The Long Journey to Immortality

By spending a hundred days of his lifespan, Wen Erya obtained two excellent times and locations for Han Lu to choose from when undergoing her tribulation.

"One place is in the East China Sea, just two years from now. The spiritual energy on that island is thin, which is not conducive to the formation of the Heavenly Tribulation."

"It is located in the Western Regions, about a day and a half's journey from Zhengyi Gate. It is a large oasis, where wood overcomes earth, which is also beneficial for you to overcome the Heavenly Tribulation."

"However, the suitable time for the tribulation to take place there is five years from now, and there are still quite a few herders living there..."

"If one were to undergo tribulation there, firstly, one might be harassed by cultivators from the Western Regions, and secondly, one might ruin the oasis's pristine water and land, and it might even harm mortals."

Wen Erya made her point clearly, so Han Lu naturally understood where her senior sister was recommending her to go.

"Then let's go to the East Sea. It's a familiar territory, and I also formed my core there, so it'll be a good start and a good finish."

"Besides, two years from now would be a good time."

Starting from the East Sea to enter the Golden Core Realm, and then undergoing tribulation in the East Sea to advance to the Nascent Soul Realm, Han Lu felt that this would be a good omen.

The general strategy has been set, so now it's just a matter of waiting for time to pass and making some necessary preparations in the details.

With everything in place except for the final push, Han Lu, a cultivator who always strives for steady progress, finally dared to take this crucial step on his path of cultivation.

After another six months of preparation, Han Lu set off for the Western Regions once again.

At such a crucial moment, she hoped to have her parents by her side.

She believed that if she had family by her side, she would definitely be able to unleash 120% of her strength when facing the heavenly tribulation.

Of course, visiting her younger brother, who had already taken human form, was also one of the purposes of her trip.

Chapter 1170

Although a year and a half is a tight schedule, completing a trip that doesn't require a long stay in one place is not a problem for Han Lu now.

Although she could not roam freely after reaching the Great Perfection of the Golden Core realm, she could travel freely throughout the continent with ease, thanks to her complex identity and formidable combat power.

Although he has not yet fought against any Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

However, Han Lu felt that if a Nascent Soul cultivator who was not good at fighting were to fight her, she would have a good chance of winning and gaining an advantage over the opponent.

This year-and-a-half-long journey was not simply about informing relatives and friends in the Great Yu Dynasty that he was about to undergo the Heavenly Tribulation.

Han Lu had other motives.

Back then, before undergoing the tribulation of becoming a god, the ancient cultivator Fang Lin disguised himself as a wandering doctor, experiencing the joys and sorrows of life and cultivating his mind. Only after finding love and a fulfilling life did he choose to undergo the tribulation of becoming a god.

Han Lu is not as good as Fang Lin, but the tribulation she is about to face is also not as good as the tribulation Fang Lin is facing.

After comparing this with her own situation, Han Lu believes that all she needs to do is relax and adjust her mindset to a suitable state for the tribulation.

Observing the local customs and traditions along the way to the wilderness and the Great Yu Dynasty, and cultivating one's character, is enough.

In addition, returning to the wilderness to consult with her parents, who had experience in overcoming heavenly tribulations, was also one of Han Lu's purposes for this trip.

At this moment when she is about to achieve great success and fame, Han Lu feels that it would be a very happy thing to have her parents nag and give her some pointers.

Even if it's just a few familiar phrases, she feels it will provide her with endless motivation when facing that overwhelming divine might.

Finally, Han Lu will visit the Dayu Chaoji Tiangong Palace on the last day of her trip to see Mo Zhehan.

Her agreement with Mo Zhehan is about to "expire".

Naturally, a direct dialogue is needed to completely change this somewhat awkward relationship.

As for how their relationship will change after the change.

That depends on Mo Zhehan's attitude and Han Lu's thoughts at that time.

Han Lu was somewhat at a loss about this matter.

She is not an expert in this field, and due to the influence of "being blinded by one's own involvement," it is difficult for her to think things through and make a thorough plan as she usually does.

Adaptability became Han Lu's only option.

After clearly understanding her purpose, destination, and the many things she could and could not do, Han Lu bid farewell to her disciples, friends, and sect leader Xianyu Ji.

Several years later, I left Zhengyi Gate once again and headed west, embarking on another journey.

If Han Lu were to pilot the ark from the Central Plains to the Western Regions, it would only take ten hours to reach the destination.

This was also the section of the journey with the strongest sense of human presence, so Han Lu chose to complete this section using methods more akin to those of ordinary people.

No matter how close she gets, Han Lu is no longer the same Feng Bailu who walked a hundred miles from the remote mountains into the town to become a disciple of Zhengyimen.

The changes in appearance and temperament brought about by long-term cultivation cannot be completely concealed by mere "pretending" or some simple illusions.

Even if the mortals who came into contact with Han Lu did not regard her as a cultivator, they still regarded her as a young lady from an official family, someone of superior status.

Thus, although Han Lu's "hiking trip" lost some of its flavor, she could still savor some of the mundane aspects and feel the changes in the Southern Dynasty over the years under the rule of the gentle Empress.

More than sixty years have passed since Wen Qing became the empress of the Southern Dynasty.

Even though Wen Qing is a cultivator at the Qi Refining Realm, she is nearing the end of her life at the age of nearly a hundred.

For more than sixty years, Wen Qing devoted the vast majority of his energy to governing the country.

Relying on its outstanding political ideals and the stable social environment between the North and South, Wen Qing brought a prosperous sixty years to the Southern Dynasty by vigorously developing productivity.

Within the Zhengyi Sect, cultivators were everywhere, and the Southern Dynasty Empress's decrees had no effect on the Zhengyi Sect whatsoever, so Han Lu did not have any particularly noticeable feeling.

But during this trip, Han Lu was able to clearly sense the changes in the mundane world over the past sixty years, relying solely on her own eyes.

The city streets became bright and spacious.

There were no longer any starving people begging along the streets.

The common people mostly wore smiles.

The only ordinary people who looked worried were the minor criminals who were guarded by soldiers and forced to do voluntary labor in various parts of the city.

Abolishing many overly harsh and cruel punishments, meticulously classifying criminals, and emphasizing education and punishment of criminals were also key aspects of Wenqing's reforms of various systems in the Southern Dynasties.

Over the course of sixty years, although the crime rate in various parts of the Southern Dynasty did not decrease much, the number of habitual offenders decreased considerably.

Many criminals who committed minor offenses received various forms of education in prison, and most of them reformed themselves and successfully reintegrated into a society that changes every ten years after their release.

Clearly, the old emperor's youngest daughter did not disappoint Han Lu and Wen Er Ya's expectations.

Successfully brought prosperity to the Southern Dynasty through his own abilities and outstanding governing ideas, delivering a report card that was not perfect but equally excellent.

"I wonder if any member of the Wen family royal family in the Southern Dynasty has even half the talent of Wen Qing to become the successor in the near future and continue to consolidate and develop this well-established foundation."

After only a short while of worrying about the matter, Han Lu put it out of her mind again, as it was actually not a big deal to her.

Who will succeed Wenqing? Wenqing and Wenerya will take care of their worries.

Unless Wen Erya comes to her for help again, she will not get involved in this matter.

It took about a month for Han Lu to travel, stopping and starting along the way, occasionally "cheating" by using her ability to fly to cross some towering mountains that were difficult for ordinary people to traverse, and finally she arrived at the territory of the Seven Mountains Alliance.

Although he was a Golden Core cultivator, Han Lu followed the rules of the Seven Mountains Alliance and honestly passed through one of the four passes connecting the Western Regions and the Central Plains.

Ordinary people and merchants who wanted to travel between the Central Plains and the Western Regions had to pass through these passes.

This was due to the improved relations between the Western Regions and the Central Plains over the past century, as well as the open policies implemented by the High Priest.

When Han Lu passed through this place this time, there were many more merchants waiting inside and outside the pass than there had been decades ago.

In recent years, a large number of new products from the Central Plains, thanks to the relationship between Han Lu and Wen Erya, have flowed to the Western Regions through these four trade routes, allowing the people of the Western Regions to also enjoy the benefits brought by increased productivity and technological development.

Chapter 1171

After wandering around the Western Regions, Han Lu only settled in a few major cities.

Last time, before parting ways with the High Priest, Han Lu left a large number of books obtained from the ancient cultivation secret realm as gifts in the Western Regions.

Nearly thirty years have passed, and these books have been put to excellent use under the high priest's direction.

Just like Han Lu and Wen Erya organized a group of literary and historical officials in the Central Plains to compile the three volumes of "Common Sense".

The high priest also led many monks who had read "Common Sense" and understood its scientific principles that benefited the country and its people to compile a version of "Common Sense" that was more in line with the situation in the Western Regions.

It was named "Erudition".

Although the study of "Erudition" was limited by the cognitive level and literacy rate of the vast population in the Western Regions, it was not widely promoted.

However, under the unique theocratic system of the Western Regions, it was completely exploited in the first instance through the hands of various Holy Kings sect monks and priests.

Just by watching some herders, under the organization of the cultivators, attempt to reclaim wasteland and plant trees in the spring, combining herding and farming, Han Lu could imagine what the Western Regions would look like in the future.

"Perhaps, in the future, the Western Regions will become a slightly different Central Plains."

"I can't say how the cultivation world in the Western Regions has changed, but the mortals in the Western Regions should be able to eat their fill and stay warm, and live a good life by worshipping the Holy King."

The second half of the sentence had a slightly sarcastic tone, but what Han Lu said wasn't entirely wrong.

Each situation needs to be analyzed individually. Given the environment in the Western Regions, it is already quite remarkable that such development has been achieved.

As a traveler from the Central Plains and the wilderness, Han Lu only stayed in the Western Regions for a short five days before crossing the ever-changing boundary between the Western Regions and the wilderness.

Han Lu transformed into a phoenix and hurried on her way.

Feeling apprehensive as she neared home, Han Lu, who had been leisurely before, couldn't wait to return to her home in Sanfenglin to see her family.

Compared to the Central Plains and the Western Regions, the wilderness may not have changed much since 100,000 years ago.

There are quite a few stubborn individuals among various spirits and magical beasts.

Expecting them to embrace the future and be exposed to a plethora of good but new things is pure wishful thinking.

Fortunately, because Sanfeng Forest is close to the Dayu Dynasty, most of the phoenixes living there are not stubborn.

Otherwise, even if Han Lu, a Four-Feathered True Phoenix born in the Central Plains, had family and friends in the Three Phoenix Forest, she wouldn't feel any sense of home there.

Relying on her status as a true spirit, Han Lu boldly flew at low altitudes through what others perceived as a perilous wilderness.

This time, I didn't run into any acquaintances on the road.

However, eager to return home, she took the opportunity to detour and visit her two newlywed friends.

Quexin and Haozun, who live happily in Luoxia Mountain, have a son.

Han Lu's arrival surprised the two, and they were warmly received. When they learned that Han Lu had reached the Golden Core Realm, Hao Zun, who felt that his divination skills had improved over the years, volunteered to help Han Lu divine when she would undergo her tribulation.

Although she had already made a decision about this matter through her senior sister Wen Erya, Han Lu did not refuse Hao Zun's kindness.