Devoted cultivation

Chapter 47: Devoted cultivation (third update)

"Hmph! Does Ye Mingtian intend to keep me here?" Wang Yan snorted coldly at her words.

"I'm afraid that's exactly what he intends!" Card Fairy said quickly. She paused, then asked, "Do you know why the Ye Family Stockade refuses to let cultivators enter?"

"Hm? Why?" Something stirred in Wang Yan's mind, and he hurriedly asked.

"I didn't know at first either, but once we entered the Ye Family Stockade, I understood what was going on!" Card Fairy said calmly.

"Once we entered the Ye Family Stockade?" Wang Yan murmured, his mind stirring. Suddenly, realization struck him, and he said in surprise, "You mean the spiritual energy of heaven and earth here?"

"Exactly... this...!" Card Fairy hastily replied, then broke off and changed tack. "Quiet, they're back!"

"Oh!" Wang Yan's heart stirred at her words. He immediately fell silent and began eating...

Then-

"Brother Wang! The fruit from our stockade tastes pretty good, doesn't it?" Ye Shisan came in first and addressed Wang Yan with a cheerful smile, looking quite relaxed. Ye Mingtian followed him in, his face largely expressionless, though somewhat stern...

"Mm!" Wang Yan nodded and quickly replied, "It's all right!"

Meanwhile.

"Compared with Azure Spirit Mountain, where your Wang Household resides, the spiritual energy here in the Ye Family Stockade is considerably stronger. If cultivators knew a treasure land like this existed, they would surely fight over it!" Card Fairy said in Wang Yan's mind. "That's why Shi Nu was so determined to keep you here, and why Ye Mingtian wants to keep you too. They simply don't want you revealing this place to outsiders, nothing more. I'm afraid leaving won't be easy! But they won't do anything to you for now!"

"!" After hearing this, Wang Yan understood the reason. In the Cultivation World, places rich in spiritual energy had always been fiercely contested by cultivator lineages and sects, for they concerned the future development of an entire sect or lineage. Azure Spirit Mountain was actually a cultivation site with rather mediocre spiritual energy, yet even it was occupied by a lineage like the Wang Household. Although this place was small, its abundant spiritual energy naturally made it another site cultivator lineages and sects would fight over.

Although Wang Yan knew he was already a rogue cultivator, Ye Mingtian and the others did not see him that way, so they would not let him leave easily. However, Shi Nu already counted among the Ye Family Stockade's experts and had killed Cultivation Realm cultivators before, yet Wang Yan had subdued him with ease. From what Ye Shisan had said, Wang Yan had also killed several cultivators of considerable cultivation. Naturally, they did not dare attack him rashly, nor did they dare let him leave readily. They could only bring him inside and deal with him afterward.

After entering the stockade's hall, Wang Yan had stayed there eating while Ye Mingtian called Ye Shisan away to the Back Mountain. Needless to say, he had been asking Ye Shisan how he had met Wang Yan and how Wang Yan had rescued him.

"Young Brother Wang! Shisan has already told me how you rescued my son!" Ye Mingtian addressed Wang Yan directly. He bowed to him and said gratefully, "Thank you for saving my son! Good people like you are rare in the Cultivation World these days. I also apologize for Shi Nu's rash behavior toward you! Our Ye Family Stockade failed to show proper courtesy!" With that, he bowed to Wang Yan again.

"You're too kind, Uncle Ye! I have a bit of a grudge against the Lü Household too, so I lent a hand!" Wang Yan hurriedly stood up and replied, naturally making no mention of Shi Nu. He was surprised by Ye Mingtian's refined courtesy. Ye Mingtian looked like a barbarian, but his manners and bearing were far beyond those of an ordinary man. He was clearly quite remarkable, worthy of being the head of a clan. Wang Yan did not claim credit either, brushing off his contribution lightly. In truth, he was not that noble; his goal had merely been the black mother iron...

"Oh! Young as you are, you're far better than my foolish Shisan!" Ye Mingtian said with a sigh of admiration. It was unclear whether he meant Wang Yan's character or his divine abilities and cultivation. After a pause, he turned to Ye Shisan beside him. "You must learn more from Young Brother Wang Yan from now on!"

"Yes! I understand, Father!" Ye Shisan was very afraid of his father and hastily answered respectfully.

Ye Mingtian and Wang Yan exchanged a few more pleasantries before sitting down.

"Young Brother Wang!" Ye Mingtian then said. "Your cultivation seems about the same as my son's, and you're about the same age. An ordinary lineage wouldn't let someone like you travel outside alone. May I ask which lineage you belong to?" He paused, then continued, "Is it the Wang Household of Azure Spirit Mountain?"

Here it comes...! Wang Yan's mind stirred at the question, but he answered with a wry smile, "I'm not a cultivator from any lineage. I'm actually just a rogue cultivator. I did stay with the Wang Household before, though, as an Outer Clan disciple. I failed their Back Mountain Trial, so I had no choice but to sneak away! I hope you'll keep that secret for me, Uncle Li!"

Wang Yan's words were half true and half false. First he said he was a rogue cultivator, then that he had stayed with the Wang Household, and then that he had sneaked away. In effect, he was vaguely suggesting that he was a cultivator who had defected from the Wang Household. Indeed.

Some lineages often swindled, tricked, abducted, or stole away many disciples and cultivators with immortal roots. Once those disciples failed to make progress, the lineages stopped nurturing them. As a result, many such disciples drifted away to become rogue cultivators or joined other lineages. Generally, those lineages could not be bothered to expend effort making trouble for disciples who had left. But if someone reported them, the lineages would not let them off easily. They would naturally capture them, or even kill them as punishment-killing the chicken to frighten the monkeys.

"Oh! So that's how it is!" Ye Mingtian was a shrewd man too and naturally understood. He nodded and said, "I heard from Shisan that you plan to hide in our Ye Family Stockade for a while? What happened with the Lü Household, then?"

"Ah! Don't even mention it!" Wang Yan said with a bitter smile. "I bought quite a few pills at the Lü Family Marketplace...!"

Wang Yan then spun a story about buying pills and having the beams stolen and pillars swapped beneath him, describing how he had been bullied. Essentially, he pieced together what he knew about the Lü Family Marketplace, then added oil and vinegar to embellish it. He said nothing about his conflict with Lü Zijun. Although he had partly brought it upon himself, he truly despised the airs those aristocratic clan scions put on...

Still, Wang Yan did not want Ye Mingtian knowing his affairs.

"Oh! So that's what happened!" Ye Mingtian said as though enlightened after hearing him out. He paused, then suddenly stood up. "Regardless, Young Brother Wang saved my son and offended the Lü Household!" After another pause, he continued, "Young Brother Wang, wouldn't you say the spiritual energy in our Ye Family Stockade is quite good? You're welcome to stay here for refuge and cultivation as long as you like! Make yourself at home!"

"Then thank you very much, Uncle Ye!" Wang Yan said, looking delighted. He stood up and bowed respectfully to Ye Mingtian, then paused as though remembering something and quickly asked, "By the way, Uncle Ye! Apart from you and Brother Shisan, are there any other cultivators in the Ye Family Stockade?"

"Oh! No, just the two of us!" Ye Mingtian said calmly. He paused, then continued, "However, Young Brother Wang, the spiritual energy here is so astonishing that it would be troublesome if a cultivator lineage discovered us. Please don't reveal it to anyone lightly!"

"Rest assured, Uncle Ye. I understand!" Wang Yan promised solemnly. Naturally, he made no mention of the black mother iron mine, and he knew Ye Mingtian had not truly believed him either.

"All right! Shisan! You'll arrange Young Brother Wang's lodging! Take him around as well and help him get familiar with the stockade!" Ye Mingtian said no more, turning to Ye Shisan, who was busily devouring fruit beside him.

"Mmph... I understand, Father...!" Ye Shisan said through a mouth stuffed with fruit, juice spilling everywhere...

Inside a spacious Mountain Cave seven or eight zhang across, animal hides covered the floor, and a restriction shimmering with yellow spiritual light blocked the entire entrance.

Wang Yan sat on the animal hides.

Looking at the large pile of Spirit Stones before him, along with several Storage Bags, assorted bottles and jars, and Magic Artifacts... Wang Yan was somewhat surprised. He murmured, "I didn't expect those Lü Household cultivators to have so many Spirit Stones when they had so few treasures!"

A careful count revealed that the pile contained over a hundred Spirit Stones.

These were all spoils taken from the three cultivators he had killed while they were attacking Ye Shisan. As for Magic Artifacts and treasures, there were only three or four low-grade Magic Artifacts, and few pills either. But when he searched one separate Storage Bag belonging to the middle-aged cultivator, he had found over two hundred Spirit Stones, which had come as quite a surprise.

Could these be the Spirit Stones collected as taxes at the Lü Family Marketplace? After thinking it over carefully, Wang Yan murmured to himself, inwardly pleased at the thought.

In fact, these Spirit Stones really were tax revenues collected by that Lü Household cultivator and were supposed to be handed over. He had gone after Ye Shisan before he could turn them in, only to be killed by Wang Yan. At the time, Wang Yan had not shared the spoils with Ye Shisan either. As far as he was concerned, saving Ye Shisan's life had already been an enormous favor.

Naturally, his main purpose in coming to the Ye Family Stockade was actually the black mother iron mine. So far, however, although Ye Shisan had taken Wang Yan around the stockade, he had not taken Ye Shisan to the mine. Wang Yan had noticed that the weapons used by the stockade's mortal warriors were all pitch-black, clearly forged with a considerable amount of black mother iron ore mixed in.

Ye Shisan also followed him around all day long. According to Ye Shisan, he was keeping Wang Yan company while he cultivated, but Wang Yan knew this might be Ye Mingtian's arrangement to have Ye Shisan watch him.

With Ye Shisan's simple nature, Wang Yan easily drew enough out of him to uncover clues.

Wang Yan was in no hurry to seek out the black mother iron mine. His immediate priority was cultivation. In a place with such abundant spiritual energy, advancing should be relatively easy.

"Card Fairy! Didn't you say you were going to teach me some kind of formation?" Wang Yan asked Card Fairy after tidying up.