A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

However, the battle ended with the cultivators’ defeat and retreat.

The reason was simply that the Snow Beasts were too numerous. No matter how many the cultivator army slaughtered, the oncoming beasts were still endless. Thus, after exhausting their Magical Power, the cultivators had no choice but to retreat.

”As you can see, this was from twenty-seven years ago, when our Northern Border Sects formed an Allied Army of cultivators. We launched a great campaign with the goal of destroying the Yanling Wasteland. We thought that by uniting the three great Nascent Soul Sects, we could smoothly eradicate the Snow Beast disaster. But who would have thought that we would fail in the very first battle!” Huo Yuanhao said slowly.

Lü Zhong heard this and didn’t quite know what to think.

’Then again, this is just how cultivators operate.’

’The root cause is likely that they’re all just used to being selfish and self-serving.’

’If it weren’t for an urgent crisis—like the Snow Beast disaster, which could annihilate the entire Northern Border Cultivation World—it would be nearly impossible to make these Nascent Soul Old Monsters, who are full of conflicting interests and even mutual hatred, set aside their prejudices and sit down together peacefully.’

He didn’t let his thoughts show on his face and continued to listen to Huo Yuanhao.

”After that, my Little Yuan Palace, the Beihan Sect, and Baiji Castle could only switch from offense to defense. We’ve relied on guarding the three great passes of the Celestial Gifted Mountain Range, which stretches across the Northern Border, to keep the Snow Beast disaster out of the region’s heartland. But the problem is, besides those major passes, the Celestial Gifted Mountain Range has many smaller passes where Snow Beasts also invade.”

At this point, Huo Yuanhao revealed the purpose of his visit.

He cupped his hands, bowed to Lü Zhong, and said, ”I’ve come to ask for your help because I hope you will assist me in retaking Reversed Sword Pass.”

For the proud master of a palace to humble himself like this, Lü Zhong figured Huo Yuanhao must truly be at his wit’s end. Furthermore, Reversed Sword Pass, the one breached by the Snow Beasts, was most likely a crucial chokepoint.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so desperate as to immediately seek help from a stranger just because he was also a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

’So, should I help, or...’

Lü Zhong didn’t answer right away, instead pondering the matter carefully.

Based on what he knew, dealing with the Snow Beasts wouldn’t be difficult for him. He just needed to gather his Magical Power, use the Star Pulling Skill, and drop a few Meteors on their army.

With the power of a Meteor, obliterating the Snow Beasts within a radius of several miles would be no problem at all.

’It’s worth a try,’ Lü Zhong decided.

There was no harm in trying. Even if he failed, he wouldn’t be the one to bear the consequences; at worst, he just wouldn’t get paid. But if he succeeded, he would get what he needed.

Namely, a Spiritual Object to nourish his Divine Soul.

With that in mind, Lü Zhong organized his thoughts before speaking:

”I’ll be blunt. Dealing with the Snow Beasts is no difficult task for me. But if you want my help, first I’ll need to see your sincerity, Fire Palace Master.”

Hearing this, Huo Yuanhao’s eyes lit up, an unconcealable excitement spreading across his face. His voice trembled as he said, ”Rest assured. As long as we can retake Reversed Sword Pass, I swear on my name as the Palace Master of Little Yuan Palace that we will reward you generously.”

”Is that so?” Lü Zhong said with a faint smile.

Then, he stated his condition.

”I want only one thing: a Spiritual Object that can nourish the Divine Soul!”

”This...” Huo Yuanhao’s smile froze for a moment before he quickly recovered. He said with a helpless tone, ”It’s not that the Little Yuan Palace doesn’t have Spiritual Objects that nourish the Divine Soul. In fact, we currently possess a Soul Nourishing Treasure: a thousand-year-old White Holy Ice Orchid. Its medicinal properties are potent enough to have a remarkable healing effect on even the Divine Soul damage suffered by a Nascent Soul Cultivator.”

”However, an object this rare and difficult to find... I really can’t presume to offer this thousand-year-old White Holy Ice Orchid as part of a deal before I have witnessed your capabilities.”

Lü Zhong had no objection to this.

”No problem. But when the time comes... if my strength is to your satisfaction, Fire Palace Master, I hope you will also demonstrate your sincerity.”

”Of course!” Huo Yuanhao readily agreed.

The two parties then agreed to travel together to Xuelu City, ten thousand li to the north. A vanguard wave of Snow Beasts was expected to attack there soon; their relatively small numbers would make it the perfect opportunity for a demonstration of strength.

There was no time to lose.

The trio immediately left Jade Yuan Immortal City and headed straight for Xuelu City to the north.

As soon as they left Jade Yuan Immortal City, the three of them transformed into three streaks of rainbow light.

This revealed a subtle difference between the cultivators of the Northern Border and those from the Southern Barbarian lands.

The former seemed able to use a Secret Skill or technique to borrow power from the aurora that stretched for countless miles across the sky, thereby increasing their Escape Speed. In contrast, Southern Barbarian Cultivators like Lü Zhong could only rely on their own power to fly.

With no other choice, Lü Zhong had to increase his Escape Speed.

He didn’t need to increase it by much; just burning a little bit of his Essence Blood was enough.

Unbeknownst to him, Huo Yuanhao and Huo Yuanling were quite surprised. They couldn’t believe Lü Zhong could keep up with their Escape Speed without having mastered the Aurora Escape.

Their estimation of Lü Zhong rose another notch.

Flying at full speed, the trio covered the ten thousand li in what felt like an instant.

In less than an ancient hour, Lü Zhong saw a shimmering, hazy white ball of light in the distance. It was extremely conspicuous even amidst the swirling ice and snow—the telltale sign of a massive defensive Grand Array in operation.

The ball of light enveloped a massive city, which was none other than their destination: Xuelu City.

Activating his Celestial Net Secret Eye, he could instantly see the far distance with perfect clarity.

The trio had arrived just in time. The Snow Beast vanguard had already appeared north of Xuelu City, numbering over ten thousand strong. Moreover, he didn’t detect any Tier Four auras among them, so dealing with them wouldn’t be difficult.

Seeing that Huo Yuanhao and Huo Yuanling weren’t accelerating, likely because they had reached their maximum Escape Speed, Lü Zhong boosted his own by a fair margin and shot forward, taking the lead.

’This is just a transaction, and I’ll probably never come back to the Northern Border. It doesn’t matter if I show off a few more of my abilities. The important thing is to save time.’

A blood-red meteor streaked through the sky, arriving above the Snow Beasts.

Only upon observing them up close did Lü Zhong realize that, compared to the ones shown in Huo Yuanhao’s Ice Crystal Mirror, these Snow Beasts were even more twisted. Every last one of them was bizarrely shaped, bearing no resemblance to this world’s native creatures. In fact, they looked increasingly like Outer Heaven Demons.

’Could there be some connection between the two?’ he wondered silently.

Gazing down at the teeming sea of Snow Beasts below, Lü Zhong raised a hand and summoned the Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner.

The banner’s Fire-Eating Divine Technique was also a large-scale, area-of-effect attack.

In terms of efficiency, it was no less potent than his Meteors.

To maximize the effect, he landed directly on the snow-covered ground. He waited until the horde of Snow Beasts was a mere hundred zhang away—so close he could smell the foul stench from their mouths—before a faint smile touched his lips and he activated the Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner.

Instantly, a thin line of fire erupted and rapidly swelled in size.

Then, it swept across the entire area.

Everywhere the line of fire passed became a fiery hell. Regardless of their size, any Snow Beast caught in the astonishingly hot inferno was instantly reduced to ash.

In just a few short breaths, the entire vanguard of over ten thousand Snow Beasts had been single-handedly eliminated by Lü Zhong.

A disaster that could have wiped out the city was thus nullified.

Huo Yuanhao and Huo Yuanling witnessed this with their own eyes, unable to hide the shock on their faces.

They had only wanted to find a helper to share the burden, but they never imagined they would recruit such a formidable figure. If the two of them had been tasked with handling a horde of over ten thousand Snow Beasts, it would have taken them a significant amount of time.

And yet, Lü Zhong had dealt with it in a single move.

In comparison, the two of them felt utterly useless.

Just then, Lü Zhong flew over to them.

Seeing their dumbfounded expressions, he could easily guess what they were thinking. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction before speaking in a calm voice:

”Fire Palace Master, I trust my strength is to your satisfaction?”

”Your strength is extraordinary! It is my honor to have your assistance,” Huo Yuanhao said frankly. He then flipped his hand, producing a Spirit Communication Jade Contract. Following the conditions they had discussed, he quickly used his Magical Power to draw up the terms and then signed his name.

Then, he handed the Spirit Contract over.

Lü Zhong took the Spirit Contract but didn’t sign it immediately. Instead, he read it over carefully.

After all, one could never be too careful.

Frankly, he didn’t care if this action caused Huo Yuanhao to think less of him. Compared to the opinions of others, his own safety was what mattered most.