A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

In the Quiet Chamber, Lü Zhong was still in meditation.

After a full sixty years, with the help of the Nether Corpse Emperor Insect Juice, he not only broke through his cultivation bottleneck but also elevated his Realm to Late-stage Nascent Soul, becoming a Great Cultivator.

The benefits of this breakthrough were exceptionally clear; his strength had increased in every aspect.

Not only had his Six Consciousnesses sharpened, but his Magical Power had doubled once more. Even his Divine Sense had surged dramatically. When fully extended, it could reach 7,203 zhang—double its range from his Early-stage Nascent Soul days—and its intensity had increased to match.

But the benefits didn’t stop there.

After his Primordial Spirit merged with his Nascent Soul, the Primordial Spirit—his very soul—entered the Nascent Soul and felt as if it had returned to a true body, rather than just occupying a shell as before.

In fact, if Lü Zhong so desired, he could now completely abandon his physical body and survive on his Primordial Spirit and Nascent Soul alone.

At the same time, the fusion of his Nascent Soul and Primordial Spirit also marked the opening of the ”Path of Divinity Transformation.”

This process could take as little as a century, or as long as a millennium.

Once the Nascent Soul and Primordial Spirit were completely fused, he would be qualified to summon a Celestial Tribulation.

As for becoming a Divinity Transformation cultivator and ascending to the peak of this realm, Lü Zhong didn’t even dare to think about it right now.

He felt his strength was considerable, but when faced with the terrifying Nine Nine Great Celestial Tribulation, he still had little confidence, even if the Celestial Dao might show him some favor.

’I hope I’ll have more to show for my efforts soon,’ Lü Zhong thought.

Composing himself, he rose and walked out of the Quiet Chamber.

Now, it was time to accept the glory that was his.

To become a Great Cultivator was to be considered accomplished in this realm. Although not on par with a Divinity Transformation Grand Venerable, it still meant standing at the apex of hundreds of billions of living beings. To forge such an existence, one had to pave their path with the corpses of millions of cultivators, which was why holding a grand celebration was absolutely necessary.

This was not merely a celebration; it was a declaration to the world.

From this day forward, the Southern Barbarian Immortal Cultivation World would be a very different place!

The lively celebration lasted for a full eighty-one days.

During this time, every notable power in the Southern Barbarian region—from Nascent Soul Sects, Golden Core Sects, and prominent families to Commerce Associations—sent envoys to offer their congratulations.

When their envoys returned and confirmed that Lü Zhong had indeed broken through to Late-stage Nascent Soul, the Daoist Sect could finally sit still no longer.

The relationship between the two sides was like fire and water.

If not for the Immortal Sect contract, they would have likely come to blows immediately. They also refused to believe that Lü Zhong, now a Great Cultivator, would not make a push for the Divinity Transformation Realm.

And to reach Divinity Transformation required a vast amount of resources.

Behind Huayi Temple, the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Daoist Sect gathered.

”Fellow Daoist Yun Yan, what do you think we should do?” Ming Zhao Ancestor, who had just come out of seclusion, felt his mind thrown into turmoil upon hearing the news.

With Lü Zhong’s current strength, he could take on the entire Southern Barbarian region single-handedly without issue.

Normally, when a Great Cultivator arose in the Southern Barbarian region, the Gui Miao Immortal Sect would send someone to act as a counterbalance, just as they had when Changchun Valley grew powerful. That pressure had suppressed the Daoist Sect’s development for ten thousand years.

But now, the Gui Miao Immortal Sect could barely protect itself. Word gets around, and everyone present was well aware that Central Earth had descended into chaos.

Even though good news had recently begun to arrive from Central Earth, it was like distant water, unable to quench a nearby thirst.

”Let’s just wait and see,” Yun Yan said with a sigh.

For now, the Bihai Sect’s dominance was a foregone conclusion.

Until the Gui Miao Immortal Sect could free up its hands, the Daoist Sect had no choice but to lie low.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief.

If not for Hee Yun Ancestor’s earlier proposal to sign an additional contract with Lü Zhong, given what Yun Yan knew of the man, he suspected Lü Zhong would have already come knocking on their door, ready to kill.

”Sigh, it seems that’s all we can do,” Mu Guan Daoist said with a sigh.

Too powerful to control.

The days to come would not be easy.

If nothing else, Lü Zhong would seize all the influence they had in the Qian Nan Alliance. The ever-growing organization would become Star Sun True Monarch’s personal fiefdom.

...

Events unfolded just as the Daoist Sect had predicted.

After the celebration ended, Lü Zhong appeared at the Qian Nan Alliance headquarters and convened a general meeting. With no opposition, he moved the headquarters from the Inference Realm to Bihai Immortal City.

Immediately after, he announced an astonishing plan.

He intended to expand the Profound City Celestial Attraction Secret Array to draw Void Spiritual Energy into this realm.

Lü Zhong had been coveting the Void Spiritual Energy for a long time.

Increasing the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the Southern Barbarian region wasn’t for the public good; it was a purely selfish act. If he wanted to break through to the Divinity Transformation Realm, there was one Spiritual Object he absolutely had to gather, something that would directly determine the success or failure of his Tribulation Crossing: the renowned ”Ten Thousand Spirits Liquid.”

In the current era of declining nature’s spiritual energy, when a cultivator faced the Nine Nine Great Celestial Tribulation, even an enormous Spiritual Qi Vortex—a spiritual storm spanning ten thousand li—could not provide enough energy for the process of Divinity Transformation.

This was why the Ten Thousand Spirits Liquid came to be.

Refining the Ten Thousand Spirits Liquid wasn’t necessarily difficult.

In fact, it could be made using just ten-year-old Spirit Medicines. The process was also exceedingly simple; even a cultivator with only a rudimentary knowledge of Alchemy could easily produce it.

The problem was the sheer quantity required.

Not one or two bottles, but enough to form a lake.

To increase the success rate of Crossing the Tribulation, the more Ten Thousand Spirits Liquid, the better.

There was no upper limit!

Therefore, the higher the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the Southern Barbarian region, the faster the Spirit Medicines would grow, and naturally, the faster his reserves of Ten Thousand Spirits Liquid would accumulate.