Chapter 850: Mountain-Splitting Axe

Though entirely unaware of it herself, the Immortal Fairy had in fact long since become a legendary figure in the Imperial Capital, with every faction watching Lu Yang's every move.

The Second Prince and the Fifth Prince were particularly attentive to Lu Yang's activities.

They knew well that the remnants of the Fourth Prince's faction would surely strike at Lu Yang, for such was the price of crossing a prince.

Though they were in competition with the Fourth Prince, it was ultimately an internal matter of the royal house; how could an outsider like Lu Yang be permitted to interfere?

And to think he had used such a filthy method as reporting them to the authorities.

He had to pay in blood!

Yet they waited for a long time, only to find that the remnants of the Fourth Prince's faction had vanished without a sound, leaving not even a single corpse behind, but only several great craters formed where they had knelt upon the earth.

"The Tribulation Transcendence Stage! There is more than one Tribulation Transcendence cultivator by Lu Yang's side!" they concluded simultaneously. Had only one such cultivator struck, it would have been impossible to clean up so immaculately!

"No wonder Lu Yang has always been so utterly fearless. I thought he relied on the Wendao Sect, but who could have imagined he had Tribulation Transcendence cultivators right beside him!"

The two were filled with doubt and suspicion; the more contact they had with Lu Yang, the more terrifying they found him, his strength an unfathomable abyss!

Yet no one knew that the radiant and peerless Lu Yang had actually long since been possessed by an ancient immortal; the Lu Yang of today was nothing more than a puppet played with at will by that ancient being, a thing truly pathetic, truly lamentable.

Upon returning to the Meng Residence, because the Meng family was beset by enemies on all sides, outsiders were strictly forbidden from entering, but Meng Potian thought very highly of Lu Yang's future prospects and had granted him privileges within the family equal to those of Meng Jingzhou.

That meant every right except succession, including the authority to bring outsiders through the gates.

Especially when Meng Potian heard that Lu Yang had used the Ministry of Justice to eliminate the Fourth Prince, he felt all the more that Lu Yang shared a predestined affinity with their Meng family.

"Brother Lu Yang, you're back?" Seeing Lu Yang return, Meng Jingyu ran over in high spirits.

"Who is this older brother?" Meng Jingyu looked curiously at Xia Tian, who stood behind Lu Yang.

Hearing Meng Jingyu call him "brother," the Xia Emperor's face twitched slightly.

He knew Meng Jingyu; he had even personally attended her hundred-day feast.

The mother of Meng Jingzhou and his sister was the Xia Emperor's eldest sister, the Grand Princess, which meant that by generation, both siblings were his nephew and niece.

"His name is Xia Tian. Though his cultivation is rather mediocre, he possesses a decent mind, so he's running with me now," the Immortal Fairy said in the tone of a bandit chieftain, which sounded inexplicably impressive to Meng Jingyu.

Meng Jingyu blinked her eyes and prettily called out, "Hello, Brother Xia."

The Xia Emperor was now beginning to regret his choices; how could he have forgotten that while following this boy Lu Yang would certainly broaden his horizons, Lu Yang was so close to Meng Jingzhou that he would inevitably encounter the Meng family often.

What was he to do now?

He had barely stepped through the gates of the Meng Residence and already he had dropped a generation.

Meng Jingyu had little interest in Xia Tian, and taking Lu Yang by the hand, she ran toward the study.

"Brother Lu Yang, the tutor left me homework to do regarding ancient history. Can you teach me? My brother always praises you, saying you study ancient history exceptionally well."

The Meng family believed in a well-rounded education for their children, and this naturally included history.

Hearing this, the Immortal Fairy agreed immediately.

"A trifling matter."

When it came to ancient history, who could possibly be more familiar with it than she?

Meng Jingyu was a diligent and studious child; the study was lined with neatly arranged volumes, their covers slightly soiled, clearly the result of frequent reading—a far cry from the Immortal Fairy's habit of tossing books into a corner to gather dust.

"How do I answer this question? An ancient immortal once forged the Mountain-Cleaving Axe; what was the reason for its creation?"

If the real Lu Yang had been here, he would have gently told Meng Jingyu that there was nothing worth researching in ancient history, and that studying modern history was far better.

But the current Lu Yang was possessed, and the Immortal Fairy only spoke the absolute truth.

"If you're asking about that, then there's quite a tale to tell..."

The next day, the private tutor coldly scanned the restless youngsters of the Meng family; he was famous for his foul temper and stubborn adherence to principles, fearing no one.

"The homework assigned yesterday was indeed somewhat difficult, particularly regarding the origin of the Mountain-Cleaving Axe."

"As is widely known, the Mountain-Cleaving Axe is an ancient magical treasure. Although its power is far inferior to the immortal artifact, the Heaven-Cleaving Axe, its renown is not a whit less."

Both the Mountain-Cleaving Axe and the Heaven-Cleaving Axe were exceedingly famous; back when the Wendao Sect held its entrance trial, the River Spirit had brought forth from the river a ordinary axe, the Mountain-Cleaving Axe, and the Heaven-Cleaving Axe.

"Regarding the origin of the Mountain-Cleaving Axe, no ancient text offers a clear record, but if you had carefully read the supplementary material I left you, the answer could be deduced."

"The Mountain-Cleaving Axe was forged by the Ancient Immortal Ying Tian before he attained immortality."

"According to records, the ancient ancestors were trapped within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, finding travel perilous and every step arduous, making communication with the outside world difficult. Immortal Ying Tian forged an axe to split the mountains and carve out a path, and the ancient ancestors revered this axe, naming it the Mountain-Cleaving Axe."

The tutor's voice grew colder still: "But look at yourselves, all handing in blank papers. Of course, there are exceptions, such as Meng Jingyu. Come, tell us what you have written!"

Meng Jingyu openly recounted the story the Immortal Fairy had told her the previous day: "In the ancient era, Immortal Ying Tian was destitute. To make a living, he hacked open the mountains to collect tolls, laying his axe across the middle of the path, and whenever anyone passed, he would say, 'This mountain was opened by me, this tree was planted by me; if you wish to pass this way, leave your toll behind!' Only when they paid would Immortal Ying Tian raise his axe to let them through."

"The ancient ancestors therefore called this axe the Mountain-Cleaving Axe."

"Is this what you learned from your books?" The tutor's expression turned bizarre; what sort of pirated text was misleading the younger generation so?

"Brother Lu Yang told me all of this, so it must be correct." Meng Jingyu possessed absolute trust in Lu Yang.

"Lu Yang? Call him here, I shall debate the matter with him!" The tutor naturally knew of Lu Yang's reputation, but Lu Yang was renowned as a genius of cultivation, not a prodigy of history. Having painstakingly studied ancient history for so many years, how could he fear Lu Yang in this domain?

Meng Jingyu hastily invited the Immortal Fairy over.

"Brother Lu Yang, the tutor says what you told me yesterday was incorrect."

"Ah? What part was incorrect?" The Immortal Fairy was perplexed. Had she remembered it wrong? That shouldn't be; she was the one who had come up with that phrase for Ying Tian.

The tutor recited the standard answer, which was also the universally accepted view in academic circles.

"Is that not practically the same as what I said?"

The tutor's beard quivered with rage: "It is vastly different! The Immortal Ying Tian you speak of is nothing but a highwayman!"

The Immortal Fairy countered with righteous indignation: "How does that make him a bandit? Immortal Ying Tian painstakingly used his axe to tunnel through the mountains and create a path, and he cultivated the Tree-Planting Art to plant trees. Is it not right that he should collect a little money?"

"Even so, it is impossible that Immortal Ying Tian would ever say 'This mountain was opened by me!'" The tutor felt this was an utter defamation of an ancient immortal's image!

The Immortal Fairy grew even more bewildered: "If you don't say it like that, how will others know you were the one who opened the mountain, and how would they willingly pay the fee?"