A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Time ticked by, second by second.

Lü Zhong gazed at Yu Feng’Er in the distance as she underwent her Heart Demon Tribulation, a hint of worry on his face.

’Normally, the Heart Demon Tribulation should only take a moment. Why is this taking so long? Feng’Er has been at it for ages now. It’s clearly not going well.’

He looked back up at Yu Feng’Or in the sky. A pained struggle was written across her face. Her aura, which had been on par with the Nascent Soul Realm, was slowly fading. She tried several times to absorb the Spiritual Qi Vortex to sustain herself, but an unseen force suppressed each attempt. At the same time, a black vapor began to seep from her skin.

Lü Zhong’s heart sank. ’The worst has happened!’ He had no time to worry about any hidden enemies; he shot forward, racing toward Yu Feng’Er.

As he neared Yu Feng’Er, Lü Zhong immediately used the Gray Mist Space to examine her condition.

Just as he’d feared, she was trapped in her Heart Demon Tribulation.

The cause was Yu Feng’Er’s obsession with having a child.

’Blaming myself is useless... How can I help Feng’Er get through this ordeal?’

Lü Zhong took a deep breath, his mind racing as he began to use the power of the Gray Mist Space to search for a solution.

Just then, a figure shot up from the distant ground, wreathed in a dazzling Escape Light. As it flew forward, it erupted with a powerful aura—it was a Mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator. Lü Zhong had never seen this person before, nor did he recognize their Magical Power signature.

But Lü Zhong immediately guessed that this person had to be connected to the Gui Miao Immortal Sect.

After all, if Yu Feng’Er succeeded in her Nascent Soul Formation, then she, Lü Zhong—who had already demonstrated the ability to kill cultivators of the same Realm—and Radiant Moon True Monarch Shuini, a long-established Nascent Soul, would form an unstoppable trio. Even the combined forces of the Daoist Sect and the Xuanyang Sect in the Southern Barbarian region, with their four Nascent Soul Cultivators, would be no match for them.

The balance of power in the Southern Barbarian region would inevitably be shattered.

This was clearly not an outcome the Gui Miao Immortal Sect wished to see.

Rather than trying to rebalance the powers in the Southern Barbarian region after Yu Feng’Er successfully reached the Nascent Soul Realm, the Immortal Sect cultivators clearly thought it was simpler to nip this unstable element in the bud during her breakthrough.

Which led to the current scene.

’They even sent a Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Cautious, aren’t they!’ Lü Zhong thought, killing intent surging within him. But just then, a look of joy flashed across his face. He had found a solution.

The solution, it turned out, lay with the Celestial Tribulation Aura of his Wood Thunder Seal.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he began forming hand seals and Chanting.

At the same time, three figures shot out from his side—they were the Outer Body Incarnations Lü Zhong had refined. The three Incarnations exchanged a glance, then summoned their Magical Treasures and flew to intercept the attacker.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Explosions rang out ceaselessly.

Borrowing power from the main body, the Incarnations temporarily wielded Nascent Soul-level strength. They adopted a self-sacrificial fighting style that forced even the Mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator to give ground.

THUMP! A loud crash echoed.

An Incarnation, its power spent, had chosen to self-destruct.

”What a madman!” the attacker cursed under his breath. He glanced at the crackling sphere of lightning before him, then at the two remaining figures blocking his path, a hint of apprehension in his eyes. Remembering his mission, he flipped his hand to summon a small, blood-red dagger, preparing to spend some time to finish the two of them off.

Meanwhile, Lü Zhong had already finished forming a Magic Ban.

’I don’t know if this will work... but it’s a desperate measure for a desperate time!’

As things stood, if he delayed any longer, Yu Feng’Er would be doomed to a terrible fate should her tribulation fail, regardless of any other outcome.

As for the fact that external assistance in Nascent Soul Formation would increase the power of the subsequent Thunder Tribulation, Lü Zhong couldn’t afford to worry about that now.

He hesitated no longer, pressing the Magic Ban to Yu Feng’Er’s brow. She let out a muffled grunt as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. As the Celestial Tribulation Aura surged into her, a shrill scream erupted from deep within her body. At last, her cultivation, which had been steadily declining, began to stabilize.

A moment later, Yu Feng’Er slowly opened her eyes. She looked at Lü Zhong, her gaze filled with gratitude.

At a time like this, no words were necessary.

Lü Zhong breathed a silent sigh of relief and gave Yu Feng’Er a reassuring look. Then he turned and shot toward the attacker, with no thought of retreat.

So what if he was at the Mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm?

Lü Zhong reckoned that with his Six-sided Flood Dragon Spirit Banner, he had a fighting chance even against a cultivator one Small Realm above him.

With a flick of his sleeve, he released three more Incarnations.

He planned to wear the enemy down further.

...

Gazing at the figure with his back to her, Yu Feng’Er felt an indescribable sense of security.

The strength of a Heart Demon is directly proportional to the intensity of one’s obsession. If not for Lü Zhong’s help, she would have been possessed by her own Heart Demon by now.

A thousand thoughts flashed through her mind.

Remembering that she was in the midst of her Nascent Soul Formation, Yu Feng’Er quickly composed herself. She focused all her effort on refining Spiritual Qi to prepare for the Thunder Tribulation to come.

Several more hours passed.

Though the process was fraught with perilous setbacks, Yu Feng’Er ultimately succeeded in her tribulation, albeit at the cost of severely damaging her Primordial Qi.

Lü Zhong hovered in the air, watching his opponent retreat. He had already committed this grudge to memory.

He considered that his opponent was already at the Mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm, while he himself was only at the Early-stage Nascent Soul Realm. Although he could hold his own for a time with the help of the Flood Dragon Spirit Banner, defeating, let alone killing, his opponent was completely out of the question.

’I still need to raise my cultivation...’ he thought to himself.

It wouldn’t be too late to settle this score once his cultivation reached the Mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm.