A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Time flew, and more than half a year passed.

The battle in Ghost Cloud Valley had claimed the lives of many Loose Cultivators, thinning the street traffic for a long time and severely impacting Lü Zhong’s Talisman Making business. This only began to change once the benefits of the Evil Cultivators’ extermination became clear.

The entire Yanling Mountain Region became unprecedentedly safe.

A large number of outside Loose Cultivators moved in to fill the void, and the entire Workshop Market gradually grew lively again.

Slowly, the Talisman market returned to normal.

After gradually selling off the spoils from his trip to Ghost Cloud Valley, Lü Zhong was no longer short on resources. He began to focus on his cultivation, striving to break through to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer as soon as possible. At the same time, he didn’t neglect his Body Refining. His progress with the Spiritual Universe Dharma Body advanced by leaps and bounds, thanks to taking one Spiritual Universe Secret Pill every day.

Not long ago, he had even reached the Small Success stage.

At the Small Success stage, his Spiritual Universe Dharma Body could survive a direct hit from a Fireball Bullet.

It was also resistant to blades. If he stood still and let a mortal Martial Arts master strike him with a Divine Weapon, they likely wouldn’t even break the skin, at most leaving only a white mark.

If attacked by a Lower-grade Magical Artifact, he wouldn’t be critically wounded by a single strike.

In short, he could take one or two more hits than before.

For a cultivator with high offense and low defense, the improvements the Spiritual Universe Dharma Body provided to agility, control, and strength were even more useful. Specifically, he could run faster, had more stamina, and his reactions were quicker and more agile.

All these subtle changes added up to an all-around boost in his physical prowess.

’In close-quarters combat,’ Lü Zhong was confident, ’I could easily defeat my past self, from before my Dharma Body was formed.’

...

「In the Quiet Chamber.」

After refining another Origin-Nurturing Pill, Lü Zhong looked disappointed.

’The consequences of taking the same kind of Pill for so long are already showing. I’ve built up a tolerance, and the Origin-Nurturing Pills aren’t nearly as effective as before. I’ll finish the ones I have left and then switch to a different type, so my cultivation progress doesn’t slow down.’

He sat quietly and regulated his breath for a while. Once the Spiritual Power in his body calmed, he pushed open the door and walked out.

Outside, the Spirit-Seeking Rat was still snoring away.

More than half a year of being well-fed had caused its body to grow a whole size larger, making it look more and more like a large boar.

Although the Spirit-Seeking Rat looked big, its strength was pitifully weak.

It could be said that, aside from its Spirit-Seeking Talent, it was completely useless.

It might have the Realm of a Tier One Demon Beast, but it lacked the corresponding strength; it was only about as strong as an ordinary tiger or leopard. Lü Zhong had realized this clearly when he’d had to discipline the rat before.

’Maybe I should take it out in a day or two,’ Lü Zhong mused. ’After all, it can’t just eat for free and do nothing.’

When he’d gone out to buy Pills earlier, he’d heard that many Spirit Medicines had been found in Ghost Cloud Valley recently. Some were rare specimens, over a hundred years old, that could fetch hundreds of Spirit Stones even when sold to a merchant.

’Taking the Spirit-Seeking Rat out for some Spirit Seeking might lead to an unexpected windfall.’

...

「Three days later.」

As usual, Lü Zhong was selling talismans at his stall in the market’s stall district.

As time went on, more and more Talisman Makers in the Workshop Market learned to create the Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman. Recently, two new competitors had even set up stalls in the same area, causing his business to slow down.

Furthermore, with the Yanling Mountain Region growing more peaceful by the day and without the life-threatening danger of Evil Cultivators ambushing travelers, it was almost inevitable that sales of Life-saving Jade Talismans would decline.

Even the Golden Light Talisman, which had a stable market, could no longer maintain its price of Ten Spirit Stones per sheet.

With the price of the Golden Light Talisman dropping to Nine Spirit Stones a piece, the price of the Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman was falling as well. It had already dropped to twenty-two spirit stones, and the downward trend looked likely to continue.

After deducting the material costs for the Spirit Jade Base Material and Fiery Sun Stone Talisman Ink, and considering his current success rate, he could make a profit of at most five or six Spirit Stones from selling a single Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman.

Still, this was a normal profit margin, and it was unlikely to drop much further.

In the afternoon, the foot traffic in the stall district grew even more sparse. Lü Zhong pushed the distracting thoughts from his mind and continued to study the Spirit Medium Tracing Technique, which he had not yet mastered.

After more than half a year of painstaking study, he was now able to cast the Magic Skill.

Forming a hand seal and Chanting, a faint light soon appeared at his fingertip. Upon closer inspection, one could see it was composed entirely of spells. A multitude of these spells wove together to form a luminous flame.

He casually flicked it toward a fallen leaf on the ground. The luminous flame twisted and intertwined, hovering over the leaf’s surface.

POOF! The leaf burst into flames.

However, the Tracing Spirit Light failed to appear. Lü Zhong had been stuck at this step for some time. Despite repeatedly studying the Jade Scroll and experimenting with various mediums, he couldn’t figure out where he was going wrong.

"Strange..."

’I’ve gone over the memory of Li Yuanfeng casting this technique more than once. I can clearly create the luminous flame, but after I strike the medium with it, the Tracing Spirit Light just won’t appear.’

’What exactly is the problem?’

After turning it over in his mind, Lü Zhong concluded the problem was likely his own weak foundation in magic techniques.

’It’s probably just a small issue. But since I don’t understand the underlying principles of the technique, I must be overlooking some minor detail, causing the casting to fail every time.’

At this thought, he gave up for the time being.

Seeing that the number of cultivators browsing the stall area was dwindling, Lü Zhong stood up. With a sweep of his sleeve, he put all his stall equipment into his Storage Bag. He then headed toward the Five-Ring Store Street to inquire about books on the fundamentals of magic techniques.

When he arrived at the Five-Ring Store Street, dusk was falling and the lanterns were being lit. The street was teeming with people.

As the most prosperous area in the Yanling Mountain Market, the store street was always packed with people. Even during the bleak days immediately following the battle in Ghost Cloud Valley, it had remained exceptionally lively.

Passing by a small food stall selling Wontons, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but stop.

"How much are they?"

"Wontons with Spirit Fish filling, One Spirit Stone a bowl. How many bowls can I get for you, fellow cultivator?" The stall owner was a fresh-faced Female Cultivator with a fair, smooth, oval face. Her smile was full of youthful energy.

"I’ll have a bowl, please. Oh, right... didn’t this stall use to sell Wontons with Demon Beast filling?" Lü Zhong suddenly remembered visiting this place before—back when he was being followed by the Third Lady.

The Female Cultivator smiled and shook her head, saying she had never sold that type of meat filling.

As she brought Lü Zhong a freshly made bowl of Wontons, she seemed to remember something. "You must be talking about the previous owner," she said. "I heard from the other longtime stall owners that he... well, he didn’t make it back from Ghost Cloud Valley..."

’So that’s what happened.’

’So much has changed.’

He quickly finished the bowl of Wontons.

The minced Black Spirit Fish filling was delicious. While not as rich as the Demon Beast meat, it had its own unique flavor. It was savory with a springy texture—another Spiritual Food that was excellent value for the price.

"Delicious! I’ll have another bowl!"