A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

After parting ways with Liu Yuhe, Lü Zhong was still not ready to give up.

He visited many other places in the city. Plenty of well-established merchant houses had Gilded Fire Jade in stock, but without exception, they were all jacking up their prices or making exorbitant demands. By comparison, obtaining the Gilded Fire Jade from the Liu Family seemed surprisingly easy.

’If I hadn’t learned that the Liu Family was recruiting Honored Guest Elders on a large scale and was genuinely preparing to build a clan estate on Iron Wall Mountain, I would’ve thought Liu Yuhe was setting a trap for me.’

’Sigh. If it’s already this difficult for a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object, I can’t imagine what it will be like when I reach the Core Formation Stage.’ Lü Zhong couldn’t help but worry about the future, but he quickly gave a self-deprecating laugh.

’I don’t even know if I’ll ever reach Perfect Foundation Establishment. Worrying about this now is pointless.’

Shaking his head, he turned back to Immortal Intent Square.

...

Iron Wall Mountain was originally a land of miasma.

It wasn’t until a Medicine Gathering Independent Cultivator accidentally discovered an underground Spirit Vein that the area suddenly bustled with activity. First, wave after wave of cultivators came to explore, scouring the mountain again and again for the Spirit Medicine that had grown there for many years. Then, cultivators skilled in the Geomancy Skill came to prospect, sifting through the land several times as if with a fine-toothed comb.

After confirming that there was no more profit to be squeezed from Iron Wall Mountain, the Lingyue Sect finally put the land up for sale.

This was the kind of place the Liu Family had spent a fortune to win at auction.

Even so, this piece of land was still worth a million Spirit Stones.

By now, any valuable and easy-to-hunt Demon Beasts within Iron Wall Mountain had already been dealt with by those who came before. All that remained were the tough nuts to crack.

Take, for instance, the swarm of Iron Claw Shrimp living in the Hundred Li Poison Swamp Pool that Lü Zhong now faced. They were anything but easy to deal with.

With a swamp dozens of yards deep providing cover, and bodies as tough as iron, the Iron Claw Shrimp were also devilishly clever. Once they took a hit, they would hide deep in the muck and refuse to come out. It was no wonder they were the masters of this Poisonous Swamp. Their main colony numbered at least a thousand, and if you included all the smaller fry, the total population could exceed one hundred thousand.

Before his arrival, several Foundation Establishment Honored Guest Elders had already been injured, and even more Qi Refining Cultivators had lost their lives. Getting rid of the Iron Claw Shrimp was imperative, as their lair was located on an important node for the Liu Family’s Mountain Protection Grand Array.

Otherwise, the Liu Family would have to spend another huge sum of Spirit Stones to have someone modify the Mountain Protection Grand Array, which they had already paid an Array Master a fortune to design.

In the temporary camp, the group was eating freshly caught Iron Claw Shrimp while discussing their strategy.

Since the Liu Family had mostly hired Loose Cultivators, the group wasn’t much for formalities. They ate and drank, everyone chiming in with whatever solution came to mind.

Most ideas boiled down to setting bait and then ambushing the shrimp.

Lü Zhong listened as he ate, marveling to himself. ’These Iron Claw Shrimp from the Poisonous Swamp actually taste amazing,’ he thought. ’And the Liu Family’s cooks had a stroke of genius coming up with a spicy, numbing recipe. It makes them even more delicious.’

Paired with the refreshing Immortal Grass Spirit Wine that cut through the richness, you couldn’t stop once you started.

”Son of a bitch, these shrimp are damn tasty!” exclaimed a burly man, his chest bared to reveal a thick patch of black hair. He was chugging from a wine jar and didn’t even bother to peel the shrimp, just popping one in his mouth whole as he spoke.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. ”Hey, look,” he said. ”Since these shrimp are so delicious, why the hell are we bothering to exterminate them? We should just convince the Liu Family to fence off the Poisonous Swamp and make shrimp farming their main business. I bet they could rake in a thousand or so Spirit Stones a year!”

The burly man expected his proposal to be met with resounding approval, but instead, he was met with a sea of eye-rolls.

Lü Zhong chuckled to himself. ’The Liu Family plans to make this their clan estate. Why would they leave such a threat in their own backyard for a measly thousand Spirit Stones a year?’

Besides, apart from being delicious, the Iron Claw Shrimp were otherwise useless.

The Iron Claw Shrimp might look imposing, but in reality, their entire bodies—claws and shells included—had extremely poor Spiritual Qi conductivity. That was the only reason they’d survived the previous purges. If they were worth even three to five hundred Spirit Stones more, the Lingyue Sect would have issued a Sect mission long ago and wiped them out completely. There would be no need for the likes of them to be here racking their brains.

Moreover, he had heard a tidbit from Liu Yuhe: the Liu Family was planning to plant a rare Spirit Medicine, the Purple Leaf Lotus, in the swamp. This was the real reason they were so desperate to clear out the Iron Claw Shrimp. After all, a toxic environment like the Poisonous Swamp on Iron Wall Mountain was perfect for growing Purple Leaf Lotus.

They discussed and debated, but by the time all the shrimp had been eaten and the wine was gone, the group still hadn’t come up with a viable plan.

And so, they fell back on the old standby for Loose Cultivators.

Every man for himself.

...

Lü Zhong was up before dawn the next day.

’Honestly, it’s a little strange not having anyone to help me dress and wash up.’

He decided not to bother casting a Cleaning Skill. Instead, he simply pulled out a few Cleaning Talismans, slapped them haphazardly onto his robes to get rid of the dirt and odor, then fished a piece of beast jerky from his Storage Bag and walked out, eating as he went.

A strange, sweet yet fishy odor drifted through the early morning air on Iron Wall Mountain.

It was a bit unsettling at first, but you got used to it after a while.

Of course, you had to remember to take a Detoxification Pill on schedule. Inhale too much of the toxic gas released by the Poisonous Swamp, and even a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Strolling to the edge of the Poisonous Swamp, he saw that someone was already trying to hunt the Iron Claw Shrimp.

”Morning, friend! You here to hunt shrimp too?”

”Yeah. There’s been trouble with the Wildborn Tribes lately, and prices in the city are soaring. A man’s got to work hard to keep up.” Lü Zhong exchanged a few words with the other cultivator, then watched as the man tried using a family-recipe Demon-Luring Fragrance.

Unfortunately, it didn’t have much effect.

It did lure out a swarm of regular Iron Claw Shrimp, though. ’Looks like we’ll be feasting again at noon,’ Lü Zhong thought.

”Well, you keep at it. I’m going to take a look over there.” Seeing the man’s embarrassed expression, Lü Zhong tactfully took his leave.

Once he found a secluded spot, he reminded himself of his purpose. ’I’m not here to eat Iron Claw Shrimp and drink Immortal Grass Wine.’

’The Iron Claw Shrimp like peace and quiet... I can probably use that.’

Before making his move, he spent nearly an hour setting up a simple Illusion Array. The Iron Claw Shrimp were simple-minded creatures; the array would be enough to trap them, while also providing him with a layer of protection.

He also checked the Jade Token and Jade Talisman he carried, ensuring he would be protected if anything unexpected happened.

After finishing the necessary preparations, Lü Zhong began to form hand seals and chant.

First, he cast the Flying Star Qi Introduction Skill, followed by the Flying Star Flame Rain Skill—a technique he had learned but never yet used.

The skill was similar to the Qingyang Fire Rain Technique, as both involved conjuring a barrage of Fireball Bullets. However, as an Inheritance Magic, the Flying Star Flame Rain Skill had a unique advantage: the caster could adjust the number and power of the fireballs within a certain range at will.

Therefore, Lü Zhong’s plan was quite simple.

He would try a continuous bombardment of Fireball Bullets to see if he could provoke the Iron Claw Shrimp into showing themselves.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

One after another, the Fireball Bullets plowed through the patch of Poisonous Swamp before him, over and over again.

And it worked. He managed to anger several Iron Claw Shrimp enough to surface.

They were only Tier One Iron Claw Shrimp, but compared to the other Honored Guest Elders who had come up empty-handed, it was a respectable achievement.

That evening, quite a few people came to visit, hoping to learn his method.

After accepting a sufficient number of gifts, Lü Zhong naturally held nothing back.

After all, his method was simple and couldn’t be kept secret for long. Anyone could figure it out with a little thought. ’Better to accept some gifts and share it than to offend all the other Honored Guest Elders for nothing,’ he reasoned.

When he finished explaining, it dawned on everyone.

So that was the simple trick!

Honestly, others had thought of exploiting the Iron Claw Shrimp’s preference for quiet. But Lü Zhong was the first one to be persistent enough to actually annoy them into surfacing.

And so, the next day, the entirety of Iron Wall Mountain echoed with constant rumbling.

The Honored Guest Elders pulled out all the stops, relentlessly harassing the Iron Claw Shrimp in the Poisonous Swamp.

They had great success for three days straight.

Almost everyone was able to hunt three to five Iron Claw Shrimp each day.

But soon, this method no longer worked.

The reason was simple: a Shrimp King had emerged among the Iron Claw Shrimp. At its command, the colony would no longer surface to attack the cultivators, no matter how much they were provoked.