A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

The biggest change was, in fact, the newly formed Nascent Soul. After combining with his Primordial Spirit, it could leave his body and move about. Its Escape Speed was astonishing, easily reaching ten times the speed of sound.

He estimated that using a Secret Skill could boost it even further.

In comparison, the Escape Speed of his physical body was much slower. Weighed down by his flesh, which hindered his connection to the world, he could only reach seven times the speed of sound at most.

The benefits of the Nascent Soul didn’t stop there.

Lü Zhong tried to circulate his energy to cultivate and was thrilled to discover that after breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm, he could use his Nascent Soul to absorb nature’s spiritual energy, truly overcoming the limitations of his Spirit Root.

From now on, his aptitude would no longer limit his cultivation progress.

’This is wonderful!’ Lü Zhong’s heart bloomed with joy.

He had been worried that with his Four Spirit Root Talent, his cultivation speed would remain agonizingly slow after reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, making any further progress a hopeless endeavor.

Now, that burden was finally lifted.

He immediately felt a profound sense of ease.

As for the Star Source Nascent Soul...

Other than enhancing his ”Star Shifting and Dipper Changing” Divine Technique and the effectiveness of his Dharma Seals, its only other apparent effect was to increase his Starlight Affinity. But he had an instinct that the Star Source Nascent Soul, which he had worked so hard to form, must have other benefits beyond just these two.

’Once my cultivation stabilizes, it won’t be too late to explore it then. I wonder if the Gray Mist Space has changed now that I’ve advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm...’

At this thought, Lü Zhong closed his eyes and entered.

Once inside, his first impression was that it had become much more spacious.

Before, it had also seemed boundless, but the distant areas had felt more like a blurry backdrop, lacking any sense of reality.

Now, however, it was completely different.

With a single thought, Lü Zhong could appear wherever he wished.

’It’s roughly ten thousand zhang in all directions, and...’

An idea surfaced in his mind.

With a wave of his sleeve.

The mist in the space surged, manifesting into pavilions, terraces, and grand halls. Each structure was resplendent, formed entirely from Lü Zhong’s thoughts. From a distance, the entire complex looked like an Immortal Mansion on earth.

’An Immortal Mansion?’ Lü Zhong shook his head at the thought.

The Gray Mist Space was, of course, no Immortal Mansion.

After his Divine Soul metamorphosed into a Primordial Spirit, the space’s true function was revealed: ”True Retrospection.” It was the ability to perfectly recreate a scene for a short period of time.

In short, it could reconstruct a scene with perfect realism.

Furthermore, the stronger his Primordial Spirit, the longer the True Retrospection would last.

”This is a pretty useful ability,” Lü Zhong said, pleased.

In the future, if he wanted to practice Alchemy, Talisman Making, or even cultivate a Magic Skill, he could simply do so within a reconstructed scene.

This would save him a tremendous amount of time and resources.

...

Lü Zhong’s expression flickered. His eyelids trembled slightly before he slowly opened his eyes. They were crystal clear, seeming to hold a swirling galaxy within them, and radiated a divine, wondrous light.

He didn’t get up immediately, instead taking a moment to circulate his energy and regulate his breathing.

Only then did he rise and scan the Quiet Chamber. As he pushed the door open, he saw the two women walking in.

”Congratulations on successfully forming your Nascent Soul!” Shuini was all smiles.

”Congratulations, my husband!” Yu Feng’Er beamed, acting as if everything was perfectly fine. If not for the faint redness in her eyes, no one would have guessed how worried she had been. A moment ago, while Lü Zhong was undergoing his Six-Nine Celestial Tribulation, her anxious expression had made it look as though she were the one facing it.

The three of them then moved to the Waterside Pavilion.

”Now that you’ve successfully formed your Nascent Soul, you are one of the most powerful cultivators in this realm. Your lifespan has increased to three thousand years. If you encounter some great fortune in the future and your cultivation continues to rise, perhaps even reaching the Divinity Transformation Stage won’t be impossible,” Shuini said, her beautiful face filled with conviction.

”I wouldn’t dare to hope for that,” Lü Zhong said, gently shaking his head.

If the Nascent Soul Stage represented the pinnacle of the Cultivation Realm, then the Divinity Transformation Stage was a transcendent existence, far beyond the mortal coil. Other than fellow Divinity Transformation cultivators, there was no power that could stand in their way. Once a cultivator reached that realm, they could truly roam freely through the world.

But for him, reaching that realm was still a distant dream.

In fact, it was questionable whether he could even break through to the Mid-stage Nascent Soul. Throughout the million-year recorded history of the Cultivation Realm, countless Nascent Soul Cultivators had emerged. However, the vast majority were stuck at the Early-stage Nascent Soul, unable to advance another step. Those who managed to reach the Mid-stage Nascent Soul were exceedingly rare.

Let alone reaching the Late-stage Nascent Soul.

”I believe in you, my husband!” Yu Feng’Er said with a happy chuckle, holding Lü Zhong’s arm.

Hearing this, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

’This silly girl really has faith in me!’

...

Outside the Bihai Sect, a large number of cultivators had already gathered to offer their congratulations.

Any discerning person could see that now that Lü Zhong had formed his Nascent Soul, he was bound to trigger a major power shift in the Southern Barbarian lands—as long as he wasn’t content to remain cooped up in Bihai.

Everyone loves a winner.

Seeing that the Bihai Sect was poised for greatness, opportunistic speculators began placing their bets.

They all hoped to get a piece of the pie.

Lü Zhong dismissed them all perfunctorily. He then made a formal public announcement that he would hold a Nascent Soul Formation celebration in three years, which would include a Preaching Conference for Nascent Soul cultivators.

This was all standard practice.

Throughout the ages, any True Monarch who successfully formed a Nascent Soul would hold such a celebration. It served to announce their rise to the world and to emulate the sages of old.

It was said that long ago, after the Immortals first passed down the Dao, the Cultivation Realm was a place of harmony.

There was no flattery or deceit, no scheming or backstabbing.

All that existed was a united front against common enemies and a tireless pursuit of the Immortal Dao. In those days, aptitude was not the primary concern; one’s character and mental fortitude were valued above all.

A single moment of enlightenment could allow a person to break through several Small Realms in one go.

Unfortunately, this special era was but a flash in the pan.

No matter how beautiful the vision, it was bound to crumble in the face of dwindling resources.

Without those Spiritual Objects and their astonishing effects, cultivation became just like building a house. To erect a great tower, one needed enough resources to serve as bricks and tiles; otherwise, there was no hope of ever reaching the top.

Wiping these stray thoughts from his mind, Lü Zhong calmed himself and contemplated his next move.

The Southern Barbarian region of today was vastly different from before.

He had originally thought the Ten Thousand Witches Hall would arrive before his Nascent Soul Formation. Unexpectedly, after a life-and-death struggle, he had seized the opportunity early and succeeded in one fell swoop.

’How should I proceed?’ Lü Zhong felt a major headache coming on.

One thing was clear: he had no intention of letting go of his enmity with Changchun Valley. If the opportunity arose in the future, he wouldn’t hesitate to annihilate the Sect. This would not only be for revenge but also because he coveted the territory they occupied.

In fact, if he wanted to aim for the Divinity Transformation realm, the resources he would need to gather would be an astronomical, almost unimaginable sum.

In the past, Lü Zhong would never have entertained such an idea. After all, Spiritual Objects capable of advancing one’s cultivation at the Late-stage Nascent Soul were incredibly rare, possessed almost exclusively by the great Immortal Sects of Central Earth.

The reason he now dared to dream of Divinity Transformation was because of the ”Spiritual Energy Conversion Technology” from the Western Realm.

Under these circumstances, as long as he had a large enough supply of Spiritual Objects, it would be no problem for him to refine the necessary Pills—or even Creation Spirit Liquid—with his current Alchemy Skill.

Not to mention, he now possessed the ability of ”True Retrospection.”

”The path of cultivation... how did it all become a fight for territory?” Lü Zhong wanted to laugh, but he was struck by the sad realization that in the end, it all still came down to a single word: resources.

To acquire more resources, one had to control more territory.

Only then could one obtain more Spirit Veins and, by extension, grow more Spirit Medicines.

’With the Gui Miao Immortal Sect looming overhead, annexing Changchun Valley is likely the absolute limit of their tolerance,’ Lü Zhong mused. ’If I try to go further and unify the Southern Barbarian lands, they will certainly react. They might instigate conflict through the Daoist Sects or take other countermeasures. In any case, they will never allow a power on par with an Immortal Sect to rise in the south.’

’Therefore, if I wish to advance further, I’ll have to set my sights elsewhere.’

But the Cultivation Realm was only so large.