Who Let Him Cultivate?!

In the headquarters of the Eternity Sect, a bronze ancient tripod was filled with rolling white mist and the consciousness of all the solitary cultivators of the Demon Path resided in the tripod.

An Immortal Eye opened, projecting a screen of light that displayed a ranking list.

The Master and Deputy Master were attentively observing the excellent performance of the cultivators who held the top ranks.

“Take this person hailing from Kunlun City, for example. He recites the death mantra before killing, which gives it a heightened sense of ceremony.”

“I’ve heard that he was a temple monk who advocated the slaughter of living beings for attaining Nirvana, secretly killing many unnoticed. The abbot had intended to execute him once he came to know about it. Seeing his actions exposed, this man smashed a Buddha statue and escaped early. He has joined our Eternity Sect to see if the Immortal Eternities would back his claim.”

“The young fellow from Qiihe County is also quite innovative, using relatives against each other. He can manipulate children to kill their fathers and grandchildren to slay their grandfathers, and then turn their bodies into puppets after death.”

“Oh, here’s an interesting one who shattered a load-bearing wall, causing a building collapse and killing many.”

The two leaders enthusiastically evaluated the cultivators who were ranked high. Those who managed to rank in the top tiers were all of a ruthless disposition and had a high probability of being promoted to the upper ranks in the future.

“What about the three lads who performed exceptionally in the first two trials?”

They took a while to find Lu Yang and the others on the screen and noticed they were discussing whether to visit a brothel.

The Deputy Master was quite dissatisfied with their rankings: “They’re ranked so low. Could they be spies from the Righteous Path and won’t do any evil?”

The Master shook his head wisely, “We shouldn’t think that way. I see that this guy, Lu Yang, is quite a thoughtful person. He must have a plan to make a big splash. Remember, one doesn’t need to rush to be evil. Long-term planning is the optimal choice.”

Seeing that Lu Yang made no move, they shifted the screen back to the top to check what the first ranker had done.

“The first rank holder is a poison user. He poisoned a well, killing an entire street of people in one go. He also poisoned cows, driving them mad, and making them rampage in the streets, killing many. Very good, poison should indeed be used this way.”

“What is this strange method? He bought an entire block of shops and then fired all the staff.”

“This one below is similar. After buying the shops, he makes the staff work overtime but does not pay them. Does this count as evil?”

The Deputy Master felt as if he was falling behind the times.

Suddenly, an extremely domineering Divine Soul descended from the heavens, breaking the various Array Methods laid by the sect, and went straight for the bronze ancient tripod, which was reeking of chaotic breath.

The bronze ancient tripod seemed unable to bear such a violent shock, and a tiny crack appeared on the surface.

“Not good, my tripod!” The Master cried out.

The bronze ancient tripod, known as the Mountain and River Tripod, could accommodate all things and was his Life-bound Magical Treasure refined over half his lifetime, being only a step away from becoming an Immortal Treasure.

“A Divine Soul has descended! A great power of the Righteous Path has discovered this place!” said the Master incredulously. What exactly had happened? How was it that they had been discovered by a great power of the Righteous Path in the blink of an eye?

“This aura… Is it Yun Zhi of the Seek Dao Sect?” The Master recognized the familiar aura and the terrible events associated with it sent shivers down his spine.

The Deputy Master had a fierce expression. He pulled out his weapon, prepared to execute Yun Zhi: “Yun Zhi? She’s merely a disciple of the Seek Dao Sect. At best, we are getting one person. If we all gang up on her, surely we can take her down?”

Yun Zhi rarely acted in the Central Continent, so her reputation wasn’t prominent. The name recognition of the Sect Leader, the eight Elders, and even Dai Bufan from the Seek Dao Sect far exceeded hers.

However, just because she wasn’t famous didn’t mean she was weak. Anyone who had seen her in action felt that their understanding of cultivation had been overturned!

As it so happened, the Master had seen Yun Zhi in action: picking stars and grabbing the moon, reversing Yin and Yang, and casually suppressing strong enemies. It truly made him feel like his three-thousand-year cultivation journey had been a waste.

The Master kicked the Deputy Master away. Was this the time to fight to the death? “You haven’t seen her in action. You have no idea how terrifying she is. Listen to me and run immediately. Even the Immortal Eternities can’t save you if you don’t escape now!”

He had been able to become the Master of the Eternity Sect not solely due to the most devout belief he held in Immortal Eternities or because he held the highest Cultivation Level, but more importantly, due to being sufficiently cautious. He knew when to fight to the death, when to run for his life, and when to admit death.

Fighting Yun Zhi head-on wasn’t called fighting to the death, it was courting death!

The Master cast a series of ancient and profound imprints on the Mountain and River Tripod to prevent Yun Zhi from breaking out of it.

The Deputy Master had never seen the Master in such a frantic state before, which made him realize the seriousness of the situation. He sent a message to all the higher-ups, issuing an order of life and death: escape immediately to the alternate headquarters.

In anticipation of sneak attacks from the Righteous Path, the Eternity Sect had prepared a detailed plan and escape routes, even carrying out numerous drills. The higher-ups were quite familiar with this process.

In the blink of an eye, the higher-ups of the Eternity Sect had disappeared without a trace.

The Master employed the Three-headed Six-Armed Great Divine Power, with two hands casting imprints to reinforce the seal on the Mountain and River Tripod, and the other four helping the consciousness of everyone else return to their original places within the tripod.

The cracks on the Mountain and River Tripod became more numerous. The sealing process was not fast enough to keep up with the rate at which the cracks appeared.

Seeing that everyone had successfully escaped, the Master let out a sigh of relief, severed his connection with the Mountain and River Tripod, and coughed up a mouthful of Essence Blood, the result of backlash from his Life-bound Magical Treasure.

His aura plummeted rapidly and his complexion turned deathly pale.

Caring for nothing else, the Master turned and ran!

Boom

The Mountain and River Tripod exploded, shaking the entire headquarters.

Yun Zhi stepped out from the wreckage of the Mountain and River Tripod, her expression emotionless, appearing as a majestic, unsullied ancient War Goddess.

She bent down and detected the Essence Blood left by the Master with her fingertips. After performing a brief divination, a chilling light flashed through her eyes.

“In that direction.”

A burning white light condensed in her hands, emanating an intense radiance, akin to an divine light of judgment meant to eradicate all evil.

The divine light thunderbolt shot towards the Master with a whoosh. The Master didn’t expect to be found by Yun Zhi even like this. He tried to dodge but it was too late, resulting in an eruption of blood from his shoulder.

“Golden Cicada shedding skin!” The Master had no shortage of life-saving techniques either.

By the time Yun Zhi caught up, she only found the Master’s remnant body.

The Master stumbled back to the alternate headquarters, stuffing elixirs into his mouth as if they were free, urgently trying to save his own life. Cutting off his connection with the Mountain and River Tripod and casting the Golden Cicada Shedding Skin secret technique had taken a huge toll on him. It would now take hundreds of years of peaceful cultivation to recover fully.

All these could still be managed, but the most critical issue was the Mountain and River Tripod!

That was a treasure tripod refined by the collective power of the entire sect, with the consumed ingredients equating to ten years of tax revenue from the Great Xia Dynasty!

Such a precious treasure had now fallen into the hands of the Seek Dao Sect!

“How are you feeling?” asked the Deputy Master, filled with concern. He had just witnessed Yun Zhi in action and was filled with lingering fear. Had he been in the Master’s place, he would have been perished long ago. Only the Master, with his immense capabilities, was left standing.

“I won’t die.” said the Master, also feeling lingering fear. “Fortunately, we had a contingency plan and prepared a hiding place in advance. We severed all forms of causality, ensuring Yun Zhi couldn’t find us. Otherwise, the Four Great Devil Sects would have had to change their name to the Three Great Demon Sects.”

“Now that the Mountain and River Tripod has been shattered, let’s consider the third test over. Let’s see who’s at the top of the list now.”

The Immortal Eye projected a light screen that displayed a name above all else.

Ranked first, Lu Yang.

“Huh?”