A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Lü Zhong chuckled, not minding in the slightest.

After all, it was something any man would be proud of.

Just then, a handmaiden approached, holding a pile of letters.

Lü Zhong read them one by one. They were all letters of gratitude.

He had gotten so sick of eating Flood Dragon Meat a while back that he’d had no choice but to give some of it away. He distributed portions to all the cultivators of the Bihai Sect and the upper echelons of the Chengde Commerce Association.

’What else could I do? It was a Hundred Feet Giant Flood Dragon, after all.’

Excluding the parts used for artifact refining materials, the remaining offal, along with the good and bad cuts of meat, weighed tens of thousands of pounds. Eating that much would be enough to mentally scar anyone.

He figured it was better to give away some of the scraps to win over their loyalty.

And now the results were in: the loyalty of the beneficiaries had increased significantly.

Since the results were so good, Lü Zhong decided to place some of the less useful materials into the Bihai Sect’s Treasure Vault. This included the lower-quality Flood Dragon Blood and Meat, as well as the Flood Dragon Scales that could only be refined into Spiritual Artifacts or, at best, Magical Artifacts.

A Sect is a nation unto itself.

He valued the future potential of the Bihai Sect far more than that of the loosely organized Chengde Commerce Association.

The power a Sect could wield was far beyond what a commerce association could match. In terms of loyalty and organization, the former was vastly superior to the latter.

A fully developed Bihai Sect would bring Lü Zhong far greater rewards.

...

Spiritual mist drifted through the Quiet Chamber.

Lü Zhong sat cross-legged on a cushion, poring over the contents of a Jade Scroll.

It concerned the refining of the Flood Dragon Spirit Banner. He had long been preoccupied with the thought of the Flood Dragon Banner, which was formed from a set of seven Flood Dragon Spirit Banners.

Now that he had obtained a Water Flood Dragon Essence, he was naturally eager to refine it into a Flood Dragon Spirit Banner as soon as possible.

The necessary materials weren’t difficult to gather. He didn’t even need to make a trip to Changchun Immortal City; a single decree was enough for the Sect’s Treasure Vault to procure them. After some simple processing, they would be ready for use.

’That should be enough...’

Lü Zhong set down the Jade Scroll, having already committed its contents to memory.

Refining the Flood Dragon Spirit Banner required the use of Pill Fire.

’Artifact Refining with Pill Fire... The very thought is exhausting.’

The Jade Scroll didn’t explain why, but since it was specifically mentioned, he had to follow the instructions out of caution. If he ruined the precious Flood Dragon Essence, he would be beyond regret.

Following the steps, the Artifact Embryo quickly took shape.

Instead of proceeding to the next step, Lü Zhong consumed a Replenishing Qi Pill. He planned to get himself into peak condition before undertaking the final step of refining the Flood Dragon Spirit Banner: fusing the essence into the artifact.

If he succeeded, one Flood Dragon Spirit Banner would be complete.

The greatest difficulty in this step was that the fusion process would awaken the residual ferocity within the Flood Dragon Essence. A mistake could result in a backlash that would damage his Divine Soul, so he had to be extremely cautious.

Once he was fully recovered, Lü Zhong formed several Technique Mantras. He then opened his mouth and spat out a stream of star-blue Pill Fire that landed on the Artifact Embryo, continuously burning away its impurities.

At the same time, he took out the sealed Water Flood Dragon Essence.

As if sensing the danger, the motionless Little Flood Dragon suddenly seemed to come back to life. It let out a series of roars and snarls while simultaneously attacking the Divine Sense Lü Zhong was using to envelop it.

’Hmph. You couldn’t beat me when you were alive. You think you can defy me now that you’re dead?’

He immediately condensed his Divine Sense into a sword and slashed at the Little Flood Dragon several times.

After brutally suppressing its insolent aura, Lü Zhong fired dozens of Restrictions into the Flood Dragon Essence. The Restrictions linked together like threads, weaving into a large net that then condensed into the phantom image of a Flood Dragon.

Then, he spat another mouthful of Pill Fire onto it.

The temperature in the chamber skyrocketed, and for a moment, everything was bathed in a star-blue light.

The Restrictions gradually fused with the Flood Dragon Essence. The residual True Spirit Mark within it vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a pure, flawless, and blank Flood Dragon Essence.

Seeing this, a look of delight appeared in Lü Zhong’s eyes.

Not daring to delay, he quickly formed several more Technique Mantras, transforming his Magical Power into fine threads to guide the blank Flood Dragon Essence toward the Artifact Embryo. Once the essence fused with the embryo, the Flood Dragon Spirit Banner would be complete.

Time ticked by, second by second, and the Magical Power in his body was being consumed at a rapid rate.

Finally, a draconic roar resounded.

Success!

The newly forged Flood Dragon Spirit Banner was already a Three-layered Restriction Treasure.

Perhaps because Lü Zhong had personally refined it, this Water Flood Dragon Spirit Banner was noticeably more responsive to his control than the other two. When it transformed into its Little Flood Dragon guardian form, it also appeared much more agile and lifelike.

After admiring it for a while, he absorbed it into his body to nurture it.

Currently, the only Magical Treasures Lü Zhong was nurturing were the Star Mirror, the Three Flood Dragon Spirit Banners, and the Thunder-Attracting Needle. He didn’t plan on expending the effort to nurture his other treasures, like the Cyan Glaze Sword and Red Robe.

Otherwise, nurturing so many Magical Treasures at once would seriously hinder his cultivation progress.

...

In the days that followed, Lü Zhong did not let his guard down.

His enemy was a Divinity Transformation Grand Venerable; no amount of caution could be considered excessive.

But after some discreet investigation, all the evidence pointed to one conclusion: the incident truly seemed to be over, and the situation in the Southern Barbarian lands was gradually stabilizing.

Ever since Qingding Master announced he was entering seclusion for Nascent Soul Formation, the once-turbulent Changchun Domain had suddenly fallen quiet. The separatist factions that had previously been causing a major disturbance now all chose to lie low, awaiting the final outcome.

Nascent Soul Formation was a perilous process, with a one-in-ten chance of survival.

This wasn’t just true for the Changchun Domain; it was the same in the Inference Realm and other regions as well.

The only exception was the Lingyue Domain.

Li Qionghua had reappeared. Although she was once again heavily injured, she had succeeded in taking with her the Lingyue Sect’s current Interim Sect Leader and two powerful Core Formation Elders.

Having lost three Core Formation experts at once, the Lingyue Sect was immediately thrown into turmoil.

But as the saying goes, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. As long as there was no official news of Junling True Monarch’s death, the Lingyue Sect would at worst be slowly chipped away, gradually losing control of its resource points.