A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Afterward.

Lü Zhong left, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

He soon arrived at Shuini Cave Mansion. After submitting a formal request for a meeting, he was quickly granted an audience.

When Shuini saw Lü Zhong, she had just emerged from a state of cultivation. She first gathered the various bottles and jars on the ground before rising from beneath the Laurel Tree. Then, she stretched lazily and spoke with a smile:

”My good disciple, I have a matter that is inconvenient for me to handle personally. I’m afraid I must trouble you to take care of it.”

”Master, please feel free to command me. It is my duty as your disciple to serve you,” Lü Zhong readily agreed.

Seeing Lü Zhong agree so readily, Shuini revealed a satisfied smile. With a flip of her hand, she produced a Jade Talisman and handed it to him, saying, ”My good disciple, take this Golden Palace Secret Talisman. Consider it a partial advance on your reward. The rest will be settled once you complete the protection mission.”

Lü Zhong accepted the Golden Palace Secret Talisman. Though his expression remained unchanged, he was ecstatic on the inside.

During the previous mission to clear out the Moon-Gazing Toads, he had encountered considerable danger. An ordinary Inner Sect Disciple would have certainly perished on the spot. But thanks to the Golden Palace Talisman Shuini had given him, he managed to withstand the siege of three Moon-Gazing Toads and eliminate them one by one.

Now he had received another, bringing his total to two.

As he continued to listen to Shuini, he learned that she wanted him to protect a mortal village.

”Normally, this would be a mission posted for any sect disciple to complete. However, I can’t rest easy. After all, I have some connection to that mortal village. Besides, my good disciple, your recent outstanding performance in the extermination missions has taken me by surprise! I even heard that the Ancestor mentioned your name, so I decided to entrust this matter to you.”

After speaking, Shuini handed him a letter of distress.

Lü Zhong took it and opened it. He saw that it was from Water Summoning Village, stating that many incidents had occurred in the village recently and they were sending this letter to beseech the help of an Immortal Master. Attached to the letter was half of a fish-shaped Jade Pendant.

The Jade Pendant was of an ancient and simple design. A Spiritual Light flickered and flowed across its surface, making it clear that this was no object from the Mortal Realm.

He rubbed the pad of his finger across the back of the Jade Pendant, feeling distinct scrape marks.

Upon seeing that half of the Jade Pendant, the smile on Shuini’s face gradually faded. She took a similar Jade Pendant from her sleeve and fitted it together with the half from the envelope. They matched perfectly.

She gazed at the fish-shaped Jade Pendant, a nostalgic look appearing in her eyes. After a moment, she said, ”In Water Summoning Village, there is a blessed land of opportunity I discovered in my earlier years. My good disciple, with this Jade Pendant, you can undo the Sealing Prohibition on the outside and enter to cultivate. Your progress there won’t be much slower than in the sect.”

Handing the fish-shaped Jade Pendant to Lü Zhong, Shuini explained the details of the protection mission.

”The protection mission will last for three years. I have already sent someone to investigate ahead of time. It is likely just some Loose Cultivators who practice unorthodox arts causing harm to the mortals. My good disciple, you don’t need to deal with them directly. Just ensure the mortals in the village are not harmed. If...” She paused here, her usual beaming smile returning as she added softly, ”If some people refuse to listen, just let them be. After all, the promise I made back then was only to that extent.”

Hearing this, Lü Zhong breathed a sigh of relief.

Protecting a fixed location for three years, and with a place to cultivate on top of that—the task seemed rather simple.

’I’ll need to redeem enough Secret Pattern Pills for three years. Right... I should also redeem the Magic Skills I need to learn from the Flying Star Magic Vein in advance. That way, I won’t waste these next three wonderful years!’

He thought to himself, already planning his schedule for the time ahead.

”Oh, right. I have a Secret Skill for you. I requested it on your behalf, my good disciple, after you killed Yuo Qing.” Shuini seemed to have suddenly remembered, pulling a Jade Scroll from her sleeve and handing it over.

Lü Zhong accepted it, and after reading it, a look of delight couldn’t help but appear on his face.

The Jade Scroll recorded a Secret Skill called the ”Gathering Element Technique.”

Mastering this Secret Skill could increase one’s Foundation Establishment Success Rate by five percent. That alone was enough to make cultivators outside the sect fight to the death for it. Not to mention, cultivating this Secret Skill had an additional benefit: it could increase a cultivator’s total Spiritual Power by thirty percent, making it a perfect match for the Four Spirits Technique.

”So? This Secret Skill I chose for you isn’t too bad, is it?” Shuini said with a beaming smile. She knew of Lü Zhong’s aptitude and was well aware of the difficulties a Four Spirit Root Cultivator faced in Foundation Establishment. That was why she had not hesitated to use her status and make a special trip to Flying Star Peak to trade for this Secret Skill from the Jade Platform Ancestor.

But this was a detail she would not share with Lü Zhong.

”Thank you, Master!” Lü Zhong said, cupping his hands in a respectful salute.

His impression of this master of his was growing better and better.

...

Leaving Shuini Cave Mansion, Lü Zhong’s smile vanished. He headed toward the residential area for the front mountain disciples. He planned to collect the rent for his Spirit-Seeking Rat and figure out how to get to Water Summoning Village.

He had already learned the location of Water Summoning Village from Shuini.

It was located north of the Yongling Area, in the most densely populated part of the Heling Sect’s territory. The region was ruled by a small country called Shidong, which had been propped up by the sect. The current Sovereign’s line all shared the surname Ge and were said to be blood descendants of an ancestor from the sect’s Tuoyang Lineage.

The two places were several thousand li apart. Renting a Red-tailed Eagle would be the best way to save time.

Lost in thought as he walked, he soon arrived at a small, private courtyard.

He tapped lightly on the bronze ring of the main gate, but there was no response for a long time.

After waiting for quite a while, a passing Heling Sect disciple stopped and kindly informed him, ”Senior Brother, didn’t you know? Senior Brother Chen was sent to the battlefield by the sect a while ago and unfortunately lost his life at the hands of a Golden Rainbow Sect Sword Cultivator. I heard even his body wasn’t left intact...”