Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)

“How does this Mountain-Suppressing Seal work?” Lu Yang weighed the seal in his hand and asked the female Hanba.

“There’s a matching mantra. Once you know it, you can control me...” The female Hanba didn’t dare play tricks and recited the incantation truthfully.

Lu Yang tried reciting it, but before he could finish, the female Hanba clutched her head in pain.

“Your Excellencies, can you trust me now?” the female Hanba asked cautiously after the chant ended. She still hadn’t figured out why her Human Tribulation was so overwhelming.

Worried that she might be putting on an act, Lu Yang silently recited it again. When she reacted the same way, he finally believed her.

“In other words, anyone with the mantra and the Mountain-Suppressing Seal can control you?”

“Just possessing the Mountain-Suppressing Seal and chanting the mantra only gives me a headache. It doesn’t truly control me. To do that, the Mountain-Suppressing Seal needs to recognize one as its master through a drop of blood, thereby establishing a contract.”

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou nodded. It doesn’t sound like she’s lying.

“Come on. Let’s take her to the Corpse-Driving Sect.”

~~~

“Why isn’t the sect leader back yet?” Zhao Po waited anxiously at the entrance of the Corpse-Driving Sect.

The sect leader hasn’t returned all night. This isn’t a good sign. Whether the sect leader perishes or the Hanba escapes, it will cause an uproar.

Three small dots streaked across the sky, catching Zhao Po’s attention.

He squinted and finally made out who they were. “Senior Brother Lu! Senior Brother Meng!” He waved excitedly. He didn’t recognize the woman in tattered clothes between them.

“Junior Brother Zhao.” Lu Yang landed with a smile. The last time they were in the Wilderness Province, Zhao Po had been the first disciple of a major sect they had encountered. He had accompanied them all the way to the Corpse-Driving Sect and even joined them in a mission to eliminate a water ghost.

Come to think of it, we’re really fated. Back then, Old Meng and I were only at the Golden Core Stage. In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed.

“What brings you both here? And how should I address this female fellow Daoist... No, that’s not important right now. A Hanba has emerged, and a calamity is imminent! The sect leader went to deal with it and hasn’t returned all night. Please go help him, senior brothers!” Zhao Po implored. This is not the time to catch up.

The female Hanba panicked. “Don’t talk nonsense. The Hanba is perfectly safe!”

She couldn’t help but speak up frantically. To survive, I’ve revealed all the methods to control me. If this kid keeps talking and gives these two lords a bad impression of me, can I still stay alive?

“What nonsense? How could I joke about something this major? I stayed up all night browsing ancient texts and consulting everyone I could to learn about the Hanba!”

“What nonsense? How could I joke about something this major? I am the Hanba!”

“Even if you’re the Hanba—wait, who did you say you were?” Only then did Zhao Po notice that though her clothes were tattered, they were indeed from the Corpse-Driving Sect.

“Y-You’re that Hanba?!” Zhao Po’s eyes widened as he stared at Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, hoping for a reasonable explanation.

Lu Yang scratched his head awkwardly. Explaining this is pretty simple; there’s nothing much to explain. ”Uh, we ran into her by chance. Since her outfit seemed to be from the Corpse-Driving Sect, we figured we should hand her over to your sect to deal with.”

“We can’t deal with her!” Zhao Po said hastily. Even our sect leader, the number one below the Transcendent Tribulation Stage, has less than a thirty percent chance of defeating her. What if something goes wrong after she’s handed over to us?

“You don’t have to worry about that. We have the Mountain-Suppressing Seal.” Lu Yang explained how it worked, and Zhao Po finally relaxed.

“When the sect leader returns, he should take the Mountain-Suppressing Seal?”

“We have other matters to attend to. How about you drip blood onto the Mountain-Suppressing Seal and make it recognize you as its master? Since you’re at the Void Refinement Stage, this could be a life-preservation method.”

How could Zhao Po beat Lu Yang in an argument? He was forced to accept the Hanba and establish a contract with the Mountain-Suppressing Seal.

To reassure Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, the female Hanba even called Zhao Po “Master” in a sweet voice.

“Junior Brother Po, cultivate hard. We’ll chat another time.” Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou waved goodbye.

“By the way, doesn’t First Elder have an interest in Hanba? We could send him a letter and tell him to come here for a look.”

Not long after they left, a distressed Lu Baqian flew back to the sect.

He had searched all night without finding a trace of the Hanba. “I’m afraid it won’t be easy to deal with such a patient Hanba.”

There was good news too. He managed to find the Divine Craftsman Wang Family’s successor, but the latter’s cultivation was too low to forge a Mountain-Suppressing Seal that could threaten a Hanba.

Nevertheless, he had obtained the forging blueprint for the Mountain-Suppressing Seal. With it, Lu Baqian could manifest part of the seal’s power and catch the Hanba off guard.

In a battle between high-level cultivators, a single lapse means total defeat!

“Sect Leader, you’re back safe!” Zhao Po was still waiting at the gates, grinning from ear to ear.

“It’s a pity I didn’t find the Hanba... What the hell? Hanba?!” Lu Baqian noticed the female Hanba standing obediently beside Zhao Po like a doll and nearly jumped out of his skin.

Seeing his sect leader about to attack, Zhao Po quickly stepped forward to explain the sequence of the events, though he wasn’t exactly clear about the sequence.

“So it was junior nephews Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou who took care of it. Wait, doesn’t that mean you’re the female Hanba’s master now and that she’s controllable?

“Come, come, come. Let’s see who’s stronger!” Lu Baqian suggested in delight. I’d spent the whole night brainstorming ways to deal with the female Hanba. I can’t let all that effort go to waste.

After obtaining Zhao Po’s permission, the female Hanba gladly accepted the challenge.

The two Half-Step Transcendent Tribulation cultivators soon clashed. Swaths of mountains crumpled like paper at their touch.

Without Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou holding her back, the female Hanba revealed her unbeatable side, pushing Lu Baqian into a disadvantageous position.

The female Hanba was even more thrilled than Lu Baqian. Yes, this is the Human Tribulation I’m meant to face.

“A tough opponent, indeed...” Lu Baqian wiped the blood from his mouth. With her deathly energy field active, he had to divide his attention to counter it, leaving him unable to keep up with her relentless assault.

“But there is a way. Mountain-Suppressing Seal!”

Lu Baqian manifested the Mountain-Suppressing Seal through a mighty ability, but the female Hanba calmly countered it with a seal, causing the two seals to explode midair.

“Why aren’t you intimidated by the Mountain-Suppressing Seal?” Lu Baqian was baffled. This shouldn’t be the case.

The female Hanba replied gloomily, “Is there anything more frightening than emerging to find a Transcendent Tribulation sword cultivator and a pure-yang Transcendent Tribulation cultivator waiting at your doorstep?”

~~~

The higher-ups of the Wilderness Province held a temporary meeting.

“How did Man Gu arrest Zhang Tongheng right after we officially announced his promotion?” The higher-ups’ reactions weren’t much better than before. They froze for several seconds before processing the news.

“This is too arrogant! It’s utter disrespect for our decision!” Lord Song slammed the table in fury. In his hundred years of service as an official in the imperial court, he had never encountered something this outrageous.

“You can’t exactly say that. If Zhang Tongheng couldn’t keep his hands clean and accepted bribes, how is that Man Gu’s fault?”

“If you ask me, we should thank Man Gu for rooting out the rotten apple.”

“Rooting out the rotten apple? He’s acting so presumptuously just because he’s a disciple of an immortal sect!”

Watching the conflict between the two factions grow heated, Provincial Governor Lü frowned. “Alright, that’s enough. Let’s set aside Man Gu’s matters for now. The Zhongshan Commandery Governor position is vacant again. Who should fill it?”

“Should we pick another county magistrate from Zhongshan Commandery?”

“That wouldn’t work. The rest lack seniority and won’t command respect.”

“What do you suggest then, Lord Lü?”

Provincial Governor Lü stroked his chin as he considered potential candidates, then said slowly, “We could dispatch a provincial official to assume the position of Zhongshan Commandery Governor. I’ve observed that Advisor Zhou Hai[1] is sharp and perceptive. He is a good judge of character and knows how to delegate. He should be capable of taking on this position.”

1. To be more specific, the gongcao is an assistant to the governor and is in charge of human resources. ☜