Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 506: The Imperial Preceptor Is Probably Beyond Saving
Incarceration Peak was shrouded in silence all year round, save for the occasional plangent wails of prisoners. Their howls usually didn’t last for long. A few cries, and they would spill everything. Those who stubbornly refused would simply be refined into artifact spirits.
Today, however, was different. This particular prisoner had been shrieking for a full hour with no signs of stopping. Due to his high cultivation level, his throat never went hoarse no matter how much he screamed.
“So what do we do now?”
Lu Yang, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy, and Yun Zhi stared helplessly at the still-wailing Imperial Preceptor.
Even Yun Zhi found him too noisy and set up a soundproofing array so he could scream all he wanted inside without bothering anyone outside.
Instantly, everything became peaceful.
Lu Yang shook his head in disappointment. It wasn’t easy capturing a key figure of Great Yu, yet he turns out to be a tough nut to crack. He’d rather suffer from the curse than divulge even a shred of intel.
Yun Zhi had tried numerous curse-breaking methods, but none worked on the Imperial Preceptor.
Removing just one of the Seven Calamities and Eight Sufferings could easily be resolved by a spell from Yun Zhi. However, the Imperial Preceptor was afflicted by all of them, along with curses that stagnated his cultivation in life and disintegrated his soul in death. This was an unprecedentedly great curse. Even the Imperial Preceptor himself, the wielder of the Karma Incipient Dao Fruit, couldn’t remove it.
“Immortal Fairy, why don’t you lend him an Incipient Dao Fruit and let him self-detonate a hundred times to remove the curse?” The wielder of a complete Dao Fruit commanded absolute authority over their corresponding Incipient Dao Fruits; they could bestow or revoke them at will.
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy shook her head. “That won’t do. He already has an Incipient Dao Fruit inside him. No one can possess two at once.
“Besides, even if he doesn’t have his Karma Incipient Dao Fruit, I still can’t give him mine. It’s not like Incipient Dao Fruits are clothing you can just put on and take off whenever you feel like it.
“An Incipient Dao Fruit represents rules. To wield one, you must first comprehend the corresponding set of rules to some degree. This idiot knows nothing about my Everlasting Incipient Dao Fruit. If I give it to him directly, his soul wouldn’t be able to withstand its might and disintegrate.”
After the Imperial Preceptor’s repeated blunders, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy wondered whether his brain worked at all. Did he become a half-immortal through sheer luck?
“Hold on, Immortal Fairy. By that logic, I don’t have any comprehension of the Everlasting Dao Fruit either, right? Yet you’ve been saying you could give me your Everlasting Incipient Fruit.” Lu Yang recalled the Everlasting Immortal Fairy constantly clamoring about forcing one upon him.
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy looked at Lu Yang in shock. “Second-In-Command, what are you talking about? Under my long-term guidance and subtle influence, your comprehension of the Everlasting Dao Fruit far outclasses the Third-In-Command’s.”
Lu Yang, “...”
When did that happen? Why don’t I know?
“Did you think I made you second-in-command just because we’re close? How absurd! I am impartial and just. Ranking within the Everlasting Lineage is determined by strength!”
Hearing an opportunity for promotion, the Everlasting Immortal eagerly scooted over. “Big Boss, rest assured! I will devote myself to comprehending the Dao Fruit and strive to become the second-in-command!”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy eyed him with disdain and waved him off impatiently. “Shoo shoo shoo, why are you butting in? If you dare try to become the second-in-command, I will strip you of your Incipient Dao Fruit.”
The Everlasting Immortal cast an envious glance at Lu Yang before slinking away in defeat. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
“Can the power of national fortune break curses?” Lu Yang recalled how his creed’s holy son, Meng Jingzhou, had once been cursed by a vile scoundrel and was unable to interact with women. In the end, it was only with the national fortune’s aid that he managed to remove the curse.
Yun Zhi nodded. “That’s a plausible solution.”
She hooked her forefinger; the Imperial Preceptor, who had been writhing on the ground in pain, found himself writhing in the air instead.
“I’m heading to the imperial palace. Wait for me at Incarceration Peak.” With that, Yun Zhi rose and departed for the palace. Since they planned to use the national fortune, going straight to its source was naturally the most convenient.
The prisoners locked up in Incarceration Peak were the most vicious and fiendish individuals. Merely standing there would make the faint-hearted tremble in fear.
Lu Yang felt no such fear. Everyone on Incarceration Peak—new or old—knew him. The newcomers were dragged in by him, while the old-timers had watched as he dragged the newcomers in. If anyone should be afraid, it was the prisoners who feared Lu Yang.
The prisoners whispered among themselves, careful not to let Lu Yang overhear. With only their souls remaining and their powers and spiritual consciousness sealed, the prisoners had developed their own method of communication to avoid detection.
The cells of Incarceration Peak were forged from refined ores designed to seal souls and meant to be indestructible. The prisoners would speak against the metal bars, letting the vibrations carry their words, then rely on the keen senses of their souls to perceive the message.
“Oh my heavens, did you see that fight earlier? A half-immortal powerhouse attacked Lu Yang, yet he instantly collapsed to the ground despite Lu Yang not lifting a finger!”
“This Lu Yang is unfathomable. He looks like a mere Golden Core cultivator, but his true strength definitely goes beyond that.”
“Have you noticed? Ever since Lu Yang joined the Dao-Seeking Sect, the number of people at Incarceration Peak has increased exponentially. First, it was just Fusion cultivators, then it was Transcendent Tribulation cultivators, and now even a half-immortal has been captured! How is that something a Golden Core cultivator could pull off?”
“I’ve never met a half-immortal in my life. I didn’t expect to see one here instead.”
“Is this the Battle of the Great Era? Even someone as strong as a half-immortal can be reduced to a prisoner.”
The more the prisoners discussed, the more alarmed they grew. They found Lu Yang an enigma of terror, someone they must not provoke under any circumstances.
Unaware of the prisoners’ hushed chatter, Lu Yang seized the opportunity while Yun Zhi wasn’t around to resume his high-level discussion with the Everlasting Immortal Fairy. “Immortal Fairy, if immortals need to sever karma to advance a step further, wouldn’t the Imperial Preceptor’s Karma Incipient Dao Fruit give him a significant advantage?”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy emphasized, “It’s not that immortals need to sever karma to advance a step further—it’s that the Heaven Mandate Immortal and others believed they needed to do so.”
“Fine, let’s say the Heaven Mandate Immortal and the others did believe so. Then if the Imperial Preceptor upgrades his Karma Incipient Dao Fruit into a Karma Dao Fruit, wouldn’t that allow him to sever karma at will and ascend to a being beyond immortals?”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy shook her head. “You can’t think of it like that. The moment the Imperial Preceptor condensed his Karma Incipient Dao Fruit, he developed tens of thousands of karmic connections with the concept of ‘karma.’ Upgrading it into a Karma Dao Fruit would only bind him closer to this ‘karma’ concept, merging them into one. If he becomes one with ‘karma,’ how is he going to sever it?
“I presume he had heard somewhere that immortals attach great importance to karma, which led him to pursue condensing a Karma Incipient Dao Fruit. Little did he know that he was walking onto the wrong path and making the most elementary mistake.
“There are no shortcuts to becoming an immortal. Trickery and opportunism won’t get you anywhere.
“Speaking of which, although a realm above immortals may indeed exist, none of us five ever paid it much mind.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because there was no need! We were already immortals—our lifespans were infinite, we were unbeatable, and life was good. Why would we insist on pursuing some higher realm?”
Lu Yang felt that the Everlasting Immortal Fairy made a lot of sense.
