Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 509: The Taciturn Daoist Priest Returns to the Sect
Lu Yang watched with furrowed brows as the Fusion cultivators flew away, his mind restless.
“What’s wrong? Can’t bear to see them leave? Hope they’ll come to propose marriage?” Meng Jingzhou teased with a grin.
Since the celebration ended, a steady stream of marriage proposal delegations had come knocking for Lu Yang, a sight that filled Meng Jingzhou’s heart with envy. Seeing Lu Yang gaze wistfully at the departing procession, Meng Jingzhou couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from turning upward.
Lu Yang shook his head, voicing his concerns. “I’m worried they’ll realize they can ambush Shifu by proposing marriage to me. If that happens, even more people will come to propose marriage.”
Meng Jingzhou, “...”
Should’ve kept my damn mouth shut.
Lu Yang felt that given his master’s talent for making enemies, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if news came one day that he’d died a sudden death somewhere out in the wild. For a Fusion cultivator to not remember what he’d done to offend people speaks volumes about the problem.
To prevent such incidents, Lu Yang kindly suggested, “Shifu, have you considered writing your will in advance? I’m afraid you won’t have time when you’re about to die.”
The Taciturn Daoist Priest gave his little disciple a meaningful look, feeling that Lu Yang’s way with words was beginning to show a hint of the same flair his second disciple had displayed when forming that strange Yin-Yang Golden Core.
“You’ve met your second senior brother?”
“Second Senior Brother? No, isn’t he in the Golden Buddhist Kingdom?” Lu Yang was baffled by the question.
“Never mind.”
A considerable crowd of disciples had gathered to watch the commotion around the Taciturn Daoist Priest. Previously, he had been forced into a decade-long seclusion, never once showing his face. Later, Yun Zhi was deceived by Lu Yang’s schemes and released the Taciturn Daoist Priest to promote the Dao-Seeking Sect through storytelling in the outer world. From then on, the Taciturn Daoist Priest never returned to the sect. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
Disciples from the previous two cohorts had only heard of this sect leader’s existence, but none had ever seen him in person. Even among Lu Yang’s cohort, only he and Meng Jingzhou had met the Taciturn Daoist Priest. Tao Yaoye, Man Gu, and Li Haoran had never seen him either.
“I heard the sect leader is back. Let me see, let me see!”
“Isn’t the sect leader Yun Zhi?”
“I finally get to see the real sect leader! When I was out on missions and introduced myself as a disciple of the Dao-Seeking Sect, people would first ask if I was the Taciturn Daoist Priest’s disciple. Only after confirming I wasn’t would they let me in.”
“None of you have seen the sect leader before?”
“You have?”
“Yes.”
“We’re all from the same cohort. Where’d you see him?”
“On a wanted poster.”
The disciples jostled for a better view of what the living, breathing Taciturn Daoist Priest looked like. If outsiders were to witness this scene, they might easily be misled into thinking that the Taciturn Daoist Priest was deeply beloved by his disciples.
“Junior Brother, you’re back.” First Elder arrived belatedly, or rather, waited to show himself after the beating was over.
If even Lu Yang could arrive right away, how could First Elder be any slower?
First Elder recognized the Fusion cultivators who had beaten the Taciturn Daoist Priest. Back when he and the Taciturn Daoist Priest were amateurs at building tombs, they accidentally dug into someone’s ancestral grave. The family mistook them for grave robbers and came down to investigate. With no time to escape, the duo spent the night hiding in a coffin with the old ancestor.
Once the matter came to light, the family hunted everywhere for the Taciturn Daoist Priest.
Since they were in the wrong, First Elder found it inconvenient to step in. Letting the Taciturn Daoist Priest take the beating worked just as well. And the other elders shared the same sentiment.
The Fusion cultivators who had just beaten the Taciturn Daoist Priest earlier were people the Taciturn Daoist Priest and the elders had offended before, so none of the elders found it convenient to step in.
“Just passing by the sect and thought I’d visit,” the Taciturn Daoist Priest lamented. I was just gone for a year, and the acting sect leader position has changed hands four times.
First was Yun Zhi as acting sect leader, then it was Lu Yang for three days, then Yun Zhi again, followed by Lu Yang for two more months, and now it’s Yun Zhi once more. The frequent changes in the sect’s leadership are proof of how chaotic the management within the sect is.
“I thought you’d provoked enemies again and came back to hide,” First Elder shot back.
The Taciturn Daoist Priest didn’t like the sound of that. “What are you saying! I’ve always taken responsibility for my own actions. When have I ever run away?”
First Elder spoke in a slow, unfriendly tone. “Then what about the time you pretended to be a woman and wrote love letters to Old Four, making him lovestruck and giggle like he had lost his soul? And after it was exposed, why did you shove those unfinished love letters under my pillow?”
In his youth, Fourth Elder had a pen pal named Ye Qianqian. The two had never met in person and communicated solely through letters. In her letters, Ye Qianqian stated she had witnessed Fourth Elder casually chatting and smiling as he slew demonic cultivators with his brush and ink. This sight captivated her, prompting her to write to him.
Charmed by Ye Qianqian’s sweet words, graceful handwriting, and the subtle affection woven between the lines, Fourth Elder got hooked in no time.
When Ye Qianqian mentioned that her hometown had been struck by a flood that submerged all the crops, Fourth Elder immediately sent a reply along with some spirit stones.
Unfortunately, even the most meticulous plans could run into accidents. One day, the matter was exposed. Fourth Elder discovered that someone among his senior and junior brothers had been masquerading as Ye Qianqian. Furious, he stormed through the sect, combing through them one by one.
Sensing trouble, the Taciturn Daoist Priest hastily slipped the unfinished letters under First Elder’s pillow.
Unsurprisingly, Fourth Elder got into a brawl with First Elder. It was only afterward that they uncovered the Taciturn Daoist Priest as the true culprit.
“Fourth Senior Brother is a Confucian cultivator who follows the path of a gentleman, rigid and slow-witted. When out in the world, he’s easily duped by women. Rather than let him get tricked by women, I figured I'd better trick him first to keep the benefits within the family—ah, no, I mean, remind him to be more cautious.” This was the Taciturn Daoist Priest’s explanation before his beating.
First Elder shuddered at the memory. Scholars can really be ruthless when they get serious.
“Since you’re back, let’s hold a meeting. I have something to discuss with you.” First Elder summoned the group: Yun Zhi, the eight elders, the Taciturn Daoist Priest, Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou, Tao Yaoye, Man Gu, Li Haoran, and Qin Yanyan.
Yun Zhi was in the sect. She had watched her master get beaten without the slightest intention of intervening. Her reasoning was sound: “I’m not at the Fusion Stage—I can’t defeat them.” It was clear that she truly didn’t want to lend a hand.
All the members of the Heavenly Court Creed assembled. Everyone looked at each other silently with heavy thoughts weighing on their minds, creating the perfect atmosphere.
In truth, it was inconvenient to speak because Sixth Elder was present.
After listening to First Elder’s recount of the events through their spiritual consciousness, even the Taciturn Daoist Priest, famed for his deception skills, was dumbstruck. “So you guys are behind all the recent fuss about the Heavenly Court Sect lately?”
“It’s us—you included,” First Elder corrected.
“...Let’s not talk about how you conscripted me into the Heavenly Court Creed as a heavenly king protector—well, it’s not like I’m against being a protector—but why name me ‘Growth Heavenly King’ just because I improved the ‘Size At Will’ spell?!”
Grandpa Ba shrugged, making his point with reason. “We had no other choice; you were absent. Besides, our Heavenly Court Creed values democracy. Everyone but you approved this title of yours.”
The Taciturn Daoist Priest flew into a rage, veins bulging. “Democracy my ass! Who’s the creed leader—Big Senior Brother or you? I demand a fair judgment!”
“Your eldest disciple.”
“...Growth Heavenly King is a pretty good name.”
