Chapter 1042: Missing Person Notice

Emperor Zhongtian was furious. Although his clone had died at Xitian Temple, the information at the time had been transmitted back.

What was this about Si Chen saying the mysterious immortal couldn't write? The mysterious immortal made Si Chen kneel, and he knelt. He himself admitted his mistake upon seeing the mysterious immortal. And he had personally devoured Si Chen, leaving Si Chen's fate unknown.

"Didn't the other party self-destruct right in front of him? How did it become as if he was the one who self-destructed? He was a victim too; his clone was gone!"

What infuriated Emperor Zhongtian most was that the newspaper's descriptions were all objective facts; he wanted to refute them but didn't know where to start.

Losing the battle was bad enough, but how had his reputation also been ruined?

"Which bastard wrote this?!"

Finally, in the corner of the newspaper, he found the reporter of the article: Lu Yang of Wen Dao Sect.

Upon seeing the words "Wen Dao Sect," Emperor Zhongtian recalled the countless clones he had lost there. The anger that had surged into his chest immediately dissipated, and he calmed down.

"I... never mind. Those who achieve great things don't get bogged down by minor details. It's not worth risking for such a small matter..."

The newspaper quickly became popular among the common people.

Old Liu, returning from farming, waved several papers and showed them off to his neighbor: "Old Zhang, have you bought this yet?"

"What is this?"

"I heard it's a new novelty from Wen Dao Sect, called a 'newspaper.' When I came back, I saw a lot of people scrambling to buy it, so I bought a copy. It's not expensive, just five copper coins."

"What's the point of buying that?" Old Zhang scoffed, annoyed by the densely packed small characters on the newspaper. "Do we even know twenty characters between us?"

"You wouldn't know this, but this 'newspaper' doesn't need us to read it; it can read itself aloud."

"That magical?" Old Zhang was intrigued. Regardless of what was written, the mere ability to read itself aloud was worth five copper coins.

"Let me see, the vendor said to press hard here." Each section of the newspaper had a circle, and pressing a circle would make that section speak aloud.

The circles were the core of a vocalization array, which, once activated, could absorb surrounding spiritual energy and convert it into speech.

The voice array was intricate work, and each newspaper edition was different. If they used arrays for printing, they would have to adjust the printing array's pattern every month, so it was more convenient to simply have Guan Shanhai do it manually.

"Cultivation is a process of absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth and converting it into one's own spiritual power..."

"Cultivation stages are divided into Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul... Among these, the characteristics of Qi Refining are..."

Old Zhang showed a look of sudden realization upon hearing this: "So, Nascent Soul is after Golden Core? I always thought Golden Core cultivators were stronger."

"Why would you think that?" Old Liu asked in surprise. Although he hadn't studied much, being with Old Zhang now made him feel like a scholar.

Old Zhang scratched the back of his head: "Didn't the new storyteller often talk about 'Lu Tianjiao, Nascent Soul stage, conquering Golden Core stage'?"

"...Let's keep listening."

"Illusory Dreams, bringing you to experience a different world..."

"Wen Dao Sect, a good sect that eliminates demons and upholds justice..."

"...According to the investigation, at the beginning of the battle at Xitian Temple, there were two combatants..."

The two old farmers were quickly captivated by the newspaper's content. For them, it was an entirely new world.

This was also different from the stories told by storytellers. Each storyteller's account varied, and there were contradictions between them, leaving the two old farmers confused and unsure whom to believe.

But the Cultivation Monthly was different. This newspaper, published by Wen Dao Sect, contained absolutely true and credible information, and they could listen to it as many times as they wished.

Similar situations occurred throughout Great Xia. The Cultivation Monthly, a brand new source of information, was immediately sought after by the populace, even leading to a situation where demand exceeded supply.

"It seems we printed too few?" Lu Yang was astonished when his junior disciples told him the newspapers had quickly sold out. He had printed more than enough, yet it still wasn't enough to meet demand.

The junior disciples looked at Lu Yang with admiration. Senior Brother Lu Yang always had brilliant ideas; when would they ever catch up to his pace?

"Then let Guan Shanhai continue printing."

With Guan Shanhai, they could print as many newspapers as they wanted.

"It's just that the story section isn't satisfactory." The story Lu Yang wrote was based on Meng Jingzhou impersonating a Dao companion to attend a birthday celebration at a minor noble family's estate, which he considered a makeshift story.

But Lu Yang felt his writing wasn't good enough; the story he wrote lacked a certain flair and needed polishing.

"If Master were here, he would definitely be able to write good stories."

Lu Yang missed the Silent Daoist, whom he hadn't seen for several years.

"Although Senior Sister can find Master, I am now at the Immortal Transformation stage, so I shouldn't rely on Senior Sister for everything. I can find Master in my own way."

"Third Senior Sister, I have an idea; tell me if you think it's feasible." Lu Yang found Senior Sister Gantian, who was playing the zither by the river, while Yun Mengmeng sat on a large rock nearby, splashing water.

Senior Sister Gantian listened to Lu Yang's proposal, and only after a long pause did she repeat his words:

"You mean, you want to place a missing person advertisement in the next edition of the newspaper, to find our Master, with a reward of one billion spirit stones?"

"It's a good idea, right?" Lu Yang was wealthy now; taking out one billion spirit stones wouldn't even dent his finances.

"Isn't that reward a bit too high?" Senior Sister Gantian said hesitantly, "This is already comparable to Master's price on the black market."

"This is our Master, the Sect Master of Wen Dao Sect, a mighty figure at the Tribulation Transcending stage. He's been missing for so many years; isn't his whereabouts worth one billion?"

Senior Sister Gantian thought for a moment and felt she had been undutiful: "You have a point. I'll add fifty million spirit stones too."

Lu Yang believed Master would surely understand his hint about wanting him to return to the sect. Of course, even if he didn't understand, someone would bring him back.

He could foresee that with the Cultivation Monthly selling so well, and with Master's help, it would definitely become a bestseller throughout the cultivation world in the future.

Lu Yang had intended to share this good news with Old Meng, but unexpectedly, bad news about Meng Jingzhou came from Third Elder.

"Are you saying Old Meng was taken by Patriarch Hanhai to cultivate near the sun?"

"That's right. At the time, I was teaching Little Meng martial arts, and Patriarch Hanhai, for reasons unknown, suddenly appeared and took Little Meng away."

Third Elder looked troubled. While Meng Jingzhou cultivating near the sun would certainly accelerate his progress, and with Patriarch Hanhai watching over him, nothing would surely go wrong.

Was this method perhaps too radical?

"This is Old Meng's fortunate encounter."

Putting himself in Meng Jingzhou's shoes, Lu Yang knew he wouldn't be happy about it, but this was indeed Meng Jingzhou's fortunate encounter.

So Lu Yang could only reluctantly feel happy for Meng Jingzhou.