Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 739: Spring and Autumn Writing Style

Lu Yang shook his head like a rattle-drum[1], firmly refusing his shifu’s proposal.

Judging by the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s tenures as acting sect leader for three days and three months, he figured it wasn’t a leisurely position. It’s more appropriate for an esteemed, virtuous, and scholarly cultivator like Big Senior Sister to assume such a role.

The Taciturn Daoist Priest was gratified. I didn’t expect my youngest disciple’s Dao heart to be so steadfast, remaining unmoved even when faced with the monumental fortuitous opportunity to take over the position of sect leader.

“Is Little Zhi around?”

“Big Senior Sister is at Incarceration Peak, interrogating the Myriad Spells Daoist Lord and a few Transcendent Tribulation cultivators whose names we don’t even know. Should I call her out?”

The Taciturn Daoist Priest breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she’s not here. “No need, no need. I was just asking casually.” Although he had been quite well-behaved recently, he felt an inexplicable sense of guilt whenever he saw his eldest disciple.

Nevertheless, the Taciturn Daoist Priest was happy to see that both his third and fourth disciples had achieved success in their cultivation upon his return to the sect. “I wonder when the five of us, shifu and disciples, will be reunited. Your Second Senior Brother hasn’t returned for a hundred years. He caused too much of a stir in the Buddhist Kingdom to the point that even I was implicated. Those from the Buddhist sects find me an eyesore now.”

The Taciturn Daoist Priest shook his head. What a rebellious disciple, stirring up trouble and implicating his shifu. How many times have I taught him? When causing trouble outside, remember to conceal your identity. I’ve emphasized this repeatedly, yet he just can’t remember.

On the flip side, since Ye Zijin didn’t return to the Dao-Seeking Sect after stirring up trouble, in a way, he prevented drawing calamity to the sect. To this day, the Buddhist Kingdom still frequently sent missives to the Dao-Seeking Sect, hoping the sect would promptly take Ye Zijin back.

Every time, the Taciturn Daoist Priest would fob them off with excuses like “a general outside cannot always obey the sovereign’s orders.”

Lu Yang thought to himself, Shifu, the Buddhist sects’ dislike for you probably has little to do with Second Senior Brother.

Despite having never met this Second Senior Brother and only seen his portrait, Lu Yang had heard many legends about him.

Minor incidents—such as Ye Zijin’s daily sarcastic remarks that caused senior Buddhist monks to break their precepts, his vigorous promotion of the Blissful Chan cultivation method, and his impersonation of the Buddha statue to enjoy offerings—should be put aside for now.

Apart from that, Ye Zijin had suggested to many senior monks that they learn the Phoenix Tribe’s Nirvana method. This way, when the monks passed away in a seated posture and self-immolated, they could not only produce many śarīra relics,[2] but also live another life. The Buddhist Kingdom would then have a continuous supply of śarīra relics, enjoying immense benefits.

Based on the Buddhist Kingdom’s advocated theory of accumulating merit through releasing lives,[3] Ye Zijin proposed an even more advanced theory. Since “giving birth is also a form of releasing lives,” he encouraged the monks to give birth to more children to accumulate merit.

However, the Buddhist Kingdom’s senior monks were too rigid in their old-fashioned ways and couldn’t accept Ye Zijin’s overly advanced thinking. Not only did they reject his proposals, but they also repeatedly sent pursuers to capture him. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Fortunately, Ye Zijin had learned a slew of escape skills from the Taciturn Daoist Priest, which allowed him to navigate the Buddhist Kingdom safely.

Lu Yang had also heard that some pessimistic monks believed that Ye Zijin’s birth heralded the arrival of the vipralopa era, when dharma was coming to an end. Ye Zijin had even obtained the evaluation of “as if the Buddha had passed away” because of this.

According to the founder of Buddhism, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy, the vipralopa era was a term she had made up because she thought it sounded cool.

“Your Second Senior Brother is also a cultivation genius. If not for Little Zhi, he would be the one with the highest cultivation talent of his generation. It’s a pity he was born at the wrong time.

“By the way, where is our founding ancestor, the Innate Daoist Priest?” As the sect leader, the Taciturn Daoist Priest felt it was necessary to pay respects to the founder of the Dao-Seeking Sect.

“I’ll go look for him.” Lu Yang also had no idea where the Innate Daoist Priest had gone off to.

~~~

After searching around, Lu Yang found the Innate Daoist Priest eating skewers in the barbeque shop.

Upon seeing Lu Yang, the people in the barbeque shop thought he was here for inspection.

Lu Yang quickly urged Chef Gao and the others to stand down. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Everyone, go about your business. I’m here for him.

“Founding Ancestor, my shifu said he would like to meet you.”

“Your shifu? The current sect leader of the Dao-Seeking Sect?”

“Yes.”

The Innate Daoist Priest quickly slurped the remaining bits off his two skewers. “Let’s go then.”

~~~

Lu Yang escorted the Innate Daoist Priest to the summit of Heaven’s Gate Peak, where the Taciturn Daoist Priest had been waiting for some time. The latter immediately knelt and kowtowed. “Ye Wanli, the current Dao-Seeking Sect Leader, pays his respects to the Founding Ancestor.”

“I can’t accept such a grand bow. Please rise quickly. Moreover, I am now just an ordinary disciple of the Dao-Seeking Sect. There is no need to treat me this way.”

The Taciturn Daoist Priest’s eyes lit up. “In that case, Founding Ancestor, are you in need of a shifu? What do you think of me?”

Lu Yang thought, No wonder Shifu and Eighth Elder are close brothers who shared open-crotch pants as kids. Their train of thought is exactly the same.

He kindly reminded him, “Founding Ancestor Vast Sea has already taken him as a disciple.”

The Taciturn Daoist Priest, “...”

“By the way, Founding Ancestor, could you tell me about the early days of the Dao-Seeking Sect’s founding? To be frank, I am actually a writer, and I always strive to promote the Dao-Seeking Sect. You hold the firsthand historical accounts of the sect. You can speak, and I’ll record. By joining our strengths, we are bound to enhance the reputation of our Dao-Seeking Sect further.”

“That’s a good thing,” the Innate Daoist Priest said cheerfully. He held quite a favorable impression of the Taciturn Daoist Priest. This sect leader must have contributed significantly for the Dao-Seeking Sect to achieve its current success.

“Speaking of how the Dao-Seeking Sect was founded, we have to start from 120,000 years ago. According to the customs of that time, Void Refinement cultivators would either join a sect or establish one themselves to have a stable and safe place to cultivate. I chose the latter.

“The Heaven Strategy Sect’s divination was the most accurate. I only spent one hundred thousand spirit stones to have them calculate a place with good feng shui for me. The people from the Heaven Strategy Sect told me that these one hundred thousand spirit stones weren’t for them but an offering to Heaven—it was a token of sincerity. After they informed me of the auspicious site’s location, they also cautioned me to arrive at the designated time, otherwise it would affect my fortune.

“Unfortunately, it was dark at the time, and my cultivation level was fluctuating, making even flying difficult. On top of that, I had a tendency of getting lost. If that had gone on, I definitely wouldn’t have reached the auspicious site on time. Thus, I asked an old farmer working in the fields for directions.

“The old farmer pointed me in a direction, and I finally arrived at the auspicious site at the break of dawn.

“After the sect was successfully established, since my reputation and the terms I offered were pretty good, many Void Refinement fellow Daoists were willing to join my sect, and many promising seedlings also enrolled as disciples. That was when the Dao-Seeking Sect began to take shape.”

The Taciturn Daoist Priest nodded along and murmured affirmations while lowering his head to write down the points.

During the late Great Yu era, the world was dark, and people’s hearts were filled with anxiety. For stability and safety, the Innate Daoist Priest decided to establish a sect.

The Innate Daoist Priest consulted Heaven with sincerity. In turn, Heaven pointed out a clear path for him and stated that time was tight, urging him to act swiftly.

The period before dawn was the darkest. Acting according to Heaven’s will, the Innate Daoist Priest faced numerous difficulties. Not only was his cultivation affected, but he also lost his way. Fortunately, with the help of the common folk, he overcame these hardships and finally arrived at the location indicated by Heaven.

The Innate Daoist Priest established the Dao-Seeking Sect, and the dark world welcomed the light of dawn. At that time, many like-minded individuals believed the world was turbulent and unsafe. Influenced by the Innate Daoist Priest’s charisma, they voluntarily joined the Dao-Seeking Sect. With that, the Dao-Seeking Sect grew increasingly powerful...

After the Taciturn Daoist Priest finished recording, he looked up at the Innate Daoist Priest. “Founding Ancestor, please continue?”

1. The bolanggu, also known as a pellet drum or rattle drum, is a traditional Chinese toy that is said to have been created about 3500 years ago in the Shang Dynasty. You probably have seen it in Chinese period dramas as one of the most popular children’s toys. ☜

2. These are relics found in the cremated ashes of Buddhists. They can also refer to crystal-like or pearl-shaped objects. The crystalline structures are said to be formed due to the high temperatures from cremation. ☜

3. The original idea is to show mercy by sparing lives, such as letting captive animals live. ☜