A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

An unnamed, desolate island.

Lü Zhong had just breathed a sigh of relief when his vision suddenly went black.

”My love...” The voice grew faint.

An unknown amount of time passed.

When he awoke again, he found himself in a cave. Moonlight Stones had been embedded in the ceiling, bathing the cavern in white light.

With her back to him, a figure was busy in front of a fire.

As if sensing his gaze, Yu Feng’Er turned around in delight, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and said, ”My love, you’re awake! Ah, don’t get up. Your injuries haven’t healed yet. Let me help you...”

With her support, Lü Zhong managed to sit up.

To shake the three pursuers from the Fang Family, he had fled over ten thousand li in one go. The effort had severely depleted his Essence Blood, and even his cultivation had become somewhat unstable.

He was in a state of unprecedented weakness.

”My love, I was a burden to you this time...” Yu Feng’Er said apologetically.

If it weren’t for a burden like her, with the power and Escape Speed her husband had displayed, he could have easily escaped the Fang Family’s pursuit. He never would have ended up so grievously injured.

This was the first time she had ever seen Lü Zhong look so pale.

”We’ve been married for so long, don’t talk about being a burden,” Lü Zhong said with a smile. He then cleared his throat and said, ”My mouth tastes a bit bitter. Get me something to drink.”

”I made soup!” Yu Feng’Er immediately replied.

She hurried over to the fire and returned with a bowl of hot soup on a Jade Disc.

Looking at the steaming bowl of paste-like substance, made from who-knows-what, Lü Zhong thought to himself, ’I’ll have to teach this wife of mine how to cook one of these days.’

She was almost a hundred years old, after all.

’It’s a bit embarrassing that she can’t even make soup.’

After Yu Feng’Er had cooled it down a bit, Lü Zhong finally drank the soup. His spirits immediately improved, most likely because a Replenishing Essence Pill had been added to it.

”Be my Dharma Protector.”

”Mm-hm!” Yu Feng’Er nodded emphatically.

She summoned Zhuanghong and the Dragon and Tiger Banner and, along with the Fake Pill Realm Spirit-Hosted Puppet, took up a position at the cave entrance. The Spirit-Hosted Puppet was out in the open while she remained hidden in the shadows, guarding against any potential threats.

Meanwhile, Lü Zhong took out a Holy Essence Pill.

He tipped his head back and swallowed it. A warm sensation instantly flooded his entire body. His damaged and ruptured meridians, under the potent effects of the Healing Elixir, began to rapidly heal and recover.

This healing session lasted for three full days and nights.

...

A Holy Essence Pill, worth twenty thousand Spirit Stones a piece, was truly extraordinary in its effects.

After refining the Pill, Lü Zhong felt much better. The injuries to his meridians had mostly healed, and thanks to his training in the Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra, his depleted Essence Blood was also recovering far faster than expected.

’This is the benefit of a powerful physique!’

Even with only three Acupoints opened, his physique was already comparable to a Tier One Demon Beast’s.

He couldn’t begin to imagine how powerful and astonishing the Flood Dragon Physique he would obtain after opening all thirty-six Acupoints would be.

Compared to that, the increase in strength from cultivating the Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra was merely a small bonus.

The cave was located halfway up the mountain.

It faced the coastline.

The two of them stood embracing at the cave’s entrance as a gentle sea breeze caressed their faces.

Together, they admired the beautiful sunset.

Watching the sun gradually sink below the horizon, Yu Feng’Er rested her head on Lü Zhong’s shoulder. The exhaustion of the past months vanished, replaced by an expression of pure bliss.

She suddenly giggled.

”What are you giggling about?” Lü Zhong pulled his gaze back from the horizon, not understanding why she was laughing.

”Hehe, I’m just happy that my love is all right, of course!” Yu Feng’Er threw her arms around Lü Zhong, still giggling as she spoke.

After sunset, Lü Zhong continued his recovery.

This time, however, he didn’t take any Pills. Instead, he began to eat voraciously.

He ate nothing but beast meat.

As a veteran gourmand who ate wherever he went, he always kept a stock of ingredients in his Storage Bag, and now they were coming in handy.

He circulated the Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra as he ate.

His depleted Primordial Qi and Essence Blood immediately began to recover at a rapid pace.

「More than half a year later.」

Lü Zhong’s injuries were mostly healed.

To be cautious, he decided to stay on the unnamed island for a while longer. As for the Chengde Commerce Association, if it was gone, it was gone. He could always make up for the loss later.

The assets of the Fang Family and the allied families of the Alliance would be more than enough to compensate for the Commerce Association’s losses.

「Late one night.」

He began to take inventory of his spoils.

Fang Xiaoyun’s Lifebound Treasure was a Shimmering Gold Jade forged from Iron Essence mixed with Gold Essence. It was clearly meant for a Late-stage Core Formation Cultivator, yet for some reason, it was only a Four-layered Restriction Magical Treasure.

After a thorough inspection, Lü Zhong guessed that it must have been severely damaged at some point.

This kind of situation was quite common.

After all, while Magical Treasures were said to be indestructible, that was only in comparison to Magical Artifacts and Spiritual Artifacts. In the heat of combat between cultivators, they could not only be damaged but even shattered completely.

”Shimmering Gold Jade...” Lü Zhong looked at the three-word inscription written in Silver Tadpole Script on the inner side of the golden ring, then at the many sword marks on its surface. He sighed in relief. ”Thankfully, it can be restored after a period of nurturing. This rare Magical Treasure isn’t a total loss after all.”

He had witnessed the power of the Shimmering Gold Jade firsthand.

That day, Zhuanghong had been entangled with it, getting trapped by it repeatedly. Fortunately, Lü Zhong had enough Magical Treasures to rescue it multiple times with his Cyan Glaze Sword. Any other ordinary Core Formation cultivator, who would typically only have a single Lifebound Treasure, would have been a sitting duck once their sole treasure was trapped.

After a simple refinement, he absorbed the Shimmering Gold Jade into his body.

Next, Lü Zhong began to inspect Fang Xiaoyun’s Storage Bag.

It was a hundred-cubic-meter one.

The contents were not insignificant. When he took everything out and placed it on the ground, it formed a small mountain, making him wonder if he had somehow grabbed the wrong bag.