A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

In the Quiet Chamber, Spiritual Light flickered.

Lü Zhong formed a Flying Star Seal with his hands and chanted, continuously absorbing the Star Yang Qi from the moments just before sunrise. At the same time, a starlight-blue glow flowed across the surface of his body, occasionally erupting in a blinding flash.

On the floor of the Quiet Chamber, empty medicine bottles trembled ceaselessly. The red cloth on their stoppers was affected, lifting strangely from the ground with the dust. They began to float and slowly swirl in a vortex around his seated form.

As time passed, the medicine bottles themselves soon began to float in the air.

Then, he let out a low shout.

Suddenly, all the floating objects around him froze before clattering to the ground.

At the same time, the light on his body solidified from an illusion into reality.

A joyful expression appeared on Lü Zhong’s face. He quickly lowered his head to examine himself and saw a new layer of starlight-blue membrane coating his body. This was the Star Yang Gang in its Great Success State.

To the touch, it was almost flush with his skin.

It didn’t affect his sense of touch at all, and its toughness was comparable to the hide of a Demon Beast.

”Whew... A full three thousand days and nights, and I’ve finally mastered you!”

He tested it and found it was just as the ancient texts described. The True Cultivation Gang Qi could automatically protect its master without a single thought. Its defensive power was quite impressive; when he struck it with the Golden Devourer Sword and the Shuo Jin Sword, it would recover in the blink of an eye. If he were to fight a Qi Refining Cultivator now, it would be as easy as slaughtering chickens and dogs.

After some detailed testing, Lü Zhong concluded that the defensive power of his Star Yang Gang at Great Success was about the same as described in the legacy texts. It was stronger than ordinary True Cultivation Gang Qi and could even rival a lower-grade defensive Spiritual Artifact. Coupled with its rapid recovery, it could definitely be considered top-tier.

’Next, I should practice my Magic Skills.’

Lü Zhong thought to himself. After slapping a few Cleaning Talismans on his body, he prepared to go out.

A few days ago, he had accepted an Array Formation commission to set up a Tier Two Mountain Protection Array for a small family. A Geomancer had already surveyed all the necessary information about the earth veins, so all he needed to do was go over, perform some final calculations, and place the Array Flags, Array Disc, and other items in their precise locations.

For this, he would receive a reward of five hundred Spirit Stones.

Business at his Talisman Shop was getting better and better, bringing in a surplus of at least two to three thousand Spirit Stones each month, but who would ever complain about having too many Spirit Stones? Half a day’s work could earn him what an ordinary True Cultivator made in half a year. No wonder those Array Masters were all so secretive, with each one’s requirements for accepting disciples more stringent than the last. They were clearly afraid that more people would dilute their profits.

Many cultivators had already come to Lü Zhong’s door, hoping to become his apprentice. Among them were descendants of Golden Core Independent Cultivators and even those from the direct lineages of major families.

But he had politely refused them all.

He wasn’t afraid of inviting retaliation either, since he had the Guild backing him up.

After eating some shrimp wontons, Lü Zhong left his residence and boarded the four-wheeled Beast Vehicle his maid had summoned.

Once he was outside the city, he immediately released his Flying Ship and flew southwest.

The atmosphere outside the city was tense. Along the way, he could see many families and farms with their Defense Arrays activated. Honored Guest Elders led guards on patrol, terrified of a Black Death Insect Swarm appearing.

Clearly, they were all afraid of suffering the same fate as the Liu Family two days prior.

’It’s strange. Batch after batch of disciples from the Lingyue Sect have gone, and I heard several Golden Core Elders went as well. How is it that the area still hasn’t been unsealed? I wonder what the Liu Family’s situation is now.’

Lü Zhong sat cross-legged on his Flying Ship, his thoughts still on the matter of the Liu Family.

’With their Mountain Protection Grand Array, the Liu Family should be fine.’

’The Black Death Insects are formidable, and an ordinary cultivator is no match for one in a one-on-one fight. But for the swarm to breach a Mountain Protection Grand Array, it would take at least a day or two. After all, they can only use brute force to break the array, which should be more than enough time for reinforcements from Lingyue Immortal City to arrive.’

That was precisely why he found it so strange.

Logically speaking, the situation over there should have been resolved by now, not shrouded in conflicting rumors as it was.

After a while, Lü Zhong couldn’t make sense of it and decided to stop overthinking. He focused his attention on the increasingly desolate scenery, wary of a surprise attack from an Evil Cultivator.

There were highway-robbing Evil Cultivators around Lingyue Immortal City, too.

They weren’t numerous, but every one of them was insidious and cunning, which was why the Law Enforcement Hall had failed to eliminate them despite repeated attempts.

Soon, a small hill with a residence built upon it came into view.

Lü Zhong habitually raised his hand, preparing to cast a Malice Detection Technique.

In recent years, he had grown increasingly proficient with this technique, casting it from time to time as a matter of course.

’A pity. If only I could learn the Six Divination Skill.’

Although this skill was also a form of Arcane Studies, it was widely acknowledged to enhance a cultivator’s spiritual intuition, increasing the frequency of events like ”sudden whims” that could help one avoid deadly calamities.

But that was just a fleeting thought for Lü Zhong.

This Secret Skill had been lost for who knows how long.

Suddenly, his expression changed.

As if in disbelief, he quickly formed another seal.

Sensing the warning that flared in his mind, Lü Zhong’s expression shifted again and again.

The hill, which had seemed ordinary just moments before, now appeared to him as a ”dragon’s pool and a tiger’s den.”

’Better to believe it’s true!’

The worst that could happen was losing out on those five hundred Spirit Stones.

He consecutively executed several Technique Mantras, and the Flying Ship banked high above the hill, speeding back toward Lingyue Immortal City.

...

In the courtyard below, over a dozen cultivators hidden within an array stared at each other in bewilderment.

The leader of this group was a young man in fine clothes. Watching the Flying Ship vanish in a matter of moments, his face flushed from pale to red as waves of anger surged through him.

”What happened? Why did he suddenly turn around?”

A black-robed cultivator of no small status approached his side.

”He must have sensed something in advance. I’ve heard this person has always been cautious. Our plan was too hasty, and it certainly had many flaws.”