Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 738: The Taciturn Daoist Priest Returns to the Sect

Chapter 738: The Taciturn Daoist Priest Returns to the Sect

Not far from the Dao-Seeking Sect, two furtive figures drew near.

“Big Brother, can I enter the Dao-Seeking Sect as a demon?” Chieftain Jin’s brows were tightly scrunched up in worry.

The Taciturn Daoist Priest stroked his beard and pondered for a moment. “Our sect always treats everyone equally, not discriminating between demons and humans. But I’m not sure about Founding Ancestor Vast Sea. Perhaps he might not look favorably upon demons.

“How about this? You hide here, while I’ll go ahead and scout the path.”

“Be careful, Big Brother.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve roamed the jianghu for so many years. When have I ever run into an accident?”

The Taciturn Daoist Priest’s appearance was a far cry from his usual slovenly image. He now wore a clean and elegant Daoist robe and had his hair tied in a neat bun, with a few strands of beard swaying gently in the wind.

With steady and measured steps, he walked toward the mountain gate.

Soon, Chieftain Jin watched as the visiting major sects detected the Taciturn Daoist Priest’s presence. Cultivators swarmed out from the Dao-Seeking Sect, shouting and pursuing the Taciturn Daoist Priest.

The Taciturn Daoist Priest fled in disarray, nearly being caught several times.

Witnessing this scene, Chieftain Jin trembled like a leaf, thinking that human cultivators were even more ferocious than demons. Despite his fear, a trace of gratitude welled up in his heart. He used himself as bait to lure out the danger and ensure my safety—I really didn’t misplace my loyalty and trust in calling him Big Brother.

“Big Brother truly values brotherhood. I’ll speak with the Little Ancestor next time to see if our families can form an alliance. With the Vast Sea Daoist Lord and the Little Ancestor, we have two half-immortals overseeing things. It shouldn’t be difficult to secure a spot in the top ten during the Battle of the Great Era.”

~~~

“Old Taciturn Scoundrel, I dare you not to run!” Every Fusion cultivator visiting the Dao-Seeking Sect had some sort of grudge with the Taciturn Daoist Priest.

Although they didn’t manage to pay respects to the legendary Vast Sea Daoist Lord on this trip, being able to see the Taciturn Daoist Priest in person made the journey worthwhile.

“You still dare to chase me? Be careful of Founding Ancestor Vast Sea settling accounts with you all later!” Even while the Taciturn Daoist Priest was fleeing in panic, he didn’t forget to threaten the crowd.

He felt that his luck had been consistently poor for most of this year. My misfortune has been endless. I’ve been found and pursued time and time again. Now, I can even bump into so many familiar faces at the sect entrance.

“Maybe I should go pay respects at the Buddhist sects?”

The Taciturn Daoist Priest hesitated. Recalling his second disciple’s reputation in the Buddhist Kingdom—“as if the Buddha had passed away”—he figured the Buddhist sects wouldn’t grant blessings upon Ye Zijin’s shifu.

A saber ray grazed him, jerking the Taciturn Daoist Priest out of his thoughts. “Fleeing for my life is the priority. I’ll ruminate over my luck another time.

“Human and Sword as One!” With a soft cry, the Taciturn Daoist Priest fused with his long sword. The sword morphed into a streak of escaping light, moving at extreme speeds.

“One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords!” The sword shimmered and multiplied into tens of thousands of copies.

Each replica was identical to the original in length, style, pattern, and even the sword tassel. Even if one probed with their spiritual consciousness, they wouldn’t be able to distinguish which was the original sword.

The Taciturn Daoist Priest was hidden right within one of these swords.

“Dharma Eye, open!”

“Heavenly Eye, reveal!”

“All karma is in the tray!”

“Demon-Revealing Mirror!”

“Fire-Perceiving Clarity!”

People from all backgrounds displayed their mighty abilities, determined to capture the Taciturn Daoist Priest.

Unfortunately, the Taciturn Daoist Priest was not so easily caught. This escape method of his was rooted in Sword Dao and subsequently enhanced with guidance from the “Thief Ancestor” and his own comprehension, culminating in his current success. If one wasn’t at the Transcendent Tribulation Stage, they could forget about capturing him.

~~~

“Shifu sure is popular.” Lu Yang sighed at the mountain gate, with Gan Tian standing beside him.

The sky was a dazzling blur of flying swords, and even the Everlasting Immortal Fairy complimented the Taciturn Daoist Priest’s talent.

Disciples from the Dao-Seeking Sect and other major sects had gathered here, their heads swiveling up, down, left, and right as they followed the group of flying swords.

With their elders chasing the Taciturn Daoist Priest, regardless of whether they could catch up to him, they couldn’t possibly return to the Dao-Seeking Sect. Lan Ting and the others couldn’t continue sparring either; if they kept fighting, they might lose sight of their masters.

Of the four battle groups, only Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou’s pair managed to decide a winner, and it was an internal strife at that.

While watching the battle, Meng Jingzhou seized the chance to point at his shiny, bald head. “Old Lu, use your Longevity Art.”

Lu Yang activated the Longevity Art, placing his hand firmly on Meng Jingzhou’s head, where hair miraculously grew. It was truly a case of “an immortal caresses my head, binding my hair and granting me longevity.”[1]

The flying swords traveled farther and farther away. Qiu Jin’an and the others followed, eventually becoming mere specks in the distance.

“Then we shall take our leave here.” Bai Ming and the others hastily bid farewell before chasing after their masters.

The Dao-Seeking Sect disciples waited at the entrance for roughly a quarter of an hour before the disheveled and grimy Taciturn Daoist Priest returned to the sect on his flying sword.

It was unclear whether the dirt covering him was from being pinned to the ground and getting beaten up or from his narrow escapes through the hail of attacks.

In any case, he had finally returned, albeit barely safe and sound.

“Hahaha, no need for such a welcome, everyone. You may disperse.” The Taciturn Daoist Priest waved his hand, acting as if he wasn’t the one in dire straits.

Nevertheless, the Taciturn Daoist Priest was the sect leader and still held authority. When he told the crowd to disperse, they followed suit and didn’t welcome him at all.

“Gan Tian has become a Fusion true lord now. Not bad, not bad. It seems your trip to the Demon Region was quite fruitful.” The Taciturn Daoist Priest was slightly surprised by Gan Tian’s cultivation speed. According to his estimates, she should have taken another two or three years to advance to the Fusion Stage.

This suggests that she had gained some unexpected harvests from her trip to the Demon Region.

“Little Lu is already at the Intermediate Nascent Soul Stage, and Little Meng too.” The Taciturn Daoist Priest clicked his tongue in amazement. As expected of promising great seeds for the Great Era. My own cultivation was fast enough back in the day, but I never thought the youngsters nowadays would surpass even me.

“By the way, did the Phoenix Ancient Ancestor visit our sect?” The Taciturn Daoist Priest’s question caused Lu Yang’s body to stiffen.

“Shifu, why do you ask?”

“A while back, the Phoenix Ancient Ancestor came looking for me with the book Dragon Phoenix Transformation and gave me a thrashing. I pondered but didn’t remember leaving my name on it. I figured someone must have informed the Phoenix Ancient Ancestor.”

Lu Yang laughed awkwardly. “The Phoenix Ancient Ancestor has extensive powers, with eyes and hands that reach the heavens. Perhaps she knows karmic methods and calculated it herself.”

“Is that so? I also heard the Phoenix Ancient Ancestor claims to be a member of our Heavenly Court Creed. What’s that all about?”

Just as Lu Yang was struggling with how to explain this to his shifu, Meng Jingzhou volunteered valiantly. “Put simply, Old Lu awakened the slumbering Phoenix Ancient Ancestor, and she recognized Lu Yang as her senior brother.”

A question mark popped out.

Clearly, the overly simplistic explanation had exceeded the Taciturn Daoist Priest’s realm of understanding.

The Taciturn Daoist Priest temporarily skipped over the matters he couldn’t understand and asked eagerly, “What about Founding Ancestor Vast Sea? Is he really alive?”

“Not only is Founding Ancestor alive, but another founding ancestor is also alive.”

“Who?” The Taciturn Daoist Priest mentally ran through the list of founding ancestors but couldn’t think of who else should still be alive.

“The Innate Daoist Priest. Old Meng and I happened to be out on a mission when we encountered the Innate Daoist Priest, who had dispersed his cultivation to cultivate anew, so we brought him back.”

The Taciturn Daoist Priest fell silent for a moment. “Are there other matters I am unaware of?”

Lu Yang counted on his fingers as he mused. “Nothing much else. It’s just that when Old Meng and I were out, we ran into the Void Emptiness Supreme Lord and the Nightmare Supreme Lord. Seeing that we were no match, we asked Big Senior Sister for help.

“Then there was the Great Yu Alliance, led by the Myriad Spells Daoist Lord. They had their sights set on the immortal sword in my possession and wanted to sneak into the sect for a robbery, but were rounded up in one fell swoop.

“I reckon most of the Great Yu cultivators are in our Incarceration Peak now. There are probably hardly any left outside.”

The Taciturn Daoist Priest’s silence stretched even longer. He knew about the matters regarding the Void Emptiness Supreme Lord and the Myriad Spells Daoist Lord, but he hadn’t known that all these incidents were connected to Lu Yang.

I’ve lived for two thousand years, yet the stir I’ve caused can’t compare to the harvests my youngest disciple reaps in a single year.

“Little Lu, have you considered taking over the role of sect leader now?”

1. This came from one of Li Bai’s poems. ☜