A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Chapter 77: Chapter 76: Infiltration

Late at night.

The Sixth Ring of the Yanling Mountain Market.

A figure moved as if with foresight, avoiding all pedestrians to arrive here.

This person was none other than Lü Zhong.

He had not only learned the Qi Observation Skill but was also quite adept at the Breath Concealing and Stealth Techniques. Combined with the scene replay ability from his Gray Mist Space, pulling this off wasn’t difficult.

It could be said that in terms of stealth alone, Lü Zhong’s current abilities surpassed even those of Thousand-Faced Lang.

Soon, he arrived at his destination.

Standing on a rooftop and looking ahead, he could see a cluster of low-lying buildings about a thousand feet away, enclosed by a wooden wall. A dozen or so shacks were jumbled together—that was where Mo the Third lived.

What he had to do now was sneak in and finish off Mo the Third.

...

At the main gate.

Two Loose Cultivators were leaning against the gateposts.

One of them, a red-faced man, took a swig of cheap wine. He looked up at his tall, thin companion across from him and teased, ”Ma Si, you rascal, were you out fooling around again this afternoon? Look at you, your steps are so unsteady. TSK TSK...”

”Hehe, I can’t hide anything from you, Brother Zhang.” The tall, thin man on the other side gave a sleazy grin, picking up a large bowl and stroking it incessantly. He said with a wistful look, ”I’m telling you, Little Tao is just the best!”

”Get outta here. Don’t give me that.” The red-faced man took another gulp of wine and continued, ”Don’t you go trying to tempt me every day. The money I earn is for supporting my family. I can’t afford to be ruined by those little wenches.”

”Brother Zhang is still the family man...”

Just then, Ma Si turned to the side, glancing suspiciously inside a few times.

”Brother Zhang, did you see someone just now?”

”No. And what the hell does it have to do with me!” The red-faced man took another hard swig of wine and said, half-joking, ”For the pittance we get paid each month, it’s good enough that we’re watching the door for Mo the Third! You, on the other hand... I hear you want to buy Little Tao’s freedom?”

”What? No way, absolutely not!”

Hearing this, Ma Si dismissed what he thought he saw as a trick of the eyes and went back to shooting the breeze with Brother Zhang.

In the shadows, Lü Zhong snapped the neck of a hidden sentry.

This person was blocking his infiltration route, and there was no way to get around him. He had no choice but to send the sentry on his way.

’That was close. It was impossible for that man at the gate to have seen me, yet he still sensed something.’ Lü Zhong couldn’t help but marvel. ’A cultivator’s intuition can be frighteningly accurate sometimes.’

He stuffed the corpse into his Storage Bag and continued to sneak forward.

Relying on his Qi Observation Skill and scene replay, he reached the center of the compound without anyone noticing.

There was a brick house here. Judging by its size and construction, it was clearly the residence of someone with higher status.

Through his Qi Observation Skill, he could see a human figure lying inside.

’Strange, why is this person’s cultivation so weak?’

Lü Zhong estimated it and found it was only at the Qi Refining Second Layer.

Looking around, he then noticed a faint yellow aura underground. The layer of earth separating them wasn’t too thick, so he could vaguely make out a human shape.

’So he’s down there...’

Using scene replay, Lü Zhong confirmed the identity of the person below. It was indeed Mo the Third, the man he was looking for.

He snuck into the house and quickly found a hidden passage leading to a basement.

It was located behind a wall, the secret door left ajar.

Gazing at the narrow entrance to the passage, Lü Zhong abandoned the idea of going down.

Instead, he waited quietly. He had enough Spiritual Power to sustain his Breath Concealing Skill and Stealth Technique, so waiting for a while was no issue.

He decided to wait for his prey to come to him.

An hour later, a faint rustling sound came from the hidden passage.

Lü Zhong’s expression turned cold, a vicious glint in his eyes.

The next moment.

Just as a large hand pushed the secret door open, the shadow of a sword plunged down, sinking all the way to the hilt.

With a savage twist, the person below immediately started convulsing, and in a few moments, fell silent.

Only then did the smell of blood begin to spread.

Lü Zhong hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly. He had taken care of his target with such ease.

He couldn’t help but sigh. ’The methods of an assassin are truly effective.’

He quickly came to his senses, reached down, and pulled the corpse out of the passage. After checking the man’s identity and confirming it was indeed Mo the Third, he swiftly took his Storage Bag.

After a moment’s thought, he stuffed Mo the Third’s body into the Storage Bag as well.

Then, he slid down the blood-stained passage and into the basement.

The basement wasn’t large; you could see everything from anywhere you stood.

Lü Zhong couldn’t help but feel a surge of relief. He had made the right choice earlier. Otherwise, he would have been discovered by Mo the Third the moment he landed in the basement.

Although he wasn’t afraid to fight Mo the Third, especially with his Ink Crystal Shield, it was always better to avoid trouble.

Mo the Third had apparently used the basement as a Quiet Chamber. There was a meditation cushion on the floor, and next to it, an incense burner held a half-stick of unlit, long incense that didn’t look like anything good.

The only thing worth noting was a book on a small table against the wall.

’Earth Element Technique? This must be his Main Cultivation Technique. It should sell for a good number of Spirit Stones. I’ll take it.’

After leaving Mo the Third’s residence, Lü Zhong didn’t forget to use a few Cleaning Talismans on himself to remove any lingering bloodstains before disappearing into the pitch-black night.

...

「The next day.」

News of Mo the Third’s disappearance spread quickly, causing quite a stir in the Lower Three Rings.

Many people speculated about the reason for his disappearance. Lü Zhong, who was known to have had a grudge against Mo the Third, naturally became a suspect. The Law Enforcement Team even came to question him in the morning.

With no evidence against him, he was ultimately left alone.

Back in his room, Lü Zhong finally let out a sigh of relief.

He flipped his hand over, took out the Storage Bag he’d gotten from Mo the Third, and inspected his haul.

One hundred and fifteen Spirit Stones.

Sixteen Cleaning Talismans.

Three Bone Marrow Cleansing Pills.

One Detoxification Pill.

One Magic Technique Book for the ”Breath Concealing Skill.”

One Magic Technique Book for the ”Stealth Technique.”

One willow-leaf-style Lower Grade Flying Saber.

One unsigned letter.

And a pile of other miscellaneous items.

Gently picking up the Flying Saber Magical Artifact, Lü Zhong tried to infuse it with his Spiritual Power. The saber immediately began to hum. Then, as it shot toward the wall, it suddenly became silent, disappearing into the wall as if passing through tofu.

”DING!”

The Flying Saber was only stopped when it hit the White Cloud Shield.

’A fine magical artifact. Though it’s only a Lower Grade, it’s definitely a perfect weapon for sneak attacks.’ Lü Zhong decided to keep it for himself.

The Flying Saber was inscribed with the two characters for ”Green Willow,” so he decided to name it the ”Green Willow Flying Saber.”

He then tore open the letter and read it carefully.

After finishing it, he had a sudden realization.

’So that’s how it is. He was targeting me for this reason.’ Lü Zhong realized he had guessed completely wrong. Mo the Third hadn’t targeted him because of Thousand-Faced Lang, nor because he possessed a Spirit-Seeking Rat.

It was because of the ”Third Lady” he had killed earlier.

The woman had plundered the Treasure Vault of the Feiming Mountain Cultivation Association, earning the hatred of a group of Evil Cultivators. Mo the Third just so happened to be their informant in the Workshop Market. By observing Lü Zhong as he collected the bounty for Thousand-Faced Lang, they had managed to trace the location of the stolen treasure back to him.

This also explained why he had been targeted so soon after Lin Yunhua had delivered the bounty.

’Was it really worth all this? For just those few things...’

Now that he understood the whole story, Lü Zhong found it both infuriating and ridiculous.