A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

Recently, Yongling City had also been plagued by one disturbance after another.

There were Demon Cultivators, as well as spies sent by the Golden Rainbow Sect and the Luoyun Sect.

Each time, mortal corpses piled up like mountains.

One of these incidents was a disturbance involving late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. The two sides had fought fiercely over an important Artifact Refining Workshop, resulting in casualties far exceeding the incident at Changle Square. The fighting had nearly reached Lü Zhong’s new residence.

It was hard to imagine what would have happened if he had been caught in the middle.

Lü Zhong had run the scenarios. He realized that even with his Ink Crystal Shield, his chances of survival were slim if he were to encounter a large-scale conflict involving nearly a hundred cultivators.

And that was what had led to today’s outing.

Lü Zhong was now on his way to an exchange meeting where a Spirit Gathering Array he wanted would be available.

He walked up to a shop with its main door shut tight. A faint Spiritual Light swirled around it, indicating that its owner had activated a protective array, enveloping the entire establishment.

He knocked a few times in a rhythmic pattern.

After a moment, the door opened a crack.

A pair of wary eyes peered out from behind the door. The person cautiously looked Lü Zhong up and down, and only when they saw the tree-shaped Token in his hand did their expression finally relax slightly.

Soon, an opening appeared in the array’s protective barrier, just large enough for one person to enter.

"Fellow Daoist Lü, hurry inside. The exchange meeting is about to begin," a slightly hoarse voice called out from within.

Lü Zhong nodded, and only after confirming he felt no sense of warning did he step over the threshold.

Behind the door was a portly woman with a rather attractive face. Her name was Leng Cui. She was well-connected in Yongling City and the host of this exchange meeting.

She led the way, and Lü Zhong followed closely behind.

They first passed through a storeroom piled with materials, then descended a hidden tunnel in the corner. After going down about a hundred feet, they finally arrived at the venue for the exchange meeting.

It was a semi-circular hall.

A silver plate hung from the ceiling, the Candlelight Array inscribed upon it illuminating the room. Its light revealed a cloud-patterned carpet on the floor, upon which nine high-backed chairs were arranged in a circle.

Two of the chairs were currently empty; the rest were already occupied.

The occupants were either resting with their eyes closed or whispering among themselves.

"Brother Zhu, I wonder if you have any spare Magical Artifacts? Could you part with one for your little brother? I’m willing to pay double the market price!" said a long-bearded, middle-aged man dressed in a deep purple Dharma Robe. He smelled faintly of medicine and was leaning toward an old man beside him.

"Double?" The old man in the blue scarf gave a bitter smile.

It wasn’t that he was unwilling to give face to an Alchemist. But ever since the war began, the supply of various Spirit Ores had been severely affected. Coupled with the constant attacks from the Golden Rainbow Sect and the Luoyun Sect, the output of his Artifact Refining Workshop had plummeted.

Under these circumstances, even as the workshop’s Master, he had no spare Magical Artifacts to sell.

Hearing the old man’s reply, the long-bearded middle-aged man could not hide his anxiety.

A while ago, in order to create a new Pill and open up a new source of income, he had exhausted nearly all his assets, even pawning the Magical Artifact he owned. He had hoped to make a fortune with the new Pill, but unfortunately, war had broken out.

Seeing the growing chaos in the city and unable to guarantee his own safety, he was naturally overcome with anxiety.

Meanwhile, seeing that everyone had arrived, Leng Cui smiled and said, "It is my honor to have all you fellow Daoists attend this exchange meeting. I won’t waste time with pleasantries. Please present the items you wish to trade, give a brief description of their function, and state what you want in return. Whether a deal is made will be up to all of you."

After speaking, she turned to the blue-scarfed old man on her left, signaling for him to begin.

The blue-scarfed old man nodded, stood up, and clasped his hands in a salute to the group before saying in a clear voice, "This old man doesn’t have much to offer. Today, I’m once again offering a trade for a Magical Artifact. If any fellow Daoist is willing, or can introduce a skilled craftsman to serve as an Honored Guest Elder at my workshop for half a year, I will give them the very next Magical Artifact I successfully refine."

Hearing this, Lü Zhong couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.

’Everyone knows how dangerous the area around the workshop is right now,’ he thought. ’Unless the hidden spies and Demon Cultivators in the city are completely wiped out, getting involved for the sake of an unmade Magical Artifact is a fool’s errand no matter how you look at it.’

As expected, no one in the room showed any interest.

Seeing the awkward silence, the host Leng Cui cleared her throat a few times and smiled at the person sitting next to the blue-scarfed old man, signaling that it was their turn.

The long-bearded middle-aged man had been waiting impatiently and stood up at once.

"I’ve brought three Spirit Soul Pills this time," he said rapidly. He then reached into his sleeve, took out an exquisite wooden box, and tipped out a brownish-yellow pill the size of a pigeon’s egg.

Instantly, a peculiar fragrance filled the hall.

"The effect of the Spirit Soul Pill is singular—it can purify the Pill Poison from our bodies!" The long-bearded man showed the Pill to the crowd, his expression unconsciously turning smug, clearly proud of his creation.

Upon hearing this, all the cultivators present, including Lü Zhong, were visibly moved.

The dangers of Pill Poison needed no explanation. It severely hindered the rate at which cultivators could consume Pills, reducing the efficiency of using them to advance one’s cultivation. Normally, it could only be resolved through arduous cultivation.

But now, a Pill that could purify Pill Poison had appeared.

How could the others not be astonished!

Taking in everyone’s expressions, the long-bearded man remembered his purpose for being there. He thought for a moment before saying, "The Spirit Soul Pill is not easy to refine. It requires several hundred-year-old Spirit Medicines, and the refining difficulty far exceeds that of other Pills of the same tier. Therefore, I want to trade one Spirit Soul Pill for one Magical Artifact."

As soon as he said this, the other cultivators, whose gazes had been fervent, all cooled down again.

Of course they had Magical Artifacts.

But they only had enough for their own self-preservation. Where would they find a spare one to trade?

"Mr. Gao, how about you name a price in Spirit Stones? I don’t think any of us have spare Magical Artifacts," someone suggested.

The long-bearded man shook his head, returned to his seat, and said with a wry smile, "I’m sure everyone is well aware of the current situation in the city. If you can’t even protect your own life, what’s the use of having more Spirit Stones?"

"Sigh, that’s true..." the person who made the suggestion sighed.

Another awkward silence fell. Leng Cui hadn’t expected this outcome either and could only politely ask the next person to begin.

One by one, the attendees presented their items—all of them rare treasures not often seen.

Some trades were successful, while others failed, just like the previous two.

Soon, the Spirit Gathering Array that Lü Zhong wanted was presented for trade by a masked Female Cultivator.

Coincidentally, she only wanted to trade for a protective item.

For this, Lü Zhong paid the market price equivalent to four hundred Spirit Stones—that is, ten Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talismans—to acquire the Tier One Spirit Gathering Array.

This was only possible because the value of Spirit Gathering Arrays had depreciated considerably during the war, while the value of Protective Secret Talismans had surged.

Otherwise, he would have had to pay much more.

When it was Lü Zhong’s turn, he naturally took out Protective Secret Talismans to trade.

"Pills, materials, anything is fine. As long as it’s a valuable item, any of you fellow Daoists can bring it forward for a trade."

As a Talisman Maker, Lü Zhong had a considerable number of Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talismans on him. Even after trading away ten, he still had sixty-seven left in stock, all of which he had slowly accumulated over time.

He had saved them precisely so he could make some gains at an exchange meeting like this.

After speaking, he even smiled at the long-bearded middle-aged man.

After a moment of hesitation, he finally traded one Spirit Soul Pill for four Secret Talismans.

As for the remaining two pills, no matter how Lü Zhong tried to persuade him, the long-bearded man stubbornly refused to part with them.

Since that was the case, Lü Zhong had to be content with what he got.

"Fellow Daoist, would you have any need for a Soul Absorption Crystal?" someone asked, taking out a fist-sized Crystal Stone that glittered with a golden light.

Lü Zhong’s heart pounded when he heard this.

’A Soul Absorption Crystal! It’s an essential material for refining a Sacrificial Artifact.’

He had originally thought this item would be common in Yongling City, but after some inquiries, he learned that Soul Absorption Crystals were actually a specialty of the Northern Realm and rarely seen here in the Southern Barbarian lands.

Another trade was completed. He successfully exchanged two Secret Talismans for the Soul Absorption Crystal.

With this, he could finally commission someone to refine the Sacrificial Artifact.