A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Suddenly, a spark of insight flashed through his mind.

'Could it be the Earth Spirit Crystal?'

He remembered reading in an ancient text that the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon produced a type of Spiritual Object called the "Earth Spirit Crystal." It was exceedingly rare and could only be found through great fortune. This crystal could spare one the arduous effort of nurturing a Magical Treasure and was exceptionally potent, showing significant effects even on Magical Treasures with a high number of Prohibitions.

'The more I think about it, the more likely it seems.'

He gave Fang Yu a subtle glance. The latter's anxious expression was exactly what one would expect from a Qi Refining cultivator facing a Golden Core Master.

'It's probably not a lie.'

'This Fang Yu has some real nerve. He's not even afraid I'll kill them all afterward to keep them quiet...' Having thought of this, Lü Zhong made his decision. He held all the cards. He figured these six Qi Refining cultivators couldn't cause him any real trouble. The potential reward was massive compared to the risk. How could he not give it a shot?

After they had negotiated the division of spoils, Lü Zhong agreed.

After taking the Great Sand Worm's Insect Pouch, he swept his sleeve, bringing the six with him, then transformed into a streak of light and shot into the sky.

...

「The Sea of Death Sand.」

This place was located north of the True Spirit Domain and west of the Celestial Blade Domain. It was an impossibly vast desert that had remained unchanged since ancient times, leading outsiders to consider it a forbidden land, devoid of life.

In truth, however, the desert sea was teeming with life.

The Sand Worms were but one example.

Lü Zhong landed on a dune and, with a wave of his sleeve, released the six members of the Fang Family. He then began to determine his current location.

There were no landmarks in the desert sea; even the dunes were constantly shifting. Conventional methods of navigation were useless here. Fortunately, there were still the stars.

He performed a few calculations with his fingers as he gazed at the heavens, observing the stars to determine his position.

After some calculation.

'Looks like this is the place,' Lü Zhong thought.

He immediately sat cross-legged on the ground. Ignoring the Fang Family members, he swallowed a Replenishing Qi Pill and began to restore his Magical Power and regulate his condition in preparation for the great battle to come.

The six members of the Fang Family, for their part, knew their place.

They moved a good distance away before gathering to silently chew on some dried beast meat.

Since the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon's lair was deep underground, the six of them needed to wait for Lü Zhong to deal with it before they could begin extracting the Earth Spirit Crystal. Until then, all they had to do was stay hidden and out of the way.

In the desert sea at night, the air was cold enough to freeze water in an instant.

For cultivators, however, this was nothing.

After recovering his Magical Power, Lü Zhong saw there was still some time before dawn and began to perform a scene regression. He wanted to use it to find the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon's area of activity so he could quickly lure it out with the Insect Pouch. Searching for it through conventional means would take far more than a day or two.

Soon, he made a discovery.

Following the trail, he even managed to find the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon.

But just as Fang Yu had said, the Flood Dragon truly possessed the ability of Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Evil. The moment it saw Lü Zhong approach, it cautiously dove back into the sea of sand, not giving him the slightest chance to engage.

Tracking it to its lair was therefore out of the question.

'Looks like I'll have to rely on the Insect Pouch,' Lü Zhong thought.

Returning to the dune, he told the others what he had discovered and advised them to find a hiding place far away, lest they get caught in the crossfire of the upcoming battle.

A battle between Core Formation cultivators might not be as world-shattering as one between Nascent Soul experts, but it could still level a city with ease. If they didn't get clear of the combat zone beforehand, there would only be one outcome for them: death.

Hearing this, they all nodded repeatedly.

...

The sky had just begun to brighten.

Lü Zhong took out the Insect Pouch and, following Fang Yu's instructions, cut it open and mixed its contents with powdered Spirit Stones. The combination instantly produced a strange aroma, like orchid and musk, yet with a cloying, bloody sweetness. He had no idea why the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon would be attracted to such a thing.

He didn't have time to dwell on it.

The Crystal Rock Flood Dragon was already upon him!

As the sand dune surged, a slender, white Flood Dragon covered in transparent crystals burst from the desert sea. It was no more than thirty zhang long, slightly smaller than even the Poisonous Flood Dragon.

Its power, however, surpassed that of the Water Flood Dragon.

Lü Zhong's expression hardened. He didn't dare to be the least bit careless.

He saw light flashing in the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon's mouth as it emerged and guessed it was about to spit something. With a wave of his hand, he summoned the four Flood Dragon Spirit Banners, then flung out a Thunder Spear.

But in the next moment, the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon's massive maw gaped open.

In an instant, a torrent of crystal spears, each a zhang long, spewed from its mouth. They were as dense as raindrops, shooting toward Lü Zhong in a downpour.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!

The sound of them tearing through the air was unending.

Struck by the dense barrage of crystal spears, the Thunder Spear exploded into a Thunder Ball in midair.

Then the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon turned its head and the crystal spears kept coming. The assault was even more formidable than before, the number of spears spewing from its mouth suddenly increasing as if intending to turn Lü Zhong into a sieve.

The crystal spears were impressively powerful. Each one that landed on the sand exploded, kicking up pillars of sand dozens of zhang high.

The sight made Lü Zhong's heart clench in alarm.

He hadn't expected the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon to attack with such deadly force from the very start, as if it held some mortal grudge against him.

Fortunately, Lü Zhong was not afraid!

Using his Celestial Net Secret Eye, he executed a series of evasive maneuvers.

Combined with the aid of his Flood Dragon Spirit Banners, the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon's attack was completely thwarted.

Not only was he uninjured, but not even the corner of his robe had been touched.

"My turn!" Lü Zhong barked, unleashing all his techniques at once.

Magical Treasures, Spirit Sword Skills, and Thunder Skills.

He held nothing back.

Man and Flood Dragon clashed fiercely. Each time the aftershock of an attack struck the ground, the earth trembled. The sheer power of the battle made the six Fang Family members, watching from ten li away, tremble in fear.

Just then, a stray crystal spear shot toward them.

They scrambled to dodge, narrowly avoiding a direct hit.

When the dust settled, they saw a pit a zhang deep had appeared where they had been standing. Each of them gained a new, terrifying appreciation for the power of the Core Formation Stage.

Meanwhile, Lü Zhong activated his Flood Dragon Spirit Banners. Braving the dense barrage, he traced an erratic path through the air and forced his way right in front of the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon.

After a series of exchanges and probes, he discovered that while the Flood Dragon was skilled in Magic Skills, it was not adept at close-quarters combat. This was clearly an opportunity. Rather than continuing a duel of Magic Skills, he should press his advantage in melee and finish it quickly.

He unleashed the Thunder Swamp he had been preparing.

In the instant the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon dodged, Lü Zhong channeled all the Magical Power in his body into the Red Crow Sword and unleashed a vicious, crimson slash.

SQUELCH!

The Crystal Rock Flood Dragon's Scale Armor was more fragile than he had imagined.

The sword sliced nearly halfway through the Flood Dragon's body. Blood thick with Demon Qi boiled like fire as it gushed out, drenching Lü Zhong from head to toe. If not for his Protective Gang Qi, his skin would have been corroded red and raw.

He then took a claw strike head-on.

Forcing down the blood rising in his throat, Lü Zhong landed several more strikes on the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon.

The effect was phenomenal!

Grievously wounded, the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon could no longer stay airborne. After a moment of struggling and twisting in the sky, its massive body finally crashed to the ground, shaking the very desert.

Seeing it shake its head and thrash its tail, about to burrow underground, Lü Zhong was not about to let it get its way.

He unleashed another fierce barrage of attacks.

Finally.

The Flood Dragon could hold on no longer. Its massive head drooped limply. It struggled a few times to burrow underground, but due to its heavy injuries and massive blood loss, it couldn't even manage the motion. It lay in the sandy crater, and after a few breaths, it went completely still.

"Hah..."

Lü Zhong breathed a sigh of relief.

Gazing at the still-twitching Crystal Rock Flood Dragon, he cautiously prodded it a few times. Once he confirmed it was truly dead, he brought out his Red Crow Sword and extracted its Flood Dragon Pill and Flood Dragon Essence.

He carefully sealed them and put them away.

Just then, the Fang Family members finally flew over.

Lü Zhong slowly turned, his gaze falling upon them.

"Congratulations on slaying the Flood Dragon, Senior!" they all congratulated him.

"Mm," Lü Zhong grunted in acknowledgment. "Now that the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon is dead, according to our agreement, shouldn't you be fulfilling your end of the bargain by refining the spiritual materials for me? As for the location of its lair, if I'm not mistaken, it should be twenty li from here, in the 3:45 o'clock direction."

He had deduced this based on the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon's movement patterns.

It was roughly the center point of its territory.

And indeed, the Crystal Rock Flood Dragon had appeared from the 3:45 o'clock direction just moments ago.

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