A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Chapter 62: Chapter 61: New Use

Time flew by, and another half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, Lü Zhong had established a foothold in Yanling Mountain Market.

Unlike at Qingliu Square, here Fiery Sun Stones could be bought as long as one had money. After he learned to concoct Talisman Ink containing Yang Qi, the greatest obstacle to creating Evil Exorcism Talismans was gone.

With a stable supply of Evil Exorcism Talismans, his monthly income no longer fluctuated drastically. Aside from his first month, when he earned slightly less, he could consistently make thirty to fifty Spirit Stones a month.

This income was enough to cover his daily expenses and his need for Spirit Rice and spiritual flesh.

However, Pills that could increase his cultivation were still beyond his means.

Now that he was in the Mid-stage of Qi Refining, Bone Marrow Cleansing Pills were no longer suitable. After careful consideration, he chose the Qi Nourishing Pill. It was a Tier One Pill primarily focused on improving cultivation, suitable for Mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

Pills were never completely free of toxins, and the Qi Nourishing Pill was no exception. Long-term use would cause one’s Spiritual Power to dissipate. However, compared to the side effects of other Pills—such as the accumulation of Pill Poison from the Golden Marrow Pill or the body-invading cold qi from the Cold Soul Pill—this was a trivial concern for Lü Zhong, whose Spiritual Power had a purifying property.

This just went to show how incredibly useful it was to have a Cultivation Technique that produced Spiritual Power with special properties.

Take the Cold Soul Pill, for example. If a cultivator whose Spiritual Power was inherently cold and yin-aligned were to take it, the so-called ”body-invading cold qi” would actually be beneficial. It might even enhance their natural affinity.

It was a classic case of one man’s poison being another’s honey.

The Qi Nourishing Pill was not cheap, costing nine Spirit Stones each.

For now, Lü Zhong’s monthly savings were only enough to buy a single pill.

Even so, its effect was equivalent to nearly half a bottle of the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pills he used to take.

He guessed this dramatic difference was because he had taken so many Bone Marrow Cleansing Pills that he had developed a tolerance, weakening their effects.

As for the Spirit Stones left over each month, Lü Zhong didn’t just let them gather dust.

He still had many essential Magic Skills to learn, so he bought the Tier One Candlelight Skill and the Tier One Cleaning Skill. Both were necessary. While Talismans were convenient, each use cost a fair number of talismanic coins. Since there was no need to be overly frugal with his Spiritual Power inside the Workshop Market, using Magic Skills was more economical.

Once he saved enough Spirit Stones, he planned to acquire an offensive Magic Skill as well.

But that was all for a later time.

...

As usual, Lü Zhong finished his daily cultivation session.

After cultivating for so long, he had finally mastered the Fourth Layer of the Four Spirits Technique. This would greatly increase the speed of his progress, and it wouldn’t take more than two or three years for him to break through to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

He exhaled a long, dragon-like stream of Dense Qi, then rose, pushed open the door to his Quiet Chamber, and walked into the courtyard.

Unlike the chaotic mess it had been when he first arrived, both the small Central Courtyard and its attached Spirit Field had been put in order.

The Central Courtyard had originally been a dirt yard, with training equipment still scattered about. It was clear the previous owner had used it as a Training Ground, as the ground and walls were covered in pits and dents.

Lü Zhong also intended to use the Central Courtyard as a Training Ground, so he opted not to pave it with tiles. Instead, he blasted it with the Qingyang Fire Rain Technique. Once the fierce flames had baked the ground solid, he used his Late Sun Magic Sword to shave down the high spots, creating a hard, ceramic-like surface.

This surface was not easily damaged and was much better than the simple dirt yard it had been before.

As for the small Spirit Field outside, Lü Zhong wasn’t skilled at cultivating Spirit Plants and didn’t want to devote too much energy to it, so he had simply scattered some Talisman Grass seeds.

He tended to it when he had a spare moment but didn’t really expect much of a harvest.

...

Closing his eyes, Lü Zhong entered the Gray Mist Space.

Perhaps due to his breakthrough to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, the Gray Mist Space had changed slightly. He had accidentally discovered that he could now move around, to a limited extent, within the replayed scenes.

This discovery confirmed for Lü Zhong that the Gray Mist Space’s function was indeed to replay past scenes.

With a flicker of his thoughts, the replay began.

Based on his previous experiments, he could move within a spherical area with a radius of roughly ten zhang, centered on his position in the scene. Moving any farther would cause the replay to collapse.

Whenever that happened, he would feel a sharp headache, likely due to excessive consumption of his Divine Sense.

Lü Zhong had run other experiments, discovering that during a replay, he could only observe. He could even use his Qi Observation Skill, but he couldn’t interact with anything in the replayed scene, which eliminated any possibility of pulling off some clever tricks.

Even so, this replay function of the Gray Mist Space could be incredibly useful if leveraged properly.

’It’s like a low-tech version of Divine Sense with a huge delay,’ Lü Zhong thought silently.

Although Qi Refining cultivators possessed Divine Sense, they could only use it for Introspection. They couldn’t yet project it outside their bodies. Only cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage could achieve Divine Sense Projection.

For instance, he could now use the scene replay to observe what was happening outside his bamboo grove.

’Huh? That figure...’

During the replay, Lü Zhong noticed something was off.

The small courtyard in the bamboo grove had only a single, south-facing exit. In a blind spot just outside this exit, different people would occasionally stop for a moment. Though their faces and clothes were always different, their actions were highly suspicious. Each time, they would form hand seals and appear to be chanting an incantation.

The movements were unmistakable—they were clearly casting the Qi Observation Skill.

Replaying even further back, he discovered this had started half a month ago.

’Someone is spying on me.’

’That’s not right. Why didn’t my Malice Detection give any feedback?’

After learning Malice Detection, Lü Zhong had made it a habit to cast it on himself several times a day at random intervals, precisely to prevent someone from spying on him without his knowledge.

But now...

’It seems they have a way to evade the skill’s effect. The Experience Book for the Malice Detection Technique did mention that various methods exist to nullify it or skew its results.’

Thinking of this, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but sigh heavily.

’I just wanted a quiet life. I can’t believe I’m being targeted already...’

Their motive for spying was, without a doubt, money.

Or, of course, kidnapping.

After all, a slave who was a Talisman Maker was practically a walking Treasure Basin, a stable source of Spirit Stones.

Even if they couldn’t control him, they could always sell him for a huge profit.

Furthermore, Talisman Makers were generally not strong fighters. While their combat ability, bolstered by the wealth their craft provided, might be slightly greater than that of an average Loose Cultivator, they stood little chance against cultivators who truly specialized in combat.

It was highly likely this was their goal.

’It’s a shame I don’t have enough Spirit Stones, or I could just set up a Defensive Array to solve this. Since I can’t afford one, what should I do?’ Lü Zhong began to ponder his options.

Discovering the surveillance ahead of time gave him a small advantage.

He could use it to make some preparations.

’Set traps in the courtyard? Or ask the Law Enforcement Team for help?’

’Since they were constantly watching, they would easily spot him setting traps, so an ambush was out of the question. Seeking help from the Law Enforcement Team was just as risky. In a place like Yanling Mountain Market, where money was everything, the Law Enforcement Team couldn’t be trusted.’