Who Let Him Cultivate?!

"I just looked around, and it's not just him that came; there are also a few unfamiliar Transcendence Tribulation Stage practitioners disguising themselves as mortals and mingling in the trials. They must be in league with one another." "There are several from the Transcendence Tribulation Stage?" Lu Yang was astonished. Could such high-level cultivators dare to intrude into the Seek Dao Sect? Were they tired of living? Eldest Senior Sister thought that Lu Yang was worried about the sect and comforted him, "There's no need to worry. Our sect also has Transcendence Tribulation Stage practitioners, enough to deal with the situation. With me here, the sect has been too peaceful for too long, which can breed complacency. It's good for them to have some action." "You can go back and continue organizing the trials. Nothing will go wrong with me here." "Yes." Following the sacred decree of Eldest Senior Sister, Lu Yang returned to the bamboo forest to continue organizing the trials. "River Spirit Senior, long time no see." Lu Yang greeted politely. They hadn't seen each other for four months. River Spirit huffed coldly, unwilling to pay attention to Lu Yang. He remembered clearly the actions of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou during the entry trials three years ago. Seeing that River Spirit was not fond of him, Lu Yang sidled up to Meng Jingzhou and asked softly, "How is the second trial going?" Meng Jingzhou rolled his eyes. "Gu Junye has already finished his trials, and you're only now arriving. Could you be any later?" Meng Jingzhou decided then and there that when he got married, he would send invitations to everyone except Lu Yang. He'd wait until the wedding night was over before sending one to Lu Yang the next day! He definitely had to get his revenge! "Gu Junye teamed up with the two Ancestral Masters and that Immortal body lad to pass the second trial," Meng Jingzhou said. Lu Yang nodded, which was expected. "The others aren't progressing as quickly; I don't think they'll finish before half a day or a day has passed." For most people, Inner Demons are extremely difficult to overcome. The Inner Demons that Gu Junye and his team faced required only fight and kill to resolve, and regardless of whether they passed or not, the result would be quickly seen. The same could not be said for others whose Inner Demons couldn't be resolved by brute force. For instance, the Inner Demon that Lu Yang was watching belonged to Zhou Xing'er. Zhou Xing'er's mother favored sons over daughters and preached the importance of husbands. She had hoped to have two sons, but was disappointed when her second child was a girl. As a result, she often berated Zhou Xing'er, calling her a loss-maker, which led to Zhou Xing'er developing a subservient and timid personality, afraid to resist. Although later, Zhou Xing'er earned quite a bit of money for her family with the help of her Storage Ring, her status at home did not improve. When Zhou Xing'er's mother learned she was eligible to enter Seek Dao Sect, she was even more scornful, thinking Zhou Xing'er was delusional. Zhou Xing'er's relatives also mocked her, and after learning about her Storage Ring, they demanded it, arguing that Zhou Xing'er was too young to safeguard such a valuable item. Of course, Zhou Xing'er refused, which only made her relatives' treatment of her even worse. Zhou Xing'er had tried to resist. She had proposed severing ties with her family several times, but each time, her mother would talk about the unbreakable bond and the debt of upbringing, as if such connections couldn't just be cut off. With no other choice, Zhou Xing'er rose in revolt, heading alone to Imperial City to assassinate Emperor Xia. The assassination attempt failed, and the whole family was executed. The Inner Demon was vanquished. Zhou Xing'er came to her senses and stretched lazily, "That'll teach you not to sever ties with me; finally, you're all dead." She certainly could have chosen to cultivate peacefully in the Seek Dao Sect, but she always felt unsettled with her family alive, hampering her ability to focus on cultivation. Now that they had all died in the Illusionary Realm, she felt enlightened. Lu Yang: "..." He pretended not to have seen Zhou Xing'er and turned to look at Zhuang Ping nearby, feeling somewhat schadenfreude. "What's the Inner Demon for Zhuang Ping, whose mother was sent to the prison by Senior Brother Ji?" "Retaliate against Senior Brother Ji? Retaliate against the people of the Sea Listening Sect?" In the Illusionary Realm. The prison. "Mother, I will definitely save you!" Zhuang Ping roared, veins bulging on his neck as he looked at his mother in the cage, his emotions out of control. "No, don't save me, I deserve what's come to me today!" Zhuang's mother said through tears streaming down her face. "Mother, I must learn all the skills necessary to save you! Even if I have to use an axe to split it open, I will rescue you!" Zhuang Ping held the axe in his hand, the legendary Heaven Opening Axe, capable of splitting heaven and earth, more than enough to split open a prison cage. "Son, don't do this, you can't contend with the Dynasty!" Zhuang's mother shook her head, urging her son to realize his folly and not to confront the Dynasty, as there would be no good end to it. Zhuang Ping's lips trembled, and with a clang, the axe fell to the ground. He knelt down powerlessly, weeping bitterly, "Mother, I'll listen to you." ... "To conclude, my mother prevented me from storming the jail, which counts as meritorious behavior in stopping someone from committing a serious crime, and should lead to a reduction in her sentence," Zhuang Ping said calmly to the Ministry of Justice Officials. Zhuang's mother had her sentence reduced, Zhuang Ping's Inner Demon dispelled. Lu Yang: "..." Half a day had passed and among the eight hundred, less than fifty had overcome their Inner Demons, showing the difficulty of overcoming them. Those who had not dispelled their Inner Demons were trapped within them, unable to escape without outside intervention. Elder Brother Dai, seeing that the time was about right, invited River Spirit to make a move, dispersing the thick fog and water spheres, and freeing everyone from their Inner Demons. Those who hadn't passed the second stage felt dejected; they were destined to have no part in Seek Dao Sect and were asked to leave by the disciples. Elder Brother Dai clapped his hands and said aloud to the remaining fifty, "Congratulations on successfully overcoming your Inner Demons. Now we move on to the last stage, the third stage." Elder Brother Dai paused for a moment and continued, "Cultivation is not without sentiment or morality, and amongst these, filial piety is of utmost importance." "The third stage tests filial piety, that is, your attitude towards your parents, brothers, and sisters." "Unlike the second stage where you could form teams, the third stage tests you individually. In this stage, you will forget your original identity and act according to your true nature." "Let's begin the third stage." Elder Brother Dai bowed to the River Spirit at his side, "Senior, please." The River Spirit moved with a thought, once again raising a mist. The mist contained an illusionary array method, and anyone enveloped by the mist would fall into an Illusionary Realm. Gu Xie smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth. A test of filial piety seemed to be no challenge for him. While others would forget their original identities, he would not. As long as he took good care of his parents and respected his siblings, passing the test would be easy. He entered the Illusionary Realm and found himself on top of a barn, where there was a hole in the roof he was fixing with tools. "Where am I?" Suddenly, thick smoke rose from the barn, making him cough violently. Soon, he heard someone shouting, "Fire!" His mind conjured up his identity in this stage of the test. He had three family members: a father, a stepmother, and a younger brother born to his father and stepmother. His father and stepmother worried that he would compete with his brother for the family assets and had tried to harm him multiple times. This fire was their doing!