A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Wanmu, in particular, just laughed it off.

”Hahaha, to think you’d discover me so quickly! Since it’s come to this, I’ll drop the act. Six Nascent Soul Immortal Cultivators... it’s like a pillow appearing for a sleepy man. Devouring so many Nascent Souls should be enough for me to recover some Primordial Qi.”

The black shadow, which had seemed on the verge of death just a moment ago, suddenly let out a savage laugh.

Then, with a BOOM, it exploded, transforming into an endless black mist that spread out.

Seeing this, the others instantly abandoned any thought of working together. They all used Instant Teleportation to appear by the passageway, hoping to enter a Little World to take refuge.

But to their surprise, the small door that had previously opened with a push was now sealed shut as if welded. Even when the three of them exerted tens of millions of pounds of Giant Strength, it wouldn’t budge an inch.

Only then did Wanmu and the other two realize that they were trapped, with nowhere to run.

Seeing the black mist surging toward them, Lü Zhong didn’t hesitate, pulling Shuini behind him.

”Thunder Descends!”

In an instant, countless bolts of lightning erupted.

For a moment, a silvery radiance enveloped the entire area.

Aside from Lü Zhong and Shuini, every other cultivator present was caught completely off guard. Wanmu, being the closest, was the first to be engulfed by the black mist.

The remaining two Nascent Soul Cultivators from Central Earth were no exception.

When the black mist dissipated, the three of them felt a searing heat in their chests. Seeing the black rings that had appeared there, they all realized they had been hit by the Heart-Loss Curse. Sensing their Soul Power and hard-earned Magical Cultivation continuously draining away, their faces paled in horror.

The mysterious black shadow had managed to place a Curse Skill on three Nascent Soul cultivators in a single move.

Lü Zhong was quite startled. As if suddenly realizing something, his gaze shifted to Shuini with alarm. With a flick of his finger, he released the Purple Nether Extreme Fire, forming a shield of flames around her.

She understood his intention. Realizing the severity of the Heart-Loss Curse, she allowed the fiery shield to envelop her.

The source was quickly discovered.

The problem was in her shadow. At some unknown point, a tentacle had emerged from Shuini’s shadow and entered her body without her noticing at all.

Now, more tentacles were writhing within the shadow, ready to strike.

’No wonder Wanmu and the others fell for it. The black shadow must have started casting its curse on everyone the moment it appeared.’ Lü Zhong understood the whole sequence of events now. He was shocked by the shadow’s insidious nature but also secretly relieved. Fortunately, he had been using Yang Fire to protect himself the entire time.

Otherwise, he would have ended up just like the others.

Cursed without even realizing it.

Meanwhile, Wanmu and the other two, who had previously been standing by, now actively joined forces. They launched an assault on the black shadow, unleashing a myriad of techniques.

However, not a single one of their attacks seemed to make the black shadow wary.

It relied on the Heart-Loss Curse to continuously drain Soul Power and Magical Power from the three of them. As a result, even while being besieged by Wanmu and his companions, its strength didn’t wane; instead, it grew stronger and stronger.

Realizing this, Lü Zhong decisively chose to intervene.

As much as he wanted to let the Heart-Loss Curse drain Wanmu dry...

...doing so would undoubtedly mean nurturing a powerful enemy for himself. He couldn’t gamble on what would happen if the black shadow were to devour three more Nascent Soul Cultivators. Would its power surge explosively?

If it did...

...then his Immortal Path would likely end here today.

It was precisely this consideration that made Lü Zhong decide to act.

In the distance, the black shadow had already switched from defense to offense against Wanmu and the other two. Defeating them and devouring their Nascent Souls was now only a matter of time. Sensing Lü Zhong’s movement, it turned its scarlet gaze toward him.

Lü Zhong simply gave a cold smile in response and unleashed the Thunder Skill he had been preparing.

The spot where the black shadow was standing instantly flashed with lightning.

Facing a shadow that could use such bizarre Curse Skills, Lü Zhong didn’t dare waste time gathering information; his first move was an attempt to utterly annihilate it. Seeing the shadow flee miserably from the range of the Thunder Swamp, he raised his hand and flung two Thunderous Spears after it, not forgetting to add a few volleys of Palm Thunder.

It had to be said, the Wood Thunder Skill, imbued with the Celestial Tribulation Aura, truly terrified the black shadow.

The moment it saw the Thunderous Spears flying toward it, the red light in its eyes flickered several times. It hastily curled its body, painfully absorbing all the Palm Thunder strikes just so it could escape the blast radius of the Thunder Spears.

Nearby, Wanmu and the other two watched this scene with complex emotions.

Just moments ago, they had joined forces, fighting with all their might and holding nothing back for the sake of their own lives, yet they still hadn’t managed to push the black shadow this far.

And now, Lü Zhong had done it with ease.

The comparison made them feel utterly inadequate.

At the same time, however, seeing Lü Zhong take action also brought them a glimmer of joy and a renewed sense of confidence. They couldn’t help but attack the black shadow with even more vigor, hoping to assist him.

The black shadow let out a cackling, savage laugh. The scarlet light in its eyes flared to a length of several feet as it dodged everyone’s attacks and spoke: ”You think this is enough to defeat me? True, I am unprecedentedly weak right now. But the Lower Realm is still the Lower Realm, and you are all nothing but frogs in a well. Now, let me show you what the methods of the Upper Realm truly are!”

Lü Zhong remained calm on the surface, but hearing this, he couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart.

The so-called Upper Realm referred to worlds like the Spirit Realm, where the nature’s spiritual energy was far more abundant and could sustain more powerful beings. Beyond Divinity Transformation was Void Refining, and beyond Void Refining were Integration and Mahayana.

From such a higher vantage point...

...how sharp would the methods of the Upper Realm be?

Though he thought this, Lü Zhong felt little fear. The black shadow’s fear of his Wood Thunder Skill didn’t seem fake, and now that the method behind the Heart-Loss Curse had been discovered, his opponent held little threat over him.

As for these so-called methods of the Upper Realm?

’At best, they’re just a more exquisite version of the Fireball Skill.’

No matter how exquisite the methods of the Upper Realm were, they still needed a medium to be cast, and a Magic Skill that used Spiritual Qi as a medium, no matter how strong, had its limits.

That was why, upon reaching the Divinity Transformation Stage, cultivators began to use a new medium—the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi—to achieve a qualitative leap in the power of their techniques.

The black shadow right now only had the aura of a mere Nascent Soul. How could it possibly be capable of manipulating Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi?

With this in mind, Lü Zhong pushed the Wood Thunder Seal in his Sea of Consciousness even harder, hoping to weaken the black shadow’s strength bit by bit. At the same time, he didn’t forget to raise his guard. This demon could be called insidious and cunning; its initial act of secretly cursing everyone was deeply etched in his memory.

Seeing this, the black shadow let out a sinister, strange laugh.

It gave Lü Zhong a deep look.

Its form abruptly became extremely blurry and then vanished on the spot.

At that exact moment, an object slid into Lü Zhong’s hand as if he had anticipated this all along. After injecting Magical Power into the Magical Treasure, he stabbed the Thunder-Attracting Needle in his hand toward his own shadow.

A brilliant flash of lightning erupted, accompanied by waves of wretched screams.

”You dare show your face with such pathetic, ghostly tricks!” he sneered, pressing the Thunder-Attracting Needle down. Instantly, all the lightning stored within it poured out without reservation.

A black shadow was flung backward.

Compared to before, the shadow had grown several degrees more illusory.

The gaze it fixed on Lü Zhong was now filled with terror and dread. It had never imagined that its ’Shadow Escape,’ which had always been invincible, would be seen through in advance—and even used against it in a counter-trap.

Seeing Lü Zhong take a step forward, it retreated a few steps imperceptibly and said, ”Fellow Daoist, let’s talk this out! As they say, a gentleman uses his words, not his fists. Why must we shout about killing? Th—I have a great deal of information about the Upper Realm here. I’m willing to offer it as an apology to quell the anger in your heart!”

When Lü Zhong remained unmoved, the black shadow knew it wouldn’t even get a chance to negotiate without offering something substantial. With a wave of its hand, it created a barrier between itself and Lü Zhong, then revealed a shocking fact.

”To be honest, Fellow Daoist, I am one of the nine Divine Witches, Bulan!”

Hearing this, even with Lü Zhong’s firm resolve, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of astonishment.

’This black shadow before me is actually a Divine Witch?’

’Holy hell!’

’Doesn’t that mean I’m facing a Divinity Transformation-level being right now!’

”Fellow Daoist, I know you won’t believe me. But please understand, this is an undeniable fact! In the past, the nine of us joined forces, hoping to lead our entire clan in Ascension. Unfortunately... we failed at the final moment. Don’t you want to know what happened to us a million years ago?” the black shadow, calling itself the Divine Witch Bulan, said with sudden calmness.

Lü Zhong didn’t speak, but the expression on his face revealed the turmoil in his heart.

Seeing him still unmoved, the black shadow swayed a few times.

”Since you are unwilling to listen, Fellow Daoist, then let’s forget it. I have committed many evils; to be purified by Tribulation Thunder would be a fitting end. Please, Fellow Daoist, be quick about it.” After saying this, Bulan actually became completely still, as if willing to be slaughtered.

Seeing it act this way, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but think to himself.

’This one is probably a Divine Witch from the past after all.’

’Otherwise, how could it be so skilled at scheming?’

With just a few simple words, it had extinguished his killing intent and piqued his curiosity.

At the same time, Lü Zhong sighed inwardly.

He couldn’t deny it; he was indeed interested in the information Bulan possessed.