The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 192: Meeting with the Valley Master

“Relax,” the head of Nightmoon Valley comforted. “My daughter has told me a lot about you, but I have no intentions of involving myself with matters among you young people.”

Li Lang slowly nodded again before directing a question of his own.

“If that is so, then why did you summon me here? I do not believe I’ve done anything that warrants Nightmoon Valley’s attention, not to mention that of the esteemed Valley Master.”

The middle-aged man before Li Lang simply grinned at him in response. The look clearly screamed, “Do you really think so?”

“Umm, Valley Master Sima?”

“You can just call me senior. We’re not an organization that places much importance on formality.”

“Then Senior Sima, about my question—”

“Don’t you think you know the answer deep down inside?”

Various things suddenly flashed across Li Lang’s mind. His heart started beating faster upon thinking of the possibility that Nightmoon Valley had discovered his role in the events in the pocket realm.

That shouldn’t be possible. Stay calm. There’s no way any of them found anything. At most, they should only be slightly suspicious of me for winning the betting after I came out. But given the one hundred-twenty permutations of the last five remaining cultivators, my chances were only slightly less than one percent. It’s not that outlandish of an outcome.

Then something else? Maybe about how we’re actually practicing orthodox techniques despite our aptitude? No, they’re demonic cultivators. They wouldn’t want to learn about how I did it, and if they wanted to prevent the orthodox sect from obtaining it, they could just eliminate us.

Is it the ambush we got caught up in that was meant for the Eroding March Pavilion? That mess got Sima Xue involved, so he may be angry about that!

“Umm, is this about the incident where Sima Xue got ambushed? I’m sorry about that. We never meant to get involved in another organization’s business.”

“No. That matter has already been addressed. It was just some political ploy by some reckless elements within the Drenched Earth Sect to earn favor from the Eroding March Pavilion. You don’t need to worry about it anymore.”

His words caused Li Lang to think of the incident of two elders who visited him upon the completion of his first artifact. He remembered that one of the elders was from the Drenched Earth Sect and the other from the Eroding March Pavilion. The former had been trying to get into favor with the latter, but he never expected it was related to the ambush he suffered.

They really attacked them to compel them to form an alliance with themselves?n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“Umm, I really don’t know what I’m here for, then,” Li Lang muttered.

This caused Valley Master Sima Yueling to reveal a smile, but that smile only sent chills down Li Lang’s spine.

“I did mention my daughter has told me much about you, correct? That means I am quite familiar with you and your little group.”

“That—Don’t tell me you sent your daughter to befriend us only to spy on us?”

“Spying is too strong of a word. I would say it’s more of a keeping tabs situation.”

“Why?” Li Lang cried out in alarm. “We’re just nobodies.”

“I’ve read enough stories to know many notable people started from just nobodies.” The Valley Master opened his arms wide, gesturing toward all the books in the room. “You just happened to catch my interest when my disciple Jiang Beiyun mentioned about three strange boys from the righteous sects. I still remember his passionate retelling about the youngest alchemist he had ever met.”

Having realized he had been monitored the moment he set foot within the Luminsecent Domain, Li Lang began to worry. Worried about what the other party knew and what their intentions were. He felt like he had been unknowingly trapped all along, at the mercy of others.

Still, he refused to reveal anything. He shifted his objective from finishing the conversation quickly to figuring out just what the other party knew.

“What do you want from us?!”

“Calm down. I mean you no harm. We’ve indeed kept our eyes on you, but that is true for everything throughout the Luminescent Domain. It’s our duty to keep the peace here. It just so happens your little stunt in the pocket realm has ruffled some feathers, and we want to make an offer with you to keep things in order.”

So it was about the pocket realm, after all.

“What do you mean?”

“There’s no need to put on a show. We’ve investigated every single participant in the pocket realm and our divinators have looked thoroughly into it. We know it has something to do with you. And based on our ancestor’s experience, the phenomenon that caused the pocket realm to deviate from its usual routine is similar to a powerful artifact submitting to a new master. I’ve got to say, I didn’t expect The Great Trial of the Water Crest to be an artifact.”

Divination! I should’ve been more proactive about figuring out ways to prevent it. But it should require a biological sample from the target to use. It’s why I hadn’t cared about it that much.

“I question the accuracy of your investigation. When did you even manage to obtain something from me to use divination?”

“Young man, you’re still in the Mortal Realm. It’s a given that you wouldn’t notice someone more powerful, like my disciple Jian, taking action.”

Li Lang took a moment to breathe in deeply and compose himself. He told himself that at least the party who had uncovered one of his secrets was Nightmoon Valley. They shouldn’t be bad people and could be reasoned with.

Seeing how hard the young man was trying to process his words, Sima Yueling continued.

“Our intentions are simple. We want to protect you from the other organizations who have also suspected something since the incident. We have worked to contain the news about you, so we should be the only organization that knows you have control of the pocket realm.”

“Protect me how?”

“I know you do not have any intentions of joining us, or any group for that matter. My daughter has even said you plan on leaving The Orchid Covenant soon. That is too dangerous if someone finds out about the pocket realm you own. I intend for you to disguise yourself as a member of our organization so we can announce to the world it is our Nightmoon Valley that has taken control of the realm.”

“You want to take the blame on our behalf? How in the world would that benefit you?”

“Isn’t that obvious? On the surface, we’d control the quotas of who gets to enter. We just need your cooperation in the matter.”

“You—Isn’t it simpler to just take it by force if that’s what you’re after?”

This caused the Valley Master’s kind smile to disappear.

“We’re not thieves,” he sternly remarked. “Besides, the pocket realm is a powerful Spirit-grade artifact, correct? That’s not something many people on the Violet Isles can forcefully take away. For those who could, it’s not worth it. It only contains inheritances left behind by someone who’s reached the peak of Spirit Divide at the most. We’d rather peacefully deal with the rightful owner now that it has one.”

Li Lang sighed. “It’s not like I have a choice, right?”

“You do. It would just be very dangerous for you and your friends if this matter gets revealed. And trust me, it won’t take long for the other organization to connect the dots once you try to make use of the pocket realm with those kids you’ve recruited. The entrance of the pocket realm is carefully monitored. Partnering with us is the safest way for you to make use of it.”

Realizing he had underestimated the various organizations’ intelligence-gathering capabilities, Li Lang slowly nodded. He was determined to be a lot more careful from now on. Especially if he was planning on going independent.

From his talks just now, he believed Nightmoon Valley only summoned him for the matter about the pocket realm. It seemed Sima Xue didn’t spread any rumors about their practice of orthodox techniques and the existence of something that could help them speedily progress in their cultivation.

After spending so much time with them, it was likely she noticed a few things, but he wasn’t certain. He planned to confront her about it next time, but for now, that wasn’t something he should be dwelling on.

“Very well,” Li Lang finally blurted out. “How should we proceed? We will be signing a binding contract or something?”

“If you would like, sure. I don’t mind either way. Oh, and I don’t plan to make this a one-sided deal either. We can offer resources like Foundation Pills in exchange for your cooperation.”

Li Lang immediately nodded, as he knew he didn’t have a lot of leverage in the negotiations. He would take what he was given, but then a thought suddenly struck his mind. The mention of the Foundation Pills reminded him of his research into reaching the next realm. In order to carry out this research, he remembered the existence of yet another type of pill that helped people step into the next major realm.

“Umm, in that case, I’ll take you up on it. Also, if you can, can you provide me with some Ascension Pills as well?”

His strange request caught even the Valley Master of the premier faction within the Luminescent Domain off-guard.

“What?! Ascension Pills? Why in the world would you need that?”

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