A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

A Tier Two Demon Insect would definitely form an Inner Core within its body.

Lü Zhong knew this as well. The records had specifically mentioned it when discussing the Black Death Insect.

”Friend, under what conditions would you be willing to part with this insect’s Inner Core?” Su Richang asked, stepping closer.

As the saying goes, business is business. Lü Zhong was sorely tempted to rip him off. Considering the value of the Black Death Insect’s Pill itself, plus the value of the Cyan-winged Lion, asking for three thousand Spirit Stones wouldn’t be excessive.

’But if I want to maximize my profit, asking for Spirit Stones directly is the worst option.’

’Considering my future need for Spiritual Ink for Flying Talismans, getting him to sign a Spirit Contract for a stable supply of Spirit Beast Blood is the best move right now.’

After a round of haggling, Lü Zhong traded one Black Death Insect Pill for a ten-year supply contract for Cyan-winged Lion blood, plus Essence worth nearly a thousand Spirit Stones. The deal immediately recouped the loss of his Jade Token.

Once the transaction was complete, Su Richang’s daughter, Su Xu’Er, immediately took the Insect Pill to treat the Cyan-winged Lion.

”Manor Master Su, why would a Black Death Insect appear here?” Lü Zhong asked after putting away the Black Death Insect’s corpse. ’This is no ordinary matter; the hidden implications are immense.’

”SIGH. It’s the Wildborn Tribes. A new Great Witch recently appeared among them...” Su Richang said, not trying to conceal the truth, and shared some of what he knew.

A Great Witch was the equivalent of a cultivator in the Nascent Soul Realm.

This had shattered the original stalemate. The Lingyue Sect currently had only one Nascent Soul True Monarch. Even though his cultivation was a Small Realm higher than the two Wildborn Great Witches and he was constantly rushing to put out fires everywhere, the front lines were inevitably being broken.

”I heard that several Golden Core Sects on the border have already been wiped out.”

Lü Zhong fell silent upon hearing this.

’In the face of a Great Witch, a Golden Core Sect is truly nothing.’

’They only need to be besieged for a period of time before their Mountain Grand Array is broken.’

’Once the Sects at the forefront are gone, the Cultivation Clans below them, along with the mortals who depend on them for survival, will be immediately overrun by the Wildborn army. At least a million lives will be lost.’

It was precisely because of this upheaval at the front that the Black Death Insect incursion had occurred.

These insects bred rapidly and were highly venomous.

Once they established a nest, all life in the vicinity would suffer.

”But you need not worry too much, friend. The Seven Southern Barbarian Sects are united. The moment the Lingyue Sect calls for aid, the other Six Sects will surely send reinforcements. For us, the biggest impact will just be a slight rise in prices.”

Su Richang’s words were not just empty talk.

Lü Zhong agreed. This was, after all, the primary reason the Heling Sect had chosen to split apart voluntarily instead of risking a confrontation. For thousands of years, the Southern Barbarian lands had only ever had seven Nascent Soul Sects, which had long ago formed a mutual defense Alliance. Unless the Alliance of the Seven Sects collapsed from within, there was absolutely no opportunity for an eighth Nascent Soul Sect to rise.

After some small talk, Lü Zhong gave him a delivery address and then took his leave.

...

After activating the Tier Two Green Wood Array, Lü Zhong sat cross-legged in his Quiet Chamber and began to take stock of his gains.

’Just as I expected, the two cultivators in black were indeed from a Sect—and they were Lingyue Sect disciples. This means most of the loot I got from them can’t be sold directly, lest someone secretly recognizes it and reports me, bringing me a world of trouble.’

’Still, their Storage Bags didn’t contain anything particularly good.’

’Unlike Loose Cultivators, sect cultivators have no need to carry all their wealth on their person. As a result, aside from a few Magical Artifacts and Pills, the bags mostly contained items used for combat.’

’Fortunately, they were carrying a good number of Spirit Stones. The total came to five thousand, which was a decent haul.’

He set the two Storage Bags aside to find a place to deal with them later when he had time.

Lü Zhong took out the Storage Bags of the Five Heroes of Cloud Mountain.

’They were just Qi Refining cultivators, after all, so there wasn’t much of value inside. The contents were numerous and miscellaneous, including Pills and Talismans, Cultivation Method Manuals, and a large assortment of daily necessities.’

He went through four of them, and their contents added up to just over three thousand Spirit Stones in value.

When he opened the Storage Bag of the old man with the rosacea nose, something good finally appeared.

”Black Muzhu, oh, Black Muzhu, I didn’t think we’d meet again!” Lü Zhong gleefully put it away. He planned to find some time to refine it and then figure out a way to seal it, to prevent the Black Corpse Hall from coming after him again.

’Unfortunately, probably because it was buried in the tomb for too long, the Spiritual Veins inside the pearl are severely damaged.’

’Fortunately, it should recover its function after being nurtured for a while.’

Continuing his inventory, he found a whole box of Mid-grade Spirit Stones, worth twenty thousand Spirit Stones.

Then there was some miscellaneous junk: Magic Technique Books, Cultivation Method Manuals, and the like. It was the kind of stuff only Loose Cultivators would find valuable. Lü Zhong wasn’t interested in any of it and planned to sell it all off later.

Next, he looked at a pile of gold and silver objects beside him. These items were clearly from the Mistress’ Tomb.

He had set them aside separately because he was worried they had been tampered with.

To be cautious, Lü Zhong prepared to use the Gray Mist Space to inspect them.

The results came quickly, and it was a mixed bag.

The good news was that enough time had passed that even if the items had been tampered with, the effects had eroded away. Now, as long as he didn’t mind the filth, he could touch them freely.

But by the same token, having been placed in the tomb for so long, the Magical Artifacts buried with them had also lost their effectiveness.

As he was sorting through the items, Lü Zhong suddenly let out a soft ”Huh?” and drew out a damaged Silver Plate with his magic.

He formed a Cleaning Skill and cast it on the Silver Plate’s surface, shaking the grime loose. As he stared at the small, tadpole-shaped characters that were revealed, his expression gradually grew solemn.