Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)

At a cemetery on the outskirts of Quyi County, a surreptitious figure performed a peculiar dance, and a gate appeared beneath his feet.

Entering the gate, he arrived at an underground tomb.

The figure rubbed his hands excitedly. The method really works; it can open graves.

However, the tomb chamber was empty, with no rare treasures or priceless antiques as expected. Only a jet-black coffin remained, its four corners fixed in place with blood-stained nails. Atop it lay a seal stamp the size of a palm.

He quietly took the seal stamp, which bore the characters “Mountain-Suppressing” on its base.

The figure hurried away with the seal stamp, unaware that the coffin had begun to tremble.

~~~

Corpse-Driving Sect...

“Generally speaking, there are two methods to cultivate at the Void Refinement Stage—tempering oneself in the mundane world or through battles...”

With Zhao Po’s advancement to the Void Refinement Stage, Lu Baqian personally taught him the various tips and tricks for this cultivation realm.

Zhao Po was listening with rapt attention when suddenly, a crisp sound came from the front of Lu Baqian’s robes, as if something was breaking.

Lu Baqian reached into his robes and pulled out a broken jade disc.

“Crap, the seal is broken!” Lu Baqian’s expression shifted dramatically.

“Sect Leader, what’s wrong?” Zhao Po asked urgently.

“The seal has vanished!”

“Seal? What seal?” Zhao Po was still confused.

“Six thousand years ago, one of our Corpse-Driving Sect’s ancestors somehow lost control of a jiangshi he had refined. At that time, the jiangshi had already reached the stage of ‘Non-Transmuted Bone,’ only half a step away from the legendary ‘Hanba’ drought demon!

“The sect ancestor engaged in an all-out battle with the jiangshi and sealed it at the cost of his own life. Only fragmented reports of the event made it back to the sect.

“But the most crucial piece of information—the location of the seal—never made it back to the sect, leaving us unable to deal with that jiangshi.

“Now, six thousand years later, though that jiangshi was sealed, since it has broken free, it has likely reached the ‘Hanba’ realm!”

Zhao Po’s expression also changed drastically. The emergence of a Hanba would scorch the earth for a thousand li. This is a world-ending calamity!

“Our sect elders’ cultivation depends on their jiangshi, and a Hanba has absolute control over all other jiangshi. They can’t be sent into battle. Only I can act!”

“We could ask the imperial court for help!”

“It’s too late! Once a Hanba emerges, it will flee. Once it comes into its own, even Transcendent Tribulation cultivators won’t be able to do anything about it. We must head over there immediately!”

Lu Baqian produced a compass and turned its lodestone. It eventually came to rest, pointing east.

“Looks like the Hanba is in the east!”

For some reason, Zhao Po felt a pang of unease. He couldn’t shake the sense of foreboding. The sect leader’s journey will likely be perilous.

“Sect Leader, is there really no other way to deal with that Hanba?”

“There is one more way. That sect ancestor possessed a Mountain-Suppressing Seal, which has remarkable effects against the Hanba. However, it was forged by the legendary reclusive clan—the Divine Craftsman Wang Family!”

Lu Baqian sighed. “The Divine Craftsman Wang Family vanished a hundred years ago. I have no idea where they are.

“Perhaps it’s your shifu’s destiny to fight the Hanba!”

~~~

“At last, is this damned seal about to be undone?” the female Hanba murmured as the coffin shook. How long have I waited? Three or five thousand years?

For jiangshi, as long as their spirit intelligence did not perish and their bodies were not destroyed, they would grow stronger with time. Seals could only slow that process.

Over these six thousand years, she had slowly grown stronger, finally advancing from Non-Transmuted Bone to Hanba.

However, becoming a true Hanba wasn't so simple. Hanba were not tolerated by heaven and earth. Only by enduring the Heavenly Tribulation, Earth Tribulation, and Human Tribulation could she truly become a Hanba.

Five hundred years ago, tribulation clouds appeared in the tomb chamber, striking her until she was on the brink of death. Fortunately, she managed to pull through. That was the Heavenly Tribulation.

The Earthly Tribulation was the Mountain-Suppressing Seal on her coffin. Only when the seal was removed could she be deemed to have passed the tribulation.

Since the Mountain-Suppressing Seal had been taken by a tomb raider, that left her with only the Human Tribulation.

“I am now at the Half-Step Transcendent Tribulation Stage. After I emerge, I will probably encounter a cultivator of similar strength. Only by defeating them can I pass the Human Tribulation!”

The female Hanba laughed. This is my home ground. I’m unbeatable beneath the Transcendent Tribulation Stage. Unless the opponent uses the Mountain-Suppressing Seal, they can never defeat me!

~~~

“If you ask me, I have to say our approach has been wrong. If we’re looking for ghosts, we should go to cemeteries,” Constable Lu analyzed seriously.

“You have a point.” Constable Meng nodded, agreeing with his colleague’s opinion.

They had spent half a night patrolling the county town without seeing a single ghost. Rather than waiting around passively, we should take the initiative to strike.

The two newly hired constables were determined to render meritorious service and resolve the mysterious haunting case.

“I heard there’s a wasteland outside Quyi County where people are often buried. Maybe some of them died with grievances and became ghosts.”

The two immediately came to an agreement and headed to the cemetery on the outskirts.

~~~

Cemeteries were usually dense with yin energy. Even healthy mortals could be possessed by evil spirits here.

Meng Jingzhou yawned, and a faint wisp of his aura scattered the yin energy instantly.

“Hey, hey, we’re on duty. Watch your image,” Lu Yang reminded him. “We’re in uniform; we represent the imperial court. If ghosts see us slacking, they’ll think we’re slacking off on the job.”

Meng Jingzhou clicked his tongue. “What’s it got to do with you?”

As they bickered, the soil before them suddenly loosened, and a terrifying aura burst forth, shooting skyward.

A peerlessly beautiful woman appeared before them. Her pale face did nothing to diminish her beauty.

Bathing in the moonlight, the female Hanba was delighted to find the supreme yin energy far stronger than before she was sealed. It could help her grow even stronger.

Then she set her sights on the two constables on duty.

“Two little constables? Perfect. I haven’t eaten in a long time. I’ll start with you two!” The female Hanba unleashed a terrifying aura, causing the two little constables to tremble in fear.

The emergence of a Hanba would scorch the earth for a thousand li. Deathly energy spread from beneath her feet. Wherever it reached, no vitality remained.

The deathly energy spread a full two zhang before stopping at Lu Yang’s feet.

However, the female Hanba’s focus was on Meng Jingzhou and didn’t notice this anomaly.

She opened her mouth and bit Meng Jingzhou’s neck. Immediately after, she let out a blood-curdling shriek, writhing on the ground in agony.

“Who are you? Why do you have such terrifying yang energy?!” The female Hanba felt like the pain was ripping her heart and lungs apart. Logically speaking, yang energy should have become nourishment for me, but his yang energy is too overwhelming.

“I think I’ve heard First Elder mention this before. Is this a Hanba?” Meng Jingzhou poked the female Hanba. Wherever he touched, her flesh sizzled and smoked, his supreme yang energy searing her.

Such thick yang energy is practically the bane of my existence. So the Human Tribulation isn’t going to be easy after all?

The female Hanba steeled herself. As I thought, becoming a true Hanba was never going to be so simple.

If that’s the case, I’ll go all out!

The female Hanba fully released her Half-Step Transcendent Tribulation aura. Under such a terrifying aura, all jiangshi will submit.

I am the bona fide king of jiangshi!

I am the embodiment of calamity!

“Come! Let this esteemed one see what skills you have!”

“Stop screeching like a ghost and behave.” Losing patience, Meng Jingzhou pinned the female Hanba to the ground. I thought we had found the source of the hauntings. Turns out it’s a Hanba.

“T-Transcendent Tribulation Stage?” The female Hanba panicked. Only a Transcendent Tribulation expert could subdue me so effortlessly!

“What do you say? Do we get rid of her?” Lu Yang drew the Qingfeng Sword. In any case, this is my first time seeing a real Hanba. I should show some respect by using the Qingfeng Sword.

“Another Transcendent Tribulation cultivator? And a sword cultivator at that?”

What kind of joke is this? One Transcendent Tribulation cultivator is brimming with yang energy that counters me most, and the other is a sword cultivator whose offensive prowess is unparalleled. The female Hanba had expected the Human Tribulation to be tough, but not this tough.

How long have I slumbered? Have things gotten so bad that even Transcendent Tribulation cultivators have to work as constables these days?

“Don’t kill me! I surrender!” The female Hanba kowtowed frantically. Even if I became a true Hanba, I still wouldn’t be able to beat these two.

“Look at her clothes. Aren’t those from the Corpse-Driving Sect? She’s the jiangshi they lost, right?” Meng Jingzhou asked. Her outfit was tattered, but he could still barely recognize it as being from the Corpse-Driving Sect.

“It really does look like it. Shall we send her back to the Corpse-Driving Sect and let them handle it?”

The female Hanba was about to rejoice at surviving when Lu Yang’s words poured cold water on her hopes.

“That’d be tricky. With her cultivation, the Corpse-Driving Sect probably won’t be able to suppress her. It’ll be troublesome if she escapes from them.”

“I won’t run. I absolutely won’t run!” the female Hanba exclaimed hastily. Seeing Lu Yang still holding the Qingfeng Sword, she revealed her weakness outright.

“There’s a magical treasure called the Mountain-Suppressing Seal. As long as it’s around, I can’t escape!”

“Really? Where is this seal?” Lu Yang was skeptical.

The female Hanba pointed in a direction and exclaimed, “I can sense that someone has taken the Mountain-Suppressing Seal that sealed me. He went that way!”

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou looked at where she was pointing and recalled the map of the surrounding area. “Isn’t Guyuan County in that direction?”