The Long Journey to Immortality

After exchanging pleasantries with each of them and reminding them to cooperate well with the newly appointed Sect Master Xianyu, Qingxu Daoist turned to Han Lu and asked, "Han Lu, you wouldn't be waiting for Sect Master Xianyu here, would you?"

Han Lu knew that Qingxu Daoist was just joking with her, so she slightly modified her prepared words, "Of course not, I'm waiting to pick up a cultivator from Dongshan Academy who calls himself Qingxu Daoist and bring him back to Dongshan Academy. I wonder if it's you?"

Qingxu Daoist understood the implication in Han Lu's words and said with a smile, "Of course, you haven't mistaken me for someone else. Let's go, let's go back to Dongshan Academy together."

The two flew slowly together, leaving the Five Elements Mountain Academy and heading to the residence of Daoist Qingxu, which he had not lived in for a long time in the East Mountain Academy.

Although the residence had not been occupied for a long time, the Imperial Treasury had already arranged for servants to clean the house the moment Qingxu Daoren announced his resignation.

"Come on, let's play chess," Han Lu said, pulling Qingxu Daoist to sit down at the table in the study. "The little competition is starting in two months. You should take advantage of this free time to practice your chess skills."

"Huh?" Qingxu Daoist was quite surprised. "Han Lu, how did you figure out that I wanted to participate in the chess tournament?"

"Intuition," Han Lu felt this was obvious. "When you were still the sect leader, you were embarrassed to participate in the competition. Now that you've stepped down, isn't it normal for you to want to participate and compete with other chess players in the sect?"

"Otherwise, you wouldn't have specifically instructed Sect Leader Xianyu to preserve this competition."

Qingxu Daoist laughed loudly, "Han Lu, you really know me. Very well, then let me see just how unfathomable the chess skills of the True Phoenix Fairy, who was eliminated in the first round of the Hundred Birds Chess Tournament, really are."

Chapter 1125

Although Qingxu Daoren was deeply in love with Go, he would even slightly modify the agenda of a tournament for the sake of Go, breaking the "ancestral rules" by adding a Go competition.

But as it turns out, his chess skills were only at a beginner level. He was no match for Han Lu, let alone Xuan Chengzi, who had been inspired by Han Lu's "education" and whose chess skills had greatly improved.

He wouldn't call himself a "player who's bad at chess but addicted to it," but he's definitely the type who's eager to join in the fun.

Qingxu Daoist had only heard Han Lu mention her experience participating in the chess competition at the Hundred Birds Gathering, but had never heard of Han Lu's outstanding performance in the only chess competition within the Zhengyi Sect. He had no idea that Han Lu was an opponent whose level was far superior to his.

He started to feel the strain after only forty-odd moves. It wasn't until the middle game that he realized that even if Han Lu gave him a three or four-piece handicap, she could still slaughter him on the board.

"I'm not playing anymore, I'm not playing anymore," Qingxu Daoist said, quite annoyed. "Han Lu, you're not lying to me, are you?"

"Could it be that the chess tournament among the hundred birds in the wilderness was filled with masters?"

Although Qingxu Daoist had no discriminatory thoughts towards true spirits and magical beasts, he was still inevitably influenced by stereotypes.

In his understanding, most of the true spirits and magical beasts living in the wilderness were uneducated and vulgar, and their chess skills could not be very good.

Therefore, it can be inferred that Han Lu, who was eliminated in the first round, must have been an ordinary player.

He wanted to show off his skills in front of Han Lu, but he didn't expect to be "beaten up". Qingxu Daoren's mood can be described as "depressed".

Hearing that Daoist Qingxu had misjudged his own strength and that the chess skills of the birds participating in the Hundred Birds Gathering were severely lacking, Han Lu couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Fellow Daoist Qingxu, you don't actually think that all the birds in the wilderness are focused solely on cultivation, do you?"

"When they are bored, the birds will also practice the Six Arts, with chess being their favorite."

"If you ask me, any of the Hundred Birds Chess players who have advanced three or four rounds in the Hundred Birds Gathering would be able to utterly defeat the so-called 'Tianyuan,' 'Saint Hand,' 'Chess God,' and 'Chess Saint' in the Central Plains."

Han Lu spoke without holding back, but she still managed to say a few words in defense of the chess players from the Central Plains at the end.

"But that's normal. The vast majority of cultivators in the Central Plains still spend their energy on cultivation. In addition, human cultivators have limited lifespans, so it's normal that their chess skills can't beat the true spirits and magical beasts of the barbarians who have at least a thousand years of lifespan."

After hearing Han Lu's explanation, Qingxu Daoist changed some of his long-held beliefs.

"Han Lu, do you think I can win the chess tournament if I participate at my current level?" Qingxu Daoist asked.

The chess tournament held concurrently with the junior competition was limited to the area of ​​a specific college.

Therefore, based on this, Han Lu gave her own judgment: "If luck is normal, advancing to the semi-finals should not be a problem."

Having just stepped down as sect leader, Qingxu Daoist was unwilling to only be able to reach the semi-finals in the chess tournament.

"Han Lu, how about you spend some more time tutoring me in chess these days?" Qingxu Daoist set his sights on Han Lu. "As a friend, you wouldn't want me to embarrass myself in the chess competition, would you?"

During the years that Qingxu Daoist was the sect leader, he took good care of Han Lu, and Han Lu had always wanted to find an opportunity to repay him. Now, that opportunity had finally arrived.

Without hesitation, Han Lu accepted the job.

“No problem,” Han Lu said with a smile, “but I can’t guarantee how much I can help you improve your chess skills.”

"Also, Fellow Daoist Qingxu, you must not tell anyone about this."

"If you lose miserably in the chess competition, not only will you lose face, but I will also lose face."

The excuse was rather clumsy, but it was precisely because of this that Qingxu Daoren was able to understand Han Lu's subtext in an instant.

“Alright, I definitely won’t tell anyone,” Qingxu Daoist quickly tidied up the black and white chess pieces on the board. “Han Lu, how do you plan to teach me?”

"Let's start with the layout."

It was a spur-of-the-moment decision; Han Lu had no specific plans. She simply taught Qingxu Daoren some unique chess concepts at her own pace.

In half a month, I attended about ten hours of classes, and the results were really good.

Finally, during the Zhengyi Sect's minor competition, Qingxu Daoist overcame all obstacles, bullied his disciples, and ultimately won the championship, fulfilling the wish of a Go enthusiast.

Five years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Xianyu Ji became increasingly adept at his position as the head of the Zhengyi Sect.

No radical reform strategies were introduced, but Xianyu Ji still corrected some minor problems he had noticed when he was the vice president, making the sect system more and more perfect.

During this first five years, Xianyu Ji established channels for communication among the disciples of various mountain academies, and arranged for the academies to organize exchange activities every month.

During the Grand Competition, the only way to find out which geniuses were in other academies was through "information brokers," but this practice disappeared after these frequent exchanges.

In addition, one of Xianyu Ji's most popular initiatives among the sect's disciples was to increase the total number of disciples serving and managing the sect.

This move is similar to "expanding the civil service," giving many disciples the opportunity to earn spirit stones and contribution points by doing odd jobs in their spare time.

Xianyu Ji always believed that it was a waste to have so many resources that could be used by his disciples piled up in the warehouse.

Back then, he was the "popular senior brother" and continued to uphold his idea of ​​"education for all," hoping that through this method, the disciples of the Zhengyi Sect who had entered the sect after being carefully selected and reformed by Xuanchengzi and Qingxu Daoren could obtain more resources for their own cultivation.

This action is neither right nor wrong, and no one would accuse Xianyu Ji of making a mistake.

Five years is not enough time to drastically change the Zhengyi Sect, but it can allow the relationship between two cultivators to advance by leaps and bounds, and even lead to marriage.

After nearly twenty years of dating, Han Lu's best friend Wen Erya finally decided to marry Xiao Ran, Han Lu's best friend from the Dayu Dynasty.

The wedding was simple, because Xiao Ran was from out of town, so only Wen Er Ya's close friends attended.

In addition to the monks who had close ties with Wen Erya, the gentle Empress Wenqing, who managed the mortal affairs of the Southern Dynasty, also came to the banquet to show her support.

Although she held a noble status in the mortal world, she was seated at the banquet only as a gentle and refined junior relative.

After a hearty meal, all the guests were delighted.

When everyone had left, only Han Lu, Qiu Peng, Yi Qiyan, and Lü Zhi accompanied Wen Erya in a symbolic prank during the wedding night.

When the wedding night was over and everyone had left, Yi Qiyan, slightly tipsy, put her left arm around Han Lu's waist and her right arm around Lü Zhi's shoulder, and joked between the two, "Han Lu, now out of the three of us, you're the only one still single."

When are you planning to invite us to your wedding?

Chapter 1126

Whether Yi Qiyan was truly drunk or faking it was unclear, but at that moment she asked a question that Han Lu was unwilling to consider too much.

Han Lu gave a vague answer to this question.

"I hadn't thought of that."

"However, a cultivation partner is not a necessity for cultivators, is it?"

Then, she changed the subject, saying, "You and Lü Zhi have been together for almost ten years, how come you still don't have a child?"

"I still want to be your children's teacher."

Han Lu joked, "Don't let me become a Nascent Soul cultivator by the time your children reach the age of 18. It would be against the rules to ask you to become my disciple then."

Generally speaking, it is customary for newly initiated cultivators to only take a Golden Core cultivator as their master at most.

Because most Nascent Soul cultivators go into seclusion for several years at a time, if they were to guide Qi Refining disciples, the talented disciples would likely advance to Foundation Establishment in the blink of an eye, rendering them ineffective in guiding cultivation.

Upon hearing this, Yi Qiyan, who was embracing Han Lu and flirting with Lü Zhi, turned her head and glanced at her husband.

Lu Zhi smiled awkwardly and didn't say anything more.

Clearly, there were some unspeakable secrets between the couple that they couldn't tell Han Lu.

Yi Qiyan said confidently, "Han Lu, since you want a disciple so much, I'll give you one in ten months."

These words sounded like they were directed at Han Lu, but they were actually aimed at Lü Zhi.

As expected, Lü Zhi's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, clearly recalling some "not-so-easy memories".

He was about to make an excuse to slip away when Yi Qiyan grabbed half of his arm.

“Elbow,” Yi Qiyan, slightly tipsy, mumbled, “come inside with me.”

As she spoke, Yi Qiyan pulled Lü Zhi into the air and flew towards the residence where the two of them were staying at Dongshan Courtyard, seemingly intoxicated.

Watching the two leave, Han Lu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

She looked up at the stars in the sky, standing in the cold wind for a long time in the same position.

After about a hundred breaths, she finally brought her thoughts back from their wanderings, silently lowered her head, and strolled back.

Just three days after Xiao Ran and Wen Erya got married, the two mid-stage Golden Core cultivators traveled together through a teleportation portal to the Great Yu Dynasty for their honeymoon.

According to Xiao Ran, he would take Wen Erya to Dayu Dynasty to try new things and see a different world, and then go to his hometown to pay respects at the tombstones of his relatives.

It is perfectly normal for people to return to their hometowns.

Wen Erya naturally cooperated actively, and she showed no reluctance whatsoever, being inseparable from her new husband.

The two main characters of the wedding banquet, Wen Erya and Xiao Ran, left early, and there was no need for the guests to stay at Zhengyi Gate.

After staying at the Zhengyi Sect for two more days, Yi Qiyan and Lü Zhi also took the initiative to leave.

Qiu Peng also took this opportunity to find a reason to take Duan Xiaoxuan, who was about to form a false core, to the East China Sea for sightseeing.

In the blink of an eye, her friends and disciples had all left the sect, leaving Han Lu alone in the empty house.

This situation did not stir up the slightest ripple in Han Lu's heart.

She was only thinking about the promise she had made with Mo Zhehan to visit the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Vault in the East China Sea.

"I wonder when Mo Zhehan will arrive."

After a brief respite, Han Lu's attention returned to her cultivation practice.