Who Let Him Cultivate？

Chapter 89: It Is Ill-Advised for Demonic Cultivators to Dine at Barbecue Establishments

Blissfully unaware of the monumental business merger Lan Ting had just orchestrated, Lu Yang was currently cloaked by an Invisibility Talisman and layered concealment arts. He trailed silently behind a squad of constables, hunting for the elusive Reverse Longevity Talismans.

The trio had splintered into three separate strike teams, casting a wide net to pinpoint as many talisman coordinates as possible.

It was evident that the local magistrate’s office was treating the Reverse Longevity Talismans with the gravity of an impending apocalyptic siege. They had mobilized their entire martial force, intent on turning Yanjiang County inside out.

Their tactical approach was methodical: cross-referencing zones where the mortal populace reported unnatural lethargy and drowsiness, then partitioning the county into grid-searches.

Chief Constable Fang Qingyun had even resorted to manifesting two corporeal avatars. His true body and both clones projected their Divine Sense like sweeping radar arrays, spearheading massive battalions to scour the streets.

Given Fang Qingyun’s oppressive cultivation base, Lu Yang and his companions wisely opted not to tail the Chief Constable, lest their stealth be shattered.

It wasn’t long before a low-ranking constable unearthed one of the cursed artifacts. Lurking in the umbra of a nearby alley, Lu Yang mentally logged the coordinates.

As dusk painted the sky in bruised purples, the trio reconvened. Unfurling a topographical map of Yanjiang County, they began charting the malignant nodes.

“One anchored at the Great Stone Bridge, another concealed within the Qianmen Street rouge parlor, a third at the pawnshop…” Lu Yang muttered. “That makes six confirmed Reverse Longevity Talisman locations.”

“This data set is too fragmented to confirm if they form a complete Reverse Longevity Formation,” Meng Jingzhou analyzed. “We resume the reconnaissance tomorrow.”

Upon returning to their culinary front, the trio was greeted by a surreal sight. Lan Ting, her face obscured by a perfectly square, unnervingly realistic tofu mask, was deep in the throes of arcane engineering, fine-tuning an automated skewer-roasting Formation.

Dozens of bamboo skewers levitated in a precise geometric array above the roasting pit, bathed in the searing, amber glow of controlled spiritual flames. Meanwhile, the two enslaved Changui were prostrated on the floorboards, weeping viscous tears of profound gratitude, praising Lan Ting as a merciful deity who had delivered them from the eternal purgatory of manual labor.

A cascade of invisible question marks materialized above Lu Yang’s head. They had been gone for barely half a day. What in the heavens had transpired?

“Where exactly did you acquire that… facial apparatus?”

Lan Ting’s tone carried a distinct note of smug satisfaction. “Ah, this? It was a gift from the tofu shop proprietress you rescued last night. She proposed a cross-promotional synergy between our establishments for the upcoming Spring Plucking Festival.”

She produced a scroll. “Behold, our finalized event proposal and strategic roadmap.”

“During my shift yesterday, I observed a critical bottleneck in our supply chain. Relying on a mere two Changui for production was woefully inefficient, leading to unacceptable customer wait times. Thus, I engineered this automated roasting Formation to optimize our throughput.”

“This automated array is a paradigm-shifting innovation in culinary cultivation. Once I return to the Moon Laurel Palace, I can patent this schematic and exchange it for a substantial sum of Contribution Points.”

“The underlying runic logic is quite elegant. It possesses immense potential for large-scale commercial deployment.”

It seemed the Moon Laurel Palace, much like the Dao Seeking Sect, incentivized its disciples with similar long-term developmental bounties.

Lu Yang stared at her, deadpan. “…”

The relentless industrialization of their humble barbecue joint was, apparently, an unstoppable force of nature.

Meng Jingzhou cheerfully snatched up a spare tofu mask. “This craftsmanship is exquisite! Here, one for each of us. Look, Lu Yang, this block of tofu complements your aura perfectly. It’s practically a mirror image of your face.”

Lu Yang stared at the rigid, cuboid slab of faux-soy. He rolled his eyes, deciding it was beneath him to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent, and silently accepted the mask.

“Furthermore,” Lan Ting added casually, “I took the liberty of installing a Spirit Gathering Formation, a Soundproofing Formation, and several other auxiliary arrays on the second floor to facilitate our cultivation.”

This was the first piece of genuinely good news Lu Yang had heard all day. “That’s far too extravagant. Constructing those arrays must have burned through a small mountain of Spirit Stones. Tally up the expenses; the three of us will reimburse you.”

Lan Ting waved a dismissive hand. “It barely cost a fraction of my Spirit Stones. Just spare change, really.”

Meng Jingzhou’s head snapped up, his eyes narrowing as he assessed Lan Ting with newfound vigilance. For the first time in his life, he had encountered a formidable rival in the sacred art of casual wealth-flaunting.

Lan Ting’s logistical support drastically elevated their standard of living, allowing the trio to dedicate their daylight hours entirely to the talisman hunt.

Over the span of ten days, Lu Yang’s squad successfully mapped the coordinates of over 200 talismans. The plotted points aligned flawlessly with the geometric nodes of a grand-scale Reverse Longevity Formation.

Having deciphered the overarching schematic, they preemptively investigated the remaining theoretical nodes. Unsurprisingly, they unearthed a Reverse Longevity Talisman at every single one.

“What’s our play here? Do we leak this to Constable Wei?” Meng Jingzhou asked.

Lu Yang weighed the variables. If they handed Constable Wei the complete map, the higher-ups would immediately deduce that an unknown faction was operating in the shadows. Once that intelligence reached Branch Leader Chu, the paranoid executive might trace the anomaly back to their trio.

Conversely, leaving a county-wide life-draining array fully operational was a catastrophic hazard waiting to detonate.

“Waiter! Two hundred lamb skewers, two hundred beef skewers!” A booming, tyrannical voice shattered the evening lull, echoing with such concussive force that even the Changui in the rear courtyard heard it crystal clear.

Under normal circumstances, an order of such gluttonous magnitude would have shattered the ghosts’ fragile psyches.

But now? Empowered by the relentless efficiency of the automated roasting Formation, their manual labor had been rendered obsolete. Two hundred lamb and beef skewers? Child’s play. Even if this boor demanded an additional two hundred pork skewers, they wouldn’t even blink!

“And throw in another two hundred pork skewers!” the booming voice demanded, radiating the obnoxious confidence of a man with deep pockets.

Lu Yang narrowed his eyes, parsing the familiar acoustic signature. “It’s Yizhang Hong. The brute from the Immortal Cult’s recruitment drive. The two lackeys flanking him are also at the Foundation Establishment stage.”

All three had failed the selection process.

“Will they recognize us?” Man Gu asked. After all, the trio had impersonated examiners to swindle Yizhang Hong.

Lu Yang shook his head. “No. The Branch Leader said that for the sake of the branch’s secrecy, all those who failed the selection had their memories wiped by headquarters. They won’t recall the recruitment events clearly.”

Seeing that no one was attending to him, Yizhang Hong bellowed again, his voice coarse. “Where’s the service? Are you deaf?”

“Coming, coming! What would you like, honored guest?” Lu Yang scurried out, putting on his best servile smile.

Yizhang Hong’s attitude was domineering. “Two hundred each of pork, beef, and lamb skewers. Bring whatever else looks good. I heard this place was tasty, so I came. If it’s not good, I’ll smash your shop to pieces!”

Clearly, he hadn’t recognized Lu Yang. If he had, he would have started smashing immediately.

Lu Yang greeted him with a smile, bowing and scraping. “Rest assured, honored guest, our skewers are so delicious you’ll want to eat them for a lifetime.”

Yizhang Hong snorted coldly, ignoring Lu Yang. His two companions also squinted, looking down on Lu Yang with disdain.

Lu Yang sent a voice transmission to Meng Jingzhou. “Notify Constable Wei. Tell him there are three Foundation Establishment stage Demonic Cultivators here, and to bring men to arrest them.”

These Demonic Cultivators killed without mercy. According to the law, they deserved execution multiple times over. Lu Yang wouldn’t show any leniency.

Time to show you a Demonic Cultivator’s method—reporting you!

Meng Jingzhou was taken aback. He transmitted back, “But we have no evidence. How can we prove they’re Foundation Establishment stage Demonic Cultivators? Will Constable Wei believe us?”

Lu Yang sneered. “Why wouldn’t he believe us? Just say we noticed they have talismans that seem to induce drowsiness.”

Meng Jingzhou understood Lu Yang’s meaning. They had a few Reverse Longevity Talismans on hand, perfect for framing the trio.

“Alright, I’ll be right back.” Meng Jingzhou dashed out.

Upon hearing that three Foundation Establishment stage Demonic Cultivators had appeared, possibly in possession of Reverse Longevity Talismans, Constable Wei knew this was no trivial matter. He immediately reported it to Fang Qingyun.

Fang Qingyun didn’t hesitate. He immediately led a large contingent to surround and capture the three.

Regardless of whether they had the talismans, three Foundation Establishment stage Demonic Cultivators alone warranted such a response.

Fang Qingyun arrived at the barbecue shop, released his Golden Core stage Pressure, immobilizing Yizhang Hong and his two companions. With a wave of his hand, he issued acommanding order. “Seize them and search their persons!”

Before Yizhang Hong and his companions could comprehend what was happening, several Foundation Establishment stage constables subdued them, pressing them to the ground.

What was going on? Was eating skewers illegal in Yanjiang County?

Then Constable Wei searched Yizhang Hong and found a large quantity of Reverse Longevity Talismans, far more than the few Lu Yang had planned to plant.

“So it was you who laid the Reverse Longevity Formation!” Fang Qingyun glared fiercely at Yizhang Hong. Because of him, he hadn’t rested for days.

Lu Yang: “…”

Meng Jingzhou: “…”

Seriously? Did you have to cooperate so perfectly?

Yizhang Hong and his two companions were even more baffled. They had carried out their plan flawlessly, leaving no clues. Why had the constables come to arrest them?

Where had they gone wrong?