A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

With a shake of his head and a smile, Lü Zhong temporarily severed his senses to avoid interfering with his main body’s movements.

After crossing streams and ravines and traveling for a long time through the dense, mist-shrouded forest, the two black-robed figures soon arrived before a completely unremarkable cliff face. Then, after doing something unknown, their bodies passed right through it, and they vanished without a trace.

Lü Zhong constantly shifted his position, avoiding detection by the Limb-Attaching Sect’s hidden sentries, his gaze fixed on that cliff face.

’So this is the Limb-Attaching Sect’s stronghold!’

His goal achieved, Lü Zhong had no intention of clashing with the Limb-Attaching Sect and decided to retreat.

’If I don’t disturb them, we can all get along. There’s no need to stir up trouble.’

’If the Sect does send reinforcements to investigate this matter, I’ll have credit for discovering the Limb-Attaching Sect’s stronghold. I won’t need to fear any punishment.’

’If they don’t, even better.’

That way, he could live out these three years in peace.

He had just turned to leave when he saw another group of cultivators arrive.

Interestingly, there was someone he recognized in the group. It was the very same party of cultivators he had seen before in Weier City; the woman in black at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer was now among them.

Perhaps because they felt they had reached a safe place, some people in the group began to talk.

A gentle mountain breeze carried their voices over to Lü Zhong, who was downwind.

The voices were choppy, and he could only make out the gist of their conversation.

”...”

Unfortunately, the voices were too indistinct, and since Lü Zhong had never practiced an Ear Listening Technique, he could only tell that they were discussing a family’s revenge. As for who they were seeking revenge against, he had no idea.

Making a mental note of this, Lü Zhong slowly withdrew.

Back at the temporary cave he had carved out near Water Summoning Village, he laid down the portable Spirit Gathering Array he carried. He then placed Spirit Stones into its slots one by one. The density of Spiritual Qi inside the cave surged, soon becoming comparable to that within the Heling Sect itself.

Cultivating in a place like this wouldn’t slow his progress by much.

Perhaps it was due to his arrival, but Water Summoning Village suddenly became quiet.

...

Day by day, time slipped by. In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed.

The mountain flowers had withered and bloomed anew. It was now March, the heart of spring.

Inside his cave, Lü Zhong sat cross-legged, muttering an incantation. His hands constantly shifted through a series of Dharma Seals as the Spiritual Power within him ebbed and flowed. He was practicing the Gathering Element Technique his master, Shuini, had given him.

This technique could increase his Foundation Establishment Success Rate, so he was taking its practice very seriously.

A few breaths later, he dispersed his Spiritual Power and gave a wry smile.

’This Gathering Element Technique is really much harder than I expected.’

According to the technique, he needed to condense a seed of Primordial Qi in each of the body’s one hundred and eight Acupoints. He had originally thought it would simply be a matter of patient, grinding work. Who would have expected that after spending over half a year, he hadn’t managed to form even one?

’Oh well. I’ll practice the Flying Star Inheritance Techniques for now.’

Lü Zhong shook his head, deciding not to dwell on the matter.

Unlike his complete lack of progress with the Gathering Element Technique, his advancement in the Flying Star Inheritance was quite gratifying.

He had already mastered the Flying Star Qi Introduction Skill.

Through practice, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the Flying Star Qi Introduction Skill was not only effective on the Flying Star Inheritance Techniques, but also provided a certain amplifying effect for non-inheritance Magic Skills, such as the Breath Concealing Skill and the Qingyang Fire Rain Technique.

The effect was just heavily diminished compared to when it was used to amplify the Flying Star Inheritance Techniques.

’So one plus one really can equal five! It’s precisely because of Inheritance Magic Skills like the Flying Star Qi Introduction Skill that the power of Sect and Family Cultivators is all but guaranteed.’

Closing his eyes and focusing his mind, Lü Zhong quickly entered the Gray Mist Space.

After a great deal of careful organization, he had sorted out the entire Flying Star Inheritance. It manifested in the Gray Mist Space as rows of bookshelves containing all the contents of the Qi Refining Chapter.

’What should I learn next?’ Lü Zhong fell into thought as he gazed at the tomes of the inheritance.

Lü Zhong had always believed that there was no such thing as the strongest Magic Skill, only the most suitable one.

For now, the main threat he faced came from the Limb-Attaching Sect.

Although the past half-year had been peaceful, Lü Zhong, who had been constantly monitoring the Limb-Attaching Sect, discovered that Loose Cultivators had been steadily joining its ranks in recent years. Perhaps it was this increase in strength that made them act less cautiously than before. This change was reflected in Xu Changfu of Water Summoning Village, who had repeatedly refused Lü Zhong’s requests for Spirit-Hosted Puppets.

’If I weren’t trying to be thorough with my disguise as a greedy, lecherous Sect Disciple, why would I have made the request so many times?’

At this thought, Lü Zhong decided to pick an Inheritance Technique that could counter the Limb-Attaching Sect.

’I’ve decided. It’s you!’

His gaze fixed on a spot on the bookshelf, and with a flick of his will, a Magic Technique Book flew into his hand.

*Flying Star Return Skill*, one of the core techniques of the Flying Star Inheritance.

This skill was a type of countermeasure. It could generate a Counteracting Force Field that would convert an incoming Magic Skill into a highly penetrating pillar of flowing starlight and return it to the caster.

The skill had a limit to how much it could convert, and the timing of the casting had to be precise to achieve the ideal return effect. Even so, it was still an excellent Magic Skill for countering the Limb-Attaching Sect. After all, from what Lü Zhong had seen, the greatest benefit of the sect’s limb-grafting was an enhancement to their Casting abilities.

After a moment’s pause, Lü Zhong’s gaze shifted to another Magic Technique Book on the shelf.

*Flying Star Parallel Skill*, another core technique of the Flying Star Inheritance.

This Magic Technique Book was the key to achieving multi-casting within the Flying Star Inheritance. The principle was exactly what the name implied: parallel Casting. Mastering this skill would grant the ability to cast multiple skills at once.

’Never mind. The Scattered Star Mantra is difficult to practice. I estimate that even if I pour three to five years into it, I still might not be able to learn it.’ After mulling it over, Lü Zhong decided to temporarily give up on practicing this technique.