Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 213: Artistic Embellishments

Early the next morning, the three of them arrived at the meeting place they had agreed upon.

Li Haoran came the earliest and looked a bit nervous.

With the old horse around, Lu Yang didn’t need to worry about riding the flying vessel.

“Who would have thought that you fellow have been keeping a low profile all this time? You even have a fiancée, huh?” Meng Jingzhou teased Li Haoran, winking at him.

As the eldest son of the Meng Family’s main branch, even before Meng Jingzhou was born, nobles from the imperial city had already come knocking, hoping to establish a connection with the Meng Family through him. After Meng Jingzhou was born, marriage proposals came in such droves that the doorstep was nearly trampled to pieces.[1]

“If it weren’t for cultivating, I would be living it up in the imperial city.” Meng Jingzhou sounded somewhat melancholic.

Li Haoran comforted him, “As the saying goes: when one gains something, they often lose something else. You might have lost the chance to become a hedonistic young master in the imperial city, but what you have gained in return is a Pure Yang Spirit Root, something countless people can only dream of.”

Lu Yang also chimed in, “That’s right, look on the bright side. Cherish the opportunity you still have to interact with female cultivators. Once you form your Single’s Golden Core, the golden core will automatically repel the surrounding women. You wouldn’t even get a chance to speak to them then.”

Meng Jingzhou shot back in a rage, “You scoundrel, don’t mess with my Dao Heart! I have never heard that the Single’s Golden Core has such a function!”

Lu Yang stated calmly, “This is an ancient secret. I don’t share this with just anyone!”

Meng Jingzhou eyed Lu Yang suspiciously, recalling that there was an extremely terrifying real immortal inside him. With such a powerful backer, it’s not surprising for him to know some ancient secrets.

“Wait a minute, that doesn’t seem right. The Single’s Spirit Root first appeared in the Great Yu Dynasty. There was no such thing in the ancient era! You brat, you’re just trying to trick me!” Meng Jingzhou quickly caught on. “Take my Cuckhold Turtle Fist!” [2]

The two engaged in an intense duel in the cramped space, only stopping after Li Haoran’s persuasion.

“Junior Brother Li, what’s your fiancée’s background like?” Lu Yang suddenly remembered Li Haoran’s background—his parents were ordinary rogue cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage with no special talents. Li Haoran’s Fire Spirit Root was pure coincidence, similar to Lu Yang.

Speaking of his own fiancée, Li Haoran was quite frustrated as he sighed. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were floored. How could one not know their fiancée’s background?

“According to my parents, when they were out adventuring, they found themselves in a life-threatening situation. By chance, an expert passed by and saved them. At that time, my mother was already three months pregnant with me. Noticing that my mother was pregnant, the expert mentioned that their encounter was fate and pointed at her belly, proposing a future marriage with the unborn baby. That was how my betrothal was arranged.

“After that, the expert left, never to be seen again. Since they could soar into the air, they were at least at the Golden Core Stage, though their exact cultivation remained unknown. My parents were totally clueless—they knew nothing of the expert’s name, title, where they came from, and where they were going.”

“...This betrothal of yours was arranged quite hastily.”

“Who said it wasn’t?” Li Haoran chuckled helplessly. “The main reason was that my parents were only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, so what could a powerful expert scheme from them? Even if I have some talent, the furthest it’d bring me would be the Golden Core Stage. But as you can see now, I have a Fire Spirit Root.”

If cultivators with a Single Spirit Root did not die prematurely, they were destined to become formidable cultivation experts. This was an extraordinary talent all ancestral clans vied for. For instance, when Lu Yang was revealed to have a Sword Spirit Root during the test, numerous families’s hearts stirred, hoping to marry their daughters to him. However, when Lu Yang became the Taciturn Daoist Priest’s disciple and stayed on Heaven’s Gate Peak, those families never had a chance to propose.

“Could it be that the expert discerned that you had a Fire Spirit Root back then?” Meng Jingzhou was bewildered. “That doesn’t make sense either. I’ve never heard of such a spell.” If such a spell existed, the Meng Family would have long gotten ahold of it. They wouldn’t have to wait until I was four years old to test my spirit root.

“Strange.”

“Whatever, let’s not think about it anymore. When we meet your fiancée, everything will become clear.”

The three of them gave up after trying to make sense of it for half a day.

~~~

The old horse drove the carriage for the whole day, finally arriving at Li Haoran’s home.

Li Haoran’s home was in Luofeng Commandery. It was said that a pure-blooded phoenix had once passed away in a seated posture[3] here and bestowed blessings upon all beings, thus giving the commandery its name.[4]

“It's much grander than Yanjiang Commandery!” Lu Yang peeked his head out of the carriage. Taking in the majestic city walls, the busy traffic, and the subtle gazes on him every now and then, he could tell that Luofeng Commandery’s power was not to be trifled with.

“Stop. Get down from the carriage for inspection.” The guards at the city gate stopped the horse carriage.

The three of them openly took out the credentials from the Dao-Seeking Sect and allowed the guards to examine them.

“Oh, you are Daoists from the Dao-Seeking Sect. Please, go ahead.”

As soon as the guards saw that the three came from the Dao-Seeking Sect, they treated them with much deference. Despite the Dao-Seeking Sect’s off-kilter ethos, its disciples were all outstanding individuals with stellar accomplishments. Furthermore, as one of the Five Great Immortal Sects, the Dao-Seeking Sect wielded significant influence, which made the local authorities wary.

For example, the most troublesome and frightening was their enforcement rights. If the Five Great Immortal Sects found any illicit activities or collusion with the diabolic path by the local authorities, they could act first and report later. However, the Five Great Immortal Sects would usually give face to the Great Xia Dynasty, handing over the cases to them. Only in unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances would they resort to such extreme measures.

After declaring their identities as disciples of the Dao-Seeking Sect, those subtle gazes on the trio disappeared. They had belonged to hidden guards watching out for potential troublemakers trying to infiltrate Luofeng Commandery.

As for trouble caused by the Dao-Seeking Sect, that was beyond the scope of their duty.

“My house is over here.” Li Haoran gave directions to the old horse.

On the way, the three had overheard a storyteller at a teahouse narrating Saga of the Dao-Seeking Sect.

“...It was said that the Taciturn Daoist Priest bore an immortal appearance. In order to experience the sufferings of the mortal world, he would often enter prisons to eat, converse, and live with prisoners, showing concern for why they had ended up in such a plight...

“Sometimes, the Taciturn Daoist Priest would learn from the prisoners about demonic activities in certain areas, and he would head there to exterminate evil.

“Today’s story begins with the Taciturn Daoist Priest receiving a certain piece of news in prison...

“...The Taciturn Daoist Priest heard from a prisoner that there was something strange with the An Family Village. Anyone who left the village would be disoriented and out of it. Despite that, those who left still wanted to return to the village...

“...The Taciturn Daoist Priest saw through the conspiracy of the village chief and unleashed his habile skills, killing the demons until they begged for mercy and vowed to never commit evil again...”

Lu Yang’s face morphed into an odd expression, finding that his master’s artistic embellishments had gone a bit overboard. “Why do I remember that the An Family Village was run by a group of flower demons that sucked people’s essence qi? It was actually a brothel disguised as a village to evade taxes. Later, the Great Xia Dynasty discovered the tax loophole and sealed the An Family Village.”

Li Haoran was floored. “That was the truth? But if the sect leader could make up such a story, he must have his reason. Maybe he played an important role!”

“He was a patron, locked up for fifteen days.”

1. In the architecture of ancient Chinese estates, there is typically this doorstep or menkan where you have to step over it. It had many purposes, including protection and feng shui. Feel free to browse through the pictures of various menkan in this article. ☜

2. Although it’s supposed to refer to a turtle here, it also has the meaning of ‘cuckold.’ The term can also be appended with the character for “egg,” so you may hear people cursing someone with “turtle egg.” You might have also seen people drawing a turtle in shows for comedic effect. ☜

3. It's a term in Buddhism, and as the name suggests, one passes away in a seated position, which is deemed to be more refined. ☜

Visit freewёbnoνel.com for the best novel reading experience.

4. The name of the commandery roughly translates to “phoenix falls” or “phoenix descends.” ☜