A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

’You really can’t underestimate anyone!’

’Especially a cultivator from Central Earth who keeps a low profile.’

Taking a deep breath, Lü Zhong swallowed a Replenishing Qi Pill. He glanced in the direction the middle-aged Daoist from Qingxu Temple had fled but didn’t plan to give chase immediately. Instead, he landed on the ground to circulate his Qi and recuperate.

In the process, other cultivators started to appear.

Some were curious, others fearful.

Without exception, they all stayed ten li away, clearly afraid that the ruthless man who had just killed two Core Formation cultivators might get carried away and target them next.

About one ancient hour later, Lü Zhong finally stood up.

Without so much as a glance at the distant crowd, he retrieved his spoils of war.

There was quite a lot: first, the two Storage Bags from their bodies; then, the Daoist Nun Hou Lan’s Magical Treasure Flying Sword; the old Daoist Zhang Guo’s Yellow Banner; and the Jade Box that had left a particularly deep impression on Lü Zhong.

"Sword Summoning Box?" Lü Zhong read the Silver Tadpole Script on the box, learning the treasure’s name.

Searching his memories, he couldn’t find any information related to it.

But it didn’t matter. Now that the treasure was in his hands, he would have plenty of opportunities to study it and would eventually figure out its origin and function.

Just as he was about to leave, Lü Zhong remembered he had forgotten to do something.

So, under the horrified gazes of the onlookers, he brazenly burned the two corpses to ash. Seeing how practiced his movements were, even some of the veteran killers in the crowd couldn’t help but frown.

They all made a mental note not to provoke such a ruthless man.

After finishing all this, Lü Zhong shot up into the sky.

He had just checked; the location information for the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon sold by Black Sand Tower was not in either of their Storage Bags. So, if he wanted to hunt the Flood Dragon, he first had to find that middle-aged Daoist.

Had it been anyone else, tracking down the middle-aged Daoist after he had been fleeing for so long would have been an obviously difficult task.

But this was no challenge for Lü Zhong. After all, he had the Gray Mist Space.

Retracing the man’s steps, Lü Zhong once again witnessed the caution of Central Earth cultivators. The middle-aged Daoist showed no sign of stopping; if he had enough Magical Power to sustain it, he probably would have flown straight back to Huayi Temple.

After three full days and nights, Lü Zhong finally intercepted him at the crack of dawn.

There was nothing to say or discuss.

Yinn Qiao must have majored in a Fire Element Technique, as all the Magic Skills and Magical Treasures he used were related to flames. So when Lü Zhong brought out the Human-Faced Flood Dragon Banner, its Fire-Eating Divine Technique completely suppressed him.

With seventy to eighty percent of his power gone, he was even weaker than the old Daoist Zhang Guo, despite being only half a Small Realm higher.

With ease, Lü Zhong broke through Yinn Qiao’s Protective Gang Qi.

"No, you can’t kill me!" Yinn Qiao clutched his chest, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he yelled, "I have a Magic Seal on me left by Yao Lianzi! If I die, he’ll know immediately, and you, my killer, will be marked. He was the one who arranged for the three of us to come here. Yao Lianzi is the head disciple of the Qingxu Temple’s Sect Leader! I admit you’re powerful, fellow Daoist, but I can say with certainty that you... you are absolutely no match for him—!"

Lü Zhong cut him down with a single, expressionless slash of his sword.

’So noisy, even at death’s door!’

However, he wasn’t entirely unprepared for the man’s words. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have left him barely alive.

In a way, he had to thank the man for voluntarily revealing that he had a Tracking Mark on him.

A Tracking Mark, unlike Peeping at Celestial Secret, was purely a form of subtle Spiritual Qi sensing. The principle was similar to the "Quantum Entanglement" effect from Lü Zhong’s past life. It obviously couldn’t be blocked by a Divine Technique like Star Shifting and Dipper Changing. If he actually got marked, it would undoubtedly cause a lot of trouble.

In the Cultivation Realm, there were many ways to deal with a Tracking Mark.

They were usually quite simple and convenient, too.

Just like now. Lü Zhong moved a thousand zhang away and casually threw a Thunderous Spear, instantly turning Yinn Qiao into a charred husk, leaving no chance for him to fake his death and escape.

Throughout the process, he kept his Celestial Net Secret Eye Technique active.

He watched as a ball of Pure Spiritual Energy suddenly surged out from within Yinn Qiao’s body upon his death.

"So this is the Soul-Chasing Blood Seal?" Lü Zhong stared at the ball of blood-red Spiritual Qi. Seeing it spin in circles, unable to find a target, he found it somewhat amusing.

He decided to take this opportunity to run an experiment.

According to rumors, the Soul-Chasing Blood Seal was like a maggot clinging to bone—extremely difficult to remove.

Lü Zhong wanted to see for himself just how difficult it was.

To be cautious, he doubled his distance to prevent any accidents, then sent out an Incarnation to approach the ball of Spiritual Qi.

Although he wasn’t hopeful, he still applied a Star Shifting and Dipper Changing Seal to the Incarnation.

He watched as the Incarnation got within a hundred zhang, and the Spiritual Energy Ball suddenly froze.

Then, with a WHOOSH, it burrowed into the Incarnation’s body.

During this process, the Star Shifting and Dipper Changing Seal showed no reaction whatsoever.

Instantly, a wheel-shaped mark appeared on the Incarnation’s left arm. On closer inspection, it seemed to be composed of a circle of strange, dense script. Its color was a vivid, blood-red, looking rather unsettling.

This was the Soul-Chasing Blood Seal!

He helped the Incarnation block its sense of touch.

Burning it with fire, soaking it in water, hacking it with sabers, slashing it with swords...

After experimenting with one method after another, Lü Zhong understood why the Soul-Chasing Blood Seal was so hard to remove. The moment the Spiritual Energy Ball entered the body, it had already fused with the cultivator’s own Magical Power. If a cultivator were hit by this technique, the Soul-Chasing Blood Seal would likely merge with their Qi Sea or even their Golden Core.

In essence, Magical Power is a "condensed aggregate" of Spiritual Qi.

Furthermore, the Spiritual Energy Ball inexplicably possessed Spiritual Wisdom, allowing it to devour other Spiritual Qi to replenish itself.

Therefore, neither severing a limb nor using external forces would have much effect.

Theoretically, the only way to disable the Tracking Mark was to completely disperse one’s own Spiritual Qi, as the mark relied on Spiritual Qi to exist.

But who would be willing to dissipate the Realm they had worked so hard to achieve, as long as there was even a sliver of a chance?

This was why the Tracking Mark was so difficult to remove.

There was another simple method: directly refining it.

After all, the Tracking Mark was also a type of Spiritual Qi.

However, this would inevitably consume a great deal of time. And time was precisely what the Caster needed most. Often, before the victim could finish refining the Soul-Chasing Blood Seal, the Caster would have already arrived at their doorstep.

’If I were hit by this technique, how would I deal with it?’ Lü Zhong mused.

He realized he had almost no choice.

Either disperse his cultivation or run.

The Soul-Chasing Blood Seal had a time limit. After activation, it would weaken over time. Once the Spiritual Wisdom contained within the Blood Seal dissipated—which, according to ancient texts, could take anywhere from one day to half a month depending on its sophistication—a cultivator could easily force it out of their body.

’If only the Mountain and River Map could be repaired...’

Lü Zhong thought of the treasure he had obtained from the Western Border Alliance.

Even if it couldn’t be restored to its original state, just restoring it enough for one or two uses would allow him to store the Mountain Shaking Ship inside. In a crisis, he could release it. With the ship’s defensive strength and flight speed, he would have a chance to escape even if he were being hunted by a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

Unfortunately.

He pushed the thought aside.

He allowed the Incarnation to dissipate.

Lü Zhong cleaned up the scene, recovering another Magical Treasure Flying Sword.

Unlike the Daoist Nun’s battered one, this Flying Sword, named "Red Crow," was a Magical Treasure with a Ninth-Layer Prohibition. It felt warm to the touch, and the materials used were clearly extraordinary.

Considering the treasure’s name, he guessed it was probably infused with a large amount of Red Crow Blood. The Red Crow was a Demon Bird rumored to have inherited some Golden Crow bloodline, and ancient texts recorded it preying on Flood Dragons.

The Magical Treasure’s Divine Technique, "Red Crow," could summon a Flaming Golden Crow to attack enemies.

In fact, if not for his Fire-Eating Divine Technique, he feared it would have taken much more effort to defeat Yinn Qiao, who wielded this sword.

"Not bad. I’ll be using you from now on!" Lü Zhong said with a smile.

As for the Thunder-Attracting Needle, that treasure was still a bit sensitive. It was best to use it as little as possible before reaching Nascent Soul Formation to avoid having the Yan Zhen Sect come looking for him.

He also collected Yinn Qiao’s Storage Bag.

Afterward, Lü Zhong wasn’t in a hurry to take stock of his gains.

Logically, with three of its Core Formation cultivators having fallen, Qingxu Temple would surely send someone to investigate the cause of their deaths rather than just letting them die for no reason. And the person they sent would be Lü Zhong’s next target.

He wanted to "wait for the rabbit by the stump," preparing to set up a Trapping Array at the scene to see if he could reap some extra rewards. If the person from Qingxu Temple was foolish enough to walk into the array, he could conveniently eliminate another enemy.

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