A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity-Chapter 87 - 86: Conscription

In the following days, Lü Zhong devoted himself wholeheartedly to improving his cultivation.

Thanks to his improved success rate in Talisman Making, his income had risen significantly. This was reflected in his monthly Spirit Stone expenditure: he went from taking one Origin-Nurturing Pill every seven days to taking one every three. If it weren’t for the fear of accumulating Pill Poison from overconsumption, he could have shortened the interval even further.

With such a large investment of Spirit Stones, his cultivation grew at a visible rate.

At the same time, he didn’t stop training his Spiritual Universe Dharma Body.

No matter how much he tried to save, he always managed one Spiritual Universe Secret Pill per month.

The Spiritual Universe Dharma Body had a moderate effect on his strength, but the external changes were quite noticeable. The technique focused more on nourishing the body with Spiritual Qi. Minor physical imperfections were unknowingly repaired, and his physique became more well-proportioned than before, giving him a hint of an otherworldly, transcendent aura.

What surprised Lü Zhong even more was that,

as his physical strength increased, the strength of his meridians also slowly improved. They could now withstand a greater load of Spiritual Qi, which meant he could circulate his energy more times each day. In a way, this enhanced his own cultivation aptitude.

Although this "enhancement" was minuscule, an old saying goes that small amounts add up over time.

Accumulated day by day, it would still become a figure not to be underestimated.

This was an unexpected benefit of Body Refining. However, it was something only those with spare funds could afford. After all, Body Refining was equivalent to burning Spirit Stones, and most people likely didn’t have so many Spirit Stones to burn.

Lü Zhong had relied on the booming sales of his Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talismans. With very few competitors in the market, he earned a huge profit, far exceeding what he made from Evil Exorcism Talismans. Only then could he, while ensuring his cultivation progressed at maximum speed, squeeze out a portion of his Spirit Stones for Body Refining.

However, these peaceful days were about to come to an end.

...

「Six months later.」

On this day, Lü Zhong went to Bai Xiaohan’s home to pick up his Pills.

Since an Alchemist lived right next door, it made no sense for him to go far when a near option was available. Besides, her Alchemy skills were excellent. For a similar commission fee, the Spiritual Universe Secret Pills she refined were ten to twenty percent more effective than those from the Alchemy Square.

But when he saw Bai Xiaohan, he found her looking utterly distressed.

"So, Fellow Daoist Lü, you still haven’t heard about the Workshop Market’s Summon Order?"

Hearing Lü Zhong’s question, Bai Xiaohan first showed a puzzled expression before realizing it was because she was simply too well-informed. There were many who sought to curry favor with an Alchemist, and this piece of news had been leaked by a descendant of one of the Workshop Market’s high-level managers.

Her face fell, and her tone turned bitter. "You may not know this, Fellow Daoist, but I came to Yanling Mountain because there is no Alchemy Master Guild here. I can practice Alchemy freely without having to scheme against those old codgers. I also favored the Yanling Mountain Market because, unlike the markets to the north, it never required periodic compulsory service. But I never expected that the first time they’d ask for anything, it would be a Summon Order."

A Summon Order was no laughing matter.

Bai Xiaohan had read about and heard many stories of wars between cultivators. Every single one ended with bodies littering the battlefields. Whenever she recalled those bloody scenes, she would suffer from insomnia for a day or two before recovering.

"What should I do? Do I have to move again...?"

Listening to her muttering to herself, a storm raged in Lü Zhong’s heart as well.

’I can’t believe the rumors around the market were actually true. There have been whispers like this for a while now, saying that the Golden Rainbow Sect has decided to completely eradicate the Red Lake Gang. I thought it was just another baseless rumor, but now they’re actually preparing to issue a Summon Order.’

At this thought, the idea of moving away from Yanling Mountain Market also crossed his mind.

’But on second thought, where could I even move to?’

Moving wasn’t as simple as eating or drinking; a single misstep could be fatal. Danger could come from Evil Cultivators on the road, a chance encounter with a Demon Beast, or even from the very merchant caravan one traveled with.

Unless it was a situation like Qingliu Square, where staying meant being dragged into a war between Sects, moving was absolutely the worst option.

Besides, Bai Xiaohan had just said that she moved frequently but had never found peace.

Unable to think of a solution for the moment, Lü Zhong could only bid Bai Xiaohan farewell.

"Fellow Daoist Lü, take care of yourself. It’s best to make more preparations." Having witnessed the cruelty of war and lost many acquaintances to it, Bai Xiaohan couldn’t help but offer a reminder.

"Thank you!" Lü Zhong nodded.

...

After leaving, Lü Zhong headed straight for Five-Ring Store Street.

With the news confirmed, buying a suitable Magical Artifact had become essential. It would grant him a greater advantage in combat. Then there were protective lifesavers like the Golden Light Talisman; with enough Spirit Stones, he needed to buy as many as possible. The more he had, the safer he would be.

He hurried to the store street. On the surface, everything seemed calm.

But there were abnormalities. Some Pill Shops were already starting to close their doors, letting Lü Zhong feel the turbulent undercurrents hidden beneath the surface.

Arriving at a shop that sold Magical Artifacts, he got straight to the point and said he wanted to buy a Middle-grade Magical Artifact. Now that he was at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, using a Lower-grade Magical Artifact was no longer suitable. Only a Middle-grade Magical Artifact would allow him to display his full strength.

But the response he received was that the Artifact Refining Square had temporarily stopped supplying goods, citing insufficient production capacity. As such, the shop had no stock left. He would have to place an order, and it would take three to five days to arrive.

’Three to five days? By then, I’m afraid prices will have skyrocketed. I won’t be able to afford anything at all.’

Unwilling to give up, Lü Zhong asked several more shops before he finally found one that had a Flying Sword someone had ordered but never claimed.

Because it was a custom-made Magical Artifact and had reached Middle Grade, the selling price was eight hundred Spirit Stones.

It was a good thing he hadn’t bought any Origin-Nurturing Pills this month, or he certainly wouldn’t have had enough Spirit Stones.

There was nothing to hesitate about. He immediately took out the Spirit Stones and bought it!

Golden Devourer Sword, a Middle-grade Magical Artifact.

It possessed two Minor Divine Techniques: "Armor-Piercing" and "Qi Devouring."

Armor-Piercing, as the name implied, had extremely strong penetrating power against all kinds of "Hard Armor."

For those cultivators who hunted Demon Beasts, a Magical Artifact with this kind of Minor Divine Technique was a treasure. One had to know that the tough hides and hard scales of Demon Beasts were most vulnerable to Armor-Piercing. Scale Armor that would take an ordinary Magical Artifact three or four strikes to pierce might only take one strike from a Magical Artifact with an Armor-Piercing Divine Technique.

Qi Devouring could absorb Spiritual Qi upon attacking, which could then feedback into the Magical Artifact to reduce its consumption.

This Minor Divine Technique was also a powerful tool against Demon Beasts. The Demon Qi within a Demon Beast’s body was usually abundant. If a Beast Hunting Cultivator failed to ambush it, they would be drawn into a bitter fight. The advantages of a battle of attrition in such a case were self-evident.

It was clear that the Golden Devourer Sword had been custom-ordered by a Beast Hunting Cultivator.

Judging from the fact that the client had missed the agreed-upon date and failed to pay the remaining balance to retrieve the sword, he had likely already lost his life to a Demon Beast. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have just stood by and let his twenty-percent deposit be forfeited.

Just as he stepped out of the shop, he heard voices from behind him.

"Hurry, close the shop! Don’t sell anything else for now... What? You sold the Golden Devourer Sword!"

From the voice, he could hear how pained the speaker was.

A huge sum of Spirit Stones was gone just like that.

Lü Zhong thought to himself how close that was. If he had tried to haggle just now, he probably wouldn’t have been able to buy the Golden Devourer Sword.