A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Upon hearing this, the old woman looked toward Lü Zhong on the stage and said calmly, "Spirit Ascending Honey? I've heard its effect on one's cultivation is comparable to a Tier Three Pill, but I have never seen it myself. May I inspect it first? If there's no problem with the item, we can then discuss how to trade."

"No problem." Lü Zhong was extremely confident in his Spirit Ascending Honey, taking out a bottle and handing it directly to her.

The old woman took the jade bottle. She first sniffed it carefully, then drew out a bit of the Spiritual Honey and consumed it. She replied in astonishment, "To think such a Spiritual Honey exists in this world... I've lived in the Barbaric Land for so long that I've become ignorant. How about this... give me fifteen more bottles of Spirit Ascending Honey, and this Cold Jade Flute is yours, Fellow Daoist."

Unexpectedly, Lü Zhong shook his head upon hearing this request. "Fellow Daoist, why don't you examine it more carefully? Besides improving cultivation, Spirit Ascending Honey has absolutely no side effects."

"This..." The old woman checked again.

"My apologies, I was presumptuous. Then... how about twelve bottles?

This Cold Jade Flute I refined is no ordinary Magical Treasure. If one can find Eternal Cold Jade Marrow to merge with it, it has the potential to grow into a Magical Treasure with a Tenth-Layer Prohibition. If it weren't for my granddaughter urgently needing a Spiritual Object to improve her cultivation, I would be loath to sell this treasure!"

"Nine bottles!" Lü Zhong stated the price he was willing to pay.

"Fine, it's a deal."

After a moment of consideration, the old woman agreed. She handed the Cold Jade Flute directly to Lü Zhong and simultaneously placed the Spirit Ascending Honey he gave her into her Storage Bag.

Lü Zhong confirmed the condition of the Cold Jade Flute, then placed it in his Storage Bag.

'Trading Spirit Ascending Honey, which I have no immediate use for, for a Magical Treasure with such extraordinary potential... I definitely didn't lose out on this deal. More importantly, I happen to know the whereabouts of the Eternal Cold Jade Marrow the old woman mentioned. The Western Border Alliance has a piece.'

'When I get the chance, I must trade for it.'

The trade meet was still ongoing.

Cultivators took turns on stage, trading the items they had brought with a tacit understanding. Without exception, all were rare and precious objects seldom seen in the outside world. For Core Formation Cultivators, there were few things left in the Cultivation Realm that could pique their interest, but today, a great many such things had appeared.

'This trip was well worth it!' Lü Zhong thought with emotion.

Presumably, the other cultivators present felt the same.

After a while, Lü Zhong also found an opportunity to ascend the White Jade Platform.

He looked down at the crowd, his expression calm, and took out his prepared trade item from his Storage Bag: a Double-tailed Helical Crystal he had picked up in the Western Realm.

As soon as the item appeared, countless gazes shot toward him.

If one were to discuss the most sought-after items in the Southern Barbarian lands today, aside from the perpetually scarce Pills that could advance one's cultivation at the Nascent Soul Stage, the second would be this Double-tailed Helical Crystal.

The Double-Tailed Helix Barrier could block the invasion of Evil Spirits. In the Southern Barbarian Immortal Cultivation World, with the Withered Tide's arrival, it was an absolutely essential item for protecting one's sect and clan lands. A giant Double-tailed Helical Crystal like this, in particular, was so valuable its worth could not be measured in Spirit Stones.

"One Nascent Soul Level Double-tailed Helical Crystal, for trade only for a Nascent Soul Pill. Of course, I am aware of how precious that Pill is. Therefore, if you can provide information on a Spiritual Object of the same level as a Nascent Soul Pill, you may also trade for this Double-tailed Helical Crystal after making up the difference with Spirit Stones."

After saying this, Lü Zhong fell silent.

Below, the crowd of cultivators erupted into a flurry of discussion.

Many people wanted to trade for the crystal. If Lü Zhong were willing to accept Spirit Stones, they would not have hesitated in the slightest, even if it meant selling off their family fortunes to acquire it.

But a Nascent Soul Pill...

This item was practically the stuff of legends.

According to ancient records, the effects of the Nascent Soul Pill were nothing short of miraculous, possessing the astonishing ability to increase the success rate of Nascent Soul Formation by thirty percent. However, over a hundred thousand years ago, it had become impossible to refine because its main ingredient had gone extinct in this world.

The reason was that the Pill's main ingredient, the Divine Infant Grass, was irreplaceable.

In truth, Lü Zhong was well aware of this.

'My real goal is to trade for a substitute for one of the components of the Nascent Soul Immortal Guide. Although you can only consume one "Nascent Soul Immortal Guide" during Nascent Soul Formation, if I use a more potent Spiritual Object to replace one of its constituent items, I can still enhance the overall effect and increase my chances of success.'

'Even an increase of just five percent would be good.'

'You really only get one chance at Nascent Soul Formation. If you fail to grasp it, you'll never get to try again.'

'So I have to give it my all.'

'However, I'm afraid I'll be leaving disappointed this time. Not a single cultivator below has sent a voice transmission, so they either don't know anything or are unwilling to trade.'

'That's to be expected.'

'When something as important as Nascent Soul Formation is at stake, whoever knows the whereabouts of such a Spiritual Object would never hand over the opportunity to someone else, not if there's even the slightest chance they could obtain it for themselves.'

Sighing silently, Lü Zhong felt his only hope now lay with his Incarnations.

'If I can obtain one or two Secret Skills and successfully cultivate them, I can also increase my chances of Nascent Soul Formation. My hope of reaching the Nascent Soul Stage will be much greater.'

He then stepped down from the Jade Platform. A cultivator in white robes gave him a cupped-fist salute before ascending the White Jade Platform himself.

"For trade, a Golden Qionghua..."

Lü Zhong was in no mood to listen to this person's introduction. Instead, he contacted his three Outer Body Incarnations who had joined Huayi Temple, Changchun Valley, and Xuanyang Sect. The plan to seize a Nascent Soul Secret Technique had only begun seven years ago, and to avoid blowing their cover, all of them still had only Qi Refining Cultivation. They were still a long way from breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

'Looks like I'll have to wait a while longer...'

He then contacted his Incarnation, Wang Lin.

After more than twenty years of practice, his cultivation was still at the Qi Refining Third Layer. Truly worthy of his Five Spirit Root Talent. Perhaps feeling his path to cultivation was hopeless, he had already left the Ancient Dragon Temple and found a Female Cultivator to be his Dao Companion.

"One, two... five!"

Seeing his Incarnation surrounded by children, Lü Zhong couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to start a family clan. He thought to himself, 'Good thing the Incarnation and I have no blood relationship whatsoever, otherwise that would be truly...'

Seeing that it was still too early for the Incarnation to perish, he cut the connection.

At this point, no one else was ascending the White Jade Platform.

But this didn't mean the trade meet was over.

On the contrary, it was time for the grand finale to begin.

Finding an empty corner, Lü Zhong deliberately changed his attire to prevent his identity from being revealed later.

Then, accompanied by the clear ringing of a bell, celestial music began to drift from the top floor. The previously separated areas, along with the Memory Stones, all sank beneath the floor.

In their place, tables and chairs rose up, encircling the White Jade Platform and slowly spreading out, faintly dividing the top-floor space into seven large areas. In each area, there was a conspicuous high-backed chair, on which the names of the Seven Southern Barbarian Sects, such as "Changchun Valley," "Huayi Temple," and "True Spirit Sect," were written vertically.

Seeing this, everyone found the area belonging to their respective Nascent Soul power and took their seats.

Lü Zhong thought for a moment and walked to the True Spirit Domain's area.

Just as he was about to sit in the back row out of habit, Shuini's voice transmission echoed in his mind, carrying a teasing tone. "What's this, my disciple? Are you trying to snub your master?"

Lü Zhong turned his head toward the entrance and saw seven Southern Barbarian Nascent Soul cultivators entering from outside. His nominal master, Shuini, was naturally among them. When she shot him a smiling glance, he had no choice but to move and take a seat in the area reserved for cultivators of the True Spirit Sect.

And it was the seat right beside the True Monarch's, no less.

This move undoubtedly made him the center of everyone's attention.

Because Lü Zhong had deliberately changed his attire earlier, no one recognized him as the cultivator who had just offered the Double-tailed Helical Crystal at the trade meet.

They merely assumed he was the genius disciple of some True Monarch.

Lü Zhong ignored the others, closing his eyes to rest and wait.

Soon, the seven True Monarchs took their seats one by one.

And this signaled the arrival of the assembly's climax.

The theme of the Qian Nan Grand Assembly had never been about trading. Its true purpose had never changed: it was for the Seven Southern Barbarian Sects to reach a basic consensus.

The urgent crisis the Seven Southern Barbarian Sects needed to address now was how to deal with the scourge of the Evil Spirits.

On this point, the seven True Monarchs had already reached an agreement.

As the host, Wanmu True Monarch walked onto the White Jade Platform to announce their decision.

They were to each plug the holes in the "Spiritual Energy Great Wall" to prevent outside Evil Spirits from infiltrating the Southern Barbarian lands. At the same time, they would do their utmost to exterminate the Evil Spirits breeding within their respective territories.

In this process, the assistance of the small and medium Sect Clans in each territory would be indispensable.

At that moment, Shuini turned her head, smiled at Lü Zhong, and revealed in a low voice:

"That's not the real reason."

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