How could the Midheaven Emperor-Lord not be furious? Although his clone had perished at Xitian Temple, its information had been transmitted back.

What’s all this about Timekeeper saying the mysterious immortal couldn’t write? The mysterious immortal commanded Timekeeper to kneel, and he obeyed? I admitted my wrongdoing upon meeting the mysterious immortal? I devoured Timekeeper, leaving his fate unknown?

“And wasn’t it the motherf*cker who self-detonated? How did I end up looking like the one who self-detonated? I’m a victim too—my clone is gone!”

What infuriated the Midheaven Emperor-Lord most was that the newspaper reported objective facts. Even if he wanted to refute it, he had no idea where to begin.

Losing the battle is one thing, but how has my image been shattered as well?

“Which damned bastard wrote this?!”

Finally, he found the reporter of this article in a corner of the newspaper—Lu Yang of the Dao-Seeking Sect.

The moment he saw the words “Dao-Seeking Sect,” the Midheaven Emperor-Lord recalled the countless clones he had lost there. The rage rising in his chest subsided, and he calmed down. “I... forget it. Those who achieve great things don’t bother about trivial matters. It’s not worth risking everything over something so minor...”

~~~

The newspaper quickly gained popularity among the populace.

Old Liu returned from the fields, waving several sheets of paper as he boasted to his neighbor. “Old Zhang, did you get this?”

“What’s that?”

“I heard it’s some new thing from the Dao-Seeking Sect, called a newspaper or something. On my way back, I saw a crowd scrambling to buy it, so I got a copy myself. It’s cheap, only five copper coins.”

“What’s the point of buying that?” Old Zhang scoffed. Just seeing the newspaper packed with tiny, dense print gave him a headache. “Between the two of us, do we even know twenty characters?”

“You don’t know, do you? This thing called a newspaper doesn’t need us to read it ourselves. It can read aloud on its own.”

“So magical?” Old Zhang’s interest was piqued. I don’t care what is written in the newspaper. This read-aloud feature alone is worth five copper coins.

“Let me think. The seller said to press firmly here.” Each section of the newspaper had a circular area. Pressing it would produce sound from that section.

The circle was the focal point of a recitation array. Once activated, it would absorb surrounding spirit energy and convert it into speech.

The audio array was delicate work. Each edition of the newspaper required a different one. If they used arrays to print the newspapers, they would have to adjust the printing array every month. It was far more convenient to have Guan Shanhai handle it.

“Cultivation is the process of absorbing spirit qi from heaven and earth and converting it into one’s spirit qi...

“Cultivation levels are divided into Qi Training, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul... The characteristics of the Qi Training Stage include...”

Hearing this, Old Zhang looked enlightened. “So the Nascent Soul Stage comes after the Golden Core Stage? I always thought Golden Core cultivators were stronger.”

“How could you think that?” Old Lu was surprised. Although I’ve barely studied, I feel like a scholar when I’m with Old Zhang.

Old Zhang scratched the back of his head. “Isn’t that new storyteller always going on about how ‘Prodigy Lu, a Nascent Soul cultivator, went against all odds to defeat a Golden Core cultivator?’”

“Let’s just keep listening...”

“Dreamlike Bubble Mirages take you to experience a different world...

“The Dao-Seeking Sect, a great sect that vanquishes evil and upholds the Dao...

“According to our investigation, at the outset of the Battle of Xitian Temple, there were two combatants...”

The two old farmers were soon captivated by the newspaper’s content. To them, it was essentially a whole new world.

This was different from the storytellers’ tales. Each storyteller had a different version, sometimes contradicting the others, leaving the two old farmers confused about whom to believe.

But Cultivation Monthly was different. It was published by the Dao-Seeking Sect, so its content was absolutely credible. Furthermore, they could listen to it as many times as they wished.

Similar scenes played out across Great Xia. Once this new source of information was introduced, it was eagerly embraced by the public to the point where demand outstripped supply.

“It seems we didn’t print enough?” Lu Yang was stunned when his junior disciples told him the newspapers had sold out quickly. He had printed a large quantity, not expecting it to be still insufficient.

The junior disciples looked at Lu Yang with admiration. Senior Brother Lu always has such unique and brilliant ideas. When will we ever catch up to him?

“Then have Guan Shanhai keep printing.”

With Guan Shanhai around, we can print as many newspapers as we want.

“The only issue is that the story section leaves something to be desired.” The story Lu Yang had written was based on Meng Jingzhou pretending to be a Dao partner and attending a birthday celebration at a minor clan.

It was a serviceable piece, but Lu Yang felt that his writing wasn’t up to par. The story lacks a certain flair and needs some polishing.

“If only Shifu were here. He would definitely be able to write a good story.” Lu Yang missed the Taciturn Daoist Priest, whom he hadn’t seen for years. “Although Big Senior Sister can locate Shifu, I’ve now reached the Immortal Transfiguration Stage. I shouldn’t rely on her for everything. I can find him my own way.”

~~~

“Third Senior Sister, I have an idea. Let me run it by you.” Lu Yang found Gan Tian, who was playing her guqin by the river, with Yun Mengmeng sitting on a nearby rock and splashing water with her feet.

After hearing Lu Yang’s plan, Gan Tian took a long while before summarizing his idea. “So what you mean is, you want to run a missing person notice for our shifu in the next edition of the newspaper, with a reward of one billion spirit stones?”

“Great idea, isn’t it?” Lu Yang was now so wealthy that producing a billion spirit stones wouldn’t even make a dent.

“Isn’t the reward a bit too high?” Gan Tian hesitated. This is close to what Shifu is worth on the black market.

“But this is our shifu, the sect leader of the Dao-Seeking Sect and a Transcendent Tribulation powerhouse. He’s been missing for years. Isn’t his whereabouts worth a billion?”

Gan Tian pondered and felt that she had been unfilial. “You have a point. I’ll add another fifty million spirit stones.”

Lu Yang believed that his shifu would surely understand the hint that he wanted him to return to the sect. Of course, even if he doesn’t understand, someone would still bring him back.

I can foresee that with Cultivation Monthly selling so well and with Shifu’s help, the newspaper will surely become a hit across the cultivation world.

Lu Yang wanted to share the good news with Meng Jingzhou, only to receive terrible news about the latter from the Third Elder.

“You’re saying that Old Meng was taken by Founding Ancestor Vast Sea to cultivate near the sun?”

“That’s right. I was teaching Little Meng some fist techniques when Founding Ancestor Vast Sea appeared out of nowhere. He seemed to have recalled something and whisked Little Meng away.”

Third Elder furrowed his brows in worry. Cultivating near the sun would certainly accelerate Meng Jingzhou’s cultivation progress, and with Founding Ancestor Vast Sea watching over him, nothing would go wrong.

But isn’t this method a bit too extreme?

“This is Old Meng’s fortuitous opportunity.” 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Putting himself in Meng Jingzhou’s shoes, Lu Yang knew he wouldn’t be happy about it. But this is indeed a fortuitous opportunity for him.

Thus, Lu Yang had no choice but to reluctantly be happy for Meng Jingzhou.