A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Inside the Quiet Chamber.

Lü Zhong slowly opened his eyes.

As he replayed the recent events in his mind, he couldn’t stop the joyful expression from spreading across his face.

’The Evergreen Seal is mine!’

He hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly.

He had the Gray Mist Space to thank for it.

Without it, he never would have been able to replicate Wanmu True Monarch’s Jade Token to enter the Third Layer of the Inheritance Hall, making his goal impossible.

’It’s a shame an opportunity like this will only come once...’ Lü Zhong thought with a pang of regret.

As expected, once the Southern Barbarian Sects learned of this exploit, they would surely take precautions. Trying such a brazen move again would likely be impossible.

He composed himself.

Lü Zhong reviewed the entire Secret Skill several times until it was etched into his memory, giving him a profound understanding of the principles behind the Evergreen Seal.

It was truly worthy of a Great Sect of the Pill Dao.

The Evergreen Seal was a Secret Skill related to medicinal Pills.

Its principle was to use the medicinal power of the Evergreen Pill to construct a Dharma Seal within one’s Sea of Consciousness.

This was the Evergreen Seal.

The principle of this seal was somewhat similar to the cultivation of Ancient Magic, as it also relied on the aid of Spiritual Objects.

Once refined, the Evergreen Seal could be used during Nascent Soul Formation to accelerate the Metamorphosis of the Divine Soul. The Nascent Soul Stage was also known as the Primordial Spirit Stage, so the Divine Soul was also referred to as the Primordial Spirit.

Upon reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, a cultivator could achieve Primordial Spirit Emergence. At that point, even if their physical body was destroyed, they could rely on their Nascent Soul to survive for a long time until they could seize a new body and be reborn.

This was a major feature that distinguished the Nascent Soul Stage from the Core Formation Stage.

In contrast, once a Core Formation cultivator’s Divine Soul left their body, it couldn’t survive for long, even hiding within its Golden Core. Without a treasure like Soul Nourishing Wood to inhabit or a body to quickly seize, its True Spirit would typically be worn away by the elements within three to five months.

At that point, it was no different from being truly dead.

’Rapidly transforming the Divine Soul into a Primordial Spirit really does increase the success rate of Nascent Soul Formation, far more than ordinary Nascent Soul Secret Techniques. Truly worthy of a great sect with a ten-thousand-year legacy!’ Lü Zhong marveled. Now, however, this Secret Skill belonged to him.

By his careful estimation, it could increase his chances of Nascent Soul Formation by about ten percent.

Combined with the preparations Lü Zhong had already made—such as the Nascent Soul Immortal Guide, the Star Devouring Technique, and the Yue Spirit Unification Mantra he was currently cultivating—his chances of successfully reaching the Nascent Soul Stage were now close to fifty percent.

’Fifty percent!’ A sharp glint flashed in Lü Zhong’s eyes.

For a Four Spirit Root Cultivator, a fifty percent success rate for Nascent Soul Formation was incredibly high.

A one-in-two chance of success.

Anyone else would be ecstatic with such odds.

But he still wasn’t satisfied.

’I was reckless before. I’m afraid there are no more opportunities for me in the Southern Barbarian lands. The only remaining possibility is the Western Border Alliance...’ Lü Zhong thought to himself.

As the successor to the former Western Border Four Sects, the Western Border Alliance had gathered most of their surviving cultivators. It was absolutely impossible that they didn’t possess a Nascent Soul-level inheritance.

The key question was how to get his hands on their Nascent Soul Secret Technique.

This kind of Secret Skill was often a crucial part of a Sect’s foundation.

His recent theft of the Evergreen Seal showed just how tight Changchun Valley’s security was. Even if he could retrace his steps, already knowing about the hidden countermeasures in the Inheritance Hall, he doubted he could have found a way to steal the Evergreen Seal without anyone noticing.

Trade alone likely wouldn’t be enough to convince the Western Border Alliance to part with it.

The Spiritual Energy Conversion Technology had been an exception.

After all, it wasn’t something the Four Sects had possessed originally.

Human psychology was a strange thing.

Therefore, he would have to think of another way.

...

「Half a year later.」

Although the incident at the Changchun Valley Inheritance Hall was initially kept under wraps, word eventually leaked out, causing the valley to lose a great deal of face and prompting the leaders of the other sects to contemplate the situation.

There were no fools among High-level cultivators; they were all paragons who had distinguished themselves from the countless masses in Qi Refining.

They could vaguely guess the true purpose behind the spy, Li Yun, going to such lengths to get close to the Dao Transmission Bead.

Lü Zhong’s correspondence with Shuini confirmed this.

Shuini’s speculation was so accurate it was as if she had witnessed the event firsthand. She believed that Li Yun’s true purpose in blowing up the Inheritance Hall was to steal Changchun Valley’s legacy Cultivation Technique.

It also made Lü Zhong realize just how meticulous the minds of those Nascent Soul Old Monsters were. He couldn’t help but remind himself to be even more cautious in the future.

Early one morning, Lü Zhong put on his Flood Dragon Patterned Robe with Yu Feng’Er’s assistance.

”We’re an old married couple, my dear. Why are you still blushing? Don’t tell me... HAHA!” Lü Zhong puffed out his chest and teased her with a laugh.

”Hmph!” Yu Feng’Er scoffed under her breath.

She shot her husband an exasperated glare.

’He’s already over one hundred and eighty years old and about to attempt Nascent Soul Formation.’

’And he still doesn’t have a serious bone in his body!’

Yu Feng’Er recalled the events of last night and felt a little indignant. Even though she also practiced Body Refining Techniques, she was still no match for her husband and was defeated in just a few moves.

After that, she was completely at his mercy.

The more she thought about it, the more flustered she became, completely unaware that this was the very expression Lü Zhong loved to see on her face.

That afternoon, led by Su Caocao and Hex Luo, a group of Bihai Sect’s Foundation Establishment True Cultivators entered Bihai Hall to attend a Sect meeting presided over by Lü Zhong.

The meeting was originally scheduled for the morning.

Although no one knew why it had been postponed, they were all tactful enough not to ask.

After all, presiding over them were two Core Formation Cultivators, one of whom was on the verge of Nascent Soul Formation. The chasm between their respective statuses was as vast as the one between the clouds and the earth.