A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

One dose.

Two doses.

...

The days passed, one by one.

In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

The jade transformation of Lü Zhong’s meridians deepened. His Great Cycle Meridians now resembled blood jade, allowing more Magical Power to flow through and withstanding a much greater strain.

On this day, it was time for the thirty-sixth dose of the Vein Tempering Formula.

As he cultivated with Yu Feng’Er in the medicinal bath as usual, the meridians throughout his body suddenly began to emit a shimmering, crystalline light. They then flared with a brilliant radiance, causing Yu Feng’Er to cry out in alarm. At the same time, the surrounding nature’s spiritual energy gathered crazily, with Lü Zhong at its epicenter, and surged toward him in a frenzy.

Finally.

With a tremendous BOOM...

Lü Zhong’s entire body trembled as he was enveloped in a five-colored Spiritual Light.

’I’ve reached the Second Layer of the Jade Vein Technique!’

...

「In the Quiet Chamber.」

Lü Zhong sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, carefully assessing the benefits of his breakthrough with the Jade Vein Technique.

Just as with the breakthrough to the first layer, his Great Cycle Meridians had now completely transformed into jade, becoming exceptionally flexible. The amount of True Essence they could transport had increased by at least fifty percent compared to before his breakthrough.

This meant he could unleash a greater burst of power during combat.

In terms of his Star Mirror’s Mirror Light, he could now fire nine beams in a single breath.

Previously, that number was only five.

’Against an ordinary Early-stage Core Formation cultivator, I can easily defeat them now. If they don’t have a potent escape technique, it wouldn’t even be impossible to kill them on the spot.’

For the first time since reaching the Core Formation Stage, Lü Zhong felt a sense of security.

As for his cultivation speed, he closed his eyes to test it and found the increase to be quite noticeable.

It had increased by about five percent compared to before.

’This Jade Vein Technique consumes a ton of Spirit Stones, but I have to admit, it’s an excellent Cultivation Technique. The only problem is the Vein Tempering Formula for the Third Layer. Even though the types of Spirit Medicine don’t change, they need to be five hundred years old. Gathering those will be incredibly difficult.’

Then, a thought struck Lü Zhong. ’Wait, don’t I have the Creation Spirit Liquid?’

’That’s right! I can just collect the ingredients for the Second Layer’s Vein Tempering Formula and use the Creation Spirit Liquid Secret Technique to refine a Vein Tempering Medicine suitable for cultivating the Third Layer of the Jade Vein Technique. It’ll just cost more Spirit Stones, that’s all.’

He had a decent surplus of Spirit Stones at the moment, so he could definitely spare some for this purpose.

He shifted his focus to his cultivation level.

Improving his cultivation was his top priority.

Due to the scarcity of pills and the fact that he wasn’t cultivating on a Spirit Vein, Lü Zhong’s current progress was so slow that calling it a snail’s pace would be a compliment.

’My Lifebound Treasure is in its initial form, and it won’t be long before it advances to a Three-layered Restriction Treasure. It’s time to focus on improving my cultivation. A Core Formation Cultivator’s five-hundred-year lifespan seems long, but if I want to reach the Nascent Soul stage, I still have to make every second count. I can’t afford to slack off at all.’ Lü Zhong began to map out his future course of action.

Given the current situation, it was unrealistic to think he could collect enough Cultivation Pills in the Southern Barbarian lands.

And it wasn’t just the Southern Barbarian lands; it would be the same anywhere else.

’So, my only hope is the Creation Spirit Liquid.’

According to his estimates, achieving the same cultivation-boosting effect as a pill using Creation Spirit Liquid would cost at least one and a half times as many Spirit Stones—and possibly even five or six times as many.

Ultimately, he still needed to earn more Spirit Stones. Otherwise, how could he possibly afford to burn through Creation Spirit Liquid like that?

’Wealth, companions, techniques, and location... Without a good location, I’ll just have to rely on wealth!’

Lü Zhong felt a sense of resignation.

Fortunately, the Chengde Commerce Association was developing well and was poised to bring him a large amount of Spirit Stones in the future.

Occasional trips to the Western Realm would also provide a substantial income.

His thoughts turned to the Western Realm. ’That place hides an earth-shattering secret and involves a behemoth like the True Central Sect. I have to be extremely careful. If I get targeted, the consequences will be unthinkable!’

’With my Divine Technique, Star Shifting and Dipper Changing, I don’t fear Divination Skills. However, when it comes to concealing my breath and traces, my two current Magic Skills are no longer sufficient. If someone were to exploit that weakness, there’s a high chance my movements could be exposed. Acquiring an Advanced Spell or a Spiritual Object with a similar effect is an absolute must.’

With that, his plan for the future was set.

...

「Before the Lantern Festival.」

A disciple from the Shuini Sect delivered a gift.

It was a basket of Blood Jade Pomegranates.

This type of Spirit Fruit was incredibly valuable, as it could only be grown on a Thousand-Year Blood Jade Pomegranate Tree.

The basket contained three fruits, worth nearly ten thousand Spirit Stones in total.

Peeling back the rind revealed seeds as red and lustrous as blood jade.

The seeds were brimming with Spiritual Qi. After eating some, Lü Zhong found that his cultivation had actually improved. He estimated that the effect of a single Blood Jade Pomegranate was comparable to that of a Tier Three Pill.

”My love, what do you think Master meant by sending us pomegranates?”

”You’re asking when you already know!” Lü Zhong gave her a playful smack on the rear, sending a ripple across her soft skin. He then explained, ”Pomegranates are full of seeds. It’s a wish for many children and many blessings. So, how many do you want to have? Your husband is ready to satisfy you right now!”

”Eight! No, the more the better!” Yu Feng’Er giggled.

”...” Lü Zhong was speechless.

’This silly woman!’

’Does she think I’m a breeding hog?’

’Eight, she says, just for starters.’

...

In the world of cultivation, years slip by unnoticed.

In the blink of an eye, summer passed and spring arrived.

It was a new year once again.

Lü Zhong was now eighty-nine years old.

A lot had happened during this period.

Yuan Xing, whom he had been keeping an eye on, was grievously injured during the exploration of a Secret Realm and soon succumbed to her wounds. It made one lament the unpredictable nature of fate, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel relieved that one of his Core Formation enemies was gone just like that.

Needless to say, he took the opportunity to kick them while they were down.

From that day on, the Yuan Family of Guiyuan River was no more.

As for Shuini, after clearing out the General’s Tomb, she had successfully re-established the Heling Sect.

However, this Heling Sect was one in name only. In reality, it was still an empty shell, lacking both promising talent to nurture and the deep foundation a proper Sect ought to possess.

Shuini had already sent him several letters venting her frustrations about this.

Unfortunately, there was nothing Lü Zhong could do to help.

If spies had infiltrated, he could have simply killed them.

But a lack of talent? He couldn’t just go out and kidnap people, could he?

In the Changchun Domain, a Golden Core Master had also passed away, but it was a peaceful death from having exhausted their lifespan. During the Sea Tide Stage, Sea Beasts had attacked the cities. A fair number of ships were sunk, but in the face of the formidable defenses, the creatures ended up as little more than a delivery of crafting materials.

All things considered, the world was still relatively peaceful.

「In the Quiet Chamber.」

Lü Zhong had just finished cultivating.

Sensing his current cultivation level, he couldn’t help but shake his head.

’Slow. It’s progressing far too slowly!’

To improve his cultivation, he had instructed the Commerce Association to put all its efforts into collecting high-aged Spirit Medicines, while he personally scoured auctions and exchange meetings of all sizes, searching for Pills and Spiritual Objects.

But after a year, the improvement to his cultivation was minuscule.

At this rate, he feared it would take a full sixty years to reach the Mid-stage Core Formation.

’Admittedly, this pace is perfectly normal for the Core Formation Stage...’ Lü Zhong’s brow furrowed. But he was a Four Spirit Root Cultivator, with far worse aptitude than the vast majority of his peers.

Other Core Formation Cultivators at this pace would have a chance of reaching the Nascent Soul stage.

As for Lü Zhong, he’d be lucky to even reach the Late-stage Core Formation!

’In the end, it all comes down to having more resources!’

He still had to find a way to rapidly advance his cultivation.

’Forget it. I’ll have to make do with the current situation for now. It’s better than my cultivation stagnating completely. As for the Spirit Medicines, the Commerce Association has collected almost enough. In a little while, I can start trying to refine the Creation Liquid.’

To start refining Tier Three Creation Liquid with no prior experience... the failure rate was bound to be high.

...

He ended his cultivation session.

Lü Zhong walked out of the Quiet Chamber.

When he reached their bedroom, Yu Feng’Er wasn’t there. A Storage Bag had been left on the table.

He opened it to find many Pills inside.

They were mostly Healing Elixirs, ranging from Tier One to Tier Three.

These were all items he had requested to be collected.

Lü Zhong was preparing to set out for the Western Realm.

When it came to collecting Magic Skills, there was no better place.

In the wake of the True Central Sect’s campaign of conquest, a large number of cultivation inheritances had undoubtedly flooded the Western Realm. Without the Upper Sects’ control, it might be possible to buy a suitable Conceal Breath and Hide Trace Technique—or perhaps even a Secret Technique that was once a sect’s most guarded secret.

While he was at it, he also needed to search for Alchemy Skill inheritances.

Dongbu Yu only had a Core Formation Cultivation; his understanding of the Alchemy Dao couldn’t compare to that of a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

If he could find a Tier Four alchemy inheritance, the difficulty of refining the Tier Three Creation Spirit Liquid would be greatly reduced, which would be an enormous help to his future path on the Dao.

However, achieving these two goals would not be easy.