A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

The full moon hung high, its light spilling freely into the Bone-Transforming Abyss. The stark white moonlight illuminated the shimmering white bones, mixing with the churning, unstable death qi to create a scene that was both eerily radiant and terrifying.

In the quiet moonlight, a figure slowly descended from the sky.

It was none other than Lü Zhong, who had come for the Purple Nether Extreme Fire.

Just as the information had described, the bottom of the Bone-Transforming Abyss was indeed a barren wasteland. As far as the eye could see, there was not a hint of green or life. There were only mountain-like skeletons, decayed for untold years, speaking of the former glory of the Demon Court, and the layers upon layers of Bone Powder covering the ground.

In some places, traces of excavation could be seen.

These had been left behind by cultivators who had gathered Demon Bone Dust in the past.

Under the effects of his Breath Concealing Skill and Stealth Technique, Lü Zhong’s aura and presence were nearly nonexistent. He avoided the aimlessly wandering Skeleton Demons and Demon Spirits, his gaze shifting toward the depths of the Bone-Transforming Abyss, where ghostly fires blazed as brilliantly as a starry night, dyeing the sky a sickly green.

He recalled the scene, confirming that both groups of cultivators had gone in the same direction.

Without tarrying any longer, he flew swiftly in that direction.

Along the way, swathes of demonic creatures had fallen.

Most of them were Skeleton Demons, born from death qi inhabiting bones. Tainted by the aura of Demon Spirits, they had taken on the forms of Demon Beasts of varying sizes, their strengths ranging from high to low.

There were giant Tier Two Skeleton Demons as large as small hills, as well as tiny Skeleton Demons that would shatter under a single step.

Looking at the Bone Crystals littering the ground, Lü Zhong gave up on the idea of collecting them.

It was all small potatoes. Even if he gathered every last one, they wouldn’t even be worth a hundred Spirit Stones. How could that compare to the importance of the Purple Nether Extreme Fire within?

The deeper he went into the Bone-Transforming Abyss, the thicker the death qi became, like a dense fog that began to severely obstruct his vision. Even with the powerful eyesight of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he could now only see about a thousand feet ahead.

When he activated his Qi Observation Skill, his vision instead became pitch-black, and he couldn’t see a thing.

’It’s just a Tier One Spell, after all. The Qi Observation Skill is starting to become useless,’ Lü Zhong thought as he deactivated the skill. ’It’s time I learned a new Spiritual Eye Skill. Otherwise, if I run into a situation like this again, I’ll be as good as blind.’

After a moment’s thought, he refrained from extending his Divine Sense and simply slowed his pace, proceeding cautiously.

The Bone-Transforming Abyss was fraught with peril, and this was even truer the deeper one went.

Those two groups had only entered a few days ahead of him. No matter their objective, they surely couldn’t have accomplished it in such a short time. He still had plenty of time.

As he reached a rocky slope, the surrounding temperature dropped suddenly.

Lü Zhong’s expression changed as well. He stared into the thick death-qi fog ahead, his face hardening. A powerful aura was there, and it was rapidly approaching.

Without hesitation, he extended his powerful Divine Sense.

Instantly, Lü Zhong knew what kind of unholy creature was in the fog.

An Evil Fire Corpse Demon!

Corpse Demons were formed from ancient bones that had resisted decay for years. They possessed considerable strength from the moment of their birth, and after absorbing vast amounts of death qi over many years, they could condense a layer of Evil Fire on their bodies. This fire was sinister, malevolent, and perfectly suited to counter a cultivator’s Protective Gang Qi.

Amidst the rattling of chains, a towering, thirty-foot-tall figure wreathed in white flames appeared.

Green fire burned eerily in the two sockets of its serpent skull, which was attached to a mangled six-armed skeleton. Its lower body was a bony serpent’s tail.

Clearly, this Evil Fire Corpse Demon had formed from the remains of a Six-armed Demon Snake. Its body was heavily damaged: two of its six arms were long gone, and the hands of two of the remaining four had been lopped off. Only two arms were fully intact, one on the left and one on the right, and each wielded a coiled Bone Sword burning with Evil Fire.

Half of a golden, glittering Talisman Chain still hung from its body.

The aura of a Tier Two Late Stage being erupted with savage fury.

Lü Zhong condensed a plume of Golden Sun Insect Fire and summoned his Golden Sun Spirit Sword, feeling a bit frustrated. ’What rotten luck. I just had to run into this Corpse Demon right after it broke free.’

Before he could think any further, the Evil Fire Corpse Demon roared and charged.

The man and the demon clashed. The Spirit Sword continuously slammed against the Bone Swords, sending sparks flying.

Lü Zhong was extremely cautious, constantly dodging the splattering Evil Fire from the Corpse Demon. He wanted to avoid any drain on his Protective Gang Qi. Considering the major battle that was sure to come, he decided it was best to conserve as much Magical Power as possible.

After a dozen or so exchanges, he spotted an opening.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Lü Zhong unleashed three consecutive Palm Thunders, blasting the Evil Fire Corpse Demon so hard that it staggered backward, losing its balance.

Seeing this rare opportunity, he flicked out a blossom of Golden Sun Insect Fire.

The Evil Fire and the Yang Fire were incompatible, instantly triggering a massive explosion.

With a deafening BOOM, a pit over ten feet deep appeared where the demon had been.

Looking again at the Evil Fire Corpse Demon, nearly half of its bones had been blown away. Less than half of its serpent tail remained, another arm had been blasted off, and the Bone Sword in its other hand had snapped. Death qi spewed continuously from the cracks in its skeleton.

’The effect was better than I expected!’ Lü Zhong was slightly surprised.

His hands didn’t stop moving. While the Evil Fire Corpse Demon was still dazed from the blast, he quickly mobilized his True Essence, formed hand seals, and began chanting. Soon, a cluster of Fireball Bullets materialized.

With a wave of his hand, all the Fireball Bullets shot forward.

In an instant, the sky was filled with fiery light!

The Evil Fire Corpse Demon let out a final, mournful howl and disintegrated into a pile of shattered bones on the ground.

When the fiery light dissipated, only a single white flame remained in the crater.

”An Evil Fire Seed?” Lü Zhong said in surprise.

’Should I consider myself lucky or unlucky?’

He had happened upon a Corpse Demon just as it escaped, but after slaying it, the creature had condensed a rarely seen Evil Fire Seed.

Without much thought, he released his Golden Sun Insect Fire.

Lü Zhong had no intention of cultivating the Evil Fire. While it was extremely effective against a cultivator’s Gang Qi, it had little potential for growth—not even as much as a low-grade Yang Fire like his Golden Sun Insect Fire. So, he planned to feed the Evil Fire Seed to it as nourishment.

CRACKLE! POP! The Golden Sun Insect Fire let out a series of sharp bursts.

The fire’s original pale gold color gradually began to deepen.

As if reaching a critical point, the aura emanating from the Golden Sun Insect Fire suddenly intensified, and its color transformed from pale gold to a true, brilliant gold.

’Not bad, not bad at all!’

A pleased expression appeared on Lü Zhong’s face.

’This Golden Sun Insect Fire may have started low, but it grows quickly. I figure with a few more enhancements like this, its might could probably match that of a ranked Spirit Fire.’

After checking the area one more time to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, Lü Zhong continued onward.

After traveling for about fifteen miles, the sky above him was filled with bobbing, phosphorescent ghost-lights. The ground here was saturated with death qi, its soil turned a grayish-black. It could easily be called Yin Earth.

At the same time, the sounds of fighting he’d been hearing grew clearer.

He crept closer to take a look and found that Yuan Ni’s group had run into trouble.

Their opponent was a Copper Armored Demon Corpse, formed from a ten-foot-tall Mountain-Piercing Giant Armadillo. The keratinous bone plates on its body were no longer copper-colored, but had begun to turn a grayish-white. Its aura was also much stronger than an ordinary Tier Two Corpse Demon’s; it was clearly in the middle of a Metamorphosis into a Silver Armored Demon Corpse.

The Refining Corpse techniques of Corpse Cultivators originated from this type of Corpse Demon.

In terms of thick hides and tough flesh, Corpse Demons were even superior to Refined Corpses.

Lü Zhong thought to himself, ’If I were to run into a Corpse Demon like that... it would be a huge headache!’

He remained hidden, sneaking closer.

’Time to settle old grudges and new. I’m going to kill Yuan Ni.’