A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

In Central Earth, this was a mistake grave enough to cost someone their life!

Feng Huanyu didn’t dare start a conflict with Lü Zhong without his master’s order, but he was certainly bold enough to vent his anger on a servant girl.

"How audacious!"

Without a second thought, he flicked out a Spiritual Finger.

This Spiritual Finger was called the "Soul-Destroying Finger." It was designed to annihilate a cultivator’s Divine Soul, making it perfect for use at a banquet to avoid the messy scene of splattering blood and gore.

He executed the move as smoothly as if he were in his own home.

But unexpectedly, the Spiritual Finger was intercepted mid-flight by a small, azure flood dragon. It grabbed the attack, chewed it to pieces with a CRUNCH, and swallowed it down. After dealing with the Soul-Destroying Finger, it wagged its head and tail, flew back to Lü Zhong’s hand, and transformed back into a small, azure flag covered in abstruse patterns.

"You are our guest from afar. How could we trouble Mr. Feng to act just because a servant girl made a mistake?" Lü Zhong didn’t even glance at Feng Huanyu’s expression, ignoring the way his face shifted through various shades. He turned to the pale-faced servant girl and waved his hand. "You are dismissed. Go to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall and receive your punishment."

Then, he bowed to Shuini and said, "I have overstepped my authority. Master, please forgive me!"

Why would Shuini blame him? On the contrary, she couldn’t be more grateful. If Feng Huanyu had actually killed someone in public, the one who would have truly lost face would have been her, an ancestor of the True Spirit Sect.

She drank a cup of wine as a token punishment, and the matter was dropped.

Beside them, Feng Miao True Monarch acted as if nothing had happened at all.

Several more rounds of drinks were served, and the various Spiritual Foods were replaced numerous times. The welcome banquet finally concluded late into the night.

...

「In the bedchamber.」

Shuini let out a long breath.

Looking at Lü Zhong, she patted her chest and said, "If you hadn’t been here today, I’m afraid I would have been thoroughly embarrassed. Who knows how much trouble that would have caused down the line."

"Master..." Lü Zhong began, but Shuini cut him off. She chuckled softly and said, "From now on, when we’re in private, let’s not address each other as master and disciple. Just ’you’ and ’I’ will be fine."

Then, Shuini pulled out her hairpin, letting her waterfall of black hair cascade down. She reminded him, "You’ve offended that Feng Huanyu. Although he won’t dare to confront you directly, he might order some Core Formation cultivators from the Immortal Spirit Sect to take action. Knowing him, that’s highly likely... So, you must be careful when you head back later! If you really run into trouble, don’t hold back. Just kill them."

"Mm," Lü Zhong replied.

The two then began to discuss the matter of the Ten Thousand Witches Hall.

With the Traction Tower nearing completion, the war between the Daoist Sects and Changchun Valley seemed to be entering its final, decisive stage. The conflict had reached a fever pitch, with both sides fighting a great battle in the Burial Snowfield on the border between the Yan Zhen Sect and Changchun Valley. Hundreds, even thousands, of cultivators were being wounded or killed every day.

According to Shuini, this was merely a proxy war instigated by their backers, Qingxu Temple and the Eternal Life Hall, to determine who would have the final say over the Ten Thousand Witches Hall.

In other words, the cultivators dying on both sides were dying for nothing.

’Thankfully, we’re in the third-party faction...’ Lü Zhong thought silently.

But the Immortal Spirit Sect, which led this third faction, didn’t seem to hold the True Spirit Sect in high regard. They maintained their arrogant Central Earth demeanor; otherwise, the scene at today’s welcome banquet wouldn’t have happened.

Just as he was thinking this, a delicate body nestled into his embrace.

He thought no more of it.

...

「The next day.」

Lü Zhong bid farewell to Shuini and prepared to return to the Bihai Sect.

After flying for over a thousand li.

Suddenly, a starlight flared up around his body.

Someone was performing a heavenly divination, trying to locate Lü Zhong. However, they were blocked by his Star Shifting and Dipper Changing Divine Technique and suffered a backlash from their failure.

With a scornful laugh, Lü Zhong continued flying forward.

Meanwhile, on a mountain peak platform somewhere outside the True Spirit Sect.

When Feng Huanyu saw his subordinate suddenly start coughing up blood after performing the divination, he knew instantly that the divination had failed and backfired. His expression grew even darker.

’Divine Power? Impossible. Even if he formed a Flying Star Golden Core, there’s no way he could have obtained the Star Shifting and Dipper Changing Divine Technique without the aid of a Secret Medicine. And even someone as noble as me has never had the chance to obtain that Secret Medicine. So... it must be a Spiritual Object that conceals heavenly secrets.’

At this thought, he kicked his subordinate aside.

"Useless trash! You were blocked by some barbarian’s creation!"

After venting his frustration, Feng Huanyu returned to the True Spirit Sect, unwilling to give up.

...

Along the way, Lü Zhong paid a visit to the small valley.

So many years had passed, and the place had changed quite a bit. The sea of flowers covering the mountain had withered and bloomed again and again, and even the grass hut had been repaired countless times.

He stayed for three days before heading to Changchun Immortal City.

Affected by the war, Changchun Street was much quieter than before.

There weren’t many carriages of Golden Core Masters at the entrances of the major auction houses. Most of the people coming and going were Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators. The Masters were likely all fighting for their lives on the front lines, with no time to attend auctions in the city.

Thanks to this, Lü Zhong’s shopping spree went smoothly. He had almost no competition. Not only did he buy a large quantity of Pills, but he also won several ingots of Silver and Iron Essences.

Just as he was walking out of the auction house, preparing to leave the city.

Someone was already waiting for him outside.

It was Master Yuu Hong, who held the position of Sect Leader of Changchun Valley.

"It’s been a long time. I never thought Fellow Daoist Lü would have already broken through to the Fake Infant Realm. It probably won’t be long before I’ll have to address you as ’Senior,’ will I?" Yuu Hong said with a smile.

To be honest, she was utterly shocked when she saw that Lü Zhong was already in the Fake Infant Realm.

She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of fortuitous encounter he must have had to advance his cultivation so rapidly in such a short time.

"I’ll take that as a good omen!" Lü Zhong said with a smile and a cupped-fist salute, though he felt no ripple of emotion in his heart. He then said in a calm voice, "May I ask why you’ve come to see me today, Fellow Daoist?"

"I have come on my master’s orders..."

Yuu Hong explained her purpose. She wanted to buy out all the Spiritual Objects produced by the Bihai Sect—from the most basic Spirit Rice and the Talisman Grass used to make Talisman Paper, to finished products like Pills, Magical Artifacts, and Dharma Robes. She was willing to purchase them all at a ten percent premium over the market price.

’Is she preparing for the final battle?’ Lü Zhong thought.

However, he had no intention of agreeing to Changchun Valley’s request. This wasn’t just because of their private feud, but also to ensure the resource supply for the Western Border Alliance. According to feedback from his Incarnation, the Western Border Alliance had already developed a rather primitive form of Spiritual Energy Conversion Technology. Although the process was extremely inefficient and fraught with uncertainty, it could indeed convert Crimson Spiritual Energy into Immortal Spiritual Qi without the need for any Spiritual Objects.

One could say this was the true Spiritual Energy Conversion Technology.

To help them make it practical as quickly as possible, Lü Zhong had gone all out, doubling their supply of Spirit Rice and providing other resources without limit. His goal was to get the Spiritual Energy Conversion Technology operational soon to support his own future Nascent Soul cultivation.

Otherwise, once he reached the Nascent Soul Stage, there would be no Pills available for him to use.

At that point, he would either be stuck at the Early-stage Nascent Soul for the rest of his life, or he would have to venture into the unexplored regions of this world to fight Tier Four Demon Beasts in search of undiscovered Tier Four Spirit Medicines.

Compared to the risks of exploring the unknown, the risk of funding the Western Border Alliance was undoubtedly much smaller.

Besides, Lü Zhong was not without his precautions regarding the Western Border Alliance.

After breaking through to the Fake Infant Realm, the number of Incarnations he could have increased to ten. So, the first thing he did after coming out of seclusion was prepare a Possession Incarnation and wait for an opportunity to send it into the Western Border Alliance.

In the future, like his other Incarnations, it would remain in the Western Border Alliance as a mole.

This was for no other reason than to keep track of their progress on the Spiritual Energy Conversion Technology and prevent them from pulling any tricks.

These thoughts flashed through his mind in what was, in reality, the blink of an eye.

Lü Zhong looked directly at Yuu Hong, offered a cupped-fist salute, and said with a smile, "It’s truly unfortunate, but my master has already claimed all the Spirit Rice and Spiritual Honey. Please forgive me, for I am unable to fulfill your request in that regard. As for the other items, selling them all to your esteemed sect under the conditions you’ve offered is certainly not out of the question."

Hearing this, Yuu Hong’s expression remained calm and unbothered, but inwardly, she was seething with rage.

Her main purpose in coming here was for the Spirit Rice and Spirit Ascending Honey produced by the Bihai Sect. The former was the best source of daily Spiritual Qi replenishment for the cultivator army, while the latter was the best Spiritual Object to use as a reward for merit, and it was also extremely popular among the various Family Cultivators.

Now, she had failed to obtain either of them.

How could she not be furious!

Despite her anger, she could only maintain a peaceful facade.

After all, the Bihai Sect’s other goods were also things Changchun Valley needed. They were an extremely important supplementary source, and most importantly, those Spiritual Objects absolutely could not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Daoist Sects.

After making a verbal agreement, Yuu Hong, suppressing the rage in her heart, took her leave.

Lü Zhong watched her departing figure. Of course, he could guess her true feelings, but he merely gave a faint smile. A few ideas surfaced in his mind, but he quickly extinguished them.

After leaving the city, he transformed into a streak of rainbow light and set off on his journey home.

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