Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 938: Sinner Hall

Having observed Bai Ye for two nights now, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy could say with certainty that she was related to the Moon Laurel Tree Ancestor. She surmised that Bai Ye was probably some manifestation of the Moon Laurel Tree Ancestor’s consciousness or something similar.

As a tree that was suspected to have been planted by the Heaven Mandate Immortal, four hundred thousand years was enough time for it to develop spirit intelligence. For example, before the Epoch Immortal became an immortal, he often split off a clone to act on his behalf. The principle was roughly the same.

But Bai Ye is definitely more than just the Moon Laurel Tree Ancestor. However, the Everlasting Immortal Fairy had yet to work out the full picture.

“Xiao Yangzi isn’t clever enough. He still needs me to worry about him.” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy shook her head happily. Lu Yang truly can’t do without me as his strategist.

“But then again, this little lass means no harm to Xiao Yangzi, so it’s nothing for me to worry about. Should I even bother figuring out what’s going on with Bai Ye?”

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy leaned back on her ice-carved throne and ruminated for a moment, but soon drifted into sleep, exhausted from the mental strain.

~~~

Lu Yang felt that he had toured most of the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that one place had been missed, leaving his heart feeling empty.

“By the way, Junior Sister Lan, do you have a place similar to Incarceration Peak here?”

It dawned on him. I haven’t visited the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace’s equivalent of Incarceration Peak yet.

“Ah? Senior Brother, you want to visit Sinner Hall?”

The Moon Laurel Immortal Palace wielded enforcement authority, so naturally, it had a facility akin to Incarceration Peak. It was called Sinner Hall.

Lan Ting hadn’t expected Lu Yang to be so interested in Sinner Hall. She had deliberately avoided taking him there, thinking it was unsuitable for him.

“I want to broaden my horizons,” Lu Yang said with a chuckle. He was curious to see what other immortal sects’ “Incarceration Peak" looked like.

Sinner Hall wasn’t a restricted area; immortal palace disciples could enter and exit freely.

Lan Ting led Lu Yang to a relatively low-rise palace hall, so small that it hardly seemed like a place for detaining prisoners.

As they entered, candles lining the walls sensed their presence and flared to life with a whoosh, illuminating the passage ahead.

“The prisoners are all down below,” Lan Ting said, pointing at the passage leading underground.

The passageway was silent, with only the echoes of their footsteps. As they walked, candles on either side of the underground passage ignited in response.

Noticing Lu Yang’s interest in the candles, Lan Ting explained with a smile, “You see, the candles in Sinner Hall used to burn constantly. I thought it was rather wasteful, so I designed an array. Normally, the candles are extinguished, but when they detect sound, the array activates and lights them. It’s very convenient.

“I even received a thousand contribution points for helping the sect save on candles.”

“It’s indeed an excellent design.” Lu Yang nodded. He hadn’t expected the array to be Lan Ting’s creation. I should have realized she has a talent for such things.

After all, she was the one who first proposed the concept of an automatic skewering array.

“Have you applied for a patent?”

“No, it seems rather troublesome.” Unlike the Dao-Seeking Sect with its established patent application process, the semi-reclusive Moon Laurel Immortal Palace had no interest in patents.

Lu Yang advised, “It’s best to apply for one. If I’ve calculated the timing correctly, solar lamps should be appearing now as replacements for candles. Voice-controlled solar lamps probably haven’t emerged yet. If you secure the patent for this array, you can likely earn a considerable amount of spirit stones.”

“Senior Brother, are you referring to the solar lamps promoted by the Solar Energy Technology Development Merchant Guild?” Lan Ting had heard a little about this up-and-coming merchant guild while out on a mission recently. They often advertised through Dreamlike Bubble Mirages.

“They’ve got the production line sorted? It seems they move quite quickly,” Lu Yang mumbled to himself, then said, “Yes, those solar lamps. Emerging industries offer many business opportunities; you can seize this chance to profit. Though we cultivators shouldn’t let spirit stones cloud our minds, our cultivation still has to rely on them. With a patent in hand, spirit stones will flow in continuously, making future cultivation much easier.”

“Alright.” Although Lan Ting’s attitude toward patents was different, since Lu Yang suggested it, she would certainly go along with it.

Junior Sister Tao, you don’t get to enjoy such treatment, do you?

As they conversed, they reached the end of the passage and encountered a gatekeeper draped in black robes.

The gatekeeper kept her head lowered, scribbling something.

“This is Elder Mo Ran.”

“Junior Lu Yang pays respects to Elder Mo Ran.” Lu Yang greeted her with a bow.

Seeing someone approach, Elder Mo Ran hastily covered what she was writing. “So it’s the Taciturn Daoist Priest’s little disciple. What offense did you commit to land yourself here?”

“Ah?”

Noticing Lu Yang’s bewilderment, Elder Mo Ran grew puzzled. “Aren’t you following your shifu’s example, getting caught for committing some offense in the outside world and sent to our immortal palace?”

Lan Ting hurriedly explained that Lu Yang was visiting the immortal palace, unlike the Taciturn Daoist Priest.

“It was my mistake. I thought it was some master-disciple tradition.” Bound by her duty, Elder Mo Ran rarely left Sinner Hall and was hardly aware of recent developments.

“Has my shifu visited Sinner Hall before?” Lu Yang asked cautiously. Shifu is even more well-traveled than I’d thought. He has even been to such a remote place as the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace.

Elder Mo Ran snorted coldly. “Which immortal sect’s Sinner Hall hasn’t he visited?

“If you wish to look around inside, have Junior Niece Lan take you. It’s not her first time here, and she’s quite familiar with the place. I won’t go in.” Elder Mo Ran disliked chatting and moving about. The quiet environment of Sinner Hall suited her best.

Watching their retreating figures, Elder Mo Ran’s gaze turned cold. “They probably didn’t see what I was writing. If they did, they cannot be allowed to leave!”

Elder Mo Ran lowered her head and continued writing: The Morning Light Divine Lord wrapped his arm around Chu Xian’er’s slender waist. Facing the besiegement of countless gods and Buddhas, he stood unwavering, as steadfast as a statue...

~~~

With Elder Mo Ran’s token in hand, they passed through the great array and entered the true Sinner Hall.

“Our Sinner Hall serves the same purpose as your Incarceration Peak. It detains criminals apprehended during external missions. The prisoners here range from the Foundation Establishment Stage to the Fusion Stage.”

Speaking of Fusion criminals in Sinner Hall, Lan Ting couldn’t hide a hint of pride. The highest cultivation among immortal palace disciples was the Fusion Stage. The difficulty of capturing a Fusion criminal alive during a mission was unimaginable.

Just like the recently captured Heartless Creed elder, if not for Lu Yang, Man Gu, and herself working together, capturing him alive would have been nearly impossible.

Lu Yang pondered. It seems the lowest cultivation among prisoners in our Incarceration Peak is the Fusion Stage, and the one with the highest cultivation is Guan Shanhai.

Dao-Seeking Sect disciples also captured criminals when out on missions, but those below the Fusion Stage were sent directly to local authorities. There was no need to bring them back to Incarceration Peak.

Prison cells in Incarceration Peak were limited and had to be used sparingly.

Lu Yang noticed that each prisoner’s name, crime, and remaining sentence were inscribed before their cell. The shortest term was for theft, with the prisoner to be released in a few days.

The Moon Laurel Immortal Palace did not segregate prisoners by gender; otherwise, the Taciturn Daoist Priest wouldn’t have gotten in.

Incarceration Peak had similar plaques bearing the prisoners’ names and crimes. The only difference was that no sentence length was recorded.

The prisoners in Incarceration Peak were either murderers or would-be rebels. What remaining sentence could they have? They had to obediently spend the rest of their lives locked up in there.