Cultivation: I Can Steal Lifespan from Spirit Beasts

Chapter 150: Situation and Planning

Returning to the Eastern Sage Sect’s outpost, Wang Ba immediately sensed the oppressive atmosphere hanging over the area.

Along the roadside, he saw cultivators missing arms or legs, their faces etched with despair as they sighed deeply.

“Did we lose a battle?!”

Wang Ba felt a jolt of shock.

For the past two months, he and Bao Chao had been completely isolated—one teaching, one learning—immersed in their own world without any contact with the outside. He was utterly clueless about the current state of the war between the Heavenly Gate Sect and the Incense Path.

But judging by the sights along his path, the conflict had clearly not gone well for the Sect.

Wherever he looked, whether it was the heterodox cultivators or the red-and-black-robed disciples of the Heavenly Gate Sect, everyone wore solemn expressions and furrowed brows.

This puzzled him.

He knew the Incense Path relatively well. The cultivators who had come to the State of Chen were all from the Yin Spirit lineage—outcasts who had suffered severe persecution within the Myriad God Kingdom. Having lost the protection of their deities, their core techniques and spells were unusable.

Their actual combat power should have been significantly weaker than that of standard Incense Path cultivators.

On the other hand, the Heavenly Gate Sect possessed numerous legacies, unpredictable methods, and the home-field advantage. Logically, they should have been suppressing the invaders with ease.

Unable to make sense of it, Wang Ba didn’t dwell on the matter. He headed straight for the chicken farm.

Upon arrival, he found that most of the Spirit Rice in the fields had already been harvested. Bu Chan was busy amidst the stalks.

Seeing Wang Ba, her face lit up with joy.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?”

Bu Chan, sleeves rolled up and covered in dust, looked somewhat disheveled but radiant.

Wang Ba didn’t mind the dirt. He rolled up his sleeves, walked into the field, and joined her in the harvest.

They worked until dark, finally clearing the last of the Spirit Rice.

Wang Ba was fine, but Bu Chan had completely exhausted her Qi. Though physically drained, her spirits were high.

After washing up with warm spirit spring water, her fatigue melted away. Her damp hair clung to her cheeks, and her face glowed with a delicate, captivating beauty under the flickering candlelight.

“Senior Brother, go take a bath.”

“Hehe, let me just cast a Clothes Cleansing Art…”

A bout of passion followed.

Lying on the wooden bed, they held each other, exchanging intimate whispers. But soon, the conversation drifted to heavier topics.

“So, the Four Great Sects are blockading the Incense Path cultivators on the periphery, forcing them to fight the Heavenly Gate Sect… and the Sect actually lost?”

Hearing this news, Wang Ba’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“That’s right!” Bu Chan nodded. “That’s what I heard. They say the Incense Path has three incredibly powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators, all at the peak of their realm. Each possesses a Third-Order ultimate skill or Magical Artifact. Senior Bai fought one of them to a draw, but that was it. There’s also a ‘Sword Demon Path’ cultivator named Yan Yun who is reportedly very strong—he supposedly killed several Incense Path cultivators just yesterday…”

“That’s not the issue,” Wang Ba interrupted, shaking his head. “The Heavenly Gate Sect has Nascent Soul-level power and 20 to 30 Golden Cores. The Incense Path invaders haven’t shown a single Golden Core yet. Even if the Sect’s subordinates are incompetent, any Golden Core Elder could wipe them out instantly. Why are they allowed to run rampant?”

Bu Chan paused, realizing the implication. “Senior Brother means… the Golden Cores are wary of someone else?”

“The Eastern Sage Sect, or the Golden Cores of the Four Great Sects.”

Wang Ba voiced his theory.

The Eastern Sage Sect had been the weakest of the five great sects in the State of Chen, yet it possessed seven Golden Cores before its fall. The other four sects likely had even more. Combined, they would field at least 30 Golden Cores—a force equal to, or perhaps greater than, the Heavenly Gate Sect’s.

Although Ning Daohuan stood alone as a Nascent Soul cultivator, the Eastern Sage Sect Leader supposedly held the means to trigger the rampage of the Divine Beast Fan Ming. This threat constrained the Heavenly Gate Sect, preventing them from deploying their full strength.

In this stalemate, the Heavenly Gate Sect was actually at a disadvantage.

“That is why the Golden Core Elders dare not venture out. Alone, they are targets. Together, they risk triggering a full-scale war.”

“Neither side wants a total war yet. So, they play this game through their subordinates, probing for weaknesses.”

Wang Ba quickly grasped the root of the deadlock. The Heavenly Gate Sect wasn’t weak; they were simply distracted by a much larger threat. The Incense Path was merely a pawn on the chessboard.

“Forget it. We won’t go out either. This has nothing to do with us.”

After much thought, Wang Ba shook his head.

Although he despised the Heavenly Gate Sect, he had to admit that staying within its walls was currently the safer option. At least he didn’t have to face the Incense Path fanatics directly.

He didn’t slack off, however. The very next day, he threw himself back into his work.

He practiced dissecting Eel-Tailed Toads with Qi, formulated Bloodline Breakthrough plans for his spirit beasts, and checked on the breeding progress of the poultry, turtles, and loaches.

Most crucially, he resumed his cultivation.

After a two-month hiatus, it felt a little rusty, but he also gained new insights. He increased his consumption of Spirit Poultry and Turtle essence, resolving never to pause his cultivation casually again.

Deep in his heart, a thought lingered—a dangerous ambition he had learned to suppress during his time in the Eastern Sage Sect. He dared not dwell on it, only silently preparing himself for the day the opportunity would ripen.

…

Yu Tang Mountain.

In a hidden mountain col, beneath the veil of a concealment Formation.

A middle-aged cultivator dressed entirely in crimson stood quietly. A crescent-shaped Magical Artifact hung at his waist, and his aura was thick with mystery and malice. He gazed calmly at the grove of short, peculiar trees nearby.

Just then, a burly cultivator with a rough appearance barged in, his face twisted in rage.

“Zheng Yuanhua! Why did you stand by and watch my attendant get killed by that Heavenly Gate scum?!”

The middle-aged cultivator’s eyes shifted slightly, filled with disdain.

“You are too loud.”

“Li Canghai, look at yourself. Do you act like a leader?”

“Whether I look like a leader is none of your business! Zheng Yuanhua, I know you’ve always hated me, tripping me up in the dark. Just you wait! Once I gather enough Spirit Stones for the teleportation array and return to the Yin Spirit Hall, I will report your conduct to the higher-ups!”

Zheng Yuanhua sneered. “Save your Spirit Stones. The envoys from above will arrive soon enough.”

Li Canghai froze, astonishment flashing in his eyes. “A Third-Tier envoy is coming? Don’t they need to guard the Hall?”

“Hmph, of course they must guard it,” Zheng Yuanhua said, clasping his hands behind his back. “But… how can guarding the Hall compare to welcoming back the Dream Lord?”

Li Canghai trembled, disbelief written on his face. “Dream Lord?! You mean… you mean…”

“That’s right. Not long ago, the Grand Elder discovered a faint outline appearing on the face of the Dream Lord’s statue in the Hall. I don’t need to explain what that signifies, do I?”

“The Dream Lord is reviving?! Someone has cultivated the second layer of the Yin Spirit Great Dream Scripture?” Li Canghai gasped.

Then a thought struck him. “That guy, Sun Yan… he passed it to a mortal named Wang. Is it him?”

Zheng Yuanhua shook his head slightly. “We don’t know. We were sent here to find him and retrieve the scripture, but the Eastern Sage Sect was destroyed over a decade ago. A mortal surviving such a calamity is unlikely. I suspect the technique fell into the hands of the Heavenly Gate Sect.”

“Sun Yan gave it to that mortal only ten years ago. To reach the second layer so quickly… even an ordinary Third-Tier cultivator couldn’t do it…”

“The Heavenly Gate Sect Leader is a Fourth-Tier cultivator!” Li Canghai blurted out.

“It seems the technique has likely fallen into his hands,” Zheng Yuanhua agreed, his expression grim.

If a Nascent Soul cultivator held the scripture, it was the worst possible outcome. Yet, they had to reclaim it at all costs.

“Wait! Don’t change the subject! You still haven’t answered me—why did you let that swordsman kill my attendant?!” Li Canghai roared, remembering his grievance.

Zheng Yuanhua rolled his eyes. “Calling you stupid is an insult to idiots. The four local sects are forcing us to fight the Heavenly Gate Sect. We pushed too hard before. If they dispatch Third-Tier cultivators now, we die. It is better to feign weakness, take some losses, and delay their response until our reinforcements arrive.”

“Oh… that makes sense!” Li Canghai pondered for a moment, then nodded repeatedly.

Ignoring the fool, Zheng Yuanhua turned back to gaze at the world outside the array.

He sensed that the coming conflict would no longer be a series of small skirmishes.