Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 762: Second Imperial Prince

“Young Master Meng, it’s been three years since we last met, hasn’t it? I often hear tales of your exploits from storytellers in the imperial city,” the Second Imperial Prince, Jiang Zhu, remarked. Standing tall and upright with a heroic bearing, he patted Meng Jingzhou’s shoulder with a smile, as though he was greeting a good friend he hadn’t seen in ages.

“You two know each other?” Lu Yang asked, then realized his question was redundant. Right, who in the imperial city doesn’t know Meng Jingzhou?

Meng Jingzhou transmitted an auditory message to Lu Yang. “Back when I was doing well in the imperial city, I beat up his younger brother, his biological brother born to the same parents. That’s how we became acquainted.

Oh man! Lu Yang thought, As expected of the imperial city’s tyrannical bully—he even dared to beat an imperial prince.

“I presume these two are the inventor of the Dreamlike Bubble Mirage, Tao Yaoye, and the Ancient Barbarian, Man Gu. And this is...” The Second Imperial Prince paused when his gaze fell upon Li Haoran.

Tao Yaoye and Man Gu frequently undertook missions outside the sect, making it easy for the Second Imperial Prince to gather intelligence on them. However, Li Haoran was an exception. He seldom left the sect, so the Second Imperial Prince didn’t recognize him.

Su Yiren had called him “Haoran” and not his full name at the Immortal Appraisal Convention.

“I am Li Haoran, a disciple of the Dao-Seeking Sect.”

“So it’s Fellow Daoist Li Haoran. I’ve long looked forward to meeting you. And this must be the reclusive cultivator, Fellow Daoist Su Yiren. Please, everyone, have a seat.”

Noticing Su Yiren linking arms with Li Haoran, the Second Imperial Prince recalled the rumors he had heard at the Immortal Appraisal Convention. His gaze toward Li Haoran became slightly peculiar, but his refined upbringing allowed him to conceal his odd expression swiftly.

“May I ask why Your Highness has summoned us?” Having interacted with the Second Imperial Prince before, Meng Jingzhou knew there must be an underlying reason for inviting them over.

“It’s nothing much. It’s just that we are fellow subjects of Great Xia; since we have crossed paths in the East Sea, we can catch up and sample the East Sea delicacies.”

Meng Jingzhou replied inwardly, Like I’ll believe your nonsense. All three of your large ships are full of Great Xia cultivators. Why would you need to come to catch up with us?

Hearing the purpose was so simple, Man Gu buried his head and began eating heartily. Although the flavors can’t compare to the white crucian carp we ate earlier, there’s a better variety. Trying various dishes will help me broaden my horizons.

“I heard Fellow Daoist Lu Yang is a disciple of the Taciturn Daoist Priest, possessing extraordinary spellcraft and swordsmanship that are capable of rivalling that so-called Young Creed Leader Lu, and you’ve even served as acting sect leader twice. Your future is truly boundless. Countless cultivators in the imperial city regard you as a role model!”

Lu Yang replied humbly, “Your Highness is too polite. It’s all due to my own effort and has nothing to do with my shifu.”

The Second Imperial Prince’s eyelid twitched, unsure how to respond.

“I heard Your Highness came to the East Sea to search for the Longevity Immortal Herb. Have you found any leads?”

The Second Imperial Prince smiled. “I just paid a visit to the Penglai Island Lord and heard a few secret tales from him. It’s possible that the Longevity Immortal Herb exists.”

“We are also concerned about His Majesty’s health. If needed, we could assist Your Highness in searching for the immortal herb.”

“I appreciate your kind intentions, Fellow Daoist Lu Yang. However, the environment where such an immortal herb grows is extremely harsh. If anything were to happen to all of you, it would be difficult to explain to the Dao-Seeking Sect.”

“It’s fine. We immortal sect disciples have our life-preserving methods. Your Highness need not worry for our safety.”

With things put this way, the Second Imperial Prince could no longer insist that Lu Yang and the others shouldn’t help. “Then I thank you all for your kindness.”

~~~

At the Second Imperial Prince’s invitation, Lu Yang and the others boarded the ship.

“These three ships must have cost a fortune. It seems Your Highness came to the East Sea well-prepared to search for the herb.”

The Second Imperial Prince wore a worried expression and sighed. “My eldest brother claims to have no interest in contending for the throne, but who knows if he’s speaking the truth? And my third brother is also eyeing that position covetously.

“Emperor Father is the backbone of Great Xia. If he falls, it would inevitably trigger a struggle for succession, plunging Great Xia into chaos.

“Although I have no desire to vie for the throne myself, I don’t wish to see brothers turn against each other, which is why I had set sail. If I can track down the Longevity Immortal Herb on this journey to the East Sea and extend Emperor Father’s life, the cost of these three ships will be insignificant.”

“I’ve met the Eldest Imperial Prince twice. He didn’t appear to be interested in the throne.”

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had first met the Eldest Imperial Prince, Jiang Qun, at the Qing Province Grand Ceremony, where he had used the alias Xia Qun and served as a deputy to the provincial governor.

The second time was during the Dao-Seeking Sect’s celebration, where the Eldest Imperial Prince had shown up as the representative of Great Xia.

“Some say my eldest brother is biding his time, secretly amassing power. There are even rumors that Emperor Father’s dwindling lifespan is somehow connected to him.”

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou exchanged a glance. It seemed matters in the imperial city were more complicated than they had imagined.

The Second Imperial Prince suddenly realized the conversation had grown heavy and that he had shared too much information that Lu Yang’s group shouldn’t know. Adjusting his mood, he smiled and said, “Alright, that’s enough. Why speak of such matters? The East Sea’s scenery is vast. Why dwell on these troubling affairs?”

The large ship set sail. The azure sky and the profound sea seemed to merge at that moment, forming a seamless, connected tapestry of sky and water. Sunlight scattered across the sea’s surface like shattered gold, sparkling and shimmering, reflecting a resplendent world of light and shadow. Gazing upon it for a while indeed soothed the mind and heart.

However, Lu Yang felt little appreciation for the East Sea’s picturesque scenery. His mind was currently filled with the East Sea’s waters and an immortal-level mermaid frolicking within.

“Might this be Young Friend Lu Yang?” An elderly man appeared silently beside Lu Yang.

Earlier, when Lu Yang had watched the Second Imperial Prince disembark, the attendants surrounding him were all at the Fusion Stage, except for this elderly man he didn’t recognize, leading Lu Yang to suspect he was at the Transcendent Tribulation Stage. Now, he had received confirmation from the Everlasting Immortal Fairy that his conjecture was accurate.

“And you are...?”

“This old man is the Cang Mingzi. I once had the fortune to exchange blows with Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi.”

Lu Yang understood. No wonder an almighty Transcendent Tribulation old monster is being so polite to me, addressing me as “young friend.” So it’s because he’s been beaten up by Big Senior Sister.

“Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi has cultivated for less than a thousand years, yet she has already reached a transcendent, sage-like realm. It truly puts these old bones to shame.”

“You jest, Senior Cang Mingzi. Countless people envy your level of cultivation.”

“It’s merely the result of grinding away with time. Not only are you Fellow Daoist Yun Zhi’s junior brother, but you also possess such outstanding talent. You are destined to have a place in the Battle of the Great Era.” Cang Mingzi sighed with emotion upon seeing Lu Yang in the prime of his youth. He then turned and clasped his hands behind his back, shaking his head as he sauntered away.

“What do you say?” Meng Jingzhou asked Lu Yang out of the blue through an auditory message.

Lu Yang sighed and replied with an auditory message, “The Second Imperial Prince is too eager to befriend us. If I’m not mistaken, we may encounter the perils of the sea soon.”

Despite the Second Imperial Prince’s efforts to appear unconcerned about the throne, he had expressed uncertainty about whether his eldest brother would contend for it and mentioned his third brother was also eyeing the position covetously.

The word “also” implied the Second Imperial Prince himself also had his sights set on the throne.

Meanwhile, he and Meng Jingzhou were respectively Yun Zhi’s Little Junior Brother and the Eldest Young Master of the Meng Family. If he could win over the two of them, securing the throne would be as good as nailed in place.

A quick way to deepen friendship was naturally to face danger together and survive a calamity.

“I wonder if he’d still have the guts to try and rope us in if he knows we’re both from the Heavenly Court Creed.”