Chapter 1057: Missing Person Notice

How could the Emperor of Zhongtian not be enraged? Although his clone had perished within the Western Heaven Temple, the intelligence gathered at that moment had been successfully transmitted back.

The accounts claimed that Si Chen asserted the mysterious immortal was illiterate, that the immortal had commanded Si Chen to kneel and so he knelt, that he himself had confessed his wrongs upon beholding the mysterious immortal, and that his own consumption of Si Chen had left the latter's fate unknown.

"And didn't that motherfucker blow himself up right in front of me? How has it been twisted to make it look like I was the one who self-detonated? I am a victim too, I lost my entire clone!"

What infuriated the Emperor of Zhongtian most was that the details described in the newspaper were all objective facts; he wished to refute them, yet found no leverage from which to begin!

Losing the battle was one thing, but how had his very reputation crumbled so utterly?

"Which son of a bitch wrote this!"

At last, in a remote corner of the paper, he discovered the journalist responsible for the report—Lu Yang of the Immortal Sect.

The moment those words met his eyes, the Emperor of Zhongtian recalled the countless clones of his that had fallen within the confines of the Immortal Sect. The fury surging into his chest instantly subsided, replaced by a cold clarity.

"I... forget it. He who achieves great things does not bicker over trifles. It is not worth risking myself over such minor matters..."

...

The newspaper quickly found great favor among the common folk.

Returning from his labors in the fields, Old Liu waved several sheets of paper, flaunting them before his neighbor. "Old Zhang, did you manage to buy this thing?"

"What is that?"

"I hear it is a novel contraption produced by the Immortal Sect, called a newspaper or some such. On my way back, I saw a crowd scrambling to purchase it, so I bought a copy myself. It wasn't even expensive, just five copper coins."

"What did you buy that trash for?" Old Zhang sneered, his mind growing weary at the sight of the dense, minuscule script covering the pages. "Do the two of us combined even recognize twenty words?"

"That is where you are ignorant. This thing called a newspaper doesn't require us to read it; it can recite itself."

"So miraculous?" Old Zhang’s interest was piqued. Regardless of what was written upon it, the mere function of self-recitation was well worth five copper coins.

"Let me think, the vendor said to press firmly right here." Every section of the newspaper featured a small circle; pressing any given circle would cause that specific section to emit sound.

The circle served as the core of a recitation formation. Once activated, it would absorb the surrounding spiritual energy and convert it into speech.

Speech formations required delicate craftsmanship, and every single edition of the paper differed. Had they used formations to print the newspapers, they would have had to adjust the printing formation styles every month; it was far more convenient to simply enlist the direct hand of Guan Shanhai.

"Cultivation is a process of absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, converting it into one's own spiritual power..."

"The echelons of cultivation are divided into the Qi Refining stage, the Foundation Establishment stage, the Golden Core stage, the Nascent Soul stage... among which the manifestation of the Qi Refining stage is..."

Hearing this, Old Zhang wore an expression of sudden enlightenment. "So the Nascent Soul stage actually succeeds the Golden Core stage? I had always assumed the Golden Core cultivators were the stronger ones."

"How could you think such a thing?" Old Liu remarked in astonishment. Though he had received little schooling in his days, standing beside Old Zhang now gave him the distinct impression of being a man of letters.

Old Zhang scratched the back of his head. "Doesn't that newly arrived storyteller often spin tales about 'the genius Lu vanquishing a Golden Core master while merely in the Nascent Soul stage'?"

"...Just keep listening."

"Illusory dreams and fleeting shadows, leading you to experience a world transformed..."

"The Immortal Sect, a noble order that vanquishes demons and upholds the righteous path..."

"According to our investigations, at the inception of this battle at the Western Heaven Temple, the opposing combatants numbered two in total..."

The two old farmers were soon entirely captivated by the contents of the newspaper; to them, it was nothing short of a brand-new world.

This was quite unlike the tales spun by storytellers, where every speaker offered a different version, filled with mutual contradictions that left the two old farmers utterly bewildered, uncertain of whom to believe.

But the Cultivation Monthly was different. This was a newspaper published by the Immortal Sect itself; its contents were absolutely authentic and reliable, and they could listen to it as many times as they pleased.

Similar scenes were unfolding across every corner of the Great Xia Empire. The moment the Cultivation Monthly was introduced as a novel medium for receiving information, it was eagerly sought after by the populace, to the point where demand far outstripped supply.

"It seems we printed too few then?" Lu Yang was struck with amazement when he heard his junior brothers and sisters report that the newspapers had sold out almost instantly. He had intended to print an abundance of copies, never imagining it would still fall short.

The junior brothers and sisters looked upon Lu Yang with reverence. Senior Brother Lu always possessed such wondrous and whimsical ideas; they wondered when they might ever catch up to his stride.

"Then let Guan Shanhai continue printing them."

With Guan Shanhai present, they could print as many newspapers as they desired.

"It is only the fiction section that leaves something to be desired." The story Lu Yang had penned was modeled after Meng Jingzhou masquerading as a Daoist companion to attend a birthday celebration at a minor clan, serving merely to pad out the section.

Yet Lu Yang felt his own literary skill was lacking; the story he had written wanted for flavor and required a thorough polishing.

"If only Master were here. Master would surely be able to write an excellent tale."

Lu Yang felt a sudden wave of nostalgia for the Daoist Buyu, whom he had not seen for several years.

"Although Eldest Senior Sister can locate Master, I have already reached the Transcendent Immortal stage. I cannot rely on Eldest Senior Sister for every matter; I can find Master through my own means."

"Third Senior Sister, I have an idea. Listen and tell me if it might work." Lu Yang found Senior Sister Gan Tian playing the zither by the riverbank, while Yun Mengmeng sat upon a large boulder not far away, splashing her feet in the water.

After listening to Lu Yang's proposal, it took Senior Sister Gan Tian a long while before she could repeat his words:

"What you mean to say is, you intend to publish a missing person's notice in the margins of the next edition of the newspaper to search for our Master, and the reward is to be one billion spiritual stones?"

"A splendid idea, isn't it?" Lu Yang was currently rolling in wealth; parting with one billion spiritual stones all at once would not even sway his foundation.

"Is this bounty not a trifle too high?" Senior Sister Gan Tian hesitated, noting that this sum nearly matched the price placed on their Master's head within the black market.

"This is our Master we are speaking of, the Sect Master of the Immortal Sect, a great power of the Tribulation Transmutation stage who has been missing for so many years. Is his venerable whereabouts not worth one billion?"

Senior Sister Gan Tian pondered for a moment and felt that she had been altogether unfilial. "What you say is reasonable. I shall contribute an additional fifty million spiritual stones."

Lu Yang believed that his Master would surely understand the underlying hint that he wished for him to return to the sect. Of course, even if his Master failed to grasp it, someone else would bound to bring him back.

He could well foresee that with the Cultivation Monthly being so highly sought after, coupled with his Master's assistance, the paper would inevitably sweep across the entirety of the cultivation world in the days to come.

Lu Yang originally intended to share this joyous news with Old Meng, but unexpected tidings of disaster regarding Meng Jingzhou arrived from the Third Elder.

"Are you saying that Old Meng was dragged off by Ancestor Hanhai to cultivate near the sun?"

"Indeed. I was just teaching young Meng some fist techniques when Ancestor Hanhai suddenly appeared out of nowhere—heaven knows what crossed his mind—and dragged young Meng away."

The Third Elder wore a deeply troubled expression. Though Meng Jingzhou's cultivation near the sun would undoubtedly accelerate his progress, and with Ancestor Hanhai watching over him, no harm would come to him,

was this method not a bit too drastic?

"This is a grand fortune for Old Meng."

Placing himself in Meng Jingzhou's shoes, Lu Yang knew he would certainly not feel any joy, yet this matter was undeniably a tremendous opportunity for him.

Therefore, Lu Yang had no choice but to reluctantly feel happy on Meng Jingzhou's behalf.