TheRandomBlueCat
patreon
The Science of Cultivation - Chapter 261: Shifting Opportunities
🕑 Added 2025-03-17 22:30:01 +0000 UTCFor quite some time, Li Lang’s gaze was locked with Wei Ping’s. Even without any words, the two were able to converse with their eyes alone. Li Lang questioned why Wei Ping would want to let Yun Ming, who was affiliated with the Abductress, go so easily. After all, despite what the man had claimed, it was an undisputable fact that he had ambushed them even if he hadn’t aimed to kill them. It made it hard for Li Lang to completely believe his story that he was only out to supervise the puppets.
There were many reasons why Yun Ming could do such a thing. It could be from negative experiences he may have encountered in his past. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if he had been attacked on sight before when it became clear that he was a member of the Abductress’ faction. It could also be because he was putting on a show for his Spirit Divide Realm mistress, who could be watching. That was something Li Lang and his party would never know due to their current abilities.
However, one thing was clearly conveyed—Wei Ping’s unwavering resolve.
Seeing how his friend was so resolute, Li Lang finally relented when he heard Long Yi coughing as he began to rouse. He turned back to Yun Ming, whose collar was still in his grasp.
“Tell Zi Xi and Xiaomei that they’ll be seeing me soon. And if your intentions are truly as good as you say, you better make sure they are safe until then,” Li Lang warned before slowly letting go of the young man.
Yun Ming took a moment to straighten his clothes before casually heading toward the collapsed wooden puppet. With a slight touch, it vanished, and he proceeded to walk away. He only needed to take a few steps before his figure disappeared into the purple mist.
As soon as he was gone, Wei Ping hurried over to the entrance of the inn. Long Yi had been sent flying into a barrier of some sort that protected the place, so he approached it with care. He gingerly reached for the door, only to find nothing obstructing him. The two managed to enter the building without any incident.
However, as the door opened, they could see the violet mist being thwarted by an invisible barrier, creating a clear border with the interior. They stepped through without feeling anything and were immediately greeted by the innkeeper, a young man wearing clothes that marked him as a native of Sword Saint Isle. It meant he was undoubtedly a disciple of the Sword Saint, as only his disciples lived on the island.
His gaze softened when he recognized the three newcomers as his guests and nodded toward them.
“I’m glad you three made it back despite—some minor injuries,” he glanced toward the unconscious Long Yi for a moment before directing his gaze back to the other two. “How’s the situation outside?”
“Probably ch-chaotic,” Wei Ping replied, as he noticed Li Lang stayed silent, sulking away. “On our way back w-we saw the Sword Saint fighting out a-at sea, but as you can see, the intruder’s Qi art man-managed to envelop the entire island. We c-can barely see or sense anything through this smoke.”
“I saw as much, but I guess we can only wait for good news from Master, then.”
“If y-you don’t mind, we’ll be returning to o-our room, if that’s okay.”
“You can if you want,” the innkeeper stated. “I recommend you stand guard with us in the dining area just in case anything happens, but I see your companion there could use some rest. Either way, it’s your choice.”
Wei Ping clasped his fist toward the young man before retreating toward the staircase that led to their rooms. On the way there, they took a peek at the dining area mentioned, spotting a dozen different cultivators gathered there.
As soon as they returned to their room, Li Lang wordlessly deployed the Crucible, and the trio retreated into its safety. It was no surprise that their students were all waiting for them by the entrance, so they immediately noticed the injured Long Yi.
“What happened?” Xiao Dong cried. “Have the intruders breached the island’s defenses?”
Li Lang ignored them and walked away toward his room as Wei Ping carefully placed down the much larger man he had been carrying around. He didn’t respond until he managed to feed the big guy a Recovery Pill. Almost instantly, color returned to his face.
“It’s h-hard to say,” Wei Ping muttered. “The entire story m-may be a bit complicated. Let’s lay down Long Yi som-somewhere first.”
As Wei Ping began to explain the situation to his students, Li Lang had already stormed into his room, racking his brain about the next steps. The ongoing attack by the Abductress had thrown a wrench into his plans. It shook things up, sure, but it also opened up opportunities.
Li Lang had planned to steadily increase both his hard power and soft power by making use of his Crucible and other advantages, such as his Weave Press. He would make connections with any notable genius the various organizations sent to the pocket realm, amass a fortune, and then do the same with members of the orthodox sect through trade.
He did all this in order to grow his influence and then intelligence network until he was in a position to investigate the Abductress. It would also help him petition assistance from his allies. He had even thought of using the Cleansing Drug as a bargaining chip with the righteous sect, as long as he established himself with the demonic cultivators enough so that he wouldn’t be in danger when he did so.
Now, the timetable for everything could be changed. He could either remain steady and proceed with his plan as it is, or he had the chance to be more proactive. Proactive wasn’t always good, as it came at a great risk. However, he was starting to believe it was worth it if it meant he could get rid of the problem known as the Abductress that much sooner.
“Blue, Green, Orange, are you there?” Li Lang blurted out.
Three orbs of light formed around him almost immediately, accompanied by three voices replying in unison as they transformed into their human forms.
“Yes!”
“If a Spirit Divide Realm expert tried to breach into this realm right now, what would happen?”
“Um, that’s hard to say, Master,” Blue replied with a thoughtful expression. “It depends on their strength and treasures they possess. Even Spirit Divide Realm experts are divided into different stages, and the existence of a Spirit-grade artifact like us would matter a lot. We may be formed with the core of three such artifacts, but our power is—limited without a user of comparable strength.”
“So you don’t know? There’s basically a fifty-fifty chance they could invade the realm forcefully?”
“Hmm, it may be lower if we can make them believe we would self-destruct if they tried.”
“Barring them being able to overpower you easily?”
Blue nodded three times, making Li Lang breathe in heavily.
“What about if I temporarily allow another Spirit Realm expert to make use of you?”
“Then we should mostly be fine. Cultivators who have reached such a high realm have lived far too many years. They each have their own tricks, so they won’t go down easily. We should be able to escape with the help of such an expert.”
“That’s at least reassuring. Anyway, thank you. I may need to increase your workload in the future now. You should go prepare as best you can.”
“Understood, Master!”
Green and Orange simply repeated Blue’s words. They didn’t say much at all, leaving their companions to answer for them. However, Orange’s lingering gaze was too easy to spot.
“What is it, Orange? Feel free to speak.”
“Umm, Master, I ask when you plan to take the trials for woodsmithing and formations? Several of your students have taken them over the past few weeks and have been making steady progress. I believe it would aid Master’s goals if you did the same.”
Li Lang blinked blankly for a few moments. He soon realized there were some truths to the young boy’s words. He had been saving that opportunity for when he knew exactly what he wanted, but for the early levels of the trials, those rewards didn’t matter as much. The point was to master the basics, so he could take them at any point.
“Good idea. You should speak your mind more freely in the future. I will probably take the trial immediately after speaking with my friends. That is, if nothing changes in the outside world.”
With nothing more to say, the three artifact spirits vanished as abruptly as they had appeared, leaving Li Lang pondering about his future plans as he prepared how to broach the subject with his companions. After all, he wasn’t the only one who would face the consequences should his plan fail. Whether he liked it or not, they were currently all bound to the same ship.
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Comments
Scrutinizer
It could also be because he was putting on a show for his /spirit/->[Spirit] Divide Realm mistress who could be watching.
Scrutinizer
Orange just wants to see what happens when one person masters all five basic elements. So is Li Lang planning to ask a high-level cultivator to join him in the Crucible? Could the Sword Saint wield them to defeat the Abductress or something?
