Immortality begins with upgrading buildings

Chapter 117 Seeing Lu Wan Again

"Nine Netherworld Grotto-Heaven?"

Ji Yuan, who was attending this gathering for the first time, felt like a country bumpkin, having never heard of or known anything about it.

"An ancient secret realm, a secret realm that can produce thousand-year-old Illusionary Spirit Grass."

Dong Qian, who had already obtained the formula for the Foundation Establishment Pill, whispered a reminder.

No wonder... Ji Yuan has learned quite a bit about Foundation Establishment Pills.

For Qi Refining cultivators who haven't yet established their foundation, a secret realm that can produce the Thousand-Year Illusionary Spirit Grass is as important as life itself.

Upon hearing about such a place as the secret realm, Ji Yuan's first reaction was... neither can be gone, nor is it necessary to go.

The secret realm also has another name, which is the forbidden land, the kind of forbidden land of death. Every time the secret realm opens, a large number of people will die.

Most of those who venture into the secret realm are just cannon fodder.

They are stepping stones on the path to the rise of some powerful individuals.

In short, for Ji Yuan, the secret realm is like the front line; he absolutely cannot go there.

Not to mention he also has a way to obtain the Millennium Illusion Grass, so there's even less need for him to go.

His second reaction was that even though he wasn't going, he could still find out what was going on.

"Who wouldn't be curious about this place? Brother Ge, why don't you tell me about it?"

"Well, if it's convenient to talk about it, then we can talk about it privately later. Just consider it a favor I, Liu, owe you."

Finally, Liu Cangke, the head of the meeting, spoke up.

The fact that there were Foundation Establishment Pills on the front lines hadn't tempted him, or rather, he had already made his decision after knowing the news beforehand.

But the news of the Nine Netherworld Cave Heaven really tempted him.

Although he was strong, he was only at the Qi Refining stage...

"There's no need for that. It's just a rumor I overheard along the way, so I can't guarantee its accuracy. Just take it with a grain of salt." Ge Yang stroked his beard and smiled. "The Nine Netherworld Grotto-Heaven will open in three years, so fellow Daoists who are interested can start preparing in advance. You can never be too well prepared for this place."

"Three years later..."

"Thank you very much, Brother Ge."

"..."

Ji Yuan listened to their thanks and also said thank you.

However, once the news of the Nine Netherworld Grotto-heaven came out, even the news of Foundation Establishment Pills on the front lines seemed less appealing, and the cultivators present immediately talked about a few other things.

It's like some fellow cultivator has successfully established their foundation and is about to open the island.

Or perhaps a rare treasure has appeared somewhere, causing many cultivators to vie for it.

But none of it attracted much attention.

After the brief gathering ended, the cultivators extended invitations to their familiar fellow cultivators, and even Han Feiyu invited Ji Yuan to go somewhere else to chat.

Ji Yuan was not so short of time as to not be able to spare a little bit of free time from the invitation from his fellow townsman from Zengtou City.

He was about to leave with Han Feiyu, Dong Qian, and Du Wanyi when a female cultivator riding a Mystery Boat arrived late.

She was young and beautiful, wearing a light blue standard robe, but there were two talismans embroidered on each side of the robe.

This is a unique robe worn by disciples of the Talisman Hall on Sifang Island of the Water Dragon Sect.

Although Ji Yuan had only been a member of the Water Dragon Sect for a few days, he recognized the robe and the person.

As soon as the female cultivator arrived, many cultivators greeted her.

"Junior Sister Lu is late today."

"It's been a long time since I've seen Junior Sister Lu. I wonder how you've been?"

"Junior Sister Lu looks even younger and more beautiful."

The female cultivator greeted them one by one, and finally came to Ji Yuan. She smiled and said softly, "Brother Ji, it's been a long time."

When she greeted others, she was always indifferent, but when she waited to greet Ji Yuan, her eyes were filled with complex emotions, and even her voice trembled slightly.

Han Feiyu and his two companions were shrewd and, seeing that something was wrong, quickly made an excuse and fled.

He said he was waiting for Ji Yuan somewhere ahead.

The others also left.

Soon, only Ji Yuan and Lu Wan remained on the viewing pavilion.

"Senior Sister Lu, it's been a long time."

Ji Yuan originally intended to call her Sister Lu, but the words that came out were Senior Sister Lu.

Now that they are both disciples of the Water Dragon Sect, it's not wrong for Lu Wan to call her "Senior Sister" since she joined earlier.

Not to mention that Lu Wan also addresses him as "Brother Ji".

"Yes, I heard Mei Chen talk about Brother Ji's deeds a couple of days ago, and I could hardly believe it."

Lu Wan came to Ji Yuan's side, and the two stood on the viewing pavilion, looking at the waterfall cascading down in the distance.

"It was just luck."

No matter who he was facing, Ji Yuan always used the same excuse.

"Um."

Lu Wan seemed unsure what to say, and the two of them simply gazed at the distant scenery in silence for a long time.

"I remember the last time I went to your house, I told you that we would meet again in the Water Dragon Sect. I never thought that we would actually meet again here in the Water Dragon Sect."

Just as Ji Yuan was about to speak, Lu Wan interrupted him, saying, "Actually, I wasn't confident about joining the Water Dragon Sect at the time. I just thought that you, Ji Yuan, could join the Water Dragon Sect, so I said that to give myself a goal."

"You hadn't yet created that talisman-drawing method back then?"

Ji Yuan asked.

"It's still a bit short, and I'm not sure if this method will be of any value to the Water Dragon Sect, so I can't guarantee it... But thankfully, it was a success."

Even now, when Lu Wan recalls this incident, she feels a sense of pride and satisfaction.

"Senior Sister Lu is amazing."

Ji Yuan praised him sincerely.

Lu Wan chuckled self-deprecatingly, "If I were really that good, my parents wouldn't have died... Ji Yuan, I've always felt that I was very stupid, or rather, foolish, back in Zengtou City. I'm the one who caused my parents' deaths."

"I knew all along what the Wu family wanted from me, but I couldn't bear to give myself away, yet I needed to use the Wu family's resources to improve my strength..."

"Sister Lu, you..."

"Don't say it, let me finish first. In this Water Dragon Sect, I really can't find a single person I can trust to say these things to."

Lu Wan took a deep breath; this kind of internal analysis was a great difficulty for her.

"Actually, I was thinking that after I successfully joined the Water Dragon Sect, I would repay the Wu Wenbin family. But I just couldn't bring myself to give my body to serve someone like Wu Yan. I could have agreed if the Wu family had changed their conditions slightly, but they insisted that I become a Daoist couple with Wu Yan. I didn't want to. I didn't want to spend the rest of my life regretting it."

"But in this life, how many things can we simply avoid doing if we don't want to?"

"I didn't want to marry Wu Yan, but I did. The final price was the death of my parents, who were killed by my momentary recklessness."

Lu Wan shook her head with a wry smile.

Ji Yuan had originally intended to offer some words of comfort, but since Lu Wan had already said so much, there was nothing left to say.

Moreover, he could tell from her words that Lu Wan had indeed matured a lot after experiencing the death of her parents.

The price is just a bit high.

"I've taken care of Qin Long and He Laosan. You don't need to worry about the Qin family anymore," Lu Wan said again.

"Oh? Okay, thank you for your help."

Ji Yuan didn't ask her how she solved it, but since she said that, it must be fine.

"Um."

Lu Wan took another deep breath, suppressing all her emotions.

The relaxed smile from before reappeared on her face. "I've even taken a Foundation Establishment cultivator as my master at the Talisman Hall on Four Directions Island. If you feel there's anything I can help with, Brother Ji, feel free to come to me."

"Okay, I will."

Ji Yuan nodded slightly.

"Yes, Senior Brother Han and the others are waiting for you. You should go there quickly. I won't go. I still have to see Master later."

"Okay, take care, Senior Sister Lu."

Ji Yuan clasped his hands in a fist salute to her, then summoned the Crimson Sky Boat, leaped aboard, and his figure instantly transformed into a streak of fiery red light, disappearing in the direction Han Feiyu and the others had gone.

Lu Wan stood there, watching Ji Yuan's departing figure.

When no one else was around, the smile on her face gradually disappeared.

The words I just spoke were a farewell.

It was less a farewell to Ji Yuan.

It's better to say goodbye to her past.

After all, the next time they meet will be Senior Sister Lu from the Water Dragon Sect and Junior Brother Ji from the Water Dragon Sect.

……

When Ji Yuan finally found Du Wanyi and the other two on a shore of Shanshui Island, they were already sitting together chatting.

Ji Yuan put away the flying boat and landed, but they didn't ask what happened.

They only asked if he needed help, and Ji Yuan said no, so they didn't ask any more questions.

The four sat around a table. Du Wanyi took out a table and chairs from her storage bag, while Dong Qian took out some fruits and snacks from her storage bag, enjoying the rare tranquility.

Compared to before, there was more casual conversation now. All four of them were from Yunyize, and their residences were relatively close to each other. In particular, Ji Yuan, Han Feiyu, and Dong Qian were all from Zengtou City.

So there were even more topics to discuss.

After a casual chat, Ji Yuan learned a lot about the situation.

For example, the Nine Netherworld Cave Heaven... The reason why this place is so captivating to everyone present is because of one of its major characteristics.

It is said that the Nine Netherworld Cave is the remains of the Daoist temple of the number one cultivator of the Canglu Continent. Although countless years have passed, its divine power still remains. Its greatest characteristic is that cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage cannot enter.

Only cultivators at the Qi Refining stage are allowed to enter and compete for the various rare and precious materials inside.

Furthermore, it's rumored that some people have even found magical treasures inside... As a result, even more Qi Refining cultivators want to go to this Nine Netherworld Cave.

Therefore, every time the Nine Netherworld Cave Heaven opens, the six major immortal sects of Shangdong will organize their Qi Refining stage disciples who wish to go there to go. When they come out with the treasure, the sects will also be there to meet them.

You don't have to worry about getting a treasure only to have it snatched away by someone else.

As for entering the cave, then it's up to each person to rely on their own abilities.

"If I succeed in forming my core, I must refine my natal magic weapon into the form of a grotto-heaven. At that time, the natal magic weapon can be directly upgraded through the interface, and its power will definitely be extremely strong."

Ji Yuan muttered to himself.

Seeing that he remained silent, Han Feiyu chuckled and teased, "What's wrong? Has the Nine Netherworld Cave finally captured Brother Ji's heart?"

Ji Yuan realized what was happening and laughed, "I heard from that Senior Brother Ge that it will take at least three years to open. There's still plenty of time to prepare, so there's no rush."

In another three years, even without triggering the first effect of the [Spirit Field], I can still obtain 3 Thousand-Year Illusionary Spirit Grasses... If I enter the Nine Netherworld Cave, can I still get that many?

To be able to get so much, I don't know what kind of luck it takes.

After that, the four chatted for a while, and Han Feiyu suggested that they could share any news they had in the future.

Ji Yuan naturally agreed to this.

Du Wanyi then inquired with the two about joining the Water Dragon Sect. Han Feiyu and Dong Qian both stated that without strong enough connections or sufficient strength, there was no point in hoping.

After the brief gathering, Ji Yuan prepared to head home.

Dong Qian suggested, "It's still early, why don't we go to Thousand Machine Island and see if there are any quests we can snag?"

"That works too. It'll be a good opportunity to explain the ins and outs of Thousand Machine Island to Junior Brother Ji and Junior Sister Du." Han Feiyu was as helpful as ever.

"Then I'll have to trouble you two."

Ji Yuan was naturally eager to have such a good opportunity.

About an hour later, the group of four arrived at Thousand Machine Island.

(End of this chapter)