Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality

(TL Note: Please provide suggestions for chapter title. The original is 艺术加工)

Early the next morning, the three gathered at the agreed location.

Li Haoran was the first to arrive and seemed a bit nervous.

With Old Ma around, Lu Yang didn’t have to worry about nervously boarding a flying boat.

“Who would have thought, kid, that you’re so discreet but actually have a fiancée?” Meng Jingzhou teased Li Haoran, winking.

As the eldest son of the Meng family, even before his birth, nobles from the capital were visiting to establish connections through Meng Jingzhou.

After Meng Jingzhou was born, many people came with marriage proposals, wearing out the floor of their doorstep.

“If it weren’t for my cultivation, I’d be living it up in the capital now.” Meng Jingzhou sighed nostalgically.

Li Haoran consoled him, “As the saying goes, when you gain something, you lose something else. You may have lost the chance to be a capital playboy, but you gained the Pure Yang Spiritual Root, something many would dream of.”

Lu Yang also chimed in, “Exactly, look on the bright side. Treasure your opportunity to interact with female cultivators now. Once you form your ‘Single Golden Core,’ it will automatically repel females, and you won’t even get a chance to talk to them.”

Meng Jingzhou angrily retorted, “Scoundrel, don’t mess with my state of mind! I’ve never heard of a Single Golden Core with such a function!”

Lu Yang calmly replied, “This is an ancient secret. I don’t usually share it with just anyone.”

Meng Jingzhou looked suspiciously at Lu Yang, recalling that he had a formidable ancient true immortal inside him. With such a mentor, it wasn’t surprising he knew some ancient secrets.

“No, wait, the Single Spirit Root first appeared during the Great Yu Dynasty. There were no Single Spirit Roots in ancient times! You’re just trying to trick me!” Meng Jingzhou quickly realized. “Take this, turtle punches!”

The two engaged in a fierce fight in the confined space until Li Haoran intervened.

“Junior Brother Li, what’s your fiancée’s background?” Lu Yang remembered Li Haoran’s humble origins—his parents were ordinary wandering cultivators with Foundation Establishment cultivation and no special skills. Li Haoran’s fire spiritual root was purely coincidental, similar to Lu Yang’s situation.

Speaking of his fiancée, Li Haoran looked troubled and sighed, “I don’t know.”

“Don’t know?” Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were surprised. It was unusual not to know one’s fiancée’s background.

“According to my parents, they encountered a life-threatening situation while adventuring. A high stage cultivator happened to pass by and saved them. My mother was already three months pregnant with me. The high stage cultivator saw this and suggested that our families become in-laws, arranging a betrothal.”

“Afterward, the high stage cultivator left and was never seen again.”

“Being able to fly, that high stage cultivator was at least at the Golden Core stage, but their exact cultivation is unknown.”

“My parents didn’t know the high stage cultivator’s name, title, origin, or destination.”

“…That’s a rather hasty betrothal.”

“Isn’t it?” Li Haoran smiled wryly.

“My parents thought they were just Foundation Establishment cultivators. What could a high stage cultivator want from them? Even if I had some talent, it would at most be enough to reach the Golden Core stage. But as you can see, I have the fire spiritual root.”

A Single Spirit Root cultivator, if they didn’t die prematurely, was destined to become a great power in the cultivation world. This kind of talent was something every family would strive to recruit, much like when Lu Yang was found to have the sword spiritual root. Many ancient families hoped to marry their daughters to him.

However, after Lu Yang became the disciple of the Daoist Non-Speaker and stayed at Heaven’s Gate Peak, those families had no chance to propose.

“Could it be that the high stage cultivator saw your fire spiritual root back then?”

Meng Jingzhou was puzzled. “No, I’ve never heard of such a technique.”

If such a technique existed, the Meng family would have mastered it long ago and wouldn’t have waited until Meng Jingzhou was four years old to test his spiritual root.

“Strange.”

“Forget it, we’ll know everything once we meet your fiancée.” The three couldn’t figure it out, so they gave up.

Old Ma pulled the cart for a whole day before they reached Li Haoran’s home.

Li Haoran’s home was in Luofeng County, named after a pure-blooded phoenix supposedly perished there, blessing the area with its fortune.

“It’s much grander than Yanjiang County!” Lu Yang poked his head out of the cart, seeing the imposing city walls, the bustling traffic, and the subtle, watchful gazes falling on them, knowing Luofeng County’s formidable power.

“Stop, get out for inspection.” The guards at the gate stopped the cart.

The three handed over their credentials from the Dao Seeking Sect for inspection.

“Oh, you’re from the Dao Seeking Sect. Please, come in.”

The guards, upon seeing their credentials, showed great respect. Regardless of the sect’s internal practices, its disciples were all exceptional, achieving great things.

Moreover, Dao Seeking Sect, as one of the Five Great Immortal Sects, held a lot of power, commanding respect from local authorities.

For instance, the troublesome and terrifying law enforcement power. If the sect found local authorities involved in illegal activities or colluding with the demonic path, they had the right to act first and report later.

However, the Five Great Immortal Sects usually respected the Grand Xia Dynasty, handing over offenders unless absolutely necessary.

Revealing their Dao Seeking Sect identity made the subtle watchful gazes disappear, as they belonged to plain clothes guards preventing intruders from causing trouble.

As for Dao Seeking Sect causing trouble, that was beyond their duty.

“Our home is this way.” Li Haoran directed Old Ma.

On the way, they heard a storyteller in a teahouse narrating “The Legend of the Dao Seeking Sect.”

“…The Daoist Non-Speaker, with an immortal demeanor, often experienced the hardships of the mortal world by going to prison, sharing meals and conversations with prisoners, showing concern for why they ended up in such situations…”

“Sometimes, the Daoist Non-Speaker would learn from prisoners about places infested with demons and would go there to eliminate them.”

“Today’s story begins with the Daoist Non-Speaker getting a tip from prison…”

“…The Daoist Non-Speaker heard from a prisoner that Anjia Village seemed eerie. Anyone leaving the village was despondent, their spirits scattered. Despite this, they still wanted to return…”

“…The Daoist Non-Speaker saw through the village chief’s plot, fought in and out seven times, killing demons who then begged for mercy, promising never to do evil again…”

Lu Yang’s face turned odd. He felt his master’s story had been embellished: “If I remember correctly, Anjia Village was actually a brothel disguised as a village, run by flower demons to evade taxes. Later, the Grand Xia Dynasty discovered the tax loophole and shut it down.”

Li Haoran was surprised, “Really? But the Sect Master must have had a reason to tell it this way. Maybe he played a crucial role!”

“He was a customer, imprisoned for fifteen days.”

(End of the chapter)