A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

It was better to quit while he was ahead.

With a wave of his hand, Lü Zhong retrieved a Flood Dragon Tail over thirty zhang in length. After acquiring so much Flood Dragon Meat, the entire endeavor had more than paid for itself.

At that moment, a beam of white light shot toward him.

The light faded to reveal a slender figure—it was the Insect Queen, having survived her Transformation Thunder Tribulation.

Compared to her previous ten-zhang form, she was now only a single zhang tall, a shadow of her former size.

Lü Zhong saw that the Insect Queen’s upper body had fully taken on a human form, complete with a pair of delicate, slender hands. If one ignored her monstrous lower half, she could almost pass for a heavenly fairy.

At first, Lü Zhong felt a pang of disappointment. ’After all, the more difficult a creature’s Transformation, the greater its future potential. She just finished transforming, and half her body is already human. Her potential must be limited.’

’No, that’s not right!’ He took a closer look.

’It’s just mimicry...’

When a Demon Beast transforms, its actual flesh changes. But the Insect Queen’s upper body, though it looked perfectly human, was merely her carapace, reshaped to mimic a human form.

In essence, she was just a human-shaped insect.

Her degree of Transformation was comparable to the Black Flood Dragon’s. This meant there wasn’t much difference in their potential; in fact, the Insect Queen’s might even be slightly greater.

A wave of joy washed over him.

Lü Zhong couldn’t help but laugh.

”Please grant me a name, Master!” the Insect Queen suddenly said.

Her voice was bizarre—completely unlike a normal person’s. It sounded almost synthesized, devoid of any emotional fluctuation or tonal inflection.

In his elation, Lü Zhong didn’t care.

But the thought of having to come up with another name...

He, who had always been terrible at naming things, felt a headache coming on. Now that the Insect Queen had broken through to Tier Four, she was officially a Demon Cultivator. Her true name couldn’t be chosen casually.

”Baqiong. That will be your name.”

Lü Zhong had originally thought of a name that meant ”Eight Jades,” following the naming style of Jiuying. However, he felt the word for ”eight” sounded unpleasant, so he chose the similar-sounding Baqiong instead.

”Baqiong... Baqiong...” A hint of emotion stirred within the Insect Queen.

A profound connection was forged in that moment.

From now on, she would sense it whenever her name was spoken.

Lü Zhong then spoke with Baqiong for a time, gaining a rough understanding of her abilities.

As a Jade Pearl Insect Queen, Baqiong’s strength in single combat was, to put it bluntly, at the bottom of the barrel among Demon Cultivators.

This was because an Insect Queen’s path was not one of individual strength. Instead, she relied on laying massive numbers of eggs to hatch soldier insects, creating a terrifying insect tide.

According to Baqiong herself, the soldier insects produced by a Tier Four Insect Queen weren’t fleshy grubs. Instead, they resembled her own form during her Tribulation Crossing.

And their strength could reach up to Tier Three.

Hearing this, an image instantly formed in Lü Zhong’s mind.

An endless swarm of monstrous giant insects, rushing toward him like an avalanche. Each one was fearless, charging forward to replace the fallen in a relentless wave, until he was finally submerged by the tide of insects.

He couldn’t help but shudder at the thought. ’If I let the insect swarm take shape, that scene could actually become a reality.’

But forming such a swarm would require a colossal amount of resources, far more than Lü Zhong could afford. Even if he sold off both the Bihai Sect and the Chengde Commerce Association, the funds raised would be a mere drop in the ocean.

After much thought, he concluded there was only one solution.

He had to let Baqiong fend for herself.

Lü Zhong decided to send her to the Nether Abyss Continent. The environment there wasn’t harsh for Jade Pearl Insects. Moreover, the continent was teeming with Demon Beasts, making it the perfect feeding ground for the Insect Swarm to thrive and multiply.

This would also provide protection for the settlement he was establishing on the Nether Abyss Continent.

Having made his decision, he then thought about his deal with Xu Jiao.

After questioning Baqiong, Lü Zhong learned the requirements for producing Jade Dew. Just as he had suspected, it would consume her Life Essence Qi.

A Demon Cultivator’s Life Essence Qi was similar to an Immortal Cultivator’s Innate Infant Qi.

It was exceptionally important.

Fortunately, Baqiong indicated that consuming the Flood Dragon Tail would significantly mitigate the after-effects and allow her to recover quickly.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lü Zhong gave the Flood Dragon Tail to Baqiong.

Since the tail came from a Demon Cultivator, he’d never considered consuming it himself. His original plan was to refine it into a Magical Treasure, but he doubted a single Flood Dragon Tail could be forged into anything particularly powerful.

It was better to let her use it to restore her Primordial Qi.

That way, the Insect Swarm could grow much faster.

The larger the Insect Swarm on the Nether Abyss Continent grew, the more Spirit Ascending Honey it could produce. Even if the soldier insects consumed most of it, the leftover amount of Spiritual Honey would still be staggering.

Given time.

Its Spirit Ascending Honey production would undoubtedly surpass that of the Bihai Sect.

...

After giving Baqiong her instructions, Lü Zhong returned to the Tide Cave.

In the Quiet Chamber, he took out a Flood Dragon Essence.

This Flood Dragon Essence had been taken from the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon. It resembled the beast in life, but the Little Flood Dragon it formed looked sluggish, lying perfectly still.

His battle with the Black Flood Dragon had put him under considerable pressure.

Now that his cultivation had stabilized, it was the perfect time to refine the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon Essence into another Flood Dragon Spirit Banner.

He spent some time regulating his breathing to recover his energy.

Then, Lü Zhong formed a hand seal.

A jet of star-blue flame erupted from his mouth—this was Nascent Fire, a technique unique to Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators. It enveloped the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon Essence, and the refining process for the Flood Dragon Spirit Banner began at once.

Compared to when he was in the Core Formation Stage, refining the Flood Dragon Essence was now incredibly easy.

Less than half a month later, Lü Zhong had used his Nascent Fire to refine the Flood Dragon Essence into an Artifact Embryo.

Several more weeks passed.

A new Flood Dragon Spirit Banner was successfully forged.

After a brief binding process, Lü Zhong realized that the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon Essence hadn’t been sluggish at all. This new banner was vastly different from his others, including the Poisonous Flood Dragon Banner.

His ordinary Flood Dragon Spirit Banners protected him indiscriminately.

The Poisonous Flood Dragon Banner, with its higher Spiritual Wisdom, prioritized blocking fatal threats.

The Crystal Rock Flood Dragon Banner, however, acted as a last resort, only blocking Magic Skills or Magical Treasures that were about to strike him.

’The three types of Flood Dragon Spirit Banners complement one another. Together, they can form an impenetrable defensive wall, sufficient to block the attacks of Early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.’

Lü Zhong was extremely satisfied with this.

The image of the Black Flood Dragon surfaced in his mind.

’I wonder what kind of effects a Flood Dragon Spirit Banner made from the Black Flood Dragon’s essence would have?’

’It would surely be extraordinary.’

Unfortunately, that Flood Dragon was too powerful. With his current strength, he had almost no chance of killing it.

...

For the days that followed, Lü Zhong dedicated himself to secluded cultivation.

He spent his days consuming Pills and refining his Qi. Whenever his supply of Pills ran low, he would switch to studying the Flood Dragon Transformation Technique, strengthening himself in preparation for his trip to the Ten Thousand Witches Hall.

During this period, he also found time to refine the Earth Spirit Crystal into his Star Mirror.

The crystal truly lived up to its reputation as a rare treasure of heaven and earth.

Its effects were astounding!

It took considerable effort—he even had to expend some of his Nascent Soul Qi to merge it with the Star Mirror—but once he did, the power of his Lifebound Treasure surged, breaking through to the Fifteenth-Layer Prohibition.

And from what he understood, the Magical Treasures of Veteran Nascent Soul cultivators in the early stage typically had a similar number of Prohibitions.

To Lü Zhong’s pleasant surprise,

as the number of Prohibitions increased, the Star Mirror’s innate Divine Technique, the Star Gathering Skill, was also greatly enhanced. Its previously negligible boost became significant once more.

His power increased substantially as a result.

’If I were to face Huoyaozi again,’ Lü Zhong estimated, ’I’d have at least a seventy percent chance of destroying his physical body, though I’d likely suffer minor injuries in the process.’

’But as for destroying his Nascent Soul...’

’...there was still no chance at all.’

’Unless I could somehow immobilize his Nascent Soul, once it fled, I’d have no hope of catching it, given that we’re both at the Early-stage Nascent Soul Cultivation.’

...

Time flew by.

Two years passed in the blink of an eye.

The Bihai Sect finally produced its first Core Formation Cultivator.

To no one’s surprise, the new Core Formation Cultivator was none other than Lü Zhong’s eldest disciple, Su Caocao.

She had never once slacked in her cultivation, so this achievement came as no surprise.

On the day of her Golden Core Ceremony, in front of nearly ten thousand guests, Lü Zhong officially announced that he was transferring the title of Sect Leader of the Bihai Sect to Su Caocao.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

’Finally, I can be a hands-off boss!’ Lü Zhong rejoiced.

Several more months passed.

「Before the Lantern Festival.」

A momentous event that shook the entire Southern Barbarian region occurred!

After being guided for decades by the Profound City Celestial Attraction Secret Array, the Ten Thousand Witches Hall, once lost in the Void, finally broke through the world’s boundary and returned.

Even from as far away as Bihai, the great hall could be seen hanging high in the heavens.