A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Afterward, he inspected the Storage Bags of the two Core Formation Cultivators from the Gongsun Family.

Gongsun Rou’s didn’t contain much, a typical Storage Bag for a Family Cultivator. The other one, belonging to the bald, yellow-robed man, on the other hand, gave Lü Zhong a pleasant surprise.

Not including the Coiling Snake Pestle.

A rough estimate put its value at around three hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

This was the kind of wealth a normal Core Formation Cultivator should have.

Unlike someone like Huo Yezi.

In the mortal world, this would make one a tycoon, at the very least.

...

He was in high spirits.

Lü Zhong strode cheerfully to the Waterside Pavilion, but Yu Feng’Er wasn’t there today. According to a servant girl, she had gone to the Bidao Market to preside over a large-scale auction.

His good mood instantly soured a little.

He had good news but no one to share it with, which left him feeling utterly frustrated.

"Forget it."

Lü Zhong beckoned a servant girl and ordered her to have the Spirit Chef prepare more food, especially a large portion of Flood Dragon Meat. He planned to continue practicing the Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra.

This Cultivation Technique let him experience what it was like to be a genius; the more he cultivated it, the more addicting it became.

Seeing that the Spiritual Food would still take some time to prepare, he began to admire the scenery.

The weather in Bihai in the sixth month was as fickle as a woman’s mood.

One moment, the sky would be clear for ten thousand miles; the next, dark clouds would blot it out, and a downpour would begin in an instant. Sometimes, the rain would even be mixed with hail, or things like sea fish and seaweed.

SPLASH!

The rain, when it came, was immense.

Thumb-sized raindrops struck the glazed tiles with a "PAT," and when they fell into the pond, they made a crisp "PLONK."

Lü Zhong could count every single raindrop that fell into the pond just by sight.

’Cultivating to the Core Formation Stage truly sets one further and further apart from mortals. It’s no wonder so many ancient texts constantly remind High-level cultivators not to forget their human emotions, lest they turn into non-human monsters wielding immense power.’

Just as he was thinking this, a delicate figure tried to press against him.

It was a newly arrived servant girl.

Lü Zhong had sensed her approach long ago and repelled her with a cold snort.

He gave the woman a brief look. She was indeed quite attractive, with looks that could be considered superior even among Female Cultivators. If it had been him back in his Foundation Establishment days, he might have actually taken this servant girl as a concubine.

But now...

’I’d rather not.’

It wasn’t that he was incapable of such activities; he had just grown weary of them over time.

’Sigh, Longevity isn’t all benefits! If it were a hot-blooded Junior Cultivator, they’d probably ’battle’ her until the sky went dark...’ Lü Zhong couldn’t help but lament inwardly.

He sent a voice transmission and had someone take the servant girl away to be dealt with.

This didn’t mean killing her, just expelling her from Tide Cave.

However, for her, this was a fate worse than death.

Every servant girl who entered Tide Cave had a significant background; they weren’t just some random strays picked off the street. They were either direct-lineage Female Cultivators from families affiliated with the Bihai Sect, or the blood-related descendants of a Bihai Sect cultivator.

Being expelled from Tide Cave not only meant losing access to a great source of resources but also facing harsh criticism from her family or faction. That was indeed a fate more painful than death.

A short while later, the Spiritual Food was served.

After what had just happened, all the servant girls were extremely cautious. None of them wanted to follow in that woman’s footsteps, making the atmosphere in the Waterside Pavilion tense for quite a while.

In such a situation, Lü Zhong lost his appetite.

He ate hastily and then went to his Quiet Chamber.

After a round of refining and circulating his power, his Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra had improved slightly.

Lü Zhong roughly estimated that he would be able to open the Ninth Acupoint by the end of the year. The Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra had a total of thirty-six Acupoints, and opening the ninth would be considered reaching the Small Success stage.

’A body at the Small Success stage of the Barbarian Ancestor technique grants immense vitality...’

He couldn’t expect something like Blood Rebirth.

According to the description, it would probably allow him to withstand a few more blows from a Magical Treasure than an ordinary cultivator.

Resisting a Magical Treasure with one’s physical body was a foolish thing to do no matter how you looked at it. Yet, sometimes, one had to "willingly act the fool" to trade injuries and take down a difficult, powerful enemy.

What Lü Zhong valued more was the enhancement to his combat abilities from the physical improvements after reaching Small Success with the Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra. After all, he still primarily relied on his Magical Treasures to fight and kill his enemies.

"Heh, what kind of Magic Cultivator am I!" he couldn’t help but laugh.

’I’m straying further and further from the path.’

...

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, several months had passed.

At the end of the year, Lü Zhong appeared at the Bihai Sect’s grand martial arena and, in front of more than ten thousand cultivators, thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being a Sect’s Old Ancestor.

Feeling secretly smug, his speech went on for quite a long time.

But the cultivators below, intimidated by the Old Ancestor’s authority, had no choice but to listen attentively.

’Hahaha!’

"Next, I declare the first Bihai Sect Grand Competition... now begins!" Lü Zhong used a small Casting trick, resonating his voice with Magical Power to make it sound powerful and resonant.

"We obey the Old Ancestor’s decree!" the disciples below thundered in response.

Seeing this, Lü Zhong nodded in satisfaction.

The purpose of the Grand Competition was to address the promotion issue for the ever-growing number of Bihai Sect disciples. After all, not everyone was content to remain an Outer Disciple forever.

The old method of relying solely on recommendations and aptitude to determine status had been a source of complaint among the disciples for a long time, as Lü Zhong well knew. After all, not everyone could be like Chu Dayun, who had a "Personal Grandpa" to help him rise above the crowd despite his ordinary talent.

Furthermore, it would also force those disciples who believed their talents were unrecognized to take a good, hard look at themselves.

And as a side benefit, it would also establish a stricter hierarchy within the Sect.

To this end, Lü Zhong had also established ranks like Head Disciple, Inner Sect Disciple, and Outer Disciple. This tiered system would save a lot of administrative trouble and was a reflection of the Cultivation Realm’s principle where the strong are revered.

The competition proceeded according to plan.

Winners advanced, and losers were eliminated.

Through this process of sifting sand for gold, quite a few talented individuals were indeed discovered.

Among them, there were relatively few cultivators who came from a Loose Cultivator background.

Although the Bihai Sect had been founded only recently, it had already vaguely split into three factions: the nascent Master-Disciple Faction, the deeply rooted Clan Faction, and the gradually weakening Independent Cultivator Faction.

This was inevitable.

After all, wherever there are interests at stake, there will always be conflict.

And forming alliances was undoubtedly an effective way to secure greater benefits.

As the Sect’s Old Ancestor, Lü Zhong couldn’t change this. He could only try his best to pull and divide, to make the three major factions check and balance each other, rather than letting them waste energy on internal friction.

As previously arranged, he bestowed the corresponding statuses one by one.

At the same time, as was customary, each rank in the competition also came with corresponding rewards.

The top three each received a Foundation Establishment Pill and a varying amount of Spirit Ascending Honey.

Those ranked fourth through tenth each received a Vein Protection Pill and a varying amount of Spirit Ascending Honey.

For the rest, the rewards varied in value, the difference being the amount of Spirit Ascending Honey.

The fact that most rewards consisted of Spirit Ascending Honey inevitably led to some grumbling, but fortunately, no one would turn their nose up at more Spirit Ascending Honey. No one would ever complain about having too much of a Spiritual Honey that could advance one’s cultivation.

...

A new year, a new beginning.

On this day, Lü Zhong was cultivating in his Quiet Chamber.

CRACK!

With a crisp sound, the Spiritual Qi around his body surged, and a blood-red aura slowly spread out from him. He had finally opened the Ninth Acupoint for the Barbarian Ancestor Heaven-Swallowing Mantra.

His qi and blood were like mercury.

His body was like a furnace.

His "golden spear" would never fall.

The effects of the Small Success stage of the Barbarian Ancestor body were even better than Lü Zhong had anticipated.

’It’s probably because I’ve been constantly consuming Flood Dragon Meat to supplement my body...’ Lü Zhong had recently eaten so much Flood Dragon Meat that he felt like vomiting, but after torturing himself this way, the resulting benefits were satisfying.

Quantitatively, it meant he could take one more hit without dying.

’Looks like I have to eat more Flood Dragon Meat!’

As he thought this, Lü Zhong exited his cultivation state. He went to the study in his cave abode and began to look through the recent dossiers submitted by the Bihai Sect and the Chengde Commerce Association. They contained either information collected by the two powers or statistical reports compiled by the various Stewards at his request.

Presented in the form of reports, the situation was clear at a glance.

"...In the Ren Yin Year, a total of 1,576 disciples were recruited. Among them, one with Dual Spirit Roots, Yui Yu’Er, has been accepted as an Inner Sect Disciple. Those with Three Spirit Roots... Total Spirit Ascending Honey production was 100,203 jars, with the distribution as follows..."

After reading through them one by one, Lü Zhong made his assessment of the development of the Bihai Sect and the Chengde Commerce Association.

Steady growth.

He then turned to the collected intelligence reports.

After reading through every word, Lü Zhong was thoroughly disappointed. Neither the Bihai Sect nor the Chengde Commerce Association had found any news regarding the Outer Body Incarnation Page he so desperately wanted.

After some thought, he wrote a note in red ink on the dossier.

"Continue to increase resource investment and intensify the search for related information."