A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Chapter 79: Chapter 78: Great Harvest

After erasing all traces of his campsite, Lü Zhong changed his direction.

His original plan was to head to the Sulanxi region of Yanling Mountain. The terrain there was extremely complex and perpetually shrouded in fog, making it an ideal place for Spirit Medicine to grow. He had hoped he could reap significant rewards with the help of his Spirit-Seeking Rat.

But now, Lü Zhong decided to try his luck at Chenghuan Ridge instead.

Like the Sulanxi region, Chenghuan Ridge was also part of Yanling Mountain.

In addition, there were the Cangtie Plateau, Ghost Cloud Valley, and the Yanling Mountain region itself. These five smaller regions combined to form the entirety of Yanling Mountain.

In the early morning, fog still lingered in the mountain forest.

Using the Light Body Skill, Lü Zhong moved effortlessly through the complex terrain, traversing the mountain paths as if they were level ground.

He crossed mountains and ridges, forded streams and gullies.

He reaped quite a few rewards along the way.

Besides unearthing another three clusters of Red Silk Grass, he also found several unfamiliar Spirit Medicines. Each one pulsed with dense Spiritual Qi, clearly extraordinary at a single glance. He figured they would all fetch a good price.

Leaning against an ancient pine growing on a cliffside, Lü Zhong prepared to rest for a moment.

”ROAR!”

A beast’s roar suddenly echoed from within the clouds and mist below.

Startled, Lü Zhong felt not worry, but delight. Now that he was strong enough to slay Demon Beasts, each one was like a walking pile of Spirit Stones. Killing one was guaranteed to bring a great harvest.

Furthermore, he was cultivating the Spiritual Universe Dharma Body and was in desperate need of Demon Beast meat.

The meat of a Demon Beast was highly nourishing and could even improve one’s physical constitution.

It was an indispensable resource for Body Refining Cultivators.

’Rather than spend Spirit Stones to buy it, I might as well hunt one myself.’

’I’ll take a look first...’

Lü Zhong intensified his use of the Concealing Breath and Concealing Trace Techniques as his body began to descend into the deep valley below.

With the Light Body Skill active, he had no fear of falling to his death.

’The real danger is getting blown away by the mountain crosswinds.’

After descending for over three hundred feet, his naked eye could still see nothing but a vast expanse of white. However, a red shadow began to emerge in the vision of his Qi Observation Skill, gradually coming into focus.

Based on his estimation of its Demon Qi, Lü Zhong determined it was a Tier One Demon Beast.

He lowered his profile and continued to advance.

Through the thick fog, a colossal creature moved slowly among the boulders of a mountain stream.

It was a bear-like Demon Beast that stood over ten feet tall on its hind legs. It exuded a terrifying aura and was covered in dark cyan scales, matted with clumps of Tree Resin and dried mud. Its two knotted, muscular forearms were long and powerful, containing an astonishing Giant Strength.

Every so often, it would snatch a fat fish from the stream and toss it into its mouth, chewing and feasting with great relish.

Its guard was down, completely unaware of the danger approaching from behind.

Using the thick white fog for cover, Lü Zhong stayed in the Demon Beast’s blind spot and slowly drew closer.

Within his sleeve, the Green Frost Sword slowly slid into his grasp.

Aided by his Concealing Breath and Concealing Trace Techniques, he had closed the distance to less than a hundred feet.

Just then!

Light Body Skill, activate!

The Green Frost Sword flared with a green light and shot toward the Demon Beast.

In that same instant, the beast reacted.

It swept its arms out wide, and with a loud CLANG of metal on scale, the Demon Beast actually swatted the incoming Green Frost Sword away.

Then, a human figure appeared nearby.

Without hesitation, the Demon Beast swung fiercely again, only to find the figure was merely a mirror image.

Lü Zhong seized the moment when the beast’s momentum was spent and before it could launch a new attack. He burst from the fog and, without hesitation, unleashed his Late Sun Sword Skill. Targeting its most vulnerable spot—the belly—he delivered seven slashes in the blink of an eye. SWISH! SWISH! The strikes tore through its tough scales, ripping a huge hole in its stomach and turning its colorful innards into a gory mess.

The Demon Beast let out a pained howl, its eyes instantly turning blood-red.

It began to thrash about in its death throes, attacking wildly.

Lü Zhong summoned his Ink Crystal Shield, steadily blocking a powerful palm strike. He used the impact to flip backward, creating distance between himself and the frenzied beast.

At the same time, he used another Mirror Image Talisman, sending the illusion to draw the Demon Beast’s attention.

After about ten minutes, the beast, which had been furiously attacking the mirror image, finally collapsed and died from exhaustion.

”Hah... it’s finally dead.”

Lü Zhong stood beside the fallen Demon Beast’s corpse, a grin of excitement spreading across his face.

’This trip was well worth it. Not only did I harvest a ton of Spirit Medicine, but I also managed to hunt a Demon Beast. The risks were definitely worth the reward.’

He began to butcher the corpse. First came the most valuable part: the hide. It had to be skinned carefully, without any tears, to prevent its value from plummeting. Next were its teeth, followed by other high-value materials like its paws, Bear Bones, and gall bladder.

Last was the dark, crimson-colored bear meat, which he cut into chunks.

Lü Zhong wasted not a single scrap, packing all the meat into his Storage Bag.

He was much better equipped now than before. He had three Storage Bags in total, one from the Third Lady and two from Mo the Third. Even after packing away all the meat, he still had some space to spare. So, he went ahead and packed some of the offal as well—it would be perfect for feeding his Spirit-Seeking Rat.

He was returning with a full load.

...

The sky gradually began to darken.

Chenghuan Ridge was a fair distance from the Workshop Market, but thankfully, the entire route back was downhill.

Relying on his Light Body Skill, Lü Zhong hurried along and made it back just as the sun was setting.

While queuing to enter the Workshop Market, he noticed a large convoy of carriages crowded beside the main gate. Everyone in the convoy wore a dejected expression, and the women inside the carriages could be heard sobbing softly.

The clothes these people were wearing looked somewhat familiar.

’Huh, aren’t those the clothes of the Qingyang Sect?’

Lü Zhong recognized the attire, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

’Could it be... the Qingyang Sect has fallen?’

’That’s not very likely.’

’How could a sect as large as Qingyang fall so quickly?’

Lü Zhong watched the convoy for a few moments more. Just as it was nearly his turn to pay the entrance fee, a figure in the robes of the Golden Rainbow Sect flew in from the distance. He couldn’t hear what she said to the guards.

A moment later, the massive city gates slowly swung open.

The Workshop Market’s protective barrier also expanded, creating a passage wide enough for two carriages to pass through side-by-side.

The convoy began to move, heading into the Workshop Market.

...

Back at his small courtyard in the bamboo forest, Lü Zhong began to take stock of his gains.

First was the Spirit Medicine he had gathered. He had a total of six mature clusters of Red Silk Grass, which could likely sell for over twenty Spirit Stones. In addition, there were five stalks of unknown Spirit Medicine that he figured could also fetch a few Spirit Stones.

But compared to the Demon Beast, this was all just pocket change.

He estimated that selling all the materials from the Demon Beast would net him over two hundred Spirit Stones.

All told, his profits were nearly three hundred Spirit Stones.

This one haul was equivalent to four or five months of his usual income from Talisman Making.

’I was just worrying about Spirit Stones, and now I can finally afford to cultivate in seclusion for a while.’

Lü Zhong began to calculate how he would use this windfall of Spirit Stones. He meticulously planned out every detail, from how many Origin-Nurturing Pills he should buy to how many Spiritual Universe Secret Pills he should commission.