Martial Cultivator

”Infatuation Daoist Temple.

Beneath the ancient pine on the back mountain.

Yu Lu respectfully handed a letter to Daoist Yinli, who was seated in meditation. Daoist Yinli glanced at Yu Lu, and the letter floated up into the air, tore itself open, revealing the paper inside.

Daoist Yinli took one look, and his expression darkened. The letter immediately turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished without a trace.

The black ox leaned in and asked respectfully, “Sage, has something happened?”

Daoist Yinli said nothing, only waved his sleeve. Yu Lu took the hint, bowed respectfully, and quietly left.

Only after Yu Lu left, did Daoist Yinli say calmly: “That young martial artist left the Divine Capital and went to the Glaze Temple.”

The black ox had served Daoist Yinli for many years and naturally understood the relationship between him and Galze Temple. After a brief hesitation, it said with some disbelief, “That young man dares to be so bold? But I suppose that Daoist Qian Ji should be able to kill him.”

Daoist Yinli’s face remained impassive. “Whether Qian Ji lives or dies isn’t important. So long as he kills that young man, his own death is inconsequential. But now that things have reached this point, I’ve come to see through him. All the trouble he stirred up in the temple before was meant to make me think his goal was merely to cause internal turmoil in the temple. Only now has his true aim been revealed. He certainly has guts, he made a spectacle of killing that idiot Gu Changsheng, and I thought he just wanted to see how the temple would react. I didn’t expect he had something else in mind entirely.”

“But now his true goal has surfaced, and he’s run out of backup. Trying to avenge the grudge of Wei Prefecture, what a hot-blooded youth.”

Daoist Yinli narrowed his eyes and said, “According to the reports we’ve received recently, that Confucian Saint and that eunuch are both in the Divine Capital. He has almost no allies. Even if he kills Qian Ji, he’ll be like an arrow at the end of its flight - no better than an ant. Now truly is the perfect time to kill him.”

The black ox said in surprise, “Sage, you’re going to kill that young man yourself?”

Daoist Master Yinli nodded and replied calmly, “Now is the perfect opportunity. I’ll go myself and kill him.”

The black ox thought for a moment, then agreed. “Shall I accompany you, Sage?”

Daoist Yinli shook his head. “Stay in the mountain and watch over Yun Jianyue. Don’t let him take this chance to escape.”

The black ox had no desire to follow Daoist Yinli around in the first place. What it truly preferred was staying on the mountain, munching on medicinal fruits and spirit herbs. Hearing this, it was naturally pleased and immediately nodded in agreement. “Then I’ll keep a close eye on Yun Jianyue here on the mountain. Don’t worry, Sage, I definitely won’t let him escape.”

Daoist Yinli gave a slight nod and did not say much more. In truth, he did not particularly care whether Yun Jianyue escaped or not. After all, most of the Infatuation Daoist Temple had already submitted to him. If Yun Jianyue obediently remained in the Soul Locking Prison, then fine. But if he dared think of escaping, leaving both the prison and the temple, then he would have no place left in the Infatuation Daoist Temple ever again.

......

Daoist Yinli departed shortly thereafter, and the black ox was just about to head over to check on the Spirit-Sealing Prison. But before it could leave the ancient pine, Yu Lu appeared once again. Not seeing Daoist Yinli, Yu Lu asked in surprise, “Where is the temple master?”

The black ox gave him a sidelong glance and said impatiently, “Sage had business down the mountain. Whatever you wanted to ask, wait until he returns.”

It had assumed Yu Lu came seeking Daoist Yinli’s guidance on cultivation.

Yu Lu did not leave right away. Instead, he smiled and said, “Daoist Ox, since the temple master isn’t here, I happened to bring some excellent medicinal fruits. They were offerings from some of the followers down below a few days ago. I didn’t dare bring them out while the temple master was around, but since he’s not here right now, perhaps Daoist Ox...”

At the mention of medicinal fruits, the black ox’s eyes lit up. Though it followed Daoist Yinli and had a steady supply of spiritual herbs and fruits every day, the quantity was strictly controlled. When would it ever get the chance to eat freely to its heart’s content?

This time, Yu Lu had accumulated a considerable amount of medicinal fruits, and the black ox could finally feast to its heart’s content.

The black ox looked at the pile of medicinal fruits in front of it, laughing heartily. “Yu Lu, oh Yu Lu, you really did well. This daoist didn’t misjudge you after all.”

Yu Lu bowed respectfully and said, “This disciple will never dare forget the kindness and support of Daoist Ox.”

The black ox praised him repeatedly, “Good, good. When Sage returns, this daoist will put in a few good words for you, and make sure that Sage passes some of those secret techniques onto you!”

“In that case, thank you very much, Daoist Ox,” Yu Lu smiled, remaining humble from start to end.

“Oh, by the way, Yu Lu, go watch over the Soul Locking Prison for this daoist. Make sure Yun Jianyue doesn’t escape.”

At this point, the black ox was completely focused on devouring the pile of medicinal fruits in front of it and was not concerned about anything else.

Yu Lu nodded, “Rest assured, Daoist Ox. I’ll handle this matter properly and not let Daoist Ox and the temple master worry.”

At this, how could the black ox still respond to Yu Lu? He just gave a vague grunt in acknowledgment, buried its face in the pile of medicinal fruits, and continued eating.

Yu Lu then left.

After descending the mountain, Yu Lu quickly arrived at the Soul Locking Prison.

The guards, seeing him from a distance, greeted him with friendly smiles, calling him “Senior Brother Yu” with a warm tone.

This was all thanks to the efforts Yu Lu had made in recent days, which had completely won the trust of the guards. They no longer kept their guard up against him. At this point, if Yu Lu said anything, they would do it without hesitation.

Disciples living at the bottom naturally always sought any opportunity to climb up.

After greeting the guards, Yu Lu did not immediately enter the Soul Locking Prison. Instead, he stood there, suddenly lowering his voice and asking, ”There’s a tremendous opportunity. I wonder if Junior Brothers are interested?”

The guards, who had been struggling at the bottom ranks for a long time, immediately perked up upon hearing this. They all said eagerly, ”What opportunity is it? Pray tell us more, Senior Brother.”

However, Yu Lu was not in a hurry to explain. He just asked, ”Do you know who is the greatest threat to the Temple Master in the mountains?”

The guards exchanged glances, shaking their heads. One of them cautiously ventured, ”Is it Senior Brother Yun?”

”Yes, that’s right. It’s Yun Jianyue. This person is the chosen successor of the Daoist Wuyang. If nothing unexpected happens, the position of temple master should have gone to him. How could he not bear a grudge? The assassination attempt on the Temple Master before was driven by this. It should have killed him, but the matters within the temple are too complicated. Even the Temple Master couldn’t just kill him at will. But what if he escapes the Soul Locking Prison now? Would the temple still have any reason to protect him? ”If we help the Temple Master eliminate this major threat, wouldn’t the Temple Master look favorably upon us? Then, would any of you still be content to remain a lowly guard here?”

Upon hearing this, the guards were visibly tempted.

However, one of them soon said hesitantly, ”If we let Yun Jianyue go, won’t we be punished according to the temple’s rules as well?”

They were not unwilling, but they were afraid of being discarded afterward, becoming abandoned chess pieces.

Yu Lu had already anticipated this and said with a faint smile, ”At that time, push all the blame to me. I’ll say that I seized the keys and let Yun Jianyue escape.”

”And how will Senior Brother Yu clear his name then?” one of the guards asked, puzzled.

Yu Lu shook his head and said, ”At that time, I will commit suicide to face the law. But of course, I won’t really die. I’ll change my appearance and start anew. The Temple Master has already promised me a position as the head of a sect. At that time, whether you follow me to that sect or stay in the temple, there will be no lack of good prospects for all of you.”

Upon hearing this, they were still a little hesitant, but Yu Lu furrowed his brows and said, ”Everyone, now that you know about this, is there still a way to retreat unscathed?”

Hearing this, someone could not help but smile bitterly, knowing they had boarded Yu Lu’s pirate ship and could no longer get off now.

......

......

Half an hour later, Yun Jianyue walked out of the Soul Locking Prison. Looking at the guards who had fainted at the door, this daoist genius glanced at Yu Lu and said indifferently, ”Is everything done now?”

Yu Lu smiled and said, ”The matter the Divine Capital asked us to do is completed. The last thing left is for you, Sage, to leave the Soul Locking Prison.”

Yun Jianyue frowned and asked, ”What about you? Are you coming with me down the mountain and then returning to the Divine Capital?”

Yu Lu smiled and shook his head, ”I naturally still need to handle the aftermath. I can’t let you, Sage, bear the reputation of colluding with us.”

”Since you’re staying on the mountain, aren’t you afraid I’ll come back and kill you?”

Yun Jianyue was truly curious.

Yu Lu replied, ”The Lord Warden Commander sent a letter. If Sage harbors any murderous intent towards me or those involved, he asked me to tell Sage one thing.”

”What?”

Yun Jianyue glanced at him.

Yu Lu said, ”If we die, Sage will also die, and the Infatuation Daoist Temple will cease to exist.”

Yun Jianyue looked at Yu Lu but said nothing.