Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 621: Impermanence of Destiny
“Whew, it’s finally over.” Lu Yang and Jiang Lianyi arrived at a location far away from the Demon City and peeled away their Invisibility Talismans.
“It’s not over yet. I used the power of my Incipient Dao Fruit to control Zhu Tian. There are many eyes here; let’s look for him once the crowd has thinned.”
~~~
The battle between half-immortals grabbed the most eyeballs, while the three other battles between Transcendent Tribulation cultivators drew considerably less attention.
Among the three battles, the one between Jiang Mingzi and the Taowu Tribe Chieftain featured the greatest disparity in strength, making the outcome the most foregone conclusion.
Backed by the ancient ancestor, Jiang Mingzi’s combat style became even more ferocious and wild. Ever since the Taowu Tribe joined the Demon Kingdom, their chieftain, Ji Youming[1], had been humiliating the Phoenix Tribe by borrowing the monarch’s authority. However, the Phoenix Tribe dared not retaliate out of fear that it would give the Demon Kingdom a pretext for war.
Now, they finally had the chance to strike back.
“Jiang Mingzi, I think we can sit down and talk this over,” Ji Youming beseeched as he coughed up large mouthfuls of blood, a chill seeping into the bottom of his heart. It’s clear he is not holding back and is bent on beating me to death.
“Talk to your mother! You will die today!” Jiang Mingzi’s temper had always been irascible, but his position had restrained him from such outbursts previously.
“Fine fine fine! You’ve forced my hand!” Enraged, Ji Youming burned his essence blood and spewed mist from his mouth, summoning lightning.
The lightning that had appeared during the battle between Zhu Tian and Jiang Lianyi had not been cast by either of them, but by Ji Youming.
“All-Encompassing Heaven Immortal Lightning!”
The lightning seemed to form an entire world, with mountains, rivers, beasts, and plants manifested from thunder appearing above the clouds. Then, that world crumbled, and the lightning morphed into a cyan-purple molten torrent that crashed down violently toward Jiang Mingzi. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
Several Fusion cultivators noticed the commotion, and their eyes twitched. Had they been beneath that lightning, they feared not even their bones would remain.
“I hereby establish the rule: [For three breaths, you cannot dodge]. Old bastard, die!” Ji Youming roared in rage.
Jiang Mingzi unfurled the Five Virtues Great Banner and shook it vigorously. As the huge banner fluttered, the five ancient characters for Virtue, Righteousness, Benevolence, Propriety, and Credibility were especially striking. The cyan-purple molten lightning fell upon the banner but displayed not a shred of its power.
“How is this possible?!” Ji Youming was shocked. This move is one of my trump cards. How could it be neutralized so effortlessly?
Jiang Mingzi sneered. Why would I reveal to him that the Five Virtues Great Banner is a top-tier defensive treasure capable of disrupting yin and yang and is impervious to all spells?
“I hereby establish the rule: [For three breaths, you cannot dodge]!”
“Impermanence of Destiny!” An inexplicable power coalesced at Jiang Mingzi’s fingertip.
Sensing danger, Ji Youming turned to flee. But bound by the rule where he couldn’t escape for a breath, he had no choice but to resist it head-on.
“Don’t think you’re the only one who can defend!” Ji Youming produced a lion's hide from his storage ring and held it before him. It was a defensive magical treasure refined from the corpse of the previous tribe chieftain, Ji Xiong.
Jiang Mingzi’s finger pierced the supposedly indestructible lion hide and touched Ji Youming’s brow.
“What have you done?!” Ji Youming felt that something had changed, but he couldn’t put a finger on it.
Jiang Mingzi wouldn’t divulge the features of his technique to his opponent.
The two continued to battle. Ji Youming’s moves repeatedly faltered and were riddled with mistakes—the circulation of his cultivation technique stuttered, his hand seals were a beat too slow, and all sorts of mishaps plagued him.
Impermanence of Destiny was a karma-type divine ability that lowered the opponent’s luck for a period of time. In other words, it cursed Ji Youming with a streak of misfortune.
The two exchanged hundreds of moves. Ji Youming was already outmatched by Jiang Mingzi, and with the defense of the Five Virtues Great Banner, all attacks against Jiang Mingzi were nullified. Compounded by Ji Youming’s wretched luck, he blundered repeatedly. For these several hundred exchanges, he was essentially taking a beating.
Jiang Mingzi struck with ruthless brutality, each blow aimed to kill, until finally...
“Ah—”
Jiang Mingzi transformed into a thousand-zhang phoenix and ripped open Ji Youming’s chest with steely talons.
Seeing the situation turn dire, Ji Youming ejected his soul from his body, burned his lifespan, and fled without hesitation.
“Hmph, you run pretty fast.” Jiang Mingzi snorted coldly, not expecting Ji Youming to escape so decisively. Unless Jiang Mingzi also burned his own lifespan, he couldn’t catch up to Ji Youming. “Did I fight too fiercely and scare him off?”
Jiang Mingzi paid no further mind to Ji Youming, storing his corpse in his storage ring before heading to the Demon City to find his ancient ancestor.
~~~
“Huff, huff, huff—” Ji Youming shuddered with lingering fear. Seeing that Jiang Mingzi didn’t give pursuit, he ceased burning his lifespan.
“I’d likely be discovered along the way if I return to the tribe in a soul state. I’ll take over someone’s body and use their body to return!”
Ji Youming arrived outside the city, where minor cultivators without their shifu or elder guarding over them had gathered. They were too timid to enter the city to watch the battles.
Any one of them would do.
“I’ll choose you!” Without another word, he charged into the spirit platform of a young cultivator.
The young cultivator’s soul was seated in meditation when he saw Ji Youming and jumped in fright.
“Boy, what’s your name?” Ji Youming grinned menacingly. Currently in his true form, his visage was so hideous that it could make children stop crying.
“I-I’m Kong Hao,” the young cultivator stammered.
“Kong Hao? I’ll remember you... Wait, where did these iron bars come from?”
Just as Ji Youming was about to attack Kong Hao and take over his body, he found himself separated from Kong Hao by a set of iron bars.
“This is a seal! Why is there a seal inside you? Who does it seal?” Ji Youming was perplexed when a familiar cold voice suddenly spoke.
“It’s sealing me, of course!”
Ji Youming whirled around and spotted another taowu locked behind the bars. Trembling all over, he cried out. “Ji Xiong!”
Ji Xiong was blind in one eye. Something seemed caught in his throat, making his laughter hoarse and grating. Anyone could hear the schadenfreude in it.
“Ji Youming, you disrespected your elder, rebelling to steal my position as chieftain. Have you ever imagined a day like this?”
“Y-you...what are you trying to do?!” Were he in peak condition, he naturally wouldn’t fear the old chieftain. But he had just emerged from a bloody battle with Jiang Mingzi and was at his weakest. If he faced the old chieftain now, he would only be in for a beating.
“What I’m trying to do? Keep you locked in here with me, of course!” Ji Xiong roared, suppressing Ji Youming.
This was the place Ji Xiong was sealed. Ji Youming could leave, but how could Ji Xiong allow his enemy to escape?
After being trapped here for so many years, he hadn’t figured out how to break the seal, but he had figured out how to cast a seal!
~~~
Half a day later, the battle in Demon City concluded. The clash between the two ancient half-immortals shocked the world.
Ji Youming was missing, his fate unknown.
The battle between the two Transcendent Tribulation dragons and the elderly Dijiang and the Jiuying Tribe old ancestor ended without a victor, but any discerning observer could tell that this was a public facade. The elderly Dijiang and the Jiuying Tribe's old ancestor were seriously injured and required prolonged recuperation.
~~~
In the Demon City’s imperial palace, Zhu Tian assumed human form and sat upon the throne that symbolized authority.
“Your Majesty...” The elderly Dijiang, swathed in bandages, attended to him at his side.
“Enough, withdraw. You’re not needed here.” Zhu Tian waved impatiently.
After the elderly Dijiang left, a male and a female figure appeared in the palace. They were none other than Jiang Lianyi and Lu Yang. Occupied by only three people, the vast palace felt exceptionally empty.
Zhu Tian rubbed his hands together cordially and greeted them with a smile, offering the throne. “Fellow Daoist Jiang, please sit. The chair was cold, so I warmed it for you.”
Jiang Lianyi turned to Lu Yang. “Senior Brother, would you like to sit?”
Lu Yang, “...”
Me, a human, sitting on the throne of the Demon Kingdom’s ruler?
Lu Yang turned to Zhu Tian. “Would you like to sit?”
After much back-and-forth, Zhu Tian finally took out two additional thrones from his storage, resolving the issue.
The three chairs were arranged in a circle, quite like fellow villagers chatting around a stove.
Jiang Lianyi voiced the question that weighed heaviest on her heart. “Do you know where my husband is?”
“Ah, he’s still alive?”
1. His name “Youming” literally translates to “have life.” ☜
