A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

To dodge the Treasure Bead’s attacks just moments before, he had used his Light Body Skill and Wind-Avoiding Divine Technique in concert. He had even employed the Star-Stepping Step’s Meteor Technique several times. Despite all that, he was still repeatedly struck by the bizarre bead. The Ink Crystal Shield’s Water Pattern Shield had been as fragile as tofu, leaving three new pigeon-egg-sized bloody holes in his body.

’Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable!’

His instantaneous speed had nearly broken the sound barrier, yet he still couldn’t dodge it.

If he hadn’t practiced the Spiritual Universe Dharma Body, allowing him to repeatedly avoid fatal blows, he feared he would have met his end today.

Lü Zhong still felt a pang of lingering fear as he thought back on it.

’But now, it’s mine!’

A smile spread across his face at the thought.

He reached out and drew the bead toward him, but he could feel it faintly resisting.

Lü Zhong’s smile froze. A bold idea surfaced in his mind, and his lips trembled. "An item with a spirit is a Spiritual Artifact... Magical Artifacts don’t resist their users. This couldn’t be... this couldn’t be a Spiritual Artifact!"

’Yes, that must be it. Only a Spiritual Artifact could explain everything.’

Heedless of his pain, he gleefully placed the black Treasure Bead into a jade box. After a moment’s thought, he stuck two Evil-breaking Talismans on the box, just in case it tried anything.

He then turned his gaze to the white ash that was once the Iron Armored Corpse—a rare and precious material.

This ash, also known as Bone Gold, was a top-grade additive for refining Magical Artifacts.

When forging a Magical Artifact, adding just a tael or two of Bone Gold could remove impurities from the metals and ores. It was essential for crafting High-grade Magical Artifacts cheaply; otherwise, the cost of purifying the spiritual materials alone would account for half the total expense.

There wasn’t much Bone Gold, just over three taels, but it was worth nearly a thousand Spirit Stones on the market.

Lü Zhong had no intention of selling it, deciding to keep it for his own use.

Looking around the deep valley, not a single Skeleton Demon was left in sight. During the fierce battle, their Soul Fires had been extinguished by the blast of Yang Qi, leaving behind nothing but piles of dry bones.

’Time to use the Nourishing Spirit Skill.’

Lü Zhong’s gaze fell upon the pool. It was the heart of the Soul Nourishing Land.

After meditating to stabilize his condition and suppress his injuries, he activated his Ink Crystal Shield. The Water Pattern Shield enveloped him, parting the water as he leaped into the pool and dove to the bottom.

The bottom of the pool was pitch-dark, but in the view of his Qi Observation Skill, it radiated a viscous Black Light.

One could only imagine how dense the Yin Qi was down here.

But this was exactly what Lü Zhong wanted.

He sat down cross-legged, drank the Soul Nourishing Liquid in one gulp, and began to practice the Soul Nourishing Technique.

The Soul Nourishing Technique, which had never responded before, finally began to take effect.

Instantly, a searing, tearing pain erupted from the depths of his Divine Soul.

The pain was excruciating!

Lü Zhong had never experienced such extreme agony. It wasn’t something a human could bear. He had no doubt that if it lasted even a second longer, the pain would shatter his very soul.

This was no exaggeration.

Fortunately, the next moment, an icy sensation washed over him.

Lü Zhong opened his eyes. He was drenched, but he realized that a massive amount of Yin Qi was surging wildly into his body. It soothed the searing pain originating from his Divine Soul, allowing the Soul Nourishing Technique to circulate without obstruction.

’Hahaha, so that’s how it works!’

Suppressing his excitement, he pushed himself to practice the technique faster.

Over and over... and over again...

He could clearly feel his Divine Soul, located in his Sea of Consciousness, growing stronger with each cycle of the Soul Nourishing Technique.

As his Divine Soul continued to grow, Lü Zhong’s perception of the surrounding world became increasingly sharp.

He felt as if he had grown numerous invisible tentacles. Within a radius of ten zhang, he could clearly touch everything. He could distinguish the sharp edges of every grain of sand on the ground and sense the individual motes of dust drifting through the air.

Within this ten-zhang radius, everything was within his grasp.

’Is this... Divine Sense?’

Lü Zhong continued to carefully examine this new perception. He discovered that the world as seen by his Divine Sense was similar to his Qi Observation Skill’s view—everything was a monochrome gray, with all substances appearing as the same shade.

He distinguished objects using those invisible tentacles.

It was less like scanning with Divine Sense and more like touching.

’Yes, touching.’

By feeling his way with these invisible tentacles, he built a mental model of the world within a ten-zhang radius, allowing him to know everything within it.

’So it works by "touching." No wonder the texts say high-level cultivators are so averse to being scanned by another’s Divine Sense.’

And Kun Cultivators were said to be especially averse to it...

Lü Zhong also discovered that if he concentrated his Divine Sense into a single beam, his "touching" range could extend even further, to about fifteen zhang.

Even so, the range of his Divine Sense was still quite short, likely because he had yet to reach the Foundation Establishment stage.

Foundation Establishment is the first true step on the Immortal Dao.

According to the classics, a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s Divine Sense Projection should reach at least a hundred zhang.

By comparison, Lü Zhong’s Divine Sense was indeed pitiful.

’Still, it’s better than nothing. I have something that most don’t...’

With Divine Sense, he held an information advantage, even without practicing an offensive Divine Sense Secret Technique. He had already experienced this benefit firsthand against the Ink Python, and it had left a deep impression on him.

...

After climbing out of the deep valley, Lü Zhong tended to his injuries.

The benefits of the Spiritual Universe Dharma Body were once again apparent. Thanks to his formidable constitution, even though he had three bloody holes pierced through his torso, the wounds recovered with extreme speed. They scabbed over quickly after he applied some medicinal powder.

At this rate, he estimated he would recover in no time.

’It shouldn’t affect the ranking battle,’ he thought.

He hurried toward Yongling City, continuing to familiarize himself with the use of his Divine Sense along the way.

Gradually, Lü Zhong learned more about the properties of Divine Sense.

Projecting his Divine Sense consumed energy.

It consumed the Power of the Divine Soul, and at his current level, he could probably sustain it for about an ancient hour.

Once he depleted too much of his Power of the Divine Soul, he would fall into a state of deep fatigue from which simple rest couldn’t rouse him. It would take a significant amount of time to recover, proving that Divine Sense was not something to be used carelessly.

Another crucial point was that Divine Sense could not be observed through conventional means.

At least at Lü Zhong’s current level, he couldn’t detect the presence of Divine Sense, whether with his naked eye, by touch, or even by using his Qi Observation Skill.

’Then how does one detect another person’s Divine Sense?’

A chill ran down his spine as he thought of it.

’Don’t tell me... the only way is to "touch" it?’

’"Touching" a Kun Cultivator would be one thing, but what if you "touched" one of those weirdos or eccentrics? The thought alone was nauseating.’

’And then there was the matter of location. What if it was in a latrine...’

’I can kill without batting an eye, no problem!’

’But if I had to...’

’No, no, no!’

He scrambled to banish the horrifying image from his mind.

Lü Zhong didn’t dare to dwell on it any longer and quickened his pace toward Yongling City.

Half a month later, he finally arrived back in Yongling City.

Walking down the increasingly bustling streets, he noticed a significant increase in the number of Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators. Many wore clothing different from the local Yongling Region style, bearing the fashions of other regions, or even other domains. They had most likely come for the upcoming ranking battle.

As Lü Zhong hurried back to his West River Courtyard, he saw a crowd of people surrounding his front door.

They were all dressed in black, a motley crew of various heights and builds, and they all exuded the foul air of common thugs. Their only common trait was that they all had some level of cultivation, ranging from the first to the third layer of the Qi Refining Stage. A tall, handsome man in a blue Dharma Robe, fanning himself with a Jade Fan, stood at their head.

"Listen up, you two little wenches inside! I’ll give you fifteen minutes to come out on your own!"

"Otherwise, don’t blame me, Mo Zhongren, for getting rough!"

The man had barely finished speaking.

WHAM! Someone kicked him from behind, sending him sprawling. A boot slammed down onto his handsome face and ground it viciously into the dirt.

"What was that about getting rough? Say it again!" Lü Zhong couldn’t believe it. ’I’ve only been gone a few months, and someone’s already making a move on my home.’

’How could I possibly tolerate this?’

’Absolutely not!’

Then, it occurred to Lü Zhong that he was getting cocky.

But after being suppressed for so long, he was like a bowstring pulled too tight; it was bound to snap. Letting loose once in a while wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Yongling City may have been home to nearly a million cultivators and mortals, but the number of Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators was still pitifully small. Even if you included the Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators among the Heling Sect’s Outer Disciples in the northern part of the city, the total number wouldn’t exceed a thousand.

And that small number of late-stage cultivators was spread out across the vast expanse of Yongling City.

One could only imagine the status a Late-stage Qi Refining cultivator held.

Sure enough, the thugs, each one a master of sensing which way the wind was blowing, saw their boss being pinned under the boot of a Late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. They all just stared at each other, shuffling their feet, but not a single one dared to step forward.

Stepping forward might not cost them their lives.

But losing an arm or a leg was a distinct possibility.