A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Normally, this skill was something one could only master with relative ease during the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Mastering it early required an extremely high level of comprehension.

Lü Zhong knew himself inside and out. He understood he was simply someone who became proficient through practice. His rapid learning of Magic Skills was entirely thanks to long hours of training, aided by his ability to replay past scenarios.

With a thought, he returned to the present.

Recalling the details of the Flying Star Return Skill, Lü Zhong began to practice.

The main difficulty of this skill lay in constructing the Counteracting Force Field.

Fortunately, the legacy he received contained numerous Cultivation Insights from sect seniors. It even included many small tricks that aided in the construction of the Counteracting Force Field, effectively lowering the difficulty of learning the Flying Star Return Skill.

’This is the most precious part of any legacy!’ Lü Zhong realized.

It was this inheritance of knowledge that allowed the Sect to grow stronger with each passing generation.

He cast aside his distracting thoughts and poured all his Heart and Spirit into practicing the Flying Star Return Skill.

...

Day after day, the Spirit-Hosted Puppet continued its life of debauchery, tirelessly demanding that Xu Changfu replace its attendants with a few younger, more beautiful women.

After all, having ”toyed” with the first group for so long, it had grown weary of them.

Besides, they were only mortal women and could not endure the exertions of a cultivator.

Finally, as if unable to withstand the Immortal Master’s pressure, Xu Changfu actually found two stunning beauties.

It had to be said, this new ”batch” was exceptional.

Even to a cultivator’s discerning eye, these two women were peerless. From their graceful and delicate figures to their flirtatious, expressive eyes, they were beauties without rival in the mortal world.

’Of course, it would be even better if these two weren’t Limb-Attaching Cultists who were trying to poison the Spirit-Hosted Puppet...’

Through remote monitoring, Lü Zhong had long since detected that the Spirit-Hosted Puppet had been afflicted with several toxins.

These included the Spirit-Transforming Poison, which depleted Spiritual Power, and the Weakness Poison, which enfeebled the body. Now, the female cultists were also administering a Desire Charm Poison. Clearly, the Limb-Attaching Sect had been on guard the entire time and wouldn’t rest until the threat was snuffed out.

’Heh, so cautious.’ Lü Zhong chuckled to himself. ’Sending the Spirit-Hosted Puppet into the village was a brilliant move. Otherwise, dealing with this would be a huge pain.’

The Limb-Attaching Sect would never have guessed they were poisoning a Puppet. Their grand scheme was a complete waste.

As long as it wasn’t a potent poison that targeted the Divine Soul, the Spirit-Hosted Puppet was immune.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, Lü Zhong began to wonder if he should investigate the place of fated opportunity Shuini had mentioned. Maybe there really was a once-in-a-millennium chance waiting for him there.

Suddenly, his gaze shifted to the entrance of his cave abode, where he spotted a small, red-feathered bird.

’Huh, a Tier Two Messenger Bird. It seems the Sect has replied.’

Lü Zhong hurriedly rose to his feet. He absolutely could not afford to slight this Messenger Bird. A Tier One Messenger Bird was one thing, but among the avians of the Heling Sect, a Tier Two Messenger Bird was practically a founding ancestor with a massive flock of descendants.

If he offended it, he could forget about ever renting a Spirit Bird from the Poultry Room again.

With a flip of his hand, he produced a Spirit Fruit he’d picked on a recent outing. Only then was he able to retrieve a Jade Token from the bird. It had a texture similar to a Jade Scroll, but when he immersed his Divine Sense within it, no information appeared.

Looking closer, he realized the Jade Token’s surface was covered by a Prohibition, with a line of small characters next to it.

”Touch with Identity Token to lift the Prohibition?”

Muttering the words, he took out his own Identity Token and pressed it against the Jade Token.

A ripple of light flowed across it, and the Prohibition on the Jade Token’s surface dissolved.

He immersed his Divine Sense into the Jade Token again and immediately received an order. The sender’s rank was surprisingly high—it came from Jade Platform Ancestor. The order commanded Lü Zhong to thoroughly investigate the Limb-Attaching Sect in preparation for the subsequent annihilation campaign.

’As expected, the three Ancestors have zero tolerance for such things. The moment they learned of the Limb-Attaching Sect, they issued a purge order.’ Lü Zhong put the Jade Token into his Storage Bag and mulled over how to complete the mission.

Since he was ordered to get to the bottom of things, it wasn’t a task he could just gloss over.

After much consideration, he decided to start with the two Limb-Attaching Female Cultists.

Judging by the two women’s recent actions, the Limb-Attaching Sect was likely running out of patience. They would probably make a move against the Spirit-Hosted Puppet within the next few days.

’No, that’s not right. The two of them increased the dosage this afternoon. They’re probably going to make their move tonight!’

With this in mind, Lü Zhong decided to go to Water Summoning Village that very night.

”CHIRP! CHIRP!” a bird’s call sounded.

He looked up to see the Messenger Bird squawking.

’This bird’s really throwing its backer’s weight around!’ Lü Zhong grumbled internally. ’This Tier Two Messenger Bird is protected by a Sect Ancestor, so it acts with real arrogance, always pushing its luck to demand more treats.’

’Fine, you can have them all.’

He gave all the sour, astringent Spirit Fruits from his Storage Bag to the bird, which ate them with great delight. This made Lü Zhong nearly doubt his own sense of taste, but after taking two large bites of his tender Spirit Toad Stew, he realized that the palates of humans and birds simply weren’t the same.

’Hmph. A feathered beast, through and through. It doesn’t even know what real delicacies are!’

...

As night fell, Lü Zhong appeared within Water Summoning Village.

He had cast both the Breath Concealing Skill and the Stealth Technique—two Magic Skills designed to hide his aura and reduce his presence. He had also activated the newly mastered Flying Star Qi Introduction Skill, which significantly boosted his ability for Concealing Breath and Traces. Now, only a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator or someone of a higher cultivation level had any chance of detecting him.

Aided by his increasingly proficient ability to replay scenarios, he easily avoided all lines of sight along his path. Moving as if through an empty land, he arrived silently and undetected at the Spirit-Hosted Puppet’s resting place.