Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)

Since the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign had already put it that way, Lu Yang would seem overly pretentious if he continued to refuse. “In that case, thank you, Founding Ancestor.” He cupped his fists and bowed, then dripped blood onto the wupeng boat to become its master.

“Should I accompany you seniors to the outer world in two days then?” Lu Yang felt somewhat awkward. He could leave right now, but having just accepted such a gift, departing immediately would seem impolite.

For cultivators of their caliber, two days passed in the blink of an eye.

The Primordial Heavenly Sovereign waved with a smile. “How can a gift from me become a shackle on you? Feel free to leave now. You don’t have to consider our feelings.”

Lu Yang bowed once more to the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign and the other three immortal sect founders, then boarded the boat and flew out of the world.

Once the wupeng boat reached light speed, everything around him seemed to stand still. It then made a spatial jump, and in an instant, Lu Yang arrived at the point where he had turned back. A journey that would have taken him over ten days now required simply the blink of an eye.

“Good stuff.” Lu Yang couldn’t help but marvel. The most pivotal advantage was that these wupeng boats could be mass-produced. This meant that all cultivators exploring the outer world would no longer need to worry about their journey, drastically increasing the time they could spend exploring outside.

While the wupeng boat flew, Lu Yang kept himself occupied. He took out a canvas and sketched each galaxy he passed through, recording his travel route. This was the practice of all cultivators exploring the outer world.

The world outside was completely unknown to them, and the universe was so vast that a single misstep could easily cause them to lose their way.

This was the reason the White Horse Dynasty’s Star Observation Diagram was crude and riddled with flaws, yet it was still highly sought after by cultivators.

When travel fatigue set in, Lu Yang would occasionally dock the wupeng boat near a star and transform into a giant, flicking the stars with his fingers. The stars rolled in his hand like marbles, amusing him.

“Immortal Fairy, aren’t you going to give it a try?” Whenever he encountered something entertaining, Lu Yang never forgot the Everlasting Immortal Fairy.

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy let out a disdainful snort and waved him off. “No, it’s so childish.” I’ve grown tired of such games back in the ancient era.

Although the Everlasting Immortal Fairy deemed it childish, Lu Yang found it novel and continued to delight in it. After playing with the stars, he carefully returned them to their original orbits and resumed his journey.

~~~

More than a month slipped by.

Lu Yang finished his cultivation session for the day and yawned with boredom. “It’s been so long. Why haven’t I encountered a single life-bearing star? Could there be none in this direction?”

“Just take your time searching.” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy didn’t find it dull. How could I ever be bored with Xiao Yangzi around?

Suddenly, Lu Yang’s eyes lit up. He pointed at a nearby star, his spiritual consciousness sensing signs of life activity. “That star seems to harbor life?”

He quickly slowed the wupeng boat, lest he fly past it. “It really is a life-bearing star.”

This life-bearing star appeared to be starkly polarized. One hemisphere was lush and teeming with vitality, while the other was barren and desolate, with scarcely a hint of green.

Lu Yang steered the wupeng boat toward the verdant hemisphere and found a random spot to land.

Upon landing, he found the environment reminiscent of the Demon Region. Towering trees reached into the clouds, their canopy blocking out the sun. The forest was so dense that the air was hot and humid. It was almost like a tropical rainforest.

“There seem to be traces of human activity here.” After just a few steps, he discovered human-made structures, long-abandoned and overgrown with vines.

“What exquisite architecture,” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy remarked. The buildings were neither wood nor stone, their structures complex and unfamiliar to her.

“They’re indeed exquisite, like the buildings from before I transmigrated.” Lu Yang ran his hand over the derelict structure, feeling somewhat wistful. The architectural style resembled that of the Blue Planet, with a distinctly “modern” feel.

“Ah? Could this be the planet you were originally from?”

“Impossible.”

“Why?”

Lu Yang pointed at the sign posted at the building’s entrance. “Because I don’t recognize the writing on it. It seems this planet had a fairly advanced civilization. I wonder why it fell into ruin.”

Just as he was about to survey the planet with his spiritual consciousness, a roar rang out.

A several-zhang-tall striped tiger prowled over, its tail swaying like a whip. With a casual sweep of its tail, the trunks of towering trees were snapped cleanly. Its sheer force was terrifying.

Lu Yang was stunned. “Are the tigers here so big?”

He attempted to communicate with the tiger, but it was merely a ferocious wild beast that had yet to develop sentience.

The tiger roared again and lunged at Lu Yang.

Lu Yang sighed softly. Why am I getting attacked right after arriving on this planet? This place isn’t very welcoming.

With a casual flick of his finger, a sword qi pierced the tiger’s skull, and it collapsed lifelessly.

“Come to think of it, this planet has quite a few wild beasts. You can stumble across such a huge tiger so easily.”

~~~

A fully armed salvation squad moved stealthily through the jungle.

“How far are we from the Beast King’s position?” They conversed in hushed tones, fearful of alerting their target.

“Based on the intelligence we’ve gathered, we’re still about five hundred meters away from the King of Aberrant Beasts.”

The squad leader nodded and said no more.

Every one of them had a resolute look in their eyes. They were ready to die for their cause.

Thirty years had passed since the great cataclysm. In that time, aberrant beasts had seized half the planet’s land, and humanity’s territory shrank with each passing year. If this continued, humanity would surely face extinction!

To that end, humanity’s leadership had assembled seven of the Ten Great Experts to form the salvation squad and eliminate the most formidable threat—the King of Aberrant Beasts.

The captain was called Zhan Po,[1] the number one among the Ten Great Experts of the turbulent age. He rarely spoke, but his every word and action influenced the squad, making him their undisputed big brother. Zhan Po lost his child to an aberrant beast, so he vowed to exterminate them all.

The vice-captain was called Shi Lingyun, the youngest and most talented of the Ten Great Experts. His appointment as vice-captain had been controversial at first, but after he defeated another one of the Ten Great Experts, no one questioned his position.

Shi Lingyun had ranked at the bottom of his class in school, but by chance, he came into contact with an enhancement agent. The enhancement agent had side effects, but Shi Lingyun’s unique constitution rendered him immune to them, earning him the attention of humanity’s top brass.

However, his fiancée was the daughter of a high-ranking official and was exceptionally beautiful. Before Shi Lingyun became one of the Ten Great Experts, many had picked on him for this reason.

One of the squad members, Yuan Xing, always joked around and kept morale high. But one time, in the dead of night, Shi Lingyun saw him holding a photograph toward the sky, his expression filled with sorrow. It was clear that he was carrying a hidden past.

Another squad member was called Su Tianxing. His father was formerly one of the Ten Great Experts. To prove himself, he had worked tirelessly and finally earned his place among the Ten Great Experts. He often clashed with Shi Lingyun, but after they fought side by side against a beast tide, they became close friends who kept nothing from each other.

The King of Aberrant Beasts was shrouded in mystery; not even its species was known. All they knew was that it was overwhelmingly powerful and could command all aberrant beasts. After paying a devastating price, humanity’s leadership had only managed to pinpoint its location.

“Lingyun, if this operation fails, we’ll cover your escape,” Captain Zhan Po said.

“Captain!” Shi Lingyun cried out, visibly shaken.

Zhan Po gripped Shi Lingyun’s shoulder, his tone firm. “Listen to me. I know you’re not afraid to die. But no one knows just how powerful the King of Aberrant Beasts truly is. If the mission fails, you are humanity’s last hope. No matter what happens to the rest of us, nothing must happen to you!”

“Alright, no more talking. We’ve arrived.”

The seven people’s life detectors showed a reading ahead. They exchanged glances and pressed forward. The King of Aberrant Beasts is just right ahead!

They parted a curtain of leaves and saw the carcass of a striped tiger, as enormous as a hill. Atop that hill sat a young man in strange attire. Their expressions were grim. Never had they felt such pressure. An indescribable terror spread among them.

The King of Aberrant Beasts is actually in human form!

1. “Zhan Po” translates to something like slashing souls. ☜