A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

It was now dusk.

Lü Zhong flew across the calm sea, bathed in the lingering light of dusk. To get back sooner, he even burned his blood essence, transforming into a streak of crimson light. By the time he reached Tide Cave, it was exactly 5:00 PM.

When he landed at the Waterside Pavilion, Yu Feng’Er came out to greet him with a smile.

Dinner was simple, consisting of a few side dishes stir-fried with Spirit Medicines. Paired with Spirit Rice Porridge, the meal seemed rather plain, so Yu Feng’Er ordered the Spirit Chef to prepare a few more meat dishes.

After a hearty meal, he inevitably had to contend with his wife’s advances.

It was late into the night before Lü Zhong finally had some time to himself.

For the next several months, he remained in seclusion. Besides meditating to refine his Qi and purify his Magical Power, he also cultivated the Yue Spirit Unification Mantra to increase his chances of successfully undergoing Nascent Soul Formation.

The cultivation of this technique was different from the Star Devouring Technique.

The reason the Yue Spirit Unification Mantra could accelerate the condensation of a Nascent Soul was its underlying principle: one had to form a Unity Spirit Ring, composed of Prohibitions, around their Golden Core in advance. This ring would then be activated during Nascent Soul Formation. Its effect was to construct a stable, temporary space, preventing the violent fluctuations of True Essence from harming the cultivator’s fragile Dantian.

This allowed one to condense their Nascent Soul rapidly and without reservation.

The faster one condensed their Nascent Soul, the faster they could complete the metamorphosis from Core Formation to the Nascent Soul Realm, which in turn granted them a sliver more time to stabilize their cultivation.

Sometimes, an extra instant could be the dividing line between success and failure.

「Six months later.」

Lü Zhong stopped his cultivation and connected with his Incarnation in Changchun Valley, Li Yun.

After a long period of information gathering, the time was finally ripe to steal Changchun Valley’s Nascent Soul Secret Technique—the Evergreen Seal. He would take advantage of the opportunity presented by his Incarnation’s master, Guyao Zi, being called away and unable to return for some time.

He began his plan.

...

As always, Li Yun arrived at the Medicine Transmission Hall, holding his Token.

This was the place under Guyao Zi’s authority, and it was also where Changchun Valley refined its Pills. A large quantity of Pills was produced here every day.

In reality, Guyao Zi, the master of the Medicine Transmission Hall, valued Li Yun not just for his strength, which had placed him in the top ten of the grand competition, but mainly for the talent in Alchemy that the Incarnation displayed.

This was also evident in how Guyao Zi instructed the Incarnation.

On a normal day, he would almost exclusively give guidance on the Alchemy Dao. As for matters of cultivation advancement, even when the Incarnation actively sought advice, Guyao Zi would usually brush him off with a few cursory words.

He clearly wanted to cultivate a High-tier Alchemist.

’As for Core Formation? He probably doesn’t want to see that happen.’

”Hold it right there, Junior Brother. Show me your Token!” a Changchun Valley Foundation Establishment cultivator guarding the hall entrance shouted. The Medicine Transmission Hall was one of the valley’s restricted areas. Even though the guard recognized him as one of Guyao Zi’s Registered Disciples, he couldn’t enter without the proper access Token.

”Here,” Lü Zhong said calmly.

He appeared calm on the surface as he handed over a Token.

Inwardly, however, he was quite nervous. This Token looked identical to a real one, but it was actually a fake he had spent a great deal of time crafting. Although he had tested it multiple times beforehand, he couldn’t help but feel anxious now.

But this was the only way.

Changchun Valley had been established for many years, and this was the only loophole Lü Zhong had been able to find.

In fact, if he hadn’t personally entered Changchun Valley before, he would never have been able to use his scene-revisiting ability to replicate such a Token.

The guard took the Token and channeled a Technique Mantra into it.

Normally, as soon as the Technique Mantra entered the Token, it would light up and display the corresponding information.

But now... there was no reaction.

Seeing this, the guard discreetly took a step back, his hand quietly reaching for the Storage Bag at his waist, ready to act at the first sign of trouble.

Lü Zhong remained motionless, his expression composed.

But inwardly, his heart sank.

’A bad start?’

Just as the atmosphere grew tense, information finally flashed on the Token, and both men let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. The guard chuckled. ”Junior Brother, you need to take better care of this Token. We’ve had them fail before, but every time it happens, you have to get dragged over to the Punishment Hall to deal with it. That’s a real hassle!”

”You’re right, Senior Brother,” Lü Zhong said, nodding repeatedly with an expression of immense relief.

After that little incident, he finally entered the Medicine Transmission Hall.

Step one of the plan: success!

The next objective was to enter Guyao Zi’s room within the Medicine Transmission Hall. There, he would find the key item for obtaining the Nascent Soul Secret Technique: an Identity Token gifted by Guyao Zi’s Dao Companion.

With this Identity Token, he could enter the Third Layer of the Inheritance Hall, where the Third Layer of the Evergreen Immortal Technique was stored.

If all went smoothly, the Incarnation could even obtain the information inside without alerting anyone and then retreat unscathed.

As Lü Zhong walked down the corridor, he thought to himself, ’This Identity Token feels an awful lot like bait.’

But even if it was bait, he was prepared to take it.

’What choice do I have? I’m no master of schemes.’

If it weren’t for the Gray Mist Space, his only option would have been to honestly have his Incarnation cultivate to the Core Formation Stage to get a chance at obtaining the Core Formation Secret Technique.

”Greetings, Master Li!”

Along the way, he encountered many Pill Master disciples, all of whom took the initiative to greet Li Yun.

Not only was he a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator, but he was also the disciple of a Golden Core Master. Even if he was only a Registered Disciple, his status was far higher than that of low-level disciples like them.

As the saying goes, no one is ever faulted for being too polite.

To get by in the strictly hierarchical Changchun Valley, the bare minimum requirement was to not offend anyone.

As for whether one could ever make a name for themselves, that depended on how hard they were willing to grind. One either had to achieve a high ranking in the annual grand competition or demonstrate exceptional talent in a specific area. Otherwise, when it came time to fight like an army crossing a single-plank bridge for the few pitiful opportunities for advancement each year, that chance would certainly never fall to you.