Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 206: Draw Ground as Prison

After the Xia Emperor sent off the leaders of the Five Great Immortal Sects, he heard his old ancestor’s summon for him, instructing him to head to the forbidden ground.

“Old Ancestor, what’s the matter?” The Xia Emperor greeted his old ancestor respectfully upon arriving at the forbidden ground. However, he didn’t receive a response for a long time, so he stealthily raised his head. Just as he did so, he saw his old ancestor’s insincere smile and subconsciously took a few steps back.

“I heard you were inciting Yun Zhi to teach me a lesson?”

The Xia Emperor was flabbergasted. The imperial palace is shielded by an immortal array, and Yun Zhi and I were the only ones present. How did the old ancestor find out?!

“Nonsense! I was the one who set up the immortal array, so I can naturally listen to whatever I want! You brat! I must have beaten you too little when you were a kid!” The old ancestor extended his large hand and dragged the Xia Emperor into the forbidden ground.

“Old...Old Ancestor, please go easy on me! You watched me grow up. You may be hitting me, but it’s hurting your heart!”

“Don’t worry, my heart is as tough as iron!”

Heart-wrenching screams soon echoed from the forbidden ground. It was no wonder there were rumors in the imperial palace about an undying ominous being that was suppressed in the forbidden ground. The ominous being would often be tormented by the array, emitting plangent wails.

Of course, there were also eunuchs and palace maids who speculated that the shrieks might belong to the Xia Emperor. However, such conjectures were highly disrespectful and didn’t become widespread. Even if it did, people would probably dismiss it as mere gossip.

~~~

Clad in a crisp white outfit, Lu Yang was practicing his swordsmanship when Man Gu and Meng Jingzhou came looking for him. “Brother Lu, do you want to learn a new spell? Senior Brother Ji Hongwen is offering to teach.”

Meng Jingzhou clarified with a smile. “Man Gu called me over too.” After all, why pass up the chance to learn another spell?

Lu Yang was puzzled. “Why would Senior Brother Ji Hongwen suddenly think of teaching us a spell?”

Ji Hongwen was the eldest disciple of the Confucian cultivator, Fourth Elder. He was well-versed in the Dao of Painting, and his cultivation rivaled that of Dai Bufan.

Man Gu explained, “Oh, it’s like this. I felt that Confucian cultivators should fight with more elegance. Fighting with a big iron hammer like I do is not what you’d expect from a normal Confucian cultivator, so I wanted to learn some refined spells.”

Lu Yang stared at Man Gu in astonishment. Could Man Gu be on the verge of breaking through the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s curse on the Barbarian Tribe? That’s truly a cause for celebration!

“Besides, my hammer is currently with Li Haoran for upgrades, so I can’t practice hammering techniques for a while. I might as well find something else to do. That was when I decided to look for Senior Brother Ji and ask whether he could teach me one or two spells for Confucian cultivators. He said yes, and I asked if I could bring you two along. He agreed, so here I am, looking for you and Brother Meng.”

Lu Yang nodded. “That’s thoughtful of you.”

Man Gu hurriedly replied, “You’re too kind, Brother Lu. I’ve learned so much by following you and Brother Meng. I’m just going with the goat, taking this opportunity to let Senior Brother Ji also teach you both while he’s teaching me.”

Meng Jingzhou patted Man Gu on the shoulder. “That’s called going with the flow.” [1]

“Brother Meng, you’re indeed erudite.”

Meng Jingzhou, “...”

~~~

As soon as the three arrived at the bamboo grove, Ji Hongwen woke up from his nap.

Lu Yang shook his head. His sleep quality is far worse than that of the Everlasting Immortal Fairy. Even now, she is still sound asleep.

“You’re here?” Ji Hongwen greeted them with a smile.

“Greetings, Senior Brother Ji!” The three cupped their hands in unison.

Ji Hongwen switched to a stern expression. “Junior Brother Man Gu asked me to teach him a Confucian spell, and I naturally have no objections. However, Confucian spells are notoriously difficult to learn, and there’s no guarantee of success. The three of you are talented, but even if you don’t manage to learn it, I hope you won’t be disheartened.”

Man Gu was extremely confident in Lu Yang. “Brother Lu’s talent in spells far surpasses mine. He’ll definitely master it!”

Ji Hongwen chuckled as he shook his head, thinking that Man Gu’s praise was over the top. Aside from Big Senior Sister, who else can guarantee that they’ll certainly master a spell just by learning it?

“The spell I’m going to teach you is called ‘Draw Ground as Prison.’[2] You have probably heard of this spell before. As long as you draw a circle on the ground, you can confine your opponent within it. Combined with offensive tactics, the other party will have nowhere to run and be forced to bear the brunt of your attacks!”

The trio’s eyes lit up, not expecting it to be this spell. Draw Ground as Prison was quite renowned. Casually drawing a circle can trap the other party—how elegant! It’s a top-tier tactic!

I’ll demonstrate it for you.”

Ji Hongwen used his finger as a brush and gently drew a circle around the trio. Instantly, they realized that they were blocked by an invisible barrier and unable to leave.

Man Gu and Meng Jingzhou tried to break the barrier by brute force, but it was futile.

Lu Yang tried to escape through the ground by using Shrinking Earth, but he collided with the solid ground and also failed.

“Haha, this is Draw Ground as Prison.” Ji Hongwen nonchalantly canceled the circle.

“To master Draw Ground as Prison, the first thing you need is the ability to draw a circle with your bare hands. Then, you need to memorize the mantra.”

Ji Hongwen instructed the three to draw a circle, but the circles were all crooked, resembling several worms forming a circle.

“Look at what you drew. It looks like an egg,” Meng Jingzhou mocked Lu Yang.

Lu Yang glanced at Meng Jingzhou’s drawing. “You’re worse than me. Yours looks like a tea egg[3].”

“Tea eggs are more expensive than your egg,” Meng Jingzhou retorted.

“But also more troublesome to prepare,” Lu Yang snapped back.

The two’s argument gradually drifted away from the topic of drawing.

Ji Hongwen advised the trio, “Practice more. As cultivators, controlling our bodies to draw should not be difficult.” Only then did Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou stop their meaningless bickering.

Just as Ji Hongwen had mentioned, as long as they consciously controlled their bodies, they were soon able to draw circles freehand.

“Now, I’ll teach you part of the mantra. Listen carefully. You need to remember not just the characters but also their intonation!”

“Not to enter, not to confront...”[4]

The trio listened carefully, striving to remember every single word and their intonation. After fumbling several times, they finally managed to memorize the whole thing.

“Finally, and this is the hardest step, you must fully understand this mantra. Only by letting it naturally transform into the flow of spirit energy within your body will you be able to successfully cast this spell!” Ji Hongwen warned the three not to slack off while learning the spell.

Man Gu silently recited the mantra and attempted to cast Draw Ground as Prison. He spun again and again but still failed.

Meng Jingzhou fared slightly better than Man Gu, perhaps because he had more sublime comprehension. After trying several times, he occasionally formed a few invisible barriers, but the success rate was too low to be useful in actual combat.

“You don’t need to rush,” Ji Hongwen reassured them. “Back when I learned this spell, I was already at the Golden Core Stage. Even then, it took me five days to master it.” In reality, he had learned it in two days, but he feared that it might be too much emotional trauma for them.

At this moment, Lu Yang closed his eyes, repeatedly reciting the mantra in his mind. He imagined himself as the creator of the spell and envisaged the mindset that had led them to invent this spell.

Lu Yang opened his eyes, which were now shining brightly.

“I got it!” Lu Yang was brimming with confidence. With an unruffled deportment, he was like a martial arts master with fifty years of experience, stepping into the arena and defeating formidable opponents while adorning a smile.

Lu Yang’s voice caught the attention of Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu. They stopped practicing to check on how Lu Yang was doing.

Could it be that Lu Yang succeeded on the first try?

Even Man Gu, who believed in Lu Yang’s extraordinary talent in spells, didn’t think that Lu Yang could succeed. At the very least, he should practice a few more times before succeeding.

Following Ji Hongwen’s example, Lu Yang extended his index finger and drew an impeccable circle.

“Draw Ground as Prison!”

Then, Lu Yang realized that the scenery around him had changed. It had turned dark and silent. Pillars surrounded him, and above him was solid earth.

This was a dungeon—an underground prison.

Lu Yang remarked, “...So what I learned is Draw Underground Prison?”

1. The first idiom translates to something like “lead a goat away while passing by,” which refers to how one takes the opportunity to steal something. The second idiom translates to something like “pushing the boat with the current,” which refers to how one acts astutely according to the situation and takes advantage of the opportunity. Both idioms start with the same character, and the second character also sounds somewhat similar (“shou” vs “shui”). ☜

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

2. This is actually a real idiom. The literal meaning is that one draws a circle on the ground and confines themselves in it. People sometimes use this idiom as advice, telling others not to be shackled by imaginary chains. ☜

3. Chayedan are eggs boiled in tea. It is a popular option for breakfast, snacks, and is known for its fragrant flavor. ☜

4. These two phrases originally came from the prose the spell originated from. It eventually became a well-known poem and is supposed to depict people’s abhorrence toward jails and jailers. ☜