Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 513: Plan to Lure the Tiger From Its Mountain

“Damn it, that old Taciturn scoundrel escaped too quickly!”

“It’s your fault for attacking too early! I told you to wait until he walks out of the Dao-Seeking Sect before making a move! But no, you couldn’t resist striking the moment you saw him. Anyone would run in that situation!”

“I couldn’t help it. Seeing my enemy got me too agitated.”

“Well, what do we do now?”

“I have an idea, but I’m not sure if it’ll work.”

“What is it?”

“Have you forgotten? We’re here to propose marriage...”

~~~

Recalling the barrage of assaults that had nearly rained down on him, the Taciturn Daoist Priest shuddered. If those attacks had landed, I might have lost either a layer of skin or my life, or both.

“Seriously, that bunch of people from the merchant guilds, is this any way to treat a customer? They wouldn’t even sell me insurance!” The Taciturn Daoist Priest fumed. Are they even merchants? What kind of merchant refuses to earn money? I wanted to buy their most expensive insurance coverage!

~~~

“So this is the correct way to comprehend the Sword Dao.” Emerging from his epiphany, Lu Yang felt his understanding of the Sword Dao had elevated to another level. The Young Creed Leader Lu who fought me to a draw three months ago is no longer a match for me!

Opening his eyes, he saw Yun Zhi approaching him with a stack of red, festive envelopes.

“What are these?”

“Invitations from the marriage proposal processions. They wish to enter the Dao-Seeking Sect and discuss matters of marriage with you in person.”

Lu Yang picked one at random. It came from the White Horse Temple, a first-class sect. “...Am I really this popular?” If Meng Jingzhou sees this, he’d probably grind his molars to dust from envy.

“Your popularity is one factor. The main reason is they want to enter the search to search for Shifu.”

“Shifu hasn’t left yet?” Lu Yang was surprised. Given Shifu’s restless nature and inability to sit still, I had assumed he’d depart immediately after teaching me.

Then again, I can’t exactly say he’s unable to sit still. The old man has obediently completed every prison sentence and sat still in his cell until he was released.

“He originally wanted to leave but was blocked at the gates.”

Truth be told, Lu Yang found this development utterly unsurprising. If anything, he felt it was only natural. From what I know, information on Shifu’s whereabouts commands astronomical prices on the black market—assuming it’s even available at all. The slightest hint of his location would be snapped up instantly, a testament to his popularity.

In the same logic, news of Shifu’s return to the sect would spread like wildfire. Furthermore, all his enemies are at the Fusion cultivator, each capable of flying at terrifying speeds. If some specialize in spatial spells, they could come even faster.

Perhaps “protection” as a purpose for comprehending the Sword Dao isn’t entirely impossible.

Others don’t need protection—I just need to protect myself.

“Then what should we do?” Faced with the pile of invitations, Lu Yang could feel a headache coming. They are here to propose marriage. Chasing them away will reflect poorly on the Dao-Seeking Sect.

“Two options,” Yun Zhi analyzed as she set down the invitations. “First, we quickly grant them entry to the sect. Once they find Shifu, their goal is achieved.”

Lu Yang shook his head. This definitely won’t work. “And the second?”

“Hand Shifu over.”

Lu Yang, “...”

The second option is worse than the first one. “Isn’t Shifu adept at transformation spells? Can’t he turn into someone else and slip out?”

Yun Zhi shook her head, vetoing it. “The White Horse Temple brought their prized treasure, the Demon-Revealing Mirror. It can see through all disguises. Even if it can’t see through Shifu’s disguise, and he successfully slips out, they wouldn’t know that and would continue camping outside the gates to propose marriage to you.”

“Let’s just hand Shifu over,” Lu Yang blurted out.

~~~

Recognizing the extreme risks involved in handing the Taciturn Daoist Priest over, the two first sought out Seventh Elder at Pill Cauldron Peak.

“Junior Niece Yun and Junior Nephew Lu?” Seventh Elder was caught off guard by their visit. It was rare to have both of them looking for him together. “Is anything the matter?”

Since the matter concerned their master, they couldn’t be too straightforward, so Lu Yang chose his words carefully. “If—and I’m just saying if—if a very powerful Fusion cultivator has many enemies at the Fusion Stage and is unlucky to be surrounded, say fifty or sixty of them...

“Is there any pill that could help him survive such a siege?”

Lu Yang didn’t think there was any hope, but to his surprise, Seventh Elder nodded. “Legends speak of a type of pill called ‘Child-Gifting Pill’ in ancient times. You’ve even seen its pill formula before, Junior Nephew Lu. As long as this unlucky Fusion cultivator consumes it and gets pregnant, out of basic human decency, his enemies would probably show him some mercy and not beat him to death.”

Lu Yang pressed on. “...This Fusion cultivator is male. Is there any other way?”

“You can also pray for his corpse to be intact. After tens of thousands of years, the corpse might develop sentience—a form of resurrection. But this is just a legend. Who knows if it’d still be the same him?”

“Do you have anything more practical?”

“I do. This Fusion cultivator in question is definitely a wicked person who has committed all kinds of evil. Report to the authorities to have him arrested. Although he’ll lose his freedom, at least he won’t lose his life.”

Lu Yang and Yun Zhi thought it was a decent solution.

“Hmm, you two are here?” The Taciturn Daoist Priest was looking for Lu Yang and Yun Zhi in the pill-concocting chamber and used the chance to ask Seventh Elder for several bottles of top-grade healing pills. “Perfect timing. I was just about to inform you that I’m leaving.” 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Lu Yang was astonished. I haven’t even steeled myself to place righteousness before family and betray my shifu, yet he’s already leaving?

“Aren’t you afraid of those people at the gates?”

“Defeating them is out of the question, but I have another plan.”

“Which is?”

“I’ve asked Big Brother to leave the Dao-Seeking Sect and create some commotion in the neighboring province. When those people think I’ve sneaked out of the sect, they’ll rush there in a frenzy, giving me an opening to leave the sect.” The Taciturn Daoist Priest grinned triumphantly. I’ve roamed the world for two thousand years; thinking of catching me is wishful thinking.

~~~

Things went exactly as the Taciturn Daoist Priest had planned. As the big brother of the Dao-Seeking Nine, First Elder didn’t often do things that drew him much hatred; at least, he didn’t have any enemies among the marriage proposal processions this time.

In the neighboring province, First Elder impersonated the Taciturn Daoist Priest to deliver the latest chapter—Saga of the Dao-Seeking Sect: Chronicles of Meng Jingzhou. He narrated how Eldest Young Master Meng led a chaste life and devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivation, avoiding women entirely. Eldest Young Master Meng even went so far as to place a curse on himself that prevented him from seeing females for a long time—truly a feat that earned great respect.

Upon learning that the “Taciturn Daoist Priest” was in the neighboring province, and recalling his skills in concealment, his enemies didn’t suspect anything as they immediately set off.

The Taciturn Daoist Priest seized this opportunity to slip out of the Dao-Seeking Sect.

After he left, Lu Yang sighed. This idea had crossed his mind, and it could be considered the safest approach, but he wasn’t willing to let the Taciturn Daoist Priest use it. For some reason, I couldn’t help but feel like letting Shifu leave the sect safely would go against my conscience.

~~~

A few days later, someone unexpected approached Lu Yang.

“Senior Brother Lu, can you accompany me on a mission?” Tao Yaoye invited him with a gleeful grin.