Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii

By the way, helmsman, you left without paying last time we had a meal. Do you owe us, or will you settle now? Barbarian Bone asked before leaving.

Lu Yang quickly stopped Barbarian Bone: Hold your tongue. As people of the demonic path, dining and dashing is our divine right. Is the helmsman the kind of good guy who pays for his meals?

Meng Jingzhou also chimed in: Exactly, the helmsman said he was treating us, not that he was paying. How can you not understand the difference?

Helmsman Chu:

He had to admit, when it came to putting someone in a tight spot, he was no match for these three.

Suppressing the urge to kill, he threw a gold ingot at Barbarian Bone: No need for change. Just scram, all three of you!

Barbarian Bone was bewildered. He was genuinely asking for the money, but the way Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou spoke seemed off. It sounded like they were speaking up for him but also for the helmsman.

When the three left, it was already deep into the night. Lu Yang, gazing at the brilliant starry sky, sighed.

Who would have thought the stars above us are all an illusion? Unbelievable, truly unbelievable.

Meng Jingzhou scratched his head: Its not that surprising. My grandfather always said he would give me anything I wanted, even the stars in the sky. When I was about seven or eight, I pointed to a star and said I wanted it.

My grandfather then traveled to the universe and returned with a speck of light the size of a fingernail, claiming it was a star. Coincidentally, one star was missing from the night sky.

I argued with my grandfather, saying a star should be huge, bigger than our yard, not this small. He just smiled mysteriously, saying thats the size of a star.

And then? Lu Yang asked, intrigued.

Then? The Ministry of Justice showed up, apparently a high-ranking official, accusing my grandfather of stealing natural resources and demanded he return the star. My grandfather returned the speck of light, and the empty spot in the night sky had a star once again.

I felt something was off at the time but couldnt figure it out. It faded over time, but now, with todays discussion, I realize what I held in my hand was indeed a star.

Truly worthy of the Meng family, even your childhood experiences are different from ours, Lu Yang shook his head, wondering what he was doing in his own childhood.

He remembered, in his childhood, he reminisced about experiences from before his reincarnation and memorized ancient poems, like A hundred feet high tower, one can pick stars by hand. Dare not speak loudly, for fear of startling the celestial beings.

As a child, he could only pluck stars in poems, but Meng Jingzhou could actually do it. Thats the difference.

Recently, Lu Yang even considered writing a novel to make money, like The Wandering Earth, but in this worlds context, it wouldnt be planetary engines moving Earth, but rather cultivators pushing it. (TL Note: Reference to a novel by Cixin Liu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wandering_Earth

The trio didnt dwell on the matters of stars and continents anymore. Such matters were too distant for them; with their current cultivation level, moving stars was out of the question, let alone moving large rocks.

Lets rest early. Tomorrow well visit our fellow disciples in jail.

The three yawned. At the Foundation Establishment stage, meditation could replace sleep with the same effect, but they still preferred sleeping.

Meditation? Maybe at the Golden Core stage.

Early the next morning, Lu Yang approached Constable Wei to explain their intention, and Constable Wei quickly approved the permit, allowing Lu Yang to visit the jail.

Upon entering the prison, Lu Yang immediately felt his spiritual power being suppressed, rendering him unable to mobilize it and making his body sluggish.

Is this the Spirit Suppression Formation Head Constable Wei mentioned? Lu Yang was surprised, not expecting the formation to be as potent as described.

Head Constable Wei had informed Lu Yang about the prisons Spirit Suppression Formation when giving him the entry permit. Its a formation specifically designed for cultivators, within which a cultivators powers are restrained, preventing the use of any spells. This measure is to stop cultivators from breaking into or out of the prison.

The level of the Spirit Suppression Formation in the prison is quite high, restricting even Golden Core cultivators without exception.

Lu Yang arrived just as the jailers were changing shifts. The day shift jailer was yawning profusely, tears streaming down his face, appearing as if he hadnt woken up properly.

The night shift jailer was about to rest and in a good mood, joking, Old Zhou, arent you usually the most alert? Why so sleepy today? Didnt do something indecent last night, did you?

Old Zhou, yawning widely, replied, I dont know whats going on lately, I just cant seem to wake up properly. Getting up in the morning is tough, not just for me, my wife feels the same. Even washing my face when I got here didnt help.

The night shift jailer laughed, Must have been something you did last night. See, Im not tired at all.

Old Zhou grumbled, Thats because youre a cultivator, not like me.

The night shift jailer shrugged, Im only at the first level of Qi cultivation. Whether I can reach the second level in this lifetime is uncertain, hardly counts as a cultivator.

The prisons protocol is for day shift jailers to be ordinary humans, while night shift jailers are cultivators at the first level of Qi cultivation. This ensures they remain alert and dont slack off during the night.

Cultivators dislike being suppressed by the Spirit Suppression Formation just as much as anyone else, but a prison guarded solely by first-level Qi cultivators is clearly insufficient. Thus, additional covert guards, also cultivators, are stationed outside the prison.

After the shift change, Lu Yang, holding his permit, approached Old Zhou.

After inspecting Lu Yang and finding nothing but a lunch box on him, Old Zhou let him through.

As a notorious figure among local demonic cultivators, Chi Xulong believed joining the demonic sect would allow him to achieve great things and carve out a territory to rule as a local overlord.

Even being imprisoned hasnt changed his ambitions. If hes in prison, hell aim to be the top prisoner first!

His first challenge is the inability to intimidate others. Locked in a cell impervious even to Foundation Establishment cultivators, without any weapons, and subjected to the taunts and jeers from the next cell, Chi Xulong was itching for retribution.

Thats when his cellmate, Shen Jinyi, came up with an idea. He placed a pebble in his mouth and spat it out with a puff, the pebble flying out like a bullet with astonishing force, hitting with significant impact.

Shen Jinyi, an assassin by trade, excelled at using various objects as hidden weapons.

Were brothers in adversity; now more than ever, we need to unite and make our way together! Shen Jinyi said with a sense of camaraderie, teaching Chi Xulong his technique. Master this trick, and youll be invincible in prison. Lets dominate this place together!

Chi Xulong was invigorated, practicing diligently from dawn till dusk to master spitting pebbles as hidden weapons.

Unfortunately, his natural talent was lacking. Despite his brute strength, he never managed to learn the technique.

You need to do it like this, keep air in your mouth and puff spit it out quickly! Shen Jinyi demonstrated, trying to teach Chi Xulong.

I get it, just a puff,' Chi Xulong said, somewhat impatiently.

No, no, youre puckering your lips too little, like this.

Like this?

Lu Yang, standing outside the cell, watched Chi Xulong and Shen Jinyi puckering their lips at each other, pondering whether to intervene, as their actions could easily be misinterpreted.

He decided to record it with a recording sphere first.

(End of the chapter)