A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

”Hah, who cares?” someone sneered.

Compared to old grudges, they were more concerned with advancing their own cultivation.

They hadn’t betrayed anyone before because they didn’t have the leverage to do so.

But now, things were completely different.

The culmination of the Spiritual Energy Conversion Technology—the Creation Secret Array.

It was the perfect pledge of allegiance.

If they handed over this Secret Array, it wouldn’t just be a matter of getting through Immortal Prison Pass to the Central Earth—even exchanging it for the status of an Immortal Sect disciple would be no problem at all.

As they spoke, chaos erupted throughout the city.

The cries of battle were incessant.

Seeing that no reinforcements had arrived after a long while, Flowing Sword seemed to understand something, and a bleak smile crossed his face.

”You planned this all along!”

”That’s right. You’re all alone now. Even if help were on its way, distant water can’t quench a present thirst. I advise you to stop before it’s too late!”

Mo Yaozi stepped out from the crowd, his expression calm. ”Flowing Sword, if you hand over all the technical data now, I’ll be sure to put in a good word for you when I meet with the Immortal Envoy from the Immortal Sect. At that time, it won’t be impossible for us to become fellow disciples again!”

Hearing this, Flowing Sword’s expression turned even uglier.

He never imagined that Mo Yaozi had been plotting for so long. Not only had Mo Yaozi figured out how to get rid of this ’stumbling block,’ but he had even already contacted the Mysterious Dao Sect!

’What should I do?’

Flowing Sword’s mind raced as he searched for a chance to escape.

Even a Nascent Soul True Monarch wasn’t invincible. After being hit by three Profound Evil Yin Thunders, his strength had been reduced to less than ten percent of its original level. With the Yin Thunder continuously corroding his physical body and his injuries worsening, he now had to face four Late-stage Core Formation cultivators. His chances of winning were not high.

Therefore, his only option was to retreat for now.

Although Haoguang City had turned against him, there were still many trustworthy underground cities. At the very least, he could trust his disciple, Yongming.

If he could escape there, he could successfully recuperate from his injuries.

In the future, he might still have a chance to make a comeback.

BOOM!

As he was lost in thought, a streak of light shot over from the distance, landing to reveal the figure of a young man.

Without so much as a glance at his master, Flowing Sword True Monarch, Yongming gave a slight nod to Mo Yaozi and coldly joined the encirclement.

”Yongming, you too...?” Flowing Sword’s mental defenses crumbled. He couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood. He had never expected that his most trusted disciple would also betray him.

’What is this now?’

Utterly betrayed and abandoned.

He watched as more and more people closed in on him.

Flowing Sword knew with certainty that he would not escape his doom today.

But just then, a laugh came from not far away.

It was a young cultivator in a black robe with an unremarkable face. He chuckled as he looked at the crowd, his gaze finally landing on the leader, Mo Yaozi.

”Planning to use the Creation Secret Array as your pledge of allegiance? Did you ask me, Chen?”

”You... you are...” Mo Yaozi stared at Lü Zhong, his expression a mixture of shock and doubt. Then, a flash of insight struck him, and he instantly understood the newcomer’s identity. This was clearly the mysterious person who had funded the Western Border Alliance, providing vast resources and Spiritual Objects to help them research the Creation Secret Array.

The others guessed the same thing.

Their expressions changed drastically.

Because they could sense that this man’s cultivation was, to their astonishment, at the Early-stage Nascent Soul realm.

Who could have predicted that at this critical juncture, the man himself would actually appear?

Before any of them could speak, a Treasure Mirror was summoned.

Before a Nascent Soul Cultivator, even someone with a Late-stage Core Formation Cultivation was little better than a chick.

A dense volley of Mirror Light shot out, easily shattering their Protective Gang Qi. The subsequent beams of light were now unobstructed, and in a few short moments, they annihilated the leader, Mo Yaozi.

One, two... four!

They were utterly powerless to fight back.

When it was Yongming’s turn, Flowing Sword suddenly spoke up.

”Fellow Daoist, please stay your hand!”

”Oh? You intend to let him go?” Lü Zhong stopped the Star Mirror and looked at Flowing Sword.

”No.” Flowing Sword shook his head. With a flick of his wrist, a green Flying Sword appeared, letting out a sharp, ringing hum. His gaze was calm as he said, ”I will execute this vile disciple with my own hands!”

Hearing this, the sliver of hope that had just sparked in Yongming’s heart was extinguished. His lips trembled, but in the end, he said nothing.

With a SQUELCH, his head flew high into the air as his eyes closed for the last time.

After flicking the blood from his sword’s edge, Flowing Sword turned back and gave Lü Zhong an apologetic smile. ”My apologies for that unsightly display, Fellow Daoist. Perhaps we should speak outside the city?”

”No problem,” Lü Zhong said calmly.

The two then used Rainbow Transformation to fly out of the city, arriving at the edge of a Molten Rock Lake.

Flowing Sword found a large boulder and casually carved a table and chairs from it with his Flying Sword. He then set out some Spirit Wine, invited Lü Zhong to take a seat, and finally asked, feigning ignorance:

”To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Fellow Daoist?”

”I came for the Spiritual Energy Conversion Technology, of course!” Lü Zhong stated directly.

Now that he had reached the Nascent Soul realm, it was the time he most needed to refine Pills to rapidly advance his cultivation.

Previously, the Creation Secret Array only existed in the Western Realm. Every time, he had to send an Incarnation to have the Western Border Alliance convert the energy into Spirit Liquid, which he could then bring back to the Southern Barbarian lands for Alchemy.

This situation was clearly not sustainable.

With what had just happened in the Western Border Alliance, he had to get his hands on the technology, no matter what.

Across from him, Flowing Sword showed no hesitation upon hearing this. He directly retrieved a stack of Jade Scrolls from his Storage Ring and explained, ”Everything about the Creation Secret Array is in these Jade Scrolls. Since you have come for it, Fellow Daoist, how could we in the Western Border Alliance refuse to provide it? It’s just that...”

His tone shifted, and a flicker of nervousness appeared in his eyes. Seeing Lü Zhong look his way, he gave a wry smile. ”It’s just that... Fellow Daoist, could you possibly continue our previous agreement to fund the Western Border Alliance’s research into Spiritual Energy Conversion with Spiritual Objects? Otherwise, I’m afraid the Creation Secret Array cannot be further optimized.”

The current Creation Secret Array, while capable of Spiritual Energy Conversion, had terribly low efficiency!

It was nowhere near enough to transform the Western Realm, and even using it to purify the Crimson Spiritual Energy wasn’t very realistic. Therefore, it needed to be optimized further, to at least half the efficiency of a Spirit Gathering Array.

The Spirit Gathering Array is a type of Immortal Transmission Array.

With this Array, one could easily extract ninety-nine percent of the Spiritual Qi from a Spirit Stone.

In contrast, if a cultivator were to directly absorb Spiritual Qi from a Spirit Stone, they could only extract eighty to ninety percent at most, even with intense concentration.

The difference in efficiency between the two was extremely clear.

Although the Spirit Gathering Array was later improved, its fundamental principles remained unchanged.

But right now, the conversion efficiency of the Creation Secret Array was a pathetic ten percent, a gap of several fold from his ideal of fifty to sixty percent.

’If we lose his help, I’m afraid...’ Flowing Sword didn’t dare to continue that line of thought.

He was afraid of invoking a backlash from his Heart Demon.

After all, when he underwent his Heart Demon Tribulation during Nascent Soul Formation, the Daoist Oath he had sworn to repel the cunning Heart Demon was to perform a Heaven-Swaying act: to restore the green mountains and clear waters of the Western Realm.

”I can, but I have one condition,” Lü Zhong said faintly.

”Please, speak!” Hearing this, hope ignited in Flowing Sword’s heart.

Lü Zhong used his Magical Power to condense a name, waving his hand to move it in front of Flowing Sword. He chuckled. ”I want my own person to participate in the core research. I trust this condition isn’t too excessive?”

This way, he could directly monitor the progress of the Spiritual Energy Conversion Technology, unlike before, when he could only take the Western Border Alliance at their word.

Flowing Sword hesitated for a moment but ultimately agreed.

Anyone with discerning eyes could see the value of the Spiritual Energy Conversion Technology, and he was certainly no exception.

Once the research on Spiritual Energy Conversion Technology matured, the resource problem that had plagued the Cultivation Realm for a million years would be fundamentally solved.

At that point, whoever controlled this technology would hold all the power.

If he could, Flowing Sword naturally would have wanted to monopolize it for himself.

Alas, he had no choice.

...

Having obtained the Creation Secret Array and placed his Incarnation by Flowing Sword’s side, Lü Zhong felt this trip had been exceptionally fruitful.

’However, there’s still one more thing to take care of...’ He hadn’t forgotten what Mo Yaozi had said about the Immortal Envoy from the Immortal Sect. He prepared to use a scene regression to search for clues and track them down.

He had to prevent the Western Border Alliance from being wiped out in one fell swoop.

Three days later, he arrived above a place called Corruption Lake.

This place was over ten thousand li away from the ruins of Liuyun Market.

According to the results of his investigation, this was where Mo Yaozi had arranged to meet the Immortal Envoy from the Immortal Sect.