A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Chapter 658: Chapter 360: A Rare Moment of Leisure

If the Old Ancestor intended to redistribute resources, he would certainly start with the assets held by the Master-Disciple Sect. When that time came, their group would suffer disastrous losses. As a result, every last one of them was resentful and unwilling.

Who would be willing to spit out the meat already in their mouth?

“Sect Leader, please enlighten us!”

“Yes, Sect Leader, tell us how we should respond.”

The Elders and Stewards below were long accustomed to following Su Caocao’s orders. Past events had proven that the Sect Leader always had great foresight; otherwise, their Master-Disciple Sect would never have grown step by step to achieve its current standing.

“Heh, how to respond?”

Su Caocao looked down at the crowd and suddenly let out a laugh.

“Is there even a need to ask? We will naturally follow Master’s wishes and execute them with our full effort, without compromise. You must all understand something. The reason I, Su Caocao, have my current achievements is not because of your faction’s support. It has always… always been my Master who has given me everything.”

Her meaning was clear, like a bucket of ice water poured over their hearts.

For a moment, all the Elders and Stewards found this impossible to accept.

“Could it be…, let’s just do as the Sect Leader says!” An elder from the Master-Disciple Sect had wanted to object, but in the end, he sighed and gave up.

It was just as Su Caocao had said. Which faction in the Bihai Sect rose to power was never the result of a political struggle, but entirely dependent on the will of the Old Ancestor alone.

Now that Star Sun True Monarch reigned supreme in the Southern Barbarian region, even the Daoist Sect had to depend on his every whim, to say nothing of mere Core Formation and Foundation Establishment cultivators like them.

“As for the Independent Cultivator Sect… hmph! A bunch of traitors who bite the hand that feeds them! It was one thing to be entangled with the Qian Nan Alliance, but now they even dare to contact the Daoist Sect. They truly are a pack of ungrateful wolves you can never tame. Elder Gu, you command the Punishment Hall and bear the heavy responsibility of maintaining the Bihai Sect’s security. Have you gathered evidence of their collusion with outside forces?” Su Caocao snorted coldly, her gaze falling upon an elder with a grim, sinister face.

Upon hearing this, the man presented a Jade Scroll and sneered, “Reporting to the Sect Leader, all the evidence is right here. Please take a look.”

“Good,” Su Caocao nodded in satisfaction.

Just then, the hall doors suddenly opened, and a Foundation Establishment Cultivator hurried in. “Reporting to the Sect Leader, the Old Ancestor summons you to the Enlightenment Hall.”

“Is it just me, or are there others?” Su Caocao asked.

“Replying to the Sect Leader, besides you, Vice Sect Master He, Elder Qin Liuzhu, and the three Chief Stewards of the Chengde Commerce Association are also on the list of those summoned.” The Foundation Establishment Cultivator read out a long list of names, all of whom were the most powerful figures currently in the Bihai Sect and the Chengde Commerce Association.

“I understand.” Su Caocao waved her hand, dismissing him.

She then raised her head to look at the ceiling, which was adorned with colorful murals depicting the history of the Bihai Sect—a history known by heart by everyone in the sect. Her eyes gradually grew vacant as she became lost in thought.

‘Master, what are you planning?’

…

Enlightenment Hall.

This was Lü Zhong’s exclusive domain, located on the rear mountain of the Bihai Sect.

The node of the Bihai Immortal City’s Spirit Vein was located within this very Enlightenment Hall, and as a result, the Spiritual Qi was exceptionally dense. This was especially true after the addition of the Tree of Spiritual Eye, which had brought the Spirit Vein to the very peak of Tier Four.

Unfortunately, the Tree of Spiritual Eye was flawed.

Without the infusion of other Heaven-defying Spiritual Objects, no amount of nurturing would allow this Spirit Vein to do more than increase the volume of Spiritual Qi it produced. It could not improve its quality, meaning it had no hope of ever becoming a Tier Five Spirit Vein.

Lü Zhong sat cross-legged here, but he was not cultivating.

Instead, he was waiting quietly.

He had already learned of the attitudes of the Bihai Sect’s three major factions toward Yaoyun, his new Celestial Descent Direct Disciple, through his incarnation. He needed no one to report to him.

Furthermore, he had information from his four other incarnations: the ones at Huayi Temple and the Celestial Blade Sect, who had been dispatched for many years and had long since risen to the high rank of Elder, as well as the slightly lower-ranking ones at the Yan Zhen Sect and the Xuanyang Sect.

He suddenly made a surprising discovery.

The mere act of him appointing a Direct Disciple was enough to cause a stir throughout the Southern Barbarian region.

“Interesting. It seems I’ve become a major figure myself!” Thinking this, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but smile faintly.

He thought back to 268 years ago. He had been just a rookie new to the Cultivation Realm, having only recently completed the process of introducing Qi into the body. He lived in a dilapidated wooden hut, racking his brain for ways to pay the rent.

But now, things were a world away from how they used to be.

Before long, the cultivators on the summons list had all arrived.

Looking at the cultivators in the hall below, Lü Zhong did a quick count. He found that in just a century, the great tree of the Bihai Sect had flourished with branches and leaves. There were now eleven Core Formation Cultivators in the direct lineage alone.

If one included the vassals loyal to the Bihai Sect, the number of Core Formation Cultivators would more than double.

But though the branches and leaves were lush, many of them had also grown wild and unruly.

A significant portion had even started growing outwards.

Although Lü Zhong had never liked managing affairs, that didn’t mean he would tolerate betrayal. He was especially determined to completely eradicate those who colluded and were in cahoots with external forces.

As for the aftereffects? He never cared about them.

In the Cultivation Realm, where great power belongs to the individual and might makes right, power struggles were never complicated. The title of Nascent Soul was enough to suppress all dissent.

An execution list was presented, and instantly, many in the hall went limp and collapsed.

Cultivators possessed tenacious minds and were not all cowards, but their attempts at resistance were all futile before a Mid-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator.

“Alright, let’s get back to business.” With a wave of his sleeve, Lü Zhong erased the bloodstains from the hall. He looked at the remaining people with a calm expression, as if nothing had happened. In a placid tone, he said, “Regarding the matter of Yaoyun’s appointment, I know what you’re worried about. It’s nothing more than the allocation of resources…”