A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

’Just as he was thinking this,’ something soft, warm, and smooth bumped into his arm. The sensation was quite pleasant.

Unfortunately, Lü Zhong wasn’t interested.

He gave her some Spirit Stones and sent her away.

...

The night passed in meditation.

At dawn, dim red light shone through the window and into the room.

Lü Zhong strolled out of his guest room and looked around.

A street vendor was already setting up his stall.

He was selling wontons.

When the stall owner saw Lü Zhong looking over and noticed he was someone who could afford to stay at an inn, a warm smile instantly spread across his face. He called out, ”Sir, how about trying some of my wontons? Thin skins, big fillings, all made with the finest choice meat. The broth is simmered over a wood fire, too. Only One Spirit Stone a bowl!”

The aroma wafting on the breeze made Lü Zhong suddenly want to try some.

Still, he had to ask:

”What kind of meat?”

The world of the Western Realm had undergone a bizarre transformation. The creatures outside had either died out entirely or adapted to the new environment, paying the price of being twisted by the Crimson Spiritual Qi and becoming completely different life-forms.

Lü Zhong had hunted a few of them before.

The bodies of these twisted creatures were a disgusting mixture of pus and rotting flesh, completely inedible.

Under these circumstances, he was highly suspicious that the so-called ”choice meat” had been carved from ”two-legged sheep.”

”No need to worry, sir. This is all from the Earth Spirit Insect,” the stall owner explained patiently, clearly used to such questions.

Earth Spirit Insects lived deep underground and were almost unaffected by the Western Realm’s transformation. Thus, their meat was still the same as before. Plus, hunting one could yield over a thousand pounds of meat.

That said, the meat tasted like leather.

Even when Spirit Chefs exhausted their skills to prepare it, it couldn’t compare to mundane meat. It also carried a stubborn, earthy Earth Qi that was difficult to remove and required arduous cultivation to grind away. The downsides were numerous, to say the least. But in these times, with Spiritual Objects becoming scarcer by the day, eating Earth Spirit Insect meat had become the only choice. It was better than absorbing Crimson Spiritual Qi and dying.

”Oh. In that case, I’ll have two—no, three bowls to start.”

”Coming right up!” the stall owner said excitedly.

Lü Zhong found a seat and poured himself a cup of tea brewed from Spirit Rice Straw.

It tasted astringent, but its saving grace was a grassy fragrance that reminded one of the lush, green environment of the Western Realm in days past.

Before long, several groups of cultivators arrived one after another.

They all had a faint smell of earth about them, and their complexions were much paler than normal.

They sat down and immediately began chatting about everything under the sun, either telling jokes to pass the time or bragging about their recent hauls.

Lü Zhong listened from the side with great interest.

Their conversations revealed a great deal of information.

They called themselves Beast Hunting Cultivators, and they spent their years underground searching for Underground Demon Beasts. They would hunt them for their meat and spiritual materials to make a living. Occasionally, they’d stumble upon an underground Dark River or something similar and make a huge profit.

”Everyone, when do you think the Workshop Market will move underground?”

”I think it’ll be soon. The Seven-Aperture Stones are getting scarcer. The Spirit Suppression Array is bound to fail sooner or later.”

”That’s true.”

As he listened, the stall owner brought over the wontons.

SLURP. Lü Zhong downed one. The taste was mediocre at best.

Fortunately, the skins were thin and the fillings large. Eating them one by one was still satisfying.

Bowl after bowl, he didn’t stop until he’d finished ten of them.

Then, he ordered another ten bowls to go.

After paying Twenty Spirit Stones, he went to a shop down the street.

When the goat-bearded Shopkeeper saw it was the guy from yesterday who just asked questions without buying anything, his face turned green. But when he heard Lü Zhong wanted to purchase the Soul Wind Crystal and Star Iron Stone, his expression instantly bloomed into a wide smile.

”Sir, please, come inside!”

”Daughter! What are you waiting for? Serve our senior some of our finest tea!”

Before he finished speaking, a pretty Female Cultivator walked out from the back. She was quite good-looking, only a little less so than the maids of Lintao Pavilion.

When this woman saw Lü Zhong, her cheeks flushed slightly.

What young maiden doesn’t dream of romance, especially when faced with a promising young man as handsome and ethereal as he was?

But her hopes were quickly dashed. Lü Zhong didn’t even glance her way, and she couldn’t help but let out a frustrated grunt.

She hastily poured the tea, then stomped her foot and left.

”My apologies. My daughter lost her mother at a young age, and I’ve been neglectful in her upbringing. Please forgive her, customer!” the Shopkeeper explained apologetically, clasping his hands.

”It’s fine,” Lü Zhong said, shaking his head. ”Let’s get down to business.”

Working on the principle that every bit he could haggle off was a win...

He entered a round of haggling with the Shopkeeper and managed to knock another ten percent off the price of the two Spiritual Objects.

In the end, for a bottle of Tier Three Healing Pills and ten thousand pounds of Spirit Rice, he successfully purchased the Soul Wind Crystal and Star Iron Stone.

After that, he changed his appearance and went from shop to shop.

Some deals were made, others fell through.

By the time he had traded away all the spiritual items he’d brought, all his goods were sold. He now had 160,000 Spirit Stones, plus two precious Spiritual Objects: an Azure Beast True Bone and a Bright Flower Jade.

Each had its own use.

The Azure Beast True Bone was a rare artifact refining material. It came from the long-extinct Azure Beast; the ”True Bone” was its spine. It was especially suitable for refining into a Flying Sword Treasure. The finished product would have a Third-Layer Prohibition at a minimum. Unfortunately, its properties were incompatible with his Star Mirror. While refining it into the mirror would increase its power, it would also make the Magical Treasure impure.

Lü Zhong planned to find a Core Formation Stage exchange meet to attend when he returned to the Southern Barbarian lands, to see if he could trade it for something good.

As for the Bright Flower Jade, it was a treasure that aided in cultivation.

Wearing it during meditation could reduce the chances of suffering a Qigong Deviation. It was the best kind of auxiliary Spiritual Object for when one was breaking through with a Cultivation Technique. The price he paid to obtain this jade was not small.

After staying one more night, Lü Zhong finally left Ningyun Market.

Unexpectedly, someone was already waiting for him at the market exit.

It was Master Flowing Sword.

”Fellow Daoist, long time no see!”

”Have we met?” Lü Zhong asked, playing dumb.

”Fellow Daoist, you jest. Someone like you, capable of selling such a large quantity of Spiritual Objects, is as rare as a phoenix feather in the Western Realm today. Especially someone with a large supply of Healing Elixirs. That’s even rarer,” Master Flowing Sword said with conviction.

”Is that so?” Lü Zhong’s face was impassive.

He had long expected this day would come, so it wasn’t much of a surprise.

”Enough pleasantries. State your purpose.”

”Since you’re so direct, Fellow Daoist, I’ll get straight to the point!” Master Flowing Sword took a Storage Bag, tossed it over without even looking at it, and then said, ”Inside are ten portions of Star Stone, all of them top-grade quality. You only need to provide one million pounds of Spirit Rice, and they’re all yours, Fellow Daoist!”

Lü Zhong caught it and probed its contents with his Divine Sense.

It was just as the man had said: all large chunks of Star Stone.

To trade Spirit Rice for them, even a million pounds of it, was a massive profit for him.

”How do we make the trade?”

Master Flowing Sword reached into his Storage Bag and took out a long, red incense stick. ”This is an Incense of Trust, made from the Insect Paste of an Earth Spirit Insect. All you need to do, Fellow Daoist, is place the goods in a hidden location and then light this incense. We will naturally send someone to retrieve them.”

’They’ve thought this through quite well. Truly worthy of an organization wanted by a Nascent Soul Sect.’

”Alright,” Lü Zhong said with a nod.

The other party had already paid upfront; of course he was going to agree.

Whether or not he would actually complete the transaction, however, was another matter entirely.

Taking the Incense of Trust, Lü Zhong placed several Prohibitions on it right in front of Master Flowing Sword. This way, even if it had been tampered with, the tricks would be rendered useless.

”Farewell!” he said, then turned and left without a backward glance.

A moment later, three figures appeared beside Master Flowing Sword, all of them at the Core Formation Stage Cultivation.

”Who on earth is that man? The three of us were lying in wait from a distance, and we clearly felt a Divine Sense sweep over us. That was from a full five hundred zhang away! What kind of person could possess such a powerful Divine Sense?” a Female Cultivator in a golden Dharma Robe with crimson hair at her temples asked in disbelief, staring in the direction Lü Zhong had disappeared.

”Don’t bother guessing. As long as he’s willing to trade, that’s all that matters,” Master Flowing Sword said in a level tone.

Under the blockade from the True Central Sect, the Western Border Alliance’s situation had grown more difficult by the day. Even their most basic Spirit Rice supply was starting to become a problem. If this was allowed to continue, it would inevitably lead to a major crisis.

That was why he had taken the initiative to reveal himself.

He was willing to gamble ten portions of precious Star Stone on the chance that this person would complete the trade as promised.

”Let’s hope this succeeds,” Master Flowing Sword sighed.

The bizarre transformation of the Western Realm was worsening daily. Sometimes, he couldn’t help but wonder if the Western Border Alliance even had enough time left to find a way to convert the Crimson Spiritual Qi.

Fortunately, their hopes didn’t rest on this one person alone. The Western Border Alliance still had other options.