Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality

Chapter 433: I am a disciple of Seek Tao Sect, under the guidance of Yun Zhi

The Governor's residence was located at the very heart of Hanshui City, the nexus of power in Wild State, with seven entrances and exits, all guarded by protective formations.

It served both as the Governor's home and office. As Lu Yang moved through the residence, he saw numerous officials in a hurry, clutching documents as they flew up and down, bustling with activity.

This wasn't just a brisk walk; they were literally flying.

Before meeting with the Governor of Wild State, Mr. An had already briefed him on the intelligence. Upon seeing Qiu Jin'an and the others, the Governor greeted them warmly with a handshake.

Mr. An had to arrange a city-wide search for Lord Mengtian and excused himself early.

"Daoist Qiu, I've long admired your reputation! My surname is Lü, with a simple given name, Ke. People just call me Old Lü," said Governor Lü, a talkative man. Despite being run ragged by recent ghostly calamities, he was still full of vigor and showed no signs of fatigue.

"Pleased to meet you, Governor Lü," Qiu Jin'an smiled, refraining from calling him Old Lü.

The last person who had been so familiar with him was the ninth disciple of Seek Tao Sect, a memorable character.

Qiu Jin'an's father was the previous leader of The Five Elements Sect. As a youth, he had visited Seek Tao Sect with his father, where he met the enthusiastic ninth disciple of Seek Tao Sect.

Back then, young and naive, he failed to see the mischief brewing in the ninth disciple, with the exception of the Sixth Elder, who was a paragon of elegance and the only outlier among them. Yet, she was inevitably involved in their schemes.

Hence, he was always wary of those who were overly familiar.

"The former Governor had no business throwing a lavish birthday party for his daughter, inviting numerous guests, and accepting a mountain of gifts without prior notification to the imperial court. Now look, he's been stripped of his position and taken away, along with several officials and prominent figures from the major sects of Wild State," Governor Lü complained bitterly.

This was one reason for the current busyness: a shortage of manpower, difficulty in temporary replacements for key positions, and even relying on The Corpse Driving Sect, the nearest sect, to help with the ghostly infestation.

"Old Xu, who had been on leave for a long time—oh, the Minister of Justice—has finally had enough rest and is dealing with them."

The Minister of Justice claimed he needed leave due to the sudden death of an old friend.

"As a result, His Majesty has lost trust in the officials of Wild State, pulling me, a mere financial administrator, to take over, forcing me to leave the imperial capital and rush to Wild State."

"Right, I've been talking all this time and haven't had the chance to ask, who are these young ones?" Governor Lü suddenly realized, noticing Lu Yang and the others.

"These three are disciples of Seek Tao Sect, my juniors. I'm helping to look after them. This one is Zhao Po, a disciple of the Great Elder of The Corpse Driving Sect, and he witnessed the entire battle just now."

Hearing that Governor Lü was an official from the imperial capital, Qiu Jin'an refrained from mentioning that Lu Yang was a disciple of Bu Yu Taoist.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Solid foundations, full Golden Cores, all promising youths," Governor Lü nodded in approval, "Please, Daoist Qiu, recount the recent battle."

This was the most pressing matter at hand.

Qiu Jin'an detailed how Lu Yang encountered Huang Ming, defeated him, and then how Lord Mengtian intervened, and his own account of defeating Lord Mengtian.

"So you're saying it was Lord Mengtian who captured evil spirits from all over and dumped them into our Hanshui City?" Governor Lü was furious, finally identifying the culprit behind the day's chaos.

No wonder there were so many evil spirits; it's as if he's captured all the ghosts of Great Xia, not even sparing those from the Eastern Sea!

It would be a miracle to clean up this mess!

"The ghostly infestation in Hanshui City couldn't have been the work of just one person; I suspect he has accomplices," Qiu Jin'an suggested.

"They must have known I had just taken office and was not yet adept at wielding the power of the nation's fate!" Governor Lü had been unaware of the power of a nation's fate until recently informed by the Emperor of Xia.

"We must also be wary of Huang Ming, who has started over after dispersing his cultivation. We've only focused on Body Fusion ancient cultivators before, overlooking the possibility that some among them might have chosen to start anew!"

Governor Lü sighed, "Noticing it doesn't help, though. Starting over after dispersing one's cultivation is like being reborn; it's very hard to trace their origins."

"Never mind, I'll report the matter of starting over after dispersing one's cultivation to the imperial court later. The immediate priority is to deal with the ghostly infestation."

"I initially thought the ghostly infestation was orchestrated by the Jiuyou Sect, given they have many ghosts themselves. Now that it's confirmed to be the work of Great Yu cultivators, the situation is far more serious. Great Yu cultivators don't rear ghosts; they've gone to great lengths to capture fierce spirits from various places and throw them into Hanshui City. It must be more than just causing trouble; they definitely have other motives!"

Governor Lü's expression darkened, wishing he could tear those Great Yu cultivators limb from limb.

"Could it be possible they're setting up a formation?" Lu Yang raised his hand, tentatively asking.

"A formation?" Both Governor Lü and Qiu Jin'an were taken aback, chewing over the word as if it sparked a realization.

Lu Yang had encountered a similar situation in Yanjiang County, where the local leader, who also served as the county governor, had set up a formation across the county to absorb the lifespan of its residents and boost his own strength.

With this in mind, Lu Yang posed the question.

"It's indeed possible they're setting up a formation!" Governor Lü slapped his thigh, his mind having been clouded by the recent chaos, failing to consider this possibility.

He approached a large sand table, clapped his hands lightly, and the sand vibrated, undulating like waves before finally settling into the shape of Hanshui City.

He took out a small flag from his bosom and tossed it onto the sand table. Wherever the flag landed marked the locations afflicted by ghostly calamities, with the type and level of the ghosts indicated above each flag.

"Wow, when you look at it like this, it does resemble a formation," Governor Lü said, pleased with Lu Yang's conjecture, which seemed to be the answer.

"Truly a disciple of Seek Tao Sect, a fine student from a great teacher. May I ask, young friend, who is your master in Seek Tao Sect?"

Lu Yang: "…"

Before telling the truth, Lu Yang wanted to know how much enmity Governor Lü held against his own master.

"I am a disciple of Yun Zhi."

Lu Yang respected his teacher and, being away from home, dared not mention his master's name.

Meng Jingzhou looked at Lu Yang with disdain, thinking him shameless.

"Yun Zhi? That name sounds somewhat familiar," Governor Lü pondered for a moment, not recalling any elders in Seek Tao Sect by that name.

"My master seldom leaves the sect, so few people know of her."

"I see."

Governor Lü didn't dwell on recalling who Yun Zhi was. Neither he nor Qiu Jin'an were adept at formations, so he ordered his subordinates to summon the city's formation masters to study what kind of formation the Great Yu cultivators had set up in the city.

Soon, several white-bearded old men were brought in to observe and deduce at the sand table.

Fortunately, all these formation masters were male cultivators.

The formation masters quickly reached a preliminary conclusion. After hearing their initial findings, Governor Lü, more relaxed than when they first met, said to Qiu Jin'an, "Young Lu's guess was correct. The Great Yu cultivators are indeed setting up a formation, albeit one that has been lost to time. It will take some time to deduce its purpose and how to break it. Let's wait patiently for a moment."

Seizing the opportunity, Qiu Jin'an respectfully said, "Since there's a moment to spare, would the Governor be willing to let me and this young man tap into the power of the nation's fate together?"