Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 851: An Unexpected Acquaintance

The teacher opened his mouth, intending to refute, but the words seemed to get stuck on his tongue.

It seems that Lu Yang has a point.

“Then how do you explain the Heaven-Splitting Axe? It can’t be that the Heaven Mandate Immortal used the axe to split a path through the sky, shout ‘this sky was split open by me,’ and charged a toll, thus naming the axe the Heaven-Splitting Axe, right?!’

The teacher recalled the origin of the Heaven-Splitting Axe. No ancient text recorded why the Heaven Mandate Immortal named his immortal axe thus. It was a mystery that plagued historians, with various theories abounding.

Some speculated that the Heaven Mandate Immortal once split the heavens open, separating hundun primal chaos and dividing yin and yang. Others theorized that when the immortal axe was forged, an unusual phenomenon occurred, where the sky was split open, and all living beings paid homage. Some also surmised that with this axe, the Heaven Mandate Immortal could refine heaven and earth anew, evolving earth, fire, wind, and lightning... Antiquity historians debated endlessly, with no consensus in sight; all were conjectures without evidence.

“It’s because the Heaven Mandate Immortal found the name cool! Does there need to be another reason?” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy looked at the teacher, baffled.

She always felt that techniques and artifacts didn’t need flashy names and that simple ones were fine, like the Play-Dead Technique and Immortal Fairy Fist Technique. On the other hand, the Heaven Mandate Immortal always believed that the names of techniques and artifacts had to be cool, such as the Heaven-Splitting Axe, the Hundun Primal Chaos Furnace, and the Universe Bell.

“How risible! What kind of figure was the Heaven Mandate Immortal? There must be profound meaning behind those naming choices!” The teacher evidently didn’t believe the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s explanation. This is simply absurd.

He continued, “For example, the legendary Hundun Primal Chaos Furnace! Ancient texts clearly record that the Heaven Mandate Immortal used this furnace to refine hundun primal chaos, thus naming it the Hundun Primal Chaos Furnace!”

“Ah, you’re talking about the Hundun Primal Chaos Furnace? That’s because this immortal...” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy almost revealed her identity out of habit but stopped halfway. Finding it inappropriate, she quickly changed course. “That’s because the Heaven Mandate Immortal used the furnace to cook a faceless hundun beast, so he named it the Hundun Primal Chaos Furnace.”

The Hundun beast was one of the Four Perils of the Ancient Era, equally famous at the Qiongqi.

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy quite missed the Hundun Primal Chaos Furnace. Cooking without it feels like something is missing.

The teacher hesitated but didn’t retort. He suddenly recalled that the Heaven Mandate Immortal had seemingly written the Comprehensive Culinary Compendium, which mentioned how to cook a hundun beast. It does seem plausible.

Could the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s naming sense truly be this poor?

“Lu Yang, since you presume to have some understanding of ancient history, do you dare come to our Imperial Taixue Academy for an academic discussion?”

The teacher’s name was Ye Gu. He wasn’t a member of the Meng Family but a historian from the Imperial Taixue Academy. He taught at the Meng Family as a private teacher simply because they offered a high salary.

“Now?”

“Now!” After suffering successive blows from “Lu Yang,” Ye Gu wanted to seek help at the Imperial Taixue Academy.

The Meng Family disciples below instantly erupted into cheers. With the teacher returning to the Imperial Taixue Academy, there would be no classes today.

Ye Gu glared fiercely at them and had someone distribute the test papers prepared beforehand, immediately triggering a wave of groans.

~~~

The Xia Emperor hadn’t entered the private school. He was waiting outside when he saw Lu Yang walk out.

“Where are we going?”

“To the Imperial Taixue Academy. This person thinks my knowledge of ancient history is pretty good, so he’s inviting me to give a lecture,” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy replied happily.

The Xia Emperor’s expression turned off. The Imperial Taixue Academy is full of obstinate, curmudgeonly old scholars. Could they really invite Lu Yang to give a lecture?

“I’m telling you to come to the Imperial Taixue Academy for an academic discussion!” Ye Gu corrected.

“Taunting me with reverse psychology; I get it.” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy saw through Ye Gu’s non-existent subtle intentions at a glance.

As Lu Yang’s follower, the Xia Emperor naturally followed them to the Imperial Taixue Academy.

~~~

The Imperial Taixue Academy was a prestigious educational institution in Great Xia. However, its research focused not on cultivation but on history. Most historical information about Great Qian and Great Yu were results of the Imperial Taixue Academy’s research.

And the most mysterious of all—ancient history, the subject of many legends—also fell within the scope of the Imperial Taixue Academy’s research.

Along the way, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy saw many disheveled scholars arguing with each other, each holding their own view and not yielding an inch.

“This Comprehensive Culinary Compendium clearly states that cooking times should be measured in seconds! How can that be wrong?!”

“Loan characters! They must be loan characters!”

“What loan characters? The Heaven Mandate Immortal must have loved salt! Have you not seen how he would always look down and say, ‘This lord has eaten more salt than the roads you have walked?’ after defeating formidable foes? That’s ironclad proof!”

The three scholars argued, looking as if they might come to blows at any disagreement.

In the mental space, Lu Yang watched all this silently, feeling that the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s reputation was probably beyond salvage.

Lu Yang saw another group of scholars discussing.

“According to my analysis, the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s Dao Fruit is likely related to heavenly tribulations.”

“That’s indeed possible... Wait, what did you just say?”

“I was saying that the Heaven Mandate Immortal... Right, what was I saying?”

The two scholars looked at each other, neither able to recall what had just been discussed.

Ye Gu led Lu Yang and the Xia Emperor deep into the Imperial Taixue Academy, to a simple and crude thatched cottage.

Inside, an elder with a weathered face was discussing something with someone. When the conversation grew exciting, his eyebrows would dance in delight.

The elder was none other than the Dean of the Imperial Taixue Academy, Qi Xiuya. Long renowned, he was a master of both ancient and modern history, with his attainments in the field of history unmatched. The outside world respectfully called him “Dean Qi” or “Elder Qi.” He rarely appeared in public, living a reclusive life. Even Lu Yang, who was currently in the limelight, had never heard of him.

One could even say he held no grudge against the Taciturn Daoist Priest, which showed just how isolated he was.

The person sitting opposite him had his back to the door.

Seeing Ye Qu enter, Qi Xiuya was somewhat surprised and asked with a smile, “Little Gu, shouldn’t you be teaching at the Meng Family at this hour? What brings you here?”

“Teacher, while lecturing at the Meng Family, we discussed the origin of the Mountain-Splitting Axe. This fellow Daoist Lu Yang proposed an alternative theory for its origin.”

Ye Gu recounted “Lu Yang”’s words. Qi Xiuya stroked his long white beard, remaining silent.

“That is an interesting viewpoint. But there’s no evidence, right?” Qi Xiuya also didn’t know whether “Lu Yang” was right or wrong, so he sought help from the person sitting opposite him.

“Fellow Daoist Jin, what do you think?”

Qi Xiuya formally introduced the person sitting across from him. “Let me introduce this fellow Daoist I’ve recently befriended. This fellow Daoist appears young but possesses unique insights into ancient history. Just half a day of conversation has greatly expanded my knowledge.

The person addressed as Fellow Daoist Jin looked down pensively. “I have indeed heard that in the early years, the Heaven Mandate Immortal had yet to rise to prominence. Cultivation resources were insufficient, and he charged tolls. The axe he used back then was indeed the Mountain-Splitting Axe, and he would mutter things like ‘this mountain was split open by me...’

“Strange. People nowadays shouldn’t know about such things.”

Fellow Daoist Jin stood up and faced Lu Yang with a slightly surprised gaze.

Only then did Lu Yang see Fellow Daoist Jin’s appearance—a petite, cute-looking young girl with a cold, unsmiling visage.

Lu Yang didn’t recognize Fellow Daoist Jin, but the Everlasting Immortal Fairy did.

She was Jin Caiwei, the Qiongqi Tribe’s Little Ancestor.