Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 530: Shattered Stones!

The artifact refinement competition began.

Yuan Gang had long decided what magical treasure he wanted to craft and was the first to act, swiftly snatching several extremely precious materials.

Li Haoran closed his eyes in deep contemplation, mulling over the kind of weapon he should forge to unleash devastating power.

Meng Jingzhou picked out a few materials from the pile with an air of solemnness.

Lu Yang cast a sidelong glance at the frantic Yuan Gang and sneered, then hoisted a log from the pile of materials onto his shoulder.

News of the four competing quickly reached the higher-ups of the Five-Elements Sect. The elders of the five branches and Qiu Jin’an appeared at the scene, though they concealed their presence and went unnoticed by everyone else.

“Old Song, Yuan Gang is your arrangement, isn’t he? This is going a bit too far.” Qiu Jin’an frowned at Fire Branch Elder, Song Duantian.

Song Duantian, portly and clad in a bright red Daoist robe, looked almost comical, but no one dared laugh, knowing his temper and battle achievements.

“Don’t speak nonsense, Sect Leader. Yuan Gang is just a filial disciple acting on his own. How is it my arrangement?”

Qiu Jin’an chuckled dryly but said nothing more. Do they really think Yuan Gang is guaranteed to win?

The conflict between Zhou Xin and Song Duantian ran deeper than just fighting over a true flame. Over a thousand years ago, both had fallen for the same female cultivator and pursued her ardently. With the guidance of the Taciturn Daoist Priest, Zhou Xin successfully won her heart, and the two later had a daughter named Zhou Lulu.

Time alone couldn’t resolve the rift between them.

Of course, Zhou Xin flaunting his wife in front of Song Duan Tian every day, especially in the past few decades after Zhou Lulu’s birth, and bringing his whole family to visit during the New Year is admittedly a bit much.

Time passed second by second. The venue was almost draped in silence, the only sounds being the clanging of hammers and crackling of true flames as the four were fully absorbed in forging their magical treasures.

“Done!” Yuan Gang felt a burden was off his shoulders. Though he appeared arrogant and provocative earlier, he was wholly focused and meticulous when crafting his magical treasure. Even with full concentration, he hadn’t been entirely confident in completing his planned magical treasure.

But now that it’s completed, victory is certain.

In his hands was a cylindrical object forged primarily from bronze. It was hollow in the center, and its inner and outer walls were carved with intricate inscriptions.

“What magical treasure is this?”

“It looks so strange.”

“Has anyone seen it before?” 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The Five-Elements Sect disciples whispered among themselves as they discussed this creation they had never seen before.

“I call it the Meteor Cannon.” This was a weapon he had designed, now unveiled in public for the first time.

Li Haoran acted as if he didn’t hear Yuan Gang’s words and continued crafting his magical treasure with single-minded focus.

The flame in his palm writhed like a fire serpent, melting and shaping every inch of the magical treasure. This was the Extreme Calculation True Fire he had mastered, not the most powerful, but the most suitable for refining artifacts. Its flexible nature enabled the greatest precision in forging his planned magical treasure.

Yuan Gang was disappointed that he didn’t break Li Haoran’s concentration. Standing firm, he hefted the cannon and continuously channeled spirit energy into it. The inscriptions along its surface flickered, gathering the spirit energy and directing it to the base, which turned from green to red as a terrifying force brewed within.

Thirty breaths...forty breaths...ninety breaths...one hundred breaths!

Standing nearby, Bai Ming felt his hair stand on end as he sensed the impending threat. If I take a direct hit, I’m afraid I’ll be severely wounded.

“Let me show you the mighty power of the Meteor Cannon!”

Boom!

The cannon roared like thunder, immediately drowning out Yuan Gang’s laughter. Searing spirit energy shot forth, seeming to carry the force of ten thousand thunderbolts as it smashed into the Lava Essence Stone.

Cracks like a spider’s web instantly spread across the boulder.

Gasps erupted from the crowd.

“Oy my Heaven, what kind of power is this?!”

“A Basic Nascent Soul cultivator could damage a Lava Essence Stone?!”

“What an incredible magical treasure!”

“This fellow Yuan Gang really made us proud.” Song Duantian grinned smugly, feeling that the cannon’s destructive power brought him pride.

Yuan Gang shot a triumphant look at Li Haoran, who had also finished forging his magical treasure. It was a needle as thin as an ox’s hair and nearly invisible to the naked eye. Alongside it was a millstone-sized disk engraved with intricate and complex inscriptions that made Yuan Gang dizzy at just a glance.

Li Haoran placed the ox-hair needle at the disk’s edge and infused it with spirit energy to activate it.

Rings of inscriptions lit up as the needle levitated above the disk’s rim, slowly circling, as if an invisible force was tying it down.

“That’s all...?” Yuan Gang sneered. But before he could finish, he saw the ox-hair needle’s speed increase with each round.

At sixty breaths, the needle was almost a blur. At seventy breaths, Yuan Gang could no longer track it.

Eighty breaths...ninety breaths...one hundred breaths!

At the hundredth breath, the disk’s spirit energy vanished. Now unrestrained, the ox-hair needle shot toward the Lava Essence Stone at a blinding speed!

Ssshk!

A soft sound rang out as the needle pierced clean through three stones before embedding itself in the fourth, its tail not even quivering. Three Lava Essence Stones were skewered in a row, each with a hole no wider than a strand of ox hair!

“Senior Brother Yuan Gang, thank you for letting me win.” Li Haoran cupped his hands with a faint smile.

Yuan Gang refused to admit defeat. “The competition is about who deals more damage. My cracks formed such a huge spider web, while you’ve only managed such a tiny hole. That’s worse than me.”

Li Haoran was just about to argue with him when Meng Jingzhou’s laughter cut in. “Comparing the damage, eh? Then let me have a go. Don’t pull any tricks and wiggle your way out this time.”

Yuan Gang frowned. Meng Jingzhou isn’t even holding an artifact—just a rope. What is he planning?

Without explaining anything, Meng Jingzhou tied the rope around the essence stone, gripped one end of the rope, and then flew higher and higher until he vanished from sight. Only an indistinct voice from the sky could be heard.

“I wonder how high I need to fly to drop and break this stone.”

Yuan Gang bellowed in rage, “You only have a hundred breaths!” He never imagined someone could smash the stone with brute force.

Meng Jingzhou’s unhurried voice replied, “But I’m not using a magical treasure. The time limit of a hundred breaths only applies to magical treasures, not me.”

It was unclear how much time had passed until a meteor streaked down from the sky, blazing with heat and light as it hurtled straight toward Yuan Gang. The visual impact alone was staggering.

Yuan Gang hastily dodged.

Boom!

The essence stone shattered into fragments. The collision kicked up a cloud of dust and created a massive crater in the Fire Branch’s grounds, causing Song Duantian’s face to twitch in pain.

Meng Jingzhou landed, clicking his tongue as he shook his head. “Aiya, and here I thought your ‘Meteor Cannon’ could actually shatter stars. I overestimated you.”

Yuan Gang’s face was stormy. This brat had aimed for me on purpose!

Meng Jingzhou turned around. “Lu Yang, you done yet?”

“Finished ages ago. I was just waiting for the stone to drop.” Lu Yang blew wood shavings off his sword. He had crafted a wooden blade that would snap once anyone tried to bend it.

Yuan Gang’s face was stormy and frowning, unable to fathom what Lu Yang was trying to do.

Lu Yang smiled as he walked toward another essence stone. He raised his sword in a slow and graceful manner, exuding a distinct beauty.

“I heard he’s a sword cultivator. What is he planning? Is he trying to shatter the stone with that sword?”

“Impossible! That stone can’t be broken by a Golden Core cultivator, even if they’re a sword cultivator!”

It wasn’t just the disciples; even the five branch elders and Qiu Jin’an couldn’t discern his intentions, though the movements seemed uncannily familiar.

Lu Yang’s swordplay flowed with immortal elegance. He seemed to have transformed into a different person as a smug smile played on his lips.

Suddenly, sword light flashed, and Lu Yang’s appearance changed completely.

“Haha, you Five-Elements Sect fools! You can’t even recognize me borrowing my little disciple’s identity? And you still want to catch me with such poor eyesight? Why bother cultivating some fiery golden eyes? You’re terribly blind!”

The Taciturn Daoist Priest cackled, mocking the six people hiding in the dark.

Taciturn Daoist Priest Animal Form Fist!

Boom! Boom!

A colossal fireball materialized above the Taciturn Daoist Priest like a second sun, while metallic energies crisscrossed like an armored cavalry charging forward and slaughtering all foes.

The hot-tempered Fire Branch and Metal Branch elders attacked immediately. Fireballs and metallic energies crashed down, burying the essence stones. The essence stones didn’t even get the chance to turn to power—they were simply obliterated into nothingness.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t tell this “Taciturn Daoist Priest” was a fake, but they couldn’t help themselves.

Especially this tone. It’s too much like him.