A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Inside Bihai Hall, the atmosphere was exceptionally tense.

The Incarnation, dressed in a Profound Robe, sat upon the high platform. Just as the Elders and Stewards below had always seen, its expression was as placid as ever.

Below, Su Caocao was giving a report regarding the Daoist Sect’s sales ban.

”...As you all can see, the Daoist Sect has already begun to prohibit the sale of Central Earth Spiritual Objects to the Bihai Domain, such as Spirit Contracts, Storage Bags, and Dao Transmission Beads. The complete list is not yet available. If things go as expected, this sales ban will be an absolutely massive blow to our Bihai Sect!”

Hearing this, the faces of all the Elders and Stewards turned grim.

They were well aware of the sales ban’s power. It had to be said that the Daoist Sect’s move had truly struck the Bihai Sect’s weak spot. If the East Sea Route had not been cut off, the Bihai Sect could have found ways around the restrictions even if the Gui Miao Immortal Sect had implemented a ban. After all, the Celestial Origin Immortal Palace could provide the same goods as the Gui Miao Immortal Sect.

But now...

At that moment, the figure on the high platform suddenly rose.

Lü Zhong had taken control of the Incarnation.

He looked down at the crowd, his gaze sweeping over each person before he spoke in a calm voice, ”I have long had a plan to deal with this matter. You all need only do your parts. There is no need for excessive worry.”

”Yes, Patriarch!” Su Caocao and the others replied in unison.

Disconnecting from the Incarnation, Lü Zhong slowly opened his eyes in his Quiet Chamber.

’No wonder my Heart and Spirit have been so restless lately. So, Hee Yun has been plotting this all along. I have to admit, this move really struck the Bihai Sect’s most vital point!’

Fortunately, he already had a countermeasure prepared.

Over at the Heaven-Swaying High Wall, the Incarnation’s progress in setting up the Transmission Arrays was quite ideal, especially since he had sent Baqiong to help. They had already established nearly two hundred of them. With each array capable of teleporting someone up to ten thousand li, they could cover a distance of at least a million li.

If this pace could be maintained, it wouldn’t be long before they reached Central Earth.

This brilliant move was the source of Lü Zhong’s confidence, allowing him to remain calm and composed after learning of the sales ban.

’Everything is going well, it’s just burning through Spirit Stones!’ Lü Zhong couldn’t help but feel a pang in his heart when he thought about the cost of laying the Transmission Arrays. This was a massive investment of millions.

After all, every single Underground Palace required a tunnel to be painstakingly excavated.

To speed things up, he had spared no expense from the very beginning.

Talismans like ”Fossilized into Mud,” ”Mud into Stone,” and ”Solidifying Rock into Steel” were truly being used up by the dozen, consuming a tenth of the Bihai Sect’s income. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to lay down nearly two hundred Transmission Arrays in just over a decade.

’It’s not just the initial setup. The future maintenance will likely be another huge expense.’

Lü Zhong felt a slight headache coming on as he considered this.

Fortunately, this massive investment could be fully recouped through trade later on. Once the Incarnation finished laying the Transmission Arrays to Central Earth, the Bihai Sect could seize a portion of the Central Earth Spiritual Object trade previously monopolized by the Daoist Sect. Not only would this solve the problem of the sales ban, but they could also turn a small profit.

...

The moment the sales ban was announced, it immediately caused quite a stir.

However, the Bihai Sect, which was at the center of the storm, reacted with surprising calmness. This was far beyond many people’s expectations and caused numerous schemes to fall through.

The summer sun blazed.

Inside the Quiet Chamber, Lü Zhong was still meditating.

Without the Yellow Extreme Celestial Dust Pill, the progress of his cultivation had slowed down again. Despite diligently practicing Qi Refining every day and supplementing it with Tier Four Pills that were hard to find in the outside world, his cultivation speed was still not ideal. It didn’t even reach a tenth of the speed he had when taking the Yellow Extreme Celestial Dust Pill.

’Resources, resources...’

Lü Zhong sighed, feeling quite helpless.

Compared to a Nascent Soul from an Immortal Sect, it was incredibly difficult for an Outer Realm Cultivator like him to cultivate to Mid-stage Nascent Soul Perfection.

Putting other things aside, just obtaining cultivation Pills was enough to give one a massive headache.

When a Nascent Soul from an Immortal Sect reached this point, if they could qualify for dedicated nurturing, the sect would provide them with a sufficient supply of Pills. All they had to do was focus on their cultivation. Any Immortal Sect capable of producing a succession of Divinity Transformation cultivators would typically cultivate vast quantities of High-tier Spiritual Medicine, with the types corresponding to the Pill Formulas they possessed.

With these Pill Formulas and Spirit Medicines, the Immortal Sect could continuously provide Pills for their chosen candidates.

In his view, this was the foundation that allowed an Immortal Sect to achieve a succession of Divinity Transformation cultivators.

”I don’t have a foundation like that at all,” Lü Zhong said with a helpless expression.

At this point, he could only rely on himself.

’I wonder how things are progressing in the Western Realm?’ Thinking this, Lü Zhong contacted his Incarnation again, who happened to be participating in some research at that very moment.

After some communication, there was no good news.

The shed skin obtained by the Western Border Alliance did indeed have an Exotic Beast Spirit Pattern on it, but researching it to the point of producing results was not something that could be done overnight. Lü Zhong knew this from personal experience. After all, he was also researching the King Beast Spirit Pattern and naturally understood the difficulty. He had no idea how much more time and effort it would take to perfect Shattering Star Finger into a Divine Technique.

As for collecting Pill Formulas, there was no good news on that front either.

Furthermore, with the situation in the Southern Barbarian lands currently stable, Lü Zhong was reluctant to leave his ”nest” and search for opportunities far and wide like other Nascent Soul Cultivators. This was despite the fact that, with his current strength, the number of beings in this world who could pose a threat to him was exceedingly small.

’Forget it. I have nearly three thousand years to live, anyway...’

Lü Zhong felt it was better to be cautious.

Besides, it wasn’t as if he had nothing to do other than cultivate.

For instance, a pressing matter at the moment was circulating the Spirit Communication Mantra to refine the Giant Spirit Mask. If he could successfully become the Spirit Binder for a Spirit Treasure, his strength would undoubtedly increase dramatically.

In addition, there was the Jia Yuan Heavenly Talisman.

It would be impossible to say that Lü Zhong didn’t covet this talisman’s effects. However, to draw this talisman, he first needed to find a suitable method to infuse Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi into the Jia Yuan Heavenly Talisman. Only by fulfilling this prerequisite could the Spirit Talisman be created.

Lü Zhong immediately decided to make these two tasks his top priorities.

...until he either had a breakthrough in the Spiritual Energy Conversion Technology or obtained a suitable Pill Formula.

...

「Summer passed and winter arrived.」

Following a certain incident, Lü Zhong was ultimately forced to come out of seclusion.

The reason was that the Heaven-Swaying High Wall had been suddenly attacked by Demon Beasts a few days prior—multiple Tier Four Demon Beasts, at that. Although Baqiong had resisted with all his might, at the cost of heavy casualties to his Insect Swarm, the Incarnation had not been harmed. However, several of the Transmission Base Palaces had been destroyed by the Demon Beasts.

Perhaps because they had developed a taste for the insects’ flesh, this group of Demon Beasts lingered and refused to leave.

And so, Lü Zhong had no choice but to emerge from seclusion.

Gazing at the sky, which was thick with leaden clouds, his mood was just as gloomy.

Through the Incarnation’s memories, Lü Zhong had already identified the attacking Demon Beasts. If the memories were correct, the ones that attacked the Incarnation should be a pack of Fire-avoiding Beasts.

Fire-avoiding Beasts.

They resembled flood dragons but were not, with serpentine bodies and no tails.

They were named for their fondness for fire.

Slaying this pack of Fire-avoiding Beasts would be no easy task.

’If I fight them, my Purple Gold Extreme Fire is useless. Not only will it fail to harm them in the slightest, it will actually become excellent nourishment for the Fire-avoiding Beasts, making them stronger the longer we fight.’

Lü Zhong recalled the contents of ancient texts and began to think of a counter-strategy.

The best method, naturally, would be to use Water Element Divine Techniques.

For example, the skill Call the Wind and Summon the Rain. This Divine Technique was the perfect counter to Fire-avoiding Beasts. He would only need to cast the Magic Skill once, and no matter how many Fire-avoiding Beasts he faced, they would all be helplessly subdued.

However, he had not mastered this Divine Technique.

’The only plan now is to rely on the Water Flood Dragon Banner and the Black Flood Dragon Banner,’ Lü Zhong thought to himself.

The Water Flood Dragon Banner possessed the Water Control Divine Technique. Although its effect was far inferior to Call the Wind and Summon the Rain, it was enough to weaken the Fire-avoiding Beasts’ innate True Flames. In addition, the Black Flood Dragon Banner, which had been refined with Subtle Shadow True Water, could also provide protection from fire. It would prevent him from being constantly burned by the enemy’s True Flames during the fight.

Upon careful consideration, his chances of victory were actually quite high.

’I have no choice but to give it a try.’

Opening up the path to Central Earth was extremely important to Lü Zhong.

On one hand, it was to resolve the impact of the sales ban.

On the other hand, it was to send an Incarnation to Central Earth. If he could have an Incarnation infiltrate the Gui Miao Immortal Sect, he could use it to keep track of the movements of the Immortal Sect’s publicly known Great Cultivators.

Its value was undeniable.