A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

’Hm? Just three Core Formation cultivators...’

In a cave beneath Corruption Lake, Lü Zhong found three Mystic Robe Daoists. The Ba Patterns on their mystic robes, combined with information gathered by his incarnation in the East Sea, made it obvious these cultivators were sent by the Mysterious Dao Sect.

After confirming no one else was around, Lü Zhong revealed himself.

Dealing with three mere Core Formation cultivators would be as easy as crushing ants.

”From the Western Border Alliance?”

The three people inside the cave all frowned.

According to their agreement, the trade wasn’t supposed to happen for another two days, at night.

Moreover, the man before them wasn’t wearing the Western Border Alliance’s attire. Instead, he faintly radiated a shocking aura. Though he only ambled toward them, alarm bells screamed in their minds.

The leader, a Fat Daoist, had a glint in his eye. He chuckled dryly. ”You’ve had a long journey, friend. Why don’t you come in and rest?”

”There’s no need.” Lü Zhong sized up the three of them and released his suppressed aura.

”Nascent Soul!”

The Fat Daoist’s pupils shrank. The moment Lü Zhong unleashed his power, he felt a terrifying Spiritual Pressure crash down on him, forcing him to stumble backward.

’Who is this man?’

He had faced Nascent Soul True Monarchs before.

Back when he was still in the Daoist Sect, he’d met many of its dozens of Supreme Elders. However, he had rarely encountered one with such a shocking aura at only the Early-stage Nascent Soul realm.

’Damn it!’

’To think I’d run into an old monster like this.’

The person next to him spun around, slapped a Teleportation Talisman on their body, and tried to teleport away.

A Spiritual Light flared, but she remained right where she stood.

’The teleportation was interrupted?’

Cold sweat dripped down the high-cheekboned Daoist Nun’s face, which had turned deathly pale. She stared at the Nascent Soul Old Monster slowly lowering his arm. With her only hope of escape shattered, an unprecedented despair flooded her heart. Her expression lost its usual calm, and she could barely remain standing.

As for the last person, a white-haired Daoist, his eyes were filled with wariness and terror as he stared at Lü Zhong.

Lü Zhong took in their shifting expressions, reading the emotions in their eyes as clear as day. His voice was ice-cold. ”If you want to preserve your True Spirits for reincarnation, then I will ask, and you will answer—”

”Fuck it! I’m dead either way, so I’m taking you with me!” the Fat Daoist roared. Brilliant Spiritual Light erupted from his body. Since the old monster before him clearly wasn’t going to let them live, with no hope of survival, he might as well self-destruct. Even in death, he would make his enemy bleed.

’So slow...’

To Lü Zhong, whose Six Consciousnesses had been enhanced and whose Divine Soul had become a Primordial Spirit after his Nascent Soul Formation, the Fat Daoist’s movements to self-destruct seemed as clumsy and slow as rusted machinery.

He easily condensed a Thunderous Spear.

Lü Zhong hurled the Thunder Spear. Lightning erupted in an instant, bathing the entire cave in stark white. Even the air ionized, shimmering with a blue-white glow.

A streak of white light shot out at an unimaginable speed, gone in a flash.

After his body was tempered by multiple rounds of Thunder Tribulations, the Wood Thunder Seal in his Sea of Consciousness had benefited as well. The Thunder Patterns on it had not only increased to nine, but it had also gained an additional transformation.

The ability to rapidly condense a Thunder Spear was merely a minor, associated benefit.

SQUELCH!

The ten-foot-long Thunder Spear, carrying unstoppable momentum, pierced straight through the Fat Daoist’s Dantian. It carried his cracked Golden Core with it as it plunged deep into the rock strata below, leaving behind a bottomless, molten passage.

RUMBLE!

A few moments later, the sound of the explosion finally echoed up from the depths.

However, the blast was too far away, and Lü Zhong had conjured a Light Mirror with his Star Mirror to block it. As a result, the Golden Core’s self-destruction had a negligible effect on the cave, merely shaking loose a bit of dust.

The Fat Daoist’s expression was one of utter shock and indignation.

He never imagined his desperate counterattack would be neutralized so effortlessly.

Before the Fat Daoist could think any further, his vision flipped upside down.

Then, his world went dark.

Taking another life caused not a ripple of emotion in Lü Zhong’s heart. The sins of the Mysterious Dao Sect were too numerous to count. As for the True Central Sect’s actions in the Western Realm, no one would believe they weren’t orchestrated by this Western Sect from Central Earth.

Thus, he felt not an ounce of guilt for killing the Fat Daoist.

Lü Zhong looked at the two remaining, deathly pale figures and said tonelessly, ”Tell me your choice.”

In truth, a Soul Search was not out of the question.

However, that method would inevitably lead to gaps in the information. If a crucial detail were lost, he couldn’t just find another Daoist from the Western Sect to fill in the blanks.

Faced with such immense pressure, the remaining two ultimately chose to submit.

From the two of them, Lü Zhong learned a great deal of information.

First was the issue he was most concerned about: the Immortal Sect and its Immortal Envoy. In reality, their superiors in Central Earth were unaware of the contact and trade with the Western Border Alliance. The only one who knew of this matter was True Monarch Bai Ri, who was responsible for guarding Immortal Prison Pass. Furthermore, the purpose for sending the three of them was not for some trade, but simply to completely eradicate the Western Border Alliance.

’I wonder what kind of faces Mo Yaozi and the others will make when they learn this news...’ Lü Zhong chuckled inwardly and continued his questioning.

True Monarch Bai Ri’s strength;

The internal map of Immortal Prison Pass;

He asked about every single issue that concerned him.

As for whether their answers were true or false, he could verify everything later by searching their remnant souls. He would be able to sort the truth from the lies, so he had no fear of being deceived.

Gradually, a corner of the mysterious Mysterious Dao Sect was unveiled.

In terms of power structure, it was not much different from an ordinary Sect, except that above the Nascent Soul Supremes, there was a Divinity Transformation Grand Venerable who held the real power.

As for the territory under the Western Sect’s jurisdiction, it wasn’t dotted with numerous Sects.

The only thing of the sort was the ”Ten Directions Jungle.”

Daoist Temples of all sizes were scattered across the Western Sect’s vast lands, and they were responsible for governing the Mortal Realms. The Daoists were not idle; they personally grew the Spirit Rice and Spirit Medicine required for cultivation. However, the majority of their output was confiscated by the Immortal Sect, just like the talented individuals cultivated at each temple—a ceaseless upward transfusion of blood.