A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

As the morning sun rose, the vast Lingyue Immortal City came ”alive.”

As the only Immortal City in the Lingyue Domain, its status was self-evident. It was the undisputed center of the region, its land and water routes bustling with activity at all hours. Even the air-harbor to the west of the city saw Flying Ships landing frequently after dawn.

Lü Zhong had set out from Jingyang Market, and it had taken him nearly half a month to finally arrive.

His first impression of Lingyue Immortal City was a single word—vast!

Visible from the air, Lingyue Immortal City was situated on the Lingyue Mountain Spirit Vein. The area of its core district alone was no smaller than the metropolises he remembered from his past life. When including the surrounding residential areas and the various farms and manors that produced basic resources, it could be called a thousand-mile city.

After disembarking from the Flying Ship’s landing platform, he quickly joined the flow of people onto a walkway lined with railings carved from white marble. Leaning against one and looking east, a massive city came into view.

The most eye-catching feature wasn’t the densely packed, soaring towers in the central district of Lingyue Immortal City, but the great, floating island high above. That was the home of the Lingyue Sect, shrouded in iridescent clouds of Spiritual Qi, truly resembling an Immortal Palace floating in the sky.

”Master, is this Lingyue Immortal City?” Li Hejun asked, a flash of surprise in her beautiful eyes. She, who rarely showed any emotion in front of others, now wore an expression of utter astonishment.

The reason was simple: the sight was just too breathtaking.

For a mere mortal like her to witness such a scene, she felt she could die with no regrets.

Lü Zhong was also quite shocked. ’The scale of this Immortal City is just too immense.’ The last remnants of pride from his past life were mercilessly crushed.

’This is just one Immortal City in the Southern Barbarian lands. If I were to go to Central Earth, where the Immortal Dao flourishes, what kind of sight would greet me there?’ For the first time, he felt his imagination was somewhat lacking. He made a silent vow: ’If I ever get the chance, I must make a trip to Central Earth in my lifetime to see for myself the splendor and prosperity under the rule of an Immortal Sect.’

He circulated the Ice Heart Mantra to suppress his excitement.

He had originally planned to do as he did in Yongling City: investigate the markets himself and choose an ideal location to open a shop. But now, it seemed he would have to find someone to brief him on the city first. Otherwise, if he tried to gather the information on his own, it might take him three to five years just to get his bearings.

”Senior, you can’t linger on the walkway. Could I trouble you to move elsewhere?”

A soft, sweet voice called out. It belonged to a Qi Refining Female Cultivator with a hint of baby fat on her cheeks. She was dressed in simple, practical attire, wore a conical bamboo hat, and was smiling at the two of them.

”And you are?” Lü Zhong asked, his gaze sweeping over the character for ”Patrol” on her hat. He was a bit confused.

”This junior is an air-harbor patrol officer, responsible for maintaining order here,” the Female Cultivator replied. ”Please forgive me, Senior. This walkway has a lot of foot traffic, and Beast Vehicles often come and go, so it isn’t a good place for sightseeing.”

The Female Cultivator pointed to a high platform in the distance and continued with a smile, ”If Senior wishes to enjoy the view from up high with your concubine, you might want to go to that Elevated Platform. A Commerce Association has set up Thousand-Mile Mirrors there, which will let you take in the entire scenery of Lingyue City!”

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

”Don’t mention it, it’s just my duty.” The Female Cultivator returned the gesture humbly. Seeing another group of people loitering on the walkway, she excused herself with an apologetic look and went to advise them to move along.

Lü Zhong had wanted to ask her a few more things, but seeing her busy, he decided against it.

Once on the Elevated Platform, the view was indeed much more open. He spent a Spirit Stone to try the Thousand-Mile Mirror. It could magnify distant objects, making a person dozens of miles away appear with perfect clarity. Although the device was of little use to him, for a mortal like Li Hejun, it was the perfect novelty.

After watching for a few moments, Lü Zhong struck up a conversation with the cultivator renting out the Thousand-Mile Mirrors.

Perhaps because he was used to seeing Foundation Establishment Cultivators, the chubby stall owner, despite only having a Late-stage Qi Refining cultivation, wasn’t as timid as cultivators from other places. He was neither servile nor overbearing while chatting with Lü Zhong.

His speech and manner were proper, and his knowledge was quite extensive.

In one respect, however, he was like most other cultivators: he often lamented how difficult it was to earn Spirit Stones.

He explained that while there were many opportunities in Lingyue Immortal City—even a Qi Refining novice new to the Cultivation Realm could find a job in the Workshop District for ten Spirit Stones a month—you spent the money as fast as you earned it. Trying to build any savings in a place like this was harder than ascending to the heavens.

After listening to the stall owner’s explanation, Lü Zhong could only remark, ”Goods in Lingyue are expensive. It’s not easy to make a life here...”

Fortunately, the man also hinted that cultivators with a specialized skill could still live comfortably in the city. At the very least, affording a fine home and a beautiful concubine was not a problem.

After chatting for a while, Lü Zhong asked, ”If I wanted to get familiar with the city, how should I go about it?”

”Senior, you should look for the Hyacinths,” the stall owner said. ”They’ve all lived here in Lingyue Immortal City for generations, for hundreds or even thousands of years. If you want to know who understands the city best, it’s definitely the Hyacinths.”

As he spoke, the chubby stall owner pointed toward a spot near the air-harbor exit.

Lü Zhong followed his finger and saw a group of cultivators in cyan robes gathered in that spot. Whenever they saw a cultivator standing at the exit and looking around, they would approach them. After a brief conversation, they would either withdraw or depart cheerfully with their new client.

”That’s where the Hyacinths solicit business. But not all of them have real skills. If you don’t mind, Senior, this junior would take the liberty of recommending a suitable candidate.”