she was 99% certain, Han Lu was still quite conservative in her assessment of the phantom phoenix, which she only knew was female.

Upon hearing this, Daoist Qingxu's expression changed slightly. "What? You actually gained something? Tell me about it quickly."