When Eldest Senior Sister arrived at Prison Peak, the childlike Grandmaster was stunned at the sight of two Tribulation Transcendence souls.
How long had it been, and now another two Tribulation Transcendence souls had arrived?
Counting the time, capturing four Tribulation Transcendence experts in a single year—in another few years, even he wouldn't be able to keep Prison Peak under control.
He wasn't weak, but holding this many Tribulation Transcendence souls was simply too much; no one could keep them suppressed.
"Actually, there were three. I refined one into an artifact spirit. Little Junior Brother ran into all three of them while he was away."
The childlike Grandmaster's cheek twitched repeatedly. This grand-disciple of his was even more of a troublemaker than that rascal Buyu!
He was only at the Golden Core stage right now—what would happen in the future?
"No peace even in retirement," the childlike Grandmaster sighed. He had retired early and dumped the whole mess onto Daoist Buyu and the other eight precisely because his heart was too weary.
That generation of the Dao Seeking Sect had produced many outstanding talents, among whom the nine most prominent were hailed as the Nine Sons of the Dao Seeking Sect, seen as the sect's great hope.
Coincidentally enough, all nine were his disciples.
Back when he was Sect Master, he had spent every day cleaning up the messes stirred up by that bunch.
Thanks to them, he became acquainted with practically every high-ranking figure in the cultivation world of that era.
He had cultivated desperately to reach the Tribulation Transcendence stage solely so it would be easier to discipline those little bastards.
Otherwise, as their master, watching those little brats cause chaos while being unable to beat them up himself—wouldn't he have died of anger?
"If I'd known, I would have swapped places with Junior Brother back then—let him take Prison Peak while I stayed in the Scripture Pavilion."
Sighing, the childlike Grandmaster locked away Wu Youdao and Venerable Xuanlei.
...
Dangling Venerable Wu Ji's soul in hand, Lu Yang swaggered through the Dao Seeking Sect, looking thoroughly deserving of a beating.
Fortunately, he arrived at Hundred Refinements Peak without incident, completely unbattered.
He happened to spot Li Haoran sparring with Qin Yanyan.
Qin Yanyan's body dissolved into a plume of white smoke, ethereal and elusive. Hidden within the smoke were talismans capable of launching surprise strikes against Li Haoran.
Li Haoran wasn't one to simply defend passively either. He removed the wig from his head and spun it rapidly, blowing away the white smoke.
Father and daughter sparred, locked in a fierce, deadlocked contest.
"Mist and White Cloud Core?" Lu Yang recognized Qin Yanyan's Golden Core—a first-grade Golden Core.
This sort of Golden Core allowed a cultivator to transform into misty haze, tangible yet formless, exceptionally useful whether for combat, defense, or escape.
Li Haoran hadn't spent all that time sparring with his former daughter in vain.
"Core Formation succeeded! Congratulations, congratulations!" Lu Yang laughed. The two of them noticed Lu Yang's arrival and ceased their match.
"Senior Brother Lu, what brings you here?" Li Haoran had no idea Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had gone to Huangzhou; he only knew he hadn't seen them for about a month, and the quiet had felt rather unnerving.
Suffering from karmic backlash was hardly something glorious, so Meng Jingzhou naturally kept it under wraps.
The Dao Seeking Sect disciples only knew that Qiu Jin'an had staged a surprise attack on the sect, but as for the cause and effect behind it, they knew nothing.
"Oh, Old Meng and I took a trip to Huangzhou and caught a Tribulation Transcendence soul. Eldest Senior Sister told me to deliver it to Fifth Elder." Lu Yang lifted the chain in his hand, speaking in a tone as casual as returning from a vacation to hand out local souvenirs to the neighbors.
Even the father and daughter, who were on the verge of getting used to Lu Yang's luck, were at a total loss for words.
Were Tribulation Transcendence souls cheap cabbages now, that you could stumble into one just by stepping out the door?
"Master is on the mountaintop forging artifacts," Li Haoran pointed the way.
"Alright, I'll be right back. I actually have something to ask you."
Li Haoran was puzzled.
Lu Yang arrived at the mountaintop and saw Fifth Elder staring deeply at a pot in contemplation, his brows furrowed tightly in evident frustration.
"Fifth Elder, what are you doing?"
"Didn't our Heavenly Court Cult partner with the Nine Nether Cult using an automatic skewer-grilling formation? So I got to thinking—could I forge a magical treasure that automatically stir-fries dishes?"
"Did you succeed?"
"Not quite. I ran into a lot of problems. For instance, the attack power on this pot is way too high. I haven't figured out where the issue lies. Anyway, never mind that, what are you here for... A Tribulation Transcendence expert's soul?!"
Snapping out of his daze, Fifth Elder caught sight of Venerable Wu Ji's soul in Lu Yang's grip. His eyes lit up, more excited than if he had seen his own wife. Rubbing his hands together with a grin that stretched from ear to ear, he beamed.
"Eldest Senior Sister told me to give it to you, saying it could serve as an artifact spirit."
"I knew it!" Fifth Elder took the chain as if receiving the most precious treasure.
With the soul of a Tribulation Transcendence powerhouse, he was confident he could craft a Tribulation-grade artifact—a truly priceless experience that would vastly elevate his smithing skills.
Fifth Elder tossed the automatic stir-frying pot aside. Given the chance to forge a Tribulation-grade artifact, who cared about researching some automatic stir-frying pot?
Lu Yang bade farewell to Fifth Elder, who was already deaf to the outside world, and headed down the mountain to Li Haoran to explain his purpose.
"During my trip to Huangzhou, I ran into someone from the Nine Nether Cult. Take a look and see if you recognize him."
Using his dharmic powers, Lu Yang conjured the image of the man wearing the white paper hat.
"Mu Baiyi?"
"This person is called Mu Baiyi?"
"No doubt about it, it's Mu Baiyi. In Qin Haoran's memories, he was one of the Nine Nether Cult's four Vice Cult Masters, the youngest among them."
"He's the Nine Nether Cult Master now."
If Lu Yang hadn't been certain whether Mu Baiyi was the Cult Master before, the combat power Mu Baiyi displayed during the battle of Hanshui City confirmed beyond doubt that he was.
"He became Cult Master?"
Li Haoran was slightly surprised. In terms of seniority and cultivation, Mu Baiyi wasn't particularly outstanding; even Shi Huagu stood a better chance of becoming Cult Master than he did.
"Could he have made some sort of promise, like constructing Fengdu?" Li Haoran pondered. Mu Baiyi held no advantage in any area; the only plausible explanation was that he promised to construct Fengdu once he took the position, swinging the neutral faction to his side.
"Wait, that doesn't make sense either. The Nine Nether Cult is dirt poor—creditors were chasing Qin Haoran every single day. Where would he get the money to build Fengdu?"
Li Haoran was thoroughly stumped.
"Mu Baiyi was best at avatar techniques and transformation arts. He could turn into men, women, old, or young. Mu Baiyi said that back when he was young and studying in his sect, his fellow disciples never wanted to attend classes in the lecture hall, preferring to cultivate on their own. But the academy elder took attendance constantly, so his fellow disciples paid Mu Baiyi in spirit stones to answer roll call for them."
"As it happened, Mu Baiyi came from humble origins and was short on spirit stones, so he agreed."
"Mu Baiyi was conscientious in his work. To avoid getting caught, he learned avatar arts and transformation arts, casting both whenever roll call came around."
"Then why didn't he stay and keep studying in the sect instead of joining the Nine Nether Cult?" Lu Yang asked curiously. "Did the elder catch him answering attendance for others and expel him?"
If one could study properly in an orthodox sect, who would go and join a demonic cult?
"Not at all. It's just that the sect was disbanded later on."
"Disbanded?" Lu Yang grew even more bewildered. Why on earth would a perfectly fine sect disband?
"The sect found it strange too. Clearly plenty of disciples were showing up for classes, with a hundred percent attendance rate, yet the final exam evaluations were an absolute disaster across the board. Mu Baiyi was the only one with stellar grades."
"The sect felt it was failing to educate anyone and didn't want to mislead and ruin young minds, so it disbanded."
Lu Yang: "..."
Chapter 451