The Long Journey to Immortality

No sooner had Wen Erya left the sea of ​​books than she extended an invitation to Han Lu.

"An invitation to the palace's New Year's Eve banquet?" Han Lu asked, looking at Wen Erya who was changing clothes with the help of a maid. "Is this a family banquet or are there invitations for court officials and wealthy families in the city?"

“It’s just a regular family dinner,” Wen Erya replied. “After all, it’s New Year’s Eve, and the ministers would rather eat and enjoy themselves with their families.”

Upon hearing this, Han Lu waved her hand, first thanking Wen Erya for her kindness, and then declining, saying, "Never mind, never mind, I'm an outsider, so I won't go to the palace to join in the fun."

Although Wen Erya and Han Lu have a good relationship, their official relationship is still just that of senior and junior disciples.

Such a relationship is not enough to give Han Lu a good position at this royal family banquet.

Not to mention Han Lu, even Wen Erya, who was not good at dealing with this kind of situation, could imagine that she would feel uncomfortable at the banquet and would not be as comfortable as she was at the Thirteenth Princess's residence.

Wen Erya didn't press the matter, but instead asked, "Junior Sister, would you like to have New Year's Eve dinner at the Princess's residence, or at the night market outside?"

"Don't tell me you're planning to eat some steamed buns and pickled vegetables and continue sitting at your desk reading that boring history book."

Wen Erya's second half of that sentence was a joke.

Han Lu pondered for a moment, then looked at the two maids who were still busy on Wen Erya's face and body, and said, "Why don't you go outside and join in the fun? I won't get in your way here. Your maids, chefs, and stewards can go home early and have a reunion dinner."

Although Han Lu, who had experienced poverty, is now a person of high status and a cultivator, she is still full of humanistic concern for ordinary mortals.

Wen Erya was similar to Han Lu in this respect, and since she invited Han Lu to the capital with the intention of helping Han Lu relax, she naturally did not raise any objections to Han Lu's decision.

She simply took out five taels of gold from her storage bag and handed it to Han Lu, so that her junior sister wouldn't suffer from hunger pangs on New Year's Eve and wouldn't have enough fun.

"Could you recommend a few more restaurants and eateries so I can try some of the specialties of the Southern Dynasty's capital?" Han Lu had money in her storage bag, but she still readily accepted Wen Erya's kind offer.

Han Lu didn't put the money into her storage bag, but instead kept it in her pocket.

Although Wen Erya was a foodie, she rarely wandered around the capital. However, the maids living in the capital knew the answer to Han Lu's question.

"Juxianlou".

"Sanwei Restaurant".

"Five Directions Vegetarian Dish".

……

Several names were announced.

Han Lu selected two restaurants that sounded appealing, found out their exact locations and specialties, and wrote them down.

In addition, Han Lu inquired about the special activities taking place in the imperial city on New Year's Eve.

This might be the last time she spends in the mortal world in her life, and Han Lu wants to enjoy it as much as possible and experience "scenery" she has never seen before.

Several hours later, as the setting sun lingered on the last day of the year, Wen Erya wished Han Lu a Happy New Year before boarding her carriage to head to the palace.

The banquet was going to last until the early hours of the next day, meaning she would definitely have to spend the night in the palace.

Han Lu returned to her courtyard and chuckled to herself for a while while holding a storybook. Only when it was completely dark did she set off from the Thirteenth Princess's residence, trying to forget her identity as a cultivator and temporarily integrate into this bustling mortal world.

Just as Wen Erya celebrates her sixteenth birthday, Han Lu also needs something like this to make her prune the mortal branches from the Immortal Seeking Tree.

Xiaoyaozi had done something similar. After he formed his Golden Core, he went back to the small fishing village where he used to live and fished for five days. He also spent some money to buy a new fishing boat for the great-grandson of his former neighbor.

Fengbai Road has never pruned any ordinary branches.

No matter how high his self-esteem was, he knew he wouldn't go far on the path of cultivation.

As dusk settled, the commercial district of the Southern Dynasty's capital was not as bustling as it had been a few days earlier.

Most of the merchants who can open shops, sell goods, and provide services in the commercial district have settled down in the capital. On this day of reunion and family joy, these "southern drifters" will also choose to take a short break and spend quality time with their families.

Fortunately, the restaurants recommended by the maids were still open, so Han Lu didn't make a wasted trip, only managing to eat the most important dinner of the year for an ordinary person with five taels of gold.

Ultimately, there are still some profit-driven businessmen willing to work overtime on this day to earn more money and indirectly have a better New Year.

That evening, Han Lu first went to Wufang Shizhai for New Year's Eve dinner, and then visited a winery that was still open to the public to find a bottle of rice wine suitable for "beginner wine drinkers".

With a wine bottle in one hand, Han Lu went to join the lively lantern parade boats.

After she had strolled around the capital of the Southern Dynasty and returned to the princess's residence, it was already past midnight.

Han Lu, who hadn't used a single spell or even her storage bag the entire way, stretched out her limbs and lay on the bed in the guest room that night, just like an ordinary person without any spiritual power.

With the moon and stars shining brightly, and having drunk some wine, she fell asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes.

The next day at breakfast, Wen Erya looked at Han Lu and said something rather strange.

"Junior sister."

"how?"

"Overnight, you look even more like my junior sister."

Han Lu was speechless. She thought that Wen Erya, who had just returned to the Thirteenth Princess's residence from the palace, was probably sleepy and that was why she was talking nonsense.

[Author's Note] This concludes the first volume. Could you please give me some recommendation votes?

Chapter 136 Re-entering the Moon Pearl

When Wen Erya and Han Lu returned to Zhengyi Gate, the new year had only just begun, seven days in.

There was a reason why the two returned to Zhengyi Gate a few days earlier than originally planned.

Wen Erya returned home naturally to see her father and mother and seek out family ties.

Unfortunately, after the new year arrived, he did not find much affection from his father and mother, but many unfamiliar older brothers and sisters took the initiative to visit him.

Wen Er Ya, who was ranked thirteenth, was a full twelve years younger than her older brothers and sisters, and she didn't have much affection for them.

The other party's visit during the Spring Festival to bring gifts was not so much to reminisce about the past, but more to curry favor.

Wen Er Ya didn't even want to deal with such insincere and polite occasions.

He refused to see them, but the other party kept coming to his door.

Unable to resist any longer, they opened the door once and received the guest. The other older brothers and sisters who had been turned away by Wen Erya were then energized again.

Unfortunately, if I can't afford to offend them, can't I at least avoid them?

After "pruning away the mortal branches" that day, Han Lu had little attachment to the luxurious life in the capital of the Southern Dynasty. Having finished reading those ancient historical books, she didn't care when she would return to the sect.

After finding an opportunity to bid farewell to her father and mother, Wen Erya grabbed Han Lu and, as if fleeing, rode swiftly away from the capital of the Southern Dynasty, returning to the tranquil place of Zhengyi Gate.

Having temporarily shed the title of "Thirteenth Princess," Wen Erya felt a great weight lifted from her shoulders, and her smile broadened considerably.

On the way there, the four arts were the two of them's leisure activities. On the way back, Han Lu told stories, which became Wen Erya's way of having fun.

Bringing joy to others is a very fulfilling thing. Han Lu was willing to talk, Wen Erya was willing to listen, and even the four maids who accompanied her became Han Lu's audience.

Amidst laughter and cheers, Wen Erya and the parched Han Lu made a smooth journey back to Zhengyi Sect, the largest sect in the Southern Dynasty.

This trip to the capital of the Southern Dynasty took Han Lu nearly half a month.

Putting aside the progress in her cultivation, she felt that this trip out for "training" was very rewarding.

The wooden flute in his hand could finally play a complete melody, which was no problem for use in magical duels.

Although there is no clear outcome yet regarding the "Moon Pearl World" matter, thorough preparations have been made.

Han Lu felt that if she entered the Moon Pearl World again on the night of the full moon half a month later, she could get a better result after figuring out the situation.

However, her biggest gain this time was in her mindset.

Han Lu couldn't say whether it was because she wore the Moon Pearl or because of the ritualistic "transcendence" on New Year's Eve that her state of mind improved.

But she truly enjoyed the benefits of this improved state of mind.

The higher a Qi Refining cultivator's cultivation level, the more acupoints they open in their body, and the slower their cultivation speed will be.

But after her mental state improved, Han Lu has now regained the feeling she had when she was in the Daoist Child Realm.

It's just that there's too little spiritual energy in the mortal world; otherwise, she reckoned she would probably already be on the verge of reaching the fourth level of Qi Refining.

After spending a few days in the mortal world where even using the Spirit Gathering Array couldn't gather much spiritual energy, Han Lu became increasingly attached to her days cultivating at the Zhengyi Sect.

Having just returned to the sect, Han Lu's attention was drawn to several new faces coming and going from the Seventh Academy.

A new batch of disciples poured into the Zhengyi Sect from all over the Southern Dynasty. The path of cultivation is long and arduous, but people still flock to it, hoping to become superior to others.

The addition of these new disciples not only filled the positions of those mediocre talents who had been driven out, but also brought the Zhengyi Sect back to life after it had been quiet for less than half a month.

Han Lu felt a warm glow inside when she heard the new disciples who occasionally brushed past her take the initiative to greet her and call her "senior sister".

Good things come in pairs.

Back in the courtyard, Han Lu saw the paper sword that the treasury had given her on New Year's Day.

The paper sword contained little information, only reminding her that she now had two more hours each month to enter the quiet room on Cold Cicada Peak for cultivation.

Although Wuhu Jushi had agreed to Piaomiaozi's application early on, it still took nearly a month of procedures to transfer the money to Han Lu's account.

Holding the letter, Han Lu was overjoyed. Without even washing away her fatigue with warm water, she took out all the souvenirs she had bought from her storage bag and then continued her journey up Hanchan Peak.

There are still two weeks until the next full moon.

Having already opened 111 acupoints and had a full six hours of "intensive training," Han Lu felt confident that advancing to the fourth level of Qi Refining would be no problem.

In the blink of an eye, the second full moon that Yue Mingzhu spent with Han Lu arrived. As she wished, Han Lu became a Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator in a relatively relaxed manner, thus completely shedding the unpleasant title of low-level cultivator.

Upon advancing to the fourth level of Qi Refining, Han Lu coincidentally opened 128 acupoints, exactly the same number as Feng Bailu when he reached the tenth level of Qi Refining.

The numbers are the same, but in terms of strength, Han Lu now could easily defeat Feng Bailu, who had just advanced to the tenth level of Qi Refining thirty years ago.

By practicing the superior technique "Great Circulation Water Condensation Technique," Han Lu has opened acupoints of far superior quality compared to Feng Bailu, who practices ordinary techniques.

Not to mention that she now possesses numerous high-quality magical artifacts.

Back then, Feng Bailu wasn't exactly penniless, but when he reached the tenth level of Qi Refining, he only had three low-to-mid-grade magic tools in his storage bag, a far cry from Han Lu's "economic situation."

In terms of combat power alone, Han Lu should have no problem taking on one and a half Feng Bailus in the ring right now.

If it were a life-or-death battle outside the arena, Han Lu, with her experience in fighting like Xiaoyaozi, should be able to beat two Feng Bailu.

However, these things were of little help to Han Lu, who was about to enter the world of the Moon Pearl.

Standing under the moonlight, Han Lu looked at the Moon Pearl placed not far away, then at the full moon in the sky. Finally, she carefully looked at the note in her hand, reminding herself to remember what experiments to do in the Moon Pearl world. Only then did she walk to the pearl and grab it in the last moments before sunrise.

"Huh?" Han Lu blinked and muttered to herself, "Why is nothing happening?"

But then, that familiar feeling returned, almost making her bite her tongue.