A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

With this hope in mind, he began his stealthy advance.

He carefully avoided everyone along the way.

After more than a month, Lü Zhong successfully reached Ye Ling Immortal City.

But what appeared before him was not the bustling Immortal City filled with cultivators he had expected.

The Spirit Fields were ruined, the city walls collapsed.

Piles of bones were stacked as high as mountains.

Judging from the traces left at the scene, a great battle must have occurred in Ye Ling Immortal City shortly after the cataclysm in the Western Realm. The Immortal City was completely destroyed in the conflict, and all the mortals and cultivators within had met with disaster.

Lü Zhong searched the area but found no one alive.

He only found a few Demon Cultivators, all of whom looked like something between human and ghost. They moved among the mountain-like piles of bones, collecting the Corpse Qi that emanated from them, as well as the newly-formed wandering souls.

He used the Soul Searching Technique on them one by one.

Not a single one of the Demon Cultivators was innocent. The crimes they had committed were too numerous to list. But that wasn’t what Lü Zhong cared about. A place name appeared in all of their memories.

”Moshi Secret Market.”

Since the destruction of Ye Ling Immortal City, it had become one of the gathering places for cultivators in the Ye Ling Domain.

After some thought, Lü Zhong decided to make a trip to the Moshi Secret Market.

Cultivators gathered there, numbering at least ten thousand. It seemed like a good place to gather information or sell the Spiritual Objects he possessed.

...

「In a desolate, mountainous wilderness.」

Lü Zhong arrived behind a giant, sword-shaped boulder, where he found an inconspicuous little door.

The Demon Cultivators’ memories contained several passages in and out of the Moshi Secret Market. This was one of the less-used ones, which suited his desire to conceal his movements perfectly.

”KNOCK, KNOCK!”

He tapped lightly a few times in a specific rhythm.

RUMBLE! The stone door slid sideways, opening a narrow crack.

Behind the door was a cultivator wearing a black cloak. He had suppressed his cultivation to appear as Late-stage Qi Refining, but his actual level was Mid-stage Foundation Establishment. The man sized Lü Zhong up for a moment, his gaze falling on his left hand.

Seeing no oath-mark, the cultivator relaxed and said hoarsely, ”Ten Spirit Stones.”

”Here.”

Counting out ten Spirit Stones, Lü Zhong entered the Moshi Secret Market without issue.

The Moshi Secret Market was built underground.

Cultivators had used Magic Skills to hollow out a vast expanse of rock, creating an underground space a few miles in scale. The various buildings appeared well-structured—complex yet orderly—obviously designed by a cultivator skilled in construction.

The light source came from a Sunlight Stone on the cavern’s ceiling.

It was a special type of stone that would emit light when Spiritual Qi was channeled into it, with a color and texture very similar to actual sunlight.

Hence the name ”Sunlight Stone.”

Upon entering, he was surprised to find that the Spiritual Qi had become pure again. A closer look revealed that a type of Array had been carved everywhere throughout the Secret Market. Judging from the Prohibitions that made up the Array, its main functions must be purification and filtration.

’Interesting. I should try to get my hands on this kind of Array.’

Lü Zhong walked out of the passage and soon arrived on a street.

Unlike in the Southern Barbarian lands, perhaps because of the chaotic times, the cultivators on the street, regardless of their cultivation level, all wore masks and cloaks that concealed their figures. It was rare to see anyone showing their face openly or walking around directly in their Dharma Robes.

He spent some time wandering around to familiarize himself with the prices.

Items like Magical Artifacts were actually cheaper here than in the Southern Barbarian lands.

What was truly expensive were things like Spirit Rice, Spirit Medicines, and Pills.

Due to the cataclysm, the corrosive effects of the Crimson Spiritual Energy made it impossible for ordinary Spirit Plants to survive. They had to be cultivated under the protection of an Array, causing cultivation costs to soar.

This cost was reflected in the retail price, which had skyrocketed by eight or even ten times.

As a result, many cultivators would rather absorb the impure Spiritual Qi from Spirit Stones than spend a fortune on Spiritual Objects.