A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Lü Zhong won the Silver Marrow with only three bids.

Gazing at the pool of silver liquid, which resembled molten lead, inside the translucent Sealed Thunder Jade Box, he thought, ’The Wood Thunder Seal can finally undergo a new change.’

According to the text on the Silver Plate, after refining the Silver Marrow, a ”Thunder Roar” Thunder Pattern would appear on the Wood Thunder Seal in his Sea of Consciousness. Activating this pattern would grant him the ability to form the Thunderous Spear.

Unlike the Thunder Swamp, which covered a massive area, the Thunderous Spear’s power was clearly far more concentrated.

His thoughts inevitably turned to the Water Flood Dragon.

’With the Thunderous Spear, my odds against it would be at least fifty-fifty.’

’Excellent. I’m one step closer to feasting on Flood Dragon Meat!’ He had certainly not forgotten that grudge. He had long since decided that as soon as he was stronger than the beast, he would hunt it down.

He wouldn’t just kill the flood dragon and eat its meat. He would make a banner from its Flood Dragon Essence and clothes from its Flood Dragon Skin. He wouldn’t spare a single part—not the Flood Dragon Bone, Blood, Scale, or Claw. Nothing short of using every last piece of it would quell the hatred in his heart.

...

Next, Lü Zhong won seven more bottles of Pills.

For a Core Formation Stage cultivator, one could never have enough Pills to advance one’s cultivation. Since he had come across some, he couldn’t let the opportunity pass. He would bid fiercely on any he had a chance of winning.

”Ice Vein Pills, going once.”

”Ice Vein Pills, going twice!”

”Ice Vein Pills, sold!”

Another bottle of Pills was his.

Lü Zhong was bidding as if he were stocking a warehouse, spending money like it was water.

He later won a Laurel Robe of the Spiritual Artifact Level, along with an ingot of Iron Essence needed to forge a Magical Treasure.

The Magical Treasure Yu Feng’Er wanted to forge had already been decided: the Ice Soul Spirit Sword, her own choice. It would allow her to maximize the advantages of her Ice Soul Spirit Body. Though the sword started as a Three-layered Restriction Treasure, when paired with her Ice Soul Spirit Body—which would transform after her Core Formation—it could unleash power equivalent to a Five-layered Restriction Magical Treasure.

Lü Zhong had been incredibly envious when he first learned of this.

Before long, a new item was brought to the stage.

”Spirit Ascending Honey! Rich in dense Spiritual Qi, its effect on advancing one’s cultivation is comparable to a Tier Two Pill, yet it carries no risk of Pill Poison accumulation! This lot contains a total of one thousand bottles... The starting bid is fifty thousand Spirit Stones!”

’Here it is!’ Lü Zhong thought in anticipation.

This so-called Spirit Ascending Honey was actually just Spiritual Honey from the Great Honey Insects.

The name had been changed to keep its origin a secret.

Bringing Spirit Ascending Honey to market was his new strategy for gathering cultivation resources. After losing the Western Realm as a source of income, supporting two Core Formation Cultivators on the profits from the Chengde Commerce Association alone was no easy task.

This was especially true for him, as he was constantly burning through Spirit Stones to create Creation Liquid.

Thus, opening up a new revenue stream was essential.

He had long since learned the secret insect-rearing formula Yun Yao had given to Chu Dayun. After all, their attempts at secrecy were a joke in the face of his Gray Mist Space.

Thanks to the Jade Insect Powder, the Great Honey Insects’ Spiritual Honey production had surged.

This gave Lü Zhong the idea to sell the honey.

Whether this new revenue stream could fulfill his plan of earning massive amounts of Spirit Stones all depended on the market’s reaction and how readily cultivators accepted the product.

Due to its production costs, the price of Spirit Ascending Honey was still a bit high.

After all, the Great Honey Insects couldn’t produce honey from nothing. They consumed large quantities of Demon Pills to cultivate the Fungus Moss, which then had to be processed by the Spiritual Insects a second time before it became Spirit Ascending Honey.

The resources consumed in the process were considerable.

The end result was that for the same amount of cultivation advancement, Spirit Ascending Honey cost thirty percent more in Spirit Stones than Pills did.

Was spending thirty percent more worth it to avoid the risk of Pill Poison?

That was a matter of opinion.

But Lü Zhong soon discovered he had worried for nothing.

The batch of Spirit Ascending Honey was fiercely contested, ultimately selling for seventy-five thousand five hundred Spirit Stones—ten thousand more than he had anticipated. It was clearly a massive hit with the market.

Without realizing it, he began to laugh.

”Ha, haha...”

...

The auction continued.

After three more rare Spiritual Objects were sold, the grand finale of the decade—the Golden Core Pill—made its scheduled appearance, drawing fierce competition from all the major powers, as always.

Recalling that he, too, had once been one of those fierce competitors, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but feel a touch of sentimentality.

The final price was 410,000, which was still within the average range for a Golden Core Pill.

Once the final item was sold, the auction moved on to the bargain-hunting phase. Lü Zhong had no interest in this part and left his private room.

As he reached the exit, a Master from Changchun Valley was waiting for him, just as he’d expected.

She was a Daoist Nun with a kind smile, dressed in a loose, crimson Daoist Robe, her gray-streaked hair held up by a single wooden pin. Though she looked like a young woman in her early twenties, she was likely over four hundred years old and exuded an unshakable aura of encroaching old age.

Her cultivation was at the Early-stage Core Formation.

Seeing Lü Zhong emerge, the Daoist Nun performed a formal Daoist salute.

”Yuu Hong of Changchun Valley. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Lü.”

”Greetings, Fellow Daoist Yuu,” Lü Zhong replied, returning the gesture.

Information about her surfaced in his mind.

Yuu Hong’s status was far from simple. Despite only having an Early-stage Core Formation Cultivation, she was Wanmu True Monarch’s eldest disciple and held the title of Sect Leader of Changchun Valley. Her position was second only to Wanmu True Monarch and the Nine Peaks Peak Masters.

A person of her stature, visiting him personally. ’Her intentions are anything but simple,’ he thought silently.

Just then, Yuu Hong glanced around and suggested with a smile, ”There are too many eyes and ears here. I hear the Spring Glow Pavilion just received a shipment of fine tea from Central Earth. Shall we continue our conversation there?”

”Of course,” Lü Zhong agreed.

...

As the tea was poured into the Jade Cups, it released a serene and profound fragrance, the signature aroma unique to Cang Mountain Cloud Leaf.

He took a small sip and was immediately full of praise.

’Truly worthy of the name Cang Mountain Cloud Leaf!’

The Spiritual Qi in the Spirit Tea was so rich it could no longer be described as merely dense; it was practically a Spirit Liquid. That single sip alone would save him half a year of arduous cultivation.

Drinking the entire cup would save him three years of training.

’Unfortunately, Cang Mountain Cloud Leaf is so precious that outsiders have no way of obtaining it.’ Lü Zhong guessed that Yuu Hong must have brought it from Changchun Valley herself. The Spring Glow Pavilion likely couldn’t procure such a Spirit Tea.

After some pleasantries, Yuu Hong got down to business.

”To be perfectly honest, Fellow Daoist, Changchun Valley has run into some trouble. I hope you’ll forgive me for not being at liberty to discuss the specific reasons, but we are in urgent need of a Thunder Law Cultivator to deal with a large-scale infestation of Souls of the Dead.”

As she spoke, she took an object from her sleeve.

Lü Zhong’s eye twitched. It was another Sealed Thunder Jade Box. A closer look revealed that the amount of Silver Marrow inside was even greater than the portion from the auction.

He was thrilled, but on the surface, he remained as calm as still water.

He glanced at the jade box before looking away, asking coolly, ”What are the conditions?”

”For a term of thirty years, you will be required to exorcise the evil spirits once every six months. In return, this will be yours.” Yuu Hong stated the terms she had clearly prepared in advance, as if she knew exactly what he would ask.

Lü Zhong’s expression remained unchanged. After a long moment, he shook his head. ”Thirty years is far too long. Besides, Souls of the Dead are not to be trifled with. Fellow Daoist Yuu, you should come back when you have a better offer.”

’One portion of Silver Marrow is enough to form the Thunder Pattern.’

’Any extra would only enhance the Thunder Spear’s power, and I don’t even know by how much.’

’It’s not worth selling myself into servitude for thirty years over it.’

Yuu Hong seemed completely unsurprised by this.

They haggled for some time.

During the negotiation, Lü Zhong made sure to confirm the number of Evil Spirits—the Souls of the Dead—he would be facing. Only after receiving her assurances did he continue to bargain.

In the end, they settled on a ten-year term with the payment delivered upfront.

When they signed the Spirit Contract, he insisted on changing the penalty for breaking the agreement. He would rather accept a penalty that would severely damage his cultivation than be bound by the original terms.

His goal was to avoid being bound irrevocably to the contract.

After all, the Evil Spirit that Changchun Valley was suppressing was at the Late-stage Nascent Soul Realm.

Lü Zhong’s reason for accepting this exorcism mission wasn’t just to obtain the Silver Marrow; he also wanted to monitor the Evil Spirit’s process of revival. If that thing was about to reawaken, the entire Southern Domain would be in grave danger!

When that time came, he would rather have his cultivation Realm drop back to the Early-stage Core Formation than fail to escape the Southern Domain.