A Loose Cultivator's Path to Longevity

All in all, the profits from this trip were at least two thousand Spirit Stones.

"Murder and arson are the fastest ways to get rich. A shame this isn’t a righteous path," Lü Zhong said, shaking his head.

He then sorted and stored the items, planning to sell them off slowly once the commotion died down.

Now that he had reached the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, it was time to learn how to make the Golden Light Talisman.

This talisman was extremely useful, the best Protective Talisman of the Qi Refining Stage. It was the very foundation upon which a Talisman Maker could build their livelihood. As long as he could successfully learn it, gathering the resources needed for Foundation Establishment wouldn’t be difficult.

Pulling out the "Common Talisman Making Skill" he had been keeping, Lü Zhong began to study it carefully.

...

「Night gave way to dawn.」

The disappearance of the Wan Brothers, along with a host of their underlings, was discovered in the early morning.

No one cared where they had gone. To those who found their empty residence, it didn’t matter if the Wan Brothers were dead or alive. They were more concerned with how they could get their hands on more of the wealth inside the brothers’ mansion.

A frenzy of looting ensued, and everyone’s pockets grew considerably heavier.

At that moment, Lü Zhong stepped out of his courtyard gate.

The ranking competition was about to begin, and he needed to make a trip to the Heling Sect’s Outer Sect to register.

He walked slowly along the morning streets.

Only a few months had passed, yet the streets were already bustling with people.

The market, which had been nothing but ruins before, now had shops with booming businesses. The desolation and decay from the war were gone, making one marvel at the tenacity of mortal Life Force.

After savoring two bowls of wontons in chili oil and satisfying his craving, Lü Zhong continued on his way.

When he arrived at the Heling Sect’s Outer Sect, two men and a woman were already waiting, even though it wasn’t time for registration yet.

When they saw him approach, two of them glanced up before quickly losing interest and looking away. Only one of them, a muscular man built like an iron tower, seemed stunned to see Lü Zhong.

"You... you are..."

Wei Tie stared at the young man before him, a look of shock appearing on his dark-complexioned face. For a moment, he couldn’t quite believe his eyes.

The image of the fishmonger from years ago was still fresh in his mind.

Once upon a time, he had been someone the other had to look up to. But now, only a few years later, their cultivation levels were already on par. It was hard not to feel a surge of emotion.

"Fellow Daoist Wei, long time no see!" Lü Zhong said with a smile in his eyes, cupping his hands in greeting.

"Fellow... Fellow Daoist." Wei Tie’s voice was a low hum as he returned the gesture.

After looking Lü Zhong over a few more times, he let out a sudden sigh and said with a wry smile, "I never thought I’d meet someone from the old Qingliu Ruins here. Are you also here for the ranking competition, Fellow Daoist?"

"That’s right. My cultivation has reached the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, and I intend to join the Heling Sect."

Lü Zhong nodded, then asked out of curiosity, "Why are you here to register, Fellow Daoist Wei? I heard the other two sects are also recruiting. As long as one’s cultivation reaches the Late-stage of Qi Refining, they can directly become an Outer Disciple of those two sects."

"Hmph, the Golden Rainbow Sect and the Luoyun Sect?" Wei Tie scoffed.

He glanced at the towering White Stone Mountain Gate of the Heling Sect up ahead, a flash of longing in his eyes, before continuing, "I’ve already been to both of those sects. They’re all cut from the same cloth. Their only reason for recruiting Loose Cultivators like us is to use us as cannon fodder.

They give you the title of Outer Disciple and nothing more. No cultivation resources, no sect Cultivation Techniques, none of the benefits you’re supposed to get.

Tell me, is a Sect like that worth joining?"

Hearing this, Lü Zhong thought to himself, ’He’s right, it’s not.’

Just as he was about to say more, he caught sight of a group of Heling Sect disciples emerging from the White Stone Mountain Gate. He held his tongue, gave Wei Tie a quick smile and a nod, and walked over to them.

"Fellow Daoists who wish to register for the ranking competition, please come over here!" a cute and pretty female disciple with her hair tied up in a red cord called out, waving towards the crowd outside the gate as she stood on her tiptoes.

He went over, and it was soon Lü Zhong’s turn.

"Name and current residence?"

"Lü Zhong, West River Square," Lü Zhong replied.

"Alright. Please go over there to have your bone age tested and to display your cultivation level, Fellow Daoist."

After everything was confirmed, Lü Zhong received an Identity Token. It was made from a single piece of Cyan Jade, with his name carved on the surface, and served as his proof of participation in the ranking competition.

When the competition began, he could use this token to participate.

After registering, Lü Zhong left the Heling Sect’s Outer Sect and headed for the central district.

In the ranking competition, strength wasn’t everything. Various bonus points could have a significant impact on the final result. His age—just over twenty—was one bonus. But his mastery of the Talisman-Making Skill was an even more important one.

Talented individuals like Talisman Makers were valued everywhere.

If he could master the Golden Light Talisman, the points he would receive for this status would be even higher.

At that point, he might only need to place in the middle ranks and could still rely on his bonus points to defeat other competitors, successfully achieving his goal of joining the Heling Sect.

He soon arrived in the central district.

Lü Zhong hadn’t come here to wander around. He planned to sell the Spirit Medicines and some of the Demon Beast Materials he had acquired on the road while searching for the Soul Nourishing Land, and also purchase a new Talisman Brush.

He found a purchasing house, and after negotiating a price, they quickly made a deal.

He received a total of 1,131 Spirit Stones, which was more than he had estimated. The prices of many materials had risen due to the new cultivation craze in the city.

Without pause, Lü Zhong began to visit the major shops, searching for a Talisman Brush that suited him.

For a Talisman Maker, the importance of a Talisman Brush was self-evident.

Depending on the materials used to make it, a Talisman Brush could provide different kinds of assistance to a Talisman Maker. Some could increase the success rate for certain talismans, others could reduce the Spiritual Power consumption during talisman creation, and some could even enhance the power of specific talismans.

After asking around, he finally settled on a target.

West Ink Pavilion.

Lü Zhong sat across from the Shopkeeper.

On the tea table between them lay a Talisman Brush made of Spiritual Jade. The brush’s body was crafted from Cyan Lotus Jade, known for its stable Spiritual Power conductivity. The bristles were no ordinary Spirit Beast Fur either; they were taken from the famous Tier Two Demon Beast, the Green-eyed Beast. This strange creature excelled at Magic Skills, and its fur had excellent Spiritual Power conductivity.

The combination of these two spiritual materials created the Cyan Talisman Brush.

It allowed for a steady output of Spiritual Power, which indirectly increased the success rate of Talisman Making.

For Lü Zhong, who struggled with conflicting Spiritual Power within his body, this was undoubtedly the most suitable Talisman Brush.

"Let’s make it a friendly price. Nine hundred Spirit Stones," Lü Zhong haggled.

"Fine, fine... I’ll sell it to you for that price, Fellow Daoist." The Shopkeeper of West Ink Pavilion cupped his hands in surrender. It was the first time he had ever met a cultivator who could haggle so well. They had been at it for a full ancient hour, and Lü Zhong hadn’t repeated a single line.

He once prided himself on being an expert in this art.

Now, he was thoroughly ashamed.

"Thank you, Shopkeeper." Lü Zhong breathed a sigh of relief.

If they had kept going, he would have run out of bargaining tactics.

Fortunately, he had successfully bought the Talisman Brush.

Politely declining the Shopkeeper’s enthusiastic invitation to continue their "exchange," Lü Zhong took his leave from West Ink Pavilion.

...

With a good Talisman Brush, making talismans was indeed a different experience.

Lü Zhong used it to create a Qingyang Body Protection Secret Talisman and found that his success rate increased by at least five percent. It would probably be a great help when practicing the Golden Light Talisman.

As for the Golden Light Talisman’s creation method, the greatest difficulty still lay in the Talisman Core.

At first glance, the talisman’s core looked like a sea urchin, densely packed with Runes.

A Talisman Maker with a weak foundation couldn’t even hope to analyze the composition of each stroke, let alone copy it accurately just by looking at it. As for exploring and finding the correct way to draw it on their own, that was out of the question.

Lü Zhong felt a headache coming on just looking at it.

’If only there was another ’Li Dong’ around,’ he thought.

He had to admit, Li Dong’s help back in Qingliu Square had been immense.

It wasn’t until he arrived at Yanling Mountain Market that Lü Zhong realized how difficult it was to get another Talisman Maker to teach you their talisman making methods.

He stopped overthinking and extinguished the distracting thoughts in his mind.

He picked up the Cyan Talisman Brush, took a deep breath, and dipped it into the Talisman Ink. He would begin by trying to draw the Talisman Head of the Golden Light Talisman based on his own analysis. ’Since there are no shortcuts, I can only rely on myself.’

He drew it in one smooth motion.

This part went off without a hitch. After all, the Runes in the Talisman Head were fixed, so it wasn’t difficult for an experienced Talisman Maker to succeed.

Then came the Talisman Core.

He had made fewer than ten strokes when...

POOF!

The Talisman Paper spontaneously burst into flames.

’There’s no other way. I’ll just have to bite the bullet and proceed by trial and error.’

Lü Zhong picked up another sheet of Talisman Paper and tried again.