The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 130: Forced Q&A

Under the scrutiny of numerous cultivators, Gui Tianzi slowly walked out from the entrance of the pocket realm. He normally had a cold demeanor, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t feel nervous. It couldn’t be helped as he was only an Energy Gathering cultivator and a junior at that. The intense gaze from a group of cultivators who were each exponentially stronger than him was not to be trifled with.

Thankfully for him, his ordeal was short. He didn’t even make it a dozen steps before a strange-looking man appeared beside him. He had sunken eyes and many age spots scattered around his face. Anyone who saw him would deem him unhealthy, wondering if he was suffering from some sort of sickness.

When Gui Tianzi saw this old man, his face brightened, and the tension in his body visibly dissipated.

“Elder An, I have returned,” he clasped his fist politely.

“And so you have. We shall return to our camp and prepare to depart immediately. The Pavilion Master will be eager to hear from you.”

Elder An placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder and prepared to exit the area. Before they could leave, several people blocked their path.

“Congratulations Old An and Young Master Gui for having lasted longest in the pocket realm. As one of the most talented people in this generation, it isn’t proper to be leaving in such a hurry. We’re all eager to hear from such a promising star.”

“Sifong, get out of the way. I don’t care to hear the crap from your mouth.”

Elder An didn’t hide his hostility, and the tension thickened. Even a countryside mortal could sense that a fight could erupt at any time. The sickly elder got into a combat stance with one fist close to his chest while an open palm faced his opponent. He didn’t stop there and even employed a strange technique.

The skin of his palm burst out from within and a gray worm with rows and rows of sharp teeth let out a threatening screech. It was the scene out of some people’s nightmares.

However, few people in the audience were alarmed at the scene. Ever since they knew the last person remaining in the pocket realm belonged to the Eroding March Pavilion, everyone had done ample research on them.

They were famous for employing various unnerving techniques that involved insects, invertebrates, arthropods, and other small creatures. The gruesome outcome of being on the receiving end of these techniques could be easily imagined, which normally caused people to keep their distance from this organization.

As the tension crescendoed, several cultivators finally acted. Three more figures appeared alongside Sikong, who had opposed the Eroding March Pavilion members. One of them stepped forward and flashed an amiable smile.

“Elder An, what Elder Sifong says is not unreasonable. Perhaps you could delay your departure briefly, so youngster Gui could enlighten us to some things. After all, we have witnessed various unusual phenomena from the pocket realm this year.”

The elders beside the speaker all nodded in agreement.

Elder An grimaced upon recognizing the situation. He had expected that Sifong would be making trouble for him, but he didn’t account for so many others supporting him. This was because the Eroding March Pavilion had never come into the spotlight like this before. Their members shared the trait of keeping a low profile and kept socializing to a minimum. In turn, this meant they had few allies, and now they suffered for it.

The old man glanced around rapidly and finally landed his gaze on Jian Beiyun.

“Fine, but a day is all I can spare. In the interest of efficiency, I would like to humbly request Nightmoon Valley to arbitrate the discussion.”

“Of course,” Jian Beiyun nodded. “We can do so immediately, but let’s relocate to a better venue, shall we?”

No one in the area questioned the Nightmoon Valley’s head disciple, and they all soon found themselves back on the first floor of the teahouse.

Throughout the short trip there, Gui Tianzi could only stay silent and accept the situation. He had even begun to wonder how it had arrived at this. Despite thoroughly going through his memories, there was no way he would figure out that his predicament was due to a certain young man.

“Wow, they’re really grilling him. The sun had set ages ago and they are all still in the same position,” Long Yi whispered to his companions.

He was the tallest person among the trio, easily able to see everything going on in the teahouse. There was a large crowd gathered, centered around the man who had remained in the pocket realm for the longest. The elders sat closest to the proceedings while the younger disciples gathered on the periphery. This meant Li Lang and Wei Ping could barely see a thing.

Hearing Long Yi’s words, Li Lang scratched his cheek. He silently prayed for the young man being interrogated.

I’m sorry, whatever your name is. I swear I have nothing against you. It’s just you had the highest payout for being the last one out.

The only thing that lessened Li Lang’s guilt was the fact he had to stay throughout the proceedings as well. He was waiting to cash in on his bet, and for that, he would have to wait until the interrogation was over.

It was a tedious ordeal with numerous questions being different variations of the same thing. If not for Jian Beiyun mediating, Li Lang was sure the crowd wouldn’t let the poor man go tomorrow, despite the deal.

Everyone was curious as to why this particular youngster managed to stay within the pocket realm for the longest. He was only at the peak of Energy Gathering, at the ninth stage. Compared to the three geniuses, he wasn’t anything special.

While the older generation was invested in the answers, the younger generation was long bored with this affair. They spent the time quietly gossiping.

“Did you see Sima Xue and Tang Yulian? They’re both so beautiful now!”

“An ugly toad who wants to eat swan meat, ha! My advice is to stop drooling over fantasy and focus on cultivation.”

“Oh, shut up! I was just admiring them. Are you one of their die-hard fans, protecting their name or something?”

“You boys are so vulgar. Maybe that’s what is to be expected of people who could barely stay inside for a year.”

While the younger generation whispered, as a whole, they were slowly growing louder and louder. Many of them were bored and were getting carried away. The only spot where this was untrue was where the subjects of gossip were.

“Li Lang,” Sima Xue whispered. “Don’t forget about your promise of tofu pudding. I’ll come to hold you up to that once I stabilize my cultivation.”

I guess she didn’t forget that easily. Hopefully, there’s no premium edition of tofu pudding made with expensive Qi ingredients.

“Yeah, I’ll be in Emberglow City. Can’t promise I’ll be there when you come, though. I have some plans that may involve traveling.”

“Oh don’t worry. As a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator now, I’ll easily be able to track you down.”

“Of course, of course. Do as you will, oh esteemed expert.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t dare.”

Even while bantering, Li Lang kept tabs on the man behind him. His white hair made him stick out in crowds, so it was harder for Li Lang to ignore him than not.

He knew Liang Po was there waiting for a chance to speak with him. Ever since they saw each other today, his eyes hadn’t left him.

Under that watchful gaze, the questioning continued. It was only when the sun began to rise that the event ended. Li Lang wasted no time and honed in on a tired-looking Jian Beiyun.

“Senior Jian, can you please payout my bet? I plan on leaving today.”

“What? Oh, that,” the weary man sighed. “Give me one second. Let’s see here. Li Lang, Li Lang. One thousand Qi stones. Bet on Gui Tianzi coming in first place, then Sima Xue and Tang Yulian…You got them all right. That’s…what can I say? Congratulations. Can’t believe you guessed the exact order for all five of them.”

The Nightmoon Valley’s head disciple blinked blankly at the lucky man before him but didn’t comment further.

“Haha, thank you.”

Li Lang chose his words carefully. He didn’t know if anyone present had lie-detection abilities, and he couldn’t fail now when he had come this far.

“So give me a second to calculate the rates. Hmm, I only did the math for the most likely outcomes. This result was entirely unexpected,” Jian Beiyun commented as he worked on an abacus. “Okay, so your payout should be two hundred and seventeen times your bet. That comes to two hundred and seventeen thousand spirit stones or twenty-one orange and seventy red spirit crystals. Here.”

A brown bag was thrown at Li Lang. He quickly peered into the bag and was tongue-tied at the sight. He saw it filled with beautiful gems that sparkled even in the darkness of the bag.

This should be more than enough to fund my cultivation and research. If my aptitude wasn’t so low, it may even be enough for up until I reach Violet Core!