Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality

“What a strange situation… Could it be that another demonic cultivator performed a ritual in Huai’an Village?” Everyone surrounded the shriveled old man, puzzled and unable to make sense of the events.

The Great Elder coughed quietly and transmitted a message to Lu Yang and Peach Blossom Leaf.

“I know a bit about what happened in Huai’an Village. According to the Sect Leader of the Undying Sect, he built a slaughterhouse in Huai’an Village, disguising puppets as villagers.”

Dai Bufan was supposed to be managing the task hall and intelligence, but in reality, it was the Great Elder who was in control.

Although the Great Elder usually busied himself with constructing his own tombs, he wasn’t completely out of touch. He was fully aware of the happenings in the task hall and the intelligence Dai Bufan handled, which included the confession from the Undying Sect’s Sect Leader.

Lu Yang: “…”

Peach Blossom Leaf: “…”

Elder, you knew about what happened in Huai’an Village all along, and yet you let us run around aimlessly?

The Great Elder thought to himself, I was just waiting for the most dramatic moment to make my entrance. How could I find a chance to show off if you didn’t come to Huai’an Village?

The Great Elder had been hoping Vice Sect Leader Petrified would attack Lu Yang and Peach Blossom Leaf so that, at the critical moment, he could recite a heroic line and swoop in to save them.

Unfortunately, the opportunity never came—though the shriveled old man did provide him with a bit of face.

The information the Great Elder had couldn’t be shared with Vice Sect Leader Petrified, as it wasn’t intelligence the Heavenly Court Sect should have. Sharing it might lead to suspicion about their true identities.

“Well, capturing this ancient cultivator is a gain in itself. This trip wasn’t in vain,” Lu Yang said, sensing there was no more reason to stay in Huai’an Village.

“Sect Leader Petrified, you’ve contributed greatly to this. Why don’t you take care of this person?”

Vice Sect Leader Petrified couldn’t believe his ears. The Netherworld Heavenly King had been the one to capture the shriveled old man, yet he was being handed over to him.

“This… this doesn’t seem right, does it?”

Lu Yang folded his hands behind his back and laughed, “Why not? Our two sects are in a cooperative relationship. Consider this a gesture of goodwill. Besides, your Nine Nether Sect has access to far more intelligence than we do. The information you could extract from him would be much more useful to your sect than to the Heavenly Court Sect.”

Vice Sect Leader Petrified nodded in agreement. Their Nine Nether Sect already had intelligence on other ancient cultivators, and with the shriveled old man’s information, they could gain even more insight into the movements of the ancient cultivators.

Such intelligence was crucial. It might even lead them to the hidden treasures of ancient cultivators, enriching their resources.

The Heavenly Court Sect’s indifference to ancient cultivators showed they didn’t really care about them at all.

The Heavenly Court Sect must have terrifying resources if they were so casual about it.

Lu Yang’s actions could be interpreted as a gesture of goodwill toward the Nine Nether Sect, or perhaps even a subtle display of power.

Vice Sect Leader Petrified couldn’t quite figure out Lu Yang’s intentions, but he was impressed by his deep strategic thinking—something far beyond his peers.

After weighing the situation, Vice Sect Leader Petrified cupped his hands and expressed his gratitude, “In that case, thank you.”

The Great Elder put away his brick-like object and handed the shriveled old man over to Vice Sect Leader Petrified.

“Damn it! My precious pillow is being used as a weapon!” Everlasting Fairy grumbled in frustration. She had seen it clearly—the Great Elder was holding her celestial treasure, the Yellow Millet Pillow.

This was a prize confiscated by the Dao Seeking Sect when they defeated Master Liu and Master Gao, who ran a barbecue shop and had invaded the sect. The pillow had the ability to forcibly put people to sleep.

“Farewell!” Vice Sect Leader Petrified retrieved his flying boat, sealed the shriveled old man’s Cultivation, tossed him onto the boat, and flew away.

The Great Elder pulled a scroll from his sleeve, an ink painting of mountains and waterfalls. Though the painting was silent, upon seeing it, Lu Yang and Peach Blossom Leaf could almost hear the rushing of the waterfall in their ears.

The Great Elder smiled and said, “This is the High Mountains and Flowing Water Painting, a magical treasure I often use while traveling. It contains a miniature world within it, similar to a pocket dimension. I asked my Fourth Junior Brother to paint it for me.”

(TL Note: Based off this painting probably https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%AB%98%E5%B1%B1%E6%B5%81%E6%B0%B4%E5%9B%BE/66689)

Peach Blossom Leaf hesitated, unfamiliar with this kind of treasure and unsure how to use it.

“Do we jump inside?” Lu Yang recalled seeing Senior Brother Ji Hongwen, the First Disciple of the Fourth Elder, use a similar technique.

“Exactly,” the Great Elder replied.

The Great Elder jumped into the painting, and Lu Yang and Peach Blossom Leaf followed suit, imitating his actions.

As soon as they entered, the sound of the waterfall filled their ears. Looking up, they found themselves standing beside a waterfall, with water crashing down from the sky, spraying countless droplets into the air.

They crouched down to inspect the plants by the shore. The greenery was lush, with dew glistening on the leaves, indistinguishable from the real thing.

Was this truly a painting, or was there a small world hidden within it?

Seeing their amazement, the Great Elder felt immensely proud but didn’t bother explaining. He directed the painting to fly back toward the Dao Seeking Sect.

“Hmm, so this is the Dao of Painting. I didn’t expect there to still be skilled practitioners in this age,” Everlasting Fairy remarked in mild surprise. Throughout history, Saints and scholars had pursued various Dao, and in ancient times, many great cultivators had practiced the Dao of Painting.

“Are these plants and mountains real or fake?” Lu Yang asked.

“They’re fake, but very close to real. If a soul of the plants were infused into them, they’d become real. This level of technique was extremely rare even in my time,” Everlasting Fairy explained.

“Do you know the Dao of Painting?” Lu Yang asked.

Everlasting Fairy waved her hand dismissively, showing no interest. “That’s just a small, trivial art. It’s something for those pretentious scholars. I wouldn’t bother learning it.”

The Great Elder seemed to recall something and turned his head, asking, “Speaking of the Dao of Painting, I once read an ancient record about two immortals from ancient times. One was a Demon Immortal and the other a Wood Immortal. The Demon Immortal was imprisoned inside a painting by the Wood Immortal, leading to a great battle between the two. Their fight caused such a disturbance that it shook the entire universe. If it hadn’t been for the intervention of the ancestors of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans, who knows how many stars would have been shattered. Multiple ancient texts record this event in varying degrees.”

“Lu Yang, you’re familiar with ancient history. Have you heard of this?”

Lu Yang shook his head. It was the first time he had heard of this.

The Demon Immortal and Wood Immortal—could they be Qilin Immortal and Immemorial Immortal?

It was time to use his “golden finger.”

“Fairy, have you heard of this story?”

Everlasting Fairy thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, “Ah, I remember now! There was one time when Immemorial Immortal ate my food and blurted out the truth—he mentioned this story!”

“You’ve asked the right person. If you’d asked anyone else, they wouldn’t know!”

“…Wait, hold on. Why did Immemorial Immortal start telling the truth after eating your food?” Lu Yang asked, puzzled.

Everlasting Fairy seemed confused as to why Lu Yang would even ask such a thing. She replied matter-of-factly, “Isn’t it common? After a good meal, people get sleepy. Ying Tian Immortal and Immemorial Immortal often ate my food and ended up dozing off, their heads hitting the table. They’d start muttering to themselves, and if you asked them anything at that moment, they’d spill all the details. The funny thing is, they’d forget everything they said afterward.”

“Please, continue,” Lu Yang prompted.

Everlasting Fairy continued, “I never cared to learn the Dao of Painting, but Immemorial Immortal was quite interested in it. He was pretty skilled, too. Even I had a hard time telling if his paintings were real or fake. Then again, he’s the Heaven-Reaching World Tree incarnate, standing at the pinnacle of all plant spirits, so of course he had a natural affinity for paper and painting.”

(End of the chapter)