A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

’Will it really go this smoothly?’

”Don’t beast tides occur in the Northern Great Forest Sea?” Lü Zhong asked curiously.

He didn’t seem to have ever heard of such a thing in the Southern Barbarian lands.

”Pfft,” Yu Feng’Er chuckled. ”My dear husband, you think this is the East Sea? They have such things over there, but not on land. Although there are many Demon Beasts in the Forest Sea, and occasionally a population will grow disastrously large, they’ve never formed a beast tide. It’s been this way ever since the Demon Court fell a million years ago.”

Yu Feng’Er was very certain about this.

They continued onward.

The deeper they went into the Forest Sea, the more potent the Ten Thousand Trees Poisonous Miasma became.

At first, they could withstand it with Detoxification Pills. But later, when the poisonous miasma manifested as a luminous fog, every breath drew large amounts of toxins into their bodies. At that point, Pills were of little use.

And this was where the supply stations came into play.

The supply stations were built in locations where the Ten Thousand Trees Poisonous Miasma was thin. Arrays were used to create a safe, non-toxic area where cultivators could neutralize the miasma in their bodies. After resting and recovering, they could set off for the next supply station.

Repeating this process, the convoy they were with arrived smoothly at Green Jade Market.

Green Jade Market was located over a thousand li into the Northern Great Forest Sea.

Initially, this place was just a small, barren, rocky hill. As the number of cultivators exploring the Forest Sea grew, it slowly became a stopping point.

Over time, the stopping point developed into the Green Jade Ruins Market.

For a long time, the place remained a Ruins Market. It was only after receiving support from Yu Chengde that it gradually developed into a proper Workshop Market.

In the beginning, the goods sold in the market were scarce. Apart from some simple, easy-to-craft Low-tier Spiritual Objects, everything else—such as Pills, Talismans, and Magical Artifacts—had to be shipped from the Changchun Domain, making them extremely expensive.

If not for the substantial profits to be made from exploring the Forest Sea, no one would have been able to afford them.

But now, the Chengde Commerce Association had invested heavily in establishing the supply stations, drastically reducing transportation costs. As a result, prices at Green Jade Market had begun to fall and might eventually match those in the Changchun Domain.

Sensing the business opportunity, many cultivators began to move in.

Thanks to this, Green Jade Market was becoming more and more popular.

Led by the stationed Steward, the two began to tour the Workshop Market.

A commercial street built from logs was already taking shape.

Scattered about, many shops had already opened for business. However, the most booming enterprise was Yingchun Tower. It was said that its top courtesan, Miss Hua Chun, had been so busy she hadn’t left her bed in half a month.

At the end of the commercial street, on the mountaintop, a large trade hall was being hastily constructed.

In the future, this would be the market’s administrative center, a hub for buying and selling Spiritual Objects, and would also be responsible for issuing various missions.

Every year, vast quantities of Spirit Medicines and Spiritual Objects were excavated from the boundless Forest Sea by adventurous cultivators. Originally, most of these items would be carried out of the Forest Sea and sold, with the enormous profits falling into the hands of others. If the trade hall could be used to acquire all of them, this place would become the Chengde Commerce Association’s new Treasure Basin.

Then, not only would they recoup their initial investment, but they would also make a huge profit from acquiring the Spiritual Objects.

After finishing their tour, Lü Zhong and Yu Feng’Er returned to their lodging.

For the next while, he did nothing else, focusing solely on studying the ghouls and Demon Spirits that appeared in the Bone-Transforming Abyss. He contemplated what methods he would use to deal with them should he encounter them later.

...

The days passed one by one.

Just as Yu Feng’Er had predicted, by the end of the year, the Chengde Commerce Association had successfully extended the supply stations all the way to the Bone-Transforming Abyss. They had stockpiled a large quantity of supplies there, which Lü Zhong could take as he pleased once he arrived.

Refusing Yu Feng’Er’s offer to accompany him, Lü Zhong set out alone.

Deeper in the Forest Sea, the Ten Thousand Trees Poisonous Miasma grew ever more terrifying.

Fortunately, there were supply stations along the way.

After half a month, he finally reached the Bone-Transforming Abyss.

Here, the earth abruptly split open into a chasm. On both sides lay the vast, boundless Forest Sea, while below the thousand-ren cliffs was the burial ground of the Demon Cultivators from the old Demon Court, perpetually shrouded in a deathly, gloomy miasma.

The Purple Nether Extreme Fire that Lü Zhong sought was located a hundred li deep into the Bone-Transforming Abyss, in a place called Ruoshui Pond.

Getting there would not be easy; the path was filled with ghouls and Demon Spirits. Luckily, the Commerce Association had already built a forward base here. He just needed to explore in stages, and he would eventually be able to find his way to Ruoshui Pond.

With this in mind, he leaped forward.

After falling for over a hundred zhang, a small platform appeared ahead.

This was the location of the forward base.

But to his surprise, the place was now a ruin. Severed limbs and mangled remains were scattered everywhere, and the supplies that had been stored here were gone without a trace.

’What happened here?’ Lü Zhong’s heart sank.

Suddenly, his gaze shifted to a spot in the ruins.

”Who? Who’s there!”

”It’s... it’s me, Pavilion Master...” A bloody, mangled figure struggled to crawl out from a pile of rubble. His Steward’s uniform was tattered. It was Steward Ou of the Commerce Association, who was supposed to be in charge here.

At this moment, his face was ashen gray.

It was a sign of severe erosion by deathly energy.

Seeing this, Lü Zhong didn’t bother with questions and released a wisp of Golden Sun Insect Fire.

Without a word, he pressed it into Steward Ou’s body.

Controlling it carefully, he burned away all the deathly energy inside the steward.

He then cast over a dozen Rejuvenation Skills in succession before Steward Ou’s aura finally stabilized.

”Th-thank you, Pavilion Master Lü...” Steward Ou said with a grateful expression, but Lü Zhong cut him off with a deadpan look. He asked, ”What happened here? Why is it like this?”

Steward Ou immediately explained what had happened.

Three days ago, a group of cultivators had suddenly stormed the base.

Their leader was a powerful Foundation Establishment Cultivator. In just a few moves, the group broke through the forward base’s Array and then looted all the supplies stored here.

”They took all the supplies but didn’t kill anyone. Instead, they headed directly for the depths of the Bone-Transforming Abyss.” As Steward Ou spoke, a look of intense hatred appeared on his face. He continued, ”The ones who did the killing were another group of cultivators. They showed up after the first group left and began slaughtering everyone the moment they arrived. If I hadn’t known the Turtle Breath Skill, and if they hadn’t been in such a hurry, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have survived either.”

’Two groups?’

’Both waited for the Chengde Commerce Association to finish building the forward base before showing up one after another to reap the rewards.’

’You have to admit, their little scheme was brilliantly calculated!’

Lü Zhong became thoughtful after hearing this.

He began a scene regression.

The truth was not much different from what Steward Ou had said.

He had only concealed his own blunder. As the steward in charge of the forward base, he had underestimated the first group of cultivators, which led to the base being easily breached.

All the supplies were plundered.

Lü Zhong couldn’t be bothered to pursue the matter now; he would leave it for Yu Feng’Er to handle later.

As for the second group of cultivators, the figure of one of them seemed familiar.

If he wasn’t mistaken, it was the sharp-tongued Female Cultivator in the Feather Robe from the exchange at Dongbu House. This woman was utterly ruthless; most of the forward base’s staff had died by her hand.

The Female Cultivator in the Feather Robe was Yuan Ni from the Yuan Family of Guiyuan River.

’Yuan Ni, is it? I’ll remember you.’ Lü Zhong gazed toward Ruoshui Pond, another question still unanswered in his mind: who was the leader of the first group that breached the forward base?

’Was it Jiang Mengsun? Or...’

Based on what Lü Zhong knew, Jiang Mengsun wasn’t the type to go back on his word; otherwise, he couldn’t have built such a good reputation in their circles. Since he had sold the information to him, it was unlikely he would come and secretly take the Spirit Fire for himself.

However, you could never be sure about such things.

After all, this was the renowned ”Purple Nether Extreme Fire.” It was hard to judge by common sense.

During the scene regression, Lü Zhong tried to interfere with reality, but the person had not only used a Disguise Skill but was also wearing a Concealing Breath Treasure. As a result, even after expending a great deal of his Divine Sense, he still couldn’t see the person’s true face.

’Oh well. I’ll know once I follow them in.’

’No matter who this person is.’

’Since they dared to come and steal what’s mine, they should be prepared to never return!’

With that, Lü Zhong walked to the edge of the platform and leaped off.