A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Lü Zhong took down a charging Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Looking ahead, a colossal Spirit Tree that soared into the heavens came into view.

"The Yue Spirit Peach Tree!"

The nexus of the Lingyue Sect’s Tier Four Spirit Vein was this massive Yue Spirit Peach Tree, so enormous it blotted out the sky. Normally, shrouded by the Yin Yang Micro Dust Array, outsiders could never glimpse its magnificence.

Only up close could one truly appreciate the staggering scale of the Yue Spirit Peach Tree.

Lü Zhong estimated it to be over ten thousand feet tall.

Its trunk was gnarled like coiled dragons, its surface covered in cracks.

Golden peach leaves and branches like cyan jade formed a canopy that completely enveloped the vast Lingyue Peak. The treetop was wreathed in a layer of mist—a Spirit Cloud formed from an extremely high concentration of Spiritual Qi. Under the sunlight, it shimmered with a hazy, iridescent glow.

Using his Celestial Net Eye, Lü Zhong could see with perfect clarity.

Floating amidst the layers of Spirit Clouds was a Golden Talisman.

The Taiqing Divine Talisman!

The Yin Yang Micro Dust Array required this very talisman to anchor its core; without it, the array was nothing but an empty shell.

After breaking through waves of resistance, the three of them arrived before Lingyue Cave.

The cave was a fissure in the trunk of the Spiritual Peach Tree, and it housed the control center for the Yin Yang Micro Dust Array. The Lingyue Sect had long since laid numerous traps inside. Entry required Yun Tao’s Peach Blossom Body; only she could merge with the Spirit Tree and bypass them.

Under normal circumstances, a Lingyue Sect Elder would have been standing guard here.

But with the Lingyue Sect facing calamity, they were powerless to stop Yun Tao’s infiltration. After just a few moments, she emerged, covered in blood, having cut her way out.

The blood wasn’t hers; clearly, a number of Lingyue Sect disciples had still been guarding the inside.

Inside was a stone platform.

On the platform, aside from the fallen bodies, stood a statue of Ancestor Lingyue—this was the control center of the Yin Yang Micro Dust Array. Beside it rested a Jade Coffin, which held a charred corpse.

He didn’t need to guess who it was.

It was undoubtedly the remains of Jin Lan.

"Fellow Daoist Shui, Fellow Daoist Lü, please allow me to attend to my own matter." Yun Tao gave the two a slight bow, then quickly merged into the trunk of the Yue Spirit Peach Tree to pluck the true "Spiritual Peaches" she desired.

Lü Zhong and Shuini exchanged a look.

They split up to get to work.

The treasures of Lingyue Peak had mostly been carried away by its fleeing inhabitants. The three Peak Masters of the Secret Hall had taken the lion’s share, but the other disciples also carried a considerable amount.

In their previous rush, they’d had no choice but to leave the treasures scattered across the battlefield.

Their task now was to collect it all.

Purifying Spirit Liquid.

Yue Spirit Peaches.

The Lingyue True Scripture.

Lü Zhong uncovered one item after another, including numerous Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects. With such precious treasures in hand, even the vast quantities of low, middle, and high-grade spirit stones couldn’t stir the slightest ripple in his heart.

’Tens of millions of spirit stones, just like that. I’ve really struck it rich this time!’

Ten thousand years of the Lingyue Sect’s accumulated wealth was now his for the taking.

There were so many items—including various kinds of Spiritual Jade, Spirit Medicine, and more—that Lü Zhong’s Storage Ring was nearly full, forcing him to start packing the rest into Storage Bags.

Soon, Lü Zhong rejoined Shuini.

She had been just as successful.

Shuini let out a long sigh of relief. Gazing up at the peach tree, she chuckled. "Hah... Disciple, do you know? Having avenged the old grudge of our branch sect and extinguished the Lingyue Sect’s last glimmer of hope, my mind is now perfectly clear and unobstructed. I can feel it—the opportunity for Nascent Soul Formation will arrive soon!"

"Congratulations, Master!" Lü Zhong was happy for her as well.

As they spoke, Yun Tao emerged from the Yue Spirit Peach Tree. Noticing their stunned gazes, she blushed, and placing a hand on her prominently bulging belly, she hurriedly explained:

"It’s a Peach Infant Secret Technique, a part of the Cultivation Technique I practice."

Achieving Nascent Soul Formation is as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

If one forms a "Peach Infant," the difficulty of the breakthrough is drastically reduced—to less than half the normal challenge. But there are always trade-offs. Forming a Peach Infant comes at a considerable cost: its power is much weaker than that of a normal Nascent Soul. However, compared to the immense lifespan gained from a successful breakthrough, this drawback is negligible.

Of course, Yun Tao had no intention of explaining the secrets of her Cultivation Technique to Lü Zhong and Shuini.

Just then, she saw Shuini hold out a Spirit Talisman. A dozen possibilities flashed through her mind. Though the smile on her face didn’t falter, she stopped walking forward.

Shuini noticed but paid it no mind. She explained, "This Spirit Talisman can obscure the workings of fate. While it can’t withstand repeated divinations, I believe it’s enough to give you advance warning. What we did today in seizing Lingyue Peak must not become known to outsiders, or there will be endless trouble to follow."

"I... I understand." Yun Tao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

For a moment, she had thought the master and disciple were about to kill her to silence her. ’They probably don’t know I have my own ways of concealing the workings of fate,’ she thought.

"If you give this to me, what about you two...?"

Shuini glanced at Lü Zhong with a smile before laughing. "Don’t worry, we have our own methods!"

Shuini was well aware that Lü Zhong had mastered the "Star Shifting and Dipper Changing" Divine Technique. As for herself, while her own Divine Technique was "Picking Stars and Embracing the Moon," she possessed a Jade Pendant that could obscure the workings of fate. Though not as potent as a Divine Technique’s power, it was more than enough to thwart divinations from Nascent Soul cultivators.

Seeing this, Yun Tao said no more.

The three of them then searched the area one last time.

Confirming that nothing had been missed, they left through a secret passage.

...

Even a serpent that soars on the mist will one day turn to dust.

The fall of the Lingyue Sect enriched countless other powers. With the sect’s ten thousand years of accumulated resources now scattered, the Southern Barbarian Immortal Cultivation World was destined to see a new generation of geniuses emerge in the foreseeable future.

And yet, a mystery remained.

The matter of the most valuable core of the Lingyue Sect’s legacy, which had vanished into thin air.

Many powers investigated in secret, some even resorting to divining the workings of fate. But their efforts only served to drain the lifespans of the cultivators casting the divinations. Having gained nothing for all their work, they were forced to give up.

In the aftermath of the war, the Lingyue Domain split into three factions.

The upstart Guiyuan Temple, boasting a force of five Core Formation cultivators, gathered a number of Sect Clans to form the Guiyuan Alliance, which seized control of nearly half the Lingyue Domain.

The True Spirit Sect, which should have been its main rival, seemed content to withdraw to a small corner of the domain.

The territory ceded by the True Spirit Sect was filled by the native Sect Clans of the Lingyue Domain. They formed the Lingyue Alliance, and with backing from Changchun Valley, they joined forces to resist the encroachment of the Daoist Sects.

To outsiders, the future hegemon of the Lingyue Domain would be decided in a clash between Guiyuan Temple and the Lingyue Alliance.

And just as everyone expected, the two sides began to clash frequently, each building up its strength while searching for a weakness in the other, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Beyond the Lingyue Domain, however, an unprecedented calm had fallen.

...

「Two years later.」

Lü Zhong brought Yu Feng’Er to the True Spirit Sect to visit Shuini.

「Inside the True Spirit Hall.」

"My dear disciple, you’ve finally brought your wife to see your master!" Shuini, magnificently dressed and looking particularly captivating today, held both of their hands, her joy plain to see.

Uncharacteristically, she didn’t launch into idle chatter.

This both relieved Yu Feng’Er and, at the same time, made her worry.

After a simple, private family dinner.

"Master, have you set a date?" Lü Zhong asked.

They hadn’t come merely for a visit. Their main purpose was to stand guard for Shuini and protect her from outside interference during her Nascent Soul Formation breakthrough.

"Yes, I’ve set it for the Lantern Festival," Shuini said calmly.

A worried look crossed Yu Feng’Er’s face at her words.

She was well aware of the dangers of Nascent Soul Formation, and Shuini didn’t have a Nine Immortals Jade Life Pill to reform her Golden Core in case of failure. The consequences were severe; at best, her cultivation would regress to the Foundation Establishment realm.

At Shuini’s age, if she failed the breakthrough, she likely wouldn’t live much longer.

"Don’t worry, your master is quite confident this time!" Shuini reassured Yu Feng’Er. ’This sweet, foolish girl,’ she thought, ’all my affection for her wasn’t wasted.’ Having obtained the Lingyue Sect’s legacy, she was indeed quite confident in her chances of success.

"Then allow me to congratulate you in advance on your success, Master!" Lü Zhong also knew how difficult the breakthrough was, but he didn’t want to say anything unlucky, so he raised his cup.

Shuini’s gaze softened as she looked at Lü Zhong, as if there was something she wanted to say.

But in the end, she just gave a slight nod.