Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)

Commandery Governor Zhou stood on the roof of the Commandery Governor Residence in Zhongshan Commandery. The residence was the tallest building in the commandery. Here, he could take in the entire commandery’s beautiful scenery.

He reached out as if to grasp the distant streetscape, as if he could command all of Zhongshan Commandery with a single hand.

A cool night breeze stirred his thoughts. Recalling Man Gu’s behavior at the meeting, his fists clenched involuntarily, knuckles cracking.

“With Man Gu around, I’m afraid Zhongshan Commandery will never be truly considered mine alone.”

“Your Excellency, Man Gu genuinely didn’t give you face at the meeting.” Zhou Hai’s personal guard voiced out in indignation.

Commandery Governor Zhou smiled ruefully and shook his head. “He’s a disciple of the Dao-Seeking Sect and a zhuangyuan after all. It’s only natural that he’s a bit more arrogant and disregards a commandery governor like me.”

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. “But he also needs to know that it wasn’t kindness that got me to this position in a century!

“So what if he’s a disciple of the Dao-Seeking Sect? The world ultimately belongs to Great Xia, and the Dao-Seeking Sect is just one of the Five Great Immortal Sects.

“Here in the Wilderness Province’s officialdom, one must follow its rules.”

My connections span the entire Wilderness Province!

At this thought, Commandery Governor Zhou instinctively touched the storage ring on his middle finger. This is the trump card that lets me thrive in the Wilderness Province’s officialdom.

“Where’s my storage ring?!”

His eyes shot wide open. When did my storage ring disappear?!

It mustn’t fall into anyone’s hands!

~~~

On the way back to the yamen after their night shift, Lu Yang was baffled to notice the streets slightly busier than they normally were at dawn.

“Old Meng, don’t you think there are more outsiders in our county than usual?”

Quyi County isn’t a tourist spot. There shouldn’t be this many visitors.

“There’s indeed more of them. Have you noticed? They’re all cultivators at the Golden Core, Nascent Soul, or Divine Transfiguration Stages.”

Compared to mortals, cultivators were rare. The appearance of so many cultivators at once likely implied that something was afoot.

Back at the yamen, the two chose to ask Man Gu.

“Oh, an increase in cultivators? That’s because a secret domain is about to open,” Man Gu explained.

“Our county has a secret domain?”

“No. On a mountain not far from here is a secret domain left by a cultivator from the early Great Xia era. It’s called the Four Repositories Secret Domain.”

Man Gu walked into the courtyard and pointed at a distant mountain. The early morning mist shrouding it lent it an air of mystery.

“That’s West Mountain. The secret domain lies deep within it.”

“The Four Repositories Secret Domain opens once every hundred years. It has three levels, corresponding to the Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Divine Transfiguration stages. Cultivators at these three cultivation realms can participate in the trials.

“Counties near West Mountain will see an influx of cultivators whenever this time comes around, and it will get lively for a while.”

“Only until the Divine Transfiguration Stage, huh?” Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were a bit disappointed. They had hoped it was a secret domain that allowed Transcendent Tribulation cultivators to explore. Since the Divine Transfiguration Stage was the upper limit, they would sit this one out.

“You’re really silly, Xiao Yangzi. Only immortals can construct Transcendent Tribulation-level secret domains.”

“True. It isn’t easy to encounter secret domains of such a level.”

“Even if you encounter one, there’s no need to enter.” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy said matter-of-factly, “Since an immortal built the secret domain, if you want the rewards, this immortal can just ask the creator directly.”

“Uh, that won’t be necessary.” Lu Yang’s skin was not thick enough for that.

~~~

Over the next few days, more cultivators poured into Quyi County. However, they were obedient and kept to themselves, likely to avoid trouble before the secret domain opened. Quyi County’s public security remained as usual.

Ambling through the streets during the day, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou could frequently hear exclamations.

“Look! That’s Kongwen from the White Horse Temple! It’s said that he has mastered one of the Buddhist Six Mighty Abilities—Mind Penetration. All schemes will be laid bare before him!”

“Even Master Shi Chan of the Hanging Monastery praises him highly.”

Draped in a kasaya, Kongwen held one hand vertically before his chest and chanted the Diamond Sutra, as if he couldn’t hear the exclamations around him.

“The Azure Dragon Holy Son of the Four Symbols Sect is here too! His Azure Dragon Combat Technique is peerless, rivaling even the power of sword cultivators!”

“The Four Symbols Sect even bought dragon blood for him. After bathing in it, his Azure Dragon Combat Technique has achieved minor success. Magical treasures can barely scratch him now!”

The Azure Dragon Holy Son was muscular, with dragon horns atop his head. He was a dragon-human, and many followers trailed behind him.

“I heard that the Big Senior Brother of the Sea-Listening Sect is here too. After most of their higher-ups were arrested, the sect declined, but it’s said that the remaining higher-ups set aside their differences and no longer schemed against each other, instead focusing on nurturing him as a seed for their sect’s resurgence!”

“And for the Holy Maiden of the Seven Stars Holy Land, they say that she could be the next Lan Ting...”

“The final closed-door disciple of the Asura Sect Leader...”

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou exchanged glances. They didn’t seem to recognize a single one of them.

“I’m getting old. I can’t keep up with the times.” Lu Yang sighed with his hands clasped behind his back. Judging by the crowd’s reactions, these are all famous people, but I know none of them. They must be rising stars.

“Time waits for no one.” Meng Jingzhou shook his head and sighed too.

“Wait, these people are around our age, and quite a few are older, like that Azure Dragon Holy Son.” A quick sweep with his spiritual consciousness confirmed that they were all about the same age.

That reminded Lu Yang that they had never met the Azure Dragon Holy Son, but they had met the White Tiger Holy Son back at Great Xia’s borderlands when they were at the Foundation Establishment Stage. At the time, Lu Yang had just learned the Arhat Fist and kindly gave the White Tiger Holy Son a shave.

“Our peers are only at the Divine Transfiguration, huh?” Lu Yang had expected his peers to have reached at least the Void Refinement Stage by now.

At the very least, that’s the case for all the peers I know—Man Gu, Li Haoran, Tao Yaoye, Lan Ting, Shi Chan, and the others.

Even Zhao Po is at the Void Refinement Stage.

“Boss, give us two youtiao.” Passing by a youtiao stall whetted their appetite.

“Sigh, this is the downside of cultivating too fast. We have nothing in common to talk about with peers our age.” The two sighed one after another. Perhaps this is the price of reaching the Transcendent Tribulation Stage.

Kongwen brushed past the two constables, and his pupils contracted sharply.

As he still couldn’t control his Mind Penetration properly, it was constantly active, listening to everyone’s thoughts.

These two constables’ minds are terrifyingly silent! I can’t read their minds at all!

Who are they?!

Lu Yang was munching on his youtiao when he noticed Kongwen using his Mind Penetration ability on himself and flashed an enigmatic smile.

The two brushed past Kongwen, who stood rooted to the spot, his mind echoing with the auditory message they transmitted to him.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t breathe a word about this to anyone.”