A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

He emerged from a deserted alley.

Before long, he was on a bustling street.

Lü Zhong savored some street food as he walked.

When a cultivator breaks through from the Core Formation to the Nascent Soul Stage, there is a practice known as tempering the heart in the mortal world. Its purpose is to address the emotional apathy that can develop in cultivators, preventing them from heading down the wrong path and completely eroding their own emotions.

Upon reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, a cultivator becomes increasingly inhuman.

The importance of tempering one’s heart grows day by day.

At this stage, different Nascent Soul Cultivators have different solutions. Some follow the Daoist Sect’s path of tranquil cultivation through focused mindfulness, some place their emotions in their descendants, and others adhere to specific routines.

He ate as he walked, and walked as he ate.

His once-apathetic emotions gradually began to feel richer.

Without realizing it, Lü Zhong arrived at the market stall area.

The place was as lively as ever. Cultivators in all manner of dress were constantly coming and going, each with a different expression as they picked out goods. The air was filled with the sound of haggling, and both buyers and sellers were red in the face, the scene no less intense than actual combat.

Lü Zhong used Concealed Breath to suppress his cultivation to the Late-stage Qi Refining realm. Combined with his Stealth Technique, the many cultivators he passed on the street would, at most, give him a single suspicious glance.

As for the handful of Core Formation Cultivators hidden in the crowd, even if they could sense something was off about Lü Zhong, they didn’t dare react. At most, they would cast a reverent gaze his way before turning and heading for the exit.

Without drawing much attention, Lü Zhong slowly browsed one stall after another.

Most stalls sold common goods like Pills, Talismans, and Spirit Medicine. Others sold various curiosities, such as rusty iron fragments with unknown functions or a headless half-statue.

Lü Zhong eyed them with a flicker of interest.

Just then, a commotion erupted up ahead, accompanied by the crisp sound of something shattering. It seemed a dispute had broken out, drawing crowds of curious cultivators.

Lü Zhong hadn’t planned to go over, but an inadvertent glance in that direction made his brow furrow slightly, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

After a moment’s hesitation, he headed over.

"Come on, everyone, be the judge! This girl has no conscience! She sold a fake Jade Talisman to my brother, causing him to be injured by Evil Spirits outside the city! He’s at death’s door now, his time is almost up... You tell me, was what she did right? Shouldn’t she compensate my brother with a pile of Spirit Stones?"

"What fake Jade Talisman? I specifically told him before that the Jade Talisman was just a memento left by my ancestor, with form but no function. If it were truly a functional Jade Talisman, how could I possibly have sold it to your brother for a mere thirty talismanic coins?" another sweet, but furious, female voice retorted.

Lü Zhong moved through the crowd as if it wasn’t there, reaching the front to get a clear view of the two people arguing.

One was a vicious-looking ruffian dressed in an old Dharma Robe. His body was shrouded in a baleful aura mixed with faint wisps of dark, malevolent energy. He was clearly bad news. Combined with his constantly shifting eyes, he was likely just a common street swindler.

The stall owner arguing with him was a Female Cultivator with a round, baby-fat face, dressed in a long, pale-yellow skirt.

At that moment, the ruffian glared, his expression turning hostile as he questioned the round-faced Female Cultivator, "What you’re saying is different from what my brother told me. He clearly spent thirty Spirit Stones to buy that Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman from you... And these two are witnesses from that day. They can confirm it!"

With a wave of the ruffian’s hand, two cultivators stepped out from the crowd.

As soon as they appeared, they began to give their testimony.

Seeing this, how could the onlookers not understand the truth? It was obvious the vicious-looking ruffian had crooked intentions and wanted to extort a sum of Spirit Stones from the round-faced Female Cultivator.

But knowing was one thing; no one was willing to get involved.

Anyone who had lived in the True Spirit Immortal City for long knew that some matters were best left untouched. Otherwise, you might not live to see the next day, your body later found in a gutter.

"You... you people!" Hearing this, the round-faced Female Cultivator was so enraged she started to laugh.

"What, with both witnesses and evidence here, you still want to deny it? Fine, then let’s you and I go to the Law Enforcement Team and see who Elder Wei sides with!" the ruffian sneered, a fearless expression on his face as if he already knew the outcome.

Hearing this, the round-faced Female Cultivator gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

’I can’t beat him in a fight.’

’I have no choice but to swallow my anger and accept the loss!’

The round-faced Female Cultivator felt utterly dejected. If she paid this sum of Spirit Stones, she wouldn’t be able to afford rent in the city. With only her crude talisman making technique, who knew how long she would have to struggle just to establish a foothold in this True Spirit Immortal City.

As for cultivating to the Foundation Establishment Stage, that would be a distant dream.

At this thought, she gritted her teeth, pulled out a small pouch, and poured out thirty Spirit Stones.

Unexpectedly, the ruffian across from her saw this and sneered, "My dear fellow cultivator, I’m afraid you’ve forgotten something... The Jade Talisman you sold injured my brother, leaving him in a wretched, near-death state. Just returning the Spirit Stones for the Jade Talisman isn’t nearly enough..."

His last words were heavy with implication.

But just then, a red line suddenly appeared on the ruffian’s face, and he split cleanly into two halves. Before the onlookers—splattered with filth and blood, yet still unaware of what had happened—could even cry out in alarm, they discovered that the round-faced Female Cultivator had also vanished.

In a remote alley, Lü Zhong appeared with the round-faced Female Cultivator.

Without a word, Lü Zhong telekinetically pulled the pouch from her, found a Jade Talisman inside that had also lost all its efficacy, and noted that it was in remarkably good condition.

"A Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman..."

Gazing at the Jade Talisman in his hand, he felt as if he had returned to over a hundred years ago, back when he was still just a Qi Refining Cultivator.

One thing was certain: this was the Jade Talisman he had given to Huang Shuyuan all those years ago. The hidden mark he had left on it was still perfectly intact.

His emotions quickly returned to normal. Lü Zhong turned to look at the round-faced Female Cultivator. Seeing her trembling, too terrified to speak, he gave a wry smile and sent a gentle stream of Magical Power into her to prevent the poor girl from being literally scared to death.

Once the round-faced Female Cultivator had calmed down, he finally asked:

"A moment ago, I heard you say these Jade Talismans were left by your ancestor. Might I ask... was your ancestor’s name ’Shuyuan’?"

He asked this because he felt the young woman bore a slight resemblance to his old acquaintance.

Hearing this, the round-faced Female Cultivator mustered her courage and shook her head. "My... my ancestor wasn’t called that, but he did mention the name ’Shuyuan’ back in the day..."

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she said, "Oh, right! That’s the name of my ancestor’s elder sister! The reason our Huang Family was able to prosper, growing from a small mortal family into the Cultivation Clan we are today, is all thanks to our grand-aunt who was the first to step onto the Immortal Dao!"

But soon, a look of confusion appeared on the round-faced Female Cultivator’s face.

’Since the Huang Family’s prosperity came from this little-known grand-aunt, why does the clan seem so secretive about it, never mentioning her to outsiders?’

Lü Zhong looked at her expression and could naturally guess what she was thinking.

She was the very foundation of the family’s prosperity, yet her contributions had been completely forgotten. The reasons were surely complex, but at their root, they were nothing more than the fickleness of the human heart.

"So, what was Cultivator Huang’s end?" he asked, as if unconcerned.

The round-faced Female Cultivator hadn’t forgotten that the man before her was likely a legendary Nascent Soul Old Monster. While inwardly regretting her earlier impetuous words, she couldn’t help but steal a glance at Lü Zhong before nervously saying:

"Re-replying to you, Elder... our grand-aunt passed away after her Life was Exhausted. Because she never had any children, she could not be interred in the ancestral grounds after her death. Thus, she was enshrined in the clan’s memorial hall, to receive incense offerings day and night."

"I see," Lü Zhong said calmly.

He had not expected his old acquaintance to have met such an end.

He glanced at the round-faced Female Cultivator and saw the hopeful look on her face. It wasn’t hard to guess what she was thinking. He brushed his Storage Ring and took out a few miscellaneous items.

They were all things he had kept from before.

He had been too lazy to deposit them in the Sect Treasure Vault, so he still had them.

It wasn’t much, but to a Qi Refining Cultivator, it was enough to make her ecstatic. After all, a Foundation Establishment Pill, which was nothing more than a miscellaneous item in Lü Zhong’s eyes, was an unparalleled treasure to her.

The Female Cultivator wanted to kneel and thank him, but when she looked up, the elder was already gone.

By this time, Lü Zhong had already arrived at the True Spirit Hall.

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