A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Sea Beasts invaded Bidao Market around the New Year.

However, Lü Zhong did not emerge himself, merely sending his Incarnation to handle the matter.

He, meanwhile, remained focused on his cultivation.

The breakthrough in his Jade Vein Technique had dramatically increased his cultivation speed. For a Four Spirit Root Cultivator, the sensation was beyond words.

’I wish I could just cultivate like this until the end of time!’

But soon enough, Lü Zhong ran into a problem.

He had run out of Pills.

The reason most Core Formation Cultivators find their cultivation stagnating isn’t their aptitude. Generally, any cultivator who can break through to the Core Formation Stage possesses at least Three Spirit Roots and often has other unique strengths.

Numerous factors constrained their advancement: obligations to family and Sect, personal favors owed, old injuries, and all sorts of hidden dangers.

But the most common factor was a lack of Spiritual Objects to advance their cultivation.

With the exception of those with truly supreme talent, most cultivators—even those with Three Spirit Roots—could not absorb nature’s spiritual energy fast enough to achieve a breakthrough before their Life Exhausted. Thus, they had to rely on Spiritual Objects to advance their cultivation.

In fact, even cultivators with Dual Spirit Roots—considered highly talented—consumed Spiritual Objects in large quantities to maximize their chances for a breakthrough.

Any Pill, Spirit Tea, or Spirit Wine capable of raising a Core Formation Cultivator’s cultivation was often worth ten to a hundred times more than a Foundation Establishment Stage pill. The primary reason was the scarcity of their main ingredient: high-vintage Spirit Medicines.

After all, for a medicine to be effective on a Core Formation Cultivator, its primary ingredient needed to be at least five hundred years old.

By the time one reached Mid-stage Core Formation Cultivation, Spirit Medicines of six hundred or even seven hundred years were required for any noticeable effect. While one could still consume Pills meant for the Early-stage Core Formation, the results would be negligible—a sheer waste of money that no one was willing to make.

’The output of Spirit Ascending Honey...’ Lü Zhong thought of the Great Honey Insect Swarm’s recent situation.

The Bihai Sect had been doing everything in its power to expand the swarm, and their measures had been remarkably effective, multiplying the output of Low Tier Spirit Ascending Honey several times over. However, the production of Tier Three Spirit Ascending Honey was constrained by the availability of Tier Three Demon Pills and the swarm’s own biological limits, making it difficult to increase its yield.

More importantly, Tier Three Spirit Ascending Honey was no longer very effective for Lü Zhong at his current level.

’Looks like I need to get back to refining Creation Spirit Liquid. I don’t care if it costs more Spirit Stones, as long as it raises my cultivation.’ After some thought, Lü Zhong made his decision.

After packing up the various bottles and jars on the floor, he stood up and left the Quiet Chamber.

Yu Feng’Er was not around today. Lü Zhong recalled she had gone to Bidao Market; the Chengde Commerce Association was holding its annual meeting, and she had said she would likely be gone for three to five days.

Without her, Tide Cave felt dull, even though it was filled with serving maids.

After a bland, tasteless meal, Lü Zhong returned to the Quiet Chamber to resume his secluded cultivation.

As for his Cultivation Secret Techniques, his Flame Manipulation Technique had stalled because he couldn’t gather the ingredients for the Spirit Forging Fire Pill. He decided to invest more resources into it later. After all, for a cultivator who consumed large quantities of Pills year-round, the Purple Nether Extreme Fire’s ability to purify Pill Poison was extremely important.

After mulling it over, he decided to practice the Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra.

Now that his technique had broken through the eighteenth Acupoint, simply eating meat to replenish his blood qi was no longer effective. So, he started taking Blood Qi Pills, a type of concentrated essence of a Demon Beast’s blood qi.

These pills were produced in the East Sea. It was said that an entire Sea Beast was used to refine a single one, and they sold for a thousand Spirit Stones apiece.

The Southern Barbarian lands also produced Blood Qi Pills, but the meat used to make them was a mix from various beasts, resulting in a product full of impurities. While Mystic Cultivators who practiced Body Refining didn’t mind, Lü Zhong had no desire to waste effort refining out the dross. Thus, he had to go the extra mile, spending more Spirit Stones to purchase Blood Qi Pills from the East Sea.

The Blood Qi Pill was about the size of a longan and looked much like a ruby. It felt warm, soft, and slick to the touch, like a blood clot, and emanated a thick, coppery smell of blood.

One could not consume it directly. The resulting surge of blood qi would be too violent, searing the relatively delicate stomach lining. The correct method was to slowly refine it with Magical Power before absorbing it into the body.

One pill... another... and another!

In a matter of moments, ten thousand Spirit Stones were gone.

Lü Zhong refined an entire bottle of ten pills, finally accumulating enough blood qi. He then activated his Body Refining Technique, performing a series of punches and kicks to hasten its absorption.

The cycle repeated, and the number of empty bottles on the floor grew.

He trained like this for half a month.

By the time Lü Zhong emerged from his seclusion, his body was wreathed in a layer of blood-red flames.

This couldn’t be helped; it was a side effect of taking too many Blood Qi Pills. They contained more than just blood qi, but also various nutrients meant to strengthen the body.

At its core, the pill was simply a tonic.

The Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra never mentioned using Blood Qi Pills as a cultivation aid. The Barbarian Race of the south was even more resource-strapped than cultivators, so they could typically only consume raw flesh and blood.

Lü Zhong’s use of Blood Qi Pills was merely a clever shortcut.

”Husband, you’re out of seclusion?”

”Yes. Let’s go to our room and ’chat’.” Seeing Yu Feng’Er, Lü Zhong’s eyes lit up. ’I have to wonder,’ he thought, ’did the Pill Master who created these Blood Qi Pills secretly design them as an aphrodisiac? Why else would I feel this burning desire?’

’Even my Ice Heart Mantra can’t suppress it!’

”Husband, you...?” Yu Feng’Er looked at him, startled and uncertain, taking two steps back in surprise. But seeing the desperate look on his face, she broke into a seductive smile, covering her mouth as she giggled. ”Very well~”

...

「Late that night.」

Yu Feng’Er was utterly exhausted. She panted for a long while before catching her breath, then shot Lü Zhong a fierce glare. ”Next time something like this happens, go find someone else to ’help’ you! All you know how to do is torment me! And another thing, my master sent a letter. She said the reason I haven’t conceived after all this time might be because we’re... too frequent. So we have to take a break for a while!”