A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Lü Zhong continued to take inventory.

There were about thirty bottles of Pills for various purposes, but most were related to Body Refining or were Replenishing Qi Healing Pills. Very few could be used to increase one’s cultivation.

’It seems that even an Artifact Refining Master can be short on Pills for cultivation!’

’This amount of Pills is even less than what I have on me.’

He moved them aside.

Tier One, Two, and Three Talismans; a change of everyday clothes; various daily sundries... Lü Zhong sorted through them one by one, picking out the valuable items and piling the worthless ones together.

’The Si Fire Scripture?’

As Lü Zhong inspected a Jade Scroll, he discovered it actually contained a Cultivation Technique. It was complete with a General Secret Technique, enough for someone to cultivate to the Early-stage Nascent Soul realm. It was clearly a complete inheritance.

A quick read-through revealed it was only slightly inferior to the Heling Feixing Scripture.

The Secret Skills recorded inside, like those of most inherited Cultivation Techniques, required the Fire of the Snake to be activated. However, there was an exception that happened to be quite suitable for Lü Zhong.

”Fire Cultivation Mantra: can absorb Flame Essence to enhance the power of the Fire of the Snake...”

Lü Zhong’s eyes lit up when he read this.

This Firing Technique was originally intended for a certain inherited Secret Skill within the Si Fire Scripture. However, based on the principles described in its introduction, he thought it might just work on his Purple Nether Extreme Fire.

’It’s worth a try!’

’Besides, I won’t have to gather the Flame Essence myself.’

Lü Zhong decided he would post a mission on the Bihai Sect’s mission board later. Disciples seeking to earn Sect Merits would then figure out a way to cultivate this technique on their own.

The Si Fire Scripture also came with numerous Cultivation Insights.

Generations of Gongsun Family cultivators had unreservedly recorded their life’s cultivation experiences in them. From these insights, it was clear that the Gongsun Family of the Profound Sun Domain had been passed down for ten thousand years for a reason, not just by pure luck.

Reading this, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but wonder.

’Were those three—Gongsun Yu and the others I met before—really Gongsun Family cultivators? They didn’t show an ounce of the refinement expected of a ten-thousand-year-old clan. They were more like common highway-robbing Loose Cultivators.’

He shook his head, pushing the thought away.

He copied all of these Cultivation Insights onto a blank Jade Scroll. He planned to place it in the Bihai Sect’s Inheritance Hall later to deepen the Sect’s foundations.

This would prevent outsiders from always feeling that the Sect was all form and no substance.

As for the ”Si Fire Scripture”...

Lü Zhong thought for a moment and decided not to add it to the Inheritance Hall for now.

A life was one thing; an inheritance was another.

Although the possibility was small, the Profound Sun Domain’s Gongsun Family might just swallow their anger over one of their Core Formation cultivators being killed. But if they discovered their inheritance’s Cultivation Technique had been leaked, the only outcome would be a fight to the death.

As things stood, the Bihai Sect could not afford to provoke a powerful enemy like the Profound Sun Domain’s Gongsun Family.

’I’d better just hold onto it for now.’

Having made his decision, Lü Zhong put the Si Fire Scripture into his Storage Ring.

Looking at the remaining items, they still formed a small mountain.

He checked them item by item, finishing quickly.

He made a rough estimate. Even without including the value of the Storage Ring itself, the items inside Huo Yezi’s Storage Ring were worth over a million Spirit Stones in total.

The reason for this was that the artifact refining materials accounted for the bulk of the value.

Judging by the marks left on the materials, they had all been entrusted to Huo Yezi by the various powers of the Southern Barbarian lands.

’These things might bring me trouble in the future...’ Lü Zhong warned himself. ’When I encounter these powers later on, I’ll have to be on my guard, lest someone bear a grudge and plot against me.’

His gaze shifted to the worthless sundries. With a gesture, he gathered them into a three-zhang-wide ball.

Then, he clenched his fist fiercely, and a large hand made of Magical Power crushed them to dust.

This had always been Lü Zhong’s habit.

”Huh?” His expression suddenly turned strange. With a beckoning motion, he pulled six pages toward him.

’Blank pages again...’

Staring at the unknown pages floating before him, Lü Zhong realized that even now that he was in the Core Formation Stage, they weren’t easy to destroy.

Honestly, if he hadn’t been grinding everything to dust, he never would have discovered these six pages hidden in that pile of sundries just by looking or scanning with his Divine Sense.

’What on earth is recorded on these pages that made Huo Yezi hide them so deeply?’

Closing his eyes in thought, Lü Zhong suddenly had an idea and took out a Jade Scroll. This was one left by Huo Yezi, and it contained his life’s Cultivation Insights as well as some of his reflections on Artifact Refining.

However, the largest part of its content was Huo Yezi’s personal records of his own life.

Scanning it carefully, he made a discovery.

’It’s actually the Outer Body Incarnation...’

According to Huo Yezi’s own account, there were nine blank pages in total. Once all were gathered, the words would reveal themselves, granting the Divine Power Skill ”Outer Body Incarnation,” which could be used to create an Outer Body Incarnation.

Reading this, even with his many years of cultivation, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but feel his heart stir.

He had experienced firsthand just how formidable Divine Techniques were.

Never mind the ”Sand Flying Stone” from the Huayi Temple True Inheritance; Lü Zhong’s own ”Star Shifting and Dipper Changing” Divine Technique had once thwarted even a Divinity Transformation Grand Venerable, causing their heavenly divination to fail.

It was clear just how powerful Divine Techniques truly were!

’Nine pages... I’m still one and a half pages short of completing the Outer Body Incarnation...’ Thinking of this, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but give a bitter smile. ’This is really tormenting.’

He suddenly had one more thing to do in the future.

That was to find the whereabouts of the blank pages.

As usual, he planned to post a mission on the Bihai Sect’s mission board. Though he didn’t have high hopes, it was still worth trying his luck. He would also have the Chengde Commerce Association investigate.

’It’s great to have forces at my command!’ Lü Zhong thought with satisfaction.

’If this were a protagonist in a novel, they’d probably have to just wait for the author to deliver a clue to their doorstep, or else run around aimlessly like a chump, hoping their luck was good enough to stumble upon the pages’ location.’