A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

When the withered old crone saw Lü Zhong’s decisive departure, her sinister smile vanished, replaced by a rare look of panic. After a shout to her accomplice, she abandoned the grievously wounded Lin Fangyun, her body twisting into a plume of roiling black smoke to give chase to the Flying Ship.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! The sound of something slicing through the air assaulted them.

Several Butterfly Flying Needles shot out from the black smoke.

Lü Zhong had already sensed them and maneuvered the Flying Ship into a roll to dodge.

Yu Feng’Er, however, reacted too slowly, her dazed surprise almost getting her thrown from the vessel.

He shot her a harsh glare, warning her that if she caused any more trouble, he’d throw her overboard. It was, after all, just a transaction, and they hadn’t even signed a Spirit Contract. The threat instantly drained the color from Yu Feng’Er’s face. She grabbed the ship’s railing for dear life, not daring to let go.

’Honestly, the woman was so foolish it was almost cute. Who makes a deal without signing a Spirit Contract?’

Then, with a flick of his fingers, Lü Zhong cast several Technique Mantras at the Flying Ship, activating his Wind Manipulation Divine Technique. The vessel’s speed increased dramatically, transforming into a streak of light that shot through the sky.

Unexpectedly, the Demon Cultivator behind them continued her relentless pursuit.

With a muffled BANG, a giant skeleton butterfly emerged from the black smoke.

It had a wingspan of ten zhang. Its two wings were ashen-white as bone and riddled with holes of various sizes, from which wisps of black qi continuously seeped. Where the butterfly’s torso should have been, there was instead a naked woman. She bore some resemblance to the withered old crone, but she was unnaturally young.

With just a few flaps of its wings, the distance between them closed rapidly.

By now, the towering silhouette of Changchun Immortal City was visible in the distance. Below them, a patchwork of Spirit Fields had appeared. They were less than a hundred li from the Immortal City.

On the ground, the mortals and cultivators at work all stopped what they were doing. They looked up to watch, chattering amongst themselves, none wanting to miss such a rare spectacle.

In the sky, Lü Zhong engaged the skeleton butterfly.

He stopped holding back. This skeleton butterfly was ridiculously powerful; if he didn’t go all-out, he would suffer a devastating loss. So, he threw everything he had at it.

The Qingyang Mirror, Qianfeng Ring, and Dragon and Tiger Banner were deployed one after another.

For a moment, the sky exploded in a dazzling, multicolored light show—a truly beautiful sight.

The crowd below gasped in awe, cheering at the spectacle.

But their cheers quickly died. A fine, rustling Bone Powder began to drift down from the sky.

Upon contact, their faces turned a ghastly, ashen gray.

The cultivators fared better; by circulating their energy, they could just barely resist it.

But the mortals suffered a terrible fate.

They began bleeding from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. Their pupils clouded over, and a yellowish-white drool trickled from their lips. They let out beast-like roars and lunged at those nearest to them.

Instantly, the scene descended into chaos.

Meanwhile, Lü Zhong’s body was wreathed in a Golden Flame.

Out of caution, he hadn’t dared let the strange Bone Powder touch him, instead burning it away with his Golden Sun Insect Fire. Now, seeing the chaos on the ground below, he felt his caution had been well-placed.

He formed a hand seal and began Chanting, instantly condensing a Magic Sword to sever a grasping, skeletal limb.

”I know who she is! She’s Lady Butterfly!”

Yu Feng’Er shrieked, pointing at the skeleton butterfly as a realization struck her.

’Lady Butterfly?’

Lü Zhong flicked his wrist, launching a dozen Fireball Bullets to scatter the Flying Needles spat out by the butterfly. He began to search his memories. It seemed someone had mentioned that name during his lessons at Dongbu House.

Lady Butterfly. A notorious Demon Cultivator wanted by Changchun Valley.

She cultivated a top-tier Demon Technique called the Butterfly Transformation Technique, rumored to have been left behind by a titan of the Demon Dao upon his death.

Among the cultivators who had died at her hands, the number of Foundation Establishment True Cultivators alone was in the double digits. The count of Qi Refining Stage Loose Cultivators was innumerable, to say nothing of mortals. Just now, at least a thousand people had lost their lives to her attack.

Her most recent feat was successfully escaping from the Punishment Hall Elders of Changchun Valley.

It was a well-known fact that the Punishment Hall Elders of Changchun Valley were all Golden Core Masters. For Lady Butterfly to escape from them, her own strength was clearly not to be underestimated. She had to be on the same level as the Seven Sons of Huayi.

Realizing this, Lü Zhong abandoned any thought of defeating her.

”Hold on tight!”

Without waiting to see if Yu Feng’Er understood, he sent the Wood Spirit Wind-controlling Ship into a steep dive toward the ground.

The butterfly form of Lady Butterfly was absurdly fast and incredibly agile. Trying to fight it in mid-air with the clumsy Flying Ship was not a wise move.

And so, Lü Zhong decided to take the fight to the ground.

Air screamed past the Flying Ship, producing a piercing shriek.

Yu Feng’Er had meticulously dressed up for the Yunlu Pavilion assembly, but now, assaulted by the howling wind, the expensive jewelry in her hair was long gone, and the gale distorted her delicate features. She could only cling desperately to the side of the Flying Ship, her face a mask of terror, afraid she would be flung off.

Just before they hit the ground, Lü Zhong grabbed Yu Feng’Er and leaped off.

They tumbled for a hundred zhang, their Cloud Dragon Wind Tiger Spiritual Barrier shattering dozens of large trees and plowing a deep furrow in the earth before they finally skidded to a stop amidst a roiling cloud of dust.

But just then, the dust cloud parted, and the skeleton butterfly lunged through.

Two of its sharp, blade-like bone limbs extended, preparing to sweep past and slice the two of them in half.

’I was waiting for you!’

This was the moment Lü Zhong had been waiting for. The Qianfeng Ring on his hand condensed a Wind Spear. He quickly led his target and fired it at the incoming butterfly.

BANG! A muffled impact.

The butterfly that was Lady Butterfly was immense, and it carried the momentum of its high-speed dive.

Its strike shattered the Cloud Dragon Wind Tiger Spiritual Barrier.

But in doing so, one of its bone limbs also shattered.

At the same time, with a sickening tear of flesh, the Qianfeng Spear tore off one of the woman’s arms at the butterfly’s core. Blood gushed from the wound.

”AAAAAHHH!!”

A shrill, agonizing scream erupted from the woman’s mouth.

The skeleton butterfly tumbled and soared back into the sky, releasing a cloud of pale powder in its wake.