Chapter 18: Training is Boring, Balance is Key!
In the Jade Pool Sacred Land.
Deep within a secret realm.
Yuan Ruoyu stood on a sparkling lotus flower, looking as radiant as jade, her face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance. “It’s only been a few days, and they’re already off to the brothel, trying to experience the ‘big city’ vibes…”
“Humph! Next time we meet, I’ll give you a piece of my mind!”
“Still babbling about ‘training is monotonous, balance is key’—what a bad influence on the cultivation world!”
She muttered to herself, but then unwittingly glanced down at her legs.
From beneath her flowing skirt, a delicate, pale calf peeked out.
It was exquisitely smooth, like a doll’s.
Her dainty, jade-like feet were even more enchanting.
As she looked, her face grew even redder.
After a moment, she snapped back to reality, letting out a long sigh, her eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief.
“This diary really dropped some crucial bombshells about the Central State and the Sacred Land!”
“Those folks must have their suspicions about me by now, right?”
Yuan Ruoyu’s aura shifted, a powerful presence exploding forth as a chilling intent spread through the realm.
In an instant, she flashed to the center of the lotus flower.
Cross-legged with her eyes shut, the entire secret realm seemed to go wild with spiritual energy.
It frantically gathered all around her…
———
In the Liyue Celestial Dynasty.
Within Her Majesty the Empress’s palace.
Ye Qingge was clutching a small leather doll, ranting angrily, “What’s so great about that place? And you’re just gushing about it nonstop?”
As she spoke, her delicate fingers kept pinching and pulling at the doll.
Not even sparing the legs!
“Humph, flipping the world upside down, huh? A flying acrobat, you say?!”
“Watch me snap you in half…”
———
In Azure Prefecture, South Region.
At the bl**d Spirit Sect.
Once the top sect in Azure Prefecture.
Within a grand hall, Sect Master Yan Shan wore a face as dark as a thundercloud, veins bulging on his forehead.
He was clearly in a state of extreme frustration.
Smash!
Yan Shan suddenly kicked the table in front of him, and with his overwhelming strength, it shattered into a million pieces, raining down across the floor.
The other elders in the hall, including the Grand Elder Lei Lie, dared not utter a word.
They were terrified of catching the brunt of Yan Shan’s ire.
“d*mn it!”
“Even a dump like Drunken Spring Building can get into the Emperor’s diary and receive rave reviews!”
Yan Shan’s face darkened further, fury boiling over as he exclaimed, “Why doesn’t the Eternal Emperor mention our bl**d Spirit Sect in the diary at all?”
“A little praise would be nice!”
Lei Lie could only manage a wry smile and tried to comfort, “Calm down, Sect Master. After all, he’s not one of ours; it’s normal for him not to mention us.”
“Uh…”
After a brief pause, Lei Lie continued, “Why don’t we head over to Drunken Spring tonight and book a private room to unwind?”
Yan Shan: “…”
After a moment of silence, Yan Shan finally grinned. “Alright, let’s all go, after all, the Emperor said it himself: ‘Training is boring; balance is key!’”
Saying this, a hint of daze flashed in his eyes as if he was contemplating deep thoughts.
A moment later, Yan Shan withdrew his gaze and slowly said, “Could it be that our years of grueling training have been misguided? Maybe a bit of relaxation could actually help us break through?”
The moment those words left his mouth, the bl**d Spirit Sect elders all looked contemplative.
After hesitating for a moment, Lei Lie said, “After all, this was directly said by the Emperor; it must hold some weight.”
With the ice broken, another elder stepped up and remarked, “Indeed! I feel the same way. Perhaps a little relaxation, just like the Emperor, might be the right approach.”
This elder, named Yuan Qing, went on to elaborate:
“When I was younger, I was obsessed with my training and often secluded myself. But later, I realized that long periods of isolation had very little effect on my cultivation level!”
Yan Shan nodded.
“Elder Yuan is correct! Once you reach the Nascent Soul stage, secluded training becomes ineffective; what truly matters is understanding the great beyond!”
Yuan Qing’s excitement continued to rise.
“Exactly!”
“Building a car behind closed doors won’t help with your Dao progress, but rather experiencing the world will help you take it to the next level.”
The Grand Elder Lei Lie felt a stir in his heart and said in a deep voice, “If that’s the case, should our bl**d Spirit Sect implement some changes?”
“Encouraging disciples to venture out more, explore the brothels… cough, I mean, experience the human condition for that balance effect?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone in the hall turned to look at him, including Sect Master Yan Shan.
Surprisingly, this proposal from the Grand Elder received immediate support from everyone present.
Not just the bl**d Spirit Sect.
Right then, the various sects across Azure Prefecture began debating the same topic: should they encourage their disciples to find this balance through experience?
After all, if it was a common cultivator suggesting this, everyone might dismiss it as nonsense.
But was the Eternal Emperor a regular cultivator?
Nope!
He was the unparalleled emperor of legends!
Since even he said that training is boring and balance is key, who could argue?!
In no time, a trend of visiting brothels surged through the cultivation world…
Some sects were split, stuck in a state of indecision, turning their eyes to the Xuanqing Sect to see how the sect that produced the Emperor would respond.
Soon, they were met with shocking news.
The entire Xuanqing Sect—led by Sect Master Yan Changkong and all the elders—had been frequently heading to Cloud City, then off to Drunken Spring Building to have a good time.
There were even rumors that the Xuanqing Sect had booked a top-notch private room for hosting meetings at Drunken Spring Building regularly.
With this news, other sects didn’t hesitate any longer and joined in the fun.
As a result, for a while,
the cultivation world in Azure Prefecture, and even across the mainland, experienced a bizarre phenomenon.
Be it sects, cultivators, or lone practitioners, no one was training anymore—they all flocked to the pleasure districts!
Every pleasure house was packed, with lines stretching out the door…
Fights over prime spots broke out frequently.
On top of that, various major factions recognized the terrifying profits of operating brothels and jumped into the game.
In the Nine States, pleasure houses sprouted like bamboo shoots after the rain.
As for Drunken Spring Building, revered by the Emperor, it had now become a benchmark in the cultivation world!
Prices skyrocketed by dozens of times, and it was still incredibly popular.
Especially the newly launched Emperor’s package, which sent countless cultivators into a frenzy.
Aside from that, various legendary tales of the Eternal Emperor were being passed down from the ladies of Drunken Spring Building.
“These tales, oh, they are the stuff of legend, passed down through generations of our establishment; they are definitely true!”
“Back then, our legends always said the Eternal Emperor stood eight feet tall, and his reach was quite something too!”
“He had the face of a radiant jade, and his demeanor was as refined as a noble!”
“Right! Not to mention, he was strong and fierce, with unmatched speed and strength; unforgettable!”
“You wouldn’t believe it; the Eternal Emperor was unbeatable, challenging the top ten titans of the time in a single night, and he didn’t even break a sweat!”
“No way, that strong?”
“Well, of course! He was gentle, brave, caring, and powerful… even to this day, he remains our Drunken Spring Building’s legend!”
“It’s just that we never expected this person would turn out to be the famous Eternal Emperor; talk about hidden depth!”
At this moment,
in the Tianji Pavilion.
An old man clad in a dark robe, exuding an aura of wisdom, stood high above, gazing at the crowd rushing into a nearby pleasure house, occasionally sighing.
The old man’s expression was complex as he murmured, “How did our cultivation world become like this so suddenly?”
He even started to regret it!
Wondering if his decision to publish the Emperor’s diary, allowing all cultivators to share in his wisdom, was a mistake?
Now, everyone had stopped training and rushed to pleasure houses—what’s the world coming to?
The more the old man thought, the more unsettled he became, muttering to himself:
“If the diary reveals any more outrageous matters next, won’t the entire cultivation world’s ethos be thrown off track?”
But now, it was too late for regrets.
The Eternal Emperor’s diary had already been engraved into the transmission array with secret methods under the witness of various factions.
Every ten days, four entries would be released.
Until all contents of the diary were fully exposed, nobody could stop it.
“Hmm, but Lin Feng’s words do hold some truth…”
The old man thought for a moment, his eyes lighting up, and said, “I’ve been stuck in the late Great Ascension Period for tens of thousands of years, unable to break through. Could it be due to the lack of balance?”
“Maybe I should…”
The old man glanced again at the nearby pleasure house, where beautiful maidens were alluringly posed at the windows.
In a sudden turn, the old man transformed into a youthful lad, murmuring, “Tonight, I’m going to rekindle my vigor and reclaim my former self!”
