Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 850: Mountain-Splitting Axe

Though the Everlasting Immortal Fairy herself was completely unaware, she had practically become a prominent figure in the imperial city long ago. Various factions closely watched Lu Yang’s every move.

The Second Imperial Prince and the Fifth Imperial Prince paid special attention to Lu Yang’s activities. They knew the Fourth Imperial Prince’s remnants would definitely make a move against Lu Yang. This was the price for opposing an imperial prince.

Although they were competitors with the Fourth Imperial Prince, this was still an internal matter of the imperial family. There is no place for an outsider like Lu Yang to interfere.

Moreover, he resorted to such a dirty method as reporting!

He must pay the price in blood!

However, despite waiting for a long time, what arrived was the silent disappearance of the Fourth Imperial Prince’s remnants, with not even a single corpse left behind. There were only several large craters formed by people kneeling on the ground.

“Transcendent Tribulation Stage! There are more than one Transcendent Tribulation cultivators by Lu Yang’s side!” They simultaneously concluded. If only one Transcendent Tribulation cultivator had acted, the matter couldn’t have been handled so cleanly!

“No wonder Lu Yang has always been so fearless. We thought he relied on the Dao-Seeking Sect as his backing, but never imagined he had Transcendent Tribulation cultivators by his side!”

The two princes reeled from the shock. The more they interacted with Lu Yang, the more terrifying he seemed—his strength appeared bottomless!

Yet no one knew that the limelight figure Lu Yang had long had his body taken over by an ancient immortal. The current immortal was merely a puppet manipulated at will by that ancient immortal. How pitiful, how lamentable.

~~~

As the Meng Estate was surrounded by enemies, outsiders couldn’t enter. However, Meng Potian had high hopes for Lu Yang’s future and granted him privileges that were equivalent to those of Meng Jingzhou in the Meng Family.

Apart from inheritance, this included all rights, such as bringing outsiders in.

After hearing that Lu Yang had used the Ministry of Justice to eliminate the Fourth Imperial Prince, Meng Potian increasingly felt that Lu Yang had an affinity with the Meng Family.

“Lu Yang-gege, you’re back?” Seeing “Lu Yang” return, Meng Jingyu excitedly ran over.

“Who is this gege?” Meng Jingyu curiously looked at Xia Tian behind Lu Yang.

Hearing Meng Jingyu call him “gege,” the Xia Emperor’s face twitched slightly. He knew Meng Jingyu. He had even personally attended her hundredth-day celebration.

Meng Jingzhou and his sister’s mother was the Xia Emperor’s elder sister, the Eldest Imperial Princess. In terms of seniority, Meng Jingzhou and his sister were his nephews and niece.

“His name is Xia Tian. Although his cultivation is lacking, his mind is sharp. He works for me now.” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy spoke with the tone of a bandit king, which Meng Jingyu inexplicably found impressive.

Meng Jingyu blinked and sweetly greeted, “Hello, Xia-gege.”

The Xia Emperor was beginning to regret his decision. How could I have forgotten? Following this kid Lu Yang may broaden my horizons, but Lu Yang is so close with Meng Jingzhou; I will have to interact with the Meng Family frequently.

What am I supposed to do then?

I have just stepped through the Meng Family’s door, and I’m already a seniority lower.

Meng Jingyu had little interest in Xia Tian, grabbing “Lu Yang”’s hand as she ran toward the study.

“Lu Yang-gege, the teacher assigned homework about ancient history. Can you teach me? My elder brother often praises your exceptional knowledge of ancient history.”

The Meng Family emphasized their children’s holistic development, which included learning history.

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy immediately agreed. “A trivial matter.”

When it comes to ancient history, who could be more familiar with it than I am?

~~~

Meng Jingyu was a diligent and studious child. The study displayed neatly arranged books with their covers somewhat soiled, clearly the result of frequent reading. It was completely unlike the Everlasting Immortal Fairy, who let books gather dust in her study.

“How do you answer this question? ’An ancient immortal once forged the Mountain-Splitting Axe. What was the reason for its creation?’”

If the real Lu Yang were here, he would tactfully tell Meng Jingyu that ancient history wasn’t worth studying and that learning modern history was good enough.

But the current Lu Yang had his body taken over. The Everlasting Immortal Fairy would only speak the unvarnished truth.

“If you’re asking about that, then there’s quite a story to tell...”

~~~

The next day, the private teacher coldly swept his gaze across the fidgeting juniors of the Meng Family. He was notoriously ill-tempered, obstinate, and feared no one.

“Yesterday’s assigned homework was indeed somewhat difficult, especially regarding the origin of the Mountain-Splitting Axe.

“As everyone knows, the Mountain-Splitting Axe is an ancient magical treasure. Although its power is far inferior to the immortal artifact, the Heaven-Splitting Axe, its fame is in no way lesser.”

Both the Mountain-Splitting Axe and Heaven-Splitting Axe were extremely famous. Back during the Dao-Seeking Sect’s entrance trials, the River Spirit had produced an ordinary axe, the Mountain-Splitting Axe, and the Heaven-Splitting Axe from the river.

“Regarding the Mountain-Splitting Axe’s origin, no ancient text clearly records it. However, by conscientiously studying the extracurricular reading I assigned, you can deduce the answer.

“The Mountain-Splitting Axe was forged by the ancient immortal, the Heaven Mandate Immortal, before he became an immortal.

“According to records, the ancient forebears were trapped in ten thousand massive mountains, and it was hard to establish contact with the outside world. The Heaven Mandate Immortal forged an axe, split the mountains, and carved out a path. Hence, the ancient forebears named this axe the Mountain-Splitting Axe.”

The teacher's voice grew increasingly icy. “But look at all of you! Blank submissions! Of course, not everyone did that. Meng Jingyu, come, tell us what you wrote!”

Meng Jingyu spoke up confidently, recounting the story the Everlasting Immortal Fairy told her yesterday. “In ancient times, the Heaven Mandate Immortal was impoverished. To eke out a living, he excavated mountains and charged tolls. He would place the axe across the road and say to passers-by, ‘This mountain was split open by me, and these trees were planted by me. If you wish to pass, leave the toll behind.’[1] Only after receiving payment would the Heaven Mandate Immortal lift the axe and let them pass.

“Hence, the ancient forebears named this axe the Mountain-Splitting Axe.”[2]

“You learned this from a book?” The teacher’s expression was peculiar. Which pirated book is misleading students?

“This is what Lu Yang-gege told me. It can’t be wrong.” Meng Jingyu had complete trust in Lu Yang.

“Lu Yang? Call him over! I'll debate this with him!” The teacher naturally knew of Lu Yang’s reputation, but that was as a cultivation genius, not a history genius. I have painstakingly studied ancient history for so many years; how could I possibly fear Lu Yang in this field?

Meng Jingyu hurriedly brought “Lu Yang” over.

“Lu Yang-gege, Teacher said what you told me yesterday was wrong.”

“Ah, which part is wrong?” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy was puzzled. Had I misremembered? That shouldn’t be. I was the one who came up with the catchphrase for the Heaven Mandate Immortal.

The teacher stated the standard answer, which was also the widely accepted answer in academic circles.

“Isn’t that roughly the same as what I said?”

The teacher was so furious that his beard bristled. “It’s completely different! The Heaven Mandate Immortal in your version is a bandit who blocked the roads!”

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy retorted with conviction, “How is that a bandit? The Heaven Mandate Immortal toiled hard to chisel through mountains with his axe, creating a passage, and cultivated the Tree-Planting Mantra to plant trees. Isn’t it reasonable to charge a fee?”

“Then the Heaven Mandate Immortal couldn’t possibly have said things like ‘this mountain was split open by me!’” The teacher felt that this was slandering the image of an ancient immortal.

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy was even more perplexed. “If you don’t say that, how would others know you were the one who split open the mountain? How would they willingly pay the fee?”

1. This is a bandit-style catchphrase in Chinese novels. ☜

2. The name could be interpreted as splitting/cleaving mountains or opening mountains. ☜