A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

"It seems this is the place."

Lü Zhong extinguished the Tracing Spirit Light and, without a glance at the thugs standing by the door, strode right in.

No one he passed dared to stand in his way.

Anyone could see that this menacing Immortal Master meant trouble. Though his face was calm, showing no trace of anger, no one could be sure if this wasn’t the quiet before a volcanic eruption.

On the third floor of Yichun Courtyard, two young men in fine clothes exchanged a glance, alarm written on their faces.

They were the Tributors hired by Yichun Courtyard, both with cultivation at the Qi Refining Second Layer.

If you wanted to do business in Yongling City, you could get by without a powerful backer, but not without someone to keep things under control. For a brothel like this that catered to mortals, hiring two Immortal Masters to keep the peace was perfectly normal.

"What do we do?"

’What else can we do? Pretend we didn’t see anything!’ one of the young men, who had a birthmark, thought bitterly. He could tell from the sheer difference in their auras that the man downstairs was someone he couldn’t afford to provoke. The gap in their strength was simply too vast.

’In that case, pretending not to see is the best option.’

’It’s just that once this is over, this cushy job with its monthly stipend of one Spirit Stone and free rein with the girls will probably be gone.’

With the two Tributors playing dead and refusing to act, the Madam of Yichun Courtyard was beside herself with anxiety.

"Old Ninth! Where in the hell is Old Ninth? Where did that bastard who deserves death by a thousand cuts run off to? Go find out how he brought this disaster on my head! If I get out of this alive, I swear I’m not finished with him!"

And with the black-robed young man just standing there silently in the main hall... who knew what would happen if she just let him keep waiting?

Seeing this, the Madam, though a million times unwilling, could only bite the bullet and go downstairs.

’Escape?’

’Impossible.’

She wasn’t a fool. She had seen it herself—the young man following a trail of Spiritual Light right to her door.

’Clearly, he has some way to track people.’

The Madam hurried down from the upper floor with her staff, taking the stairs two or three at a time. Casting aside all concern for her public image, she dropped to her knees with a THUD before Lü Zhong. "Immortal Master, I beg your forgiveness! What matter has required your esteemed presence?"

Lü Zhong had no interest in lording his power over mortals. Without even glancing at the kneeling Madam, he said calmly:

"I’m looking for a young girl. Bring her to me."

"A young girl?" The Madam’s heart sank upon hearing his words.

’So that’s the reason.’

Seeing her staff just standing there gawking, she couldn’t help but burst out cursing, "You bunch of blind, useless fools! What are you waiting for? Go and find her, now!"

The staff snapped out of their stupor and scrambled to obey.

A short while later, a dozen or so girls of various ages were brought in.

Although Lü Zhong had asked for a "young girl," in the eyes of a long-lived Immortal Master, who knew what age that might mean? If they weren’t afraid of offending his eyes, they might have brought out the courtesans from upstairs, too.

Lü Zhong’s gaze swept over the group, and he immediately found his target.

’Oh? There’s even an Immortal Seedling?’ A look of surprise crossed his face. His gaze shifted to a yellow-haired girl in a red dress, whose body was clearly glowing with Spiritual Light in the vision of his Qi Observation Skill.

The term "Immortal Seedling" referred to young boys or girls who possessed a Spirit Root but had not yet begun to cultivate.

’This one’s aptitude must be quite good,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, it’d be impossible for her to emit Spiritual Light before she’s even started cultivating.’

’To build up my own power base, mortals alone aren’t enough. For it to last, I must have cultivators. Otherwise, in a conflict with another cultivator faction, any number of mortals would be as useless as clay pots.’

Thinking of this, Lü Zhong made his decision.

"Her, and her. I’m taking them."

The Immortal Master didn’t give a reason, and the Madam didn’t dare to object. She quickly forced a smile and replied, "Yes, yes, of course..."

’Take them, then,’ she thought. ’They’re just a couple of girls. It’s no real loss to me.’

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

A pale, burly man entered, followed by a middle-aged man in a cyan robe.

Lü Zhong glanced up and saw that the burly man was a mortal with no cultivation, while the man in the cyan robe was at Mid-stage Qi Refining, likely the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

"Lur Ding of the Cyan Robe Association, at your service, fellow Daoist," the middle-aged man in the cyan robe said, cupping his hands. "I heard my reckless younger brother has offended you, so I’ve brought him here to offer our sincerest apologies."

"Immortal Master, I beg for your forgiveness! This is a small token of my apology, please accept it!"

The tall, burly man’s lips trembled as he held out a small silk pouch.

’Heh, what’s this? A pleasant surprise?’

Lü Zhong glanced at the pouch and saw it contained at least a dozen Spirit Stones.

"Very well. Don’t let it happen again."

With that, he accepted the Spirit Stones with a sweep of his sleeve and left with the two girls.

As for why he didn’t kill them to make an example?

Lü Zhong was not a bloodthirsty person. He found it utterly unnecessary to do things like slaughtering someone’s entire family just because they gave him a funny look. It was better to avoid trouble when possible. Otherwise, if he spent all his days fighting and killing, how could he ever live in peace?

Of course, this was all contingent on his Malice Detection Technique not registering a threat.

Otherwise, Lü Zhong wouldn’t have minded settling the score that very night and nipping the danger in the bud.

After Lü Zhong and the girls had left, one of the burly man’s thugs watched the three distant figures, then sidled up and whispered, "Boss, what if we..."

But before he could finish, the burly man sent him sprawling with a hard slap.

Then, as if to vent his frustration, he began kicking and punching the man mercilessly.

"’What if’ my ass!"

’The matter was settled after I paid up. I’m lucky he was willing to let me off the hook.’

’Why would I regret the gift and give him an excuse to come back and finish me off?’

’That son of a bitch, does he really think I’m a fool!’

...

By the time they were back on the street, the city’s lanterns were beginning to glow.

Passing a Talisman Shop, Lü Zhong went inside and bought two Spirit Testing Talismans.

The Spirit Testing Talisman had a single purpose: to test for the presence of a Spirit Root. Its effect was far inferior to that of a Spirit Testing Disc, as it was only a Tier One Lower Grade Talisman.