Chapter 374: Envious Li Haoran

Prison Peak was the designated place where the Asking Sect detained criminals, most of whom were ancient cultivators who had committed heinous deeds.

Beneath the peak, the space was divided by cages into tiny cubicles, housing ancient Integration Stage cultivators who had once shaken the world but were now reduced to captives, drained of their very last shred of value.

The imperial court and the other four immortal sects possessed similar facilities to prevent these ancient cultivators from wreaking havoc.

Within the cages, listless soul bodies leaned against the walls, their eyes completely devoid of light.

Sensing the arrival of someone, their eyes brightened one by one, twisting into fierce expressions meant to intimidate the newcomer—this being the sole source of amusement remaining to them here.

Yet the moment they realized the newcomer was Yun Zhi, their countenances shifted drastically; they scrambled into the corners, holding their breath and trembling violently, desperately diminishing their presence for fear of being noticed by her.

Prison Peak contained many empty cells, with titles written on the upper right corners: Perfected Lord Pohuang, Perfected Lord Taishan, the Xuanling Mad Demon, Perfected Master Guiji... In the ancient era, these names alone sufficed to make people turn pale and shake like chaff.

Now, however, they had all been integrated into magical treasures by Yun Zhi, refined into artifact spirits.

Should they displease Yun Zhi, they would be the next unfortunate souls.

Yun Zhi broke the seal on Venerable Natural Disaster, who scanned his surroundings and instantly realized this place was specifically designed to imprison their kind.

He was slightly startled; no wonder some individuals who should have awakened could not be contacted when he sought them—it turned out they were here.

This Great Xia was proving far more difficult to deal with than anticipated...

Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a neighboring cage, where the upper right corner read: Venerable Blood Demon.

Venerable Blood Demon had seen portraits of Venerable Natural Disaster and recognized this great cultivator who had emerged tens of thousands of years before him.

Venerable Natural Disaster roared: "Blood Demon, you piece of trash elevated by mere fortune, a mere early Tribulation Stage, yet you had the audacity to become the State Preceptor!"

Both being at the early Tribulation Stage, he had been a subordinate to the State Preceptor, whereas Blood Demon had actually become the State Preceptor himself—the gap was far too vast.

He had studied the history of the Great Yu after his slumber and knew of Venerable Blood Demon's existence.

Venerable Blood Demon had, for his own selfish gain, supported a useless fool to become the Yu Emperor, using the Emperor to issue commands and amass countless benefits; to curry favor with the aristocratic families of that era, he had implemented various measures to strengthen them, an action that accelerated the downfall of Great Yu.

The collapse of Great Yu led to chaotic warfare across the realm, giving the aristocratic families the leverage to vie for the world, and Venerable Blood Demon was the root cause of it all.

He would never acknowledge such a character as a State Preceptor!

"The position of State Preceptor was just sitting there; if I didn't take it, someone else would have. How can you call that luck?"

Blood Demon did not fear him either; letting the other roar, a cold smirk played at the corner of his mouth: "Senior Natural Disaster, those words are crossing the line. If the Grand State Preceptor knew you were here, he would surely kill you!"

"Then I shall wait for him."

"Girl Yun, you've captured another one?" A childish voice echoed through Prison Peak as a white-haired child sized Venerable Natural Disaster up and down.

Venerable Natural Disaster gasped in shock, utterly failing to perceive how the other party had appeared.

"An incomplete soul, burning longevity—you're quite ruthless to yourself. Was he once in the Tribulation Stage?"

"Yes, a Tribulation Stage cultivator from the early Great Yu period, Venerable Natural Disaster," Yun Zhi replied.

The white-haired child came to a realization: "Oh, so it's him. He carries quite a reputation."

"In less than half a year, two Tribulation Stage cultivators have been caught. It seems some people are growing impatient."

Yun Zhi hesitated for a rare moment, feeling too embarrassed to speak the truth.

They had never caught a Tribulation Stage cultivator before, and catching two within half a year was not necessarily because some people were growing impatient, but rather a matter of luck.

The clues for the first instance originated from Buyi Town, while the second instance was a direct encounter by Lu Yang.

The only common denominator between both occasions was that Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were present.

Considering Lu Yang had also resurrected the Immortal Fairy, it was hard to say whether someone was growing impatient in the shadows or if Lu Yang simply shared a strange destiny with high-level cultivators.

"Grandmaster, I shall employ some methods on him first."

"Go on, go on. I hope there will be a harvest this time," the white-haired child said with a chuckle, thoroughly satisfied with this talented descendant.

Venerable Blood Demon had been active too late in history, so they had obtained practically no useful intelligence from his mouth; Venerable Natural Disaster was different, being a cultivator from the early Great Yu who was active during the reign of the second State Preceptor, meaning he would surely know many secrets.

"Even though the Eldest and the other nine are a disgrace and keep causing me trouble, the Ninth managed to take a good disciple." The white-haired child's voice faded in and out, finally vanishing entirely.

In its place rose the miserable shrieks of Venerable Natural Disaster.

"You haven't even asked any questions yet, why are you striking me right off the bat?!"

When Lu Yang arrived at the Hundred Refinements Peak, he happened to spot Li Haoran enjoying familial bliss halfway up the mountain with his former daughter, Qin Yanyan.

Qin Yanyan was still in the late Foundation Establishment stage, seemingly still undecided on how to form her Core.

Li Haoran greeted him warmly: "Senior Brother Lu, you're back? A few days ago, Senior Brother Meng invited me to attend some Qingzhou Grand Ceremony, but I couldn't get away due to matters here. Did you go to the Qingzhou Grand Ceremony?"

"Indeed, Junior Brother Li, you missed out. The Qingzhou Grand Ceremony was exceptionally lively. I managed to forage a flying sword used by an Immortal from a street stall, though unfortunately it was damaged, ruined by two half-immortal powerhouses."

Li Haoran and Qin Yanyan sucked in a breath of cold air; from this simple description, it was incredibly easy to imagine how devastating that battle must have been.

"Later, Old Meng and I participated in the Grand Tournament for the younger generation. The two of us personally took the stage to point out the flaws in their cultivation, letting them clearly understand the gap between us. Especially the first and second place winners, who were moved to tears of gratitude, vowing to exert themselves and cultivate diligently upon their return."

"Guiding their cultivation..." Li Haoran imagined himself sitting on the judges' panel, pointing out the flaws in others' cultivation, which sounded immensely satisfying.

"People from the Laurel Immortal Palace, the Five Elements Sect, the Prison Suppressing Sect also participated in the tournament, but their performance on the judges' panel was mediocre, nowhere near as eye-catching as Old Meng and myself."

"Old Meng and I received handsome rewards for guiding their cultivation, but the two of us possess high moral integrity, so we declined those rewards."

"Regrettably, halfway through the grand gathering, ancient cultivators launched an attack—two Integration Stage and one Tribulation Stage. The Tribulation Stage cultivator possessed vast divine abilities; the moment he appeared, it was truly despairing. We all thought we were going to die, but thankfully the Eldest Senior Sister arrived to save the day, allowing us to escape the disaster."

Li Haoran listened with boundless envy; an Immortal's flying sword, guiding cultivation, the Eldest Senior Sister battling an ancient Tribulation Stage cultivator—every single event sounded like an incredible story.

Unfortunately, he had to help Qin Yanyan form her Core and could not go.

"Did Senior Brother Lu come to my Hundred Refinements Peak for some specific matter?"

"I'm here to find the Fifth Elder. Is he in?"

Lu Yang had not forgotten his flying car patent fees.

Li Haoran pointed toward the mist-shrouded mountain summit: "There, he's at the peak. Senior Sister Tao also went to look for Master just now, though I don't know for what purpose."

"I shall take my leave first, farewell."

Qin Yanyan had only just snapped out of the shocking scenes Lu Yang described, turning her head to ask her former father: "Does he encounter this many events every time he goes out? This time it's an ancient Tribulation Stage, and last time it was the Nine Nether Sect?"

"Far more than that. You have no idea, Senior Brother Lu possesses a trouble-attracting constitution. Before the Nine Nether Sect, he also encountered the Immortal Sect, and the cause was nothing more than going to deal with a Foundation Establishment stage tiger demon."