A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

The Storage Bag that had belonged to the Horse-faced Cultivator was now tied to the waist of a burly, dark-faced man.

"Fellow Daoist, how much are you selling these Golden Light Talismans for?"

The dark-faced man looked at Lü Zhong, whose cultivation he couldn’t sense. A nervous expression filled his face, and his tone grew respectful without him even realizing it.

Earlier, he had seen the Horse-faced Cultivator climbing up and down, seemingly with an endless supply of Golden Light Talismans on him. He guessed that someone on the surface was supplying the Talismans, so he had climbed up through the fissure as well.

The competition below was fierce. If he had Golden Light Talismans for protection, he would be much safer.

"Fifty Spirit Stones each. I also have this Protective Jade Talisman, one hundred Spirit Stones apiece. The prices are firm!" Lü Zhong said, holding out a Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman to show him.

"Is... is that a Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman?"

"Yes," Lü Zhong replied succinctly.

"Alright, I’ll take two Golden Light Talismans and one Jade Talisman." The dark-faced man knew the effects of the Protective Secret Talisman and readily took out a piece of Spirit Stone Raw Ore, worth roughly two hundred Spirit Stones.

"Fellow Daoist, would you like a Blood Burning Secret Pill?" Bai Xiaohan chimed in, hawking her wares.

"No need."

The dark-faced man was very clear-headed. He knew what a Blood Burning Secret Pill was. He just wanted to make a safe profit, not lose his life here to greed.

Bai Xiaohan smiled, unconcerned. She flipped her hand over, revealing a red and a blue pill, and continued to solicit customers, "Then... how about a Rejuvenation Pill for healing, and a Qi Gathering Pill for replenishing Qi? These two are rare, high-quality goods, but they can be yours for just one hundred Spirit Stones."

After a moment’s hesitation, the dark-faced man decided to buy them.

Just as Bai Xiaohan had said, these two types of Pills were indeed high-quality goods, refined from precious, aged Spirit Medicines. Generally, only Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators could afford them, using them to quickly recover during combat.

As long as he didn’t overdose, they were harmless to the body.

The dark-faced man hurried away. A short while later, someone else climbed out of the fissure.

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist, do you have any more Golden Light Talismans?"

"I do."

"Can I have a look?"

Lü Zhong didn’t hesitate, directly handing over the Golden Light Talisman in his hand.

Unexpectedly, the moment the man took the Golden Light Talisman, he turned to run.

This person seemed to have practiced a Body Technique. He moved with great agility, leaving a series of afterimages in his wake.

In the blink of an eye, he had already leaped out of the encampment.

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, a golden light shot from Lü Zhong’s sleeve, and a single sword strike pierced the man, killing him instantly.

’Just a mere Early-stage Qi Refining cultivator!’

He picked up the talisman and looted the corpse, but besides a heavily worn Magical Artifact, there was nothing else.

Turning back to the encampment, he continued to wait for customers.

More cultivators realized someone was selling Golden Light Talismans on the surface, and an increasing number of customers climbed out of the fissure. Lü Zhong went on to sell another ten Golden Light Talismans and three Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talismans.

Bai Xiaohan, having transformed into a small-scale Pill Shop, also sold a considerable number of Pills.

As for Huang Shuyuan, after getting Lü Zhong’s approval, she cleverly began selling Bright Eyes Talismans.

Bright Eyes Talismans, like Cleaning Talismans, were Tier One Lower Grade. They enhanced one’s vision. Although not as useful as Golden Light Talismans or Protective Secret Talismans, nor as significantly supportive as Pills, they were still helpful in the darkness underground.

One by one, the sales added up, and she too earned a good amount of Spirit Stone Raw Ore.

Perhaps overcome by envy, or perhaps having lost their minds, the first group of cultivators who tried to rob them appeared. They joined with two other Mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, planning to launch a sneak attack on Lü Zhong when he was off guard.

Unfortunately for them, Lü Zhong had been on guard for this all along.

Seeing this, Bai Xiaohan and Huang Shuyuan, who were beside him, also took the initiative to attack.

After a brief battle, the three of them each acquired a Storage Bag.

After selling for another ancient hour, Lü Zhong sold fifteen more Golden Light Talismans and two Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talismans. Although he still had quite a few Golden Light Talismans and an even larger number of Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talismans, he still decided to leave.

The cultivation levels of the cultivators coming to buy talismans were getting higher and higher. They started at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer and had been rapidly increasing. Just a moment ago, even a Late-stage Qi Refining cultivator had shown up. Lü Zhong suspected that if the man’s strength hadn’t been diminished due to injury, he would have definitely attacked him for the Golden Light Talismans and Protective Secret Talismans.

It was best to quit while he was ahead. He had made a huge profit this time; there was no need to be greedy.

"I’m leaving. What about you two?"

"What a coincidence, me too," Bai Xiaohan said with a smile.

Although Huang Shuyuan was reluctant to leave, she decided to follow their lead.

She had earned quite a lot on this trip, enough to cover her expenses for some time. Besides, she didn’t have many Bright Eyes Talismans left, so there was no point in staying.

...

The great chaos lasted for a full day and night. It only came to an end when the Golden Rainbow Sect, having dealt with the Evil Cultivators, came to its senses and sent a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to announce their takeover of the Spirit Stone Vein, bringing the curtain down on this Taotie feast.

During that time, some returned fully-laden with spoils, while others lost their lives in the mine shafts.

By then, Lü Zhong had already made his escape long before, leaving the eye of the storm.

Inside his secluded courtyard in the bamboo forest, he took out his gains from this venture and began to carefully take inventory.

He took out a large Wolf Fang Magical Artifact. This item had come from the Evil Cultivator who had called him despicable. The Wolf Fang Magical Artifact, plus two Spirit Stones and a few Cleaning Talismans, were worth just over fifty Spirit Stones in total.

Next were the spoils from the four Evil Cultivators. His share was two Magical Artifacts, including the burly cultivator’s long saber Magical Artifact. Together, they were worth two or three hundred Spirit Stones. In addition, his half-share of the rest included nineteen Cleaning Talismans, four Evil Exorcism Talismans, and ninety-six Spirit Stones.

Then he opened the Storage Bag of the goat-bearded old Daoist. It was another considerable haul. Setting aside the useless junk, the valuable items included seventeen Cleaning Talismans, one Golden Light Talisman, a heavily worn Duster Magical Artifact, and ninety-six Spirit Stones.

The Ghost Cultivator’s Storage Bag, the Corpse Refining Evil Cultivator’s Storage Bag...

There was also the Magical Artifact from the cultivator he had killed with a single sword strike, and the Storage Bag of the Loose Cultivator who had led the group that tried to kill them for their talismans.

All of this added up to a total value of nearly two thousand Spirit Stones.

Two thousand Spirit Stones! What a huge sum!

Just by selling Protective Secret Talismans, it would have taken Lü Zhong at least a year to earn that much.

And that wasn’t even his biggest gain from this trip. The batch of Spirit Stone Raw Ore he had obtained was worth even more; a rough estimate put its value at least three thousand Spirit Stones.

In total, his entire haul was worth around five thousand Spirit Stones.

A massive haul!

After carefully cataloging all these items, Lü Zhong picked up a yellowed, ancient book he had found in the goat-bearded old Daoist’s Storage Bag.

On the cover of the ancient book were three large, brush-written characters that read "Star-Stepping Step." It was a Body Technique.

Observe the changes of the stars, step with the transformations of the constellations—such was the introduction to this Body Technique.

The Star-Stepping Step had three forms: the Planet Confusion Technique, which used footwork to bewilder enemies; the Meteor Technique, used for rapid advances; and the Flying Star Technique, which allowed one to glide briefly.

These three techniques were extremely practical, especially the Meteor Technique.

Paired with the Late Sun Magic Sword, it would have miraculous effects whether used for sneak attacks or direct frontal assaults.

Furthermore, the Planet Confusion Technique and the Flying Star Technique each had their own suitable applications.

’No wonder that goat-bearded old Daoist kept it in his Storage Bag. It really is an incredibly practical Body Technique.’ Thinking about how a Body Technique was a weak point he had yet to address, Lü Zhong decided to find some time to practice it.