A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Several more months passed.

A surging tide of Five-Colored Spiritual Qi rolled in. Guided by this force, the Ten Thousand Witches Hall successfully broke through the boundary, descending upon the Ten Thousand Flames Plateau in the Inference Realm.

Large groups of cultivators, who had long been waiting, revealed themselves. They transformed into streaks of light and flew one after another toward the Ten Thousand Witches Hall, high up in the sky.

As for the cultivators with lower cultivation, who were unable to withstand the risks, they too were unwilling to miss this opportunity.

They boarded Flying Ships to explore the periphery of the Ten Thousand Witches Hall, hoping to find some rare Spirit Medicines.

At the same time, the various factions of the Southern Barbarian region also began to make their move.

Lü Zhong was, of course, among them.

He was currently floating in mid-air, his gaze fixed on the distant Ten Thousand Witches Hall.

This continent, suspended tens of thousands of feet in the air, was extraordinary, spanning tens of thousands of li.

Using the Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique, he could see that the hall was surrounded by a wall of Prohibitions. Layers upon layers of Prohibitions on it radiated an astonishing Spiritual Light. He was a Nascent Soul Cultivator, yet the sight of some of these Prohibitions still made his heart pound with fear.

However, what was reassuring was that there were multiple gaps in the wall of Prohibitions surrounding the hall.

The gaps, both large and small, formed a series of passages.

These offered a chance to enter the Ten Thousand Witches Hall.

Just then, a white rainbow shot toward him from the distance.

In no time, the Escape Light arrived before Lü Zhong at lightning speed. As the glow gradually receded, it revealed a charming woman in a moon-colored robe with a smile in her eyes.

It was Shuini.

”Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said with a light laugh.

”How did the Seven Sects’ discussion about repairing the Spiritual Energy Great Wall go?” Lü Zhong asked.

Shuini had been delayed because a major disagreement had broken out between the native Southern Barbarian Nascent Soul cultivators and those from Central Earth regarding the repair of the Spiritual Energy Great Wall. The latter group only wanted the Spiritual Objects from the Ten Thousand Witches Hall and, it could be said, couldn’t care less about the life or death of the Southern Barbarian Immortal Cultivation World.

To resolve this issue, the two sides had organized a discussion.

”You should know the temperament of the Central Earth Cultivators by now, shouldn’t you? The safety of the Southern Barbarian region rests on our shoulders alone,” Shuini said faintly. She then handed over a Jade Scroll. ”Fortunately, they were afraid we’d turn on them, so they spat something out. The Jade Scroll contains a map of the Ten Thousand Witches Hall. It’s an old map from before the hall was lost, so it has considerable reference value and should help with repairing the Spiritual Energy Great Wall...”

Lü Zhong took it and saw that it was indeed a detailed map.

According to the information marked on the map, the Ten Thousand Witches Hall was divided into two parts: the Outer Hall and the Inner Hall. The Outer Hall was a continent spanning over ninety-eight thousand li, covered with mountains, rivers, seas, deserts, volcanoes, and snowy plains—it contained every type of terrain found in the Cultivation Realm.

Just then, he noticed over a hundred red dots marked on the map.

”What are these?”

”Those are the locations where you can obtain a Divine Witch Order,” Shuini explained.

A Divine Witch Order is the token required to enter the Inner Hall.

The orders are divided into four tiers—gold, red, blue, and white—which grant different access permissions.

To explore the places in the Ten Thousand Witches Hall with the most treasures, namely those man-made Little Worlds, one must first obtain a Divine Witch Order. The higher the tier of the order, the higher the level of the Little World one can enter, which indirectly increases the chances of obtaining treasures.

As for repairing the Spiritual Energy Great Wall, that also requires entering the Inner Hall.

According to information provided by Qingxu Temple, the Prohibition hub that controls the Spiritual Energy Great Wall is located in the deepest part of the Ten Thousand Witches Hall’s Inner Hall. Someone must pass the Divine Witch Trial to enter and repair the Prohibition. It’s worth mentioning that passing the trial comes with a reward.

’A reward?’

The corner of Lü Zhong’s mouth twitched.

’Isn’t this the most common trial plot from novels?’

But as cliché as it was, if he could get some treasure out of it, it would be worth a try. Still, his main goal on this trip was to collect Spirit Medicines.

After all, cultivation was the foundation of a cultivator.

Afterward, the two of them used Rainbow Flight and flew toward the Ten Thousand Witches Hall.

「...」

Meanwhile, a thousand li away at a volcanic crater.

In the center of a churning, scorching Magma Lake, a middle-aged Daoist wearing a Jade Crown floated above the surface. The surrounding high temperatures seemed unable to harm him in the slightest. His gaze was currently fixed on the distant Ten Thousand Witches Hall.

At that moment, a figure appeared—a withered, old Daoist.

”Senior Brother Nan Cang, when should we set out?”

Hearing this, the Daoist slowly opened his eyes, revealing a pair of pitch-black irises with no visible whites. He asked impassively, ”Has there been any movement from the Eternal Life Hall.”

”Zhuyuan has yet to appear. Huoyaozi, who was traveling with him, was injured some time ago in a conflict with the new Nascent Soul from the Bihai Sect. It seems the two fought to a draw. He is currently still recovering in the secret lands of Huayi Temple,” the withered old Daoist replied respectfully, his hands clasped.

”In that case...” Nan Cang pondered for a moment, then slowly rose.

”Let us depart now.”

”Yes, Senior Brother.”

Instantly, the two of them transformed into streaks of rainbow light and shot into the clouds.

Their destination was the Ten Thousand Witches Hall.

「...」

Lü Zhong and Shuini had now arrived at the periphery of the Ten Thousand Witches Hall. Looking ahead from here, they could see a passage ten li wide and of unknown depth.

Flashes of light flickered within, and bursts of fire and lightning erupted from time to time.

These were phenomena caused by damaged Prohibitions, and they posed a considerable danger. The stench of blood wafting from the passage, along with the scattered fragments of Magical Artifacts, showed that quite a few cultivators had already perished here.

To get through, one had to find a safe route within the passage.

Otherwise, they would have to find another way.

To be cautious, the two of them did not act rashly.

Although it wasn’t impossible for them to force their way through with their Nascent Soul Stage strength, the risk was still there. It was better to let others scout the path first and simply reap the rewards of their efforts.

They used Concealed Breath and hid their figures.

After only a short while, Lü Zhong’s expression suddenly shifted, and he looked into the distance.

Just then, three Escape Lights flew over from the distant horizon. They were three Core Formation Cultivators who seemed to be traveling together, wanting to enter the Ten Thousand Witches Hall. After noticing the strange phenomena in the passage, they didn’t stop. As if extremely confident in their own abilities, they charged straight inside.

A quarter of an hour later, all three of them had perished inside.

Before the screams had even faded, another white rainbow streaked over at extreme speed.

The white rainbow arrived at the entrance to the passage.

Soon, a figure materialized. It was a Nascent Soul Cultivator Lü Zhong had never seen before. The man glanced intentionally or unintentionally in the direction where the two were hidden, then charged into the passage without a second look.

With a sound like the roar of a dragon and the howl of a tiger, the passage quickly returned to calm.

”Let’s go. We’ll follow him,” Lü Zhong said to Shuini.

Since that person could pass, he could use the Gray Mist Space to see their movement trajectory and then just copy their every move. That way, he could enter the Outer Hall region of the Ten Thousand Witches Hall without any danger.

By replicating the previous person’s movements, the two of them smoothly reached the end of the passage.

However, contrary to their expectations, the other end of the passage was not the Outer Hall of the Ten Thousand Witches Hall, but a glowing vortex.

”It’s a teleportation vortex. This is a unique teleportation method of Witch Cultivators,” Shuini recognized it at a glance. She turned to Lü Zhong and said with a helpless look, ”Judging by the shape of this vortex, it’s the random teleportation type. It seems you and I will have to be separated for a while.”

As she spoke, she handed a Jade Pendant to Lü Zhong.

”This is a Sensing Jade Pendant refined with my Essence Blood. If the Jade Pendant senses anything later, it will naturally point out our respective locations.”

Considering that the inside of the Ten thousand Witches Hall might be fraught with peril at every step, and that they might encounter danger while trying to reunite, they took a precaution.

The two agreed on another meeting place.

The Inner Hall of the Ten Thousand Witches Hall.

「...」

With the Teleportation Order and his Nascent Soul cultivation, Lü Zhong felt no discomfort during the teleportation. Once the aftershocks of the teleportation subsided, he began to survey his current surroundings.

A thick mist permeated the area, which seemed to have the effect of blocking Divine Sense.

Even when Lü Zhong pushed his Divine Sense Projection to its limit, he could only perceive a distance of about three hundred zhang.

Under these circumstances, the Gray Mist Space proved to be more useful.

Using its scene-reversal ability, he quickly figured out where he was.

He was on the Xinfeng Plateau, in the Outer Hall of the Ten Thousand Witches Hall.

He was so certain because the surrounding stone sword markers were too conspicuous. According to the map, in the entire vast region of the Ten Thousand Witches Hall’s Outer Hall, only this one place had stone swords as dense as a forest.

The stone swords, large and small, were once as smooth as mirrors. But now, after a million years, their bodies were covered in the marks of time’s erosion—broken, collapsed, and toppled over. They formed a sea of stone swords, rolling and undulating into the distance.

He identified his bearings and flew straight to the west.

That was the direction of the nearest red dot.

As for this Xinfeng Plateau, it wasn’t a problem to skip exploring it. A terrain of sword-like stones was clearly not a place where Spirit Medicines could grow.

On the way, Lü Zhong took out a Jade Pendant.

He hadn’t forgotten that Hundred Flowers had plotted against him, forcing him to fight Huoyaozi.

If he had the chance later, he would definitely seize the opportunity for revenge.

He injected Magical Power into the Jade Pendant. It emitted bursts of light and then began to change. After a period of squirming and stretching, it transformed into the shape of a Mini Hundred Flowers.

”Hee hee, you certainly kept me waiting, Fellow Daoist!” the Mini Hundred Flowers giggled.

”Cut the crap. Where is the Qiluo Immortal Lamp?” Lü Zhong’s expression turned cold. He had no time to beat around the bush with Hundred Flowers and got straight to the point.

”Fine.”

The Mini Hundred Flowers puffed out her cheeks, looking displeased. She flew around erratically as a streak of green light for a moment before continuing, ”Then I’ll have to trouble you, Fellow Daoist, to inject Magical Power into this Incarnation of mine. That way, I can use a Divine Technique to teleport directly to your side.”

’There’s a Divine Technique like that?’

’The Cultivation Realm is vast and full of wonders,’ Lü Zhong thought.

He secretly remained on his guard.

Then, he began to channel Magical Power into the Mini Hundred Flowers’ body. Upon receiving the Magical Power, she began to grow with the wind, and in no time, she had expanded to the size of a normal person.

”That’s enough. Fellow Daoist, please step back. I will cast the spell to come over now,” Hundred Flowers said suddenly.

Lü Zhong nodded and flashed a hundred zhang away.

Immediately after, an astonishing scene unfolded.

With a flash of green light, Hundred Flowers transformed into a strange, ten-zhang-tall tree.

The strange tree had arms and legs. To say it was a tree was less accurate than calling it a Tree-man, just like the Tree Spirit Lü Zhong had slain back in his Foundation Establishment Stage.

Evidently, this was Hundred Flowers’ true form.

After the strange tree appeared, its entire body began to wither rapidly.

Then, a figure crawled out from within.

”Strange, why was it so fast this time?” Hundred Flowers, who had the appearance of a young girl, straightened her dripping wet green hair, her slime-covered face filled with confusion.

Previously, it would have taken her at least half an ancient hour to complete the teleportation.

But now, it had taken less than a quarter of an hour.

Hundred Flowers couldn’t figure out the specific reason and could only attribute it to the special nature of the Ten Thousand Witches Hall. She then looked up at Lü Zhong and told him the exact location of the Qiluo Immortal Lamp.

Lü Zhong checked his map and found that it was to the northwest.

It was not far away.

Less than three thousand li.

Lü Zhong decided to team up with Hundred Flowers for now and get his hands on the Qiluo Immortal Lamp first.

This Spirit Medicine was extremely important to him.

He was now just one final step away from completing his transformation into a Pure Spirit Body. If he could really obtain the Qiluo Immortal Lamp, the transformation could be completed successfully.

In that case, Lü Zhong would be able to obtain the Pure Spirit Body.

And his strength would increase as a result.