A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity-Chapter 40 - 39: Second Expedition

In a simply furnished room, a candle flame flickered softly.

Lü Zhong sat at a table, picking at a piece of pork and occasionally scooping some Spirit Rice into his mouth. His eyes remained fixed on the Qi Observation Skill experience book in his hands.

Although he had read less than half of it, he already felt the book was well worth the purchase.

The opening of *One Hundred Practical Insights on Qi Observation Skill* detailed the different types of Spiritual Qi. Besides the Immortal Spiritual Qi, Demon Spiritual Qi, and Demonic Spiritual Qi that Lü Zhong already knew of, it also mentioned Medicinal Spiritual Qi.

This so-called Medicinal Spiritual Qi was a special type of Spiritual Qi formed when the medicinal substances within a Spirit Medicine merged with nature’s spiritual energy.

There were many types of Medicinal Spiritual Qi. By using special techniques to identify them, a cultivator could be aided in finding Spirit Medicine. This was knowledge that any qualified Medicinal Gatherer would master.

The practical insights also summarized the colors of all types of Spiritual Qi.

The color of Immortal Spiritual Qi usually presented as the colors of the Five Element Spiritual Energy. The few exceptions were due to the cultivation of special Cultivation Techniques or the cultivator possessing an Abnormal Spirit Root.

Demon Spiritual Qi was usually blood-red, though the Demon Spiritual Qi of Aquatic Demon Beasts and some other special Demon Beasts would differ.

As for Demonic Spiritual Qi, it was usually one of four colors: black, red, gray, or purple.

In addition, there were some rare types of Qi, which the book also touched upon briefly.

For example, Yin Qi, Ghost Qi, Corpse Qi, and so on.

Understanding the colors of Spiritual Qi in the field of view of the Qi Observation Skill was of great help to the Caster in distinguishing targets.

At the very least, one wouldn’t make the rookie mistake of mistaking a zombified Demon Beast for a regular one.

The strategy for dealing with a zombified Demon Beast was not the same as for a normal one. A misidentification would not only make one’s efforts ineffective but could even lead to paying a heavy price.

After reading through the practical insights, Lü Zhong gained a deeper understanding of the Qi Observation Skill.

Thanks to the book’s explanation of the ingenious use of Spiritual Power in the Qi Observation Skill, he made some adjustments, and his Spiritual Power consumption when using the skill decreased by a fifth.

Previously, when casting the Qi Observation Skill, his Spiritual Power could only support it for eight ancient hours at most.

Now, he could sustain it for ten ancient hours, nearly a full day.

After finishing the practical insights book, Lü Zhong took out the Stealth Technique.

The Stealth Technique was another essential Basic Magic skill, and its effect was to reduce one’s presence.

After casting the Breath Concealing Skill, one’s aura could, at best, become like a stone. However, you’d be a human-shaped stone with no aura, which would create a strong sense of dissonance in anyone who saw you.

If the effects of the Stealth Technique were added to this, then with one’s presence lowered, people might overlook you, achieving an effect similar to the Invisibility Technique.

The Invisibility Technique only made a person unseen. In reality, outsiders could still sense the invisible person’s aura and perceive their distinct presence. Therefore, this technique was often cast together with the Concealing Breath and Concealing Trace Techniques to achieve the effect of "vanishing into thin air."

Generally speaking, only assassins would learn all three of these Magic Skills at the same time.

Lü Zhong, however, was very interested in collecting all three. After all, you could never have too many skills.

The Stealth Technique consisted of six spells, four of which he had already mastered. As a result, his progress was swift. After all, learning Low-tier Spells involved drawing parallels; once you learned one, the difficulty of learning others was greatly reduced.

...

After more than half a month of study, he had achieved a preliminary mastery of the Stealth Technique.

「In the dead of night.」

Lü Zhong stood alone on a street.

He was there to test the effects of the Stealth Technique. Based on the results of his hour-long experiment, passing mortals were completely unable to perceive his existence; they couldn’t see him even when he stood right in front of them and waved his hand.

’My presence must have fallen below the lower limit of a mortal’s perception.’

As for the low-level independent cultivators who passed by, they would inadvertently overlook him if they weren’t deliberately observing their surroundings.

When he added the effect of the Breath Concealing Skill, Lü Zhong became virtually invisible to mortals, regarded as nothing more than an inconspicuous object like a stone or a speck of dust.

In the eyes of low-level cultivators, he might as well have been thin air.

He was clearly there, yet they treated him as if he were nothing at all.

It got to the point where three Loose Cultivators at the first and second layers of Qi Refining, failing to notice Lü Zhong standing in the middle of the road, bumped right into the "non-existent" person as they walked by.

Lü Zhong looked at the compensation in his hands, worth almost one Spirit Stone in total, and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’This combination of spells could actually be used to run an extortion scam.’

But to use the Breath Concealing Skill and Stealth Technique in such a way would be an extravagant waste.

’Now that I have a preliminary grasp on the Breath Concealing and Stealth Techniques, it’s time to put my second expedition on the agenda.’

Lü Zhong had already decided to go out alone this time.

...

「One month later.」

At the crack of dawn, Lü Zhong finished his breakfast, left his home, and headed for the wilderness.

After several days of practice, he had not only gained a basic proficiency in the Late Sun Sword Skill but had also achieved a preliminary grasp of the Malice Detection Technique.

Although his casting was still hit-or-miss, it was good enough for his basic needs.

For instance, he cast the Malice Detection Technique just now.

Lü Zhong felt no feedback in his mind, which clearly meant no malice had been detected, indicating his situation was relatively safe for the moment.

Leaving Qingliu Market, he saw a patchwork of fields stretching out from the market’s edge. These were dotted with estates specializing in growing Talisman Grass, and Spirit Plant Cultivators were already hard at work in the fields, their brows glistening with sweat.

The farther out he went, the more desolate the environment became.

Before long, he came to a plain overgrown with wild grass.

The grass here grew taller than a person, and through it, the crumbling ruins of walls could be faintly seen.

The ruins had been left by Loose Cultivators who, in an attempt to escape the high monthly rent in Qingliu Square, had repeatedly tried to build houses near the Workshop Market to save money.

Judging from the fact that the place was still uninhabited, the attempts of these Loose Cultivators had clearly failed.

Perhaps the harsh conditions had made it impossible to stay, forcing them to leave. Or perhaps they couldn’t withstand the frequent harassment of wild dogs and were ultimately forced to abandon the homes they had built.

This was to be expected. After all, it hadn’t been long since Qingliu Square was upgraded from a Ruins Market, and the housing within the Workshop Market was not yet at capacity. Generally, only when a market’s population overflowed significantly would more powerful cultivators choose to build houses outside, using them as a foundation to gradually develop safe and stable settlements.

Lü Zhong’s goal for the day was to explore a larger abandoned settlement.

He had chosen his target after careful consideration.

First, this abandoned settlement was extremely close to Qingliu Square, only a two-hour journey away.

It was separated from Qingliu Square by nothing more than a barren, grassy plain.

Second, it had been abandoned for at least three years, and anything of even slight value had already been picked clean. It was unlikely that any Wilderness Independent Cultivators were still lingering there to scavenge, which would help him avoid conflict with other cultivators.

Moreover, Demon Beasts generally didn’t wander near the Workshop Market, usually keeping a wide berth.

The goal he set for himself was simple: as long as he could draw a map of the settlement, the expedition would be a success.

’You have to eat a meal one bite at a time and walk a road one step at a time.’

’The expedition didn’t need to be too intense. As long as it trained my courage, it would be enough.’