Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 450: Great Yu’s Plans
Wu Youdao gritted his teeth, his mind in turmoil. As the sixth Yu emperor and the one destined to annihilate Great Xia and restore the glory of Great Yu, how can I possibly cave in to mere threats and spill my secrets?!
After all, I’m someone who has weathered storms and seen bloodshed. It’s just being refined into an artifact spirit. There’s nothing to fear!
Just as Wu Youdao was about to speak, Lu Yang mused aloud beside him. “It’s said that history is written by the victors. The Dao-Seeking Sect has always maintained cordial relations with the imperial court. We could discuss with the scribes about giving your legacy some...artistic embellishments.
“If you cooperate, we’ll have them write that after your capture, you’d rather die than submit, enduring endless torture without revealing a single secret—a man of steel and unbreakable resolve.
“Even the Xia Emperor would praise you as a wise ruler with the potential to become an immortal, though it was a pity you were born in the wrong era. If you had remained emperor in the Great Yu Dynasty, you could have pushed Great Yu to greater heights. Your talent is no less than that of your founding ancestor, the first Yu emperor himself.
“On the other hand, if you refuse to confess anything, we will make the scribes describe how you bawled and begged for mercy, admitting Great Xia’s legitimacy while disparaging how Great Yu is inferior to Great Xia. Or perhaps they could record that we Great Xia treat our captives with benevolence and how you feast on fine wine and meat in the Dao-Seeking Sect, living so luxuriously that you’ve forgotten your homeland...”
“I’ll spill everything.” Wu Youdao immediately capitulated, cold sweat drenching his back at Lu Yang’s words.
In any case, I’ve already failed and been captured, with no control over my own life or death, and immortal ascension is all the more impossible. The only thing I care about now is my reputation. By Lu Yang’s logic, a tarnished reputation will be worse than the disintegration of the soul, for I will be subjected to eternal ridicule and infamy.
Wu Youdao glared venomously at Lu Yang, who remained utterly unfazed and ignored him.
Yun Zhi cast Lu Yang a glance, surprised by his unconventional approach. She had been prepared to use her traditional method of interrogation through torture.
Reaching out her hand, the golden bells on her wrist chimed, and a luminous barrier rose, separating Wu Youdao and the Azure Lightning Venerable Lord for individual questioning.
“What was your plan in Wilderness Province?”
“The Imperial Preceptor told this sovereign—I mean, me—that Great Xia’s national fortune was the key to obstructing our resurgence. He needed to study its effects on Great Xia, so we devised a plan to seize the Wilderness Province’s national fortune. Once the mechanisms have been figured out, we would channel the national fortune to nourish my Dragon-Tiger Qi as fuel, thereby increasing my chances of immortal ascension.”
“How does Great Yu plan to resurge?”
“Only the first imperial preceptor knows the full resurgence plan. The second imperial preceptor and I only grasp a part of it. However, ever since my awakening, I’ve never met the legendary first imperial preceptor. It has been the second imperial preceptor collaborating with me all this while.”
The first imperial preceptor had already vanished before Wu Youdao’s birth. To Wu Youdao, the first imperial preceptor was also a figure who existed in the legends.
“Our strategy was to ally with the Demon Region, sea tribes, and diabolic creeds. When the Great Era arrives, we would coordinate from the inside and outside to overthrow Great Xia in one swift move, while I’d become the Yu emperor.”
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy couldn’t help but feel that the first half of this plan sounded familiar.
Lu Yang pondered. Wu Youdao’s plan is extremely crude and only a general outline. Looks like the true masterminds are the two imperial preceptors.
This is also in line with historical records. In the early days of the Great Yu Dynasty, the emperor and imperial preceptors shared a symbiotic relationship. The imperial preceptor was talented in statecraft, offering strategies and counsel for the emperor, while the emperor was receptive to advice. Together, they fostered the prosperity of Great Yu.
It wasn’t possible for every Yu emperor to be talented in governance. For instance, Wu Youdao possessed talent in cultivation but not in the administration of a nation.
“You would become the Yu emperor? Then what about the first Yu emperor?”
The founding Yu Emperor was the strongest cultivator of the Great Yu Dynasty. According to historical records, he waged campaigns across the land, ultimately overthrew Great Qian, and unified the world, establishing the Great Yu Dynasty. His reign lasted for three thousand years until his hidden injuries sustained through years of warfare resurfaced, and he succumbed to illness.
Lu Yang had always been skeptical of this account. It’s not like I haven’t met strong cultivators before. As the strongest of the Great Yu Dynasty, how could the first Yu emperor have died just like that?
“Our founding ancestor really died. After my succession, I personally offered rites before his remains,” Wu Youdao stated with conviction. If the founding ancestor were still alive, I wouldn’t have agreed with the Imperial Preceptor’s plans. After all, with the founding Yu emperor present, it wouldn’t be my turn to become the new Yu emperor and obtain fortuitous opportunities for immortal ascension.
“How many of you have awakened so far, and at what cultivation level?”
“Thirty-two Fusion cultivators and seven Transcendent Tribulation cultivators.”
Lu Yang frowned. This far exceeds the Calamity Venerable Lord’s confession of only two Transcendent Tribulation cultivators. Looks like the Calamity Venerable Lord had been peripheral to Great Yu’s plans. For even a Basic Transcendent Tribulation cultivator to be marginal—Great Yu’s hidden strength is quite terrifying.
“What are the exact cultivation realms of those seven Transcendent Tribulation cultivators?”
“Three are Basic, two are Intermediate, and two are Advanced. The latter four are still in slumber. As for whether there are more, I wouldn’t know.”
Lu Yang mentally tallied his encounters with Great Yu's Transcendent Tribulation cultivators. Calamity Venerable Lord, Azure Lightning Venerable Lord, and Witchcraft Sacrifice Venerable Lord—precisely three Basic Transcendent Tribulation cultivators.
“Where are these four Intermediate and Advanced Transcendent Tribulation cultivators slumbering at?”
“The Imperial Preceptor knows. I don’t.”
“What cultivation realms are the two imperial preceptors at?”
“No one knows the cultivation realm of the first imperial preceptor. I’ve asked a few powerful cultivators who have met the first imperial preceptor before, but they gave conflicting accounts. Some said he stood only half a step from becoming an immortal, while others claimed that he had already attained the Dao and become an immortal. The second imperial preceptor is a half-immortal powerhouse.” Wu Youdao’s eyes shone with reverence when mentioning that the first imperial preceptor had potentially become an immortal.
Lu Yang was much calmer. These days, the topic of immortals simply made him think of the Everlasting Immortal Fairy and her four unlucky peers.
Any sense of awe and admiration toward immortals had long since evaporated.
A “half-immortal” referred to a Transcendent Tribulation cultivator with an Incipient Dao Fruit. The only half-immortal cultivator Lu Yang knew was the third-in-command of the Everlasting Lineage—the Everlasting Immortal.
“Had the Wilderness Province plan succeeded, what would have been your next step?”
“The Transcendent Tribulation cultivators would step in, deploying 'Rules' to envelop a city in Ji Province to test whether the power of rules could convert the populace into Great Yu subjects.”
“Which city?”
“It’d be randomly selected.”
Yun Zhi repeated the questions to the Azure Lightning Venerable Lord, but his knowledge proved sparser than Wu Youdao's, though it was sufficient for cross-verification.
She felt that there was a need to share Wu Youdao’s intelligence, particularly regarding Ji Province, with the imperial court and four other Great Immortal Sects for coordinated preparations. Binding the refined Witchcraft Sacrifice Venerable Lord with chains, she handed the other end of the chains to Lu Yang. “I’ll send these two to Incarceration Peak before heading to the imperial city. You shall hand this soul over to Fifth Elder.”
As Yun Zhi departed, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy jolted awake from a dream. “Ah! I forgot to ask for contribution points!”
