Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)

“Later on, when the ‘Battle of the Great Era’ foretold by the Left Historian Immortal arrived, the Midheaven Emperor-Lord’s subordinates were awakened one after another, and he sent them out to continue searching for leads on the four of us.

“In the end, every subordinate he dispatched never returned. The one sent to the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace disappeared; the one sent to the Buddhist Kingdom disappeared; the Thunder Arbiter sneaked out and disappeared; the Fate Arbiter made a trip to the Extreme North and disappeared. It left the Emperor-Lord in a constant state of terror. He even moved out of the sun and abandoned that enormous immortal palace.”

Hearing the Qilin Immortal put it that way, the Midheaven Emperor-Lord’s face darkened. How could you blame me for being afraid? It was like a haunting. Who wouldn’t be scared by such a string of inexplicable disappearances?

“Recently, he somehow learned that the Nine-Netherworlds Creed was about to condense the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit, so he sent the Balance Arbiter and the Fittest Arbiter to steal it and bring it to him.

“Only a handful of people know about the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit, and the most likely suspect to have informed the Emperor-Lord was the mastermind behind the scenes.

“The mastermind couldn’t have shared information out of goodwill. There had to be another reason.

“Hence, I made up my mind. After the Fittest Arbiter obtains the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit, I'll turn against the Emperor-Lord, force out of him what exactly the mastermind told him, and then find a way to pass that information on to all of you.

“Who would have imagined that both you, Everlasting and Young Friend Lu, would be here as well?”

The Qilin Immortal smiled wryly. He had originally resolved to remain hidden for the rest of his life. He had figured it was a good thing that the Everlasting Immortal Fairy was present. The Midheaven Emperor-Lord would surely fail to claim the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit, and he wouldn’t have had to step in.

But oh boy! The Emperor-Lord’s plan went so smoothly. The Fittest Arbiter had secured the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit and was just about to hand it over. I had no choice but to intervene and engage the Emperor-Lord in battle.

The Qilin Immortal opened his mouth and spat out the spoils—the sapling and the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit.

“So this thing is the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit. Bring it here, Xiao Yangzi. Let this immortal have a look.” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s curiosity was piqued. She had never had the chance to see such a novel Incipient Dao Fruit with her own eyes.

“Here.” The Qilin Immortal handed the sapling to Lu Yang. The only fly in the ointment was that the sapling had been retrieved from his stomach and was coated in a layer of sticky, viscous liquid.

“Don’t turn your nose up at it, Xiao Yangzi. This is Qilin Saliva. It’s more precious than Dragon Saliva in the ancient era. You can’t even purchase it with a thousand gold,” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy whispered.

Lu Yang was silent. Then why don’t you take it, Immortal Fairy?

Lu Yang and the Everlasting Immortal Fairy examined the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit. A faint vortex slowly spun across its surface. Staring at it for too long could leave one entranced.

The Qilin Immortal interrogated the Midheaven Emperor-Lord sternly. “What exactly did the mastermind say to you?”

The Midheaven Emperor-Lord answered without the slightest hesitation. “He told me that refining the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit would let me live another lifetime. But before that, I had to hand the fruit over to him first. He would return it to me after using it. I agreed on the surface, but I never truly trusted him. I was determined to refine the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit the moment I got my hands on it.”

The Qilin Immortal frowned. The Midheaven Emperor-Lord’s response was somewhat unexpected. “What does the mastermind want with the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit?”

The Midheaven Emperor-Lord shook his head. “He didn’t tell me.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he clamped a hand over his mouth and fixed the Qilin Immortal with a murderous glare. “What did you do to me?!”

Even if I’d been reduced to a captive, I would never have divulged everything so obediently!

The Qilin Immortal sneered. “Have you forgotten? My Dao Fruit is also the superior Dao Fruit of the Law of the Jungle Incipient Dao Fruit!”

The Law of the Jungle Incipient Dao Fruit granted the victor dominion over the vanquished. It was precisely this ability that had allowed Zhu Tian to secure his position as the Demon Monarch.

As a fellow immortal, the Midheaven Emperor-Lord naturally wouldn’t be fully dominated by the Qilin Immortal. But it was still well within the Qilin Immortal’s means to make the Midheaven Emperor-Lord speak the truth.

As Lu Yang held the sapling at the side, he mulled over the same question. What does the mastermind want with the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit?

Does he also wish to live another lifetime?

But based on the Emperor-Lord’s account, that doesn’t seem to add up. If the mastermind wanted another lifetime, why did he say he would return the Incipient Dao Fruit afterward?

Then again, if it were a lie, that would have been exposed far too easily.

Moreover, given how cautious the mastermind was, how could he guarantee that the Emperor-Lord wouldn’t simply keep the Incipient Dao Fruit for himself?

At that thought, Lu Yang’s expression shifted dramatically as a terrifying possibility struck him. “Oh no! The mastermind is hiding nearby!”

With the mastermind’s power, he never feared that the Qilin Immortal would obtain the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit!

“Kek kek, you are pretty quick on the uptake, young one.”

A massive black hand materialized beside Lu Yang without warning, reaching to snatch the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit.

“How dare you?!” The Qilin Immortal reacted instantly, clashing palms with the black hand.

The shockwave from the collision blasted both Lu Yang and the Midheaven Emperor-Lord away, the only difference being that one flew farther than the other.

The Qilin Immortal didn’t fare much better. Unable to match the black hand’s master in strength, he was sent flying as well.

A figure shrouded in black mist materialized slowly. He had been here all along, yet no one had sensed his presence!

“Qilin, it seems that after three hundred thousand years, your skills have improved—by a teeny little bit. In the past, that palm of mine would have sent you flying much farther.”

As the figure laughed, the black mist around him shifted through countless forms.

The Qilin Immortal burst out of the rubble, shook off the debris, and fixed his gaze upon that figure. His voice rose to a roar as he called out the other party’s identity.

“Mastermind behind the scenes—the Sixth Immortal!”

The Qilin Immortal’s palm throbbed with pain as his broken bones knitted themselves back together.

The Survival of the Fittest Dao Fruit had another effect. One would grow stronger after defeating an enemy. In his current state, the Qilin Immortal was more powerful than before his battle with the Midheaven Emperor-Lord. He could be said to be at his pinnacle, yet he still couldn’t withstand a single palm strike from the mastermind.

The mastermind laughed indifferently. “With Everlasting gravely injured and still recovering, surely you don’t think you alone can protect the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit?”

“Gotta try to find out!” The Qilin Immortal transformed back into his original form—a qilin that trod upon the heavens and roared, his qilin eyes bloodshot.

The more he hated his past self from three hundred thousand years ago, the more he desired to slay the mastermind behind the scenes.

“Who exactly are you?!” All trace of the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s languor was gone as she bellowed at the figure shrouded in black mist. She attempted to probe the black mist with her spiritual consciousness, but was repelled.

The mastermind didn't answer. He stared at the Everlasting Immortal Fairy gloomily through the black mist. His voice was like ice that had never thawed, laced with endless resentment. “Everlasting, you're truly difficult to kill.”

“I asked who you are!” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy burned with fury, her vast immortal consciousness causing the entire space around her to shake.

“I'll tell you before you die!”

The mastermind teleported before Lu Yang to seize the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit.

The Qilin Immortal had already anticipated that this was the mastermind's target. Employing spatial arts, he also arrived at Lu Yang’s side in a flash.

“You’ll have to get through me first!” The Qilin Immortal opened his bloody maw wide and lunged to bite him.

The mastermind’s expression turned cold as he raised his hand and shattered the Qilin Immortal’s teeth. “Courting death! You think you alone can stand in my way?!

“A demon spirit born of heaven and earth? You're merely a bastard beast with no parents!”