A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Several hours later, Lü Zhong arrived at the outskirts of the Chankong Forbidden Land.

Gazing at the bizarre, kaleidoscopic region in the distance, he didn’t fly in immediately. Instead, he hovered in midair, retrieving a wealth of information from his mind—all of it gathered recently.

According to the information Lü Zhong had on hand, the Chankong Forbidden Land was quite well-known in Central Earth.

Its interior space was chaotic and disordered, stacked with numerous dangerous Secret Realms. Furthermore, a Tier Five Spirit Vein ran through it, preserving the Forbidden Land’s environment in a state reminiscent of ancient times, which also made it a land rich in resources.

Many Spiritual Objects that had vanished from the outside world, as well as rare Demon Beasts, could potentially be found here.

Cultivators often entered the Forbidden Land in search of opportunities missed by their predecessors. Due to lingering historical issues, no Nascent Soul Sect effectively governed the area, so the cultivators who came here were a motley bunch. With the good and bad all mixed together, the Forbidden Land was exceedingly chaotic. Killing for treasure was a common occurrence, and not even cultivators from Noble Families and Major Sects were spared.

After a moment of recollection, Lü Zhong flicked his sleeve and released an Incarnation.

The Chankong Forbidden Land was fraught with danger. Even Nascent Soul Cultivators risked perishing within it—the Great Cultivator who had lost his physical body was the best proof of that. He had no choice but to be cautious.

He didn’t forget to deploy the Flood Dragon Spirit Banner to guard against potential threats.

Having made ample preparations, Lü Zhong finally entered the Forbidden Land.

Relying on the Gray Mist Space, he began to trace the path of the Incarnation.

He passed through one Secret Realm after another, the scenery along the way constantly changing. Nearly every known type of terrain could be found within the Chankong Forbidden Land.

Deserts, plateaus, oceans…

These realms were either occupied by Demon Beasts that would attack any cultivator who trespassed on their territory, or they were simply regions of shattered space, filled with a great number of flickering spatial rifts.

Occasionally, Lü Zhong would also encounter other cultivators.

Seeing that he was alone, some fools actually got ideas.

Lü Zhong wasn’t good-natured enough to just laugh off people like that; he simply and cleanly cut them down. Since they were in a Secret Realm anyway, he wasn’t afraid of causing any trouble.

With his Incarnation scouting the path ahead, he quickly passed through over a hundred Secret Realms.

Just then, the Incarnation scouting ahead suddenly vanished, and the connection to his main body was severed at the same time.

After a careful inspection, Lü Zhong discovered that a spatial rift had appeared out of nowhere on the path his Incarnation had taken. It seemed to wander within a certain range, devouring everything in its path, grinding it into countless fine particles before teleporting them to an unknown location.

‘Good thing I was cautious, otherwise…’

He didn’t dwell on the thought, raising his hand and releasing another Incarnation.

He pressed on like this for another six hours.

Since he didn’t need to scout the path himself, Lü Zhong’s pace was naturally extremely fast. Before long, he reached the place where Baqiong and her group had been attacked. Through his Celestial Net Secret Eye, he could clearly see a strong residual presence of Corpse Qi.

‘It really is a Corpse Demon!’ Lü Zhong’s heart sank.

To this day, he could tell from the sensation of their contract that his connection with Baqiong had not been broken, which meant she was still alive.

‘Although I don’t know what purpose the Corpse Demon had in abducting the group, this is undoubtedly an opportunity. I might be able to rescue Baqiong.’

Then, with a flicker of his figure, he continued to follow the trail.

Retracing the scenes along the way, Lü Zhong tracked the trail for more than half a day before arriving at a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters. The scenery here was exceptionally lovely, with waterfalls thundering down between the peaks, making it feel as if he had stepped into an ink wash painting.

But behind the magnificent beauty, killing intent lay hidden everywhere.

As if he had charged into a nest of Poisonous Insects, he began to face constant attacks, but thankfully, none of them posed a threat.

The power gap was simply too vast. The venom they spat and the stingers they shot were completely useless against the protective barrier condensed by a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

After proceeding like this for two hours, a Stone Hall appeared before him.

The hall wasn’t large, occupying only a few acres of land.

Lü Zhong frowned. ‘Judging by its construction and the weathering on its surface, I’m afraid it’s been here for tens of thousands of years.’ He hadn’t expected to find such a Stone Hall hidden deep within the dense forest. He recalled that the Great Cultivator had perished only a few thousand years ago.

‘Did he discover it by accident, or…’

He secretly raised his guard and deliberately increased the distance between himself and the Incarnation.

The Stone Hall was completely empty, holding nothing but a layer of dust. There were no furnishings or statues, let alone steles or murals that might hide information—only a secret downward passage leading to an unknown place. According to the results of his scene retracing, the Corpse Demon had dragged Baqiong and her group inside.

Seeing this, Lü Zhong had no choice but to enter.

It was pitch-black inside, but to his Celestial Net Secret Eye, everything was still perfectly clear. It was only slightly less clear than in the light, a difference that was almost negligible.

The secret passage was extremely narrow at first, but then it suddenly opened up.

It was wide enough for several horse-drawn carriages to travel side by side.

Lü Zhong was slightly surprised by this.

After advancing for a while longer, statues began to appear on both sides, making the passage he was walking through look like a spirit path leading directly to the mausoleum of some great being.

‘Are they being used as sacrifices?’

The thought suddenly surfaced in Lü Zhong’s mind.

Once it appeared, he couldn’t shake it. ‘The more I think about it, the more likely it seems. Otherwise, it’s impossible to explain why a Corpse Demon—a creature that is by nature savage, tyrannical, and hostile to the living—wouldn’t kill its captives immediately after abducting them. Leaving Baqiong and her group alive… perhaps they really are being treated as sacrifices.’

‘Then, a new question arises.’

‘Whose tomb is this?’

Lü Zhong knew the answer would soon be revealed.