The Long Journey to Immortality

"My recommendation of Layman Xinshan is certainly based on sound reasoning and evidence."

Master Qingxu nodded slightly. "And there's one more?"

“Of course, that’s my senior sister,” Han Lu replied.

Goodness, Han Lu recommended three people in one go, all of whom had some connection with her.

"Elder Zhenfeng, what are your reasons for recommending Elder Wen?" Having learned from the previous example of the recommended person, Daoist Qingxu was not in a hurry to reject Han Lu's seemingly absurd suggestion in his heart.

Han Lu continued to make things up, arranging this important job for her senior, Wen Erya, that might be suitable or unsuitable, but she definitely wouldn't like it.

"Sect Master, look."

"When we were searching for Feng Ruyi, didn't we ask Elder Wen to perform divination countless times?"

"Similar situations are bound to happen again and again in the future. Wouldn't it be more convenient and direct to just let Elder Wen become the sect leader?"

“Especially in situations where many secrets cannot be revealed,” Han Lu gave an example, “only by letting Elder Wen take the helm can we turn misfortune into good fortune.”

“Besides,” Han Lu found some other reasons, “Elder Wen can also rely on his divination skills to make forward-looking predictions on major decisions of the sect.”

"So, although it sounds a bit far-fetched and unreliable, it is still a good method."

Han Lu spoke eloquently, and Qingxu Daoist nodded repeatedly in agreement.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Qingxu Daoist began to waver without realizing it.

In his mind, besides Xianyu Ji, who was originally a sure thing, Xinshan Jushi and Wen Erya were added to the list of candidates for sect leader.

"These three elders are probably the most suitable to serve as sect leader in my opinion. This is just my opinion, sect leader, please take your own thoughts as the final decision." After making up two candidates, Han Lu took the initiative to distance herself from them so as not to interfere with Qingxu Daoist's judgment.

Finally, Master Qingxu posed a question that Han Lu had heard before.

"Elder Zhenfeng, have you ever considered becoming the sect leader?" Qingxu Daoist asked.

This was not a probing statement like "Among all the heroes in the world, only you and Cao Cao are worthy of the title," but rather a genuine consideration by Qingxu Daoren of the possibility of Han Lu leading the Zhengyi Sect.

As always, Han Lu skillfully declined the invitation from everyone, without offering herself two reasons why she was unsuitable to be the sect leader.

"I possess the bloodline of the True Spirit, but I may not be able to win the respect of the people if I become the leader of a human sect."

"Compared to being busy with trivial matters, I am more able to contribute to the sect by focusing on cultivation and engaging in external affairs."

"Based on these two points alone, I'm not even suitable to be the sect leader, let alone the dean."

Both of these reasons are somewhat far-fetched, but upon closer examination, they do contain a degree of truth.

Qingxu Daoist was just asking casually and had no intention of "being crowned with the imperial robe".

Han Lu was unwilling, and he naturally let her have her way, just like Xuan Chengzi had done back then.

After exchanging a few more words about the arrangements for Feng Ruyi, Han Lu took her leave.

After leaving the Five Elements Mountain Academy, Han Lu immediately returned home and sent out paper swords to summon Kong Du and Qiu Peng's disciple Hong Tong.

During Qiu Peng's absence, she, as his grandmaster, needed to take on more responsibility, overseeing the training of these two disciples who hadn't seen their master for almost a year.

Kong Du and Hong Tong are only half a year apart in age, and their strength and cultivation levels are also evenly matched.

However, since Kong Du was directly placed under Han Lu's tutelage, Hong Tong always took the initiative to yield and call Kong Du "senior brother" when the two were together.

With guidance on cultivation and gifts of elixirs and spirit stones, Han Lu's cultivation life, which had deviated from its course for eleven months, returned to normal once again.

Her disciple Qiu Peng did not return to the sect much later than her.

Nine months later, Qiu Peng returned from Dayu Dynasty.

Qiu Peng was not alone upon his return; Fan Xiaoxuan, the female cultivator from the Great Yu Dynasty who had caught Mo Zhehan's eye, was also by his side.

"Xiaoxuan will be cultivating with me under my master's tutelage for some time. She'll go back when she advances to the Golden Core realm," Qiu Peng explained to Han Lu, justifying his "abduction of the girl."

Han Lu knew that she would most likely be attending another wedding banquet in the future.

[Author's Note] Another year without missing an update~ Wishing everyone a prosperous year in both career and love.

Chapter 1122

Less than half a month after Qiu Peng returned to Zhengyi Sect, at a small meeting attended only by the sect leader and the deans, Qingxu Daoist announced his decision to abdicate ahead of schedule.

Early "retirement" is not uncommon in the Zhengyi Sect, and there was no hypocritical president or vice president present to persuade Qingxu Daoren to work for a few more years.

Those who coveted the position of sect leader were ambitious and couldn't wait to seek out Daoist Qingxu to curry favor with him and secure a higher position for themselves.

The indifferent deans and vice-deans simply didn't take the matter to heart.

Most of the new sect leaders are able to continue the management approach of their predecessors and will not affect their status, daily work, or cultivation life.

Xianyu Ji, as the vice president of Xishan Academy, was a middleman when he heard about this matter.

Han Lu could sense from various signs that Xianyu Ji was favored by Elder Qingxu and was regarded as a candidate for successor. How could Xianyu Ji himself not have noticed?

However, in these matters, it is always the bystander who sees things more clearly.

When it happened to him, Xianyu Ji, who wasn't thick-skinned enough, did have some thoughts about the position of sect leader, but he didn't dare to secretly guarantee that he would get the title of sect leader of the Zhengyi Sect.

Therefore, when Qingxu Daoren asked everyone to recommend themselves or others, Xianyu Ji was quite cautious and did not speak.

Of the ten elders in the five mountain temples, only six expressed their opinions at this meeting.

Apart from one person who nominated themselves, the other five recommended others.

He already had someone in mind. Qingxu Daoist was only doing this as a formality, and to see if the successor was suitable in the eyes of the elders and whether he was "popular".

Among the names proposed by the six elders, Xianyu Ji appeared the most times, clearly making him the popular choice.

Thus, Daoist Qingxu had a clear understanding of the situation and made some minor adjustments to his plans for the future.

At the meeting, Qingxu Daoren did not express his opinion, nor did he announce his preferred candidate or a more specific "retirement schedule".

However, the entire Zhengyi Sect was already preparing for the change of sect leader under his arrangement.

Two weeks after the meeting, after consulting with Xuan Chengzi and Yun Min Daoist in private, Qingxu Daoist finally announced the final candidate by posting notices in various branch academies.

Xianyu Ji, the current vice president of Xishan Academy, successfully became the next head of Zhengyi Sect, and his "ascension" took place a month after the announcement was posted.

While this result may not satisfy everyone, it is still what most people hoped for.

At least in the eyes of the disciples who had "suppressed democracy," having Elder Xianyu Ji take on the role of sect leader should be a good decision.

After all, Xianyu Ji was usually the most active among the deans and vice-deans, and he had a close relationship with the disciples, especially since a large number of disciples in Xishan Academy were his supporters.

With these supporters, it's conceivable that Xianyu Ji would have received enough support when he first took office, thus smoothly navigating the "unstable" period of power transition.

As soon as the news came out, Xianyu Ji's residence became a place that all the elders had to visit in a short period of time.

The place was bustling with visitors. Even the elders of the Zhengyi Sect who were not familiar with the place had to pay their respects and visit to express their congratulations and make themselves known.

Han Lu was no exception.

After hearing this news, Han Lu deliberately waited seven more days to "avoid the peak" before preparing a small gift and heading to Xishan Academy to find Xianyu Ji, who was about to become the head of the Zhengyi Sect.

As expected, when Han Lu arrived at Xianyu Ji's residence, it was no longer as lively as it had been a few days ago.

Based on their past relationship, this fake "ex-girlfriend" successfully met the lucky girl who had evolved from "current girlfriend" to "wife" at Xianyu Ji's place.

Perhaps it was because he heard Han Lu's name mentioned by Xianyu Ji, or perhaps he was a little sensitive to the fact that a female cultivator had come to visit.

While brewing tea for Han Lu, Xianyu Ji's Daoist partner glanced at Han Lu several times, which made Han Lu feel a little strange.

After the other person left, Han Lu picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said, "Xianyu Ji, you didn't tell her about our farce, did you?"

Xianyu Ji nodded and replied, "Of course I told her. Minmin is my Daoist partner, so there's naturally no need to keep this a secret from her."

"You brought it up on your own initiative?" Although she had come to congratulate Xianyu Ji on becoming the head of the Zhengyi Sect, once she sat down, Han Lu chatted about personal matters unrelated to her purpose, just like meeting a friend.

Xianyu Ji recalled and answered in the same tone as when they were asking and answering questions, "Of course not, it was Minmin who asked."

"Just ask me how I fell out with Elder Zhenfeng, who is beautiful and exceptionally talented."

Han Lu laughed out loud at Xianyu Ji's incredibly lifelike imitation. "So what did you answer? Did you just tell the truth?"

“No, it’s not that. I felt a little embarrassed, so I replied…” Xianyu Ji paused before continuing, “because I like you.”

Han Lu shuddered upon hearing these sweet words.

"This is even more embarrassing than telling the truth," Han Lu commented.

Xianyu Ji nodded, "Yes, after hearing this, Minmin said that she didn't even know me at that time, so how could we have broken up because of her? She insisted that I tell the truth."

"And then what happened after you told the truth?" Han Lu pressed.

Xianyu Jidao said, "Minmin felt sorry for us and asked me why we didn't and whether we had ever thought about turning our on-screen romance into a real one."

"Of course I told the truth and answered no."

Upon hearing this, Han Lu thought to herself, "Xianyu Ji's Daoist partner is truly extraordinary."

Logically speaking, female cultivators are still women, so it's quite normal for them to be jealous.

This was the first time Han Lu had ever heard of someone so actively pushing their partner away and betrothing them to someone else.

They chatted and laughed for about fifteen minutes about personal matters before Han Lu changed the subject and brought up the appointment Xianyu Ji had received.

“Here,” Han Lu took out a simply wrapped brocade box from her storage bag, “This is a congratulatory gift to celebrate your becoming the sect leader. Open it and take a look.”

Xianyu Ji did not refuse and opened the brocade box, which was no bigger than the palm of his hand.

There were two pills inside.

Han Lu explained, "These are pills that can help cultivators activate their golden core and achieve spiritual connection as soon as possible. I have ten of them in total, and these are two of them."

Xianyu Ji has already drawn five Dan patterns. Although he is still some distance away from the late Golden Core stage, he has the resources he will be able to obtain after stepping down as sect leader.

His advancement to the late Golden Core stage is a certainty.

Although Han Lu's gift came a little early, it was quite appropriate.

"Thank you very much." Xianyu Ji said softly, accepting the generous gift, which was probably worth three or four thousand spirit stones.

Chapter 1123

After accepting the gift, the conversation naturally turned to Xianyu Ji becoming the sect leader.

As one of the participants in this major event within the Zhengyi Sect, Han Lu can be considered one of the earliest sect elders to know and guess that Xianyu Ji would assume the position of sect leader.