Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)

After several months, Lu Yang finally piloted the wupeng boat back to the Cultivation World. The return journey took more than twice as long as the trip from the Cultivation World to the Blue Planet.

Xia He had never been to outer space before. Experiencing weightlessness and viewing the sun, moon, and stars up close... such experiences were hard to come by. On the other hand, Bai Shuang had ridden in spaceships before, but nothing compared to the novelty of the wupeng boat. As a result, the journey took a long time.

Lu Yang understood the feeling. After all, he had also spent a long while playing in the cosmos.

On top of that, they had run into various minor troubles along the way. Wormholes had suddenly appeared, transporting them to unknown regions of the cosmos.

They saved a civilization of silicon-based lifeforms, became gods in a kingdom of little people, encountered the last survivor of a titan race, and slew several cosmic monsters, including their merged super-form.

Eventually, they found their way back and safely returned to the Cultivation World.

“There are so many kinds of life in the universe.” The journey was an eye-opener for Xia He and Bai Shuang. They had experienced firsthand the scenes they had only seen in science fiction films.

Lu Yang grumbled inwardly. The Interstellar Alliance and the Zhutian Civilization, two of the greatest civilizations in the cosmos, haven’t encountered so many strange cosmic races. Why have I run into them all in one trip?

“It’s nothing special. I come across these things all the time when traveling the cosmos. Nothing surprises me anymore,” Lu Yang remarked lightly. From his tone, one could easily imagine how rich his past experiences had been if these were merely travel anecdotes to him.

“Is that so? Then why didn’t you tell us about these things before?” Xia He raised an eyebrow, sharply spotting the loophole.

Lu Yang coughed twice to cover his embarrassment. “I’ve experienced too much. I was afraid you’d get tired of hearing it.”

“Is that so?” Xia He looked at him with a knowing smile, as though she had seen through his lie.

“It’s true! When have I ever lied to you?” Lu Yang protested.

It would have been better if he hadn’t said that. Hearing his words, Xia He exploded. “How many times have you lied to me already? You told me the streets were safe, but it was to trick me into going out as bait! Zombies swarmed out, and the moment they saw me, it was like the cafeteria had just opened for lunch!

“And you also said you would come back quickly after becoming a Zombie King at the Zombie King Tournament. I watched over the safe zone for you, but ‘quickly?’ You were gone for so long that I thought something had happened to you!

“And the other time you—”

“Enough, enough, please don’t say anything anymore.” Lu Yang hastily interrupted Xia He as she listed his misdeeds, his face reddening.

Bai Shuang listened with her head lowered, not daring to speak. Back when Lu Yang did those things, she had watched it all for amusement.

“Wow, the Cultivation World! We’re back home!” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy shouted with exaggerated enthusiasm, seizing the opportunity to cut off Xia He’s tirade.

Lu Yang was deeply grateful, not expecting the Everlasting Immortal Fairy to have her dependable moments.

Her words indeed caught Xia He’s attention. She looked up and beheld the immeasurable vastness of the Cultivation World, her heart skipping a beat.

No matter how many times she had listened to Lu Yang describe the Cultivation World’s grandeur and how planets were insignificant in comparison, nothing could beat seeing it once with one’s own eyes. “So this is the Cultivation World...”

At the Cultivation World’s entrance, spaceships came and went in endless streams, all from other planets. Every civilization harbored intense curiosity about the Cultivation World. Any blogger who filmed a video here would rack up a terrifying number of views, their follower count skyrocketing.

Much less needed to be said for commercial partnerships. The Cultivation World is a treasure trove that countless merchants and magnates would break their necks to get a piece of. The only problem was that when those magnates witnessed the Cultivation World’s art of turning stone into gold, they were all dumbfounded.

Now, cosmic travel was no longer exclusive to cultivators at the Fusion Stage and above. Even low-level cultivators and mortals could ride spaceships to visit other planets.

When the wupeng boat entered the Cultivation World, its bizarre structure made Xia He dizzy for a moment, but she quickly adjusted.

Lu Yang steered the wupeng boat back to the Dao-Seeking Sect.

At the bamboo grove near the Dao-Seeking Sect’s entrance, two figures and a metal case sat by the river playing games.

“Jump, jump!”

“Don’t rush me.”

With a crack, the game console snapped in half.

The Innate Daoist Priest looked at the River Spirit innocently. “See, it’s all your fault for rushing me.”

The River Spirit’s beard bristled. “How is it my fault? How many times have you died in this challenge?!”

The Innate Daoist Priest tossed the broken game console into the river, and the River Spirit jumped in after it.

Before long, mist rose from the water. The River Spirit slowly surfaced with two game consoles in his palms, his expression gentle. “Innate Daoist Priest, did you drop this broken game console or this perfectly intact one?”

“The broken one.”

“What an honest child. Then this broken console shall be yours.”

“Hey! Shouldn’t you give me the intact one?!” The Innate Daoist Priest panicked.

The River Spirit ignored him and patted the Ether computer beside him. “Let’s play a round.”

Just then, the River Spirit looked up, sensing Bai Shuang’s aura.

“What’s wrong?” Ether was baffled.

“Where has that kid Lu Yang been again? He’s brought back another innate living being?”

“Ah? Are we innate living beings so common?” Ether had been smug when it heard how rare innate living beings were. But now they didn’t seem so rare.

“Not as rare as Lu Yang, anyway.”

~~~

On Heaven’s Gate Peak, Yun Mengmeng had just baked a plate of flower pastries and offered them to Qing He.

There was a reason Qing He had disappeared before Lu Yang’s last seclusion and only reappeared today.

“Little He, are you saying that the Mother-Child River in our secret domain was created by the First-in-Command?”

“Yes,” Qing He declared with certainty. To find the lost Mother-Child River, she had traveled far and wide, visiting countless ancient sites and secret domains before finally uncovering a clue that led her to discover it was Yun Mengmeng’s hometown.

Yun Mengmeng’s mind was left whirling, unable to sort out the relationships. She asked Qing He to make sense of it all, but Qing He couldn’t either.

“Forget it, no point thinking about it. Knowing we’re closer to the First-in-Command is good enough.” Yun Mengmeng never made things difficult for herself. If I can’t figure something out, it won’t become clear to me no matter how long I think about it. I might as well spend that energy enjoying life.

“We’re back!” Lu Yang climbed Heaven’s Gate Peak, greeting Yun Mengmeng and Qing He with a smile.

“Second-in-Command, you’re back! Why have you even brought women with you?!” Yun Mengmeng froze. In novels, this behavior is usually called bringing back a “bandit chief’s wife?”[1]

Lu Yang was speechless, his face covered in black lines like in the comics. “Sister Mengmeng, please read more books.”

“This is what I learned from books!” Yun Mengmeng refuted self-righteously. How could I know so much without reading?

“First-Mom-in-Command, you’re back!”

Xia He stared in astonishment at the flustered Everlasting Immortal Fairy. “Senior Everlasting, your child is already this grown?”

No wonder she’s an ancient immortal. She doesn’t look her age at all despite being tens of thousands of years old.

“I’m not! I didn’t! She’s making things up!”

1. In Chinese novels, it is a common trope for bandit chiefs to abduct beautiful women and make them their wives. ☜