A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Hundred Forest City.

Lü Zhong arrived, disguised as a Daoist priest, and found a random spot in the market area. He sold Spiritual Objects from the Southern Barbarian lands mixed in with his loot, all while observing the situation in the city.

「Half a month later.」

Once he had a basic understanding of the situation, he began to unload his stock in large quantities.

This was the last stop of his trip. The Spirit Rice and other goods had long been sold. All that remained was a single Tier Three Healing Pill. Such pills were considered precious even in the Southern Barbarian lands, making it rather difficult to sell.

Fortunately, there was an auction house in the city.

Lü Zhong had already contacted them and arranged to sell the Spring Splendor Pill on consignment at the auction.

「Half a month later.」

”The Spring Splendor Pill, a Tier Three Healing Pill! Its surface is covered in Pill Patterns as intricate as a floral brocade, with almost no loss to its medicinal efficacy. This is a truly rare and precious healing medicine... The starting bid is thirty thousand Spirit Stones!”

Inside the Hundred Forest City auction house, the calls for bids rose one after another, creating an exceptional clamor.

In just a short while, the price had been pushed to seventy-five thousand, and it was still climbing rapidly.

”Eighty thousand!”

”Eighty thousand Spirit Stones! Are there any higher bids?” the auctioneer shouted.

A moment of silence fell.

”Eighty thousand, going once...”

”Eighty-five thousand Spirit Stones!”

Many cultivators had traveled thousands of miles to Hundred Forest City specifically to bid on this Spring Splendor Pill. As long as they had the slightest bit of financial strength left, they would not give up easily.

In the Western Realm, where Spiritual Objects were on the brink of extinction, many cultivators were exceedingly cautious in battle due to the scarcity of Healing Elixirs, fearing they might suffer a serious injury and perish for lack of treatment.

Under these circumstances, carrying a good Healing Elixir was equivalent to having an extra life.

After a round of fierce bidding, the price reached one hundred thousand Spirit Stones before the calls finally stopped.

”Congratulations to this senior!” the auctioneer said, his face flush with excitement as he brought down the gavel.

Before long, there was a knock on the door of Lü Zhong’s private room.

As per their prior agreement, the auction house charged no commission fee for the Spring Splendor Pill. In fact, they even gave him some additional benefits, so the payment was made entirely in high-grade spirit stones.

He counted the payment, and the transaction was complete.

The moment he stepped out, he keenly sensed a gaze fall upon him.

This wasn’t surprising.

Lü Zhong didn’t even glance at the person. Considering it was unwise to make a move within the city, he quickened his pace and headed for the crowds on the street. Along the way, he changed his Disguise several times and cast an uncountable number of Cleaning Skills. Only after he was certain he had shaken off his pursuer did he stroll confidently toward the city gates.

’That was too reckless!’

He was certain that the person tailing him just now was a spy from the True Central Sect.

What if the True Central Sect sent people to intercept him?

He would be in big trouble then.

’Sigh, I have to be more careful.’ Looking at the long queue at the city gate, a clearly abnormal situation, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but sigh to himself. ’I hope I can get out of the city without any trouble this time.’

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario did not come to pass.

The queue was only because a large cart had a broken axle, making passage through the city gate difficult.

After leaving the city smoothly, Lü Zhong changed directions several times. He moved with Stealth the entire way, using a scene-reversal technique to observe his surroundings and avoid all lines of sight.

It took a full half-month of travel, putting him thousands of miles away from Hundred Forest City, before he finally felt at ease.

He found a spot in the desolate wilderness, dug a temporary cave dwelling, and prepared to lie low for a while. He would also use the time to purge the contamination from his body, lest it affect his foundation.

...

The Spirit Suppression Array whirred to life, emitting a low hum.

Lü Zhong sat cross-legged on a cushion, purple flames flaring and dying erratically on the surface of his body as he worked to purge the Crimson Spiritual Energy within him. Influenced by the escalating celestial anomalies in the Western Realm, the process was several times more difficult than before.

After three days and three nights, the process was finally complete.

He let out a long sigh of relief.

He began to take stock of his gains from the trip.

Spirit Stones made up the largest portion. He had a mix of Upper, Middle, and Lower Grades, totaling 273,461.

Next were the specialty Spiritual Objects from the Western Realm. The quantity he had acquired was less than expected, but they were still worth around sixty or seventy thousand Spirit Stones. If he sold them in the Southern Barbarian lands, he could easily double or triple their value.

He would count the total profit as half a million.

Lü Zhong was quite satisfied with such a haul.

’It was worth the risk of coming all the way out here.’

Unfortunately, his whereabouts had been exposed this time. As long as the True Central Sect wasn’t stupid, they could easily deduce his trajectory. If their luck had been a bit better, they might have been able to intercept him directly.

’Sigh, what a shame!’

’But for the sake of my own life, I can only give it up for now.’

The Cultivation Realm was growing ever more chaotic. To live longer than anyone else, one had to be good enough at lying low.

With his mind in a jumble, Lü Zhong had no intention of focusing on his cultivation.

Remembering the many insect carcasses in his Storage Bag, he simply started a fire and began to grill them. He used an Alchemy technique to refine away the venom, leaving the remaining meat fragrant, crisp, and tender—a flavor no worse than most Spiritual Food.

...

He stayed there for half a month straight.

Only then did Lü Zhong emerge from his temporary cave dwelling.

After getting his bearings, he headed toward the Ye Ling Domain.

Along the way, he encountered Evil Cultivators several times. Without exception, he ended up with a few more Storage Bags, the contents of which were worth at least thirty to fifty thousand Spirit Stones.

The rest of the journey was safe and uneventful.

When Lü Zhong teleported back to the Southern Barbarian lands, the heart that had been lodged in his throat finally settled.

He glanced back at the Transmission Array and, without hesitation, removed the Array’s core.

’So this is an Azure Sky Stone?’ he thought, looking at the fist-sized, cubic crystal in his hand that radiated a mesmerizing Spiritual Light. ’The core of a Long-distance Transmission Array really is something special.’

After admiring it for a few more moments, he placed a Prohibition on it and put it into his Storage Bag.

Then it was back to traveling.

This time, he didn’t make a detour to Changchun Immortal City, but headed directly south to Ganquan Island.

When Lü Zhong saw Ganquan Commercial Harbor in the distance, glinting with flecks of gold in the afterglow of the setting sun, an inexplicable sense of security washed over him, and a smile finally broke across his face.

The feeling of coming home.

It’s wonderful!