A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

SWISH SWISH. With a few strokes, a sign was ready.

Now, all he had to do was wait for customers.

Soon, the first customer arrived. It was a Talisman Maker who had just come in to set up her own stall.

After hearing the introduction to the Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman, she seemed very tempted. But when she heard that each Talisman Making Book cost a steep two hundred Spirit Stones, she shook her head repeatedly.

Clearly, she thought it was too expensive.

Lü Zhong didn’t waste his breath on her; she wasn’t his target customer.

One after another, Talisman Makers from the stall area came over to ask about the price of the Talisman Making Book.

Quite a few people inquired—more than thirty in total.

These were all the Talisman Makers who had come to set up stalls today. This alone offered a glimpse into the prosperity of Yongling City. In comparison, Yanling Mountain Market fell far short; even during a grand event like the Lantern Festival, there would be twelve or thirteen Talisman Makers at most.

But having many people ask was meaningless if no one bought anything. Half the day went by without a single book being sold.

Despite this, Lü Zhong remained calm.

Soon, the sky filled with the rosy hues of sunset, and cultivators in Dharma Robes began to enter the area. Many were just browsing, usually hoping to find a hidden treasure. Others were drawn by the low prices of the goods in the stall area, looking to buy what they wanted for fewer Spirit Stones.

Just then, Lü Zhong successfully sold his first Talisman Making Book.

It seemed to be a good omen. The second... and then the third book sold quickly as well.

The fourth book was also sold not long after. The buyer was the young man in purple from the day before.

After getting the Talisman Making Book, the purple-robed youth had a look of bitter complaint on his face.

"Fellow Daoist, you’re so unreliable! You said to come early tomorrow, but I waited in the South City Market from the middle of the night until dawn and still didn’t see you set up your stall. If a friend hadn’t told me, I’m afraid I would have made a wasted trip today as well."

Hearing this, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but laugh to himself.

’I was just being polite, I can’t believe he actually took me seriously.’

Feeling not the slightest bit of guilt, his expression remained placid as he was about to speak, but his gaze suddenly shifted to a spot behind the purple-robed youth. Three disciples in Heling Sect attire were walking over quickly.

The one in the lead was a graceful young man with a Cyan Jade Crown, his features as handsome as jade. His aura was more solid and stable than that of the other cultivators around, without the slightest hint of instability.

His eyes fell on the Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman at the stall, then glanced at the single remaining Talisman Making Book beside it. Finally, his gaze settled on Lü Zhong before he cupped his hands and said:

"I am Liuu Qingxun, an Outer Disciple Steward of the Heling Sect. May I ask for this Fellow Daoist’s name?"

"Lü Zhong," he replied, inwardly surprised but showing no change in his expression.

He had not anticipated their appearance in the slightest.

’Strange.’

’I’m just selling a Talisman Making Book. Although it’s for a rare Secret Talisman, it shouldn’t have attracted Sect Disciples. After all, with a Sect’s resources, obtaining the talisman making method for the Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman shouldn’t be a difficult matter.’

"So it is Fellow Daoist Lü!" Liuu Qingxun said upon hearing his name. Noticing a crowd of onlookers gathering around them, he suggested, "Fellow Daoist Lü, would it be convenient for you to step aside and talk?"

"No problem," Lü Zhong nodded.

The Heling Sect had a decent reputation, and its disciples wouldn’t dare to brazenly trick someone and rob them in plain sight. Therefore, it wasn’t dangerous to go with them.

He packed up his stall and soon followed them to a private room in a teahouse.

As soon as they sat down, Liuu Qingxun explained the purpose of their visit.

He wanted to buy out the copyright for the Talisman Making Book for five thousand Spirit Stones.

"This..." On the surface, Lü Zhong remained calm, but his mind was racing.

’Five thousand Spirit Stones. Honestly, that’s not a small amount.’

’My initial estimate of thirty to fifty copies sold was an optimistic one. In reality, with rampant piracy and no way to protect my copyright, I would have been satisfied with selling even twenty copies.’

But now, they had made an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Nothing falls from the sky for free; Lü Zhong had always believed this.

He discreetly formed the seals for a Malice Detection Technique.

There was no reaction whatsoever!

"Pfft!"

Behind Liuu Qingxun, a Female Cultivator with a round, bun-like face couldn’t help but laugh. The horse-faced male cultivator next to her also looked like he was struggling to hold back his amusement.

Seeing their expressions, Lü Zhong thought to himself, ’I was careless.’

’Since they’re Sect Disciples, even if they didn’t see the Sealing, they could easily detect the fluctuations in my aura and realize I was Casting a technique. I overlooked that blind spot.’

’Oh, well.’

’You live and you learn. I’ll just have to remember this lesson.’

"Fellow Daoist Lü, you’re overthinking things," Liuu Qingxun said in a gentle tone.

"Since you have your concerns, I’ll be frank. In exchange for buying out the Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman, Fellow Daoist Lü must come to our Sect’s Talisman Hall and publicly teach the talisman making method once."

’So that’s the condition.’

Lü Zhong thought it over, decided it was not a problem, and nodded in agreement.

With the payment and goods exchanged, the deal was done.

According to the agreed-upon terms, he would need to go to the Heling Sect’s Outer Sect Talisman Hall tomorrow to complete the teaching of the Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman.

The Heling Sect’s move was clearly rushed, and Lü Zhong couldn’t help but connect it to the possibility of an impending war.

However, that wasn’t his main concern right now.

"Steward Liuu, there is one more thing I would like to ask."

"Oh? Feel free to ask..." Liuu Qingxun was surprisingly approachable. In contrast, the two following him looked somewhat displeased, but he stopped them.

What Lü Zhong wanted to ask about was, naturally, how to join the Heling Sect.

Although there were many rumors about this circulating in the markets, most were vague and muddled, filled with who-knows-how-much hearsay. How could any of that be as accurate as an answer from a Heling Sect disciple’s own mouth?

"Ah, so it’s about that..." Liuu Qingxun looked at the Female Cultivator behind him and smiled. "Junior Sister Linghan, I believe you have a relevant booklet. Please give one to Fellow Daoist Lü."

The Female Cultivator called Linghan took out a small booklet.

Liuu Qingxun took it, handed it to Lü Zhong, and said with a smile and a cupped-hand gesture, "Please read the contents carefully, Fellow Daoist. As long as a Loose Cultivator meets the conditions within, they too can be eligible to join our Heling Sect. Since you have such aspirations, I wish you an early success!"

"Thank you!" Lü Zhong replied with a smile of his own.

After the three of them left, he didn’t let the freshly served tea go to waste and began reading the booklet right there in the private room.

Just as Liuu Qingxun had said, the booklet listed many conditions for joining the Heling Sect.

For example, a Loose Cultivator with Dual Spirit Roots, or a Family Cultivator with Three Spirit Roots, could join the Heling Sect directly and become an Outer Disciple.

’I didn’t expect the aptitude requirements to differ based on one’s background.’

Reading this, Lü Zhong could understand the Heling Sect’s reasoning.

The reason Family Cultivators could join with just Three Spirit Roots was likely because they had the backing of their families. They would receive a certain amount of support from their family, both at the start and throughout their subsequent cultivation.

At the same time, these families often originated from the descendants of sect cultivators, so there was always a bond of shared heritage.

Therefore, even with just Three Spirit Roots, Family Cultivators had a chance to join the Heling Sect.

Loose Cultivators, however, were different. If they only had Three Spirit Roots, joining a Sect like the Qingyang Sect, whose strongest members were only at Foundation Establishment, would be no problem. But for joining the Heling Sect, it was somewhat inadequate.

A mere Three Spirit Roots aptitude wasn’t worth the investment of being accepted into the sect for training.

Unless they demonstrated the potential for Foundation Establishment.

If one could meet the requirement of reaching the Late-stage Qi Refining realm before the age of sixty, regardless of their Spirit Root aptitude, they would be eligible to join the Heling Sect.

Without a doubt, this was the path Lü Zhong would have to take.

If he wanted to resolve the hidden dangers of his Four Spirits Technique, mend his flawed cultivation foundation, and walk further on the increasingly difficult Immortal Path, joining a Sect was arguably the best method aside from finding a master.

After carefully reading through these conditions, he flipped to the specific details.

The entry conditions were common knowledge.

The most valuable information in this booklet was the specific operational details for entry.

The reason it was called "eligibility" was because one still had to pass a selection process.

With reaching Late-stage Qi Refining before the age of sixty as the hard requirement, the Heling Sect had established a special entry ranking system. A final entry ranking would be determined by one’s combat power ranking from a competition, plus bonus points from various other criteria.

The top ten in the rankings were the cultivators who could join the Heling Sect each year.

And what Lü Zhong had to do was improve his own combat power while fulfilling as many of the bonus point criteria as possible.

Only then could he achieve his goal of joining the Heling Sect.