A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

With the matter concluded,

Lü Zhong took a moment to recover.

Although he had emerged victorious, the battle had been fraught with peril, a series of life-threatening encounters. Neither Jia Yujun with her Golden Light Spell nor her master, Spiritual Crane True Monarch, were easy opponents. It had been a true fight to the death.

If it were any other cultivator, the result would surely have been different.

Almost an hour passed.

A faint series of cracks echoed from up ahead to the right.

’Looks like they’ve finished gathering the Earth Spirit Crystals.’ Seeing that the Fang Family was done, Lü Zhong glanced down at the corpse on the ground and, with a wave of his hand, summoned the ten Small Flags to him.

They were completely different from before. The Small Flags’ golden light had faded entirely, leaving them plain white. Faint, intricate patterns were visible on their surfaces.

He tried to channel his Magical Power into them, but there was no reaction. Clearly, they weren’t Magical Treasures.

After placing a seal on them, he stored them away, planning to study them later.

He quickly found a Storage Ring as well.

’She really was wealthy!’ Lü Zhong thought, looking at the Storage Ring in his hand.

’What a massive haul this time.’

Just by looking at the Void Netherstone, he could tell this Storage Ring had less space than the one he wore. However, its exterior was far more exquisite. It was slender in shape and covered in delicate, leaf-vein-like filigree. After a simple refinement, he saw that it still had over three thousand cubic meters of space.

A Storage Ring of this size was worth at least a million Spirit Stones.

Lü Zhong didn’t plan to sell it.

After all, Void Netherstone Storage Rings are rare. Rather than selling it for Spirit Stones, it would be better to keep it for his own use, or even give it to someone close to him.

He checked the scene again but found nothing else of value.

To prevent future trouble, he made sure to cremate the corpse with his Purple Nether Extreme Fire.

’All done.’ Lü Zhong confirmed he hadn’t missed anything.

Only then did he soar into the sky, flying toward the Fang Family members.

...

The Crystal Rock Flood Dragon Nest.

Though called a Flood Dragon Nest, it was in reality a massive, crystalline cavern located deep underground. Passages branched out in all directions, and the bones of various Demon Beasts littered the ground.

He passed through clusters of enormous crystal pillars.

Lü Zhong entered the main chamber, only to find it covered in corpses.

A thick smell of blood hung in the air.

The six Fang Family members lay in pools of their own blood, clearly dead for some time. Their bodies were all covered in bite marks, with some limbs even torn away. It was obvious they had been attacked by a Demon Beast.

Judging by the scene, they were attacked after they had finished collecting the Earth Spirit Crystals.

’A step too late...’ Lü Zhong fell silent. They had been working for him, yet this was their fate. ’Fine. I’ll avenge you.’

He activated the Celestial Net Secret Eye.

A quick scan of the area revealed the killer: a Juvenile Flood Dragon over sixty feet long, its body the same color as the surrounding Crystal Stones, lying quietly in ambush.

Judging by its aura, it was only at Tier One.

”HISS!”

Seeing that Lü Zhong had spotted it, the Juvenile Flood Dragon slithered around a crystal pillar, leaving a trail of afterimages. Then, without a hint of fear, it opened its massive maw and lunged at him.

But halfway through its lunge, a giant hand formed from a Magic Skill caught it in mid-air.

No matter how the Juvenile Flood Dragon struggled, it could not break free.

He flicked out a Spirit Contract.

”Either sign, or die!” Lü Zhong said.

”HISS!” The Juvenile Flood Dragon continued to struggle.

Even after a harsh ”taming,” which left it on the verge of death, it showed no sign of submission. Instead, its ferocity flared, and it began to frantically bite the magical hand.

Seeing this, he stopped wasting his effort.

According to the ancient texts, Flood Dragons were a naturally proud species, notoriously wild and difficult to tame. Unless one started with an unhatched Flood Dragon Egg, the chances of subduing one were slim.

’Killing it now would be a waste. I might as well take it back and raise it... In the future, it would be a good choice for either harvesting its blood or raising it for its meat.’

Lü Zhong thought this was a good idea.

And so, he bound the Juvenile Flood Dragon and put it into his Spirit Beast Bag.

He collected the six Storage Bags, then covered the bodies with a layer of earth to prevent them from being dragged off by Demon Beasts the moment he left.

After doing all this, Lü Zhong walked out of the underground nest.

Glancing back one last time, he summoned a Spirit Sword with a wave of his hand. In just a few strikes, he destroyed the supports for the cavern’s ceiling. As the entire cave began to collapse, he departed without a second look.

...

「Six months later.」

Lü Zhong finally returned to the Bihai Sect.

Upon facing Yu Feng’Er’s resentful gaze, he knew he had some making up to do. It was only after a long session of ”plowing the fields” that she finally surrendered, completely satisfied.

He rested for a while more, and soon it was the end of the year.

After taking care of sect affairs, he found a place to house the Crystal Rock Juvenile Flood Dragon.

He then made his way to his Quiet Chamber.

Lü Zhong sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion and began to take inventory of the Storage Ring’s contents.

There weren’t many items, but every single one was of exceptional quality.

There were a full seven ingots of Magical Treasure Materials, such as Silver Essence and Iron Essence.

As for Spirit Stones, there wasn’t a single Lower-grade spirit stone to be found. The lowest were all Mid-grade Spirit Stones. Including eleven High-grade spirit stones, the value of the Spirit Stones alone was over five hundred thousand.

He continued his inventory.

There was a Magical Treasure Flying Sword with a Third-Layer Prohibition. The two words ”Qingxu Temple” were inscribed on it, which meant he obviously couldn’t sell it. It could only be given to his Incarnation to use as a disposable item.

Several sets of women’s Dharma Robes, both new and old, were equally useless to him.

Next were items such as Pills, Talismans, and various texts. There were only a dozen or so items in total, which was very little compared to what he’d found on Yinn Qiao and his companions. However, considering Jia Yujun was a Fake Infant Realm cultivator, she probably felt such things were of little use to her.

He sifted through several Jade Scrolls. ’...”Discipline,” ”Qingxu Scripture”... Aha!’

Lü Zhong picked up a Jade Scroll and found it contained the Technique for the Golden Light Spell. A strange expression crossed his face. This spell was supposed to be a closely guarded secret of the Qingxu Temple, yet now, he possessed it.