A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

The thought of returning had already taken root in Lü Zhong’s mind.

As for a Tier Four Alchemy legacy...

Such things could only be chanced upon, not sought out. If he didn’t stumble upon it, that was that. Actively searching would not guarantee results, so there was no need to waste his efforts.

He swallowed a Replenishing Qi Pill. It would be a while before his True Essence fully recovered.

He decided to take stock of his spoils.

He checked them one by one. The loot was beyond his expectations.

He didn’t know if the cultivators from Liluo Immortal City were special or if they all just liked to carry their entire net worth on them.

From Ling Tongxiao’s three confidants to the pair of Clan Alliance cultivators he’d fought later, their Storage Bags were all packed. After adding up all the miscellaneous items, the total came to about fifty thousand Spirit Stones.

’Tsk, tsk. Killing really is the fastest way to get rich!’

Stifling the dangerous thought, Lü Zhong took out the female cultivator’s Magical Treasure Flying Sword.

The sword was a vibrant red, like the rouge paper a woman might use for her makeup. It felt cool and smooth to the touch. Inscribed upon it were two elegant characters in Silver Tadpole Script that meant ”Rouge.” Having lost its master, its sharp aura was completely retracted.

Even so, he could still feel a keen sharpness when he touched the smooth blade.

’This must be a Three-layered Restriction Treasure,’ Lü Zhong concluded.

With her wielding a flying sword like Rouge, if Master Flowing Sword hadn’t launched a sneak attack from behind, taking her down would have likely required much more effort.

Forming a hand seal, he cast a Technique Mantra and began to refine the Flying Sword.

Refining it would not be easy; after all, it had a previous owner.

The Spiritual Veins inside had long been molded to the female cultivator’s aura. No matter how Lü Zhong refined it, he would never be able to control it completely—not unless he melted it down and reforged it.

He didn’t mind. As long as it was usable, it was fine.

So what if it was a little weaker? It was still a Flying Sword Treasure.

And one with a Third-Layer Prohibition, no less.

It was more than enough to suppress Magical Treasures with first or second-layer restrictions.

Before long, the blade of Rouge began to glow with Spiritual Light.

As if coming back to life, it hovered three feet above the ground.

When he tried to control it, he felt a distinct sluggishness compared to the Star Mirror. It was like a rich old country squire who takes a young concubine: he could possess her tender body, but he could never win her heart.

Lü Zhong still didn’t mind. As long as it was still functional, it was fine.

At his thought, the Rouge flying sword swam like a fish, transforming into a streak of vibrant red light. He controlled its biting Sword Qi with his will, and it quickly carved out the equivalent of a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment from the cave walls.

’It’s beautiful and practical. No wonder everyone loves to refine Flying Sword Treasures.’

After playing with it for a while, Lü Zhong put it away.

Then he opened the female cultivator’s Storage Bag.

There wasn’t much inside. Aside from over forty thousand Spirit Stones and some Spirit Ore, the bag mostly contained various pills for reinforcing one’s foundation, the majority of which were Tier One and Tier Two. It was clear that the Western Realm lacked Spiritual Objects, and even a Golden Core Master was affected.

After taking inventory, he estimated the items could be sold for over ten thousand Spirit Stones.

’Another tens of thousands of Spirit Stones in the bag.’

Lü Zhong’s heart remained calm; he didn’t allow himself to get complacent over it.

...

In the days that followed,

Lü Zhong, ever cautious, did as before, relying on a technique to retrace past events to avoid everyone along his path. He hurried toward the Transmission Array, preparing to return to the Southern Barbarian lands and digest his recent gains.

After more than three months of travel, he returned safely to the Southern Barbarian lands.

He observed the Poisonous Insect Valley and found that the Insect Swarms he had released earlier had firmly established their territory.

Now, it was only a matter of time.

Once these three Insect Swarms grew and strengthened, the Poisonous Insect Valley would become a treacherous land offering only danger with no reward, greatly reducing the risk of the Transmission Array being discovered.

He took a circuitous route to prevent anyone from tracing his movements.

Back at Lintao Pavilion.

Lü Zhong resumed his reclusive life.

He would only leave to attend an auction when a Pill suitable for the Core Formation Stage became available. Afterward, he would return to Lintao Pavilion to either refine his new Pill or study the Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique he had obtained.

During this time, quite a few cultivators of the same stage came to visit.

He turned them all away, claiming to be in closed-door cultivation.

Under these conditions, he spent his days either practicing his techniques or studying the Secret Skill, never once stepping outside. Naturally, his progress in cultivating the Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique soared.

Lü Zhong estimated that with another year or so of practice, he would be able to master the First Layer.

「Half a year later.」

The Quiet Chamber suddenly erupted in a blaze of fire!

Purple Flame instantly engulfed the room, destroying all the Prohibitions and Arrays in its path in a flash.

COUGH! COUGH!

Lü Zhong stumbled out of the Quiet Chamber, coughing and looking disheveled.

The Flame Manipulation Technique he had long been practicing had suddenly broken through to the Second Layer. In the process, he had briefly lost control of his Purple Nether Extreme Fire. Although he had quickly reigned it in, his long-established cultivation chamber was destroyed in an instant.

Yu Feng’Er rushed over at the sound. Seeing Lü Zhong in such a sorry state, she couldn’t help but ask with concern,

”Lü Zhong, what happened?”

”It’s nothing. My Cultivation Technique just broke through, and I lost control for a moment.” Lü Zhong wasn’t embarrassed at all. On the contrary, he was thrilled about the breakthrough.

He activated the Spirit Forging Fire Technique, and a sheet of purple flame enveloped his body.

He carefully sensed the difference.

The joy on his face deepened.

With the Flame Manipulation Technique breaking through to the Second Layer, the effectiveness of the Spirit Forging Fire had skyrocketed. Coupled with his remarkable Purple Nether Extreme Fire, the efficiency of forging his True Essence increased again and again, becoming comparable to the purification effect of his old Four Spirits Technique.

But soon, Lü Zhong’s expression flickered, settling into a wry look.

Purifying his True Essence was a good thing, but after refining it—weeding out the impurities and keeping the essence—the total volume of True Essence in his Dantian had decreased, causing his cultivation level to actually drop.

He quickly took out a Pill to refine.

After seeing the result of the refinement, Lü Zhong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The increased purity of his True Essence had innumerable benefits. It would give him a significant advantage in combat, and when it came to cultivation breakthroughs, it would lower his chances of hitting a bottleneck.

The downside was that the speed of his cultivation progress would now be slower.

After a fierce internal debate, Lü Zhong quickly made a decision.

’Forget it. There’s no immediate external crisis, so I should focus on breaking through to the next stage. I’ll pause the Spirit Forging Fire for now. It won’t be too late to purify my True Essence when I hit a cultivation bottleneck.’

Right now, the most important thing was to raise his cultivation level.

Seeing that his Quiet Chamber wouldn’t be repaired anytime soon, Lü Zhong decided to go and practice his Alchemy.

The Commerce Association had already gone to great lengths to collect a large quantity of spiritual materials for refining Tier Three Pills. The pile was quite substantial.

Even if he was just using them for practice, he could still produce a small batch of Creation Spirit Liquid.

...

「Ganquan Island.」

Lü Zhong returned.

Not much had changed, though there were more signs of Sea Beast activity.

When he reached the bay, a Red Barbarian Mother was frolicking in the water.

This type of Sea Beast resembled a jellyfish but was actually a mollusk. The Inner Core of a Red Barbarian Mother had a special property: it was a substitute spiritual material for refining the Face Stabilizing Pill.

How could he pass up an opportunity that delivered itself to his doorstep?

’What a good omen!’

He had been worried that he would ruin all his materials.

Now that good fortune had come knocking, his confidence was finally bolstered.

When he reached the Spirit Vein node, he found the Spiritual Qi had long since reached its maximum capacity. Inside the Little Sumeru Array, the Spiritual Qi was so dense it was almost tangible, and even the outer Locking Spirit Formation was filled to the brim.

’Come to think of it, it’s really been a while since I’ve been here.’

Lü Zhong observed for a while. After confirming that no one had entered Ganquan Cave, he turned and went to the Alchemy Room.

Preheat;

Open the furnace;

A ruined batch, no surprise there.

Batch after batch of spiritual materials went in, and batch after batch of dregs came out.

But Lü Zhong wasn’t worried.

Each time he ruined a batch, he would conduct a detailed analysis, replaying the process in his memory over and over. Only after he had identified the cause of the problem and figured out a solution would he attempt the next batch.

Even so,

every batch was a failure.

Refining a Tier Three Pill was never easy to begin with.

For someone like him, trying to refine the Tier Three Creation Spirit Liquid with under-aged Spirit Medicine, the difficulty was even greater. Failure was to be expected; succeeding on the first try would have been the truly strange part.

’It’s strange... How did Li Qionghua manage to refine it back then?’

Lü Zhong had looked into her history.

The Alchemy Skill of the Jade Flower Sect’s founder could only be described as average.

Logically, she shouldn’t have been able to refine the Tier Three Creation Liquid.

’How strange...’

He quickly pushed the thought aside and buried himself in his Alchemy again.

He refused to believe it.

’Could a mere Tier Three Creation Liquid really stump him?’

「Half a year later.」

BANG!

A muffled bang came from the Gui Water Phoenix Wing Furnace.

The last batch of Creation Liquid had also failed.

Lü Zhong remained expressionless as he extracted the waste dregs from the furnace. Gazing at the mountain of slag piled up beside him, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

This endeavor had burned through a total of fifty thousand Spirit Stones.

The returns did not match the investment; all he had gained was a bit of Alchemy experience.

’Cultivation is so difficult!’