A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

By replaying the scene, Lü Zhong easily determined the patrol routes and the locations of all visible and hidden sentries. Using the stealth techniques he had learned from the Thousand-Faced Elder, he slipped silently into the Kang Family Villa and began to search for his target’s exact whereabouts.

Soon, he found something.

In the back of the villa was a small, heavily guarded private courtyard.

At that moment, a group was drinking and carousing in the courtyard, their female companions’ clothes in disarray. They were clearly having a blast, passing around cups and enjoying the festivities.

"Congratulations, Third Brother, on finding such a treasure!"

"That’s right! Once this treasure is presented to the Patriarch, your status in the clan, Third Brother, will surely surpass the second branch. You might even get a shot at a Foundation Establishment Pill!"

"Hahaha, I’ll take your auspicious words! When I’ve made it big, I certainly won’t forget your contributions, Seventh Brother and Fifth Sister. Come, drink! Don’t hold back! Tonight, we drink until we drop!"

A horse-faced cultivator boomed with laughter. This was Kang Shaoqing, the very man Lü Zhong was looking for.

Seeing that there were too many of them, Lü Zhong patiently remained hidden, deciding to gather more information.

Every so often, he would replay the scene.

Gradually, Lü Zhong determined the cultivation of everyone in the courtyard.

Kang Shaoqing’s cultivation was naturally the highest. Through the lens of his Qi Observation Skill, Kang Shaoqing’s body overflowed with Spiritual Light. He was at least at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, his aura distinctly stronger than that of Lü Zhong, who had only recently broken through.

As for the sixteen guards stationed around the perimeter, most were at the second or third layer of Qi Refining. Only one of them, a large man with a scar on his face, was at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. For a private courtyard, such security was by no means lacking.

「Soon, the moon passed its zenith.」

Crisp moonlight scattered down, casting a silvery sheen upon the ground.

The party in the courtyard began to break up.

After drinking and thinking by himself for a moment, Kang Shaoqing also stood and walked toward one of the rooms in the courtyard.

By replaying the scene, Lü Zhong learned what was inside the room.

It was a Quiet Chamber for cultivation.

Kang Shaoqing was sitting cross-legged in the Quiet Chamber, waves of Spiritual Light pulsing from his body. His breathing was rhythmic, as if he were concentrating on circulating his energy to metabolize the Spirit Wine.

Seeing how focused he was on his practice, an idea formed in Lü Zhong’s mind.

He quietly moved to a position behind a wall. The direct distance between the two of them was now less than a foot. Having used his scene playback to pinpoint the location, all he had to do was thrust with the Golden Devourer Sword to strike Kang Shaoqing’s vital points.

But just as he was about to summon the Golden Devourer Sword for a sneak attack, Kang Shaoqing’s eyes suddenly shot wide open.

The movement startled Lü Zhong, who thought, ’I’ve been discovered!’ But an instant later, he saw Kang Shaoqing’s head roll to the floor as a faint glimmer of Spiritual Light flashed and vanished.

’This... This technique seems familiar!’

To his astonishment, a figure appeared out of thin air in the room.

It was Bai Xiaohan!

In her hand, she held a blue Talisman that was currently emitting faint specks of Spiritual Light.

Behind the wall, Lü Zhong’s eyes widened in shock.

’An Invisibility Talisman!’

He hadn’t expected Bai Xiaohan to possess such a Talisman.

Lü Zhong found this woman’s origins more and more inscrutable.

In their previous encounters, Bai Xiaohan had seemed so innocent, nothing more than a Female Cultivator with the prestigious title of Alchemist. But then he had accidentally stumbled upon her murdering someone to steal their treasures, branding her an Evil Cultivator in his mind.

But now, she had assassinated Kang Shaoqing.

’But why?’

Suppressing the sharp intake of breath his shock had caused, Lü Zhong used his scene playback ability to observe Bai Xiaohan closely. He watched as she skillfully looted the corpse, swiftly taking all of Kang Shaoqing’s belongings. She then plundered everything of value from the Quiet Chamber, not even missing the small bag of Spirit Stones hidden in a secret floor compartment.

’Professional!’

Once she was done, Bai Xiaohan activated the Invisibility Talisman again and disappeared.

Seeing this, Lü Zhong quietly retreated, deliberately taking a different route from hers. Already familiar with the patrol routes and sentry positions, he slipped out of the Kang Family Villa without anyone noticing.

The streets were silent and empty in the dead of night, the only sound being the distant footsteps of a patrolling Law Enforcement Team.

All sorts of thoughts churned in Lü Zhong’s mind as he mulled over the reason for Bai Xiaohan’s appearance.

By the time he returned to his private courtyard in the bamboo forest, he had thought of a possibility.

’Could she have come for the Earth Wood Spirit Ring?’

Just then, the Token at his waist began to buzz. Someone had triggered the White Cloud Shield.

Lü Zhong went outside and dispersed some of the Cloud Qi.

A slender figure stood outside the shield. When she removed the veil from her face, it revealed a face Lü Zhong had seen just a short while ago at the Kang Family Villa. It was Bai Xiaohan, the woman who had just assassinated Kang Shaoqing.

Lü Zhong’s heart leaped in alarm as he began to speculate about the reason for her visit.

Unsure if her intentions were benevolent or malicious, he didn’t dare open the White Cloud Shield right away, afraid of inadvertently meeting the same fate as Kang Shaoqing. Thus, with a neutral expression, he asked:

"Fellow Daoist Bai, what brings you here so late?"

"Hehe..." Bai Xiaohan covered her mouth and let out a charming laugh. "Why, to return the Spirit Ring to you, of course, Fellow Daoist. Weren’t you watching at the Kang Family Villa just now? I never thought Fellow Daoist Lü was so much more than he appears. If I hadn’t made my move first, I suspect Kang Shaoqing would have died by your hand, wouldn’t he?"

’This woman saw me?’

Lü Zhong thought of her Invisibility Talisman. ’It’s highly probable,’ he thought. Bai Xiaohan had a way to Conceal her Breath and hide her Traces, and when combined with the Invisibility from the Talisman, she possessed the perfect trifecta of skills for an assassin.

Under these circumstances, it wasn’t impossible for her to have discovered him, even though he felt his own hiding spot was perfect.

At this thought, Lü Zhong felt a pang of frustration.

He channeled a few Technique Mantras into his Array Token, opening a small gap in the White Cloud Shield and gesturing for her to come inside to talk.

He wasn’t afraid of Bai Xiaohan turning on him. After all, her Fine Silk Magical Artifact was only potent as a tool for ambushes; it was only effective against an unsuspecting target. As long as he remained vigilant, it couldn’t cause him any trouble.

Lü Zhong had a nagging suspicion that her true reason for coming was not as simple as returning the Spirit Ring.

"Oh my, Fellow Daoist Lü, you’re quite bold. Aren’t you afraid I might harm you?" Bai Xiaohan said with a playful smile, raising the white ring on her left hand as her eyes swept over him.

Seeing that Lü Zhong didn’t respond, she seemed to lose interest. "I’m just kidding," she said in a low voice. "Why would I ever harm you, Fellow Daoist? Here’s the Spirit Ring. Catch."

With that, Bai Xiaohan gently tossed something to him.

Lü Zhong caught it warily, confirming that it was indeed the Earth Wood Spirit Ring.

"Out with it. What is it you want me to do, Fellow Daoist Bai?"

Bai Xiaohan seemed about to say something but then hesitated. A moment later, her eyes narrowed into a grin. "A while ago, I discovered a hidden Spirit Vein in Ghost Cloud Valley. There’s a rare Spiritual Object inside that’s difficult to get. I want you to go there with me to retrieve it."

’So there really is a hidden Spirit Vein!’

Hearing her words, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but think of the Wood Spirit he had killed before. It probably wasn’t a stray Demon Beast after all, but had likely come from this hidden Spirit Vein.

’I can’t believe she actually found it.’

"No problem! When do we leave?"

"Immediately, of course!"

Bai Xiaohan’s eyes crinkled into a smile again. "Fellow Daoist Lü, surely you don’t think that just because you weren’t the one to strike the blow, the Kang Family won’t suspect you? Cultivation Clans are notoriously tyrannical. Unless the person in question is from another Sect or a Family Cultivator, their go-to method is to capture any and all suspects and torture them until the truth is forced out."

Lü Zhong’s breath caught in his throat. ’She’s right, that’s definitely a possibility,’ he thought.

Fortunately, when he decided to make his move tonight, he had also resolved to flee under the cover of darkness.

Everything in his private bamboo courtyard was already packed in his Storage Bag; only the White Cloud Array remained to be collected.

Deactivating the Array wouldn’t take much time; it wasn’t nearly as troublesome as setting one up. Lü Zhong just needed to pull out the Array Flags one by one and then retrieve the Array’s central Array Bead.

After finishing, he followed Bai Xiaohan out of the city.

Of course, the situation couldn’t help but bring one person to mind: the Array Master Fang Yunjing, who was now nothing but ash.

Lü Zhong remained secretly vigilant the entire way, lest he carelessly suffer the same fate.

The two traveled through the night and soon arrived in Ghost Cloud Valley.