Who Let Him Cultivate？

Chapter 83: Lan Ting’s Secret Mission

Lu Yang remarked dryly from the sidelines, “This invisible force permeates all things. How about we call it ‘universal gravitation’?”

Lan Ting found the voice familiar. Looking up, she saw Lu Yang. “Huh, it’s you.”

“Come in. We’ll speak inside,” Lu Yang said, wary that she might blurt out his true identity in the open street.

Lan Ting was breathtakingly beautiful. Standing out in the open like a celestial maiden, she was a beacon for eavesdroppers and unwanted attention.

As soon as she crossed the threshold, her eyes landed on the Changui laboriously threading chunks of meat onto wooden sticks. She immediately recognized them as the spectral thralls left behind by the tiger demon.

Noticing Lu Yang and Lan Ting enter, the two Changui silently hoisted their basin of raw flesh and skewers, shuffling to a corner table to resume their grim, monotonous labor.

Watching their fluid, practiced motions, Lan Ting half-wondered if these ghosts had been professional kebab vendors in their past lives.

Hearing the commotion from the courtyard, Man Gu ceased his cultivation and strode into the main hall.

Meng Jingzhou, returning from a grueling day of aimless wandering, burst through the doors. “Have you heard? Yanjiang County has its own exclusive holiday coming up in half a month—the Spring Plucking Festival! It’s all about spring outings, scenic tours, and massive nighttime poetry galas. It’s going to be packed with tourists from all the neighboring counties.”

“The locals even get a mandatory three-day vacation.”

“I also did some digging and found out the local brothels jack up their prices during the festival and make an absolute killing. Should we piggyback on the hype and launch a massive promotional campaign? Maybe a ‘Two-Month Grand Opening Anniversary Blowout’?”

Meng Jingzhou was desperate to prove his loitering was actually high-level reconnaissance, even if the intel was utterly useless to their current operation.

Man Gu’s eyes lit up. He opened his mouth to agree, but a single, emotionless stare from Lu Yang prompted him to snap his jaw shut.

Meng Jingzhou finally noticed their guest. “Wait, I remember you. You’re Lan Ting from the Moon Laurel Palace, right?”

They had been stuck here for over a month running a barbecue joint—ahem, executing a deep-cover infiltration of a demonic syndicate. What was her excuse?

“That would be me,” Lan Ting replied, her voice soft and melodious.

She found this trio utterly fascinating. She had been in Yanjiang County for over a month and had certainly heard whispers of this legendary barbecue establishment. However, preferring the tranquility of secluded cultivation over the greasy chaos of mortal dining, she had never visited.

Passing by on a whim today, she realized this culinary empire was spearheaded by her acquaintances—orthodox immortal disciples, no less.

It seemed these three were genuinely committed to building a gastronomic monopoly in the mortal realm.

Did the Dao Seeking Sect’s mandate now include aggressive market expansion alongside demon slaying?

Given their sect’s eccentric reputation, it was entirely plausible.

Lan Ting recalled her Senior Sisters mentioning that the Dao Seeking Sect’s Contribution Points exchange actually featured a ‘Sect Leader Experience: One-Day Tour.’ None of the other four great immortal sects offered such a deranged reward.

“You haven’t left Yanjiang County all this time. Are you on a mission?” Lu Yang asked with the warm, practiced smile of a seasoned local don. “If you need logistical support, just say the word. We have deep ties with the local constabulary, and we’ve got men on the inside of the county dungeons.”

As fellow pillars of the Five Great Immortal Sects, inter-departmental synergy was only natural.

At this point, Lu Yang and his crew practically ran Yanjiang County’s underworld. On the surface, they were upstanding taxpayers who occasionally helped Head Constable Wei apprehend fugitives, turning their restaurant into the precinct’s unofficial cafeteria. In the shadows, they were the Yanjiang Branch Leader’s most prized demonic seeds. And in reality, they were core disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect.

In terms of sheer, convoluted backing, they were untouchable.

Lan Ting fell silent. She was on a highly classified operation and was strictly forbidden from fraternizing with outsiders. It was the only reason she had abruptly left after taking a mere two tiger pelts back when they hunted the beast together.

But over a month had passed, her progress was nonexistent, and anxiety was gnawing at her.

These three might be the breakthrough she needed!

Taking two deep, steadying breaths, Lan Ting looked at them with absolute gravity. “I am executing a top-secret directive. What I am about to disclose must not leave this room—my very life depends on it! And brace yourselves, for this will come as a shock!”

Seeing her deadly serious demeanor, the three boys straightened their postures, preparing for a world-shattering revelation.

“I am going to infiltrate the Immortal Cult as an undercover operative!”

The three of them blinked in unison, wondering if they had suffered a collective auditory hallucination.

Oblivious, Lan Ting pressed on. “Our Moon Laurel Palace acquired this intelligence through highly classified channels. The four major demonic syndicates are currently executing massive recruitment drives. The Radiant Sun Cult has already closed its hiring window, but the other three are still actively headhunting.”

“There is a local chapter of the Immortal Cult right here in Yanjiang County—the Yanjiang Branch. Their Branch Leader is an enigma, a phantom whose true identity and even surname remain entirely unknown.”

“According to our metrics, the Yanjiang Branch ranks near the bottom of the Immortal Cult’s corporate ladder. The overall cultivation baseline of its members is abysmal, making it the perfect entry-level position for a Foundation Establishment disciple like myself. With the right strategic roadmap, I could easily fast-track my way into upper management.”

“My Senior Sisters possess cultivation bases that are far too oppressive, and their public profiles are too high for covert ops. After a thorough risk assessment, this assignment was delegated to me.”

When Lan Ting mentioned her Senior Sisters’ ‘high public profiles,’ she was politely referring to the fact that their devastating beauty frequently landed them starring roles in illicit, contraband literature designed to cater to the degenerate fantasies of male cultivators.

Lan Ting let out a heavy sigh. “The problem is, I’ve been stationed here for over a month and still haven’t located the Yanjiang Branch’s headquarters. I don’t even know if their recruitment cycle has closed. I just pray I haven’t missed the onboarding phase!”

She looked at the trio with desperate, hopeful eyes—especially at Lu Yang, who radiated an aura of absolute reliability.

In perfect, synchronized silence, the three boys reached into their robes and slapped their heavy, iron-wrought waist tokens onto the table.

The word **Deacon** was deeply engraved on each, gleaming with sinister authority.

“Sorry about that,” Lu Yang said flatly. “We’re already on the payroll.”

Lan Ting: “!!!”

“Oh, don’t panic. We mean we’ve already successfully infiltrated them,” Lu Yang quickly clarified, watching her face drain of color.

Lan Ting slumped in relief. For a terrifying second, she thought she had just confessed to three high-ranking demonic executives. But wait… that still didn’t make sense.

“How did you bypass their security screening?!”

Lu Yang rubbed his chin, genuinely troubled by the question. How was he supposed to explain it? We just submitted our resumes, passed the interview, and got the job.

Meng Jingzhou puffed out his chest. “We demonstrated exceptional core competencies during the talent acquisition phase. The Immortal Cult recognized our disruptive potential and immediately fast-tracked our onboarding.”

Man Gu stared at Meng Jingzhou, completely failing to understand why his brother was so proud of this.

Lu Yang opted for a more grounded summary. He explained how they raided the tiger demon’s lair, intercepted Qin Yuanhao’s correspondence, tracked down the man himself, and leveraged that into an invitation to the Yanjiang Branch’s orientation.

Lan Ting was practically green with regret. If only she had networked with Lu Yang’s team back then! She had squandered an entire month failing to find the front door, while these three had already secured middle-management positions.

“Since you have recruitment authority like Qin Yuanhao, could you sponsor my application?” she pleaded.

Lu Yang shook his head, his tone shifting into that of a seasoned HR director. “Entry-level cultists don’t get clearance for classified operations. To get anywhere, you’d have to pass the centralized screening organized by the Immortal Cult’s headquarters. Frankly, you don’t fit the corporate culture. The probability of you failing the background check and blowing your cover is unacceptably high.”

Lan Ting lowered her gaze, the light of hope dimming in her eyes.

“However,” Lu Yang continued, pivoting smoothly, “we can fabricate a cover identity for you. We’ll say you’re my distant relative seeking asylum. You can shadow us, officially employed as a server at our barbecue joint. When we execute field operations, you can provide tactical overwatch. Technically, that still counts as fulfilling your mission parameters.”

“Truly? You would do that for me?” Lan Ting hadn’t expected such a generous severance from her despair.

Man Gu was equally thrilled. We finally hired a new employee!

Lu Yang nodded. “Naturally. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, your combat metrics are stellar. You’ll be a massive asset to our operational bandwidth. The only issue is that your aesthetic profile is far too conspicuous. You’ll need to undergo a visual downgrade. By the way, do you know any spatial displacement or mimicry arts? If not, I can run a quick training seminar for you.”