Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)
Chapter 1132: Mastering Rules
Compared to the past, when Yun Zhi had to extensively revise his cultivation techniques, requiring only a forty percent revision this time was already considered a significant improvement in Lu Yang’s eyes.
After writing cultivation techniques, I’ve finally achieved a passing grade.
“Sit down and rest for a while. I’ll modify it for you.” Yun Zhi gestured for Lu Yang to take a seat. She then brought out the four treasures of the study—brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Lu Yang ground the ink and handed her the brush, studying how she amended his work.
While Lu Yang watched intently, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy rested her chin on Lu Yang’s shoulder and peered at the manuscript as well.
Elegant brushstrokes flowed across the pages, crossing out and altering words and phrases while adding new content.
A flash of understanding struck Lu Yang. As expected of Big Senior Sister, her conceptualization is far above my own. It appears I’m still a long way from being able to compose cultivation techniques on my own.
Yun Zhi blew gently over the stack of papers to dry the ink. “Done.”
“Yay! The Second-in-Command’s cultivation technique is finally complete!” Yun Mengmeng cheered. She grabbed a handful of candies from somewhere and distributed them to everyone to celebrate Lu Yang’s hard-earned cultivation technique.
The candies were wrapped in rice paper, so there was no need to remove the packaging before eating.
Lu Yang popped one into his mouth. It was sweet with a hint of tartness, likely the flavor of some grape-type spirit fruit.
Yun Zhi ate a peach-flavored one. Yun Mengmeng had grown tired of peaches after eating so many in the secret domain, but Yun Zhi had not.
“Excellent. Xiao Yangzi’s matter has concluded. Now let’s get down to real work!” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy once again mustered her troops and initiated a full-scale offensive.
After tasting defeat eighty times, they had calmed themselves and refrained from rashly starting battles, choosing instead to rest and recuperate. Now, they had recovered sufficiently. Yun Zhi had even helped Lu Yang finish composing his cultivation technique.
She has outlived her usefulness. If not now, when?
“Lass Yun, you didn’t expect us to launch a sudden assault, did you? You must have been guarding against us all these days. But you never imagined we had no intention of attacking at all. Instead, we’ve been staying in Xiao Yangzi’s cave abode and having fun. This is what’s called ‘wait with the rabbit for the weary enemy!’”
“It’s ‘wait at ease for the weary enemy,’[1] Immortal Fairy,” Lu Yang couldn’t help but correct in spite of his surprise.
“Ah, right, that’s the phrase. Xiao Yangzi is right! Charge!”
At the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s command, all the women acted simultaneously.
The three great generals reverted to their original forms: a black dragon, a fiery phoenix, and a white tiger. They were majestic, with fangs as tall as a person, gleaming so brightly that they could reflect Yun Zhi’s shadow.
If anyone with a guilty conscience witnessed this gathering of ancient immortal beasts, they would have soiled themselves in terror.
Qing He cradled a lotus flower in her hands and activated the Longevity Incipient Dao Fruit, slowing time.
Yun Mengmeng imbued everyone’s clothing with the power of the Everlasting Incipient Dao Fruit, ensuring their garments would remain intact throughout the battle.
Watching the women raring to fight, Yun Zhi pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed. She instructed Gan Tian to stow away the monarch chair and other items, lest they get damaged.
Gan Tian went about her task with practiced ease. In the beginning, she had been astonished to see the women challenge Yun Zhi, but by now, she had grown completely accustomed to it.
Once everything was put away, Gan Tian resumed playing her guqin. However, it was no longer a soothing melody but a battle tune filled with the clash of blades and spears.
Dum, dum, dong, dong.
The women’s fighting spirit was stirred by Gan Tian’s music. They set up arrays and besieged Yun Zhi.
“Dragon Phoenix White Tiger Transformation!” This was the three great generals’ combined move, matching the momentum of the Three Talents.[2] Jiang Lianyi and Jin Caiwei transformed into two-dimensional tattoos that adhered to Ao Ling.
“Everlasting Longevity!” Yun Mengmeng and Qing He struck simultaneously. The origins of their Incipient Dao Fruits were closely related. When they acted together, they could form a field that brought time nearly to a standstill.
These were the gains from their eighty battles—the ability to bridge the chasm between mortal and immortal. Even against an immortal, they could now put up a fight.
Soon, the women began dropping to the ground one after another like jiaozi, fast asleep.
Yun Zhi walked toward Lu Yang step by step, brimming with killing intent, with corpses strewn across the wilderness behind her. Lu Yang couldn’t help but tremble in fear.
“Little Junior Brother, it’s time for you to go back and cultivate.”
Lu Yang nodded like a little chick pecking grains.
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy refused to accept defeat. “Hmph, don’t get too cocky, Lass Yun. If I weren’t still seriously injured and unable to manifest a physical body, I would challenge you one-on-one!”
Yun Zhi’s cheek twitched. She pretended as if she hadn’t heard that remark.
Hoping to ease the tension between Yun Zhi and the Everlasting Immortal Fairy, Lu Yang stepped forward to mediate, saying, “Your Exalted Majesty personally participates in the campaign with the intention of boosting military morale and rallying the troops.
“It’s truly a wise and brilliant move. However, arms are instruments of destruction, and war is a perilous affair. Victory and defeat are common in warfare. Triumph is valuable, but withdrawing to regroup is still the mark of a hero!”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy seriously mulled over Lu Yang’s words and vaguely grasped his meaning. “Are you telling this immortal to retreat?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, then let’s go back.”
Fortunately, Yun Zhi was fully aware of the principle of not pursuing a cornered enemy. After her victory, she did not finish them off, giving Lu Yang and the others ample time to retreat. As such, Lu Yang had no choice but to carry the women back to his cave abode one by one.
The women were still sleeping and showed no signs of waking anytime soon. Hence, Lu Yang focused on studying the cultivation technique.
After circulating the new cultivation technique through one Macrocosmic Loop, Lu Yang felt his cultivation realm stabilize slightly. This implied that even if he did nothing else and simply practiced step by step, he would eventually advance to the Fusion Stage.
“But the pace is a bit slow.”
“That’s perfectly normal. It means you haven’t grasped the essence of the Void Refinement Stage yet.” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy drifted leisurely through the cave abode, her feet never touching the ground like a specter.
“Essence?”
“Let me ask you, what is the greatest difference between the Void Refinement Stage and the Fusion Stage?”
“Difference? Mastery of rules?”
“That’s right. It’s all about mastering rules. The better your grasp of rules, the more stable your cultivation realm becomes.
“So that’s how it is. But how exactly does one master rules?” As the Imperial Tutor, Lu Yang was not ashamed to ask those beneath him for guidance. After all, he was completely in the dark when it came to rules.
“You happen to be at the Fusion Stage now. Close your eyes and try to extend your spiritual consciousness outward. Perceive your cave abode.”
While his cultivation realm was temporarily stable, Lu Yang seized the opportunity to extend his mental power across the entire cave abode. He could perceive even the hidden corners and crevices, the women sleeping soundly, and the cookie crumbs they had dropped on the floor earlier.
“Next, imagine yourself turning ethereal and merging with your cave abode space.”
Imagination was Lu Yang’s forte. He visualized himself as a puddle of water, spreading outward in all directions, permeating every fraction of space until it felt as though the entire cave abode had become a space under his control, where a single thought could change the place at will.
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s teachings streamed into Lu Yang’s ears. “Finally, and most importantly, language carries power. Every word you utter bears the weight of your power.
“Now, impose rules upon this space. Any rule will do.”
“I hereby establish Rule: Within the cave abode, all cookie crumbs must go into the rubbish bin.”
Once the rule was established, every cookie crumb on the floor rose into the air and flew straight into the rubbish bin.
“Yes, yes, yes. That’s exactly it!” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy hadn’t expected Lu Yang to succeed on his first attempt.
Lu Yang decided to press on with his practice. “I hereby establish Rule: Within the cave abode, the books must dance.”
The cultivation manuals he had borrowed from the scripture library stood upright on the desk and began hopping about as though they had grown two legs, defying all common sense.
Lu Yang felt like he was on the verge of figuring it out. Naturally, for such an ingenious feat, the larger the audience, the better.
“I hereby establish Rule: Yun Mengmeng, Qing He, Ao Ling, Jiang Lianyi, and Jin Caiwei shall wake up!”
“Wait, you cannot impose rules on those whose cultivation is higher than yours!” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy exclaimed in a hurry.
The moment Lu Yang established the rule, Lu Yang felt a sense of foreboding seize him. Blood rushed up, and he vomited a mouthful of blood. As soon as the women opened their eyes, they saw Lu Yang sprawled out on the floor, spewing blood like a fountain.
1. The idiom is “以逸待劳,” but the Everlasting Immortal Fairy says “以兔待劳.” She changes “逸” to “兔,” which means rabbit. Basically, she drops the radical. ☜
2. Here’s a refresher, just in case: the Three Talents refer to heaven, earth, and human. ☜