Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 724: The Third Trial

“I just surveyed the area. Apart from this half-immortal, several unfamiliar Transcendent Tribulation cultivators have also disguised themselves as mortals and infiltrated the entrance trials. They’re likely working together.”

“Several Transcendent Tribulation cultivators too?” Lu Yang was astonished. They dare to barge into the Dao-Seeking Sect when this is all they’ve got? Are they tired of living?

Yun Zhi assumed Lu Yang was worried about the sect’s safety and reassured him, “There’s no need for concern. Our sect also has Transcendent Tribulation cultivators, enough to handle them. With me around, life in the sect has been too peaceful, which can breed complacency. This is a good opportunity for them to get some exercise.

“You can return to organizing the trials. With me here, nothing will go wrong.”

“Understood.”

~~~

Following Yun Zhi’s imperial decree, Lu Yang returned to the bamboo forest to continue overseeing the trials.

“Senior River Spirit, it has been a long while,” Lu Yang greeted him politely. It had been four months since they last met.

The River Spirit snorted coldly, not wanting to acknowledge Lu Yang. He remembered clearly what Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had done during the entrance trials three years ago.

Lu Yang saw that the River Spirit was unwilling to engage with him and sidled up to Meng Jingzhou’s side, whispering, “How is the second round progressing?”

Meng Jingzhou rolled his eyes. Gu Junye’s trial is already over, and you only show up now? Can you be any later?

Meng Jingzhou decided then and there. When I get married and send out marriage invitations, I will send one to everyone except Lu Yang. I’ll only send Lu Yang an invitation on the second day, after the wedding night!

I absolutely have to get back at him!

“Gu Junye, the two founding ancestors, and that kid with the immortal physique teamed up and passed the second round.”

Lu Yang nodded. This was within expectations.

“The others aren’t progressing as fast. I reckon it’ll take at least half a day or an entire day.”

For the vast majority of people, heart devils were an incredibly challenging hurdle to overcome. The heart devils encountered by Gu Junye and the other three only required fighting and killing. Regardless of whether they succeed, the outcome would be quickly apparent.

Others didn’t face such heart devils that could be resolved by mere force.

One example was the one Lu Yang was currently watching—Zhou Xing’er’s heart devil.

Zhou Xing’er’s mother favored sons over daughters and upheld the belief that the husband was king. She had originally hoped for two boys but didn’t expect her second child to be a girl. As such, she often verbally abused Zhou Xing’er, calling her a burden and a waste of money. Over time, Zhou Xing’er’s character became timid and submissive, afraid to resist.

Although Zhou Xing’er later earned a considerable amount of money for the family with the help of the storage ring, her status at home did not improve.

When her mother learned that Zhou Xing’er was qualified to enter the Dao-Seeking Sect, she mocked her even more, thinking Zhou Xing’er was delusional.

Zhou Xing’er’s relatives also treated her with mostly ridicule and sarcasm. After finding out about the storage ring, they used her young age and her inability to safeguard valuable items as a pretext to demand the ring.

Zhou Xing’er naturally refused. Subsequently, her relatives’ attitude toward her worsened.

She did try resisting, repeatedly proposing to sever ties with her family. However, each time, her mother would insist that they were connected by flesh and blood and remind her of the grace of upbringing, saying that blood ties couldn’t be severed so easily.

Left with no choice, Zhou Xing’er rose in rebellion and went alone to the imperial city to assassinate the Xia Emperor.

The assassination failed. Her entire clan was subjected to the nine familial exterminations.[1]

The heart devil was dispelled.

Zhou Xing’er woke up and stretched lazily. “Serves you right for not severing ties with me. Finally, you’re all dead.”

Although she could have chosen to cultivate peacefully in the Dao-Seeking Sect, she felt unsettled as long as her family was alive, which would cause her to feel uneasy when she cultivated in the future. Now that they’ve all died once in the illusion, my Dao heart is finally clear.

Lu Yang, “...”

He pretended not to have seen Zhou Xing’er and turned to look at Zhuang Ping, feeling a bit of schadenfreude.

Zhuang Ping’s mother was sent to prison by Senior Brother Ji. What is his heart devil? Revenge against Senior Brother Ji? Revenge against those from the Sea-Listening Sect?

~~~

Inside the illusory domain.

In a prison.

“Mother, I will definitely save you!” Zhuang Ping roared, veins bulging on his neck as he gazed at his mother in the prison cell, his emotions out of control.

“No, don’t save me! I’m guilty and deserve this!” Zhuang Ping’s mother had tears flowing down her face.

“Mother, I will master great skills to save you! Even if I have to chop my way through with an axe, I will save you!” Zhuang Ping gripped the axe in his hand.

It was the legendary Heaven-Splitting Axe, capable of splitting heaven and earth apart—more than enough to cleave open a prison cell.

“Son, you mustn’t do this. There’s no way you can oppose the imperial court!” Zhuang Ping’s mother shook her head, urging her son to get back on the right path, since those who resisted the imperial court faced no good end.

Zhuang Ping’s lips quivered. The axe fell to the ground with a clang. His knees collapsed to the ground weakly, and he bawled bitterly. “Mother, I will listen to you.”

***

“In summary, my mother prevented me from breaking her out of prison, which constitutes the meritorious act of stopping another from committing a major crime. Hence, she should receive a sentence reduction,” Zhuang Ping stated calmly to the official from the Ministry of Justice.

Zhuang Ping’s mother had her sentence reduced.

Zhuang Ping’s heart devil was dispelled.

Lu Yang, “...”

~~~

After half a day, fewer than fifty out of the eight hundred people had dispelled their heart devils, a testament to the difficulty of the task. Those who hadn’t overcome their heart devils were already trapped within them, unable to break free without external intervention.

Seeing that time was almost up, Dai Bufan requested the River Spirit’s help to disperse the thick mist and water spheres, releasing everyone from their heart devils.

Those who failed the second round were crestfallen. They were destined to have no affinity with the Dao-Seeking Sect, and disciples escorted them out.

Dai Bufan clapped and smiled as he announced to the remaining fifty in a sonorous voice, “Congratulations on successfully overcoming your heart devils. We will now move on to the third and final round.”

He paused, then added, “Cultivators are not devoid of emotion and virtue. Among these virtues, filial piety is of utmost importance.

“The third round tests filial piety, in other words, your attitude toward your parents and siblings.

“Unlike the second round, where you could team up, the third round is conducted individually. During this round, you will forget your original identity and act based on your inherent nature.

“Let the third round begin now.”

Dai Bufan bowed slightly to the River Spirit beside him. “Senior, if you will.”

With a thought from the River Spirit, mist rose once more. This mist contained an illusory array; anyone enveloped by it would fall into an illusion.

The corners of Gu Xie’s mouth revealed a smile. Testing filial piety? It looks like this round isn’t hard. Others may forget their original identities, but I won’t. As long as I carefully tend to my parents and get along with my brothers, passing will be a cinch.

~~~

He entered the illusory domain and found himself on top of a granary. There was a leak in the roof, and he was holding tools to repair it.

“Where is this?”

Suddenly, thick smoke billowed from the granary, making him cough.

Soon, he heard someone shout, “Fire!”

The identity assigned to him in this round surfaced in his mind.

He had three family members: his father, his stepmother, and a younger brother born to his father and stepmother. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

His father and stepmother feared he would compete with his younger brother for the family fortune and tried to harm him multiple times. This fire was their doing!

1. This is the most severe punishment in ancient China. Essentially, the entire clan would be executed, including extended family members, and this went up to nine degrees of relation. Due to how ancient Chinese society highly emphasized filial piety, this punishment was considered one of the ten great crimes and the ultimate disgrace, with the entire family line being wiped out. However, based on historical records we have now, this punishment was fully carried out only once or twice. The most notable case is the one at the end of the Sui Dynasty, with a person named Yang Suigan receiving this capital punishment. ☜