A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

「Three months later.」

Lü Zhong had finally broken through!

He let out a long breath.

Slowly ceasing his cultivation, he sensed the surging True Essence within his body, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

Staying for so long in this godforsaken, uninhabited part of the Western Realm was bound to make one feel frustrated. Now, there was finally some good news to offset it; otherwise, the stress really would have made him sick.

With his breakthrough from the Mid-stage Core Formation, Lü Zhong was now a Late-stage Core Formation Cultivator.

He was now only one step away from the Fake Infant Realm before he could attempt to reach Nascent Soul.

Doing his best to calm his excitement, he began to compare the changes before and after his breakthrough.

The most obvious change was that his total True Essence had doubled compared to when he was in the Mid-stage Core Formation. The Golden Core in his abdomen now radiated immense waves of Magical Power.

But it wasn’t just the quantity of his True Essence that had increased—the change in its purity was even more dramatic.

Now, when casting the same Thunder Swamp skill, he would use less than half the True Essence required at Mid-stage Core Formation, and the Thunder Skill’s power would be even greater than before.

This also made Lü Zhong understand why Mid-stage Core Formation cultivators were so often soundly defeated when they encountered Late-stage cultivators.

’The difference in the quantity and quality of their True Essence is simply too vast!’

’As for my Divine Sense, it’s expanded to eight hundred fifty-seven zhang. My control over Magical Treasures will be much more precise, which also boosts my combat strength.’ Lü Zhong smiled, unable to contain the renewed excitement in his heart.

Upon reaching the Late-stage Core Formation, he could also learn a Secret Skill.

It was called the ”Star Forging Technique.”

Its effect was to enhance the starlight affinity of the Star Source Spirit Body.

Therefore, there was a prerequisite to learning this skill: one must first convert their constitution into a Star Source Spirit Body. He looked at it with great envy but could only set it aside for now.

After confirming all the personal changes brought by his cultivation breakthrough, Lü Zhong got up, pushed open the door, and walked out of the Quiet Chamber.

He then followed the corridor and soon arrived at the Central Mechanism Room.

”How far are we from Ningyun Square?”

Hearing this, the Incarnation quickly gave an answer.

”We’re about half an ancient hour away.”

To be cautious and prevent any potential accidents, Lü Zhong had his Incarnation halt the Mountain Shaking Ship when it was still a thousand li from Ningyun Square. He then personally took control of an Incarnation and flew toward the square’s location.

With the Magical Power shield projected by his main body, the Incarnation could move for a short time in the harsh environment outside.

Several minutes later, a streak of light landed in the canyon.

Looking at the large, festering patches of skin on his body from the corrosion, Lü Zhong knew he had underestimated the potency of the Crimson Spiritual Energy. ’I should have given the Incarnation some of my Purple Nether Extreme Fire,’ he thought.

There was no time to waste. He began to explore the ruins before him.

Debris and rot covered the ground, and there were almost no intact buildings to be seen.

Fortunately, the lower levels of the Workshop Market were not completely destroyed. Entering through a blast crater on the surface, he could see many signs of combat. Although they were mostly corroded, he could still discern the ferocity of the great battle that had once taken place.

Soon, Lü Zhong made a discovery.

In the lowest level of the ruins, he found a tunnel that had been crudely dug out with a Magical Artifact. It led deep underground. Judging from the remaining traces and the degree of corrosion, a cultivator must have been here several years ago.

’This is definitely good news!’

It meant that it was highly likely that cultivators still survived in the West Extreme Sword Domain.

With this in mind, Lü Zhong treated the Incarnation’s injuries and then returned control to it. He was going to have it explore the tunnel to its end and see if any Western Border Cultivators had truly survived down there.

Meanwhile, his main body was not idle.

While exploring the ruins of Ningyun Square just now, he had been pleasantly surprised to discover that the Spirit Vein here had not completely collapsed. If he could set up a Spiritual Qi transmission line, he might be able to draw out the Spiritual Qi from within. This could be used to supply the Mountain Shaking Ship, which was constantly consuming Spirit Stones at a tremendous rate.

’Otherwise, I really won’t be able to hold on for much longer.’

Right now, Lü Zhong had very few Spirit Stones left on him, only enough for the return trip.

He got to work.

The ruins of Ningyun Square were located inside a rift valley. He carved a massive berth into the cliff face and moved the Mountain Shaking Ship inside. While this couldn’t completely block the corrosion from the Crimson Spiritual Energy, the ship’s Spirit Stone consumption would be significantly lower inside the berth than it was out in the open.

Next, he began to set up the Spiritual Qi transmission lines.

Considering the corrosive nature of the Crimson Spiritual Energy, Lü Zhong took care to add multiple layers of protection.

After all that work, three months had passed.

Once he confirmed there were no issues, Lü Zhong cast a Technique Mantra at the Spirit Gathering Array. A low HUMMM resonated as the Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Vein deep underground was drawn out. The transmission lines pulsed with Spiritual Light as the Spiritual Qi, purified by the array, was channeled into the Mountain Shaking Ship.

The results were ideal.

The amount of Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Vein exceeded his expectations. It was not only enough to power the Mountain Shaking Ship’s defensive shield but even left a considerable surplus.

Inside the Mountain Shaking Ship, the concentration of Spiritual Qi began to rise gradually.

Soaking in the high-Spiritual-Qi environment, Lü Zhong’s mood improved a little.

Meanwhile, the Incarnation’s scouting mission was going smoothly. The tunnel ended in a vast subterranean space filled with a network of branching paths that converged and split, stretching in all directions. It was clearly an entire underground world, which indicated that the Western Border Cultivators had not chosen the location for Ningyun Square at random.

After being attacked several times by subterranean creatures, it found a recently erected grave.

Using the grave as a central point for its search, it then found a cluster of destroyed buildings.

Judging from the layout, combined with the large number of nearby pits filled with the bones of subterranean Demon Beasts, it must have been a resource-gathering camp that was later destroyed by the True Central Sect.

This wasn’t just Lü Zhong’s speculation; there were even banners with the True Central Sect’s insignia left at the scene.