Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)

Banbu had no way to dodge Lu Yang’s furious sword strike. Steeling himself, he resolved to stake everything on a final gamble.

He bit the tip of his tongue without hesitation, smearing the blood across his face in eerie runes. He had studied ancient history extensively. These were symbols of some ancient tribe used to burn one’s lifespan and essence blood.

Countless bianzhong bells seemed to be chiming within Banbu, with waves of Buddhist chants echoing and compelling all who heard them to bow in worship. But if one listened closely, one would sense that the Buddhist sounds were impure, tainted with heretical obsession.

A golden arhat dharma manifestation coalesced, solemn and majestic. The worshippers kowtowed fervently, pounding their heads against the ground until they bled.

“Junior, you forced my hand!” Banbu bled from all seven orifices, his face contorted. The golden arhat roared alongside him. Even when Abbot Mingyu was hunting him down, he had never resorted to this technique. Its cost was immense, shaving a thousand years off his lifespan. He would never use it unless he was at a life-or-death juncture.

But against Lu Yang’s sword, it was all useless. The golden arhat was split in two. Banbu had hoped to use it as a distraction to flee, but he never imagined the sword strike would be so terrifying. The golden arhat couldn’t withstand even a single strike. His face remained frozen in terror even in death.

The strike concentrated Lu Yang’s essence, qi, and spirit. Even Banbu’s soul couldn’t escape and was cleaved vertically in two.

“Disgusting.” Lu Yang felt that every extra second this man lived was revolting.

Before the soul dissipated, Lu Yang grabbed both halves and forcibly searched the soul, learning everything Banbu had done since arriving on the Blue Planet.

With their “omnipotent god” fallen, the worshippers scattered in panic.

“Still.” With a single word, Lu Yang froze the worshippers in place, then sent them all down to the foot of Kunlun Mountain with a single sweep of his hand.

From the soul search, Lu Yang discovered that these were ordinary people brainwashed by Banbu and not truly evil. Nevertheless, those susceptible to his influence couldn’t have had the purest hearts; they were all driven by desire.

What to do with these people can be left for later. It wasn’t easy finding Bai Shuang. I shall not dwell on such troublesome matters for now. If there really are evil people, Li Wenjie is definitely one of them.

Li Wenjie had originally been a disciple of some ancient cult on the Blue Planet. By chance, he encountered Banbu shortly after the monk’s arrival and did many deeds for him. He eventually became the cult’s leader and acted with impunity within the cult.

Lu Yang tapped the Qingfeng Sword lightly. The blade hummed, crushing Li Wenjie within the small world.

“Bai-jiejie!” Xia He cried, jumping off the wupeng boat and rushing to the altar. She still wore the jade pendant with the illusion array, her appearance that of an old woman.

Bai Shuang was dumbfounded. When she had last seen Xia He, the latter struggled to walk even with her cane. She can run and jump now?

“Wh-What happened to you?” The change was too sudden for Bai Shuang to process. “And who is he?”

Banbu was the most terrifying enemy she had ever faced. The pressure she felt from him far surpassed that of the Zombie Planet’s Planetary Will Gu Yu, and even the Zhutian Civilization fleets. Even her ability to come and go freely had been countered by Banbu, throwing her into a panic. Yet this enemy was slain by this young man with a single sword.

Xia He removed the jade pendant, revealing her youthful appearance. She wiped her tears of joy as she pointed at the young man who had just sheathed his sword with a flourish. “Bai-jiejie, Lu Yang is back! He healed me!”

“Lu Yang... He’s Lu Yang?!” Bai Shuang was stunned, then her eyes went wide with disbelief, her mouth agape. She couldn’t close it for a long while. She suddenly recalled that Banbu had called out Lu Yang’s name. Xia He couldn’t possibly have mistaken him. “You really are Lu Yang?”

“Bai-jiejie, you don’t recognize me anymore?” Lu Yang felt that his earlier sheathing movement wasn’t stylish enough, so he drew and sheathed the sword again.

Only Lu Yang would show off so deliberately. Bai Shuang was now certain. Then she stammered, “D-Didn’t you self-detonate?”

She had watched him self-detonate, leaving not even ashes behind.

“My body was gone, but my soul was intact.” Lu Yang patted his chest cheerfully, indicating he was healthy and fine.

Although Bai Shuang didn’t quite understand how Lu Yang had come back to life, it was good enough that he was alive. Lu Yang was the first friend she had ever made. Even her name had been given by him. No matter what, he will always be my best friend.

Bai Shuang missed the days when she had lived inside Lu Yang. During the apocalypse, to win Lu Yang over to humanity’s side, she had often resided within him, arguing with Gu Yu. If Gu Yu hadn’t ultimately betrayed them, that would have been the happiest period of Bai Shuang’s life.

The array on the altar was dispelled, and Bai Shuang was restored to her usual spirited state. Following her memories, she drifted toward Lu Yang, only to be blocked by the sealed mental space. “Lu Yang, why can’t I get into your body?”

Bai Shuang tapped on the mental space lightly. I used to be able to come and go freely.

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy watched Bai Shuang with an unfriendly expression from within the mental space. “There’s already someone here.”

Bai Shuang was so startled by the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s sudden appearance that she flipped in midair. “Lu Yang, wh-who is she?”

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy planted her hands on her hips like a spoiled young lady who had moved into her husband’s home in ancient times. “This is this immortal’s home.”

Lu Yang felt a headache coming on. He respectfully escorted both Bai Shuang and the Everlasting Immortal Fairy out of him. Sometimes, he felt like his body wasn’t even his own; anyone could come and go as they pleased.

Xia He explained from the side. “Bai-jiejie, Senior Everlasting can be considered Lu Yang’s savior. We have to thank her.”

“Savior?”

“Let me explain,” Lu Yang said. As the person involved, he knew best how complicated the story was. It couldn’t be summed up in a few words.

Lu Yang had no choice but to recount his experiences from the beginning again. Bai Shuang listened with rapt attention. She had never imagined a place as wondrous as the Cultivation World existed, let alone that Lu Yang could stand out in a world teeming with powerful cultivators.

She was giddy with delight. I knew I judged him correctly.

“In other words, I’m actually not the Blue Planet’s Planetary Will but an innate living being?”

“Correct. That’s also why that old monk wanted to subdue you. Every innate living being has immense potential. With proper guidance, reaching the Transcendent Tribulation Stage will be a cinch.”

“Then why can’t I do anything now?” Bai Shuang was perplexed. Innate living beings sound so impressive, yet all I can do is hop from one human’s body to another and chat.

“It’s due to the lack of spirit qi, Bai-jiejie.” Lu Yang was caught between laughter and tears. I had repeatedly emphasized the effects of spirit qi, yet you hadn’t absorbed a word.

“Does that mean I can become very, very strong with spirit qi?” Bai Shuang’s eyes lit up.

“Yes... Immortal Fairy, what are you doing?” From the corner of his eye, Lu Yang noticed that the Everlasting Immortal Fairy was circling the heart of Kunlun Mountain, deep in thought. He recalled from Banbu’s memories that an ancient seal lay deep within Kunlun Mountain.

This was also part of the reason the monk had chosen this place to subdue Bai Shuang.

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy pointed at several nearby mountain summits. “This place looks familiar. It feels like my home.”