A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Ganquan Cave.

Inside the Alchemy Room, the furnace fire was extinguished, and all was quiet.

Lü Zhong stared at the medicinal dregs scattered before him, his mood fraught with irritation.

He had underestimated the difficulty of refining the Grass Spirit Creation Liquid.

The root cause was his lack of proficiency in refining the Grass Spirit Pill.

’I’ve been too impatient! Eliminating the Zhang Family, that great menace, has unsettled my state of mind. It’s like a petty person who suddenly finds success.’ Lü Zhong reflected for a moment. He decided to get back to basics and work his way up. First, he would raise his Pill Formation Rate for the Grass Spirit Pill above the break-even point before attempting to refine the Grass Spirit Creation Liquid again.

The only good news was that while all his attempts to refine the Grass Spirit Creation Liquid had failed, he had succeeded in refining most of the Vein Tempering Creation Liquid.

After all, it was just a formula for a medicinal bath; refining the liquid was far less difficult than Alchemy.

Although the refined Vein Tempering Creation Liquid had a rather short shelf life, it would be fine as long as he used it promptly. ’To master the Second Layer of the Jade Vein Technique sooner, a little hardship is worth it.’

Composing himself, Lü Zhong waved his sleeve, grinding the waste into fine powder and carrying it away before exiting Ganquan Cave.

As the ”Sea Tide Stage” approached, the roars of beasts echoed continuously from beyond Ganquan Island.

The seawater had turned a dark blue, and massive waves rolled in one after another, hinting at the unrest beneath the surface.

Since the beginning of the Sea Tide Stage, the activity of Sea Beasts had increased significantly. Just on his way here, Lü Zhong had seen three Sea Beasts crawl onto Ganquan Island. Among them was a rare ”Sakura Lamp Newt.” Though it was only a Tier One Sea Beast, the Sakura Lamp on its head was quite valuable and was now in his Storage Bag.

SPLASH!

With a spray of water, another Sea Beast surfaced in the bay before him.

Lü Zhong glanced at it with interest, but when he saw it was a low-value spotted sea slug, he looked away. Not only was the creature highly venomous and difficult to kill, but its materials wouldn’t fetch a good price. There was no need to hunt it.

He formed a hand seal and began Chanting, activating his Qi Observation Skill.

Looking out over Ganquan Island, he saw pillar after pillar of Demon Qi soaring into the sky.

He had only been practicing Alchemy for a few days, yet the number of Sea Beasts on the island had already risen to eleven.

’I didn’t think much of it before, but now I see this ’Sea Tide Stage’ is truly a major obstacle to settling in the Outer Sea. It’s a key factor in the destruction of settlements. If I really want to build a commercial port on Ganquan Island in the future, I’ll have to prove that the new port has the strength to withstand the Sea Beast Groups during the Sea Tide Stage. Otherwise, I fear no ships will be willing to dock...’

Lü Zhong stopped that train of thought, not letting himself dwell on it.

Building a commercial port would be immensely profitable. It would allow the Chengde Commerce Association to reach a new level of strength and provide him with a greater return in Spirit Stone resources.

But that, too, would have to wait until after he reached Core Formation.

Otherwise, even if he did manage to build it, he would just be setting the stage for someone else to reap the rewards.

A moment later, a streak of azure light rose slowly from the island, flying straight toward Changchun Immortal City.

...

Lintao Pavilion, the rear courtyard.

Lü Zhong was soaked to the bone, looking utterly disheveled.

He’d had bad luck on the way back, encountering a Tier Three Screaming Sea Conch. This conch was ranked eighty-seventh on the Sea Emperor List and possessed the power to overturn rivers and seas. If it hadn’t been busy attacking a fleet of ships at the time, merely swatting him with a wave as an afterthought, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

’How absurd. To think I could run into a Tier Three Sea Beast even in the inner sea.’

”No wonder the cultivators here fear the Sea Tide Stage like the plague.”

Lü Zhong thought silently as he allowed a maid to help him change his clothes.

’A lesson learned the hard way. I’ll never be so reckless again.’

He then summoned the Medicine Boy and ordered her to prepare the medicinal bath chamber. He particularly emphasized that she should prepare plenty of fresh water; otherwise, if he ran out of water midway through his cultivation, the unabsorbed medicinal power would be wasted.

Spirit Stones were hard to come by; every bit saved was a bit earned.

He was just waiting for Yu Feng’Er to arrive.

A maid came to report that she was swamped with work and couldn’t get away.

Ever since the Chengde Commerce Association defeated the Wangxi Commerce Association, the number of matters weighing on Yu Feng’Er had multiplied. She was often so busy she barely touched the ground, her days and nights turned upside down. Lü Zhong was well aware of this and worried that if it continued, it might even affect the progress of her cultivation.

’Perhaps it’s time to restructure the Commerce Association,’ Lü Zhong thought to himself.

As it stood, the personnel structure of the Chengde Commerce Association was one where the Chairman held all the power.

The advantage was ensuring firm control over the Commerce Association. The disadvantage was that the sheer volume of tasks was exhausting, a flaw that became more pronounced as the association grew. The Great Commerce Associations faced the same problem, which was why they typically split off into multiple smaller Commerce Associations to distribute the Chairman’s responsibilities.

For a cultivator, strength should be the priority.

Engaging in commerce was merely a means to acquire resources; one must not put the cart before the horse.

If it were anyone else, it wouldn’t matter, but Yu Feng’Er was different.

After a moment of contemplation, Lü Zhong ”wrote” a new Commerce Association structure on a piece of Talisman Paper. He ordered someone to deliver it to Yu Feng’Er, telling her to restructure the association accordingly. He didn’t mind if it resulted in some ”losses” or ’skimming off the top.’ After all, if you want the horse to run, you have to feed it grass. This was far better than her working herself to death and ultimately delaying her cultivation.

After he had taken care of this, the Medicine Boy came to report that the medicinal bath chamber was ready.

Lü Zhong took two steps before remembering, ’Don’t I still need a concubine?’

During Lady Butterfly’s last attack, both of his concubines had tragically perished. He had even paid a sum of Spirit Stones to their families as compensation afterward. With the series of events that followed, he hadn’t yet gone to bring back new ones.

”Hold on for now. Wait until I’ve brought back a new concubine,” Lü Zhong instructed.

”Yes, Master.” Hearing this, the Medicine Boy bowed and withdrew.

He hurried to the city’s Human Market.

Even though it wasn’t his first time here, Lü Zhong was still amazed by the sheer variety of ”goods” available. There were not only male and female cultivators from all over the Southern Barbarian lands, but also Northern Border Snow Maidens with exquisitely delicate features. Their blue skin was like polished jade, and they strangely possessed two pairs of arms. Just standing before them, one could feel a chill wash over them. He figured they would be most suitable for the scorching summer days.