A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Unlike Foundation Establishment Cultivators, Golden Core Masters were the ultimate fighting force as long as no Nascent Soul cultivators made an appearance.

This was especially true for Golden Core Masters who had already refined a Lifebound Treasure.

If they deliberately went on a rampage, they could easily destroy half a city district.

Lü Zhong was an outside cultivator. He wasn’t a descendant of a family that had branched off from Changchun Valley, nor was he the heir of some past disciple. To Changchun Valley, he was a complete outsider, so it was only natural for them to make such a request for him to register.

This requirement was actually quite lenient.

From what Lü Zhong understood, things were much stricter in the Lingyue Domain, which was governed by the Lingyue Sect. There, any outside Golden Core Cultivator had to become an Honored Guest Elder of the Lingyue Sect and perform a service for them once every ten years. Otherwise, they would be forced to leave the Lingyue Domain.

The other six domains of the Southern Barbarian lands treated outside Golden Core cultivators in much the same way.

Unless they received a joint guarantee from the local Golden Core Masters, no Nascent Soul Sect would allow them to remain within their domain.

The ultimate reason, of course, boiled down to a single word: ”resources.”

Even during the middle and late stages of Foundation Establishment, acquiring Spiritual Objects to advance one’s cultivation was already extremely difficult.

So what to say of the Core Formation Stage?

A domain might seem large, but its output of five-hundred-year-old Spirit Medicine was negligible. They were already stretching their resources thin just to support their native Golden Core cultivators. Why would they be willing to share a piece of the pie with outsiders, further diluting their already scarce Spiritual Objects?

The Changchun Domain was a special case, as its maritime trade could provide external resources.

Otherwise, they would have acted just like the other six domains.

Taking a horse-drawn carriage, he soon arrived at the registration office.

Someone was already waiting inside the hall.

A fair-faced, middle-aged man wearing a cerulean Dharma Robe and stroking a three-stranded beard was sitting at a tea table. When he saw Lü Zhong enter, he smiled, nodded, and rose to his feet, clasping his hands in greeting.

”You must be Fellow Daoist Lü? Come, please have a seat over here!”

”Greetings, Fellow Daoist Zhong.” Lü Zhong returned the gesture with a smile.

But inside, his heart was anything but calm; a monstrous wave was crashing through him.

’It’s Qingding Master!’

’Has what I did been exposed?’

’No!’

Lü Zhong sat down opposite Qingding Master. His aura remained perfectly stable and his expression was as calm as ever. ”Fellow Daoist Zhong, how do we proceed with this registration?”

”No rush,” Qingding Master said with a chuckle.

”I heard that on the day my unworthy apprentice had his... accident, Fellow Daoist Lü was also in the vicinity. Did you happen to see anything?”

As he spoke, he stared directly at Lü Zhong, as if trying to see through him.

”My apologies. I was not near the Bone-Transforming Abyss that day. I’m afraid I must disappoint you, Fellow Daoist Zhong.” Lü Zhong wore a regretful expression. This was the same story he had used during the previous investigation, and he was confident it was foolproof.

”Is that so? Please forgive my impertinence...” Qingding Master’s face showed his disappointment.

After that, he asked no more questions and helped Lü Zhong complete the registration.

After seeing Lü Zhong off, Qingding Master stood at the entrance of the hall, silently watching the distant figure disappear.

A figure emerged from the side—a handsomely aging woman in a red gauze robe. Her face was contorted with fury as she said, ”Qingding, why didn’t you apprehend that scoundrel? He killed your apprentice, and he’s my daughter’s murderer!”

”Is that so? I think your investigation was flawed,” Qingding said coolly.

”You!” The female cultivator was furious.

”I intend to let this matter drop, and I hope you will do the same, Fellow Daoist Yuan. We cultivators should prioritize our cultivation.” After saying his piece, Qingding Master departed, ignoring the Yuan Family Ancestor, Yuan Xing, who was trembling with rage.

He had observed Lü Zhong closely just now. His aura was stable, without the slightest hint of superficiality.

He had only ever seen such an aura on one other person: Wanmu True Monarch, who had achieved Nascent Soul Formation a hundred years ago.

Back when he was still Master Wanmu, his state right after achieving Core Formation was just like this.

’Rather than avenging a dead man, I’d be better off getting out more and finding a new disciple somewhere to bring me more benefits.’

Five hundred zhang away, Lü Zhong learned of all this by replaying the scene.

”This Qingding Master...”

’I hope that’s what you truly think!’

As for that Yuan Family Ancestor, she was a problem.

But Lü Zhong wasn’t afraid of her. Although she had already refined a Lifebound Treasure, her cultivation was only at the Early-stage Core Formation. He might not be able to defeat her in combat, but escaping wouldn’t be a problem.

Besides, the Yuan Family Ancestor was not a Changchun Valley Honored Guest Elder, so she had to abide by the rules if she wanted to make a move.

Every country has its laws, and every family has its rules.

Even if she were to instigate a commercial dispute, as long as the Chengde Commerce Association retaliated using commercial means, the Yuan Family Ancestor could only respond in kind. If she were to break the rules, she would face judgment from Changchun Valley.

Lü Zhong decided to give Yu Feng’Er a heads-up when he returned. She would know what to do.

He left Changchun Street.

But he didn’t head back to Lintao Pavilion.

As he walked, his mind was on the matter of his Lifebound Treasure.

A Lifebound Treasure could be summoned and dismissed at will, its power exceeding that of a High-grade Spiritual Artifact by more than tenfold. Furthermore, the longer it was nurtured with Pill Fire, the more powerful it would become. This was the main reason for the vast difference in combat strength among Core Formation Cultivators.

Lü Zhong was currently considered a newly ascended Core Formation Cultivator.

The weakest among their ranks.

The so-called ”Disgrace of Core Formation” mentioned in the ancient texts referred to those Core Formation Cultivators who were killed by someone of a lower cultivation stage.

Without exception, they were all newly ascended.

The next tier up were the Core Formation Cultivators who had refined a Lifebound Treasure.

Generally speaking, the older a Core Formation Cultivator was, the stronger they were in combat.

The reason was simple: their Magical Treasures had been nurtured long enough, and they had refined more rare spiritual materials into them than younger Core Formation cultivators had. Consequently, their treasures were far more powerful.

Therefore, Lü Zhong’s current priority was to refine his Lifebound Treasure.

As for increasing his cultivation, that could be put aside for now.

’Thankfully, the Flying Star Inheritance not only includes a Secret Technique for the Core Formation Stage, but also the refining method for an Inheritance Treasure.’ Lü Zhong thought that joining the Heling Sect all those years ago had truly been the right decision.

Otherwise, just finding a refining method for a Magical Treasure would have been a massive headache.

But having the blueprint wasn’t enough; Lü Zhong still needed to gather the raw materials.

He also planned to refine the Lifebound Treasure himself, so he needed to brush up on his Artifact Refining skills as well.

Fortunately, refining a Lifebound Treasure wasn’t as demanding as refining a regular Magical Treasure. As long as one had a basic grasp of Artifact Refining, they could do it themselves. The worst that could happen was that the resulting Magical Treasure would be a bit crooked and unsightly.

Of course, no one would dare to casually mock another person’s Magical Treasure.

...

Back at Lintao Pavilion.

Yu Feng’Er happened to be resting in the courtyard.

For once, he resisted the urge to touch her fair, tempting body. With a serious expression, Lü Zhong explained the details of the situation with the Yuan Family, telling Yu Feng’Er to prepare in advance so she wouldn’t fall into any traps.

”I understand!”

Yu Feng’Er nodded. Seeing that Lü Zhong was about to leave, she quickly grabbed his hand and said timidly, ”Husband, I want to start getting involved in the East Sea Route.”

”You can, but you may only send your subordinates. You cannot go out to sea yourself! You must promise me this!” Lü Zhong placed his hands on Yu Feng’Er’s shoulders, looking directly into her eyes as she flinched slightly.

”Mm,” Yu Feng’Er replied softly, pressing her lips together.

He gave her head a reassuring pat and smiled. ”That’s settled, then. I still have things to attend to.”

After bidding farewell to Yu Feng’Er, he went to the Quiet Chamber in the back courtyard.

He closed his eyes and soon entered the Gray Mist Space, pulling up the memories related to the Inheritance Treasure.

This treasure was named the ”Star Mirror.”

It had no esoteric or flashy functions.

It was purely an offensive and defensive Magical Treasure.

It could shoot Mirror Light to attack enemies, and it could also condense layers of Light Mirrors. These Light Mirrors could either supplement the Mirror Light’s attack or serve to deflect enemy assaults.

This deflection was not without its limits.

The Light Mirrors were highly effective against non-corporeal attacks, but their defensive power against the physical body of a Magical Treasure was only average.

Like all Lifebound Treasures, it came with its own Divine Power Technique.

Star Gathering Skill!

It could draw upon Star Force to enhance the user in all aspects.

’Why is it just like my Star Patterned Robe?’ Lü Zhong complained inwardly.

This meant that in the future, he would have to pick his battles carefully. It wasn’t that he couldn’t draw on Star Force during the day, but the amount was a hundred times less than under a starry night sky. The difference in his strength with and without the enhancement would be immense.

As for the required spiritual materials...

The power of a Magical Treasure was primarily determined by the number of its Prohibitions. The longer it was nurtured, the purer its physical form became, allowing more Prohibitions to be layered upon it.

This was the main way to increase a Magical Treasure’s power.

The maximum number of Prohibitions was forty-nine.

Lü Zhong took a look. With common materials, he could only refine a Lifebound Treasure with a single Prohibition.

”Just one?” he muttered, pursing his lips.

’Well... fine. It’s better than nothing.’

A Lifebound Treasure had extremely high growth potential; it wasn’t out of the question for it to eventually become a Spirit Treasure.

It was no big deal if it was a little weak at the start.