A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

He glanced over at his surviving cultivators and saw that fewer than a hundred remained.

They had won, but it was a Pyrrhic victory.

’I wonder what the situation is on the northern front in the Molten Fire Land,’ Fang Yueyun mused. Rumor had it that the place had become a meat grinder. Dozens of the Alliance’s True Cultivators had already fallen, and even Golden Core Masters—a realm he might never reach in his entire life—were now among the casualties.

It had gotten to the point where the Alliance had no choice but to request aid from the Nascent Soul Sects.

Pushing the thoughts from his mind, he turned his gaze toward Cyan Square City.

The Blood-sucking Ghost was gone, but based on the Qian Nan Alliance’s past experience dealing with Celestial Demons, it was almost certain that demonic abominations would now fester within the city. Those mortals who survived the massacre thought themselves lucky, but they had no idea what kind of monsters they would be corrupted into.

...

「On the Bihai Ship.」

Lü Zhong sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his eyes closed in deep thought.

The severity of this Demon Chaos and the sheer breadth of its spread were something he had never anticipated. It had also exceeded the expectations of all the Southern Barbarian Nascent Soul cultivators.

Everyone had originally thought this would be nothing more than a training opportunity for the Qian Nan Alliance.

With the tacit approval of the Southern Barbarian Sects, the Qian Nan Alliance was expected to shoulder many responsibilities in the future. The most important of these was to maintain stability in the Southern Barbarian Immortal Cultivation World.

The arrival of the Demon Chaos seemed like the perfect opportunity for just that.

Judging from the initial situation, the number of Celestial Demons pouring from the Void Channel was well within the Qian Nan Alliance’s capabilities, making it a perfect test of the Alliance cultivators’ strength.

At the same time, prolonging the Demon Chaos also had its benefits.

Compared to this world, which was depleted of Spiritual Qi, the Void contained an abundance of it. When the channel opened, that Qi would flood in.

And as it turned out, the amount of Spiritual Qi that flooded in was indeed immense, comparable even to a Tier Five Spirit Vein. For the Southern Barbarian Cultivators, whose Spirit Tide was about to peak with no further source of replenishment in sight, this was undoubtedly a new source of Spiritual Qi.

That was precisely why the proposal to let the Qian Nan Alliance handle the Demon Chaos had been approved by the Nascent Soul cultivators.

But no one expected that less than three years after it began, the Demon Chaos would mysteriously spiral out of control.

’Putting the pieces together, it’s not hard to see a hidden hand pushing this Demon Chaos out of control...’ Lü Zhong couldn’t quite figure it out. With that Grand Venerable from the Mysterious Dao Sect having Ascended, and the Central Earth Immortal Sects too preoccupied with the Soul Loss Syndrome to meddle, what power was out there stirring up trouble? And what benefit could they possibly gain?

Now, the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Southern Barbarian lands were getting burned for playing with fire.

Every last one of them was busy running around putting out fires.

Lü Zhong was no exception. As the only Nascent Soul cultivator who could be spared, he had no choice but to lead his disciples and Elders to reinforce the front lines at the Molten Fire Land. That was where the Void Channel had opened wide, and it was also the main nest where countless Celestial Demons gathered. There were even signs that a Great Demon had appeared.

To end the Demon Chaos, the only way was to repel the Celestial Demons.

And then destroy the Void Channel.

’All I want is to cultivate in peace... W-Why is that so difficult?’

Lü Zhong couldn’t help but sigh at the thought.

Repelling the Celestial Demons would be anything but easy.

The flow of Celestial Demons from the Void Channel showed no signs of slowing. Countless powerful Celestial Demons, mixed in with Great Demons whose strength was comparable to the Nascent Soul realm.

Combined, these two factors created a force that could not be underestimated.

Repel the Celestial Demons?

Just thinking about it was enough to give him a headache.

...

「Molten Fire Land.」

Compared to before, in addition to the pervasive stench of sulfur, the air was now thick with the smell of blood. And as the fighting continued, it only grew stronger.

Thousands of miles from the Ten Thousand Demon Nest where the Celestial Demons were entrenched, a fortified city had been raised by the hands of cultivators. It inherited the name of the original Artifact Refining Market and was called ”Molten Iron City.” It now served as the main camp for the cultivator army, situated at the heart of the Molten Fire Land’s defensive line.

His journey was unimpeded.

Lü Zhong arrived alone at Molten Iron City’s Council Hall.

His reason for coming to Molten Iron City this time wasn’t just to provide support.

In fact, to end the Demon Chaos in the Southern Barbarian lands as soon as possible, the assembled Nascent Soul cultivators had decided to gather in the Council Hall today to discuss countermeasures.

The people in the Council Hall were all old acquaintances of Lü Zhong.

Besides Shuini, there was Fire Dragon of the Xuanyang Sect, Mu Guan Daoist of the Yan Zhen Sect, and the Gui Miao Immortal Envoy, Hee Yun. Including Lü Zhong himself, it was a gathering of five Nascent Soul cultivators.

It was no exaggeration to say that more than half of the Southern Barbarian lands’ combat power was gathered here.

When Hee Yun saw Lü Zhong, her expression remained as impassive as ever. With her usual cold look, she said coolly, ”Since Fellow Daoist Lü has arrived, please take your seat. We are here to devise a strategy to resolve the Demon Chaos. I trust you will all act in good faith and refrain from any self-destructive measures. If we allow this Demon Chaos to continue spreading, it won’t just be my Daoist Sect that suffers.”

Her words were clearly aimed at Lü Zhong.

Seeing Hee Yun—the very person who not long ago had wanted to tear him to shreds—sitting here so calmly and uttering such words, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but marvel internally.

’Truly, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.’

Compared to the consequences of the Demon Chaos spiraling out of control, a thorn in her side like him was nothing. Besides, Central Earth still had a great need for the Southern Barbarian lands’ resources.

In light of this, Lü Zhong was certain of one thing.

To resolve the Demon Chaos, Hee Yun would likely be willing to pay a heavy price.

After all, when the Demon Chaos began, the Daoist Sects were the first to suffer. The Inference Realm, which bore the brunt of the assault, had suffered a devastating blow. Many mortal realms, considered the foundation of cultivators, had become breeding grounds for demonic abominations, just like Cyan Square City, which he had passed through earlier.

’Soul Loss Syndrome... Demon Chaos...’

The ominous feeling in Lü Zhong’s heart intensified, like the calm before a storm. Nevertheless, his expression remained unchanged as he cupped his hands in greeting to the other cultivators in the Council Hall and took a seat on a high-backed chair next to Shuini.

Only after Lü Zhong was seated did Hee Yun rise to her feet.

Her gaze swept over the crowd, her expression turning serious.

”Since this Demon Chaos began its rampage, I am sure all of you here understand the harm it has caused. I have just received news that the Celestial Blade Sect’s defensive line has been breached again. The two Core Formation cultivators in charge, Mingfeng and Tuo Fang, were attacked by a Great Demon. They, along with three thousand nine hundred and fifteen other cultivators, have all perished!”

Hearing this, the grave expressions on the faces of the cultivators deepened.

Lü Zhong was no exception.

He exchanged a glance with Shuini. Clearly, neither of them was optimistic about this council.

Unless... the Gui Miao Immortal Sect behind Hee Yun was willing to pay a truly devastating price, resolving the Demon Chaos in a short time was simply not realistic.

At the same time, from the perspective of personal gain, letting the Demon Chaos continue wasn’t entirely without its benefits.

Of course, Lü Zhong didn’t want those benefits. After all, if the Southern Barbarian Immortal Cultivation World was destroyed by the Demon Tide, his losses wouldn’t be minor. A hundred years of his hard work would be washed away.

That was precisely why he had no choice but to intervene.

Just as Lü Zhong’s thoughts were racing, wondering about Hee Yun’s intentions, whether there was a hidden conspiracy, or perhaps a plan to kill someone with a borrowed knife...

Meanwhile, Hee Yun continued:

”It is clear that the scale of this Demon Chaos is far beyond what any of us could have predicted. To avoid a great catastrophe and prevent the Southern Barbarian Immortal Cultivation World from being plunged into ruin, we urgently need everyone’s assistance!”

”That’s easy to say, but I’m afraid... I’m afraid...” Fire Dragon said hesitantly.

The Celestial Demons’ strength was plain to see. A sea of Low-tier Celestial Demons, plus Great Demons with power comparable to the Nascent Soul realm—they outmatched the cultivators by a significant margin. Looking at the numbers on paper, even if the five of them attacked without holding anything back, the chances of repelling the Celestial Demons were pitifully low.

Hearing this, Hee Yun gave Fire Dragon a long look before speaking:

”Fellow Daoist Fire Dragon’s concerns are not without reason. However, since I was the one to initiate this discussion, I naturally have a solution. Everyone, please look!”

She held out her hands, revealing an object in each palm.

One was a Jade Seal, the other a Small Flag wreathed in lightning.

Expecting that the others wouldn’t recognize the items’ origins, Hee Yun, whose expression betrayed a hint of pain, took the initiative to explain. ”This Jade Seal is called the Divine Chapter. Stored within it is a single use of the ’Shaking Mountains and Earth’ Divine Technique. It was personally refined by a Divinity Transformation Grand Venerable, so it naturally contains the might of heaven and earth. When activated, even if it can’t annihilate all the Celestial Demons, it can inflict massive casualties, thereby reducing their numbers.”